cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A screening method to detect clonal secretion of dnp- specific antibody.

Spontaneous variants of the IgA immunoglobulin secreting mouse myeloma, S194-2, were isolated by cloning the line on soft agar and screening for the loss of secreted S194 immunoglobulin. Because S194 IgA possesses DNP binding activity, the screening method was designed to test for clonal secretion of antibody which specifically precipitated DNP-ferritin conjugates. Precipitates formed over IgA secreting S194 clones, whereas none were evident over nonsecreting XCl clones nor IgG secreting MOPC 21 clones (MOPC 21 IgG does not bind DNP). In addition the method was sensitive to the amount of immunoglobulin secreted. By continual selection of exceptionally reactive clones with this assay, a S194 culture was obtained which secreted five to six times as much IgA as the original mass culture. Spontaneous variants were isolated from six independent subclones of this parent line with an overall frequency estimated at 2.7 X 10(-5) per cell per generation. Biochemical analysis of these variants showed that all of them secreted reduced or undetectable amounts of IgA. No variants were obtained which secreted IgA molecules altered at the DNP binding site, or which secreted immunoglobulin subunits alone. Variants of the latter class have, however, been obtained in high frequency in other myeloma strains by other investigators.
Learning and Leveraging the Relationship between Architecture-Level Measurements and Individual User Satisfaction

The ultimate goal of computer design is to satisfy the end-user. In particular computing domains, such as interactive applications, there exists a variation in user expectations and user satisfaction relative to the performance of existing computer systems. In this work, we leverage this variation to develop more efficient architectures that are customized to end-users. We first investigate the relationship between microarchitectural parameters and user satisfaction. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between hardware performance counter (HPC) readings and individual satisfaction levels reported by users for representative applications. Our results show that the satisfaction of the user is strongly correlated to the performance of the underlying hardware. More importantly, the results show that user satisfaction is highly user-dependent. To take advantage of these observations, we develop a framework called Individualized Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (iDVFS). We study a group of users to characterize the relationship between the HPCs and individual user satisfaction levels. Based on this analysis, we use artificial neural networks to model the function from HPCs to user satisfaction for individual users. This model is then used online to predict user satisfaction and set the frequency level accordingly. A second set of user studies demonstrates that iDVFS reduces the CPU power consumption by over 25% in representative applications as compared to the Windows XP DVFS algorithm.
Asymptotic and numerical study of variable-density premixed flame propagation in a narrow channel

The influence of thermal expansion on the dynamics of thick to moderately thick premixed flames (flame thickness less than or comparable to the channel height) for a variable-density flow in a narrow, rectangular channel is explored. The study is conducted within the framework of the zero-Mach-number, variable-density Navier–Stokes equations. Both adiabatic and non-adiabatic channel walls are considered. A small Peclet number asymptotic solution is developed for steady, variable-density flame propagation in the narrow channel. The dynamics of channel flames are also examined numerically for O(1) Peclet numbers in configurations which include flame propagation in a semi-closed channel from the closed to the open end of the channel, flame propagation in a semi-closed channel towards the closed end of the channel and flame propagation in an open channel in which a Poiseuille flow (flame assisting or flame opposing) is imposed at the channel inlet. Comparisons of the finite-Peclet-number dynamics are made with the behaviour of the small-Peclet-number solutions. We also compare how thermal expansion modifies the flow dynamics from those determined by a constant-density model. The small-Peclet-number variable-density solution for a flame propagating in a circular pipe is given in the Appendix.
Is This How I Will Be Treated? Reducing Uncertainty through Recruitment Interactions

While a great deal of research has investigated strategies for increasing job seekers' initial attraction to organizations, far less is known about how job seekers respond to recruitment activities...
Residential Exposure to Magnetic Fields and Risk of Canine Lymphoma

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to determine whether residential exposure to magnetic fields increased risk for canine lymphoma in pet dogs. Cases were patients at a veterinary teaching hospital with histologically confirmed lymphoma diagnosed between 1987 and 1990. Hospital controls with other forms of cancer were obtained by frequency matching on zip code and year of diagnosis. Information regarding the dog's activity patterns, residence history, and exposure to potential confounders was obtained by telephone interview. Wire codes and magnetic fields were measured at the homes at diagnosis of 93 cases and 137 controls. When exposure was categorized into two levels (high or very high wire codes compared with low, very low, or buried lines), the risk was elevated (odds ratio (OR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9-2.9) and increased (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 0.9-3.4) after adjustment for potential confounders. Dogs that lived in homes with very high current codes had the highest risk (OR = 6.8, 95% CI 1.6-28.5). Moderate, imprecise increases in risk (odds ratios of 1.5-1.9) were found for residence in a home with a sidewalk (plumbing), backyard, or front yard magnetic field of 2.0 mG or greater, but not for indoor measurements at this level. Risk increased among dogs that spent more than 25% of the day outdoors. Laboratory and observational studies of dogs as an animal model for the effects of magnetic fields are recommended.
Comparison of the Informed Consent Process for Randomized Clinical Trials in Pediatric and Adult Oncology

Purpose To compare the informed consent processes for phase III pediatric and adult oncology clinical trials in view of the critical importance of human subjects protection in both pediatric and adult cancer care. Findings are discussed in terms of the opportunities for improving pediatric and adult oncology informed consent. Patients and Methods A total of 219 subjects are reported on. Adult oncology patients made up 36.1% (n = 79) of the sample. Pediatric surrogates made up the remaining 63.9% (n = 140). Subjects in both studies were observed and audiotaped in conversation with their oncologists, and interviewed afterwards. Comparisons between the adult and pediatric subjects were done using χ2 statistics and t tests. Results Differences between the pediatric and adult informed consent processes were found. Adult oncology decision makers were, on average, more fully informed and more actively engaged by their oncologists. Pediatric decision makers were, however, given more information about survival/cur...
Domestic Microwave Leakage Checker

Simple but sensitive microwave leakage checkers wqhich do not depend on batteries or the utilitv have been developed. A full scale sensitivitv as high as 0.05 mw/cm2 has been accomplished.
Priority-Driven Acoustic Modeling for Virtual Environments

Geometric acoustic modeling systems spatialize sounds according to reverberation paths from a sound source to a receiver to give an auditory impression of a virtual 3D environment. These systems are useful for concert hall design, teleconferencing, training and simulation, and interactive virtual environments. In many cases, such as in an interactive walkthrough program, the reverberation paths must be updated within strict timing constraints ‐ e.g., as the sound receiver moves under interactive control by a user. In this paper, we describe a geometric acoustic modelingalgorithmthat uses a priority queue to trace polyhedral beams representing reverberation paths in best-first order up to some termination criteria (e.g., expired time-slice). The advantage of this algorithm is that it is more likely to find the highest priority reverberation paths within a fixed time-slice, avoiding many geometric computations for lower-priority beams. Yet, there is overhead in computing priorities and managing the priority queue. The focus of this paper is to study the trade-offs of the priority-drivenbeam tracing algorithm with different priority functions. During experiments computing reverberation paths between a source and a receiver in a 3D building environment, we find that priority functions incorporating more accurate estimates of source-to-receiver path length are more likely to find early reverberation paths useful for spatialization, especially in situations where the source and receiver cannot reach each other through trivial reverberation paths. However, when receivers are added to the environment such that it becomes more densely and evenly populated, this advantage diminishes.
Mutants of bacteriophage T4 deficient in the ability to induce nuclear disruption: II. Physiological state of the host nucleoid in infected cells

Abstract Studies with ndd mutants of phage T4, deficient in the ability to induce nuclear disruption, the movement of the host DNA from a largely central location in the cell into close association with the cell membrane, show that nuclear disruption is not essential for host DNA breakdown. Degradation of prelabeled host DNA to acid-soluble products occurs at the same rate in the absence of nuclear disruption as it does in its presence. Moreover, the absence of nuclear disruption results in an alternative pathway of slow degradation of host DNA independent of phage endonuclease II. M-band analyses of association between DNA andmembrane (Earhart et al. , 1968) indicate that endonuclease II is required for the release of host DNA from the membrane when nuclear disruption occurs normally, and that the product of at least one of the genes r IIA, r IIB, D 1 or D 2a (probably D 2a, which is necessary for the synthesis of endonuclease IV) is required for DNA release when nuclear disruption does not occur. Analyses of the sizes of host DNA single strands at various times after infection by means of alkaline sucrose density-gradients show that the presence or absence of nuclear disruption has little, if any, effect on the rate of accumulation of single-strand nicks. Neutral sucrose density-gradient analyses suggest that a limited number of double-strand breaks can accumulate in host DNA when endonuclease IV is active, but few, if any, occur when neither endonuclease II or IV is active. Gentle lysis of ndd -infected cells and subsequent sedimentation analysis of the host DNA in neutral sucrose density-gradients reveal that the host chromosomes become “unfolded” within five minutes after infection. Thin-section electron microscopy shows that the host DNA becomes widely dispersed throughout the cytoplasm of cells at late times after infection with ndd mutants. These observations make it very unlikely that nuclear disruption is a passive process which occurs whenever the forces or structures which maintain the normal state of the Escherichia coli nucleoid are altered. All of our data are consistent with a mechanism of nuclear disruption which involves multiple attachment of the host DNA to the cell membrane under the control of the D 2b gene of phage T4. We propose that in ndd -infected cells this multiple attachment does not occur, with the result that a limited number of double-strand breaks release much of the host DNA from the cell membrane.
Functional plasticity of macrophages: reversible adaptation to changing microenvironments

There has been substantial research activity in the past decade directed at phenotyping macrophage lineages and defining macrophage functional subsets or patterns of activity. The emphasis over the past 2–3 years has been to divide macrophage functional patterns into type 1 (Th1-driven) or type 2 (Th2-driven) functions. However, a huge array of environmental factors (including cytokines, chemokines, pattern recognition receptors, hormones) differentially regulates macrophage response patterns, resulting in the display of numerous distinct, functional phenotypes. Upon stimulation, a macrophage does not display just a single set of functions but rather displays a progression of functional changes in response to the progressive changes in its microenvironment. The remarkable ability of monocytes and tissue macrophages to adapt to changes in their microenvironment challenges the thesis that macrophages displaying unique tissue-specific or response-specific, functional patterns represent distinct lineages. With the exception of mature osteoclasts and mature dendritic cells, evidence supporting stable differentiation as the basis for macrophage functional heterogeneity is equivocal. The concept of whether macrophages develop into functional subsets as opposed to continuously adapting their functional pattern in response to the changing environment of a progressive inflammatory response is important to resolve from the perspectives of therapeutic targeting and understanding the role of macrophages in disease pathogenesis.
Thermodynamic Origin of the Null Energy Condition

We derive the classical null energy condition, understood as a constraint on the Ricci tensor, from the second law of thermodynamics applied locally to Bekenstein-Hawking entropy associated with patches of null congruences. The derivation provides evidence that the null energy condition, which has usually been regarded as a condition on matter, is fundamentally a property of gravity.
Deuterated-xylene (xylene-d10; EJ301D): A new, improved deuterated liquid scintillator for neutron energy measurements without time-of-flight

Abstract In conjunction with Eljen Technology, Inc. (Sweetwater,TX) we have designed, constructed, and evaluated a 3 in. ×3 in. deuterated-xylene organic liquid scintillator (C8D10; EJ301D) as a fast neutron detector. Similar to deuterated benzene (C6D6; NE230, BC537, and EJ315) this scintillator can provide good pulse-shape discrimination between neutrons and gamma rays, has good timing characteristics, and can provide a light spectrum with peaks corresponding to discrete neutron energy groups up to ca. 20 MeV. Unlike benzene-based detectors, deuterated xylene is less volatile, less toxic, is not known to be carcinogenic, has a higher flashpoint, and hence is much safer for many applications. In addition EJ301D can provide slightly more light output and better PSD than deuterated-benzene scintillators. We show that, as with deuterated-benzene scintillators, the light-response spectra can be unfolded to provide useable neutron energy spectra without need for time-of-flight (ToF). An array of these detectors arranged at many angles close to a reaction target can be much more effective (×10 to ×100 or more) than an array of long-path ToF detectors which must utilize a narrowly-bunched and pulse-selected beam. As we demonstrate using a small Van de Graaff accelerator, measurements can thus be performed when a bunched and pulse-selected beam (as needed for time-of-flight) is not available.
Isolation of Sulfonamides from Fortified Chicken Tissues with Supercritical CO2 and In-Line Adsorption

Improved recoveries and detectability of three sulfonamides from chicken tissues by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), without modifiers, using an in-line adsorption trap, are reported. Following SFE, the analytes are recovered from neutral alumina with the HPLC mobile phase. Samples are injected directly onto high-performance liquid chromatographic columns without post-extraction cleanup. Mean recoveries of sulfamethazine, sulfadimethoxine, and sulfaquinoxaline from liver, breast tissue, and thigh muscle are 89, 95, and 77%, respectively. The analytes are detectable at less than 100 ppb with a minimum of background interference.
1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music

US historians attempt to identify key characters and crucial events that have generated momentous changes in American society. Over the past century they have defined several specific dates as hist...
Antecedents of Organizational and Community Embeddedness: Role of Race and Psychological Safety

Embeddedness holds the key to employee retention and other important employee behaviors, but scholarly research on antecedents of both job and community embeddedness is few and far between. Accordi...
Seromuscular Trough Modification in Construction of Continent Urinary Stomas

AbstractThe creation of an effective flap-valve continent stoma requires use of a supple, catheterizable conduit that is implanted in a submucosal bed having adequate backing. In some patients the backing that has been routinely used, colonic teniae or bladder detrusor for instance, is deficient or unavailable. As an alternative, the seromuscular layers of the recipient urinary reservoir can be simply reconfigured to provide the support required of a continent stoma. The technique has been effective in 4 patients and offers additional flexibility with challenging cases of continent urinary reconstruction.
Finitism, Divisibilty, and the Beginning of the Universe: Replies to Loke and Dumsday

ABSTRACTSome philosophers contend that the past must be finite in duration, because otherwise reaching the present would have involved the sequential occurrence of an actual infinity of events, which they regard as impossible. I recently developed a new objection to this finitist argument, to which Andrew Ter Ern Loke and Travis Dumsday have replied. Here I respond to the three main points raised in their replies.
Input selection for fast feature engineering

The application of machine learning to large datasets has become a vital component of many important and sophisticated software systems built today. Such trained systems are often based on supervised learning tasks that require features, signals extracted from the data that distill complicated raw data objects into a small number of salient values. A trained system's success depends substantially on the quality of its features. Unfortunately, feature engineering—the process of writing code that takes raw data objects as input and outputs feature vectors suitable for a machine learning algorithm—is a tedious, time-consuming experience. Because “big data” inputs are so diverse, feature engineering is often a trial-and-error process requiring many small, iterative code changes. Because the inputs are so large, each code change can involve a time-consuming data processing task (over each page in a Web crawl, for example). We introduce Zombie, a data-centric system that accelerates feature engineering through intelligent input selection, optimizing the “inner loop” of the feature engineering process. Our system yields feature evaluation speedups of up to 8× in some cases and reduces engineer wait times from 8 to 5 hours in others.
Of Babies and Bathwater: Don't Throw the Measure Out With the Application

Adler et al. (2016) provide a discussion of the pros and cons surrounding the issue of “Getting Rid of Performance Ratings.” Yet neither the pro nor the con side of the debate appears to fully consider the central role of performance ratings outside the realm of performance management.
Correlation of cave levels and planation surfaces in the Pachmarhi area, Madhya Pradesh: a case for base-level control

Strong spatial juxtaposition of stream entrenchment and cave levels with planation surfaces in the Pachmarhi area reveals their mutual synchroneity during recurrent periods of epeirogenic uplift and stillstand that characterized the post-Deccan Trap (middle to late Cenozoic) erosion cycle. Best correlation of cave levels with planation surfaces is observed in the downstream reaches of the drainage basins far removed from the drainage divides. Cave levels closely mimic the epeirogenically warped Upland planation surfaces indicating their base level control. Cave systems in the headwater regions are less well developed and appear to be controlled more by local tributaries. Both these observations indicate that trunk streams approach equilibrium sooner than their headwater reaches and hence cave levels cluster around the planation level in the downstream reaches where planation surfaces are also better developed. Periods of stillstand are therefore marked by intense cave development and periods of downcutting by stream entrenchment and drainage superposition. Cave development and landform evolution in the Pachmarhi Area appear to be a non-cyclic but continuous process of recurrent epeirogeny and stillstand during the later part of the Cenozoic Era.
Jahn—Teller Crystals in External Fields: Phase Diagrams and Properties

In the previous chapters we have shown that Jahn—Teller crystals are systems with very unique anomalous elastic, dielectric, and magnetic properties. These compounds are unique in that they can be characterized by a combination of the anomalies. At the same time, an especially valuable for practical applications property of Jahn—Teller elastic materials is the possibility of affecting these anomalies by means of fairly weak external fields, which are easily obtained in experiment. This is because the rare-earth compounds discussed below, in particular, are characterized by low critical structural phase transition temperatures. Accordingly, the Jahn—Teller molecular fields responsible for phase transitions and the splittings of electron levels by these fields are also not too large. The most pronounced changes of the crystal properties occur specifically in this case when splittings of electron levels by external fields turn out to be of the same order as those produced by the molecular field.
Stable compressive low rank Toeplitz covariance estimation without regularization

This paper considers the problem of reconstructing a N × N low rank positive semidefinite Toeplitz matrix from a noisy compressed sketch of size O(√r) × O (√r) where r << N is the rank of the matrix. A novel algorithm is proposed which only exploits a positive semidefinite (PSD) constraint to denoise the compressed sketch using a simple least squares approach. A major advantage of our algorithm is that it does not require any regularization parameter. The PSD constraint, along with Vandermonde representation of PSD Toeplitz matrices are proved to be sufficient for stable reconstruction in presence of bounded noise.
Development of the hypothalamus: conservation, modification and innovation

The hypothalamus, which regulates fundamental aspects of physiological homeostasis and behavior, is a brain region that exhibits highly conserved anatomy across vertebrate species. Its development involves conserved basic mechanisms of induction and patterning, combined with a more plastic process of neuronal fate specification, to produce brain circuits that mediate physiology and behavior according to the needs of each species. Here, we review the factors involved in the induction, patterning and neuronal differentiation of the hypothalamus, highlighting recent evidence that illustrates how changes in Wnt/β-catenin signaling during development may lead to species-specific form and function of this important brain structure.
Manufacturing apps and the Dynamic House of Quality: Towards an industrial revolution

Abstract Modern manufacturing is becoming more powerful and flexible due to the decreasing cost of smart sensors and data processing platforms. Modularized functions related to machine tool condition monitoring, signal processing and adaptive control can be packaged into standalone manufacturing apps for a better understanding of machine operations. Based on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), manufacturing apps can be structured to work either independently or as a group for performing more complicated tasks. The Dynamic House of Quality (HoQ) provides a platform that companies, app users and app writers can benefit from in understanding what apps customers need the most, and what apps are more likely to be bundled in app groups. Potential applications of the Dynamic HoQ for manufacturing apps are discussed in this paper.
Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Contentious Issue

Are immigration and crime related? This review addresses this question in order to build a deeper understanding of the immigration-crime relationship. We synthesize the recent generation (1994 to 2014) of immigration-crime research focused on macrosocial (i.e., geospatial) units using a two-pronged approach that combines the qualitative method of narrative review with the quantitative strategy of systematic meta-analysis. After briefly reviewing contradictory theoretical arguments that scholars have invoked in efforts to explain the immigration-crime relationship, we present findings from our analysis, which (a) determined the average effect of immigration on crime rates across the body of literature and (b) assessed how variations in key aspects of research design have impacted results obtained in prior studies. Findings indicate that, overall, the immigration-crime association is negative—but very weak. At the same time, there is significant variation in findings across studies. Study design features, i...
From word reading to multisentence comprehension: Improvements in brain activity in children with autism after reading intervention.

Abstract Background Children with ASD show a unique reading profile characterized by decoding abilities equivalent to verbal abilities, but with lower comprehension skills. Neuroimaging studies have found recruitment of regions primarily associated with visual processing (e.g., fusiform gyrus and medial parietal cortex), but reduced activation in frontal and temporal regions, when reading in adults with ASD. The purpose of this study was to assess neural changes associated with an intense reading intervention program in children with ASD using three fMRI tasks of reading. Methods 25 children with ASD were randomly assigned to a treatment (ASD-EXP) or waitlist group (ASD-WLC). Children participated in a reading intervention program (4-hour sessions per day, 5 days a week for 10 weeks). We utilized three tasks: word, sentence, and multisentence processing, each with differential demands of reading comprehension. fMRI data were acquired at each of two scanning sessions 10-weeks apart. Results Across tasks, post-intervention results revealed that the ASD-EXP group showed greater activation in bilateral precentral gyrus and the postcentral gyrus, visual processing regions (e.g., occipital cortex, fusiform gyrus), and frontal regions. In the word task, left thalamus and the right angular gyrus (AG) activation was unique to the ASD-EXP group post-intervention. Sentence tasks showed differential activation of core language areas (e.g., IFG, IPL) post-intervention. Conclusions Our results provide evidence for differential recruitment of brain regions based on task demands in children with ASD, and support the potential of targeted interventions to alter brain activation in response to positive gains in treatment. Children with ASD have a different reading profile from other reading disorders that needs to be specifically targeted in interventions.
Keynote speaker 1: Enhancing QoS in beamforming networks: Mobile beamformers and optimal motion policies

Distributed, networked communication systems, such as relay beamforming networks are typically designed without considering how the positions of the respective nodes might affect the quality of the communication. That is, network nodes are either assumed to be stationary in space, or, if some of them are moving while communicating, their trajectories are assumed to be independent of the respective communication task. However, in most cases, the Channel State Information (CSI) observed by each network node, per channel use is both spatially and temporally correlated. One could then ask whether the performance of the communication system could be improved by predictively controlling the positions of the network nodes (e.g., the relays), based on causal CSI estimates and by exploiting the spatiotemporal dependencies of the communication medium. In this talk, we address the problem of enhancing Quality-of-Service (QoS) in power constrained, mobile relay beamforming networks, by optimally exploiting relay mobility. We consider a time slotted system, where the relays update their positions before the beginning of each time slot. Adopting a spatiotemporal stochastic field model of the wireless channel, we propose a novel 2-stage stochastic programming formulation for specifying the relay positions at each time slot, such that the QoS of the network is maximized on average, based on causal CSI and under a total relay transmit power budget. The motion control problem considered is shown to be approximately equivalent to a set of simple subproblems, which can be solved in a distributed fashion, one at each relay. Numerical simulations are presented, corroborating the efficacy of the proposed approach and confirming its properties.
How Will We React to the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life

How will humanity react to the discovery of extraterrestrial life? Speculation on this topic abounds, but empirical research is practically non-existent. We report the results of three empirical studies assessing psychological reactions to the discovery of extraterrestrial life using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text analysis software. We examined language use in media coverage of past discovery announcements of this nature, with a focus on extraterrestrial microbial life (Pilot Study). A large online sample (N = 501) was asked to write about their own and humanity's reaction to a hypothetical announcement of such a discovery (Study 1), and an independent, large online sample (N = 256) was asked to read and respond to a newspaper story about the claim that fossilized extraterrestrial microbial life had been found in a meteorite of Martian origin (Study 2). Across these studies, we found that reactions were significantly more positive than negative, and more reward vs. risk oriented. A mini-meta-analysis revealed large overall effect sizes (positive vs. negative affect language: g = 0.98; reward vs. risk language: g = 0.81). We also found that people's forecasts of their own reactions showed a greater positivity bias than their forecasts of humanity's reactions (Study 1), and that responses to reading an actual announcement of the discovery of extraterrestrial microbial life showed a greater positivity bias than responses to reading an actual announcement of the creation of man-made synthetic life (Study 2). Taken together, this work suggests that our reactions to a future confirmed discovery of microbial extraterrestrial life are likely to be fairly positive.
Social-collaborative determinants of content quality in online knowledge production systems: comparing Wikipedia and Stack Overflow

Online knowledge production sites, such as Wikipedia and Stack Overflow, are dominated by small groups of contributors. How does this affect knowledge quality and production? Does the persistent presence of some key contributors among the most productive members improve the quality of the knowledge, considered in the aggregate? The paper addresses these issues by correlating week-by-week value changes in contribution unevenness, elite resilience (stickiness), and content quality. The goal is to detect if and how changes in social structural variables may influence the quality of the knowledge produced by two representative online knowledge production sites: Wikipedia and Stack Overflow. Regression analysis shows that on Stack Overflow both unevenness and elite stickiness have a curvilinear effect on quality. Quality is optimized at specific levels of elite stickiness and unevenness. At the same time, on Wikipedia, quality increases linearly with a decline in entropy, overall, and with an increase in stickiness in the maturation phase, after an entropy elite stickiness, quality of content peak is reached.
Linear Aeroelasticity Theory/ The Possio Integral Equation

In this chapter we present the linear theory which plays an essential role in the nonlinear Hopf bifurcation stability theory to come in Chap. 6. This is the most studied part of the theory beginning with the pioneers: Kussner, Sohngen, Wagner, Garrick, and Theodorsen; see the classic treatise [6]. This is also the longest chapter in the book and covers the theory buttressing a wide variety of topics loosely referred to as “Flutter Analysis”: the every day “bread-and-butter” part of the subject.
Water Shortage and Property Investing in Mexico City

A commercial property company evaluates water risks including the government's ability to remedy, the company's operating exposure and mitigation, and whether to relocate because of water risk. A real estate fund manager assesses investment prospects in Mexico City in the context of a major water supply and distribution crisis facing one of the world's largest cities. Can the investment manager understand the water problems so she can make a decision whether to invest in Mexico City? What will she learn about how water is sourced and distributed in Mexico City? And how might the potential public-private partnerships being discussed affect her investment prospects? The fund's investors are seeking real estate exposure in major world cities, particularly Mexico City. How can they assess and mitigate this exposure? How can they extend this thinking to other cities and countries?Learning Objective: Evaluating business and investing decisions in the context of a country facing major infrastructure problems with water supply and distribution. Explore options for addressing the infrastructure problems through public-private partnerships, and evaluate potential investments in Mexico City given all the associated uncertainty. Extend the thinking to other infrastructure issues in other countries and how business can assess water risk and address it. Understand potential public private partnership and privatization scopes of service, including the engineering, financial, and political solutions.
PERSISTENT HEART FAILURE IN A PATIENT SUPPORTED BY LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICE CAUSED BY AORTIC VALVE PARAVALVULAR LEAK TREATED SUCCESSFULLY WITH AMPLATZER OCCLUDER

Aortic valve paravalvular leak (PVL) is an under-recognized cause of persistent heart failure in patients supported by left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). A 68 year old male with a history of aortic valve replacement and end stage heart failure status post LVAD presents with persistent heart
New development of nanoscale spectroscopy using scanning probe microscope

Nanoscale spectroscopy and imaging, a hybrid technique that combines a scanning probe microscope (SPM) with spectroscopy, can provide nanoscale topographical, spectral, and chemical information of a sample. In recent years, developments in nanofabrication technology have dramatically advanced the field of nanospectroscopy for applications in various fields including nanoscale materials, electronics, catalysis, and biological systems. However, challenges in nanofocusing of light for excitation and extracting weak signals of individual molecules from the background signal persist in conventional nanoscale spectroscopy including tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, scanning near-field microscopy (SNOM/NSOM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy. This article reviews new approaches to design plasmonic SPM probes that improve important aspects of nanospectroscopy such as nanofocusing, far-to-near-field-coupling efficiency, background suppression, and ease of fabrication. The authors survey a diverse range of novel schemes to excite propagating surface plasmon polaritons on the probe surface to attain highly enhanced nanofocused light at the apex for nanoscale spectroscopies. These schemes include grating coupler configurations on the plasmonic SPM probes, aperture and apertureless plasmonic SNOM probes, nanostructured resonators coupled with a high-quality-factor photonic cavity, interfacing of the optical fiber with plasmonic nanowires, and nanoparticle-coupled plasmonic nanowires. These innovative probes merge the field of fiber optics, plasmonics, quantum optics, and nanomaterials. The authors provide a perspective on new approaches that combine the advantages of these probes and have the potential for significant advancement in nanoscale imaging and other types of nanoscale spectroscopies including scanning quantum spin spectroscopy and scanning thermal imaging microscopy.
High prevalence of geriatric syndromes in older adults.

Introduction The geriatric syndromes of frailty, sarcopenia, weight loss, and dementia are highly prevalent in elderly individuals across all care continuums. Despite their deleterious impact on quality of life, disability, and mortality in older adults, they are frequently under-recognized. At Saint Louis University, the Rapid Geriatric Assessment (RGA) was developed as a brief screening tool to identify these four geriatric syndromes. Materials and methods From 2015–2019, the RGA, comprised of the FRAIL, SARC-F, Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ), and Rapid Cognitive Screen (RCS) tools and a question on Advance Directives, was administered to 11,344 individuals ≥ 65 years of age across Missouri in community, office-based, hospital, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and nursing home care settings. Standard statistical methods were used to calculate the prevalence of frailty, sarcopenia, weight loss, and dementia across the sample. Results Among the 11,344 individuals screened by the RGA, 41.0% and 30.4% met the screening criteria for pre-frailty and frailty respectively, 42.9% met the screening criteria for sarcopenia, 29.3% were anorectic and at risk for weight loss, and 28.1% screened positive for dementia. The prevalence of frailty, risk for weight loss, sarcopenia, and dementia increased with age and decreased when hospitalized patients and those in the PACE program or nursing home were excluded. Conclusions Using the RGA as a valid screening tool, the prevalence of one or more of the geriatric syndromes of frailty, sarcopenia, weight loss, and dementia in older adults across all care continuums is quite high. Management approaches exist for each of these syndromes that can improve outcomes. It is suggested that the brief RGA screening tool be administered to persons 65 and older yearly as part of the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.
Shear Properties of Symmetric Angle-Ply Cross-Laminated Timber Panels

AbstractThe development of cross-laminated timber (CLT) technology has revolutionized the construction industry, enabling wood into new markets and exciting large-scale applications. The traditiona...
Design and additive manufacturing of porous titanium scaffolds for optimum cell viability in bone tissue engineering

Pore size, external shape, and internal complexity of additively manufactured porous titanium scaffolds are three primary determinants of cell viability and structural strength of scaffolds in bone...
From TVs to tablets: the relation between device-specific screen time and health-related behaviors and characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether extended use of a variety of screen-based devices, in addition to television, was associated with poor dietary habits and other health-related characteristics and behaviors among US adults. The recent phenomenon of binge-watching was also explored. A survey to assess screen time across multiple devices, dietary habits, sleep duration and quality, perceived stress, self-rated health, physical activity, and body mass index, was administered to a sample of US adults using the Qualtrics platform and distributed via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants were adults 18 years of age and older, English speakers, current US residents, and owners of a television and at least one other device with a screen. Three different screen time categories (heavy, moderate, and light) were created for total screen time, and separately for screen time by type of screen, based on distribution tertiles. Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to examine differences in dietary habits and health-related characteristics between screen time categories. Aggregate screen time across all devices totaled 17.5 h per day for heavy users. Heavy users reported the least healthful dietary patterns and the poorest health-related characteristics – including self-rated health – compared to moderate and light users. Moreover, unique dietary habits emerged when examining dietary patterns by type of screen separately, such that heavy users of TV and smartphone displayed the least healthful dietary patterns compared to heavy users of TV-connected devices, laptop, and tablet. Binge-watching was also significantly associated with less healthy dietary patterns, including frequency of fast-food consumption as well as eating family meals in front of a television, and perceived stress. The present study found that poorer dietary choices, as well as other negative health-related impacts, occurred more often as the viewing time of a variety of different screen-based devices increased in a sample of US adults. Future research is needed to better understand what factors among different screen-based devices might affect health behaviors and in turn health-related outcomes. Research is also required to better understand how binge-watching behavior contributes impacts health-related behaviors and characteristics.
Face Mask Leak Determines Aerosol Delivery in Noninvasive Ventilation.

BACKGROUND: Aerosol transport during noninvasive ventilation follows the flow of pressurized gas through the noninvasive ventilation circuit, vented via leak port and face mask, and inhaled by the patient. Recommendations for nebulizer placement are based on in vitro models that have focused primarily on aerosol losses via the leak port; face mask leaks have been avoided. This study tested aerosol delivery in the setting of controlled face mask leak. METHODS: Three nebulizer technologies were studied on a bench model using a lung simulator with a face mask placed onto a manikin head. Radiolabeled aerosol delivery (ie, inhaled mass) was determined by mass balance using filters and a gamma camera that tested the effects of nebulizer location and face mask leak. Low (15–20 L/min) and high (55–60 L/min) mask leaks were used to mimic realistic clinical conditions. RESULTS: Inhaled mass (% nebulizer charge) was a function of nebulizer technology (with the nebulizer at ventilator outlet position: Aerogen 22.8%, InspiRx 11.1%, and Hudson 8.1%; P = .001). The location of the nebulizer before or after the leak port was not important (P = 0.13 at low leak and P = 0.38 at high leak). Aerosol delivery was minimal with high mask leak (inhaled mass 1.5–7.0%). Aerosol losses at the leak port at low mask leak were 28–36% versus 9–24% at high mask leak. Aerosol losses via the mask leak were 16–20% at low mask leak versus 46–72% at high mask leak. Furthermore, high face mask leak led to significant deposition on the mask and face (eg, up to 50% of the nebulizer charge with the Aerogen mask). CONCLUSIONS: During noninvasive ventilation, nebulizer placement at the ventilator outlet, which is a more practical position, is effective and minimizes deposition on face and mask. Aerosol therapy should be avoided when there is high face mask leak.
Voltage Balancing Control with Capacitor Charging Method for Series Connected SiC MOSFET Submodules

Device series connection is a method to achieve higher blocking voltage with multiple devices. However, a voltage unbalance among the series connected devices is a critical issue that may lead to a failure of the devices. The unbalance can be caused by difference of device characteristics and mismatch of gate signals due to delay of external gate drive circuit. In this work, a voltage balancing control (VBC) for series connected SiC MOSFET submodules is studied to solve the unbalance issue. One submodule consists of two switches and one shunt capacitor. By charging or discharging the shunt capacitor, voltage balancing can be achieved. The VBC is experimentally verified with four series connected SiC MOSFET submodules up to 3 kV DC voltage. Voltage balancing is achieved within 5 % of an expected balanced voltage.
Empirical beam hardening and ring artifact correction for x-ray grating interferometry (EBHC-GI)

PURPOSE Talbot-Lau grating interferometry enables the use of polychromatic x-ray sources, extending the range of potential applications amenable to phase contrast imaging. However, these sources introduce beam hardening effects not only from the samples but also from the gratings. As a result, grating inhomogeneities due to manufacturing imperfections can cause spectral nonuniformity artifacts when used with polychromatic sources. Consequently, the different energy dependencies of absorption, phase, and visibility contrasts impose challenges that so far have limited the achievable image quality. The purpose of this work was to develop and validate a correction strategy for grating-based x-ray imaging that accounts for beam hardening generated from both the imaged object and the gratings. METHODS The proposed two-variable polynomial expansion strategy was inspired by work performed to address beam hardening from a primary modulator. To account for the multicontrast nature of grating interferometry, this approach was extended to each contrast to obtain three sets of correction coefficients, which were determined empirically from a calibration scan. The method's feasibility was demonstrated using a tabletop Talbot-Lau grating interferometer micro-computed tomography (CT) system using CT acquisitions of a water sample and a silicon sample, representing low and high atomic number materials. Spectral artifacts such as cupping and ring artifacts were quantified using mean squared error (MSE) from the beam-hardening-free target image and standard deviation within a reconstructed image of the sample. Finally, the model developed using the water sample was applied to a fixated murine lung sample to demonstrate robustness for similar materials. RESULTS The water sample's absorption CT image was most impacted by spectral artifacts, but following correction to decrease ring artifacts, an 80% reduction in MSE and 57% reduction in standard deviation was observed. The silicon sample created severe artifacts in all contrasts, but following correction, MSE was reduced by 94% in absorption, 96% in phase, and 90% in visibility images. These improvements were due to the removal of ring artifacts for all contrasts and reduced cupping in absorption and phase images and reduced capping in visibility images. When the water calibration coefficients were applied to the lung sample, ring artifacts most prominent in the absorption contrast were eliminated. CONCLUSIONS The described method, which was developed to remove artifacts in absorption, phase, and normalized visibility micro-CT images due to beam hardening in the system gratings and imaged object, reduced the MSE by up to 96%. The method depends on calibrations that can be performed on any system and does not require detailed knowledge of the x-ray spectrum, detector energy response, grating attenuation properties and imperfections, or the geometry and composition of the imaged object.
Disseminated ALK-positive histiocytosis with KIF5B-ALK fusion in an adult

ALK-positive histiocytosis is an emerging rare entity that harbors a chromosomal translocation involving ALK at chromosome 2p23, with KIF5B being the most frequent partner [1,2]. KIF5B or kinesin f...