cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atomic force microscopy captures length phenotypes in single proteins

We use single-protein atomic force microscopy techniques to detect length phenotypes in an Ig module. To gain amino acid resolution, we amplify the mechanical features of a single module by engineering polyproteins composed of up to 12 identical repeats. We show that on mechanical unfolding, mutant polyproteins containing five extra glycine residues added to the folded core of the module extend 20 A per module farther than the wild-type polyproteins. By contrast, similar insertions near the N or C termini have no effect. Hence, our atomic force microscopy measurements readily discriminate the location of the insert and measure its size with a resolution similar to that of NMR and x-ray crystallography.
Result of a low-cost follow-up study of discharged alcoholics.

This paper describes a simple procedure for determining which variables in treatment programs are related to treatment outcome.
Questioning Canadian Criminal Incidence Rates: A Re-analysis of the 2004 Canadian Victimization Survey

This article re-analyses official 2004 criminal incidence rates in Canada. Currently, official incidence rates are calculated using a technique known as capping, meaning that any respondent can represent a maximum of three incidents per crime type, regardless of how many incidents the individual reports. Given that research on other victimization surveys has cast doubt on the practice of capping, this research assesses the effects of capping in the Canadian Victimization Survey. Findings illustrate that there is significant cause to question the way in which official incidence rates are calculated. Specifically, this research shows that violent crime increases by 87% and household crime increases by 36% when all reported incidents are included. This pattern not only underscores the importance of understanding how incidence rates are produced but also suggests that capping may ignore genuine incidents because individuals who are victims of violent crimes are the most likely to be repeatedly victimized. The...
GERT network analysis of complex production systems

SUMMARY The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a new technique useful in modelling complex production systems—GERT network analysis. The primary contribution of this paper is to describe how complex production systems with queueing characteristics can be analysed using network techniques. Using this approach, a wide class of production systems can be easily represented in graphical form and analysed using a FORTRAN based simulation programme hereafter known as GERTS III-Q. Each production model is constructed by drawing a queueing network composed of directed branches and logical nodes, and the analysis phase is implemented through the use of GERTS III-Q. The input to the programme iB a description of the network in terms of its nodes and branches, along with control information for setting up the simulation conditions. The objective of GERTS III-Q is to provide an easily under-stood, rapid access analysis tool useful in studying large complex production networks which possess queueing characteristics.
Unified treatment of electron-ion recombination in the close-coupling approximation

A unified treatment for electron-ion recombination has been developed and applied to detailed calculations for cross sections and total recombination rate coefficients for a number of atoms and ions. The ab initio calculations are carried out in the close-coupling approximation employing the R-matrix method for the bound and the continuum states of the electron-ion system. All final states of the recombined system are taken into account and the present method subsumes both the radiative and the dielectronic recombination (RR and DR) processes over all energy and temperature ranges of practical importance. Recombined states of the electron-ion system are divided into two groups: (a) n\ensuremath{\le}${\mathit{n}}_{0}$ and (b) ${\mathit{n}}_{0}$n\ensuremath{\le}\ensuremath{\infty}. Photoionization cross sections are calculated for all bound states of group (a), typically a few hundred bound states, referred to as low-n states, including a detailed energy resolution of the several infinite series of autoionizing resonances converging onto the various excited states of the core ion included in the close-coupling expansion. High-n states of group (b) are treated primarily through the theory of DR developed by Bell and Seaton [J. Phys. B 18, 1589 (1985)]. DR collision strengths with detailed resonance structures are presented.The detailed and the resonance-averaged DR collision strengths show characteristic peaks at the target thresholds of the core ion corresponding to dipole-allowed transitions. Individual bound states of the e+ion system with dominant contribution to low-energy recombination are described. The present results demonstrate the importance of (i) recombinations to excited states (particularly the metastable states), and (ii) low-energy autoionizing resonances, both of which result in large contributions to effective electron-ion recombination. The individual contributions of the excited bound states of the e+ion system are calculated and their relative contribution to the total are discussed. The general pattern of the recombination rate, as a function of electron temperature, is studied along an isoelectronic sequence. It is found that while the low-energy (temperature) recombination increases with ion charge z, the relative high-energy (temperature) contribution to the total decreases; i.e., viewed as independent processes, the RR part increases while the DR decreases with z. Total recombination rate coefficients for several atoms and ions (C ii, S ii, C ii, N ii, O iii, F iv, Ne v, and Si ix) are obtained over the entire temperature range of possible interest in applications. Comparisons are made with earlier works on RR and DR.
Forecasting U.S. Inflation by Bayesian Model Averaging

Recent empirical work has considered the prediction of inflation by combining the information in a large number of time series. One such method that has been found to give consistently good results consists of simple equal weighted averaging of the forecasts over a large number of different models, each of which is a linear regression model that relates inflation to a single predictor and a lagged dependent variable. In this paper, I consider using Bayesian Model Averaging for pseudo out-of-sample prediction of US inflation, and find that it gives more accurate forecasts than simple equal weighted averaging. This superior performance is consistent across subsamples and inflation measures. Meanwhile, both methods substantially outperform a naive time series benchmark of predicting inflation by an autoregression.
The CDC Clear Communication Index Is a New Evidence-Based Tool to Prepare and Review Health Information

This article presents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Clear Communication Index (the Index), a tool that emphasizes the primary audience's needs and provides a set of evidence-based criteria to develop and assess public communication products for diverse audiences. The Index consists of four open-ended introductory questions and 20 scored items that affect information clarity and audience comprehension, according to the scientific literature. A research team fielded an online survey to test the Index's validity. Respondents answered 10 questions about either an original health material or one redesigned with the Index. For 9 out of 10 questions, the materials revised using the Index were rated higher than the original materials. Regardless of education level, respondents rated the revised materials more favorably than the original ones. The results indicate that the Index performed as intended and made it more likely that audiences could correctly identify the intended main message and understand the words and numbers in the materials. The results also support the widely held view that audiences are more positive about clearly designed materials. The Index shows that an evidence-based scoring rubric can assess and improve the clarity of health materials.
Urban African American Parents’ Messages About Violence:

Family socialization, which includes parental control and support, plays an important role in reducing the likelihood of adolescent involvement in conflict. This study examined the strategies that urban parents living in neighborhoods with high crime rates suggest to help their adolescent children avoid or deescalate conflict. Data come from 48 African American parent/adolescent dyads recruited through the youths' middle school. Dyads responded to three video-taped scenarios depicting youth in potential conflict situations. Qualitative methods were used to identify 11 strategies parents suggested to help youth avoid or deescalate conflict. Although the majority of parents advocated for non-violent solutions, these same parents described situations in which their child may need to use violence. These findings have important implications for family-focused violence prevention programs.
The Effect of Awareness of Measurement Error on Physical Therapists' Confidence in Their Decisions

This study examined whether physical therapists understand the meaning of measurement error and whether information about measurement error affects their decisions. One of four versions of two physical therapy problems was mailed to 500 randomly selected physical therapists. Therapists were asked to define reliability and error of measurement, to estimate the error of measurement of two assessments, and to make decisions about an intervention based on specific measurements. They were also asked to rate their confidence in those decisions. Problems varied on the presence or absence of measurement information and on the difference between an observed measurement and a criterion measurement against which the observed measurement must be compared to make a decision. The response rate was 62%; respondents represented a typical profile of practicing physical therapists. The therapists understood reliability, but they did not correctly describe the relationship between reliability and error of measurement. Their estimates of the error of measurement of the two assessments were reasonable for only one procedure. The presence or absence of measurement information and difference between observed and criterion measurements affected their confidence, albeit inappropriately, in only one problem. Confidence was not affected by the therapists' level of experience, type of reading, formal study, or degree earned. Therapists responded to the two problems differently. The problems involved different measures, roles, utilities, and structures. The process of decision making does not generalize to all decision types. Measurement principles and strategies of use in decision making must be emphasized in physical therapy curricula so that physical therapists can consider the quality of their assessment data in making clinical decisions.
In vivo versus in vitro protein abundance analysis of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 reveals changes in the expression of proteins involved in virulence, stress and energy metabolism

Background Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 (SD1) causes the most severe form of epidemic bacillary dysentery. Quantitative proteome profiling of Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 (SD1) in vitro (derived from LB cell cultures) and in vivo (derived from gnotobiotic piglets) was performed by 2D-LC-MS/MS and APEX, a label-free computationally modified spectral counting methodology.
The High Sensitivity of Economic Activity to Financial Frictions

A financial friction is a wedge between the return received by providers of financial capital – ultimately, consumers – and the cost of capital paid by businesses and consumers who use capital. I study two frictions. One raises the rental cost of capital to firms and the other raises the rental cost of housing and durable goods to consumers. My focus is on the effects of financial frictions – I take the magnitudes of the frictions as given. Thus, my results complement an active recent literature that explains the intensification of financial frictions in a crisis. I find that financial frictions are powerful determinants of economic activity.
Bifurcation Analysis of Gene Regulatory Circuits Subject to Copy Number Variation

Gene regulatory networks are comprised of many small gene circuits. Understanding expression dynamics of gene circuits for broad ranges of parameter space may provide insight into the behavior of larger regulatory networks as well as facilitate the use of circuits as autonomous units performing specific regulatory tasks. In this paper, we consider three common gene circuits and investigate the dependence of gene expression dynamics on the circuit copy number. In particular, we perform a de- tailed bifurcation analysis of the circuits' corresponding nonlinear gene regulatory models restricted to protein-only dynamics. Employing a geometric approach to bifurcation theory, we are able to derive closed form expressions for conditions which guarantee existence of saddle-node bifurcations caused by variation in the circuit copy number or copy number concentration. This result shows that the drastic effect of copy number variation on equilibrium behavior of gene circuits is highly robust to variation in other parameters in the circuits. We discuss a possibility of extending the current results to higher dimensional models which incorporate more details of the gene regulatory process.
Testing visual capabilities for medical surveillance or to ensure job fitness

A rationale is presented for designing screening-type eye examinations to document visual capabilities for specific jobs or changes in visual function following exposure to specific ocular hazards. Possible applications to clinical situations are also discussed. A battery of tests that includes contrast (glare) sensitivity, distortions in macular imaging, and color vision is detailed for use with three populations: automobile driver's license applicants, visual display operators, and laser users, including military as well as nonmilitary installers and repairers of optical fibers for communications. Language: en
Citizen acceptance of police interventions: an example of CCTV surveillance in Las Vegas, Nevada

Efforts to install crime cameras in public are sometimes met with resistance from segments of the community who raise concerns over personal privacy. Drawing on an example from Las Vegas, NV, this paper explores community acceptance of CCTV cameras placed in a high-crime public location. In doing so, the paper applies a theoretical model that describes the mechanism by which private citizens accept interventions developed by police or other security officials. The paper analyzes specific privacy concerns raised by camera opponents and classifies the methods that police used to address those concerns and gain community support.
Composition and mechanics of mesenteric resistance arteries from pregnant rats

We tested the hypothesis that the systemic resistance vasculature of the rat is remodeled during pregnancy as evidenced by significant alterations in the passive mechanical properties and extracellular matrix proteins in mesenteric arteries. Mechanical characteristics were determined for arteries from 20-day pregnant rats (n = 6) and age-matched controls (n = 5). Lumen diameter and wall thickness were measured in pressurized arteries (250-microns diameter) using a dimension analyzing system. Distensibility (the relative change in diameter per unit change in pressure) was less in the arteries from the pregnant rats (P less than 0.01). The calculated stress-strain relationships and elastic moduli indicated that the arteries were less stiff by late gestation (P less than 0.05). Ultramicro amino acid analysis and radioimmunoassay were used to measure hydroxyproline, desmosine, and leucine as indicators of collagen, elastin, and total protein, respectively, in similar-sized arteries. Hydroxyproline/leucine (index of collagen) and desmosine/leucine (elastin concentration) decreased 19 and 15% by late gestation (P less than 0.05). The significant alterations in passive mechanics and in extracellular protein content support the concept that arterial wall remodeling in the peripheral vasculature may be one component of the cardiovascular adaptations during pregnancy.
Cellobionic acid inhibition of cellobiohydrolase I and cellobiose dehydrogenase

Abstract End-product inhibition by cellobiose and glucose is a rate-limiting factor in cellulose hydrolysis by cellulases. While cellobiose and glucose inhibition have been extensively investigated, cellobionate inhibition has been minimally studied despite the discovery that accessory proteins such as cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) work synergistically with cellulases to form aldonic acids. The fraction of equilibrated cellobionate in the cellobiono-δ-lactone form was determined by NMR over the range of pH 4–8. To better improve the understanding of cellobiono-δ-lactone and cellobionate inhibition of cellulases, we investigate the inhibition of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI), one of the most extensively studied CBHs, and Neurospora crassa CDH by equilibrated cellobionate. The well-characterized inhibitor cellobiose is evaluated in parallel for comparison. The mechanisms of inhibition are determined for both inhibitors and the kinetic parameters compared using a Michaelis–Menten inhibition model. Cellobiose and cellobionate inhibition of CBHI is extended to Avicel hydrolysis, along with an investigation of those inhibitors on Accelerase 1500, a commercial cellulase preparation.
Feeling American in the Poetic Republic

Karen L. Kilcup, “Feeling American in the Poetic Republic” (pp. 299–335) Recent scholarship concerning nineteenth-century American poetry has challenged petrified attitudes that depict it as almost exclusively sentimental, unoriginal, and meritless. Yet, absent a historicized conceptual framework for assessing the considerable achievements of these poets, we still undervalue and oversimplify their work. Poetry reviews published between 1820 and 1840 show how properly calibrated emotion shaped readers’ tastes and identities, individual and national, in what I call the poetic republic: a country in which nearly everyone read, wrote, or heard verse. Critics’ appraisals intimate their anxious investment in creating authentic American poetry. Given British contentions that Americans were uncivilized, this anxiety coalesced around several related questions: How should writers approach the subject of Indians? What affective stances should poets assume? Was sentimental discourse, especially on Native Americans, inherently “savage”? This essay illuminates the period’s genre norms, concurrently questioning two current critical conventions. Demonstrating how poetry—including its producers and its publics—participated energetically in American nation-building, the essay complicates Benedict Anderson’s assumption that newspapers and novels singularly shaped national self-concepts. It also establishes how sentimentalism was attacked much earlier than today’s scholarship asserts. Simultaneously accommodating and disciplining wilderness (whether formulated as untamed nature and its wild inhabitants, or as uncontrolled, feminized sentimentality), reviewers collectively endorsed dispassionate, elevated nature poetry—often inhabited by Native Americans—as prototypically American, while they disparaged affective excess that they typically gendered as feminine. These verse norms strongly impacted the reception and reputations of the period’s two principal poets, William Cullen Bryant and Lydia Sigourney.
Rate of metabolism of 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene in newborn and adult mice.

SummaryDetermination of the proportion of free 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene remaining in newborn and in adult mice following intraperitoneal injection, revealed that this compound disappeared more quickly from the adult than from the newborn animals. This supports the view that the greater susceptibility of the newborn to tumor induction by this carcinogen is due to longer persistence of the compound in the newborn than in the adult.
Characterization of Ceria’s Interaction with NOx and NH3

Ceria is a common component of engine aftertreatment catalysts due to its oxygen storage ability, its redox properties, and its role in stabilizing Pt against sintering. The interactions between ceria and NH3 or NOx were investigated to better understand the role of ceria in oxidation reactions occurring over a diesel oxidation catalyst, in the reduction of NOx on lean NOx traps, and in the selective catalytic oxidation (SCO) of NH3. Ceria proved active in NO oxidation, selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3 (NH3–SCR), and NH3–SCO reactions. Between 100 and 450 °C, both NH3 and NOx adsorbed on ceria simultaneously. In the absence of NOx, NH3 was oxidized over CeO2 forming N2 via a two-step selective catalytic reduction mechanism at low temperature and NOx at high temperature. In the presence of NOx, NH3 reacted with adsorbed NOx species, again forming N2 at lower temperatures (250–450 °C), while at higher temperature, a significant portion of the NH3 was oxidized, with product NO formed.
The Observed Dependency of Longitudinal Data

It is well known that longitudinal data can deal with different concepts than cross-sectional data (see Baltes & Nesselroade, 1979; McArdle & Nesselroade, 2014). The key is in the observed dependency—that allows us to examine individual changes. Thus, all of the individual changes that can be examined are due to the longitudinal models (see McArdle, 2008) allowing dependencies among the observed scores at various time points. It is demonstrated here that the statistical power to detect changes is an explicit function of the positive dependencies and the timing of the observations. A lot of time is spent on the move to the latent curve model (LCM) from the basic regression structural model and the repeated measures model (RANOVA) because the latter seems standard in the field now. This LCM is introduced in this chapter as a principle that does have power to detect many more changes than the usual regression analysis but it comes along with several (to be discussed) assumptions.
A Comparative Method: Reflections on Charles Ragin's Innovations in Comparative Analysis

(1990). A Comparative Method: Reflections on Charles Ragin's Innovations in Comparative Analysis. Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History: Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 177-181.
Silicides and Rapid Thermal Annealing

In the first part of this paper the role of rapid thermal annealing in sulicide processing is viewed from a theoretical point of view with respect to what is known about metal-silicon reactions. The second part is a brief survey of the quickly expanding literature on the rapid thermal annealing of silicides. Whereas RTA does not appear to solve all, or perhaps even any, of the problems encountered in the use of silicides, it is concluded that RTA presents a number of definite advantages.
Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis Using N-Doped Graphene Quantum-Dots

First-principles investigations of the electrocatalytic activity toward the four-electron oxygen reduction-reaction in N-doped graphene quantum dots reveal that pyridinic and graphitic nitrogen are the most active sites with overpotentials of 0.55 and 0.79–0.90 V, respectively. This agrees with experimental findings. Our calculations account for van der Waals interactions, solvent effects, and describe the electrochemistry using standard hydrogen electrode model. The results show correlations between OH*, OOH*, and O* binding energies that impose a lower limit on the oxygen reduction overpotential.
Preadmission Predictors of On-time Graduation in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Objective. To determine which preadmission variables or combination of variables are able to predict on-time graduation in a doctor of pharmacy program. Methods. Transcripts and student files were reviewed for 460 students who entered the college between 2007 and 2009. Results. The preadmission variables with significant correlations to on-time graduation included having a prior degree, student type, the number of unsatisfactory grades (nonscience and math-science courses, and the combination), prepharmacy cumulative grade point average (GPA), and math-science GPA. Of these variables, the significant predictors of on-time graduation were prior degree, the presence of no unsatisfactory grades in nonscience courses, and prepharmacy cumulative GPA. Conclusion. Having a prior degree, lack of unsatisfactory grades in nonscience courses, and prepharmacy GPA were identified as significant predictors of on-time graduation.
Elevated variant density around SV breakpoints in germline lineage lends support to error-prone replication hypothesis

Copy number variants (CNVs) are a class of structural variants that may involve complex genomic rearrangements (CGRs) and are hypothesized to have additional mutations around their breakpoints. Understanding the mechanisms underlying CNV formation is fundamental for understanding the repair and mutation mechanisms in cells, thereby shedding light on evolution, genomic disorders, cancer, and complex human traits. In this study, we used data from the 1000 Genomes Project to analyze hundreds of loci harboring heterozygous germline deletions in the subjects NA12878 and NA19240. By utilizing synthetic long-read data (longer than 2 kbp) in combination with high coverage short-read data and, in parallel, by comparing with parental genomes, we interrogated the phasing of these deletions with the flanking tens of thousands of heterozygous SNPs and indels. We found that the density of SNPs/indels flanking the breakpoints of deletions (in-phase variants) is approximately twice as high as the corresponding density for the variants on the haplotype without deletion (out-of-phase variants). This fold change was even larger for the subset of deletions with signatures of replication-based mechanism of formation. The allele frequency (AF) spectrum for deletions is enriched for rare events; and the AF spectrum for in-phase SNPs is shifted toward this deletion spectrum, thus offering evidence consistent with the concomitance of the in-phase SNPs/indels with the deletion events. These findings therefore lend support to the hypothesis that the mutational mechanisms underlying CNV formation are error prone. Our results could also be relevant for resolving mutation-rate discrepancies in human and to explain kataegis.
Magnetic field stabilization and dispersed-phase pressure of bubbly ferro-fluids at high Reynolds numbers

We examine the effect of an uniform magnetic field on the microstructural dynamics of a bubbly ferrofluid at large Reynolds number by employing a simulation technique developed recently by Sangani and Didwania. A magnetic field of sufficient strength when aligned in the direction of gravity eliminates voidage non-uniformities leading to stabilization of the flow. We also compute the various macroscopic properties of the flow like added mass coefficient, viscous drag coefficient and the dispersed phase pressure. For the stabilized flow, the dispersed phase pressure is always positive and increases with increasing bubble concentration, a result in agreement with earlier continuum linear stability analyses
Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy studies of Berea sandstone at high temperature

Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy was used to determine the elastic moduli of Berea sandstone from room temperature to 478 K. Sandstone is a common component of oil reservoirs, and the temperature range was chosen to be representative of typical downhole conditions, down to about 8 km. In agreement with previous works, Berea sandstone was found to be relatively soft with a bulk modulus of approximately 6 GPa as compared to 37.5 GPa for α-quartz at room temperature and pressure. It was found that Berea sandstone undergoes a ~17% softening in bulk modulus between room temperature and 385 K, followed by an abnormal behavior of similar stiffening between 385 K and 478 K.
Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness Youth Curriculum Promotes Positive Behaviors.

Abstract Objective Evaluate whether participation in Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness (CHFFF), a hands-on, experiential curriculum aimed at third- to sixth-graders, resulted in improvements in the targeted obesity and chronic disease prevention behaviors. Methods The researchers evaluated CHFFF in low-income youth participating in 2 federal programs in New York State during 2013–2015. Food and activity behaviors were assessed using the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program third- through fifth- and sixth- through eighth-grade pre-post surveys, along with 2 sets of added CHFFF-specific items completed by subsamples. Educators trained in CHFFF had youth complete the surveys as they delivered the curriculum, primarily in schools and after-school programs. Results Paired t tests showed significant (P Conclusions and Implications Results provide practice-based evidence that CHFFF promotes positive behavior change in participating youth.
Centrality Analysis of the United States Network Graph

We model the contiguous states (48 states and the District of Columbia) of the United States (US) as an undirected network graph with each state represented as a node and there is an edge between two nodes if the corresponding two states share a common border. We determine a ranking of the states in the US with respect to the four commonly studied centrality metrics: degree, eigenvector, betweenness and closeness. We observe the states of Missouri and Maine to be respectively the most central state and the least central state with respect to all the four centrality metrics. The degree distribution is bimodal Poisson. The eigenvector and closeness centralities also exhibit Poisson distribution, while the betweenness centrality exhibits power-law distribution. We observe a higher correlation in the ranking of vertices based on the degree centrality and betweenness centrality.
Examining “Digital Development”: The Shape of Things to Come?

For at least a generation, the current ICT4D paradigm will dominate the relationship between digital technologies and international development. But there are signs of change. Diffusion and use of ICTs is such that we can start to talk about a “digital nervous system” for development. And ICTs are becoming more deeply integrated into all aspects of development. So we can foresee a “digital development” paradigm in which ICTs are no longer just tools to enable particular aspects of development, but the platform that mediates development. This paper proposes a model for understanding what digital development consists of, and then investigates the patterns of economic, political and social transformation that may be associated with digital development. To frame this investigation, it sees economic and political life dominated by a competitive logic that contests with a subordinate cooperative logic. The signs from digital development to date are that five broad patterns can be seen. “Copy”, “Spread”, “Curve” and “Boost” are patterns involving the dominant competitive logic. “Shift” involves strengthening of the subordinate cooperative logic. These patterns have implications – often negative implications – for the wider digital ecosystem, for digital inclusion, digital sustainability, and digital harm; all of which are explained and explored. These implications in turn require action to be taken on digital policy, and the paper ends by discussing not just the worldview and content of future digital policy, but also the “Digital Development Policy Collaboratories” through which the process and structure of digital development policy-making needs to be implemented.
System Architecture of the Multimedia Environment

Several multimedia applications such as a video-on-demand service require no or little actual processing of audio and video because the data is only obtained from a source (disk, network, microphone, camera, etc.) and forwarded to a sink (speaker, display, disk, network, etc.). The continuous-media requirements are satisfied best when data takes the shortest possible path through the system, i.e., the data is preferably copied directly from adapter to adapter. The application then merely sets the correct switches for the data flow by connecting sources to sinks; it never obtains the actual data as in the case of traditional application structuring. This architecture of low-level data streaming is in line with proposals for using additional busses for audio and video transfer within a computer or even to use a switch-based rather than bus-based data transfer architecture [Hayter 91, Finn 91].
A Geometric Model for Image Analysis in Cytology

In this chapter, we propose a unified image analysis scheme for 3D computer assisted-cytology. The goal is to accurately extract and classify the shapes of nuclei and cells from confocal microscopy images. We make use of a geometry-driven scheme for preprocessing and analyzing confocal microscopy images. Namely, we build a chain of methods that includes an edge-preserving image smoothing mechanism, an automatic segmentation method, a geometry-driven scheme to regularize the shapes and improve edge fidelity, and an interactive method to split shape clusters and reclassify them. Finally we apply our scheme to segmenting nuclei using nuclear membrane and whole cells using cell-surface related proteins.
Development of the 1994 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Case Definition and Clinical Evaluation Guidelines

A case definition is a methodologic tool that establishes criteria for classifying (in formal research) or diagnosing (in clinical practice) a case of illness or disease. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is defined solely on the basis of patient-reported symptoms and the exclusion, by clinical evaluation, of other causes of such symptoms. None of the symptoms are specific for CFS and there are no diagnostic or confirmatory laboratory tests or physical findings (Holmes, 1989; Shafran, 1991; Klonoff, 1992). Because of these limitations, published reference CFS case definitions have been crucial for coordinating research on this condition and for facilitating effective communications among investigators, physicians, and patients.
Multiattribute call markets

Multiattribute auctions support automated negotiation in settings where buyers and sellers have valuations for alternate configurations of a good, as defined by configuration attributes . Bidders express offers to buy or sell alternate configurations by specifying configuration-dependent reserve prices, and the auction determines both the traded goods and transaction prices based on these offers. While multiattribute auctions have been deployed in single-buyer procurement settings, the development of double-sided multiattribute auctions—allowing the free participation of both buyers and sellers—has received little attention from academia or industry. In this work I develop a multiattribute call market, a specific type of double auction in which bids accumulate over an extended period of time, before the auction determines trades based on the aggregate collection of bids. Building on a polynomial-time clearing algorithm, I contribute an efficient algorithm for information feedback. Supporting the implementation of market-based algorithms, information feedback support extends the range of settings for which multiattribute call markets achieve efficiency. Multiattribute auctions are only one of many auction variants introduced in recent years. The rapidly growing space of alternative auctions and trading scenarios calls for both a standardized language with which to specify auctions, as well as a computational test environment in which to evaluate alternate designs. I present a novel auction description language and deployment environment that supports the specification of a broad class of auctions, improving on prior approaches through a scripting language that employs both static parameter settings and rule-based behavior invocation. The market game platform, AB3D, can execute these auction scripts to implement multi-auction and multi-agent trading scenarios. The efficiency of multiattribute call markets depends crucially on the underlying valuations of participants. I analyze the expected performance limitations of multiattribute call markets, using existing analytical results where applicable. Addressing a lack of theoretical guidance in many natural settings, I introduce a computational metric on bidder valuations, and show a correlation between this metric and the expected efficiency of multiattribute call markets. As further validation, I integrate multiattribute markets into an existing supply chain simulation, demonstrating efficiency gains over a more conventional negotiation procedure.
Adaptive interference cancellation with neural networks

In modern cellular, satellite mobile communications systems, and in GPS systems, a fast tracking system is needed to constantly locate the users, and then adapt the radiation pattern of the antenna to direct multiple narrow beams to desired users and nulls to sources of interference. In this paper, the computation of the optimum weight vector of the array is approached as a mapping problem which can be modeled using a suitable artificial neural network trained with input output pairs, A three-layer radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is used in the design of one and two-dimensional array antennas to perform beamforming and nulling. RBFNN’s are used due to their ability to interpolate data in higher dimensions. Simulations results performed under different scenarios of angular separations, and SNR are in excellent agreement with the Wiener solution. It was found that networks implementing these functions are successful in tracking mobile users as they move across the antenna’s field of view.
Residual Structural Capacity of a High-Performance Concrete

In this study, the residual unconfined compressive strength of a high-performance concrete (f’c ∼ 140 MPa) was investigated using samples that were pre-loaded to specific states of triaxial confinement. The residual unconfined compressive strengths of the samples were then compared to the unconfined compressive strength of pristine samples not subjected to the pre-load triaxial conditions. To accomplish the pre-load triaxial conditions, the samples were first subjected to specified stress-strain paths corresponding to pure hydrostatic compression and uniaxial strain in compression. Both the hydrostatic compression and uniaxial strain (in compression) tests were performed at low- and high-pressure levels under controlled conditions to prevent reaching the material failure limit. Once the samples were tested through either hydrostatic compression or uniaxial strain, they were recovered and subjected to unconfined compression until failure. Data from these samples were compared to the unconfined compressive strength of pristine samples from the same concrete batch. Residual structural capacity was determined through a comparison of these values and as a means to quantify damage induced (both with and without shear) by the specified stress-strain paths. Applications of these data are discussed for future improvements to concrete constitutive models commonly used at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to simulate dynamic events.
The exclusion of vos from the Spanish as a foreign language classroom discourse: A critical examination through the lens of the language management theory

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the presence of Spanish form of address vos in the university Spanish classroom discourse from the perspective of Language Management Theory. Under this model, language ...
Influence of Welding Fume Metal Composition on Lung Toxicity and Tumor Formation in Experimental Animal Models

Millions of workers in the US and worldwide are exposed to complex, metal-rich welding fumes. Although welding is a crucial industrial process, the generated fumes are known to cause acute and chronic health effects when inhaled. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified welding fumes as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) in 2017, based on sufficient epidemiological evidence and limited evidence in animals, an upgrade from the former Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans) classification. There is human evidence that both iron-abundant mild steel as well as chromium- and nickel-containing stainless steel welding fumes contribute to an increased risk of lung cancer. Recent animal studies show that welding fumes may act as lung tumor promoters, regardless of the presence or absence of potentially carcinogenic metals, such as chromium and nickel. The goal of this manuscript was to examine the pulmonary responses associated with welding fumes by reviewing a series of recent experimental animal studies that assessed the influence of welding fume metal composition (e.g., stainless steel versus mild steel welding fume) on markers of lung toxicity and tumor development. Additional in vivo laboratory studies are needed to further explore the association between welding and lung cancer and to help advance our understanding of a potential mechanistic link.
Demonstration of High-Quality MBE HgCdTe on 8-Inch Wafers

High-quality mid-wave infrared (MWIR) double-layer heterojunction HgCdTe has been grown on 8-inch Si substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. We grew six 8-inch-diameter MWIR HgCdTe wafers on Si substrates and measured within-wafer and wafer-to-wafer variations of key parameters such as cutoff wavelength, HgCdTe thickness, macrodefect density including voids and microvoids, and arsenic doping uniformity. The results indicate that the growth was very successful and the process repeatable, well controlled, and ready for production.
Preventing Delirium Takes a Village: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Delirium Preventive Models of Care.

Background Each hospital day of delirium incurs greater healthcare costs, higher levels of care, greater staff burden, and higher complication rates. Accordingly, administrators are incentivized to identify models of care that reduce delirium rates and associated costs. Purpose We present a systematic review and meta-analysis of delirium prevention models of care. Data sources Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, EMBASE, and PsycINFO. Study selection Eligible models of care were defined as provider-oriented interventions involving revision of professional roles, multidisciplinary teams, and service integration. Included studies implemented multidomain, multicomponent interventions, used a validated delirium instrument, and enrolled a control group to evaluate efficacy or effectiveness. Data extraction We extracted data on study design, population, model of care, outcomes, and results. Data synthesis A total of 15 studies were included. All but two studies reported reduction in delirium or its duration, and 11 studies reported statistically significant improvements. Using random effects models, the pooled odds ratios of delirium incidence were 0.56 (95% CI: 0.37-0.85) from three randomized controlled trials, 0.63 (95% CI 0.37-1.07) from four pre-post intervention studies, and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.46-1.37) from three additional nonrandomized studies. Conclusions Several models of care can prevent delirium. In general, higher quality studies were more likely to demonstrate statistical significance of an effect. The diverse models of care included here explored interventions adapted to specific care settings, especially by addressing setting-specific delirium risk factors. These care models illustrate a range of promising strategies that deserve growing recognition, refinement, and implementation.
Expression Types for Two Cercopithecoid Dental Traits (Interconulus and Interconulid) and Their Variation in a Modern Baboon Population

Studies of cercopithecoid systematics include the analysis of quantitative and qualitative dental variation. Much of the qualitative variation involves the expression of cingular remnants on molars. Qualitative variation in the cingular remnant has been defined and described in several ways by researchers. The differences in terminology and definition confound cross-study comparisons. I introduce a formalized typology for two nonmetric molar traits, the interconulus and interconulid. Each trait includes 5 degrees of expression, with written and photographic descriptions for each character state. I scored a large sample (n = 329) of dental casts from a captive breeding colony of savannah baboons (Papio hamadryas sspp.) for the expression types and assessed the variation statistically. The baboon colony shows a large amount of variation in the two traits. Use of these formalized types will facilitate cross-study comparison and analysis, effectively increasing sample sizes and our understanding of the evolution of primate dentitions.
Comparison of Base Running Methods

Abstract This study measured the difference in time used to run to first base between running directly to and beyond the base in normal stride and leaping at the base in the final stride. Fifteen college varsity baseball players served as subjects and had 12 trials with each method. The mean time for the first method was .0117 seconds faster. Eleven subjects reached the base more quickly by running straight through. Four were more effective by leaping.
Reading Between the Borderlines: Cultural Production and Consumption across the 49th Parallel

Thought-inspiring and ambitious are words that come to mind after reading Gillian Roberts’ edited book, Reading Between the Borderlines. It contains an innovative, though occasionally hit-or-miss, ...
Urban Roads Network Detection from High Resolution Remote Sensing

The availability of high-resolution remote sensing data has created opportunities to gain new information about urban infrastructure. Here, high resolution ortho-imagery with three bands and maximum likelihood classification of images is used to obtain information about roads and pavement (i.e. transportation related) infrastructure. The cities of Phoenix, Arizona (for the years 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012) and Seattle, Washington (for 2002, 2005, 2009) were analyzed. We discuss the implications and utility of this (and other infrastructure) data for constructing metrics for urban growth and environmental sustainability.
The Effectiveness of Hybrid Telepractice and In-Person Fluency Treatment for a School-Aged Child: A Case Study

Purpose This case study assessed the effects of hybrid telepractice and in-person delivery of the Smooth Speech Treatment (Craig, 2010) for a school-aged child who stutters. Method The participant ...
Co-Occurrence of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to retrospectively determine the co-occurrence, associated characteristics, and risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) in a pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) clinic population. METHOD We investigated the co-occurrence and features of NDD in pediatric SCD through a retrospective cohort study conducted between July 2017 and January 2019. The participants were patients with SCD younger than 18 years of age identified from our institutions' clinic rosters and medical records databases. RESULTS A total of 276 participants were eligible for study inclusion, and 65 participants were found to have various NDD. Children with SCD and NDD were more likely to have a history of multiple SCD-related complications in comparison to children with SCD without NDD. Children with SCD and NDD were more likely to use disease-modifying therapies in comparison to children with SCD without NDD (χ2 27.2, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Children with SCD and NDD have higher odds of having certain disease-related complications and higher use of disease-modifying treatments than children with SCD who do not have NDD. Screening and diagnoses of NDD may be relevant to clinical management of pediatric SCD.