cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flux and Profile Measurements from Towers in the Boundary Layer

Towers offer convenient platforms for observing mean and turbulent properties of flow in the atmosphere’s boundary layer. Much of what we know about the structure of this layer comes from measurements made with sensors mounted on towers. All varieties of structures, from short masts to very tall television towers, have been used for this purpose. Sensors have become more sensitive and accurate over the years, methods of recording and analyzing data have advanced dramatically, but the design of towers has not changed significantly. Many of the problems associated with tower measurements, such as flow distortion induced by the structure, are therefore still with us. The Eulerian nature of the observations may be appropriate for some studies, but for others Taylor’s hypothesis, with all its uncertainties, has to be invoked to convert the observed time scales into spatial scales. These limitations have seldom dissuaded researchers from using towers-indeed, the convenience of easy access to sensors for maintenance and of direct connection to recording facilities on the ground argues persuasively in favor of their use.
Epilogue: Theoretical Perspectives on Change

This final chapter provides multiple theoretical perspectives to help guide scholars, researcher, policy analysts, and students in their quest to better understand the current challenges facing American public higher education and to frame needed proposals for change and reform. Classical sociological theories, political theories, conflict theory as well as evolutionary theory, economic theory, technological theory, and others are presented to place this important work within a utilitarian theoretical perspective. Much of the current literature on higher education is descriptive, lacking a theoretical framework or perspective. Framing future study and research within a theoretical perspective will strengthen our understanding of the many dynamic and interactive aspects of higher education.
TRANSPORTATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

It is widely believed that environmental effects must increasingly play a dominant role in shaping the transportation systems of the future. If true, this belief has important implications because it suggests a departure from traditional means of evaluating transportation policies. Indeed, this type of argument has been used to justify projects that fail to meet traditional criteria, and furthermore to predict significant changes in personal mobility patterns as they have been shaped by the automobile era. Therefore, it is of interest to examine whether and in what form the belief is true.
XAS Study of Au Supported on TiO2: Influence of Oxidation State and Particle Size on Catalytic Activity

The effect of synthesis and reaction conditions on the structure and activity of Au clusters supported on nanocrystalline and mesoporous TiO2 was investigated. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was applied to correlate the particle size and the oxidation state with several parameters, such as pH of the precursor solution, Au loading, pretreatment, and support structure. The study using mesoporous TiO2 as the support shows that lower Au loadings resulted in bigger Au aggregates with lower reducibility. The high activity state for Au supported in different allotropic forms of TiO2 corresponds to Au in a fully reduced state. Furthermore, once reduced, no reoxidation occurs under reaction conditions, even after flowing air at higher temperatures (150 and 300 °C). Therefore, our results indicate that oxidized Au is not necessary for high activity. The activity decreased with particle growth, and, compared to the other allotropic TiO2, Au on brookite exhibited no significant particle agglomeration and was the most ...
Modeling post-socialist urbanization. The case of Budapest

No book-length, English-language monograph on the post-socialist development of Budapest has appeared since Judit Bodnar’s Fin de Millenaire Budapest: Metamorphoses of Urban Life (University of Min...
Intramolecular [4 + 2] Cycloadditions of Nitroalkenes with Olefins

Cycloadditions stereoselectives intramoleculaires en presence de SnCl 4 de nitro-1 nonadiene-1,7 et de nitro-2 decadiene-2,8: obtention d'oxydes-3 d'hexahydro-4a,5,6,7,8,8a benzooxazines-2,3
Donor risk factors and recipient clinical impact of positive microbial contamination after bone marrow harvests - a large academic medical center experience

Background & Aim Background Microbial contamination (+MC) is a complication of bone marrow harvestS. However, risk factors for +MC and implications for recipients are not well-defined. Clinical interventions after +MC range from observation to antimicrobial therapy. Methods, Results & Conclusion Methods We report a retrospective review of 91 pediatric and 101 adult related-donor marrow harvests from Jan 2015 to Mar 2019. Harvests were performed at Boston Children's Hospital (pedi) or Brigham & Women's Hospital (adult) under general anesthesia. Donors received no systemic antimicrobials, just topical sterilization. Samples were cultured in BacT systems and incubated for 14 days at 35°C. Results 19.4% of harvested products from pedi and 24.8% from adult donors demonstrated ≥ 1 +MC result. Mean donor age, weight, gender, and volume harvested differed between pedi and adult donors: 12 vs 40yr, 45.2 vs 79.4kg, male 47% vs 65%, and 622 vs 1200mL. 37% and 39% of products underwent manipulation, respectively (Table 1). Mean time to detection was 4.7 and 6.1 days after pedi and adult harvests. 7.5% and 5.0% of harvests, respectively, yielded +MC ≤ 2 days; 11.8% and 5.9% by 5 days after harvest. Organisms isolated were P. acnes (n=29), Coag-negative Staphylococcus (n=13) and one other Propionibacterium species (n=1). We examined potential risk factors for + MC such as length of harvest (invasive harvesting time); donor age, weight and gender; manipulation; and cell yield (Table 2). In pediatric harvests, +MC correlated with donor age (19 vs 10yr, p Response to positive cultures was at attending physician discretion. Only 9.3% of recipients of a +MC marrow had antimicrobial therapy added, with no product-transmitted infection seen. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment did not differ between +MC vs No Growth marrow recipients. Rates of infusion reactions were within historical norms (19% adult and 11% pedi) and not impacted by +MC. Analyses of donor AEs and +MC unrelated donor harvests are ongoing. Conclusions +MCs are common after pediatric and adult donor harvests. Risk factors may include longer harvest time and higher donor weight but are not clearly modifiable. Despite this +MC incidence, medical implications for recipients and donors after +MC with routine skin flora are few.
The interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 may have consequences for skeletal muscle viral susceptibility and myopathies.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, has made a staggering global impact and has become one of the most pressing international health and economic crises of recent years. COVID-19 primarily affects the human respiratory system, often progressing to pneumonia and potentially death in susceptible populations (10). A recent analysis of COVID-19 cases and recovery outcomes has identified several predictors of progression severity and mortality, such as age, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, and immunodeficiency (7). SARS-CoV-2 mediates infection via interaction of its spike domain with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) of host cells (8, 23). Viral transmission and symptom severity are enhanced through the elegant exploitation of host cellular proprotein convertase furin, and cell-surface proteases to facilitate S2 spike domain-mediated membrane fusion (8, 23). Both cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues exhibit robust expression of ACE2 (17, 20), suggestive of potential SARS-CoV-2 infection susceptibility in both tissue types. Notably, skeletal muscle weakness, fatigue, pain, and injury occurrence are common symptoms of COVID-19 manifestation (10, 10a, 12, 25, 29). Thus it is plausible to suggest SARS-CoV-2 may directly impact skeletal muscle (Fig. 1). Here we review the current insights into COVID-19 as it relates to potential skeletal muscle susceptibility. We then aim to describe the importance of skeletal muscle in facilitating respiration, while highlighting our unique position regarding respiratory muscle vulnerability in the context of COVID-19 disease outcomes and skeletal muscle myopathies. Open in a separate window Fig. 1. Representative diagram displays the potential spread of SARS-CoV-2 into skeletal muscle and the cause of myopathies.
Structurally distinct duplex telomere repeat-binding proteins in Ustilago maydis execute specialized, non-overlapping functions in telomere recombination and telomere protection

Duplex telomere binding proteins exhibit considerable structural and functional diversity in different phyla. Herein we address the distinct properties and functions of two Myb-containing, duplex telomere repeat-binding factors in Ustilago maydis, a basidiomycete fungus that is evolutionarily distant from the standard budding and fission yeasts. The two telomere-binding proteins in U. maydis, named UmTrf1 and UmTrf2, have different domain organizations and belong to distinct protein families with different phylogenetic distributions. Despite these differences, they exhibit comparable affinities and similar sequence specificity for the canonical, 6-base-pair telomere repeats. Deletion of trf1 triggers preferential loss of long telomere tracts, suggesting a role for the encoded protein in promoting telomere replication. Trf1 loss also partially suppresses the ALT-like phenotypes of ku70-deficient mutants, suggesting a novel role for a telomere protein in stimulating ALT-related pathways. In keeping with these ideas, we found that purified Trf1 can modulate the helicase activity of Blm, a conserved telomere replication and recombination factor. In contrast, trf2 appears to be essential and transcriptional repression of this gene leads to severe growth defects and profound telomere aberrations that encompass telomere length heterogeneity, accumulation of extrachromosomal telomere repeats such as C-circles, and high levels of single-stranded telomere DNA. These observations support a critical role for UmTrf2 in telomere protection. Together, our findings point to a unique, unprecedented division of labor between the two major duplex telomere repeat-binding factors in Ustilago maydis. Comparative analysis of UmTrf1 homologs in different phyla reveals a high degree of functional diversity for this protein family, and provides a case study for how a sequence-specific DNA binding protein can acquire and lose functions at different chromosomal locations.
Interactive effect of light quality and temperature on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii growth kinetics and lipid synthesis

Abstract The efficient operation of an algal photobioreactor (PBR) requires appropriate lighting conditions. Despite recent advantages in PBR design and operation, optimal lighting conditions are still not fully understood. This work focuses on the effect of light quality and culturing temperature on the algal growth kinetics and lipid content. The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was grown in batch culture in a constant-temperature incubator-shaker under LED light. Three light wavelength regimes were studied: blue light (peaking at 433 nm–447 nm, 458 nm–470 nm), white-yellow light (peaking at 456–458 nm in blue, 545 nm in green and 570 nm in yellow) and red-orange light (peaking at 580 nm–594 nm and 604 nm in yellow-orange, 630 nm and 656 nm in red, and 735 nm in IR). Results show that red-orange light obtained 38% higher biomass productivity than blue light at 24 °C, and blue light obtained 13% higher biomass productivity than red-orange light at 32 °C. Red-orange light or temperatures of 30–32 °C favored lipid accumulation with a lipid mass fraction and lipid concentration of 44% and 80% higher, respectively, compared to blue light at 24 °C. In the late exponential phase, when nutrients in the medium were still sufficient, light quality was the predominant factor controlling the lipid synthesis and accumulation. While in the late stationary phase under nutrient starvation, a strong interactive effect was detected between the light quality and temperature (P = 0.02) for lipid synthesis and accumulation. Under both temperature and nutrient stress, there was a reduced effect of the light quality on the lipid synthesis.
The Election Commission of India: Guardian of Democracy

This chapter tells the story of how the Election Commission of India (ECI) became one of the most awe-inspiring electoral regulatory bodies in the world. One of the most widely celebrated and trusted public institutions in India, it has ensured the integrity—free and fair—of 17 national and more than 370 state elections since 1947, in what is not only the most populous but also one of the most potentially fractious democracies in the world. Ever under pressure from the executive branch and governing parties to bow to demands fed by their desire for electoral windfalls, the ECI managed to strengthen its autonomy through assertive leadership by a series of Chief Electoral Commissioners following the decline of the Congress Party’s political dominance. The rise of the Hindu Nationalist BJP as the new dominant force in Indian politics provides a crucial test for the endurance of the ECI’s role as India’s guardian of electoral integrity.
Incidence, mortality and hospital resource utilization in patients with gastrointestinal cancer and malnutrition: A nationwide analysis.

466Background: Malignancies are associated with a high prevalence of cachexia, protein energy malnutrition (PEM) and failure to thrive. We analyzed the National inpatient Sample database (NIS) to u...
Biomolecular Flexibility Characterization Using Solution Phase THz Protein Dynamical Transition

The dynamical transition (DT) corresponds to the rapid onset of atomic motions at ca. 200K seen for minimally hydrated biomolecules. The DT is present in solution phase terahertz protein absorption measurements suggesting a benchtop DT technique. To move towards this application, several outstanding questions must be addressed: 1) does the THz absorption of protein solution reflect the protein structural dynamics, or the biological water dynamics; and 2) are THz solution phase DT measurements consistent with direct root mean square displacement measurements of hydrated powders. We show that for T<273 K protein absorption dominates terahertz transmission at 1 THz for protein solutions. Further we find that solution phase measurements reproduce the hydration dependence of the dynamical transition measured using neutron inelastic scattering. These results enable the use of THz DT for providing a fast measurement of biomacromolecule picosecond flexibility.
Free fatty acid induced podocytes injury by increased SREBP1

OBJECTIVE To determine the role of lipid metabolism and the sterol regulatory element binding protein 1(SREBP1)in obesity and diabetes induced kidney disease,human podocytes treated with free fatty acid.METHODS The human podocytes were cultured with free fatty acid and transfected with SREBP1c.Protein level of SREBP1c and TLR4 were mRNA level of TLR2/TLR4 were measured.Proinflammatory cytokines were checked.CARS imaging and Oil Red O measured the lipid of podocytes.RESULTS FFA caused podocyte injury and increased the expression of TLR2/TLR4 in cultured human podocytes which may be caused by the dysfunction of lipid homeostasis caused by the increasing activated SREBP1.SREBP1c overexpression also could cause lipid accumulation in the podocytes that increased the expression of TLR4 and IL-6.CONCLUSION These studies indicate novel understanding of the pathogenesis of podocytes injury in II type diabetic kidney disease and obesity-related kidney disease;therefore establishing SREBP1's critical role in preventing diabetic kidney disease.
Basis Sets for Correlated Methods

This chapter presents an overview of some of the most popular Gaussian atomic basis sets suitable for correlated calculations. The correlation problem is introduced, and the common strategies to overcome it, in wave function and density functional theories, are discussed in a context relevant to the development of basis sets. Emphasis is placed on other important considerations regarding basis sets such as contraction schemes, valence versus core correlation, and convergence toward the exact, complete basis set limit. Finally, selected basis sets are presented, along with the characteristics pertinent to their construction and successful applications.
Comparative Analysis of Chemical Redox between Redox Shuttles and a Lithium-Ion Cathode Material via Electrochemical Analysis of Redox Shuttle Conversion

Chemical redox reactions between redox shuttles and lithium-ion battery particles have applications in electrochemical systems including redox-mediated flow batteries, photo-assisted lithium-ion batteries, and lithium-ion battery overcharge protection. These previous studies, combined with interest in chemical redox of battery materials in general, has resulted in previous reports of the chemical oxidation and/or reduction of solid lithium-ion materials. However, in many of these reports, a single redox shuttle is the focus and/or the experimental conditions are relatively limited. Herein, a study of chemical redox for a series of redox shuttles reacted with a lithium-ion battery cathode material will be reported. Both oxidation and reduction of the solid material with redox shuttles as a function of time will be probed using ferrocene derivatives with different half-wave potentials. The progression of the chemical redox was tracked by using electrochemical analysis of the redox shuttles in a custom electrochemical cell, and rate constants for chemical redox were extracted from the using two different models. This study provides evidence that redox shuttle-particle interactions play a role in the overall reaction rate, and more broadly support that this experimental method dependent on electrochemical analysis can be applied for comparison of redox shuttles reacting with solid electroactive materials.
Programming an SSD Controller to Support Batched Writes for Variable-Size Pages

Exploiting a storage hierarchy is critical to cost-effective data management. However, most systems are challenged when data is not in cache because of the additional I/O to move data between SSD and main memory. To improve both cost and performance, some systems use a log structured store to write a batch of pages instead of a "block-at-a-time". However, host-based log structuring incurs the additional cost and complexity of garbage collection and recovery, duplicating similar SSD FTL functionality. In prior work, we presented a customized SSD controller implementation for an Open-Channel SSD to enable host computers to write batches of fixed size pages. This current work is a major redesign to support a batched write interface with variable size pages. Variable size pages can enable easy support of data compression and encryption, as well as reducing internal page storage fragmentation, e.g, within a B-tree. Thus it further improves I/O performance while making it easier and more efficient to support these capabilities.
Eksistensi Mahasiswi Cadar Di Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Sorong

Islam telah mewajibkan bagi kaum muslim dan muslimah untuk berpakaian yang baik dan menutup aurat. Allah swt telah memerintahkan kepada kaum wanita untuk menutup auratnya dengan memakai jilbab. Aurat bagi kaum wanita adalah seluruh badan kecuali wajah dan kedua telapak tangan sebagaimana dijelaskan dalam al Qur’an Surah Al- Ahdzab: 59. Di kampus STAIN Sorong, mahasiswi menggunakan jilbab pada umumnya dalam aktivitas akademik di kampus, namun dalam tiga tahun terakhir terdapat beberapa mahasiswa yang telah memakai cadar dan sebelumnya mahasiswa tersebut hanya memakai jilbab pada umumnya, kemudian mengulurkan jilbabnya lebih panjang hingga akhirnya menggunakan cadar. Berdasarkan hal tersebut peneliti tertarik untuk meneliti mahasiswi cadar di STAIN Sorong. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif bersifat deskriptif. Sumber data adalah Ketua Jurusan, Ketua Program Studi, dan Mahasiswi Cadar. Sedangkan teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui: (1) Observasi; (2) Wawancara; dan (3) Dokumentasi. Analisis data dilakukan dalam bentuk reduksi data, penyajian data, dan penarikan serta verifikasi kesimpulan untuk memperoleh hasil akhir. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan: Pertama, Mahasiswi cadar mulai ada di STAIN Sorong pada Bulan Mei Semester Ganjil tahun 2017 di Program Studi Ekonomi Syariah Jurusan Syariah. Jumlah mahasiswi cadar STAIN Sorong adalah 19 orang dari 572 mahasiswi STAIN Sorong. Mahasiswi cadar yang eksis sampai sekarang berjumlah 11 orang. Kedua, Keberadaan mahasiwi cadar di STAIN Sorong belum diterima sepenuhnya oleh civitas akademika STAIN Sorong, khususnya dosen dan pegawai. Dalam perkuliahan, ada beberapa dosen tidak menerima mahasiswi dengan alasan mengganggu proses pembelajaran, khawatir penipuan, pembelajaran harus tatap muka bukan hanya mata karena dosen harus mengenali semua wajah mahasiswanya. Selain itu, beberapa pegawai tidak terima mahasiswi cadar dengan menunjukkan sikap kasar membuka cadar/masker jika melihat mahasiswi yang memakainya, dan terlihat dari mimik wajah atau cara penglihatan mereka. Sedangkan Mahasiswa STAIN Sorong pada umumnya menerima keberadaan mahasiswi cadar di Kampus STAIN Sorong. Ketiga, upaya yang telah dilakukan mahasiswi cadar dalam menyesuaikan diri di lingkungan kampus STAIN Sorong, yaitu: terus berbuat dan berperilaku baik, menerima dan menghormati pendapat civitas akademika STAIN Sorong, menjadikan komentar-komentar negative ataupun respon-respon yang tidak menerima sebagai ujian, menjadikan komentar atau respon yang positif sebagai penyemangat dalam memakai cadar, tetap belajar layaknya mahasiswa lainnya, dan bersosialisasi dengan mengikuti kegiatan ekstrakulikuler.
Sophie Hermans and Thierry Visart de Bocarmé (eds.): Atomically-Precise Methods for Synthesis of Solid Catalysts

indeed delivered a relatively comprehensive, well organized survey of state of the art methods to synthesize (primarily) metal catalysts. The sequencing of the material brought to my mind the classic review of the late, great Jim Schwarz, ‘‘Methods for Preparation of Catalytic Materials’’ (Chem. Rev. 95, 1995, 477) in which ‘‘3 dimensional chemistry’’ or synthesis of metal particles in the solution phase, was distinguished from ‘‘2 dimensional chemistry’’ in which metal is deposited and nanoparticles are formed on the support surface. In fact, the material swung back and forth between surface deposition and bulk formation techniques in something of a conical helix as depicted in the figure below. A clever unifying element is that as the chapter numbers increase, the catalysts grow in size and scale.
Theories of the Employment Relationship: Choosing between Norms and Contracts

In this paper, I analyze three types of labor market relationships that are prevalent in the economy - the external labor market that exists outside of firms, and the union and nonunion employment relationships that exist inside firms. The parties' relationships in each of these markets are markedly different from one another with respect to their use of contracts versus norms, their enforcement mechanisms, and their reliance on external competitive market pressures. Why do these very distinct forms exist? This paper provides an answer to this question. To be successful, each of the structures has to resolve problems of match-specific assets, asymmetric information, risk aversion, and transaction costs. The paper describes how the terms of the different labor market relationships work to protect the parties' agreements and the extent to which the terms of the agreement can be interpreted as maximizing joint profit. Finally, I address whether the very different enforcement protections are adequate.
Toxic shock syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis: Case reports showing clinical similarity and histologic separation

A case of toxic shock syndrome and a case of drug-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis with renal involvement are described. The two patients had similar early clinical manifestations and therefore posed a difficult differential diagnosis. Diagnostic distinction is important because therapy differs considerably. A skin biopsy in each case proved helpful in establishing the correct diagnosis, since there appears to be a different histologic pattern for each condition: superficial perivascular dermatitis for toxic shock syndrome and an interface dermatitis for toxic epidermal necrolysis.
The Simplex Method

The idea of the simplex method is to proceed from one basic feasible solution (that is, one extreme point) of the constraint set of a problem in standard form to another, in such a way as to continually decrease the value of the objective function until a minimum is reached. The results of Chap. 2 assure us that it is sufficient to consider only basic feasible solutions in our search for an optimal feasible solution. This chapter demonstrates that an efficient method for moving among basic solutions to the minimum can be constructed.
Online/offline signature schemes for devices with limited computing capabilities

We propose a family of three efficient digital signature schemes, which are proved secure under the strong RSA assumption without requiring a random oracle. The new signature schemes can operate in an online/offline manner, doing most of their work in the offline precomputation phase. The online phase of even the least efficient variant is very fast, requiring only a single non-modular multiplication of a short (160-bit) value by a longer (1022-bit) value. Online/offline signatures are useful in settings in which signatures need to be produced with few operations, either when there is a large volume of requests or if the device performing the signature is not computationally powerful. Our schemes have extremely low computation cost so are particularly suitable for devices with limited computing capabilities such as smart cards or mobile devices. This paper provides three specific contributions. First, we propose our basic online/offline signature scheme, which could be viewed as the online/offline extension of the Camenisch-Lysyanskaya (CL) signature scheme. Compared to using the general Shamir-Tauman technique for converting the CL signature scheme into one that operates in an online/offline fashion, our direct adaptation has the same online efficiency, while having advantages of a more efficient offline phase, simpler key management that only requires one keypair, and a shorter signature. In addition, when used as a traditional one-phase signature our basic scheme is more efficient than the Camenisch-Lysyanskaya scheme, due to our operation restructuring. While this first scheme has advantages over using the Shamir-Tauman/Camenisch-Lysyanskaya construction, we describe two additional techniques that further improve efficiency of both online and offline phases. Our first improvement uses computations over a small subgroup of Zn*to reduce the size of the required computations. Our second improvement uses division intractable hash functions to remove the requirement of generating random primes for use in this class of signature schemes. As we present these three schemes, each one is more efficient than the previous one, but requires increasingly strong complexity assumptions.
A PHYSIOLOGIC RATIONALE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF NEUROLOGIC RECTAL INCONTINENCE IN CHILDREN

Anorectal manometry was used to physiologically assess the anorectal sphincteric reflexes in 38 children with neurologic fecal incontinence. There was a normal relaxation of the smooth muscle internal sphincter, and absent or impaired contraction of the striated muscle external sphincter, supporting the concept that the external sphincter is responsible for continence. Daily evacuation regimens were instituted to utilize the resting tone of the internal sphincter and avoid overfilling of the rectum and inadvertant accidents. From a status of constant soiling and staining, socially acceptable continence has been attained. Half of the children are always clean, and the rest have minor staining; one-third have learned regular bowel habits, and no longer require assistance. Colostomy was not needed. The difference in age between those children no longer requiring assistance (3.3 years), and those who still need daily assisted evacuation (6.5 years) suggests that bowel training regimens should be started early in children with neurologic incontinence.
Political Constraints on Supreme Court Reform

This essay describes and explains the political constraints that limit structural reform of the Supreme Court, using the failure of Roosevelt's 1937 court-packing plan as a running example. The thesis is that movements for structural reform of the Court have a self-negating tendency. The very conditions that produce demand for structural reform of the Court also tend to produce counterforces that block reform.
Citizen Sensors for SHM: Towards a Crowdsourcing Platform

This paper presents an innovative structural health monitoring (SHM) platform in terms of how it integrates smartphone sensors, the web, and crowdsourcing. The ubiquity of smartphones has provided an opportunity to create low-cost sensor networks for SHM. Crowdsourcing has given rise to citizen initiatives becoming a vast source of inexpensive, valuable but heterogeneous data. Previously, the authors have investigated the reliability of smartphone accelerometers for vibration-based SHM. This paper takes a step further to integrate mobile sensing and web-based computing for a prospective crowdsourcing-based SHM platform. An iOS application was developed to enable citizens to measure structural vibration and upload the data to a server with smartphones. A web-based platform was developed to collect and process the data automatically and store the processed data, such as modal properties of the structure, for long-term SHM purposes. Finally, the integrated mobile and web-based platforms were tested to collect the low-amplitude ambient vibration data of a bridge structure. Possible sources of uncertainties related to citizens were investigated, including the phone location, coupling conditions, and sampling duration. The field test results showed that the vibration data acquired by smartphones operated by citizens without expertise are useful for identifying structural modal properties with high accuracy. This platform can be further developed into an automated, smart, sustainable, cost-free system for long-term monitoring of structural integrity of spatially distributed urban infrastructure. Citizen Sensors for SHM will be a novel participatory sensing platform in the way that it offers hybrid solutions to transitional crowdsourcing parameters.
LIFT - The LIsp Framework for Testing

Abstract : A sometimes overlooked value of software testing is that it enables fearless programming and constant refactoring. Since the design is often the first causuality of sitting down to code, having a complete test suite improves productively and allows for rapid change and experimentation. This report describes LIFT: the LIsp Framework for Testing. LIFT supports the construction of a hierarchical suite of tests that can be run in batch (for regression testing) or interactively (which suits the style of Lisp). The philosophy, design and use of LIFT are discussed and LIFT is compared with several other Lisp testing frameworks.
Relationship of Smokefree Laws and Alcohol Use with Light and Intermittent Smoking and Quit Attempts among US Adults and Alcohol Users

© 2015 Jiang et al.Introduction: Light and intermittent smoking (LITS) has become increasingly common. Alcohol drinkers are more likely to smoke. We examined the association of smokefree law and bar law coverage and alcohol use with current smoking, LITS,
A resource allocation model for hybrid storage systems

Providing QoS guarantees for hybrid storage systems made up of both solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disks (HDs) is a challenging problem. Since HDs and SSDs have widely different IOPS capacities, it is not sensible to treat the storage system as a monolithic black box, instead a useful QoS model must necessarily differentiate the IOs made to different device types. Traditional storage resource allocation models have largely been designed to provide QoS for a single resource type, and result in poor utilization and fairness when applied to multiple coupled resources. In this paper, we present a new resource allocation model for hybrid storage systems using a multi-resource framework. The model supports reservations and shares for clients sharing the storage system. Reservations specify the minimum throughput (IOPS) that a client must receive, while shares reflect its weight relative to other clients that are bottlenecked on the same device. We present a formal multi-resource allocation model to allocate IOPS to clients, together with an IO scheduling algorithm to maximize system throughput. The model and algorithms are validated with empirical results.
Maize and Grace: Africa's Encounter with a New World Crop, 1500-2000 (review)

James C. McCann. Maize and Grace: Africa's Encounter with a New World Crop, 1500-2000. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. xiii + 288 pp. Photographs. Maps. Illustrations. Appendixes. Bibliography. Index. $27.95. Cloth. With a captivating tide, Maize and Grace, James McCann considers the ambiguities of African development through a handful of creatively researched maize stories that demonstrate his well-honed investigatory and interpretative skills as a distinguished Africanist environmental historian. From an informed use of oral tradition, little-used agronomic research records, statistical analysis, and artistic and photographic evidence-shared through almost forty illustrations-McCann reveals how an environmental history of maize in Africa illustrates both the triumphs and tripwires of development science and politics. The richly documented stories of maize as both blessing and misfortune might encourage a healthy measure of historically grounded humility among current "neo-green revolutionary" campaigns. But the central theme of Maize and Grace suggests otherwise. Contemporary and high-profile maize research and extension embody the modern agricultural strategy of transforming rather than adapting to the environment and thereby write one more chapter in die historical evolution of maize from local variation, adaptation, and flexibility to homogenization. This defining feature in die history of maize in Africa-the trend from local variation to homogenization-did not just happen by accident. As McCann argues in his examination of the "world ecology of maize" and the complex, coevolutionary relationships of people and maize, plant breeding embodies political as well as agronomic choices; only some of these express the preferences of small farmers. This political theme is woven throughout the stories and offers a significant opportunity for the application of historical analysis to contemporary development initiatives. For example, since seed saving has historically been an important farmer-centered strategy adapted to specific local conditions, McCann justifiably asks whether the well-funded public and corporate initiatives to replace popular varieties of Quality Protein Maize by hybrids that farmers will not be able to save and share represent "a sustainable change or a temporary blip" (5). The fascinating historical geography of maize provided in chapter 2 includes an imaginative description of the ways in which "local aesthetic expression" and wonderfully diverse place-based names of maize were replaced by the numbers and initials of trials and research stations. Continuing his skillful use of oral tradition, McCann uses the stories of maize among the Asante and the Yoruba to illustrate the twin themes of "the agroecology of West African political history" and "the Africanization of maize" that occurred first in West Africa (43). Both chapters 2 and 3 contribute to the building of a historically grounded West African political ecology and to critical analyses of the relationships among development and biodiversity. …
Characterization of a Nickel Resistant Mouse Cell Line

Nickel is a potent carcinogen and, at high concentrations, is toxic to mammalian cells. The effects associated with nickel exposure are well-documented but its mechanism of action in the cell has not yet been fully described. In order to understand the metabolic fate of nickel in mammalian cells, a variant cell population has been selected that continues to grow and divide in the presence of nickel chloride concentrations that are toxic to the parental cell line (Balb/c-3T3 mouse fibroblasts). Nickel resistance is not caused by altered uptake of nickel from the medium or increased clearance from the cells and is not associated with changes in metallothionein expression. Compared to the normal cells, the nickel resistant cells have a decreased number of chromosomes and numerous centromeric fusions. The expression of some proteins and the distribution of nickel bound by various proteins are altered in the nickel resistant cells. Preliminary results indicate that the nickel resistant phenotype may be transferred by genomic DNA-mediated transfection into a recipient NIH-3T3 cell line. Current investigations are directed at identifying a gene responsible for nickel resistance.
A re-evaluation of perfect competition as the solution to the Bertrand price game

Abstract On the basis that it is the unique Nash equilibrium, the perfectly competitive outcome is well accepted as the solution to the Bertrand price game. We apply a more restrictive solution concept than Nash equilibrium and find that perfect competition is not a reasonable outcome. Of course, a perfect equilibrium exists for all finite games so that a reasonable outcome certainly exists for the Bertrand price game if strategy sets are restricted to be finite. Investigation into the finite strategy set version reveals two interesting results. First, while a unique reasonable outcome exists for the finite game, it is not perfectly competitive though it is approximately competitive when strategy sets are sufficiently fine. Second, the Bertrand price game is found to be degenerate in the sense that it is a member of a set of measure zero of finite games for which it is not true that an odd and finite number of Nash equilibria exist.
Trailing edge noise prediction using Amiet's method

Amiet's (1976, 1978) solution to the problem of airfoil trailing edge noise prediction is discussed in light of the results of evanescent wave theory's application to the measured surface pressure behavior near the trailing edge of an airfoil with a turbulent boundary layer. The method employed by Amiet has the advantage of incorporating the effect of finite chord in its solution. The assumed form of the pressure distribution is examined as well as the constant turbulent boundary layer convection assumption, which is found to be unnecessarily restrictive.
Reverse yield experiments and internal variable evolution in polycrystalline metals

Abstract In this work, sequences of reverse yield experiments are used to measure the evolution of the directionally-dependent contribution to strain-hardening in OFHC copper. It is shown that based upon a 50 microstrain offset definition of yielding, a strength asymmetry commonly known as the Bauschinger effect develops and increases with prestrain. From the perspective of macroscale isotropic/kinematic hardening models, these data imply an increase in the kinematic hardening component of the yield strength. Hardening model parameters are determined by integrating the evolution equations and correlating the experimental data. Consistency between these modeling results and other data on the same heat of OFHC copper is then explored. It is found that while the reverse yield tests show the kinematic hardening variable, α , increasing in magnitude for uniaxial strains up to 20%, the tensor must very quickly change direction in stress space when the straining path is altered. Stress relaxation experiments were conducted and strain rate effects including the decomposition of the rate dependence between the flow rule and the evolution equations are investigated.
goal problems in gambling theory

A short introduction to goal problems in abstract gambling theory is given, along with statementes of some of the main theorems and a number of examples, open problems and references. Emphasis is on the finite-state, countably-additive setting with such classical objectives as reaching a goal, hitting a goal infinitely often, staying in the goal, and maximizing the average time spent at a goal.keywords: gambling theory, stochastic processes, Markov strategies.
The Growth Depression of Turkey Poults Caused by Linseed Oil Meal

Abstract IT has been shown that the growth of chicks is retarded when they are fed rations containing over 4.5 percent linseed oil meal, and that growth may be improved when the meal is first given a water treatment (Kratzer, 1946; MacGregor and McGinnis 1948). It has also been found that the addition of pyridoxine to linseed oil meal will improve the growth of the chicks to which it was fed, although the ration contained pyridoxine in greater amounts than is ordinarily required for good chick growth (Kratzer and Williams, 1948). Since there are some differences between the nutritive requirements of chicks and poults, it was of interest to determine whether linseed oil meal also causes a depression of the growth rate in young poults. EXPERIMENTAL Three experiments were conducted, but since the results were in agreement, the details of only one experiment will be reported. The basal ration contained the . . .
Stem cell therapy for cardiac disease

Congenital heart disease occurs in 1% of liveborn infants, making it the most common birth defect worldwide. Many of these children develop heart failure. In addition, both genetic and acquired forms of dilated cardiomyopathy are a significant source of heart failure in the pediatric population. Heart failure occurs when the myocardium is unable to meet the body's metabolic demands. Unlike some organs, the heart has limited, if any, capacity for repair after injury. Heart transplantation remains the ultimate approach to treating heart failure, but this is costly and excludes patients who are poor candidates for transplantation given their comorbidities, or for whom a donor organ is unavailable. Stem cell therapy represents the first realistic strategy for reversing the effects of what has until now been considered terminal heart damage. We will discuss potential sources of cardiac-specific stem cells, including mesenchymal, resident cardiac, embryonic, and induced pluripotent stem cells. We will consider efforts to enhance cardiac stem cell engraftment and survival in damaged myocardium, the incorporation of cardiac stem cells into tissue patches, and techniques for creating bioartificial myocardial tissue as well as whole organs. Finally, we will review progress being made in assessing functional improvement in animals and humans after cellular transplant.
Efficient calculation of luminance variation of a luminaire that uses LED light sources

Many luminaires have an array of LEDs that illuminate a lenslet-array diffuser in order to create the appearance of a single, extended source with a smooth luminance distribution. Designing such a system is challenging because luminance calculations for a lenslet array generally involve tracing millions of rays per LED, which is computationally intensive and time-consuming. This paper presents a technique for calculating an on-axis luminance distribution by tracing only one ray per LED per lenslet. A multiple-LED system is simulated with this method, and with Monte Carlo ray-tracing software for comparison. Accuracy improves, and computation time decreases by at least five orders of magnitude with this technique, which has applications in LED-based signage, displays, and general illumination.
Implementation of a data acquisition Scheduler-on-Chip (SchoC) for heterogeneous multi-channel signals

Data acquisition (DAQ) is a crucial component in instrumentation and control. It typically involves the sampling of multiple analog signals, and converting them into digital formats so that they can be processed. DAQ systems also involve microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processing, and/or storage devices. Many multi-channel DAQs, which utilize some sort of processing for simultaneous input channels, are found in various applications. In this research, for heterogeneous multichannel signals, different sampling rates are identified for each channel, and optimized for best data quality with minimal storage requirement. Accordingly, power consumption and transmission times can be reduced. The fidelity of the proposed Scheduler-on-Chip (SchoC) is increased by using reconfigurable chip technology, where flexibility, concurrency, speed and reconfiguration can be achieved in hardware. Therefore, SchoC can be utilized in various real world applications especially hazardous environments, or isolated areas, for remote architecture reconfiguration, while keeping the cost of the device low. Performance evaluations show that the speed of the proposed SchoC is 24% faster than a comparable software-based scheduler. The proposed SchoC reduces the amount of data being acquired by 59%, which in turn decreases memory requirements.
Femtosecond high-resolution spectral phase measurement

We have developed a spectral phase measurement technique that provides a direct, sensitive, fast, and discontinuous phase measurement. We demonstrated this technique by measuring the quadratic, cubic, and 0-(pi) phase distortions.
Dynamic cervical change: is real-time sonographic cervical shortening predictive of preterm delivery in patients with symptoms of preterm labor?

Objectives To determine prospectively if dynamic cervical change (spontaneous real-time cervical shortening) is predictive of preterm delivery at < 37 weeks' gestation in patients with symptoms of preterm labor. Methods This was a prospective study of patients at 23–34 weeks' gestation who were symptomatic for preterm labor. Patients underwent a 10-min real-time sonographic cervical length assessment with measurements taken at 1-min intervals. The presence or absence of dynamic cervical change, defined as real-time changes in cervical length observable to the naked eye of the sonologist during the examination, was recorded. Gestational age at delivery was obtained from medical records. Preterm delivery was defined as delivery at < 37 weeks' gestation. Dynamic cervical change and initial and minimum cervical lengths were assessed for prediction of preterm delivery. Results Seventy-six patients were enrolled, and 66 were available for outcome analysis. Thirty-one patients (47%) exhibited dynamic cervical change. Patients with dynamic change had shorter initial cervical lengths (27 mm vs. 36 mm, P = 0.001), shorter minimum cervical lengths (20 vs. 33 mm, P 30 mm, those with dynamic change delivered earlier than did those without dynamic change (36.8 vs. 38.6 weeks, P = 0.02), and a higher percentage delivered preterm (27% vs. 11%, odds ratio (OR), 3.0 (0.5–17.0)). Multivariate analysis showed that minimum cervical length was a better predictor of preterm delivery than was initial cervical length. Conclusions Dynamic cervical change occurs frequently in association with shortened cervical length. In patients with longer initial cervical lengths, dynamic change may increase the risk for preterm delivery. When dynamic change is noted in a patient with preterm labor symptoms, use of the minimum cervical length observed may be better compared with initial cervical length for determining preterm delivery risk. Copyright © 2006 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.