cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inefficiencies in Computed Tomography Sinus Imaging for Management of Sinonasal Disease: Results of a Tertiary Care Center:

ObjectiveA subset of patients with sinonasal disease who obtain a diagnostic computed tomography (CT) sinus scan may require repeat preoperative CT due to the inadequacy of diagnostic CT for image-guided sinus surgery (IGSS). This leads to increased CT utilization, health care costs, and patient exposure to ionizing radiation. The objective of this study is to determine the frequencies of diagnostic CT sinus studies that were inadequate for IGSS and repeat CT studies for purposes of IGSS.Study DesignA retrospective chart study was performed between May 2012 and August 2013.SettingTertiary care rhinology practice.Subjects and MethodsNew patients with any sinonasal diagnosis who presented with CT sinus scans acquired from outside institutions were included. CT scans were considered inadequate for IGSS for any of the following reasons: >1.5-mm slice thickness, oblique axial planes due to gantry tilt, and incompletely defined or missing IGSS anatomic landmarks.ResultsOf 183 patients, 85 (46%) presented with d...
Assessment of the Robustness of Signal Timing Plans in an Arterial Corridor Through Seasonal Variation of Traffic Flows

Arterial traffic signal systems, predominantly in the United States, deploy multiple signal timing plans to account for daily variability of traffic demand. Those types of traffic flow deviations should be anticipated when timing plans are designed and, therefore, serviced satisfactorily. When traffic flow patterns are no longer predictable, a predetermined time-of-day (TOD) plan may no longer be the optimal one. This research aimed to examine signal timing optimality by applying a method similar to the selection of a traffic responsive plan to recognize automatically the best timing plan suited to current traffic conditions. The proposed method attempted to determine whether the optimality of signal timing settings could have been effectively estimated when systematic detector counts of the major approach were available. The study used 4 months of data from field microwave detectors coupled with data of turning-movement counts obtained over several days. The findings show that TOD signal timing plans mai...
Classification of Nerve Injuries

As oral and maxillofacial surgeons perform broad scope orofacial surgical procedures, most may expect to experience nerve injuries during their practice lifetime. Worldwide, the incidence of injury to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) has been reported to be from 0.26 to 8.4 %, whereas lingual nerve (LN) deficits range from 0.1 to 22 % [1–3]. Temporary or permanent sensory nerve disturbances are not uncommon; however, sensory deficits lasting longer than 1 year are more likely to be permanent, and attempts at microneurosurgical repair are often unsuccessful in these long-standing injuries [4].
Evolution of the Constitutional and Stereochemical Structure of Bilirubin

With the death of Hans Fischer in 1945, the destruction of his labs, and the dispersal of his research group, investigations of pyrrole natural products diminished significantly. Yet the decades following his death and the demise of his laboratory coincided with major advances in different areas of natural products chemistry, notably steroids.
Online Teaching: A Case Study

Advances in information technology (IT) pose new challenges for traditional higher education universities to prepare faculty members to teach online courses with technology (e-teach). Online distance learning has attained acceptance in many work environments, mainly in the government, high-tech segments and academia. This study presents an exploratory investigation designed to identify some advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. Seventeen students from one MBA course took part in this investigation. The results showed that the best advantage of online courses was “Flexibility” from the student’s perspective. Implications of the findings can direct the subject university to expand its infrastructure to support an ever increasing student enrollment through online course offerings.
Monte-Carlo Calculation Results for the Epithermal Neutron Beam at the Brookhaven Medical Reactor

As a first step towards developing a treatment planning system for BNCT, the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor (BMRR) and its epithermal neutron filter have been modeled in detail using the Monte-Carlo code MCNP1. The geometry of the reactor as defined in MCNP is shown to scale in Figure 1, where the various components of the Al-Al203 filter are indicated, the thick black lines being Al. The thicknesses of materials in the filter along their centers are 45.72cm of Al203, 19.65cm Al, 0.75cm, Cd and 11.5cm Bi. The geometry as modeled takes advantage of the symmetry of the reactor and a reflecting plane passes through the core center. The geometry in 3 dimensions is built up from a total of 90 basic cells (cylinders, slabs etc.) with 19 different materials representing 26 nuclides. The distance from the core center to port face is 170.9 cm which requires that variance reduction techniques be used in order to obtain good statistics at the port face with a reasonable CPU effort. The 90 geometric cells are further subdivided into 240 spaces where the importances are varied such that particles heading towards the port are made more significant than those heading away.
EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FOR PINEAL PARTICIPATION IN HOMEOSTASIS OF BRAIN COMPOSITION.

Pinealectomized rats on a sodium-deficient diet have lower cerebral potassium content than sham-operated or unoperated controls. Consistent and significant differences among these animals in the electrolyte contents of other organs, serum, and urine are not apparent. In long-term pinealectomy with sodium deficiency, an increase in the adrenal weight sometimes occurs. This chapter presents the results of seven completed experiments that demonstrate or relate to this disability of the pinealectomized animal. The chapter discusses the experimental evidence of conditions that may diminish or modify pineal activity. The chapter also evaluates the significance and possible physiological interrelations of other characteristics of these experimental animals. The mammalian pineal's endocrine activity may be primarily centripetal, and the effects on peripheral tissues may possibly result through shifts in relative levels of activity in physiologically counterbalanced brain areas or functional systems.
The mechanism of enzyme decline in the red blood cell during the "in vivo" aging process.

While it is recognized that the human red blood cell (RBC) has a finite life-span of approximately 120 days, the mechanism that controls its ultimate removal from the circulation remains largely unknown. A better understanding of the process of RBC senescence can be obtained by the study of cohorts of cells of progressively increasing age. Our laboratory has utilized for this purpose separation of RBC into groups of progressively increasing specific gravity utilizing buoyant density gradients (1,2). This technique has been validated by experiments with 14C-glycine cohort-labelled RBC that have demonstrated a progressive movement of the label from the top to the bottom with cell age (1) as well as by in vivo experiments of RBC survival that have demonstrated that the lighest RBC have the longest survival and the heaviest ones, the shortest (3). On the basis of these data a mathematical model has been designed to interpret, in terms of in vivo survival, the changes observed in parameters of RBC of progressively increasing gravity (4). Studies from our laboratory suggested that one of the mechanisms for the removal from the circulation of senescent RBC is a progressive decline of metabolic activities (5).
Use of viscoelastics post-trabeculectomy: a survey of members of the American Glaucoma Society.

■ BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: American Glaucoma Society members were surveyed to determine the pattern of use of viscoelastics for anterior chamber reformation at the slit-lamp in the post-operative clinical management of patients who have undergone trabeculectomy in order to give ophthalmologists an indication of how these materials are being used by their colleagues. ■ MATERIALS AND METHODS: We surveyed 196 members of the American Glaucoma Society regarding the following; (1) whether they inject viscoelastic post-operatively at the slit-lamp as an in-office procedure, (2) the type of viscoelastic used most often, (3) the criteria for injection of viscoelastic, (4) the time to first follow-up, (5) the average number of injections, and (6) the occurrence of post-injection endophthalmitis. ■ RESULTS: One hundred twenty-five (64%) of the 196 mailed surveys were answered and returned. Ninety-four (75%) of the respondents reported injecting viscoelastics in the postoperative period at the slit-lamp as an in-office procedure. Healon (60%) (Pharmacia & Upjohn Co, Kalamazoo, MI), Viscoat (17%) (Alcon, Ft. Worth, TX), and Healon GV (7%) (Pharmacia & Upjohn Co, Kalamazoo, MI) were the three most often used viscoelastics. Hypotony, iris-cornea touch, and lens-cornea touch were given as criteria for injection 19%, 47%, and 88% of the time, respectively. Range of time to first follow-up was 1 hour to 7 days, with a mean time of day. Range of average number of injections was 1 to 3 with a mean of 2 injections for patients requiring injection. Only one respondent reported an incidence of endophthalmitis. ■ CONCLUSIONS: The use of viscoelastic materials in the postoperative trabeculectomy patient in the office at the slit-lamp for anterior chamber reformation is a prevalent practice. Healon is the most commonly used viscoelastic postoperatively and lens-corneal touch is the most common criterion for injection. The average number of injections is 2, with a mean and mode follow-up time of 1 day. Endophthalmitis is a rare complication.
Role of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor in Human Glioma Invasion

Tumor invasion results from a coordinated interaction between proteolytic enzymes that degrade basement membranes and extracellular matrix (ECM), and adhesive proteins that participate in cell attachment and migration. Degradation of the ECM is accomplished through the integrated action of several enzyme systems, including the activation of plasminogen through the urokinase pathway to generate plasmin. Plasminogen activators (PAs) released from cancer cells also aid in generating plasmin, thereby facilitating the invasion of those cells into the surrounding tissue (22). The two types of PAs, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), are considered to be independent gene products with distinctive structural and functional properties. Although their protein and cDNA sequences are quite different, uPA and tPA share a major substrate (plasminogen) and specific serpin-class inhibitors, the plasminogen-activator inhibitors (PAIs). uPA is secreted as a single pro-uPA zymogen that has little plasminogen-activating activity, is independent of fibrin, and is largely receptor-bound, whereas the single-chain form of tPA is catalytically active, fibrin-dependent, and primarily intravascular. Plasmin generated by either tPA or uPA directly degrades several protein constituents of the ECM, as well as activating certain other protease zymogens and latent growth factors and releasing growth factors from their ECM binding sites (57). Of these two profibrinolytic enzymes, uPA has been studied more thoroughly in relation to tumor invasion.
ATTENUATION OF 14.1-Mev NEUTRONS IN WATER

The attenuation of 14.1-Mev neutrons in water has been studied under conditions simulating an isotropic point source of monoenergetic neutrons in an infinite water medium. The migration area of the...
Latina Adolescent Resilience Rooted Within Cultural Strengths

Many Latina adolescents cope effectively with stress and experience positive physical and mental health in spite of high levels of poverty, discrimination, bicultural stress, and lowered expectations. Understanding the resilience inherent in how these young Latinas “make it” is a critical component of prevention and intervention. In this chapter, we review the Multiracial Feminist Framework to identify macrosystem, mesosystem, and microsystem factors within a resilience perspective as a way to frame our discussion of protective factors and cultural strengths. As can be seen from this review of protective factors, researchers are only beginning to understand the possible resources that may help young Latinas prevent depression and suicide, such as cultural strengths (familism, biculturalism/bilingualism, spirituality, feminist consciousness), school connectedness, and individual factors (self-esteem, coping, socioemotional development).
Exercise Testing of Low Risk Patients Presenting with Acute Chest Pain: Rationale, Methods, Results

Safe, cost-effective management of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain is a continuing challenge. The clinician’s primary concern is for a cardiac ischemic event because of its potential for morbidity and mortality. However, this symptom is most commonly related to disorders with minimal likelihood of serious outcome, such as musculoskeletal, gastroesophageal or anxiety syndromes (1). A mistaken impression of myocardial ischemia can prompt unwarranted admission, unnecessary tests and considerable costs. However, concern for patient safety and the litigation potential of missed ischemic syndromes has resulted in a low threshold for admission of patients with chest pain. This approach is consistent with the directive of early innovators of the coronary care unit (CCU) that “Patients should be admitted to the CCU solely on suspicion of having an acute myocardial infarction” (2). A low threshold for admission of these patients has been supported by persistent reports of failure to diagnose cardiac ischemia in the ED, the most recent of which indicates that 2% of patients with myocardial infarction are mistakenly discharged (3). On the other hand, a low threshold for admission has resulted in hospitalization of 2 million patients annually, in whom a coronary event is diagnosed in <25% (4) at a cost of more than $10 billion (5). The designation “rule out MI” (myocardial infarction) has been traditionally applied to patients admitted with findings suggestive, but diagnostic, of acute MI. These patients comprise the majority of those admitted for evaluation of nontraumatic chest pain.
β-Galactoside Transport in Escherichia Coli: The Ins and Outs of Lactose Permease

Accumulation of β-galactosides against a concentration gradient in Escherichia coli is carried out by the lactose (lac) permease, a hydrophobic polytopic cytoplasmic membrane protein that catalyzes the coupled translocation of β-galactosides and H+ with a stoichiometry of unity (i.e. β-galactoside/H+ symport or cotransport) (cf. Kaback, 1983, 1986, 1990 for reviews). Under physiological conditions, where the H+ electrochemical gradient across the cytoplasmic membrane (ΔμH +)1 is interior negative and/or alkaline, lac permease utilizes free energy released from downhill translocation of H+ to drive accumulation of β-galactosides against a concentration gradient. In the absence of ΔμH +, the permease catalyzes the converse reaction, utilizing free energy from downhill translocation of β-galactosides to drive uphill translocation of H+ and generating ΔμH +, the polarity of which depends upon the direction of the substrate concentration gradient. As such, lac permease is a paradigm for a wide variety of biological machines in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic membranes that transduce the free energy of an electrochemical ion gradient into work or into other forms of chemical energy (i.e., ATP).
The effects of childhood inattention and anxiety on executive functioning: inhibition, updating, and shifting.

Although anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are highly comorbid, research has generally examined the executive functioning (EF) deficits associated with each of these symptoms independently. The purpose of this study was to examine the unique and interactive effects of anxiety and ADHD symptoms (first respectively, then collectively) on multiple dimensions of EF (i.e., inhibition, updating, and shifting, respectively). A sample of 142 youth from the community (age range 8–17 years; Mage = 11.87 ± 2.94 years) completed the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System and dimensional measures of anxiety, inattention, and hyperactivity/impulsivity. It was hypothesized that anxiety would moderate the effect of ADHD symptomatology on EF. Multiple regression models examined anxiety and ADHD symptom domains as predictors of EF. When examining ADHD symptom domains separately, anxiety moderated the relationship between inattention and both updating and shifting; the association between hyperactivity/impulsivity and updating was also moderated by anxiety. Within the full model including both ADHD symptom domains, results indicated that anxiety moderated the relationship between inattention and shifting. Analyses of ADHD symptoms in separate and combined models demonstrated a similar pattern: Increased inattention was associated with worse EF and when anxiety was a significant moderator, and increased ADHD symptoms were associated with worse EF only for those with high levels of anxiety. These results highlight the utility of including anxiety in studies examining the relationship between ADHD and EF. EF is related to multiple aspects of daily functioning (e.g., academic achievement), and EF deficits are often targeted in interventions for ADHD.
B-P codopant effects on Raman spectra of Si nanocrystals using real space pseudopotentials

Abstract We calculate vibrational and Raman spectra for B-doped, P-doped, and B-P codoped Si nanocrystals using real-space pseudopotentials constructed within density functional theory. An experimental extrinsic peak in the Raman spectra near 650 cm−1 is observed in codoped nanocrystals. We analyze the origin of this peak and find that it can be best explained by the presence of B-P bonds, which are located near the surface of the nanocrystal. We propose that the spectral details of this peak are related to quantum confinement and the breaking of local symmetry associated with the phonon modes involving dopant bonds.
A Role for the Transcriptional Coactivator PRC1 in Mitochondrial Biogenesis During Erythroid Development.

Abstract Abstract 3642 Poster Board III-578 Red cell development requires unparalleled mitochondrial metabolic and biosynthetic capacities to support hemoglobin formation. In addition to meeting the energetic requirements of the erythroblast and reticulocyte, mitochondria are the site of multiple steps in heme biosynthesis and are essential for iron utilization. As such, perturbation of mitochondrial function in hematopoietic cells appears to differentially affect red cell development. For instance, we show that the drug chloramphenicol (an inhibitor of mitochondrial protein synthesis) preferentially inhibits erythroid colony formation with relatively little effect on other types of myeloid progenitors. Similarly, we show that knockout of the mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (Sod2) preferentially inhibits BFU-E, CFU-E and GEMM colonies. Clinically, several mutations in mitochondrial DNA or in nuclear encoded mitochondria-localized proteins preferentially disrupt erythroid development resulting in sideroblastic anemia. In order to better understand regulation of mitochondrial activity during red cell development/differentiation, we have investigated expression of transcription factors and coactivators implicated as regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis in other tissues including PGC-1 α and β, ERR proteins, NRF 1 and NRF 2 in normal and Sod2 deficient murine erythroblasts. Microarray and qPCR data suggest that neither of the classic transcriptional coactivators PGC-1 α or β are expressed at appreciable levels in erythroblasts. However, a PGC-1 related coactivator, PRC1 is detectable at both the transcript and protein level in developing erythroid cells. In the Sod2 deficiency model, one of the most prominent transcriptional changes we have observed in erythroblasts is a broad down regulation of expression of nuclear encoded mitochondria localized protein transcripts including multiple components of the electron transport chain, TCA cycle enzymes and mitochondrial ribosomal proteins. We show that PRC1 expression is down regulated in Sod2 deficient cells—suggesting that this coactivator plays a key role in mitochondrial biogenesis during erythroid development. Further, using the MEL cell line, we show that PRC1 expression is turned on following induction of differentiation with DMSO. These results identify PRC1 as a novel, and perhaps exclusive regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis during erythroid development. A better understanding of regulation of PRC1 expression and identification of transcriptional targets of PRC1 during erythroid development will improve our understanding of how perturbations in mitochondrial physiology affect the red cell compartment. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Carsharing customer demand forecasting using causal, time series and neural network methods: a case study

Carsharing services are becoming popular in recent times. Deploying right number of fleet at stations is a critical component in assuring high quality service for customers. This can be done efficiently if customer demand is predictable or known in advance. In this paper, we address the problem of customer demand forecasting for improving carsharing operations. Three categories of methods namely causal (regression forecast, regression forecast with seasonality adjustments), time series (exponential smoothing, moving average) and neural networks are evaluated for forecasting customer demand. An application of the proposed methods on demand data from a carsharing organisation called Communauto is provided. The results of our study show that neural network is the best method in this prediction. The proposed work has strong practical applicability. Having an accurate forecast of the customers' demands in different times of the year can help increase customer satisfaction and reach business performance targets. Especially if electric vehicles are used in carsharing companies, since they require special infrastructures.
Clinical analysis of 22 neuroblastoma cases in children

Objective To improve the diagnosis rate and decrease misdiagnosis through analyzing the clinical and experimental features of neuroblastoma (NB) in children.Methods The clinical and experimental features associated with the misdiagnosis factors of 22 NB cases were analyzed retrospectively.Results Of the 22 cases,leg pain in 15 cases (68.18 ％),fever in 19 cases (86.36 ％),anemia in 20 cases (90.90 ％),abdominal pain and bloating in 15 cases (68.18 ％),exophthalmoses and bruises eyes in 4 cases (18.18 ％) and easily perspire in 20 cases (90.90 ％).Abdomen was the most common primary site founding in 16 cases (accounting for 72.72 ％),followed by mediastinum founding in 4 cases (accounting for 18.18 ％),other sites were 2 cases (9.09 ％).Laboratory results showed that anemia was the most common cause in 20 cases (90.90 ％),oligoleukocythemia in 2 cases (9.09 ％) and less in thrombocytopenia about 3 cases (13.63 ％).Elevated values were recorded in 77.77 ％ of patients for vanillylmandelic acid (VMA),86.36 ％ for ferritin (Fer),90.90 ％ for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH),and in 100.00 ％ for neuron specific enolase (NSE).20 cases were found metastasis when diagnosed,which accounted for 90.90 ％.16 cases (72.72 ％) were found tumour cells which determined in bone marrow and 20 cases (90.90 ％) were positive for CD56-FITC/CD81-PE/CD45-Percp by flow cytometry (FCM).12 (54.54 ％) of 22 NB cases were misdiagnosed for rheumatoid diseases (4 cases),dyspepsia (4 cases),leukemia (3 cases) and thrambocytopenia (1 case).In 22 cases,20 cases (90.90 ％) were positive for CT scan.16 cases (72.72 ％) were positive for abdominal B ultrasonography,and 14 cases (63.63 ％) were positive for radionuclide bone scan.Conclusion Bultrasonography and CT scan will contribute to find the primary focus of NB at early stage.VMA,bone marrow smear,biopsy and FCM detection could reduce misdiagnose rate. Key words: Neuroblastoma; Child; Diagnosis
Floral resource diversity drives bee community diversity in prairie restorations along an agricultural landscape gradient

There are four files for this analysis. The Species Data includes information on what bees were collected at which sites. The site by round file contains the site information in a site by round interaction format for recreating the local diversity analysis and contains floral resource richness values for each unique site by round combination. The site data sheet is simply the site information with floral resource richness pooled over the entire sampling season.
Crowdvoting Judgment: An Analysis of Modern Peer Review

In this paper, we propose and analyze models of self policing in online communities, in which assessment activities, typically handled by firm employees, are shifted to the “crowd.” Our underlying ...
Towards an API for the real numbers

The real numbers are pervasive, both in daily life, and in mathematics. Students spend much time studying their properties. Yet computers and programming languages generally provide only an approximation geared towards performance, at the expense of many of the nice properties we were taught in high school. Although this is entirely appropriate for many applications, particularly those that are sensitive to arithmetic performance in the usual sense, we argue that there are others where it is a poor choice. If arithmetic computations and result are directly exposed to human users who are not floating point experts, floating point approximations tend to be viewed as bugs. For applications such as calculators, spreadsheets, and various verification tasks, the cost of precision sacrifices is high, and the performance benefit is often not critical. We argue that previous attempts to provide accurate and understandable results for such applications using the recursive reals were great steps in the right direction, but they do not suffice. Comparing recursive reals diverges if they are equal. In many cases, comparison of numbers, including equal ones, is both important, particularly in simple cases, and intractable in the general case. We propose an API for a real number type that explicitly provides decidable equality in the easy common cases, in which it is often unnatural not to. We describe a surprisingly compact and simple implementation in detail. The approach relies heavily on classical number theory results. We demonstrate the utility of such a facility in two applications: testing floating point functions, and to implement arithmetic in Google's Android calculator application.
Salt-Wasting Crisis in a Newborn

A 10-day-old baby presents with failure to thrive and is found to have hyponatraemia and hyperkalaemia. In this case study the differential diagnosis is considered with a systematic approach to investigation, treatment, long-term management and complications. Current controversies are also discussed.
On the Exceedances of Exchangeable Random Variables

Suppose that Xn = (X1,…,Xn) have mean 0, and a single-factor covariance Σ = (σij) with σii = 1 and σij = ρ ≥ 0 for i ≠ j. For a threshold c, let Sn be the number of components of Xn that exceed c. We express the distribution of Sn in terms of a single integral, provide the limiting distribution as $n \rightarrow \infty $ , and show that the limit resembles the Beta family. We then describe the shape of the exceedance distribution when the underlying distributions of the single-factor model have a certain likelihood ratio criterion with respect to its scale parameter, and we show that it obeys a majorization ordering.
Bedside Cardiac Ultrasound in the Intensive Care Unit

Ultrasound is widely used among critical care providers for both diagnostic evaluations and procedural guidance. The proliferation of this as a tool is guided by the convenience, portability, and safety it provides. Focusing on decreasing mortality and the obvious benefit of early recognition of shock, as described by Rivers in 2001, critical care ultrasound has broad utility for diagnostic capabilities in not only shock, but trauma, cardiac failure, hemorrhage, and resuscitation efforts for the critically ill patient. As such, ultrasound has become a fundamental instrument in the armamentarium of critical care medicine.
The intersubjective responsibility of durational trauma: Contributions of Bergson and Levinas to the philosophy of trauma

In public discourse trauma is predominantly framed as an overwhelming event undergone by the individual. In this article I first provide a brief genealogy to trace the emergence of what is now the dominant temporal framework of psychological catastrophe. I supplement this evental nosology with a durational consideration of trauma by drawing on the works of Henri Bergson and his articulation of duration, memory, and lived experience. Durational trauma accommodates liminal and ongoing experiences of the catastrophic that are equally devastating to the paradigmatic exemplars of PTSD. This alternate account entails different modalities of reparation and responsibility to the systemic traumatization of others. For this I draw on Levinas and his intersubjective ethics drawing out the relevancy his work has for this concept of durational trauma. Levinas’s emphasis on expiation avoids the reification of the trauma of the other as spectacle and draws into focus one’s own participation in the circulation and continuation of ongoing traumatic networks. This contributes to the emergent alchemy of reading Bergson and Levinas together, but likewise, to philosophy of trauma and the ethical responsibility and temporality of ongoing systemic harm.
Why We Need Emotional Intelligence in the Design of Autonomous Social Robots and How Confucian Moral Sentimentalism Can Help

This paper argues for the need to develop emotion in social robots to enable them to become artificial moral agents. The paper considers four dimensions of this issue: what, why, which, and how. The main thesis is that we need to build not just emotional intelligence, but also ersatz emotions, in autonomous social robots. Moral sentimentalism and moral functionalism are employed as the theoretical models. However, this paper argues that the popularly endorsed moral sentiment empathy is the wrong model to implement in social robots. In its stead, I propose the four moral sentiments (commiseration, shame/disgust, respect and deference, and the sense of right and wrong) in Confucian moral sentimentalism as our starting point for the top-down affective structure of robot design.
Normal stress differences from hole pressure measurements

Stressmeter data for viscosity n and the first normal stress difference N 1 in steady shear flow are compared with similar data obtained from cone and plate, plate and plate, capillary rheometers and flow birefringence, using molten polymers and polymer solutions. It is established that the melt stressmeter gives reliable data up to a shear stress σ = 130 kPa and shear rate γ = 2200 s-1 and that the high shear rate stressmeter gives reliable data up to σ = 15kPa and γ = 106s-1. An ultra high shear rate viscometer gives a constant viscosity for decalin up to γ = 5 × 106s-1. Viscous heating errors are small, and are corrected by a new algorithm.
A Computationally Efficient Method for the Solution of Methane - Air Chemical Kinetics With Application to HCCI Combustion

The Rate-Controlled Constrained-Equilibrium (RCCE) method is applied to the numerical solution of methane-air combustion. The RCCE method offers a reduction in computation time for complex chemically reacting systems because the rate equations for a small number of slowly evolving constraints need to be solved. The current work focuses on presenting both the principles of the RCCE method and its application to methane-air Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion. This work takes into consideration some of the previously unexplored numerical issues associated with solving the RCCE equation set. Application of the RCCE method is first demonstrated in constant and variable volume adiabatic environments and compared to the integration of the full set of kinetic rate equations for each species. Results presented here show a reduction in computational time. For large molecules, which require larger chemical mechanisms, it is expected that the computational time associated with the RCCE method should continue to improve over direct integration. The latter part of this work uses a thermo-kinetic HCCI model coupled with the RCCE method to simulate the combustion process in a methane-fueled internal combustion engine operating under HCCI conditions. This is the first known application of this method to HCCI simulations. Results are compared in light of HCCI experiments.
Open source and open content: A framework for global collaboration in social-ecological research

This paper discusses opportunities for alternative collaborative approaches for social- ecological research in general and, in this context, for modeling land-use/land-cover change. In this field, the rate of progress in academic research is steady but perhaps not as rapid or efficient as might be possible with alternative organizational frameworks. The convergence of four phenomena provides new opportunities for cross-organizational collaboration: (1) collaborative principles related to "open source" (OS) software development, (2) the emerging area of "open content" (OC) licensing, (3) the World Wide Web as a platform for scientific communication, and (4) the traditional concept of peer review. Although private individuals, government organizations, and even companies have shown interest in the OS paradigm as an alternative model for software development, it is less commonly recognized that this collaborative framework is a potential innovation of much greater proportions. In fact, it can guide the collective development of any intellectual content, not just software. This paper has two purposes. First, we describe OS and OC licensing, dispense with some myths about OS, and relate these structures to traditional scientific process. Second, we outline how these ideas can be applied in an area of collaborative research relevant to the study of social-ecological systems. It is important to recognize that the concept of OS is not new, but the idea of borrowing OS principles and using OC licensing for broader scientific collaboration is new. Over the last year, we have been trying to initiate such an OS/OC collaboration in the context of modeling land use and land cover. In doing so, we have identified some key issues that need to be considered, including project initiation, incentives of project participants, collaborative infrastructure, institutional design and governance, and project finance. OS/OC licensing is not a universal solution suitable for all projects, but the framework presented here does present tangible advantages over traditional methods of academic research.
Detection of spread-spectrum signals in a multi-user environment

Code-division multiple-access (CDMA) is emerging as a desirable protocol by which multiple users can simultaneously share a communication channel. Motivated by a previous study of adaptive multi-user demodulators for direct-sequence spread-spectrum multiple access, detectors for spread-spectrum signals are investigated. Due to the prohibitive complexity of the locally optimum detector for such a stochastic multi-variate signal in impulsive channel noise, moderate complexity distribution-free detectors are pursued. In particular, the differential SNRs (processing gain) of correlator based structures are determined. This performance measure is apt given the relatively low signal strength of spread digital signals. The numerical results (in the context of the prior investigation of adaptive multi-user demodulators) impel the development of a hybrid detector which is composed of linear and nonlinear structures. The asymptotic normality of the test statistics under study is also examined.
Cerebrovascular reactivity in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To compare cerebrovascular reactivity in normotensive and preeclamptic pregnant women. METHODS: Transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to measure peak, end-diastolic, and mean velocities in the middle cerebral arteries of 45 normotensive and 36 preeclamptic women in the third trimester. All measurements were done in the left lateral position at baseline, during 5% carbon dioxide (CO2) inhalation, and during an isometric hand-grip test. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate, oxygen (O2) saturation, and end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) were recorded with each Doppler measurement. The mean pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and cerebral perfusion pressure at each time was compared using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Cerebrovascular reactivity, calculated as the percentage change in response to each maneuver, was also compared using analysis of covariance. A post hoc power analysis was performed to evaluate the primary measures of the study (middle cerebral artery PI and RI). Using alpha error of 5%, the statistical power to identify a difference in PI and RI in women with preeclampsia compared with normotensive women was 90% and 67%, respectively. The statistical power to identify a difference in PI and RI in response to the two maneuvers was 69% and 53%, respectively. Statistical significance was set at P RESULTS: Preeclamptic women had higher baseline cerebral perfusion pressure (90.4 compared with 61.9 mmHg, P CONCLUSION: Normotensive pregnant women had normal middle cerebral artery responses to both 5% CO2 inhalation and isometric hand-grip test. Preeclamptic patients had elevated baseline cerebral perfusion pressure and reduced vasodilatory responses to both tests. These findings are consistent with a state of vasoconstriction in preeclamptic women that is unresponsive to stimuli that under normal circumstances result in vasodilation.
Action of VIP and secretin on adenylate cyclase activity in acinar cells from guinea pig pancreas.

Abstract In membranes from dispersed acinar cells from guinea pig pancreas, adenylate cyclase activity was increased by vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin, and 5′-guanylimidodiphosphate, a nucleotidase-resistant analogue of GTP. The time-course for stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in membranes incubated with vasoactive intestinal peptide was rapid compared with that in membranes incubated with 5′-guanylimidodiphosphate. In membranes incubated with vasoactive intestinal peptide plus the nucleotide, the time-course for stimulation of enzyme activity was the same as that with the nucleotide alone. The guanyl nucleotide potentiated the increase in adenylate cyclase activity caused by secretin or vasoactive intestinal peptide in that the increase in enzyme activity caused by the nucleotide plus either of the peptides was significantly greater than the sum of the increase caused by each agent acting alone. Without the guanyl nucleotide the threshold concentration for stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity by vasoactive intestinal peptide or secretin was greater than 1 nM whereas with the nucleotide a significant increase in enzyme activity could be detected with concentrations of vasoactive intestinal peptide or secretin as low as 10 pM. The dose response curves for peptide-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity were monophasic without 5′-guanylimidodiphosphate but were biphasic with the nucleotide. These actions of 5′-guanylimidodiphosphate were temperature-dependent, could not be reversed by washing, and did not reflect changes in membrane binding of the peptide or of the nucleotide. Furthermore, the effects of 5′-guanylimidodiphosphate could be inhibited by GTP or GDP, and once established, could be reversed by GTP or GDP. These results indicate that, in acinar cells from guinea pig pancreas, interactions of guanyl nucleotides with the GTP-regulatory site of adenylate cyclase may be an important determinant of the cellular response to vasoactive intestinal peptide and secretin.
Stream-aquifer interactions and hyporheic exchange in gaining and losing sinuous streams

[1] The irregular planform morphology of rivers leads to formation of hyporheic zones along its banks. This study investigates how hyporheic exchange in stream banks, whose planform is idealized as sinusoidal, is affected by net gains from and net losses of water to the adjacent aquifer. These effects are studied via numerical modeling of groundwater flow adjacent to sinuous channels across a broad range of sinuosity and gain/loss magnitude. Hyporheic zone areas and fluxes both decrease exponentially with increasing magnitude of net gain or loss relative to the case where the stream has no net flux of water (neutral). Residence time through the hyporheic zone also decreases with gain/loss magnitude. The hyporheic zones become constrained near the apex of bends, indicating that these areas could be hot spots for mixing and biogeochemical processing. Hyporheic zones in channels with smaller sinuosity are more prone to hyporheic flux and area reduction while very sinuous channels are able to maintain a hyporheic zone even under largely losing or gaining conditions. Equations fitted to the suite of simulation results allow for prediction of hyporheic flux, area, and residence time on the basis of aquifer hydraulic conductivity, channel sinuosity, and the ratio of along-valley and across-valley mean head gradients.
Benzene and Beyond: Pursuing the Core of Aromaticity

Kekule first suggested a hexagonal structure for benzene in 1865. For over a half-century after, chemists struggled to reconcile proposed structures for benzene and other aromatic compounds with their resistance to chemical transformation and tendency to maintain the type during reaction. The combined structural and reactivity features of these compounds were eventually covered by the term 'aromaticity'. Kekule, Bamberger and Thiele had each proposed a criterion for aromaticity; all were either empirically contradicted or incapable of evaluation. In the 1930s, two rival quantum mechanical methods succeeded in establishing a physical basis for aromaticity. Using valence bond theory, Pauling attributed benzene's stability to its being a resonance hybrid of several Lewis structures. Calculating resonance energies was challenging but manipulating Lewis structures was not; that procedure provided qualitative insights into aromatic structure and reactivity. Resonance theory appealed especially to organic chemists and eclipsed Huckel's contemporaneous molecular orbital approach, which remained relatively inaccessible. In the 1950s, however, simple rules derived from Huckel's mathematics, combined with proton NMR data, provided seemingly universal criteria for aromaticity. In the event, post-1950 discoveries of non-organic, three-dimensional compounds such as ferrocene and the fullerenes that exhibit aromatic properties led chemists to doubt the utility and universality of 'aromaticity' as a concept. A recent consensus maintains that aromaticity is a multi-variable phenomenon that cannot be reduced to a strict definition, a property it shares with other core chemical concepts such as 'acidity' and 'reactivity'.
Language and Emotion Certain English–Arabic Translations Are Not Equivalent

Happiness, sadness, and anger are translated into Arabic as farah, huzn, and ghudub, respectively, by the translation–back translation method. But are these translations equivalent? To be equivalent, they must have the same referents, specifically, show a high correlation between profiles of endorsement and a similar breadth of endorsement when used to refer to emotions. Here, English-speaking Americans, English-speaking Palestinians, and Arabic-speaking Palestinians (N = 60, 60, and 42, respectively) rated the extent to which each of 12 words referred to the various emotions conveyed by 22 facial expressions. Only one translation (happiness–farah) passed both tests of equivalence. All others differed with culture or language.
Immunological synapse: a multi‐protein signalling cellular apparatus for controlling gene expression

The interaction of T cells with antigen-presenting cells is the hallmark of adaptive immunity. In vitro studies have described the formation of an immunological synapse between these cells, and intra-vital imaging has described in great detail the dynamics of these interactions. The immunological synapse has become a paradigm to study signals exchanged between the two cells. A wealth of information has been amassed regarding the localization of signalling molecules, their kinetics and the transcription factors they activate. We continue to discover mechanisms that cause receptors and signalling molecules to compartmentalize in the cell; however, the emerging challenge lies in understanding how the immunological synapse contributes to differentiation. Here, we review some of the transcription factors activated downstream of T-cell receptor signalling and discuss mechanisms by which antigen dose and affinity may influence differentiation. Antigen affinity might change the kind of transcription factors that are activated whereas antigen dose is likely to influence the temporal dynamics of the transcription factors. The immunological synapse is therefore likely to influence differentiation by modulating the trafficking of transcription factors and by promoting asymmetric cell division, an emerging concept.
Patterns and persistence of antibiotic resistance in faecal indicator bacteria from freshwater recreational beaches

Aims This study was conducted to determine antibiotic susceptibility patterns among the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), Escherichia coli and enterococci, and to determine the potential for freshwater beaches to serve as reservoirs of resistance genes where transfer of resistant phenotypes takes place or de novo resistance may evolve. Methods and Results One hundred and forty-seven E. coli and 150 enterococci collected from sand and water at recreational beaches along Lake Huron, Michigan, USA were screened against commonly used antibiotics. Resistance was apparent in both E. coli (19% resistant) and enterococci (65% resistant). Antibiotic-resistant E. coli were capable of growing in beach sand microcosms and were able to transfer a plasmid-encoded kanamycin-resistance gene in sand microcosms. Furthermore, resistant phenotypes were stable in the sand environment even in the absence of the corresponding antibiotic. Conclusions Antibiotic-resistant FIB were prevalent and persistent in the beach habitat. Significance and Impact of the Study Active populations of FIB at beaches express antibiotic resistance phenotypes and have the ability to transfer antibiotic resistance. These human-associated bacteria may be intermediaries in the movement of resistance between environmental and clinical reservoirs.
Tunable acoustic metamaterial elements, neutral inclusions, transparency and causality

Acoustic metamaterial elements based on cylindrical elastic shells with an internal mass supported by axisymmetric stiffeners are described. The shell's effective acoustic prop- erties are tuned by varying the mass and stiffness. The elements can be impedance and index matched to water, resulting in near-zero scattering cross section over a broad range of low fre- quencies. The physical constraints necessary for low frequency transparency imply that the scattering is non-causal which means there must be scattering at high frequency.