cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multipath-dominant analysis of rotating blades using a pulsed waveform

Wind turbines present an opportunity for real-time, clear weather wind observations. By remotely measuring the speed and direction of turbine rotation, one could opportunistically measure wind speed and direction. However, current methods do not allow for rotation direction measurement if one uses a stationary monostatic radar platform. The authors present a novel angular fingerprinting algorithm that fills this gap. Unlike other approaches, the authors assume that the target's centroid is stationary and exploit doppler multipath signals to resolve the otherwise unavoidable ambiguities that arise. Since the algorithm is based on an underlying differential topological theory, it is robust to distortions in the collected data. The authors demonstrate performance of this algorithm experimentally, by exhibiting a pulsed doppler sonar collection system that runs on a smartphone.
Infection With Highly Pathogenic H7 Influenza Viruses Results in an Attenuated Proinflammatory Cytokine and Chemokine Response Early After Infection

Avian influenza A viruses of the H7 subtype have resulted in more than 100 cases of human infection since 2002. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7 viruses have the capacity to cause severe respiratory disease and even death; however, the induction of the human innate immune response to H7 virus infection has not been well characterized. To better understand H7 virus pathogenesis in the human respiratory tract, we employed a polarized human bronchial epithelial cell model and primary human monocyte-derived macrophages. Here, we show that infection with HPAI H7 viruses resulted in a delayed and weakened production of cytokines, including the type I interferon response, compared with infections of other influenza A subtypes, including H7 viruses of low pathogenicity. These studies revealed that H7 viruses vary greatly in their ability to activate host innate responses and may contribute to the virulence of these viruses observed in humans.
In situ TEM nanoindentation of nanoparticles.

a b s t r a c t The deformation behavior of nanoparticles continues to be an exciting area for materials research. Typi- cally, nanoparticles show a conspicuous lack of dislocations, even after significant deformation. Therefore, it has been suggested that dislocations cannot exist or/do not play a role on the deformation of nanopar- ticles. In situ TEM nanoindentation is a critical tool for addressing this issue because it allows for the deformation to be monitored in real time. In this article, we discuss some of the experimental needs and challenges for performing in situ nanoindentation TEM experiments on nanoparticles. In addition, we show both diffraction contrast and phase contrast in situ TEM nanoindentation experiments on silver nanoparticles with diameters below 50 nm. Evidence of the presence of dislocations was observed during deformation, but upon unloading dislocations disappeared. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Masculinities in Interaction The Coproduction of Israeli and American Jewish Men in Philanthropic Fund-raising Events

This article examines how different groups of men negotiate and produce distinct masculinities in actual encounters. The article studies the establishment of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) during the 1940s and focuses on how American and Israeli Jews interacted in fund-raising events. It identifies the threats to the masculine faces of these groups that arose in this setting and examines the organizational practices that were developed in order to allow these groups to cooperate and coproduce their distinct models of masculinity. Exploring masculinities in interaction highlights the importance of concrete organizational practices and monetary transactions, in particular, for the construction of masculinities. Specific discursive and organizational arrangements allow actors to act in a masculine manner and receive affirmation for their masculine claims. In the case examined here, specific discursive practices and the temporal and spatial organization of fund-raising events eased the tensions between two di...
Zeta potential and electroosmotic mobility in microfluidic devices fabricated from hydrophobic polymers: 1. The origins of charge

This paper combines new experimental data for electrokinetic characterization of hydrophobic polymers with a detailed discussion of the putative origins of charge at water-hydrophobe interfaces. Complexities in determining the origin of charge are discussed in the context of design and modeling challenges for electrokinetic actuation in hydrophobic microfluidic devices with aqueous working fluids. Measurements of interfacial charge are complicated by slip and interfacial water structuring phenomena (see Part 2, this issue). Despite these complexities, it is shown that (i) several hydrophobic materials, such as Teflon and Zeonor, have predictable electrokinetic properties and (ii) electrokinetic data for hydrophobic microfluidic systems is most consistent with the postulate that hydroxyl ion adsorption is the origin of charge.
Role of TLR2-dependent IL-10 production in the inhibition of the initial IFN-γ T cell response to Porphyromonas gingivalis

P.g., a Gram-negative bacterium, is one of the main etiological agents of the chronic inflammatory disease, periodontitis. Disease progression is thought to occur as a result of an inadequate immune response, which although happens locally, can also occur distally as a result of the dissemination of P.g. into the circulation. As IL-10 and TLR2 are pivotal molecules in the immune response that P.g. elicits, we hypothesized that TLR2-mediated IL-10 production, following the initial systemic exposure to P.g., inhibits the IFN-γ T cell response. To address this hypothesis, mice were primed with P.g., and the types of cells producing IL-10 and the capacity of T cells to produce IFN-γ following blocking or neutralization of IL-10 were assessed. Our results showed that upon initial encounter with P.g., splenic T cells and CD11b(+) cells produce IL-10, which when neutralized, resulted in a substantial increase in IFN-γ production by T cells. Furthermore, IL-10 production was dependent on TLR2/1 signaling, partly in response to the major surface protein, FimA of P.g. In addition, P.g. stimulation resulted in the up-regulation of PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1 on CD4 T cells and CD11b(+) cells, respectively. Up-regulation of PD-1 was partially dependent on IL-10 but independent of TLR2 or FimA. These results highlight the role of IL-10 in inhibiting T cell responses to the initial systemic P.g. exposure and suggest multiple inhibitory mechanisms potentially used by P.g. to evade the host's immune response, thus allowing its persistence in the host.
Arthroscopic Reduction-Association of the Scapholunate

The reduction-association scapholunate (RASL) procedure for stabilization of the scapholunate joint is an alternative to soft-tissue procedures that do not maintain normal carpal alignment, despite reports of good symptomatic relief. The RASL procedure--indicated for patients with scapholunate instability or scapholunate dissociation without arthritis and, in selected cases, with stage 1 scapholunate advanced collapse of the wrist--can be performed arthroscopically. Radial midcarpal and 3-4 radiocarpal portals are used to excoriate and prepare the scapholunate joint surfaces. By use of 0.62'' K-wire joysticks in the lunate and distal pole of the scaphoid, the scaphoid undergoes dorsiflexion and supination while the lunate undergoes palmarflexion to achieve reduction. A .35'' guidewire is advanced through the scaphoid waist, across the scapholunate joint to the proximomedial corner of the lunate. Supplemental K-wire fixation, from the scaphoid to the capitatum and lunate to the radius, stabilizes the reduction for placement of a cannulated HBS screw (Orthosurgical Implants, Miami, FL) through a 1-2 portal, while reduction and positioning are confirmed arthroscopically. Arthroscopy facilitates anatomic reduction of the joint, as well as the critically important, precise placement of the cannulated HBS screw, by use of 3 portals rather than the traditional 2-incision approach.
Thrombosis of vein grafts: wall tension restrains thrombomodulin expression.

Thrombosis is a major complication leading to early vein graft failure in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.1 Like thrombosis at other sites, thrombosis of vein grafts results from a failure of hemostatic balance, which is normally maintained by a complex series of coagulation reactions that involve both systemic and local factors.2 The endothelium contributes to local hemostatic balance by producing thrombomodulin, which functions as an essential cofactor for the activation of anticoagulant protein C3 and other antithrombotic molecules such as heparin sulfates, plasminogen activators, and nitric oxide. The antithrombotic properties of endothelium may become compromised when vein grafts are exposed to the high-pressure arterial circulation. As its name implies, thrombomodulin modulates the activity of thrombin from that of a procoagulant to an anticoagulant protease.4 When bound to thrombomodulin on the endothelial surface, thrombin is unable to generate fibrin or activate platelets but instead becomes a potent activator of protein C (see Figure). The activated form of protein C (APC) is an anticoagulant protease that selectively inactivates coagulation factors Va and VIIIa, providing an essential feedback mechanism to prevent excessive coagulation. Although activation of protein C in vivo is completely dependent on thrombomodulin, the efficiency of protein C activation is enhanced by another endothelial cofactor, the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR).5 The clinical importance of the thrombomodulin/protein C anticoagulant pathway is underscored by the strong association between venous thromboembolism and resistance to APC caused by factor V Leiden.6 Local activation of …
Spatial dispersion and binomial sequential sampling for the potato psyllid (Hemiptera: Triozidae) on potato

BACKGROUND: The potato psyllid is a serious pest of potatoes. Sampling plans on potatoes for the potato psyllid have yet to be developed, thus the authors’ objectives were (1) to determine the most efficient within-plant sampling unit, (2) to determine the spatial dispersion of potato psyllids in potato fields and (3) to develop a binomial sequential sampling plan for this pest. RESULTS: Significantly more potato plants were infested with potato psyllids on the edges of the field, and significantly more plants were infested with psyllids on the ‘top’ and ‘middle’ of the potato plant. Significantly more psyllids were also found on the undersides of leaves. The potato psyllid has an aggregated distribution in potato fields. Binomial sequential sampling plans were developed for three action thresholds representing 0.5, 1 and 5 psyllids per plant. The average sample numbers for these action thresholds were between 12 and 16 samples, depending on the action thresholds. However, based on the shape of the operating characteristic curve, the 0.5 and 1 sampling plans were more reliable than the 5 psyllids per plant plan. CONCLUSION: The binomial sequential sampling plans are useful for detecting potato psyllids at low levels of infestation, which will be useful for pest management purposes. c � 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Straylight Error in a Spectrophotometer

A method is described for arriving at a calibration equation expressing concentration in terms of absorbancy. This equation is based on the assumption of a constant stray radiant energy or a constant dark current compensation error. The deviation from linearity was found to correspond to 0.1 per cent stray radiant energy at 273 mµ in a Beckman spectrophotometer.
Facile Synthesis of Gold Nanorice Enclosed by High-Index Facets and Its Application for CO Oxidation

A facile method for generating Au nanorice enclosed by high-index facets in high purity. The nanorice shows much higher catalytic activity for CO oxidation than multiply twinned particles of Au enclosed by {l_brace}111{r_brace} facets at temperatures below 300 C.
Carbon dioxide fixation in marine invertebrates. III. The main pathway in flatworms.

primarily in succinic, fumaric, and malic acids, suggested that most animals share the main pathway demonstrated in the oyster (2), namely, the carboxylation of propionate to form succinate, which is then metabolized through the citric acid cycle. The flatworms, Stylochus zebra and Bdelloura candida, however, had relatively little Cl4 in succinic acid and a large amount in an acid not identifiable with those of the cycle (1). The purpose of the experiments described in this report was to determine the principal pathways of COz fixation in free-living flatworms. The common fresh-water planarian Dugesia tigrina, the two marine turbellarians of the previous study, and a trematode Entobdella bumpusi were found to exhibit very similar patterns of labeling of organic acids after incubation for various periods in water containing NaHC1403. These flatworms form a series of increasing closeness of association with larger animals, from Dugesia, which has no association, to Stylochus, which inhabits the same shell as hermit crabs, to Bdelloura, which attaches to the legs and gills of the horseshoe crab. The monogenetic trematode E. bump& is an ectoparasite of the sting ray. The general results indicated that, although propionate is utilized by flatworms, the principal carboxylation in the absence of added substrate is the conversion of pyruvate to malate.
An Evaluation of the Proposed Mechanism of the Adaptive Infrared Iris Hypothesis Using TRMM VIRS and PR Measurements

Significant controversy surrounds the adaptive infrared iris hypothesis put forth by Lindzen et al., whereby tropical anvil cirrus detrainment is hypothesized to decrease with increasing sea surface temperature (SST). This dependence would act as an iris, allowing more infrared radiation to escape into space and inhibiting changes in the surface temperature. This hypothesis assumes that increased precipitation efficiency in regions of higher sea surface temperatures will reduce cirrus detrainment. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM ) satellite measurements are used here to investigate the adaptive infrared iris hypothesis. Pixel-level Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) 10.8-m brightness temperature data and precipitation radar (PR) rain-rate data from TRMM are collocated and matched to determine individual convective cloud boundaries. Each cloudy pixel is then matched to the underlying SST. This study examines single- and multicore convective clouds separately to directly determine if a relationship exists between the size of convective clouds, their precipitation, and the underlying SSTs. In doing so, this study addresses some of the criticisms of the Lindzen et al. study by eliminating their more controversial method of relating bulk changes of cloud amount and SST across a large domain in the Tropics. The current analysis does not show any significant SST dependence of the ratio of cloud area to surface rainfall for deep convection in the tropical western and central Pacific. Results do, however, suggest that SST plays an important role in the ratio of cloud area and surface rainfall for warm rain processes. For clouds with brightness temperatures between 270 and 280 K, a net decrease in cloud area normalized by rainfall of 5% per degree SST was found.
Designer natriuretic peptides: a vision for the future of heart failure therapeutics.

Despite recent pharmacological advances in heart failure therapy, mortality from acute decompensated heart failure remains high. Conventional therapies are often insufficient to address the complex interplay between structural, functional, neurohumoral, and renal mechanisms involved in the heart failure syndrome. The natriuretic peptide system, however, offers a unique pleiotropic strategy which could bridge this gap in heart failure therapy. Exogenous administration of native A-type and B-type natriuretic peptides has been met with both success and limitations, and despite the limitations, remains a worthwhile endeavor. Alternatively, synthetic modification to create “designer” chimeric peptides holds the possibility to extend both the application and therapeutic benefits possible with a natriuretic peptide based approach. Herein we describe the development of natriuretic peptide based heart failure therapies, including the design, rationale, and preliminary studies of the novel chimeric peptides CD-NP a...
Walter Benjamin’s Black Flashlight Promoting Misreading over Persuasion to Decenter Textual and Political Authority

Many theorists promote a decentralized politics but very few of them practice this decentralization textually. In this essay, I engage with three techniques Benjamin employs to decenter his authori...
Modeling and identification of human musculoskeletal walking system

Several methods are tested to identify the human musculoskeletal system both as a linear and nonlinear system. For the linear system approach, a MIMO (multiinput, multioutput) ARX (autoregressive with exogeneous inputs) model is first tested to get a rough estimation of the system structure and parameters. A general linear input-output MIMO model is then developed, and parameters are estimated by means of the prediction error identification method. Since the complex human musculoskeletal system is almost certainly a nonlinear system, nonlinear system identification is applied and polynomials are used to approximate the nonlinear system functions. For such a MIMO nonlinear system, the parameters to be estimated will number in the thousands or even millions, depending on the polynomial degrees used and the maximum orders of delays. To overcome such numerical difficulties, a forward-regression orthogonal method is used to select only the most significant terms and estimate the corresponding parameters. >
Adaptive model predictive control of uncertain constrained systems

This paper studies adaptive model predictive control (AMPC) of systems with time-varying and state-dependent uncertainties. We propose an estimation and prediction architecture within the min-max MPC framework. An adaptive estimator is presented to estimate the set-valued measure of the uncertainty using piecewise constant adaptive law. We show that this measure can be arbitrarily accurate if the sampling period in adaptation is small enough. Based on this measure, a prediction scheme is provided that predicts the time-varying feasible set of the uncertainty over the prediction horizon. The results indicate that the proposed approach can efficiently reduce the size of the feasible set for the uncertainty in min-max MPC setting, and therefore improve the control performance. Simulations verify the theoretical results.
The adaptive value of humor and laughter

Abstract Most explanations for humor neglect important types of humor, such as tickling and word play; or raise difficult evolutionary theoretical problems, such as group selection, dubious fitness benefits, and excessive complexity of design; or ignore the data on humor and laughter. The present theory was based on the following observations. Tickling entails a mock attack at vulnerable body spots, and may provide youngsters with practice in defending themselves. The child's laughter is pleasant and encourages the tickler to persist. Similarly, juvenile primates including children encourage roughhousing by laughter and other emotional expressions. We also laugh at humorous content that provides striking counter-examples (incongruities), as in word play, or that informs us about fitness-relevant topics such as sexual, aggressive, and social poise scenarios. The present theory is that the pleasure of humor motivates us to seek out poignant, fitness- enhancing input of this sort. Laughter evolved to allow us to continue to recieve amusement. Laughter is a pleasant social signal that prompts the humorist to persist in providing this edifying stimulation. In response to true wit, laughter conveys appreciation and gratitude—an intention to reciprocate for having received a stimulating idea. Thus, humor benefits both humorist and laughter. This theory and others are evaluated in the light of evolutionary principles and relevant data.
A reinforcement learning-based scheme for adaptive optimal control of linear stochastic systems

Reinforcement learning where decision-making agents learn optimal policies through environmental interactions is an attractive paradigm for direct, adaptive controller design. However, results for systems with continuous variables are rare. Here, we generalize a previous work on deterministic linear systems, to stochastic ones, since uncertainty is almost always present and needs to be accounted for to ensure good closed-loop performance. In this work, we present convergence results and also show an example suggesting automatic controller order-reduction. We also highlight key differences between the algorithms for deterministic and stochastic systems.
Emerging radiation hardness assurance (RHA) issues: a NASA approach for space flight programs

Spacecraft performance requirements drive the utilization of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components and emerging technologies in systems. The response of these technologies to radiation is often complex. This engenders a set of emerging radiation hardness assurance (RHA) issues which include displacement damage in optocouplers, high-precision and hybrid devices, enhanced low dose rate (ELDR) and proton damage enhancement (PDE) in linear circuits, linear transients, and catastrophic single event effects (SEEs) phenomena. NASA has developed an approach to designing reliable space systems which address these emerging RHA issues. This programmatic methodology includes hazard definition, hazard evaluation, requirements definition, evaluation of device usage, and application of radiation engineering techniques with the active involvement of designers. Risk assessment is an integral constituent in the approach as is an established program to assess future technology needs for programs.
Calcitriol therapy and calcium-regulated PTH secretion in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism

Calcitriol lowers serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism, but its effect on calcium-regulated PTH release remains controversial. Thus 11 patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism underwent dynamic tests of parathyroid function before and after 4 mo of intermittent calcitriol therapy. Serum calcitriol levels rose from 8 +/- 1 to 55 +/- 9 (SE) pg/ml, P < 0.01, serum total and ionized calcium levels increased, and serum PTH levels decreased from 584 +/- 154 to 154 +/- 31 pg/ml, P < 0.05. The maximum increase in serum PTH during hypocalcemia did not differ before (248 +/- 78 pg/ml) or after (280 +/- 100 pg/ml) treatment, but the increase in PTH, expressed as a percentage of preinfusion values, was greater after treatment (329 +/- 73 vs. 132 +/- 10%, P < 0.05). The decreases in serum PTH during calcium infusions did not differ before (70 +/- 5%) or after (73 +/- 5%) therapy, and the set point for PTH release did not change (1.20 +/- 0.03 vs. 1.23 +/- 0.01 mmol/l, not significant). Calcitriol modifies PTH secretion during hypocalcemia in secondary hyperparathyroidism without affecting the set point for PTH release; although calcitriol lowers serum PTH levels, it may also restore the secretory reserve of hyperplastic parathyroid tissues during hypocalcemia.
Research in the Luquillo Experimental Forest Has Advanced Understanding of Tropical Forests and Resolved Management Issues

Long-term research on the response of wet forests in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) to natural and anthropogenic disturbances yielded information useful for the management of these forests and to a better understanding of the functioning of tropical forests and how species composition changes under different disturbance regimes. We summarize studies on basal area removal, response to ionizing radiation, and the effects of hurricanes and landslides on forested watersheds. We also review studies on forested stream biota following hurricane, drought, and flooding events. This chapter also evaluates reforestation of degraded lands and recovery of forests after abandonment of paved roads. All the studies combined cover the major land cover changes that take place throughout the tropics and which require attention to conserve tropical biodiversity. These changes range from limited extractions of resources from forests to deforestation and conversion to pastures. When tropical forests are converted to pastures, more intensive management actions are needed to restore lands, including planting of introduced species capable of growing on degraded lands. Results from the LEF have demonstrated the high resistance and resilience of tropical forests and the success of plantings in the restoration of forest cover on degraded lands. In both streams and forests, species composition shifts from native to introduced species when anthropogenic disturbance regimes become prevalent over the natural disturbance regimes.
Genetic Structure is Inconsistent with Subspecies Designations in the Western Massasauga Sistrurus tergeminus

Abstract The massasauga Sistrurus catenatus was historically divided into three subspecies, but this long-standing taxonomy has recently been called into question. Genetic research now recognizes a split of the species into the eastern massasauga S. catenatus and western massasauga S. tergeminus, with the latter split into two subspecies, the desert massasauga S. t. edwardsii and the prairie massasauga S. t. tergeminus. Although the distinction between geographically isolated populations of S. catenatus and S. tergeminus is well-supported genetically, the geographic relationships among populations of S. t. tergeminus and S. t. edwardsii remain unresolved because of incomplete sampling throughout the species’ range. This poses a difficult challenge for conservation and management of this species. Sistrurus t. tergeminus does not have state or federal conservation status, but S. t. edwardsii has been petitioned for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In this study, we used nuclear and mitochondri...
Hydrodynamic interactions of sheets vs filaments: Synchronization, attraction, and alignment

The synchronization of nearby sperm flagella as they swim in a viscousfluid was observed nearly a century ago. In the early 1950s, in an effort to shed light on this intriguing phenomenon, Taylor initiated the mathematical analysis of the fluid dynamics of microorganism motility. Since then, models have investigated sperm hydrodynamics where the flagellum is treated as a waving sheet (2D) or as a slender waving filament (3D). Here, we study the interactions of two finite length, flexible filaments confined to a plane in a 3D fluid and compare these to the interactions of the analogous pair of finite, flexiblesheets in a 2D fluid. Within our computational framework using regularized Stokeslets, this comparison is easily achieved by choosing either the 2D or 3D regularized kernel to compute fluid velocities induced by the actuated structures. We find, as expected, that two flagella swimming with a symmetric beatform will synchronize (phase-lock) on a fast time scale and attract towards each other on a longer time scale in both 2D and 3D. For a symmetric beatform, synchronization occurs faster in 2D than 3D for sufficiently stiff swimmers. In 3D, a greater enhancement in efficiency and swimming velocity is observed for attracted swimmers relative to the 2D case. We also demonstrate the tendency of two asymmetrically beating filaments in a 3D fluid to align — in tandem — exhibiting an efficiency boost for the duration of their sustained alignment.
The Neolithic of northeastern China and Korea

A close relationship between the archaeology of Korea and that of China’s northeast or Dongbei region (formerly known as Manchuria) is frequently postulated (e.g. Kim 1986). Korean models of East Asian prehistory tend to look toward the Dongbei, and beyond into Siberia, for the source of populations that migrated into the Korean peninsula (e.g. Kim 1986: 23). On the Chinese side, the Dongbei is often seen as the recipient of impulses from the middle Huang He (e.g. Chang 1986: 238). By the latter reconstruction, settlement spread to the northeast from a nuclear area around the Huang He where millet cultivation, domesticated pigs, and painted pottery of complex shapes had arisen. These two models of migration and diffusion are not mutually contradictory, but they direct the interpretation of Dongbei Neolithic in different ways. New data from the Neolithic in the Dongbei and Korea do indicate connexions, but not of the simple sort implied by the migrationist and diffusionist models.
The Fundamental Importance of Life-History Data in Biological Control Work

The various ways in which a knowledge of the different phases of the life-history of entomophagous insects is essential in biological control work are discussed. The most important requirement is the determination of the exact host-relationship of the parasite. Then a knowledge of oviposition and mating habits is shown to be essential to the successful rearing and colonization of beneficial insects. The relation of parthenogenetic reproduction to the establishment of exotic insects is also considered and the question of antagonism between two species attacking the same stage of the host is discussed. It is pointed out that the more detailed the life-history knowledge, the greater are the chances of successful work with entomophagous species.
Growth and Infestation of Boll Weevils on Normal-Glanded, Glandless, and High-Gossypol Strains of Cotton

Field, cage, and laboratory tests with normal-glanded, glandless high-gossypol strains of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., showed that Anthonomus grandis Boheman preferred glandless or normal-glanded cotton to high gossypol cotton for feeding and oviposition. Boll weevils that emerged from punctured squares of high-gossypol strains were smaller than those emerging from squares of normal-glanded and glandless cotton. Results of this study suggest that boll weevils show non preference for strains of cotton containing a high level of gossypol in squares.
Development of Hot-Stamping Steel with Large Product of Strength and Elongation Based on Dynamic Carbon Partitioning Mechanism

A low-carbon steel with Cu addition was heat-treated by direct quenching,Q P( quenching and partitioning) and tempering processes. The mechanical properties and impact toughness of the test steel were investigated by universal testing machine and drop weight impact testing machine. The microstructure was characterized by SEM( scan electron microscope),EPMA( electron probe microanalysis),XRD( X-ray diffraction) and TEM( transmission electron microscope). The results showthat the phenomenon of dynamic carbon partitioning from martensite to retained austenite in the continuous cooling process is observed and the impact toughness of test steel is improved by Q P process and tempering process. The test steel has a good comprehensive mechanical properties: the product of tensile strength and elongation,the tensile strength,the total elongation and the impact toughness at room temperature are 20 GPa%,1 400 MPa,14% and 40 J,respectively. The test steel based on dynamic carbon partitioning mechanism can meet the requirement of hot-stamping process and can be used as an excellent hot stamping steel with high product of strength and elongation.
Forming Giant-sized Polymersomes Using Gel-assisted Rehydration

Polymer vesicles, or polymersomes, are being widely explored as synthetic analogs of lipid vesicles based on their stability, robustness, barrier properties, chemical versatility and tunable physical characteristics. Typical methods used to prepare giant-sized (> 4 µm) vesicles, however, are both time and labor intensive, yielding low numbers of intact polymersomes. Here, we present for the first time the use of gel-assisted rehydration for the rapid and high-yielding formation of giant (>4 µm) polymer vesicles (polymersomes). Using this method, polymersomes can be formed from a wide array of rehydration solutions including several different physiologically-compatible buffers and full cell culture media, making them readily useful for biomimicry studies. This technique is also capable of reliably producing polymersomes from different polymer compositions with far better yields and much less difficulty than traditional methods. Polymersome size is readily tunable by altering temperature during rehydration or adding membrane fluidizers to the polymer membrane, generating giant-sized polymersomes (>100 µm).
White gazes of Black Detroit: Milliken v. Bradley I, postcolonial theory, and persistent inequalities

Background/ContextThis article employs critical policy analysis as it examines the historical underpinnings of racialized policy discrimination in Detroit. It considers histories, discourses, and o...
Implication of Socio-Demographics on Cognitive-Related Symptoms in Sports Concussion Among Children

Sports-related concussion remains a public health challenge due to its morbidity and mortality. One of the consequences of concussion is cognitive impairment (CI) and cognitive-related symptoms (CRS) which determine, to some extent, physical and behavioral functioning of children who sustain concussion. Despite the high prevalence of CI and CRS associated with concussion, the risk factors are not fully understood. We aimed to characterize CRS and to examine its relationship with race, ethnicity, age, insurance, and sex in a pediatric population. A retrospective cohort (case-only) design was used to assess CRS prevalence and its relationship with race and sex using a pediatric hospital’s electronic medical records. A consecutive sample was used with 1429 cases between 2007 and 2014. Study characteristics were examined using chi-square and log binomial regression for hypothesis-specific testing. Of the 1429 cases, 872 (61.0 %) were boys and 557 (39.0 %) were girls. The racial distribution indicated 1146 (80.2 %) Whites, 170 (11.9 %) Blacks/African Americans, and 113 (7.9 %) others. The prevalence of CRS was 78.0 %. Whereas boys had sustained more concussions, girls were more likely to present with CRS; prevalence risk ratio = 1.07, 95 % CI 1.01–1.13, p = 0.02. The crude analysis indicated no racial disparities in CRS prevalence, but the multivariable analysis did, comparing White to Black/African American children; adjusted prevalence risk ratio (aPRR) = 1.77, 99 % CI 1.02–3.08, p = 0.008. Racial disparities exist in CRS among children with sports-related concussion, and Black/African American children are more likely, relative to Whites, to suffer CRS. Due to uncertainty in causal inference, we caution the interpretation and application of these data in risk-adapted concussion prevention.
Deconstructing Jefferson's Candle: Towards a Critical Realist Approach to Cultural Environmentalism and Information Policy

In this essay, I hope to move information policy towards firmer normative ground by introducing the resources of critical realism and environmental virtue ethics to intellectual property scholarship. Culture, like the natural environment, will flourish if well-tended and collapse if polluted and despoiled. The cultural environmentalist movement is right to compare human culture to the natural environment, but it strips the environmental metaphor of any normative force when it depicts culture as an infinitely malleable social construction. Critical realism (as distinguished from critical legal studies) is a broad philosophical and epistemological approach that avoids the extremes of modern positivism and postmodern skepticism. A critical realist perspective suggests that culture, like the natural environment, can be shaped by human activity only within the limits established by the external reality in which we find ourselves. Those limits can be embodied in virtues and practices similar to those that the field of environmental virtue ethics has found helpful in reference to the natural environment. The essay concludes with an application of these ideas to the network neutrality debate.
ACS Treatment Continues to Improve: But Price Matters.

Key Points Over 90% of patients achieve adequate levels of platelet inhibition with both Prasugrel and Ticagrelor. The introduction of Prasugrel was met with some hesitation from physicians because of the significant increase in cost. This pharmaceutically sponsored and authored retrospective study suggests that both agents are effective.
Rational design of first generation inhibitors for trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatases

Abstract In this study, trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatase (T6PP) was targeted for inhibitor development. T6PP catalyzes the hydrolysis of trehalose-6-phosphate to form trehalose and inorganic phosphate, a reaction essential to important fungal, bacterial, and nematodal pathogens. At the current time, there are no specific inhibitors of T6PP available to serve as tools for interrogating its structure and function nor as leads for pharmaceutical applications. Herein, we describe the synthesis of non-hydrolysable mimics of trehalose-6-phosphate, which incorporate 6-sulfate (1), -phosphonate (2), -fluorophosphonate (3) and –boronate (4) groups in place of the 6-phosphate moiety of the substrate. The inhibitory efficacies of these adducts were evaluated against trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatases selected from evolutionarily distant pathogenic bacteria and nematodes. Phosphonates 2 and 3 were found to display good inhibitory activities against the T6PPs, while the sulfate analog, trehalose-6-sulfate, proved to be a particularly effective broad-spectrum inhibitor of these phosphatases and an ideal prototype for optimization.
An Adaptive Approach to Variational Nodal Diffusion Problems

An adaptive grid method is presented for the solution of neutron diffusion problems in two dimensions. The primal hybrid finite elements employed in the variational nodal method are used to reduce the diffusion equation to a coupled set of elemental response matrices. An a posteriori error estimator is developed to indicate the magnitude of local errors stemming from the low-order elemental interface approximations. An iterative procedure is implemented in which p refinement is applied locally by increasing the polynomial order of the interface approximations. The automated algorithm utilizes the a posteriori estimator to achieve local error reductions until an acceptable level of accuracy is reached throughout the problem domain. Application to a series of X-Y benchmark problems indicates the reduction of computational effort achievable by replacing uniform with adaptive refinement of the spatial approximations.
Structural and magnetic short-range order in fluorite Yb 2 TiO 5

We studied structural and magnetic ordering in ${\mathrm{Yb}}_{2}{\mathrm{TiO}}_{5}$ using synchrotron x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and total scattering, ac and dc susceptibility, and inelastic neutron scattering. Diffraction measurements reveal an average disordered fluorite structure with additional diffuse scattering features, which are caused by structural short-range orthorhombic order, as evidenced by the neutron pair distribution function measurements. The ac susceptibility measurements show a broad peak at ${T}_{f}\ensuremath{\approx}0.35$ K that displays Arrhenius behavior with an activation energy of 2.51(5) meV. Zero-field neutron scattering measurements show broad magnetic diffuse scattering in the elastic channel with an antiferromagnetic-type gapless excitation extending to 1.5 meV. A polarized state with partial spin order is induced with an applied magnetic field which opens a gapped excitation that increases monotonically with field strength.
The economics of food safety: an experimental approach

Food safety issues have received increased attention from scientific and consumer groups alike in recent years. Pathogenic microbiological agents have been shown to be a major contributor to food-borne illnesses in the United States. The presence and cost of these pathogens has become a major issue for policy makers, consumers, and producers;Estimated economic losses to society attributable to food-borne diseases have been large. These estimated losses usually have been based on direct consumer losses and likely represent an underestimation of the true economic costs. Morbidity costs, such as consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce their chance of becoming sick from a food-borne sickness, have not been included, leading to an underestimation of economic costs;With this in mind, this study focuses on developing an experimental approach which can be used to evaluate consumer WTP for safer food and willingness to accept (WTA) a typical unsafe food. Information on consumers' WTP and WTA for food safety is obtained through a nonhypothetical laboratory experimental approach. The often-observed divergences in WTP and WTA measures of market and nonmarket goods are examined and explained. A Vickrey second-price sealed-bid auction, with multiple trials, was used to elicit consumers' WTP and WTA values. Five food-borne pathogens were analyzed: Campylobacter, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, and Trichinella spiralis. Experiments were conducted on WTP and WTA for all five pathogens. Iowa State University students were the participants for each experiment. A new set of participants was used for each experiment;This study examined the disparity between WTP and WTA measures for a food item, a market good, and for food safety, a nonmarket good. Results showed that the disparity of these two measures is very small for perfect substitutes such as food and wealth. However, observed divergences were much larger for the imperfect substitutes such as food safety and wealth;The results indicate that WTP is more appropriate than WTA for food safety policy analysis. This provides a better estimate of society's WTP and the economic value of enhanced food safety measures. The WTP to completely remove food-borne pathogens from the U.S. food supply was estimated at 91 billion, a value which is far greater than that provided in previous research.
Floer Cohomology with Gerbes

This is a written account of expository lectures delivered at the summer school on “Enumerative invariants in algebraic geometry and string theory” of the Centro Internazionale Matematico Estivo, held in Cetraro in June 2005. However, it differs considerably from the lectures as they were actually given. Three of the lectures in the series were devoted to the recent work of Donaldson–Thomas, Maulik–Nekrasov–Okounkov–Pandharipande, and Nakajima–Yoshioka. Since this is well documented in the literature, it seemed needless to write it up again. Instead, what follows is a greatly expanded version of the other lectures, which were a little more speculative and the least strictly confined to algebraic geometry. However, they should interest algebraic geometers who have been contemplating orbifold cohomology and its close relative, the so-called Fantechi–Gottsche ring, which are discussed in the final portion of these notes. Indeed, we intend to argue that orbifold cohomology is essentially the same as a symplectic cohomology theory, namely Floer cohomology. More specifically, the quantum product structures on Floer cohomology and on the Fantechi–Gottsche ring should coincide. None of this should come as a surprise, since orbifold cohomology arose chiefly from the work of Chen–Ruan in the symplectic setting, and since the differentials in both theories involve the counting of holomorphic curves. Nevertheless, the links between the two theories are worth spelling out. To illustrate this theme further, we will explain how both the Floer and orbifold theories can be enriched by introducing a flat U(1)-gerbe. Such a gerbe on a manifold (or orbifold) induces flat line bundles on its loop space and on its inertia stack, leading to Floer and orbifold cohomology theories with local coefficients. We will again argue that these two theories correspond. To explain all of this properly, an extended digression on the basic definitions and properties of gerbes is needed; it comprises the second of the three lectures.
Towards a Cybernetic-Constructivist Understanding of Painting

Problem: This paper argues for the inclusion of a cybernetic-constructivist approach to the art of painting and for an understanding of principles that coincide with constructivism that operate …
Status of US State Laws Mandating Timely Reporting of Nonfatal Overdose.

The authors discuss the issue of public health laws that require the reporting of nonfatal drug overdoses. They survey the current status of such laws and the responsibilities of public health personnel for reporting overdoses, the need to improve the reporting of overdoses, and how such data can improve the response.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and cigarette smoking: A systematic review.

Background Previous reviews of the PTSD and cigarette smoking literature showed high PTSD-smoking comorbidity and problematic smoking outcomes (Feldner et al., 2007, Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 14-45; Fu et al., 2007, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 9, 1071-1084). However, past reviews also noted several prominent gaps in the literature, including a lack of etiological work examining underlying mechanisms and research on specialized PTSD-smoking treatments. The present review summarizes an extensive body of research conducted since the previous reviews targeting these areas of need. Methods Literature searches identified 66 empirical studies specific to smoking and PTSD. Results Smokers were approximately twice more likely to have PTSD than nonsmokers in the general population, and individuals with PTSD were approximately twice as likely to be current smokers. Smokers with PTSD evidenced more negative affect, trauma history, and comorbid psychiatric history, as well as quit attempts and higher relapse rates. PTSD symptoms were associated with expectations that smoking would reduce negative affect, which, in turn, was associated with increased smoking rate and nicotine dependence. Male sex was associated with nicotine dependence and PTSD avoidance, while the relationship between PTSD and smoking relapse due to withdrawal was stronger in females. Specialized, integrated PTSD and smoking cessation treatments showed promise in increasing quit success relative to standard care in randomized trials. Conclusions Rates of PTSD-smoking co-occurrence remain high. Notable gains have been made in relevant epidemiological and etiological research, although more work is needed in trauma-specific subpopulations. Several promising specialized treatments for comorbid smoking-PTSD have been developed and empirically tested but require replication.
Habits and the Diachronic Structure of the Self

In this chapter, we explore the role of habit in giving shape to conscious experience and importantly to our pre-reflective awareness of ourselves which includes the sense of mineness that accompanies our conscious experience. For the most part, discussions in philosophy of mind and phenomenology concerning pre-reflective self-awareness are focused on determining the relationship between phenomenal consciousness and selfhood. For this reason perhaps, the existence of pre-reflective self-awareness is usually appealed to as evidence for a form of selfhood that appears within conscious experience as a component of its synchronic unity. In this chapter, however, we will concern ourselves with the pre-reflective sense of ourselves that appears in conscious experience as it pertains to the diachronic unity of the self—that is the sense of a unitary self as existing over the course of multiple episodic experiences. Our aim is to provide a phenomenological account of the relationship between the minimal, pre-reflective sense of self and what is often termed the ‘narrative self.’ We will argue that habits play a role in preserving the significance of our past in our present experience and in unifying our experience as a self for whom the world is present across disparate episodes of experience.