cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tissue Distribution of Methadone Following Percutaneous Absorption in Vivo

AbstractUsing the intact hairless mouse as an experimental model for human skin, the relative distribution of methadone in blood, brain, heart, liver, and lung was studied hourly for 4 hr following percutaneous absorption of the hydrochloride salt in aqueous solution. The resulting tissue distribution was compared with that observed following administration of the drug by intraperitoneal injection. With percutaneous absorption the mean tissue concentrations of methadone generally increased with time, presumably due to sustained administration of the compound. Blood concentrations were similar to those observed after oral administration of pharmacologic doses of methadone to humans. By 4 hr the mean methadone concentration in blood was higher with percutaneous absorption than with intraperitoneal injection. However, in all other instances mean tissue concentrations for each hour were higher following intraperitoneal injection of methadone. Per cutaneous absorption may prove to be a potentially effective ro...
Characterization of CCKA receptor affinity states and Ca2+ signal transduction in vagal nodose ganglia

CCKA receptors are present on vagal afferent fibers. The objectives of this study were to identify the presence of high- and low-affinity CCKA receptors on nodose ganglia and to characterize the in...
Blood visfatin concentrations in normal full‐term pregnancies

Aim: To prospectively investigate blood visfatin concentrations during the perinatal period in normal pregnancies. Methods: Visfatin concentrations were determined in maternal, umbilical cord (representing the foetal state) and neonatal blood on day 1 (N1) and 4 (N4). Results: Maternal and foetal visfatin concentrations were similar (18.83 ± 4.27 and 19.35 ± 4.90 ng/mL, respectively). There were significant correlations between maternal and foetal (r = 0.742, p < 0.001), as well as between N1 and N4 (r = 0.487, p = 0.029) visfatin concentrations. Foetal concentrations were significantly elevated compared to N1 (p = 0.032). There was no difference between N1 and N4 concentrations. However, there was a correlation between birth weight and neonatal visfatin concentrations: there was a mean increase in N1 and N4 visfatin concentrations by 0.221 ng/mL and 0.292 ng/mL, respectively, for every unit increase in customized centile (adjusted birth weight) (p = 0.021 and p = 0.005, respectively). No association was found between serum visfatin concentrations and gender, parity or mode of delivery. Conclusions: Expression in foetal membranes and placental transfer could be responsible for higher blood visfatin concentrations during intrauterine life. Customized centiles seem to be independent predictor variables for postnatal visfatin concentrations. This finding could be attributed to the production of visfatin in adipose tissue, a main contributor to birth weight and consequently to customized centiles.
Consultation with the specialist. Adolescent social development.

Adolescence is a time set aside in our culture for our children to learn how to be adults. Throughout history this societal responsibility has been satisfied in various ways by different cultural groups. Alex Hailey, in his book Roots, describes the ancient African adolescence of the young Kunta Kinte: At 12 years of age the boys of the village were separated from their families and taken to a camp in the jungle. Over a period of 6 weeks, the men of the community taught the boys all the lessons of adulthood. At the end of the encampment they were tested to determine if they had learned these lessons of adulthood. Those boys who successfully passed the test were granted adult status and circumcised as a visible sign of their manhood. These young people who left their village as boys returned to their society as men. Adolescents in our culture must accomplish the same task of adolescence as the young Kunte Kinte. They must: 1. Emancipate themselves within the structure that gave them nurture and support during their childhood (usually the family or some similar surrogate structure); 2. Establish their sexual identity—make decisions about maleness and femaleness and love-object gender; Establish their intellectual identity and place themselves within the religious, cultural, ethnic, moral, and political constructs of our society;
A Review of Community of Practice in Organizations: Key Findings and Emerging Themes

Considerable research has been conducted in the area of Communities of Practice (CoP) over the past two decades. This concept, introduced and popularized Brown and Duguid (1991), has been applied in practice and has formed the basis of numerous scholarly articles. This paper takes a small step towards reviewing the extant literature on CoPs, focusing only on empirical papers. We use the following three step process for the literature review - 1) develop a criteria for the types of articles to be included in our analysis, 2) a literature search strategy, and 3) prepare a scheme for categorizing and analyzing the articles. Based on the review, we synthesize the literature on CoPs within the organizational context and uncover key emerging themes which can be used to reveal research gaps for future work.
Automatic Incident Detection In VANETs: A Bayesian Approach

Although vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) started mainly for safety applications, surprisingly very few work have been done in VANETs for automatic incident detection (AID) while most of the research went for developing routing protocols and privacy techniques. On the other hand, it is fundamentally difficult for most of the existing AID techniques to detect incidents in non dense traffic especially for those incidents that do not block all lanes. In this paper, we introduce a novel probabilistic automatic incident detection technique for non dense traffic flow based on Bayesian theory.
Distribution, abundance, size and recruitment of the mussel, Mytilus californianus, across a major oceanographic and biogeographic boundary at Point Conception, California, USA

The Point Conception, California, USA region (hereafter PC) is one of the most important biogeographic and oceanographic discontinuities on the US west coast. Here we address how mesoscale oceanographic and environmental variability in the region around PC, CA may influence the distribution, abundance and size of the mussel Mytilus californianus, a competitively dominant species in rocky intertidal assemblages along the northeast Pacific. Strong upwelling and high wave exposure dominate the California coast north of PC, and weak, seasonal upwelling and warmer water temperatures are characteristic of the region south/ east of PC. We hypothesized that the gradient in temperature, upwelling, and wave exposure around PC would greatly influence patterns of recruitment and abundance of mussels, potentially underlying large-scale differences in community structure. We evaluated these predictions by surveying intertidal community structure, mussel distribution, size, abundance and recruitment at a range of intertidal sites around PC. We found that intertidal communities north of PC were dominated mainly by macrophytes, while mussels and barnacles were relatively scarce. Intertidal communities south of PC were dominated by mussels and barnacles, with a low abundance of macrophytes. Mussels were larger and mussel beds were more expansive and extended lower in elevation at sites ranging from north to south around PC. At northern sites, high abundances of sea star predators and elevated wave exposure effectively displaced the entire mussel zone upwards. We found no differences in the numbers of mussel recruits to sites around PC, suggesting that spatial patterns of mussel abundance were not driven by differential recruitment. These results suggest that unlike other well-studied systems, supply of benthic larvae does not underly the large-scale gradient in community structure around PC. We suggest that environmental conditions favorable to macroalgal growth north of PC, and conditions favorable to filter-feeder growth south of PC may underly mesoscale patterns of intertidal community structure in this region.
Heart Rate-Defined Phases of Attention, Look Duration, and Infant Performance in the Paired-Comparison Paradigm

Four-month-old infants (N = 68) were tested in a paired-comparison familiarization-novelty recognition task in which the length of choice trials was systematically manipulated. Peak look duration during pretest and familiarization periods significantly predicted a dichotomous measure of recognition performance, but recognition was unaffected by choice-trial length. Heart rate (HR) was simultaneously assessed during the task, and the amount of time infants spent in various HR-defined phases of attention was assessed. Longer durations of looking during pretest and familiarization were significantly associated with more time spent in both sustained attention (SA) and attention termination (AT). Of these two variables, only individual differences in AT accounted for significant variance in recognition memory performance. A final analysis addressed the possibility that individual differences in AT mediated the relation between look duration and recognition performance. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that individual differences in the disengagement of attention underlie the relation between look duration and cognitive performance in early to midinfancy.
Lysophosphatidic acid receptor agonists and antagonists (WO2010051053)

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive lipid involved in signaling pathways that result in cell survival, proliferation, migration and invasion. These cellular responses are a critical element of both normal development as well as pathophysiology. In particular, dysregulated LPA production and function have been linked with cancer and cardiovascular disease. RxBio, Inc. has generated several series of LPA analogs with varied agonist/antagonist function at the LPA(1-3) GPCR targets of LPA signaling. These analogs are simplified relative to LPA through deletion of the glycerol moiety linking the LPA phosphate and fatty acid groups. One of the example compounds was shown to protect intestinal crypt cells from radiation-induced apoptosis in mice when whole body irradiation occurred 2 h after oral dosing.
Mental Health Service Use Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Older Adults.

Objective:Empirical efforts to measure use of mental health services among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) older adults have been notably lacking. Thus this study assessed associations between sexual orientation and mental health service use among older adults and determined the mediating role of nonspecific psychological distress, excessive alcohol use, and self-perceived poor general medical health.Methods:Data from the 2011 New York City Community Health Survey were analyzed. The analytic sample comprised 5,138 adults ages 50 and over. Logistic regression modeling was used to examine associations between sexual orientation (LGB versus heterosexual) and past-year mental health service use (counseling or medication), adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Mediation analyses using bootstrapping were conducted.Results:Among LGB older adults, 23.9% reported receiving counseling, and 23.4% reported taking psychiatric medication in the past year. LGB respondents were significantly more ...
Microarray kit analysis of cytokines in blood product units and segments

Background Cytokine concentrations in transfused blood components are of interest for some clinical trials. It is not always possible to process samples of transfused components quickly after their administration. Additionally, it is not practical to sample material in an acceptable manner from many bags of components before transfusion, and after transfusion, the only representative remaining fluid of the component may be that in the "segment," because the bag may have been completely transfused. Multiplex array technology allows rapid simultaneous testing of multiple analytes in small-volume samples. This technology was used to measure white blood cell (WBC) cytokine levels in blood products to determine 1) whether concentrations in segments correlate with those in the main bag and, thus, whether segments could be used for estimation of the concentrations in the transfused component and 2) whether concentrations after sample storage at 4 degrees C for 24 hours do not differ from concentrations before storage, thus allowing for processing within 24 hours, rather than immediately after transfusion. Study design and methods WBC cytokines were measured in the supernatant from bags and segments of leukoreduced red blood cells (RBCs), nonleukoreduced whole blood, and leukoreduced plateletphereses using a human cytokine array kit (ProteoPlex, Novagen). Results Cytokine concentrations in RBCs and whole blood or plateletphereses stored at 4 degrees C did not differ between bag and segment samples (all p > 0.05). There was no evidence of systematic differences between segment and bag concentrations. Cytokine concentrations in samples from plateletphereses did not change within 24 hours storage at 4 degrees C. Conclusion Samples from either bag or segment can be used to study cytokine concentrations in groups of blood products. Cytokine concentrations in plateletphereses appear to be stable for at least 24 hours of storage at 4 degrees C and, thus, samples stored with those conditions may be used to estimate the cytokine concentrations of the component at the time of transfusion.
Computational design of an endo-1,4-beta-xylanase ligand binding site.

The field of computational protein design has experienced important recent success. However, the de novo computational design of high-affinity protein–ligand interfaces is still largely an open challenge. Using the Rosetta program, we attempted the in silico design of a high-affinity protein interface to a small peptide ligand. We chose the thermophilic endo-1,4-β-xylanase from Nonomuraea flexuosa as the protein scaffold on which to perform our designs. Over the course of the study, 12 proteins derived from this scaffold were produced and assayed for binding to the target ligand. Unfortunately, none of the designed proteins displayed evidence of high-affinity binding. Structural characterization of four designed proteins revealed that although the predicted structure of the protein model was highly accurate, this structural accuracy did not translate into accurate prediction of binding affinity. Crystallographic analyses indicate that the lack of binding affinity is possibly due to unaccounted for protein dynamics in the ‘thumb’ region of our design scaffold intrinsic to the family 11 β-xylanase fold. Further computational analysis revealed two specific, single amino acid substitutions responsible for an observed change in backbone conformation, and decreased dynamic stability of the catalytic cleft. These findings offer new insight into the dynamic and structural determinants of the β-xylanase proteins.
Learned Control Over Distraction Is Disrupted in Amnesia

Recent studies have demonstrated that brief periods of training facilitate the ability to overcome distraction during future performance of a given task, and researchers have proposed that these effects rely on relational memory systems that enable individuals to link specific attentional states to their learned context. In the current work, we examined whether medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures critical for relational and contextual learning contribute to these effects. A group of amnesic patients with bilateral MTL damage and a group of matched comparison subjects both completed an attentional-capture task in which a brief training session typically leads to decreased distraction in a subsequent testing session. Whereas the comparison subjects showed normal training-related decreases in distractibility, the amnesic patients did not. Thus, our results indicate that MTL-mediated learning plays a critical role in the ability to use past experience to overcome distraction. This suggests a tight linkage b...
Late Manifestation of Tracheal Rupture after Thyroidectomy: Case Report and Literature Review

Objective: To report an extremely rare case of delayed tracheal rupture after thyroidectomy and to review the existing related literature.Methods: We present the history, clinical findings, radiogr...
Architecture-adaptive routability-driven placement for FPGAs

Current FPGA placement algorithms estimate the routability of a placement using architecture-specific metrics. The shortcoming of using architecture-specific routability estimates is limited adaptability. A placement algorithm that is targeted to a class of architecturally similar FPGAs may not be easily adapted to other architectures. The subject of this paper is the development of a routability-driven architecture adaptive FPGA placement algorithm called Independence. The core of the Independence algorithm is a simultaneous place-and-route approach that tightly couples a simulated annealing placement algorithm with an architecture adaptive FPGA router (Pathfinder). The results of our experiments demonstrate Independence's adaptability to island-style FPGAs, a hierarchical FPGA architecture (HSRA), and a coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture (RaPiD). The quality of the placements produced by Independence is within 1.2% of the quality of VPRs placements. 17% better than the placements produced by HSRA's placer, and within 0.7% of RaPiD's placer. Further, our results show that Independence produces clearly superior placements on routing-poor island-style FPGA architectures.
Reduced Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to Vancomycin and Platelet Microbicidal Protein Correlates with Defective Autolysis and Loss of Accessory Gene Regulator (agr) Function

Loss of agr function, vancomycin exposure, and abnormal autolysis have been linked with both development of the GISA phenotype and low-level resistance in vitro to thrombin-induced platelet microbicidal proteins (tPMPs). We examined the potential in vitro interrelationships among these parameters in well-characterized, isogenic laboratory-derived and clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The laboratory-derived S. aureus strains included RN6607 (agrII-positive parent) and RN6607V (vancomycin-passaged variant; hetero-GISA), RN9120 (RN6607 agr::tetM; agr II knockout parent), RN9120V (vancomycin-passaged variant), and RN9120-GISA (vancomycin passaged, GISA). Two serial isolates from a vancomycin-treated patient with recalcitrant, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) endocarditis were also studied: A5937 (agrII-positive initial isolate) and A5940 (agrII-defective/hetero-GISA isolate obtained after prolonged vancomycin administration). In vitro tPMP susceptibility phenotypes were assessed after exposure of strains to either 1 or 2 mug/ml. Triton X-100- and vancomycin-induced lysis profiles were determined spectrophotometrically. For agrII-intact strain RN6607, vancomycin exposure in vitro was associated with modest increases in vancomycin MICs and reduced killing by tPMP, but no change in lysis profiles. In contrast, vancomycin exposure of agrII-negative RN9120 yielded a hetero-GISA phenotype and was associated with defects in lysis and reduced in vitro killing by tPMP. In the clinical isolates, loss of agrII function during prolonged vancomycin therapy was accompanied by emergence of the hetero-GISA phenotype and reduced tPMP killing, with no significant change in lysis profiles. An association was identified between loss of agrII function and the emergence of hetero-GISA phenotype during either in vitro or in vivo vancomycin exposure. In vitro, these events were associated with defective lysis and reduced susceptibility to tPMP. The precise mechanism(s) underlying these findings is the subject of current investigations.
Materials and mechanics for stretchable electronics - from electronic eye cameras to conformal brain monitors

This paper reviews strategies for forming high quality electronics on rubber substrates, in a manner that provides elastic responses to high strain mechanical deformations (i.e. stretchable electronics). The approaches use semiconductor nanomaterials, such as nanomembranes of single crystal silicon, in structural configurations whose geometries change continuously in response to applied strains, thereby avoiding significant strains in the materials themselves. Representative applications in devices, components and fully integrated systems, such as hemispherical electronic eye cameras, demonstrate the concepts.
Supporting many-to-one communication in mobile multi-robot ad hoc sensing networks

We study the problem of supporting communication in mobile sensor networks formed by teams of mobile robots equipped with sensors. We assume that in addition to communicating with each other by implicit or environmental means, the robots are equipped with wireless communication capability and effectively form a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). However, unlike typical MANETs where the primary communication pattern is any-to-any, such mobile multi-robot sensing networks need to support sensing applications which exhibit a many-to-one communication pattern. We evaluate the ability of current ad hoc network routing protocols to support communication in such sensing networks using detailed simulations of 50 robots. We consider typical communication patterns that arise in sensing applications and their impact on success rates, routing overhead, and energy costs of the mobile sensor network.
A Descriptive Analysis of Intervention Research Published in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions: 1999 through 2005.

The Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions (JPBI) has been publishing reports of empirical intervention research since 1999, with a commitment to serve as a vehicle for dissemination of data and perspectives pertinent to positive behavior support (PBS). PBS is distinguished by an emphasis on certain features of interventions, such as ecological and social validity. The current analysis was undertaken as an effort to describe the characteristics of intervention research published in JPBI from 1999 through 2005 and to provide a comparison with other peer-reviewed journals that publish a large number of articles reporting intervention research with children and youth with disabilities. The data indicate that JPBI has been publishing research with comparatively high levels of ecological validity, social validity, and assessment-based interventions. The authors note other distinctive aspects of JPBI's publication record and discuss the data with respect to the current and future character of PBS research.
Viral resistance and CMV retinitis: design and methods of a prospective study.

A prospective study following a cohort of patients with newly diagnosed, previously untreated cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis is being conducted to study drug resistant CMV. Prior to initiation of treatment, patients undergo a baseline eye examination, fundus photography, and blood and urine culture for presence of CMV, and drug susceptibility testing against positive isolates. Patients are followed monthly with a detailed eye examination to diagnose progression of retinitis, and for fundus photography. Cultures are repeated at 1 and 3 months after enrollment, every 3 months thereafter, and at the time of treatment reinduction for the progression of retinitis.This study was designed to determine the prevalence and incidence of drug resistant CMV, as well as risk factors for the development of resistant CMV. It also will determine the correlation between clinical outcome, as measured both by eye examination and fundus photography, and viral resistance.
Power sharing analysis of double-input converters based on H-bridge cells

This paper concludes the previous works on the synthesis of double input converters based on H-bridge cells. First it derives a new double input converter topology called the boost-boost converter based on cascaded H-bridge cells. Next it presents a thorough power sharing analysis of the H-bridge based double input converters. Finally, it provides simulation results to support the theoretical outcomes.
Post-heparin serum lecithinase in man and its positional specificity

Lecithinase activity in post-heparin serum has been demonstrated. Phosphatidyl choline (PC) can be degraded to lysophosphatidyl choline and fatty acids at a rate of more than 1 micromole/hr per ml of serum in an incubation system containing PC, 0.1 M glycine-NaOH buffer (pH 9.6), and deoxycholate. This activity cannot be found in serum obtained prior to the injection of heparin. Post-heparin serum lecithinase can be distinguished from the heat-stable pancreatic lecithinase by the markedly different effects of heat, paraoxon, and EDTA, and from serum lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase by the differential effect of p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. In contrast to the acyltransferase and to pancreatic lecithinase, which are active at the beta (C-2) position of lecithin, post-heparin serum lecithinase is active at alpha' (C-1) position.
The Primes that Euclid Forgot

Let q1 = 2. Supposing that we have defined qj for all 1  j  k, let qk+1 be a prime factor of 1 + Q k j=1 qj. As was shown by Euclid over two thousand years ago, q1,q2,q3,... is then an infinite sequence of distinct primes. The sequence {qi} is not unique, since there is flexibility in the choice of the prime qk+1 dividing 1 + Q k j=1 qj. Mullin suggested studying the two sequences formed by (1) always taking qk+1 as small as possible, and (2) always taking qk+1 as large as possible. For each of these sequences, he asked whether every prime eventually appears. Recently, Booker showed that the second sequence omits infinitely many primes. We give a completely elementary proof of Booker's result, suitable for presentation in a first course in number theory.
Trust-Based Service Management for Social Internet of Things Systems

A social internet of things (IoT) system can be viewed as a mix of traditional peer-to-peer networks and social networks, where “things” autonomously establish social relationships according to the owners’ social networks, and seek trusted “things” that can provide services needed when they come into contact with each other opportunistically. We propose and analyze the design notion of adaptive trust management for social IoT systems in which social relationships evolve dynamically among the owners of IoT devices. We reveal the design tradeoff between trust convergence versus trust fluctuation in our adaptive trust management protocol design. With our adaptive trust management protocol, a social IoT application can adaptively choose the best trust parameter settings in response to changing IoT social conditions such that not only trust assessment is accurate but also the application performance is maximized. We propose a table-lookup method to apply the analysis results dynamically and demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed adaptive trust management scheme with two real-world social IoT service composition applications.
Individuals With Disabilities in Self-Employment Through Vocational Rehabilitation Predictors of Successful Case Closure From 2008 to 2012

Since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal and state governments have played a significant role in the employment of individuals with disabilities. In the present study, one aspect of that relationship was analyzed—individuals with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to become self-employed. The authors utilized a two-level hierarchical generalized linear modeling to analyze national data from the Rehabilitation Services Administration for fiscal years 2008–2012. Among several significant (p < .001) predictors of successful VR self-employment case closure across the years, ethnicity had the largest effect, followed by gender. Although the findings from this study build on those from a previous study, conclusions about the predictors are tentative. Nevertheless, the findings add to a sparse literature on VR self-employment of individuals with disabilities, and the authors discuss the study’s implications for researchers and VR and provide suggestions for furt...
A Viable and Comprehensive Process for Assessment and Continuous Improvement towards Successful Accreditation

The assessment and evaluation of Student Outcomes for continuous improvement of a program is a challenging process to develop as well as to implement for successful ABET accreditation. Although some of the elements of this process is available in the literature, there is no comprehensive approach available as a viable model. An emphasis is given in this paper to present a holistic model for assessment, evaluation, and interpretation of ABET student outcomes and continuous improvement process. Also, the performance indicators and respective rubrics for each one of the student outcomes, possible direct and indirect methods for assessment, evaluation and presentation of results, feedback and implementation for continuous improvement are presented in this paper.
Discussion on a case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis caused by inoculation with measles and rubella combined live vaccine

Objective To investigate a case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and analyze the correlation betweenvaccination and onset. Methods A field investigation was conducted, which included inoculation entities and vaccine supplyunit, the information of cases, treatment, inoculation and vaccine transfer process. Results The patients was diagnosedclearly as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which had a certain degree of time correlation with the onset. Patient had noinfectious history before the onset. The inoculation entities and vaccination staff had the vaccination qualification with correctoperation. Vaccines had qualified certification with correct transfer process. Conclusion The diagnosis of InvestigationDiagnosis Group of Huanggang City of Hubei Province was that the case did not belong to abnormal reaction of vaccination, butthe diagnosis of Medical Association in Huanggang City was that the abnormal reaction of vaccination could not be excluded(recommended treatment according to the abnormal reaction of vaccination).
Experimental study of high temperature corrosion behavior of T91 in SO2 gas mixture

The high temperature corrosion behavior of T91samples with three kinds of surface condition at 650 ℃ in gas mixture of SO2 were studied, namely the original surface of T91, the T91surface treated by shot blasting and the T91 surface with the CeO2 film deposited after shot blasting treatment. The curve of corrosion rate and time was given and the corrosion mechanism was discussed. The effect of the two kinds of surface treatment techniques on the high temperature corrosion resistant performance of the T91 in SO2 gas mixture was analyzed.
Research of Large Scale Medical Equipment Maintenance and Management

With the improvement of medical level, the proportion that large medical equipments take in the hospital is becoming higher and higher. How to carry on effective maintenance and management for the large-scale medical equipment is a major problem that hospital management faces under the new situation. However, due to various reasons, most hospitals have some problems in the maintenance and management of large medical equipment. This paper focuses on the analysis of the problems of the maintenance and management of large medical equipment in hospitals, and puts forward some solutions for the problems, hoping to provide a reference and help for improving the maintenance and management of large medical equipment.
On the Teaching Method of Case Analysis in the Course of A General Introduction to Economics

The revolution and innovation of teaching method in college education are the inevitable trend for development.This article tries to use the teaching method of case analysis,providing students a basic knowledge system;from the opening angle of the cross and blend of the field of study,striving to foster students' ability to think in the pattern of economics and to set up the spirits of the course.
Three-dimensional polymer-derived ceramic/graphene paper as a Li-ion battery and supercapacitor electrode

We study the synthesis and electrochemical performance of molecular precursor-derived ceramic (PDC)/carbon nanotube-embedded graphene self-supporting composite papers as Li-ion battery and supercapacitor electrodes. The composite papers are prepared using vacuum filtration of PDC-graphene oxide (GO) dispersion, followed by thermal reduction at 500 °C. Tested as a Li-ion battery electrode, the composite papers deliver a reversible capacity as high as 300 mA h g−1 (normalized with respect to total mass of the electrode) with negligible capacity loss after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. Boron-doped silicon carbon nitride (Si(B)CN) outperforms its undoped counterpart (SiCN) in terms of rate capability, cyclic stability, and coulombic efficiency. Among the PDC materials analyzed, Si(B)CN–CNT–rGO demonstrates the lowest ohmic resistance and highest specific capacitance of approximately 269.52 F g−1 at a current density of 5 A g−1, making it a promising electrode material for electrochemical energy storage applications.
The critical care consortium. Maximizing continuing education dollars.

Facing current changes in healthcare delivery and resultant cuts in education budgets, hospitals are challenged to find innovative approaches to meet the learning needs of critical care nurses. The education consortium, one possible approach, consists of a group of institutions that work together to jointly sponsor and present a critical care program. Several educational consortiums currently provide continuing education for critical care nurses in various locations throughout the United States. Consortiums have the potential to enhance program quality, reduce costs, promote positive participant interaction, and strengthen community spirit. While the consortium approach is not a panacea, it has proven to be a successful model for critical care education.
Cantilever Ringdown Dissipation Imaging for the Study of Loss Processes in Polymer/Fullerene Solar Cells

We use dissipation imaging to probe local changes in electronic properties of nanostructured semiconductor films due to local photochemistry. We make quantitative maps of electrostatic dissipation due to photogenerated carriers by measuring the ringdown time of an oscillating atomic force microscope cantilever. Using organic photovoltaic materials as a testbed, we study macroscopic device degradation as a function of photooxidation for three different film morphologies comprising the conjugated polymer poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7) and the fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM). We find that, judged by device performance, the stability of the macroscopic devices is sensitive to processing conditions, with films processed with the solvent additive 1,8-diiodooctane being the most stable. At the microscopic level, we compare the evolution of cantilever power diss...
Fitting procedural yarn models for realistic cloth rendering

Fabrics play a significant role in many applications in design, prototyping, and entertainment. Recent fiber-based models capture the rich visual appearance of fabrics, but are too onerous to design and edit. Yarn-based procedural models are powerful and convenient, but too regular and not realistic enough in appearance. In this paper, we introduce an automatic fitting approach to create high-quality procedural yarn models of fabrics with fiber-level details. We fit CT data to procedural models to automatically recover a full range of parameters, and augment the models with a measurement-based model of flyaway fibers. We validate our fabric models against CT measurements and photographs, and demonstrate the utility of this approach for fabric modeling and editing.
Stability Characterization and Sensory Testing in Food Products Containing Microencapsulants

This chapter reviews the properties that contribute to the stability of microencapsulated ingredients and their effect on sensory properties. Special focus is given to factors that affect the wall and/or encapsulated core ingredients and how these factors can be measured to assess stability of the microcapsule. Additionally, basic physiology and methodologies in sensory science are reviewed. How these sensory basics are applied to microencapsulation research is shown through a variety of literature.
Context Specific and Differential Gene Co-expression Networks via Bayesian Biclustering

Identifying latent structure in high-dimensional genomic data is essential for exploring biological processes. Here, we consider recovering gene co-expression networks from gene expression data, where each network encodes relationships between genes that are co-regulated by shared biological mechanisms. To do this, we develop a Bayesian statistical model for biclustering to infer subsets of co-regulated genes that covary in all of the samples or in only a subset of the samples. Our biclustering method, BicMix, allows overcomplete representations of the data, computational tractability, and joint modeling of unknown confounders and biological signals. Compared with related biclustering methods, BicMix recovers latent structure with higher precision across diverse simulation scenarios as compared to state-of-the-art biclustering methods. Further, we develop a principled method to recover context specific gene co-expression networks from the estimated sparse biclustering matrices. We apply BicMix to breast cancer gene expression data and to gene expression data from a cardiovascular study cohort, and we recover gene co-expression networks that are differential across ER+ and ER- samples and across male and female samples. We apply BicMix to the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) pilot data, and we find tissue specific gene networks. We validate these findings by using our tissue specific networks to identify trans-eQTLs specific to one of four primary tissues.
SoftDance: Software-Defined Deduplication as a Network and Storage Service

In this chapter, we focus on removing redundancy in a chain between end-systems through a network. As nodes are massively connected through networks, redundancy occurs in various domains (storage and network) and in diverse ways, including copying and modifying files, redundant transfers through networks, backup and replication on servers. Simply leveraging data reduction techniques developed in each domain does not give benefits and even incurs significant redundant processing overhead. In this chapter, we present SoftDance, software-defined deduplication as a network and storage service. SoftDance chains and virtualizes storage deduplication and network redundancy elimination using a software-defined network (SDN) to achieve both storage space and network bandwidth savings while reducing expensive overhead of processing time and memory size. SoftDance uses encoding and indexing schemes for SoftDance middlebox (SDMB) and control mechanisms for a SDN controller. Evaluation results show SoftDance reduces two to four times more bandwidth than a network-wide redundancy elimination technique and achieves equal/close storage space saving to existing the best storage saving techniques.
Dielectric and Thermal Study of ( N H 4 ) 2 S O 4 and ( N H 4 ) 2 Be F 4 Transitions

The behavior of the various dielectric properties, specific heat, and thermal expansion of ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$S${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ and ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$Be${\mathrm{F}}_{4}$ has been studied in detail under various experimental conditions, with particular reference to the ferroelectric transitions in these crystals. The curves of dielectric constant vs temperature do not obey the Curie-Weiss law. The shift of the transition temperature as reported in the literature could not be detected even under extreme experimental conditions. The transition energy and entropy change have been evaluated from a ${C}_{p}$ vs $T$ curve. The variation of the lattice parameters and the unit cell volumes with temperature has been measured by the x-ray method.The transition of ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$S${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ appears to be of first order, while that of ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$Be${\mathrm{F}}_{4}$ is also of first but very close to second-order. Deuteration of these crystals does not affect the transition of ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$S${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$; but in the case of ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$Be${\mathrm{F}}_{4}$ the transition temperature is raised by 3\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C by deuteration, and the transition energy is also increased.The phase diagram of ${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$S${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$-${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{4})}_{2}$Be${\mathrm{F}}_{4}$ system is given.
Survey of American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma members on firearm injury: Consensus and opportunities

BACKGROUNDIn the United States, there is a perceived divide regarding the benefits and risks of firearm ownership. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Injury Prevention and Control Committee designed a survey to evaluate Committee on Trauma (COT) member attitudes about firearm owner
Formative Assessment Using Multiple Choice Questions in Statics and Dynamics

A two-loop learning outcomes assessment process was followed to evaluate the core curriculum in Mechanical Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. This initiative, originally called the Engineering Sciences Core Curriculum, provided systematic course learning outcomes and assessment data of examination performance in Statics, Mechanics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer. This paper reports longitudinal data and important observations in the Statics-Dynamics sequence to determine efficacy and obstacles in student performance. An earlier paper showed that students’ mastery of Dynamics is affected largely by weak retention of fundamentals of Statics and mathematics. New observations recorded in this report suggest the need for better instructional strategies to teach certain focal areas in Statics. Subsequesntly offered Dynamics and Fluid Mechanics classes further need reinforcement of some of these fundamental topics in Statics. This report completes a 9 year long broader feedback loop designed to achieve the educational goals in the Statics-Dynamics sequence.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
The Psychology of Billing

Contracting between tax entities and tax professionals occurs millions of times every year, yet little is known about the nature of these economic interactions. This study examines the effect of commonly occurring contextual factors on tax professionals’ billing decisions for tax research. These contextual factors are unrelated to the tax research itself and the time it takes to conduct the tax research, but we find that billing decisions are strongly influenced by the three non-time-related contextual factors that we manipulate. Initial client volume impacts amounts billed for tax research, with lower initial client volume resulting in higher per client fees. Further, we find that initial billing decisions serve as value billing benchmarks for unanticipated subsequent clients who benefit from research conducted for initial clients. As a result, subsequent clients are billed higher fees when they follow a smaller number of initial clients. We also find that client referrals are billed higher fees than nonclient referrals because professionals attempt to avoid making initial clients feel as though they have been treated unfairly relative to subsequent clients who would otherwise be billed lower fees. The results of this study are relevant beyond the traditional confines of accounting research—they are relevant to the millions of tax entities that contract with tax professionals each year.
Trans-sacral Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), and anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) are some of the most commonly used approaches for fusion of the lumbosacral spine. All of these approaches have certain pitfalls that make them less suitable in certain cases. The trans-sacral approach utilizes a pre-sacral corridor to gain access to the L5–S1 disc space. It offers some advantages over other MIS techniques by reducing disruption of the musculature and minimizing injury to vital neurovascular, abdominal, and pelvic structures. Preservation of the annulus and the anterior longitudinal ligament increases implant and biomechanical stability. Overall, the trans-sacral approach has demonstrated high fusion rates, significant improvement in pain and function, low complication rates, and shorter hospital stays.
Regional Variations of Spontaneous, Transient Adenosine Release in Brain Slices.

Transient adenosine signaling has been recently discovered in vivo, where the concentration is on average 180 nM and the duration only 3–4 s. In order to rapidly screen different brain regions and mechanisms of formation and regulation, here we develop a rat brain slice model to study adenosine transients. The frequency, concentration, and duration of transient adenosine events were compared in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (CA1), and thalamus. Adenosine transients in the PFC were similar to those in vivo, with a concentration of 160 ± 10 nM, and occurred frequently, averaging one every 50 ± 5 s. In the thalamus, transients were infrequent, occurring every 280 ± 40 s, and lower concentration (110 ± 10 nM), but lasted twice as long as in the PFC. In the hippocampus, adenosine transients were less frequent than those in the PFC, occurring every 79 ± 7 s, but the average concentration (240 ± 20 nM) was significantly higher. Adenosine transients are largely maintained after applying 200 nM tetrodot...
A multiobjective approach to the management of opt-in distributed energy resources

This paper considers the problem of coordinating Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in a radial distribution work below a substation, in order to meet an injection schedule at the substation. Loads, dispatchable resources, nondispatchable resources, and energy storage are modeled in the problem. Uncertainty in load and nondispatchable generation is considered using scenarios. The focus is on situations where there are many identical agents willing to participate, but only a subset of them can be scheduled, due to network congestion. A multiobjective approach is proposed, where the first objective is chosen to promote the equity of network access among agents over time, and the second objective is concerned with the control of the overall deviation from the injection schedule. A fundamental tradeoff is to determine the extent to which generation is provided from non-dispatchable resources, and the level of risk of deviation from the schedule that can be tolerated. Simulations are used to illustrate the tradeoff between the objectives, and assess the level of nondispatchable resources that can be integrated.