cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental characterization and modeling of rate-dependent hysteresis of a piezoceramic actuator

Abstract Laboratory experiments were performed to characterize the rate-dependent hysteresis properties of a piezoceramic actuator under harmonic, complex harmonic and triangular excitations in the 0.1–500 Hz frequency range. The measured data were analyzed to describe the major and minor hysteresis loops as functions of frequency, magnitude and bias of the input voltage. The results revealed considerably larger hysteresis loop width and lower displacement response amplitude under frequencies above 10 Hz. A rate-dependent Prandtl–Ishlinskii model is developed for describing the rate-dependent hysteresis behaviour of the actuator. This model integrates rate-dependent play operator and density functions formulated on the basis of the rate of change of input and experimentally observed behaviors. The fundamental properties of the proposed rate-dependent play and stop hysteresis operators are also investigated. The model results attained under harmonic, complex harmonic and triangular inputs at different frequencies in the 0.1–500 Hz were compared with the corresponding experimental data to demonstrate model validity over the wide range of inputs. Very good agreements were observed between the model results and the measured data, irrespective of the type and frequency of excitation.
Environmentally Enhanced Crack Growth in Soda-Lime Glass

Crack growth data are presented for soda-lime glass in various chemical environments. It is shown that the same environments which govern crack growth rates in vitreous silica also do so in soda-lime glass. The slopes and positions of the crack growth curves in soda-lime glass are shown to differ from those in vitreous silica. It is hypothesized that the differences between the behavior of soda-lime glass and silica result from the effects of the modifier ions, Na+ and Ca2+, on the reactivity of the Si-O bond or through changes in the elastic properties of the bridging network. It is shown that sodium ion exchange and silica dissolution may also be important to crack growth, particularly at low crack velocities.
Environmental Influences on Children's Fantasy

A new scale, the Environmental Support for Fantasy Scale (ESFS) was developed to assess factors within the home environment which correlate with measures of children's fantasy. The sample consisted of forty preschool children and their parents. Three scales were derived from the ESFS; a measure of parental attitude, parental control, and environmental fantasy stimulation. A significant first root canonical correlation was found between the three scales of the ESFS and three measures of children's imagination. Parents who provided a role model, were supportive of their children's fantasies, exerted less control over their children's time and activities, and used learning approaches to discipline had children who were more frequent and fanciful fantasizers.
Optimal homeostasis necessitates bistable control

Bistability is a fundamental phenomenon in nature. In biology, a number of fine properties of bistability have been identified. However, these properties are only consequences of bistability at the physiological level, which do not explain why it had to emerge during evolution. Using optimal homeostasis as the first principle, I find that bistability emerges as an indispensable control mechanism. It is the only solution to a dilemma in glucose homeostasis: high insulin efficiency is required to confer rapidness in plasma glucose clearance, whereas an insulin sparing state is required to guarantee the brain's safety during fasting. The optimality consideration renders a clear correspondence between the molecular and physiological levels. This new perspective can illuminate studies on the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes and the corresponding intervening strategies. For example, overnutrition and sedentary lifestyle may represent sudden environmental changes that cause the lose of optimality, which may contribute to the marked rise of obesity and diabetes in our generation. Because this bistability result is independent of the parameters of the mathematical model (for which the result is quite general), some other biological systems may also use bistability to control homeostasis.
Reproducible Method for Induction of Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis in Mice

Intranasal instillation of an inoculum has been suggested as a method for establishment of experimental pulmonary infections. Because we encountered untoward variation in rates and times of death with use of this method for inducing coccidioidomycosis in mice, a simple method for direct intratracheal infection was devised. With doses of 50 or 100 arthrospores of Coccidioides immitis, mortality rates were 80%-90% from 14 to 25 days after infection by the intratracheal route and 20%-60% from 12 to 24 days after infection by the intranasal route. The procedure for intratracheal infection caused only slight morbidity, and the method resulted in consistent rates of disease.
Egyptian and American University Students' Attitudes toward Parents and Family

Abstract Egyptian and American university students' attitudes toward parents and family were assessed by the semantic differential technique. Both groups expressed favorable attitudes toward their parents and viewed their families as rather happy. Egyptians reported their parents to be relatively more patient, more relaxed, but somewhat more serious than did the Americans. The stereotypical negative portrayal of the Egyptian father as restrictive and authoritarian was not supported.
Connectionism and the fate of folk psychology: A reply to Ramsey, Stich and Garon

Abstract Ramsey, Stick and Garon (1991) argue that if the correct theory of mind is some parallel distributed processing theory, then folk psychology must be false. Their idea is that if the nodes and connections that encode one representation are causally active then all representations encoded by the same set of nodes and connections are also causally active. We present a clear, and concrete, counterexample to RSG's argument. In conclusion, we suggest that folk psychology and connectionism are best understood as complementary theories. Each has different limitations, yet each will co‐evolve with the other in an overlapping domain of ‘normal’ psychology.
Human monocyte-derived growth factor(s) for mesenchymal cells: Activation of secretion by endotoxin and concanavalin A

Cultured peritoneal macrophages have previously been shown to release a potent mitogen for mesenchymal cells. Peritoneal macrophages are derived from peripheral blood monocytes, one of the principal inflammatory cells associated with numerous tissue responses to injury. Cultured human monocytes can be activated by endotoxin or concanavalin A to secrete a potent growth factor(s) that is active on human smooth muscle cells, human fibroblasts and 3T3 cells. The optimal conditions for activation of monocyte release of this monocyte derived growth factor(s) MDGF) were to expose 5-day-old monocyte cultures (initially plated at 6.8 X 10(5) cells/ml medium) to 10 microgram/ml endotoxin or 6 microgram/ml concanavalin A for approximately 20 hr. Monocytes can secrete MDGF into serum-free medium supplemented with 0.15% bovine serum albumin, MDGF stimulates both DNA synthesis and increase in cell number and is trypsin-sensitive, heat labile and nondialyzable. The relationship of MDGF to other monocyte products and its potential importance in wound repair and atherogenesis are discussed.
Going Nowhere: Nagel on Normative Objectivity

In The View from Nowhere , Thomas Nagel develops a theory of practical reasoning which attempts to give the personal, or subjective, point of view its due2 while still insisting on the objectivity of ethics. On the objective side, Nagel affirms that there are truths about values and reasons for action which are independent of the ways in which reasons and values appear to us, independent of our own particular beliefs and inclinations (p. 144). The objective foundation for these truths consists in a certain distinctive process of understanding. Objective understanding is explicated in terms of an objective standpoint, a standpoint defined as impersonal, that is, as detached from the subjective point of view. The objective standpoint is structured by a conception ‘of the world as centerless—as containing ourselves and other beings with particular points of view’ (p. 140). As with scientific reasoning, ‘we begin from our position inside the world and try to transcend it by regarding what we find here as a sample of the whole’ (p. 141).
Closed-loop belief space planning for linear, Gaussian systems

This paper considers the problem of motion planning for linear, Gaussian systems, and extends existing chance constrained optimal control solutions [1], [2] by incorporating the closed-loop uncertainty of the system and by reducing the conservativeness in the constraints. Due to the imperfect knowledge of the system state caused by motion uncertainty and sensor noise, the constraints cannot be guaranteed to be satisfied and consequently must be considered probabilistically. In this work, they are formulated as convex constraints on a univariate Gaussian random variable, with the violation probability of all the constraints guaranteed to be below a threshold. This threshold is a tuning parameter which trades off the performance of the system and the conservativeness of the solution. In contrast to similar methods, the proposed work considers the specific estimator and controller used in the closed-loop system in order to directly characterize the a priori distribution of the closed-loop system state. Using this distribution, a convex optimization program is formulated to solve for the optimal solution for the closed-loop system. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated through several examples.
Dynamic modeling and control of yeast cell populations in continuous biochemical reactors

Biochemical reactors are essential unit operations in a wide variety of biotechnological processes. As compared to conventional chemical reactors, bioreactors present unique modeling and control challenges due to the complexity of the underlying biochemical reactions and the heterogenous nature of cell populations. The dynamic behavior of bioreactors can be strongly affected by variations between individual cells that are captured only with cell population models. This paper is intended to highlight our recent work on dynamic modeling and feedback control of yeast cell populations in continuous bioreactors. The results presented demonstrate the feasibility of using cell population models as the basis for dynamic analysis and model-based control of continuous yeast bioreactors. The paper concludes with a short discussion of future research needs in this challenging area.
Coupling of external to cellular respiration during exercise: the wisdom of the body revisited

The changes in cellular respiration needed to increase energy output during exercise are intimately and predictably linked to external respiration through the circulation. This review addresses the mechanisms by which lactate accumulation might influence O2 uptake (VO2) and CO2 output (VCO2) kinetics. Respiratory homeostasis (a steady state with respect to VO2 and VCO2) is achieved by 3-4 min for work rates not associated with an increase in arterial lactate. When blood lactate increases significantly above rest for constant work rate exercise, VO2 characteristically increases past 3 min (slow component) at a rate proportional to the lactate concentration increase. The development of a similar slow component in VCO2 is not evident. The divergence of VCO2 from VO2 increase can be accounted for by extra CO2 release from the cell as HCO3- buffers lactic acid. Thus the slow component of aerobic CO2 production (parallel to VO2) is masked by the increase in buffer VCO2. This CO2, and the consumption of extracellular HCO3- by the lactate-producing cells, shifts the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve rightward (Bohr effect). The exercise lactic acidosis has been observed to occur after the minimal capillary PO2 is reached. Thus the lactic acidosis serves to facilitate oxyhemoglobin dissociation and O2 transport to the muscle cells without a further decrease in end-capillary PO2. From these observations, it is hypothesized that simultaneously measured dynamic changes in VO2 and VCO2 might be useful to infer the aerobic and anaerobic contributions to exercise bioenergetics for a specific work task.
Tree mortality after synchronized forest insect outbreaks: Effects of tree species, bole diameter, and cutting history

A recent series of bark beetle outbreaks in the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. is the largest and most intense ever recorded. Factors contributing to tree mortality from bark beetles are complex, but include aspects of forest stand condition. Because stand conditions respond to forest management, evaluating bark beetle-caused tree mortality and changes in forest structural attributes in areas previously subjected to management not only improves mechanistic understanding of beetle-caused changes in forests, but also improves prediction of future bark beetle responses to management regimes. We retrospectively assessed mortality of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), and stand structure in two watersheds in south-central Wyoming, U.S.A. following outbreaks of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis), and western balsam beetle (Dryocoetes confusus). One watershed received 240 patch cuts (mean area 1.5 ha), a type of group selection cut, six years before the beetle outbreaks began; the other watershed received no active management (control). We conducted surveys of forest vegetation attributes over 27 yrs, during pre-harvest, post-harvest, and post-outbreak periods. After the outbreak, lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce mortality increased with increasing bole diameters and basal area of each species, but patterns of mortality were influenced by patch-cutting. Large-diameter trees in or near patch cuts tended to escape attack by bark beetles. Away from patch cuts (P15 m), mortality of smaller lodgepole pine was higher compared to the control watershed. Based on our observed patterns of tree mortality, we hypothesize a changing pattern of host selection (i.e., selection for smaller trees) was influenced by stand conditions that created more suitable conditions for bark beetles in areas between patch cuts in the treated watershed. Snag density increased from pre-harvest to post-outbreak periods, but log density was similar, suggesting most dead trees remained standing at the time of data collection. Canopy cover did not decrease as expected, and ground cover did not change substantially from pre-harvest to post-outbreak periods. Patch-cutting improved survival probability of large-diameter lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce during outbreaks of multiple species of bark beetle, although reduced losses were only realized for trees in or near (615 m) patch cuts. However, during intense, broad-scale tree mortality events, these benefits may be important in reducing the loss of mature trees to bark beetles and promoting retention of a larger cohort of mature trees post-outbreak.
Regulation of polyphenic caste differentiation in the termite Reticulitermes flavipes by interaction of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

SUMMARY Polyphenism is a key strategy used by solitary insects to adapt to changing environmental conditions and by eusocial insects for existing collaboratively in a social environment. In social insects, the morphogenetic juvenile hormone (JH) is often involved in directing the differentiation of polyphenic behavioral castes. The present study examines the effects of JH, environment and feeding on caste polyphenism in a eusocial insect, the termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). Our approach included a combination of model JH bioassays, SDS-PAGE and western blotting. Our findings revealed significant temperature-dependent effects on (1) JH-induced soldier caste differentiation, (2) abundance of soldier-inhibitory hexamerin proteins and (3) JH-sequestration by hexamerin proteins. Additionally, although it appears to be dependent on a complex interaction of factors, feeding apparently plays a significant upstream role in enhancing hexamerin accumulation under normal colony conditions. These findings offer important new information on termite eusocial polyphenism by providing the first mechanistic evidence linking an intrinsic caste regulatory factor (hexamerin proteins) to an upstream extrinsic factor (environment) and a downstream response (caste differentiation). These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the hexamerins serve as an environmentally and nutritionally responsive switching mechanism that regulates termite caste polyphenism.
Hypertensive Heart Disease

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and diastolic dysfunction (CHF-D) are the early manifestations of cardiovascular target organ damage in patients with arterial hypertension and signify hypertensive heart disease. Identification of hypertensive heart disease is critical, as these individuals are more prone to congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. Regression of left ventricular (LV) mass with antihypertensive therapy decreases the risk of future cardiovascular events. The goal of antihypertensive therapy is to both lower blood pressure (BP) and interrupt BP-independent pathophysiologic processes that promote LVH and CHF-D. The purpose of this review is to summarize current and emerging approaches to the pathophysiology and treatment of hypertensive heart disease.
A Scalable Method for Access Control in Location-Based Broadcast Services

One important problem for public broadcast Location-Based Services (LBS) is to enforce access control on a large number of subscribers. In such a system a user typically subscribes to a LBS for a time interval (a, b) and a spatial region (xbl, ybl, xir, ytr) according to a 3-dimensional spatial-temporal authorization model. In this paper, we argue that current approaches to access control using group key management protocols are not scalable. Our proposal STauth minimizes the number of keys which needs to be distributed and is thus scalable to a much higher number of subscribers and the dimensionality of the authorization model. We analytically and experimentally demonstrate the performance and scalability benefits of our approach against other group key management protocols.
Laplacian Dynamics on General Graphs

In previous work, we have introduced a “linear framework” for time-scale separation in biochemical systems, which is based on a labelled, directed graph, G, and an associated linear differential equation, \(dx/dt = \mathcal{L}(G)\cdot x\), where \(\mathcal{L}(G)\) is the Laplacian matrix of G. Biochemical nonlinearity is encoded in the graph labels. Many central results in molecular biology can be systematically derived within this framework, including those for enzyme kinetics, allosteric proteins, G-protein coupled receptors, ion channels, gene regulation at thermodynamic equilibrium, and protein post-translational modification. In the present paper, in response to new applications, which accommodate nonequilibrium mechanisms in eukaryotic gene regulation, we lay out the mathematical foundations of the framework. We show that, for any graph and any initial condition, the dynamics always reaches a steady state, which can be algorithmically calculated. If the graph is not strongly connected, which may occur in gene regulation, we show that the dynamics can exhibit flexible behavior that resembles multistability. We further reveal an unexpected equivalence between deterministic Laplacian dynamics and the master equations of continuous-time Markov processes, which allows rigorous treatment within the framework of stochastic, single-molecule mechanisms.
Directional Validation of Wave Predictions

Abstract A methodology for quantitative, directional validation of a long-term wave model hindcast is described and applied. Buoy observations are used as ground truth and the method does not require the application of a parametric model or data-adaptive method to the observations. Four frequency ranges, relative to the peak frequency, are considered. The validation of the hindcast does not suggest any systematic bias in predictions of directional spreading at or above the spectral peak. Idealized simulations are presented to aid in the interpretation of results.
An improved superconvergence error estimate for the LDG method

In this manuscript we present an error analysis for the local discontinuous Galerkin method for a model elliptic problem on Cartesian meshes when polynomials of degree at most k and an appropriate approximation of the boundary condition are used. This special approximation allows us to achieve k + 1 order of convergence for both the potential and its gradient in the L 2 norm. Here we improve on existing estimates for the solution gradient by a factor h .
Biochemistry of the Central Nervous System and Behavior

It was Hippocrates and his school who challenged the Aristotelian notion that the heart was the seat of emotions and thought, while the major function of the brain was to purify the blood. In a penetrating and poetic passage, the Hippocratic physicians defined the brain as the organ of behavior and reason, a doctrine which has persisted ever since: And men should know that from nothing else but from the brain come joys, delights, laughter and jests, and sorrows, griefs, despondency and lamentations. And by this, in an especial manner, we acquire wisdom and knowledge, and see and hear and know what are foul and what are fair, what sweet and what unsavory.... And by the same organ we become mad and delirious and fears and terrors assail us, some by night and some by day, and dreams and untimely wanderings and cares that are not suitable and ignorance of present circumstances, desuetude and unskillfulness. All these things we endure from the brain, when it is not healthy, but is more hot, more cold, more moist, or more dry than natural, or when it suffers any other preternatural and unusual affliction.
High voltage SOI stacked switch with varying periphery FETs

The breakdown voltage of a FET stack is limited by the unequally divided voltage drop among the stacked FETs. A novel stack composed of varying periphery FETs is proposed. Uniform voltage distribution, and thus much higher breakdown voltage, can be achieved by carefully designing the periphery of each FET. A FET stack with varying periphery was designed and fabricated. Significant improvement in breakdown voltage was experimentally confirmed. Unlike the approach of inserting feed-forward capacitance, the breakdown voltage increase is achieved without isolation degradation.
Turning failure into success: not always when it comes to the rotator cuff: Commentary on articles by Surena Namdari, MD, MSc, et al., "Factors affecting outcome after structural failure of repaired rotator cuff tears," and H. Mike Kim, MD, et al., "Factors affecting satisfaction and shoulder function in patients with a recurrent rotator cuff tear".

To heal or not to heal, is it really that important? That is the question that we often ask ourselves and struggle with when surgically treating patients with a rotator cuff tear. The answer to this question is at the base of many surgical and nonsurgical decisions made in the treatment of these tears. Our decision to utilize a particular surgical repair construct is based on our belief regarding whether anatomic healing of a rotator cuff repair affects postoperative clinical outcomes. Despite our surgical fascination with healing, most studies have failed to show that anatomic healing makes an important difference with regard to outcomes—possibly it does with regard to strength and motion, but not with regard to self-assessed patient functional outcomes1. Also, the authors of several studies have reported the durability of functional improvement despite healing failure over a long duration of follow-up2,3. Despite such data, …
Partial Inhibition of Hypoxia-lnduced Erythropoietin Production by Cholinergic Blockade in the Dog

SummaryAnesthetized dogs exposed to hypoxic hypoxia showed elevated plasma erythropoietic activity by 6 hr. This activity was significantly decreased by atropine pre-treatment. Methylatropine, a peripheral-acting analog of atropine, was equally effective in reducing the erythropoietic response. Neither atropine nor methylatropine, at the doses employed, appeared to exert their effect through blockade at the autonomic ganglia. These studies suggest that the erythropoietic response to short-term hypoxia in the dog involves a peripheral, cholinergic-ally mediated event, perhaps within the kidney itself.We are very grateful to Mr. Rene Stiaes and Mr. Jesse Brookins for their excellent technical assistance.
Sphincter of Oddi Manometry: Reproducibility of Measurements and Effect of Sphincterotomy in the EPISOD Study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The reproducibility of sphincter of Oddi manometry (SOM) measurements and results of SOM after sphincterotomy has not been studied sufficiently. The aim of our study is to evaluate the reproducibility of SOM and completeness of sphincter ablation. METHODS The recently published Evaluating Predictors and Interventions in sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (EPISOD) study included 214 subjects with post-cholecystectomy pain, and fit the criteria of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction type III. They were randomized into 3 arms, irrespective of manometric findings: sham (no sphincterotomy), biliary sphincterotomy, and dual (biliary and pancreatic). Thirty-eight subjects had both biliary and pancreatic manometries performed twice, at baseline and at repeat endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography after 1-11 months. Sham arm was examined to assess the reproducibility of manometry, and the treatment arms to assess whether the sphincterotomies were complete (elevated pressures were normalized). RESULTS Biliary and pancreatic measurements were reproduced in 7/14 (50%) untreated subjects. All 12 patients with initially elevated biliary pressures in biliary and dual sphincterotomy groups normalized after biliary sphincterotomy. However, 2 of 8 subjects with elevated pancreatic pressures in the dual sphincterotomy group remained abnormal after pancreatic sphincterotomy. Paradoxically, normal biliary pressures became abnormal in 1 of 15 subjects after biliary sphincterotomy, and normal pancreatic pressures became abnormal in 5 of 15 patients after biliary sphincterotomy, and in 1 of 9 after pancreatic sphincterotomy. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that SOM measurements are poorly reproducible, and question whether we could adequately perform pancreatic sphincterotomy.
The effects of partial carpal fusions on wrist range of motion

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of different partial wrist fusions on wrist motion. A total of 20 cadaveric wrists were tested in the intact state and after undergoing either a four-corner fusion or 2- and 3-bone fusion. The moment-rotation behaviour was measured in 24 directions of wrist motion about the forearm axis. The 2- and 3-bone fusion groups demonstrated increased radial deviation and pure flexion. Pure flexion was decreased in the four-corner fusion group. Radial extension and pure extension were decreased in all treatments compared with normal range of motion. Increasing the number of carpal bones within the fusion construct did not alter the functional axis of the wrist. Essentially equivalent motion is possible with 2-bone, 3-bone and four-corner fusions, with the exceptions of pure flexion and radial deviation. This data may influence surgeons when choosing between treatment methods.Level of evidence: N/A
Salivary Gland Involvement in Systemic Diseases

The salivary glands participate in systemic illnesses because they are secretory structures allied with the gastrointestinal tract. Thus they are involved in systemic inflammatory, allergic, and neoplastic conditions. Perhaps the most common condition is that of mumps in the acute phase. Of the chronic diseases, Mikulicz's disease or Sjogren's syndrome is most frequently noted. In most instances of systemic involvement, the salivary gland enlargement is the rule, with the gland being tense, soft, and enlarged, and with progressive growth over a period of time. Usually all glands are involved. The diagnosis should be suspected from the history and the physical examination, noting that all the glands are equally involved by the enlargement. If there is any question, a biopsy should be performed. In the case of Sjogren's syndrome, the biopsy specimen may be taken either from a major salivary gland or from one of the minor ones, or the nasal mucous membrane or oral cavity. In general, definitive therapy is unsuccessful for the systemic illness involving the salivary glands, and in most instances has to be supportive.
Cumulative effects of body size and social experience on aggressive behaviour in a subsocial bee

Dominance hierarchies represent some of nature’s most rudimentary social structures, and aggression is key to their establishment in many animal species. Previous studies have focused on the relative influences of prior experience and physiological traits of individuals in determining social rank through aggression. Here we examine the behavioural potential for dominance hierarchy formation in the subsocial small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata . Both physiological traits and social experience were found to play partial roles in predicting future interactive behaviour in this species. Our results suggest that individual size is associated with dominance in initial encounters, while prior experience plays a larger role in predicting dominance in subsequent encounters. Social systems in the early stages of social evolution may well have followed these same predictive factors and these factors are key targets for future studies of social evolution and the behavioural origins of dominance hierarchies.
Reframing Migrant Smuggling as a Form of Knowledge: A View from the US-Mexico Border

While empirical research on human smuggling worldwide is scant, there is a vast, well defined narrative pertaining to irregular migration: its facilitation as controlled by heinous transnational networks of exploitative traffickers who operating in the dark corners of the migrant universe take advantage of infantile migrants and asylum seekers, traffic virginal women, allow for the smuggling of drugs and weapons, and do not think twice about leaving their human cargo stranded in desolate deserts or deadly oceans. Over the last decade this rhetoric has been challenged by the scholarship of brokerage and precarity, and by attempts by social scientists to articulate new theoretical approaches to labor that incorporate illegitimized forms of work among marginalized populations in late modernity within its definition. Despite these critical efforts, scholarship on the facilitation of irregular migration has reached an impasse. Emphasis on providing data over migration routes, costs, distances, and an over-emphasis on narrating the most tragic journeys as a way to generate awareness on the experiences of migrants and asylum seekers, provide a narrow counter-narrative to the visually powerful rhetoric of smuggling as criminal, in fact often reinscribing perceptions of migrants as prone to violence and crime. How can the field of irregular migration facilitation articulate new visions that foreground critical analysis of its own concepts, while identifying new research and analysis paths? In this essay I return to the field to revisit and reconsider with the help of migrants who were successful in crossing the border extra-legally the very notion of smuggling. Through their testimonies, border crossings emerge as grounded on notions not of profit or risk alone, but instead, as connected to people’s survival strategies under new forms of globalization, where human security, solidarity, friendship, love and humor emerge as the organizing principles of migratory journeys.
Redefining the child pedestrian safety paradigm: identifying high fatality concentrations in urban areas

Objectives Child pedestrians are some of the most vulnerable users of our transportation systems, and they deserve particular attention when we consider traffic safety. The objective of this work is to identify urban locations in which child pedestrians are at particular risk for fatal collisions with vehicles. Methods This paper examines 30 years of crash data for six American cities to locate areas with high child pedestrian fatality concentrations. Phase I of the study, which examines Denver, Colorado, USA, reveals higher concentrations of child pedestrian fatalities around parks as compared with other areas that children have been shown to frequent. In phase II of the study, we specifically examine fatality concentrations near parks as compared with schools. Results Statistical analyses suggest that, once exposure is controlled for, child pedestrian fatalities concentrate around parks in densities 1.04–2.23 times higher than around schools. Also, the concentration of child pedestrian fatalities around parks is 1.16–1.81 times higher than the respective citywide concentration. Conclusion Traffic risks for children around parks deserve further examination as we pursue the goals of Vision Zero and child safety on our streets.
Developing a Taxonomy for the Key Principles of Design and Education for Sustainability

Abstract Design for sustainability as an independent field of study is both multidisciplinary and cross-cutting. It encompasses engineering, the natural sciences, economics, finance, political science, the social sciences and the humanities. It concerns governments, corporations and consumers. Although these are not normally considered design topics, the effects of manufactured products and energy usage on society and the environment are increasingly impacting process design choices. Because of the numerous groups and constituencies involved, sustainability is a difficult concept to define. However, from a design perspective, professional competency in sustainability is becoming an important prerequisite for the production of economically viable products. Therefore, a comprehensive taxonomy of sustainable engineering and design is needed so that all those involved in this diverse field are fluent in the same concepts, even if their definitions of what sustainability means are different. This contribution will propose an outline for a sustainability taxonomy, including the key concepts that define professional competency in design and engineering for sustainability.
Effect of Planned Teaching Programme on Knowledge of Immediate Care of Low Birth Weight Babies among Staff Nurses working in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in selected Hospitals of an Urban Area

A baby born with a birth weight of less than 2500 grams is termed as low birth weight baby. In India, 2 out of 10 term babies are born with low birth weight. The prevalence of low birth weight exists universally in all population. Low birth weight with high mortality and morbidity continuous to be a major health problem in India. Half of the prenatal and one third of the infant mortality is due to low birth weight. Low birth weight is also an important indirect cause of neonatal deaths. It contributes to 60% to 80% of all neonatal deaths. The global prevalence of LBW is 15.5%, which amounts to about 20 million LBW infants born each year, 96.5% of them in developing countries.
Trust and Community Engagement in Digital Civics: Exploring Opportunities for Design

The work of community engagement performed by public officials in local government provides valuable opportunities for city residents to participate in governance. Technology stands to play an increasingly important role in mediating community engagement; however, currently the practices and relationships that constitute community engagement are understudied in HCI. Of particular importance is the role trust - either establishing trust, or more frequently, overcoming distrust between public officials and city residents. To address this challenge, my research seeks to understand how trust could inform the design of technology to support the work of community engagement performed by public officials in local government. My research will culminate in a design framework that will inform development of technology for community engagement using trust.
Biochemical Actions of Neuroleptic Drugs: Focus on the Dopamine Receptor

Who cares how antipsychotic drugs act? What difference does it make whether the clinical effects of neuroleptics derive from one or another biochemical influence? Such questions are rarely asked by pharmacologists because they have taken as their vocation the study of how all drugs act. If it is a drug, the most sacred obligation of the pharmacologist is to find out how it does whatever it does. However, for drugs such as the neuroleptics, which have been the subject of massive amounts of biochemical investigation, one must seriously ask how one can justify such an expenditure of intellectual and financial resources. The obvious answer is that these are the drugs which alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia, so that if we know how they act, we would know something about the aberrations which account for schizophrenic symptoms. Such an assertion involves certain assumptions. The most crucial assumption is that the drugs are in fact antischizophrenic. One can readily conceive of a drug that would make life more livable for schizophrenics and for the staff of mental hospitals without doing anything fundamental to the schizophrenic process. For many years sedatives, straitjackets, and wet sheets have “eased” the predicaments of schizophrenics and their keepers, but few people would argue that these treatments did anything fundamental to schizophrenic mechanisms.
Retinal Origins of the Primate Multifocal ERG: Implications for the Human Response

Purpose To better understand the cellular contributions to the human multifocal ERG (mfERG), rhesus monkey and human mfERGs were recorded using the same stimulus conditions. The monkey mfERGs were recorded before and after injections of pharmacologic agents known to selectively block activity of particular cells and circuits in the retina. Methods Photopic mfERGs were recorded with Dawson-Trick-Litzkow (DTL) fiber electrodes from 16 eyes of 10 anesthetized adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and from 4 normal humans. The display consisted of 103 equal-sized hexagons within 17 degrees of the fovea. Monkey mfERGs were obtained before and after inner retinal responses were suppressed with intravitreal injections of tetrodotoxin (TTX), TTX+N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA), TTX+NMDA with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA(A&C)) antagonist picrotoxin (PTX), or the inhibitory amino acid GABA and after L-2 amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (APB) to block signal transmission to ON-bipolar cells. Finally, a combination of APB and cis-2,3 piperidine dicarboxylic acid (PDA) was used to isolate the contributions from the cone photoreceptors. Results TTX, which blocks sodium-based action potentials, removes a large contribution from the monkey's mfERG, but it does not remove all inner retinal influences. After administration of TTX, the mfERG is further modified by the addition of NMDA. TTX+NMDA, TTX+NMDA+PTX, or GABA alone have similar effects, suggesting that, at the concentrations used, they are largely removing the inner retinal contributions. After removing the inner retinal influences, the monkey's mfERG is mainly composed of ON- and OFF-bipolar contributions, as revealed after APB and PDA were injected. The leading edge of the first negative potential (N1) is largely shaped by the initial hyperpolarization of the OFF-bipolar cells. The photoreceptors also contribute to the leading edge of N1, but this contribution is small, except in the central 6 degrees. The depolarization of the ON-bipolars and the recovery of the OFF-bipolars contribute to the leading edge of the major positive component (P1), with the recovery of the ON-bipolars being the dominant influence on the trailing edge. The waveform of the human mfERG most closely resembles the rhesus monkey's mfERG after administration of TTX. Conclusions The monkey's mfERG is shaped by large contributions from ON- and OFF-bipolar cells, combined with both spiking and nonspiking inner retinal contributions, and a small contribution from the photoreceptors. In comparison, the human mfERG resembles the monkey's mfERG after reduction of inner retinal contributions. Based on the pharmacologic dissection of the monkey's mfERG, a model of the waveform of the human mfERG is proposed. This model suggests that the waveform can be understood as a combination of overlapping ON- and OFF-bipolar cell contributions combined with smaller contributions from inner retina and photoreceptors.
Sulfonyl Fluorides as Possible Therapeutic Agents in Alzheimer’s Disease: Structure/Activity Relationships as CNS Selective Cholinesterase Inhibitors

Senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (SDAT) is a disease that produces gross pathological changes in the brain. However, it has also been recently associated with specific changes in neurotransmitters such as somatostatin (Davies, Katzman and Terry, 1980; Rossor et al., 1980; Rogers and Morrison, 1984), amino acids (Arai, Kobayashi, Ichimiya, Kosaka and Iizuka, 1984) and acetylcholine (Davies and Maloney, 1976; Whitehouse et al., 1982). Although SDAT is not a disorder of a single neurotransmitter, deterioration of cholinergic function in the CNS appears to be correlated with dementia. For example, loss of the cholinergic system related to the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM) is associated with dementia in other disorders including Parkinson’s disease (Nakano and Hirano, 1984), parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam, and boxer’s dementia (Nakano and Hirano, 1983). It is the apparent association between deterioration of the cholinergic system and dementia that is the basis for the cholinergic strategies for treating SDAT (e.g., Davies, 1981; Bartus, Dean, Beer and Lippa, 1982). In fact, physostigmine, a cholinesterase2 inhibitor that acts within the CNS as well as peripherally, has been reported to produce clinical improvement in tests with SDAT patients (e.g., Davis and Mohs, 1982; Brinkman and Gershon, 1983). This limited success has led to interest in developing a system for delivering cholinergic drugs directly into the CNS (Harbaugh, Roberts, Coombs, Saunders and Reeder, 1984) as well as the development of new long-lasting carbamate cholinesterase inhibitors that may have improved efficacy (Weinstock, Razin and Chorev, this volume).
Ecology, Reproduction, and Classification of the Haptophyte Alga Apistonema From Kansas

Our study of Apistonema pyrenigerum Pascher, a member of the haptophyte algal order Prymnesiales, collected from the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Stafford County, Kansas, includes data on its ecology, reproduction, and updated classification. Its habitat was saline and in laboratory cultures its growth indicated its ability to grow in a wide range of salinities, 6–85%. Previous reports for the alga are from Europe: Austria, Britain, Czech Republic, France, and Italy. Each cell possesses two parietal chloroplasts, although sometimes a single one is present. Each chloroplast contains a pyrenoid. The remainder of the cell consists of a large chrysolaminarin (leucosin) droplet and numerous small droplets. Zoospores are triflagellate, suggesting taxonomic placement in the family Prymnesiaceae.
Floor-and-Trade Markets under Uncertainty: The Case of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs)

Renewable Identification Number (RIN) is a floor-and-trade mechanism to enforce renewable energy standards in the US transportation fuels market. Motivated by several real-world cases of gasoline producers' bankruptcy or financial stress caused by volatile RINs prices, we offer a dynamic stochastic optimization framework to determine the price behavior of RIN certificates and their connections to firms' operational decisions. One key novel aspect of our work is that we explicitly identify and model the embedded option value of RINs under various scenarios. We derive some closed-form solutions for the price dynamics of RINs, and also propose accurate numerical methods for when the closed-form solution is not available. Among other results, we show that the price of RINs has a U-shape relationship with the volatility of ethanol and gasoline prices and a negative relationship with the correlation between the two price processes. We compare the empirical performance of the model with real historical data, and find that our model allows a significant improvement over existing pricing models. We also discuss the interaction of operational features and constraints of blenders and the market price of RINs. We show how the analytic framework can be used to better inform operational decisions of firms active in markets with a floor-and-trade permit mechanism.
Generation and Cross-Coupling of Organozinc Reagents in Flow

A versatile flow synthesis method for in situ formation of organozinc reagents and subsequent cross-coupling with aryl halides and activated carboxylic acids is reported. Formation of organozinc reagents is achieved by pumping organic halides, in the presence of ZnCl2 and LiCl, through an activated Mg-packed column under flow conditions. This method provides efficient in situ formation of aryl, primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl organozinc reagents, which are subsequently telescoped downstream to a Negishi or decarboxylative Negishi cross-coupling reaction. The described method offers access to a variety of C–C bond formations with organozinc reagents that are otherwise commercially unavailable or difficult to prepare under traditional batch reaction conditions.
Electrical therapy for heart failure: evolving indications and choices.

Presented at the Texas Heart Institute's Sixth Symposium on Cardiac Arrhythmias: New Pharmacologic and Interventional Strategies; held at the Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa; 19 February 2005; Houston. E-mail: gro.fcc@bfokliW
Robotic assisted-bronchoscopy: technical tips and lessons learned from the initial experience with sampling peripheral lung lesions

Peripheral pulmonary nodules are increasingly detected in patients screened for lung cancer or during disease progression of thoracic or extrathoracic malignancies. Sampling these lesions requires surgery, computed tomography (CT)-guided biopsy or bronchoscopic interventions. Bronchoscopic interventions are preferable because they have lower complications and often patients may not be ideal candidates for surgical or CT-guided biopsy. In addition, guidelines recommend diagnosis and staging in one single procedure. The diagnostic yield of existing advanced bronchoscopic techniques including electromagnetic navigation, radial probe ultrasonography, ultrathin bronchoscopy or virtual bronchoscopy remains suboptimal. The purpose of this paper is to codify the technique whereby a diagnostic bronchoscopy is performed using the new robotic platform. In the present report, I describe the technique for performing robotic-assisted bronchoscopy (RAB) using the Monarch™ platform (Auris Health, Inc., Redwood City, CA). Appropriate team training, patient selection, anesthesia settings, optimal tissue acquisition and processing, and prevention of complications are described and illustrated. RAB may be beneficial for patients with peripheral lung lesions that require biopsy prior to surgical resection, stereotactic radiation, targeted or immunotherapy.