cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model for Quantifying the Effect of Circuit Breaker Maintenance Using Condition-Based Data

Recent trend in maintenance is to optimize the frequency of inspection and repair according to the condition of the equipment being maintained. Condition-based maintenance introduces additional investment in monitoring equipment and analyzing systems. This approach is acceptable only if the benefits are greater than the existing cost of maintenance and additional equipment/software. Low cost "circuit breaker monitors" along with signal processing modules and expert system modules are available to monitor the circuit breaker control circuit signals. This paper presents a model for quantifying the effect of circuit breaker maintenance using the on-line condition data. This model can be used in developing system level maintenance strategies.
[N-methyl-11C]-scopolamine: Synthesis and distribution in rat brain

The muscarinic antagonist [N-methyl-11C]-scopolamine was synthesized by reductive methylation of norscopolamine with H11CHO and sodium cyanoborohydride, and then purified using preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Preliminary in vivo studies in rat suggest the distribution of this compound to parallel with the muscarine receptor population in the brain.
Global versus local processing in the absence of low spatial frequencies

When observers are presented with hierarchical visual stimuli that contain incongruous coarse (“global”) and fine (“local”) pattern attributes, the global structure interferes with local pattern processing more than local structure interferes with global pattern processing. This effect is referred to as “global precedence.” The present experiments tested the hypothesis that global precedence depends on the presence of low spatial frequencies using stimuli constructed from “contrast balanced dots.” Stimuli composed of contrast balanced dots are largely devoid of low-frequency content. Choice reaction time to identify either the local or global pattern information was the dependent measure. Global precedence was found only for control stimuli that contained low spatial frequencies. In the absence of low-frequency information, local precedence was obtained. These findings suggest that global precedence is heavily dependent on the low spatial frequency content of the patterns.
Innovation in innovation policy management: The Experimental Technology Incentives Program and the policy experiment

The Experimental Technology Incentives Program (ETIP) was conceived by the White House in the early 1970s as an innovative response to the perception that the productivity of federally funded R&D needed to be improved. The program conducted studies and ‘policy experiments’ with US government agencies during the period 1972–80 to develop and demonstrate the use of experiments as a tool for managing innovation policy development. The objective was to provide government agencies with a low-risk and effective policy tool, specifically to provide substantial information on the expected performance of a proposed change before making a full-implementation decision. However, such a sophisticated approach was ahead of both a broad recognition of the need for more efficient policy development tools and the internal government capabilities to effectively use this policy development instrument. Thus, ETIP was terminated after 10 years of operation.
The devil you know: the effects of identifiability on punishment

Prior research has confirmed Thomas Schelling's observation that people are more sympathetic and hence generous toward specific identified victims than toward “statistical” victims who are yet to be identified. In the study presented in this article we demonstrate an equivalent effect for punitiveness. We find that people are more punitive toward identified wrongdoers than toward equivalent, but unidentified, wrongdoers, even when identifying the wrongdoer conveys no meaningful information about him or her. To account for the effect of identifiability on both generosity and punitiveness, we propose that affective reactions of any type are stronger toward an identified than toward an unidentified target. Consistent with such an account, the effect of identifiability on punishing behavior was mediated by self-reported anger. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A generalized multidimensional index structure for multimedia data to support content-based similarity searches in a collaborative search environment

Since multimedia data, such as images and videos, are way more expressive and informative than ordinary text-based data, people find it more attractive to communicate and express with them. Additionally, with the rising popularity of social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, multimedia information retrieval can no longer be considered a solitary task. Rather, people constantly collaborate with one another while searching and retrieving information. But the very cause of the popularity of multimedia data, the huge and different types of information a single data object can carry, makes their management a challenging task. Multimedia data is commonly represented as multidimensional feature vectors and carry high-level semantic information. These two characteristics make them very different from traditional alpha-numeric data. Thus, to try to manage them with frameworks and rationales designed for primitive alpha-numeric data, will be inefficient. An index structure is the backbone of any database management system. It has been seen that index structures present in existing relational database management frameworks cannot handle multimedia data effectively. Thus, in this dissertation, a generalized multidimensional index structure is proposed which accommodates the atypical multidimensional representation and the semantic information carried by different multimedia data seamlessly from within one single framework. Additionally, the dissertation investigates the evolving relationships among multimedia data in a collaborative environment and how such information can help to customize the design of the proposed index structure, when it is used to manage multimedia data in a shared environment. Extensive experiments were conducted to present the usability and better performance of the proposed framework over current state-of-art approaches.
Defects characterization of welded specimens by transmission electron microscopy

Austenitic Type 304L stainless steel (SS) and martensitic Alloy EP-823 have been identified as candidate structural materials to contain spallation target for transmutation of nuclear waste. Welded specimens consisting of either or both materials have been evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the dislocation density near the heat-affected-zone (HAZ) and the base material. The results indicate that the average dislocation density determined from the TEM micrographs taken at different locations was much higher near HAZ compared to that of the base material. Further, the estimated dislocation density was higher on the Alloy EP-823 side of the weld than that of the Type 304L SS side possibly due to the faster rate of solidification of the martensitic alloy. Higher dislocation density is an indication of enhanced residual stress resulting from the welding operation.
Persistent upregulation of U6:SNORD44 small RNA ratio in the serum of breast cancer patients

Serum microRNAs have the potential to be valuable biomarkers of cancer. This investigation addresses two issues that impact their utility: a) appropriate normalization controls and b) whether their altered levels persist in patients who are clinically free of the disease. Sera from 40 age-matched healthy women and 39 breast cancer patients without clinical disease at the time of serum collection were analyzed for microRNAs let-7f, miR-16, miR-21 and miR-155 using quantitative real-time PCR. U6 and 5S, which are transcribed by RNA polymerase III (RNAP-III) and the small nucleolar RNU44 (SNORD44), were also analyzed for normalization. Significant results from the initial study were verified using a second set of sera from 15 healthy patients, 15 breast cancer patients without clinical disease and 15 with metastatic disease, and a third set of 12 healthy and 18 patients with metastatic disease. U6 was further verified in the extended second cohort of 75 healthy and 68 breast cancer patients without clinical disease. U6:SNORD44 ratio was consistently higher in breast cancer patients with or without active disease (fold change range 1.5-6.6, p value range 0.0003 to 0.05). This increase in U6:SNORD44 ratio was observed in the sera of both estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) and ER-negative breast cancer patients. MiR-16 and 5S, which are often used as normalization controls for microRNAs, showed remarkable experimental variability and thus are not ideal for normalization. Elevated serum U6 levels in breast cancer patients irrespective of disease activity at the time of serum collection suggest a new paradigm in cancer; persistent systemic changes during cancer progression, which result in elevated activity of RNAP-III and/or the stability/release pathways of U6 in non-cancer tissues. Additionally, these results highlight the need for developing standards for normalization between samples in microRNA-related studies for healthy versus cancer and for inter-laboratory reproducibility. Our studies rule out the utility of miR-16, U6 and 5S RNAs for this purpose.
Synchronous stream optical burst switching

This paper presents a novel architecture of synchronous stream optical burst switching (SS-OBS), which employs a unified traffic control plane to enable a wavelength-routed optical network with integrated sub-wavelength grooming services to support sub-wavelength streaming traffic of constant bit rate (CBR) and variable bit rate (VBR) with guaranteed end-to-end delay and data loss rate. SS-OBS shapes sub-wavelength CBR streams into periodic burst trains; aggregates multiple sub-wavelength VBR streams with the same source and destination into a statistically multiplexed periodic burst train. By adopting periodic advanced scheduling of burst trains, SS-OBS substantially decreases recursive signaling processing in supporting sub-wavelength streaming traffic. SS-OBS employs burst train reservation blocking recovery by time-shifting a blocked burst train. Performance of SS-OBS is analyzed in terms of wavelength utilization and data loss. It is found that the performance of the SS-OBS under each type of traffic is compared favorably with other single-service-based OBS schemes
Isolation and Preliminary Characterization of Bacteriophages for Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus

Ten bacteriophages that attack and lyse saprophytic strains of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus were isolated. Morphological, serological, and host-range studies revealed that there were four different bdellovibrio phages present among the isolates. One of the phages lysed a strain of B. bacteriovorus that requires the presence of a suitable bacterial host for growth. The phage attached to the bdellovibrio cells in the absence of the bacterial host cells; lysis occurred only in the presence of host cells. The 19 saprophytic bdellovibrio strains employed in the phage host-range studies were grouped on the basis of their susceptibility to phage lysis. Images
Boundaries: Ethical Implications for What It Means to Be Therapeutic in the Nurse-Person Relationship

The nurse-person relationship is sometimes regarded as the essence of professional nursing practice. Many biomedical nursing definitions and connotations have emerged over time for what it means to practice professional nursing with boundaries in a therapeutic nurse-person relationship. In this column the author compares, contrasts, and offers a unique disciplinary perspective with regard to these terms. Ethical implications for developing professional relationships through the nursing disciplinary lens of the human becoming school of thought are explored.
Forward and Inverse Displacement Analysis of an Actuated Spoke Wheel Robot With Two Spokes and a Tail Contact With the Ground

Intelligent Mobility Platform with Active Spoke System (IMPASS) is a unique wheel-leg hybrid robot that can walk in unstructured environments by stretching in or out three independently actuated spokes of each wheel. The latest prototype of IMPASS has two actuated spoke wheels and one passive tail. In order to maintain its stability, the tail of the robot is designed as a rigid shell with a geometrically convex surface touching the ground. IMPASS is considered as a mechanism with variable topologies (MVTs) due to its metamorphic configurations. Its motions on the ground, such as steering, straight-line walking and other combinations, can be uniformly interpreted as a series of configuration transformations. Among all cases of its topologies, the cases with two spokes and the tail in contact with the ground possess two d.o.f and contribute the most to its ground motion. To fully understand the characteristics of such topologies, the forward and inverse displacement analysis is developed for these cases, with the polynomial equations derived. Numerical solutions from simulation are present to validate their formulation. These results lay the kinematics foundation for the motion monitoring and planning of IMPASS. It also contributes to the design optimization of the tail’s surface geometry to improve its adaptability on uneven terrains.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
The Force-Driven Conformations of Heparin Studied with Single Molecule Force Microscopy

Using single molecule force spectroscopy we examine the response of heparin chains to mechanical stretching. We find that at forces below 200 pN heparin behaves as a simple entropic spring. At approximately 200 pN heparin displays a large enthalpic elasticity, which is evident as a pronounced plateau in the force-extension relationship. We determine that this enthalpic elasticity is produced by sugar rings of heparin flipping to more energetic and more extended conformations. We estimate that in vivo, the forces which stretch heparin are comparable to the forces that trigger conformational transitions in our single molecule atomic force microscopy measurements. We hypothesize that these conformational transitions have biological significance in that they provide a mechanism to finely regulate the affinity of various ligands toward heparin, for example, in secretory granules undergoing exocytosis and during the mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix.
Phase development in pulsed laser deposited Pb[Yb1/2Nb1/2]O3-PbTiO3 thin films

Abstract (1− x ) Pb[Yb 1/2 Nb 1/2 ]O 3 − x PbTiO 3 (PYbN-PT, x =0.4 and 0.5) / SrRuO 3 (SRO) heterostructures have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on 〈100〉 pc -oriented LaAlO 3 (LAO) substrates (the subscript pc refers here to the pseudo-cubic perovskite subcell). Careful control of both lead volatilization and pyrochlore formation during the growth appears to be essential to obtain perovskite PYbN-PT thin films with good crystalline, electrical and ferroelectric properties. By utilizing PbO-enriched ceramic targets and adjusting deposition parameters such as the laser frequency, the chamber pressure, the target to substrate distance and/or the substrate temperature, high-quality thin films can be successfully grown with a single out-of-plane 〈001〉 pc orientation and an in-plane heteroepitaxial arrangement of [110] pc PYbN-PT // [110] pc . SrRuO 3 . When processed in the 560–660°C temperature range, with a dynamic O 3 /O 2 pressure of 300–400 mTorr and relatively high laser repetition rates, PYbN-PT films exhibit improved ferroelectric properties. The typical values of the remanent ( P r ) and saturation ( P s ) polarizations increase up to 50 and 80 μC/cm 2 , respectively.
Structured illumination for tomographic X-ray diffraction imaging

Tomographic imaging of the molecular structure of an object is important for a variety of applications, ranging from medical and industrial radiography to security screening. X-ray diffraction imaging is the preeminent technique for performing molecular analysis of large volumes. Here we propose and demonstrate a new measurement architecture to improve the source and detector efficiency for diffraction imaging. In comparison with previous techniques, our approach reduces the required overall scan time by 1–2 orders of magnitude, which makes possible real-time scanning of a broad range of materials over a large volume using a table-top setup. This method, which relies on structuring spatially the illumination incident on an object moving relative to the X-ray source, is compatible with existing systems and has the potential to significantly enhance performance in an array of areas, such as medical diagnostic imaging and explosives detection.
Innovation and corporate strategy

The field of innovation studies is highly fragmented. It has not been adopted by any discipline as its own, and is in need of integration both with theory and other fields of study. A good deal of thought and effort is now under way to redefine and reformulate the field, through conferences and publications. No single set of variables will suffice to provide a workable model or a predictive understanding of innovation. A wider, more holistic appreciation is required of the phenomena involved. This requires moving beyond units of analysis such as the individual group, project or innovation to comprehend change at the level of the firm, and to encompass changes in software, services and management within the framework as well. It requires that we focus on interactions between firms and among collections of firms as our aim is to understand strategic points of leverage in the process, and it requires that we look at the changes in and interaction among variables over time. The purpose of this review is to identify the clusters of ongoing research and research issues in this new field which are most important with respect to the growth and development of industry in advanced economies such as Sweden and the United States. The most promising problems for further research will be discussed. This review is limited to the United States.
The influence of age on the constant error of joint position sense of the lower extremities

Introduction: Proprioception is the sense of knowing of joint position and kinesthetic movement. Proprioceptive feedback is also an importance in the control of voluntary movements. Impaired proprioceptive acuity with advancing age is an interesting topic for study. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the constant error of joint position sense (CEJPS) of the lower extremities between the young adult (20-35 yr.), middle-aged adult (40-55 yr.) and older adult (60-75 yr.) groups, and to compare the CEJPS between dominant and non-dominant legs in each individual group. Material and methods: Twenty subjects in each group were blinded and instructed to be measured the error of joint position sense (EJPS) of both dominant and non-dominant legs in standing position, and the EJPS was calculated to be the CEJPS for statistical analysis. The CEJPS of all groups was analyzed by one way ANOVA for between subject effects, and were compared within subject effect by paired sample t-test. Results: For between subject effects, the CEJPS of the lower extremities of all groups was significantly different in both dominant and non-dominant legs at p=0.000 and p=0.001, respectively. The CEJPS of the older adult group was significantly higher than the young adult and middle-aged adult groups, while the CEJPS between the young adult and middle-aged adult groups was not different. In other hand, for within subject effect, the CEJPS of both dominant and non-dominant legs in all groups was not different. Conclusions: Advancing age was significantly influenced on the increasing of the CEJPS of lower extremities, and the difference between dominant and non-dominant legs was not influence on the joint position sense of the lower extremities. Bull Chiang Mai Assoc Med Sci 2015; 48(1): 59-66
Abstract 107: Infectious Burden and Cognitive Performance: the Northern Manhattan Study

Background: Serological evidence of the burden of common infections (IB=infectious burden) has been associated with stroke, carotid atherosclerosis, and global cognitive function in the race/ethnically diverse community-based Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) cohort. We hypothesized that IB is associated with worse performance and decline on a battery of neuropsychological tests. Methods: A subsample of stroke-free NOMAS participants underwent a neuropsychological battery, and a subsample of these had repeated testing a mean of six (SD=2) years later. Using factor analysis-derived domain-specific Z scores for memory, language, executive function, and processing speed, we examined associations between a quantitative IB index previously associated with stroke risk and based on five common infections (Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2) and cognitive performance in each domain. We used multivariable linear regression and adjusted for age, sex, educat...
Fracture at Finite Temperature: a Statistical-Thermodynamic Approach

We discuss both theory and simulation of fracture of ideal and almost ideal crystals at finite temperature. We propose that a solid under stress is in a metastable state, and that the onset of fracture may be characterized as the nucleation of the (stable) broken phase from the (metastable) intact phase. The role of atomic-scale defects is also discussed.
Retention and Excretion of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Residues by Laying Hens

Commercial polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures with 21, 32, 42, 48, 54, and 68% chlorine were fed to caged White Leghorn hens at 20 p.p.m. for nine weeks. The 42, 48, and 54% mixtures were also fed at 2 p.p.m. Residues in egg at nine weeks were 0.7, 2.4, 14.4, 9.3, 11.4, and at 21.5 p.p.m. for the 21, 32, 42, 48, 54, and 68% chlorine PCBs, respectively. Corresponding values in body fat were 24.0, 51.1, 89.3, 90.5, 124.5, and 52.4 p.p.m., respectively. Levels in eggs and body fat of groups fed 2 p.p.m. were approximately one-tenth the levels in the 20 p.p.m. group. After seven weeks of control feed, the values for the 20 p.p.m. groups were 0.7, 1.8, 2.8, 3.0, 7.2, and 1.8 for eggs and 8.1, 22.4, 26.4, 39.8, 91.7, and 43.6 for body fat. Estimated recovery of consumed PCBs increased from 8% to 55% as chlorine increased from 21 to 68%. Residues in excreta was about 10% of intake for all PCBs. Body fat retention was greater than egg elimination for 21 through 48% chlorine PCB, about the same for 54% and much less for the 68% chlorine PCB. The ratio of egg: fat residue in contaminated birds was .084:1.
Archimedes' Axioms for Arc-Length and Area

(1980). Archimedes' Axioms for Arc-Length and Area. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 36-39.
Cysteine biosynthesis in a fungus

We have analyzed a step in cysteine biosynthesis in several strains of the pathogenic dimorphic fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. Mycelial cells of all strains tested are prototrophic. However, the yeast phase cells of most strains do not grow in the absence of -SH-containing compounds due to the apparent lack of an active form of sulfite reductase, a crucial enzyme in the cysteine biosynthetic pathway. In contrast, the yeast phase cells of one strain (Downs) have been found to have an active sulfite reductase and can grow in the absence of cysteine if serine is added. A different metabolic block must thus exist in this strain. Sulfite reductase in the yeast form of Downs strain is completely repressed by growth on cysteine while the mycelial form seems to be constitutive.The yeast and mycelial phase extracts were analyzed on polyacrylamide gels. A distinct protein band appeared in extracts prepared from the yeast cells incubated in minimal or serine-containing media, but not in extracts from mycelia or fro...
Criteria toward the definition of nonmetastatic gestational trophoblastic disease after hydatidiform mole

The administration of chemotherapy to a patient with persistently elevated titers of hCG without metastases after hydatidiform mole implies a diagnosis of nonmetastatic gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (NMGTN). At present, a diagnosis of NMGTN following evacuation of hydatidiform mole is usually made after a plateau of three values of hCG over 2 weeks (days x, x + 7, x + 14), and patients are given chemotherapy on the basis of such a plateau. The frequency of the diagnosis of NMGTN from four United States Centers is presently 26% and this compares with a frequency of choriocarcinoma of 16% in the prechemotherapy era. Data are presented to demonstrate that a plateau of 3 or 4 weeks may be justified before a diagnosis of NMGTN is made and chemotherapy is given in patients who may be followed up closely.
Current Status of Vascular Grafts

All of the vascular grafts currently available perform satisfactorily in a high flow, low resistance location. Patency rates diminish when any of these grafts are placed in locations with progressively smaller diameters of recipient arteries or limited distal arterial beds. Additional improvement in the patency rates of prostheses placed in such locations may come about through pharmacological modification of the phenomena associated with graft–recipient artery healing.
Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Correlation with Cytochrome a, a3 and Hemoglobin Redox State Measured by Noninvasive Near Infrared Spectrophotometry

Change in cytochrome a, a3 and hemoglobin redox state were assessed using nearinfrared (NIR) spectrophotometry in an animal model during normal and increased intracranial pressure.
Effect of granular polymers on rutting performance of SMA with respect to modification process

Abstract The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of two types of modification processes for granular polymers, Polymer Modified Bitumen and direct addition of polymer into mix, on rutting performance of Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA). In this research, granular polymers including Rheofalt and Ethylene-Copolymer-Bitumen (ECB), namely Lucobit, were used and their impact on rutting resistance improvement were compared with SBS modified and unmodified mixtures. Results of performing dynamic creep test revealed that, with respect to both modification types, Rheofalt modified mixtures resulted in significantly greater rutting resistance than ECB modified ones. Moreover, it was found that although ECB modified bitumen is effective to rutting enhancement, there is no improvement as a result of direct addition of it into mixtures. On the other hand, results showed that Rhefalt is influential in direct addition into mixtures but not as efficient as introduction of Rheofalt modified bitumen into mixes. Finally, investigating resilient modulus vs. cycle curves, it was revealed that SBS with elastomeric property predominance resulted in resilient modulus reduction as the content increases while Rheofalt and ECB showed reverse trend with their content increase.
3.02 – What Primate Brains Are Made of

Primates are crafty animals capable of remarkable visual processing, memory, and cognition as a whole. The basis for those abilities must lie in the organization of the primate brain. This chapter reviews recent evidence that primates evolved along a distinctive path that resulted in large numbers of neurons in still comparatively small, compact brains that process information very efficiently compared to other mammalian species.
Classification systems, their digitization and consequences for data-driven decision making: Understanding representational quality

Classification systems are foundational in many standardized software tools. This digitization of classification systems gives them a new 'materiality' that, jointly with the social practices of information producers/consumers, has significant consequences on the representational quality of such information systems. Based on a multi-site field study, we suggest that representational quality is achieved through four types of negotiations that human actors engage in when confronted with the materiality of a new IS. These negotiations are associated with three broad practices (instantiation, renarration and meta-narration), and three different information production / consumption situations. We contribute to the relational theorization of representational quality and extend classification systems research by drawing explicit attention to the importance of 'materialization' of classification systems and the foundational role of representational quality in understanding the success and consequences of data-driven decision-making. © (2013) by the AIS/ICIS Administrative Office All rights reserved.
Abstract 476: TLR4 Activation in Microvascular Endothelial Cells Triggers a Robust Inflammatory Response and Crosstalk with Mononuclear Cells

Although coronary artery disease is a macrovascular disease, microvessels are developed in atherosclerotic plaques from the vasa vasorum and contribute to inflammation and intraplaque hemorrhage. As the major types of cells in vascular system, both macrovascular endothelial cells (MAC ECs), which cover the luminal surface of atherosclerotic plaques, and microvascular endothelial cells (MIC ECs), which line small size vessels and capillaries inside lesions, are important players in atherosclerosis. In recent years, a large number of studies have provided evidence that toll-like receptor (TLR)4, an innate immune receptor, plays an essential role in atherosclerosis. However, the inflammatory responses by MIC and MAC ECs to TLR4 activation have not been fully characterized and compared. In this study, ELISA, real-time PCR and gene expression arrays showed that TLR4 activation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated a much more robust expression of pro-inflammatory genes including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and adhesion molecules in human dermal MIC ECs than human aortic MAC ECs. For example, TLR4 activation increased interleukin (IL)-6 secretion from MIC and MAC ECs by 185- and 17-fold of that from control cells (150,916 vs 814 pg/ml for MIC ECs and 501 vs 29 pg/ml for MAC ECs), respectively. Also, TLR4 activation increased chemokine CXCL10 secretion from MIC and MAC ECs by 5,405- and 12-folds of that from control cells, respectively. Furthermore, TLR4 activation in MIC ECs triggered a crosstalk with U937 mononuclear cells through MIC EC-released IL-6 to upregulate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 expression in U937 cells. In contrast, TLR4 activation in MAC ECs did not trigger the crosstalk with mononuclear cells. To explore the mechanisms underlying the different degrees of responsiveness to TLR4 activation by MIC and MAC ECs, we found that TLR4 and CD14 expression in MIC ECs was significantly higher than that in MAC ECs. Finally, we found that the nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) activity in response to TLR4 activation increased by10- and 3-fold, respectively, in MIC and MAC ECs. Taken together, this study showed that TLR4 activation in MIC ECs triggered a more robust inflammatory response than that in MAC ECs and facilitated MIC ECs to crosstalk with mononuclear cells. Given the major contribution of cytokines and MMPs to atherosclerotic plaque destabilization, our study indicates that MIC ECs may play a major role in plaque vulnerability through a TLR4-dependent mechanism.
Random Forest Architectures on FPGA for Multiple Applications

A random forest is a widely used machine learning classifier. An FPGA is a good platform for performance acceleration of random forests due to their inherent concurrent memory accesses and computational parallelism. Amortizing the cost of an FPGA implementation among different applications is desirable, but the context switch time between applications significantly influences the forest architecture. Several architectures for random forests implemented within an FPGA are described, and the area-reconfiguration tradeoffs that determine the suitability of each for multiple applications are characterized. We show that each architecture can maximize the area utilization efficiency of an FPGA given a constraint on the context switch time.
Neoliberalism: Its Roots, Development, and Legitimation

This chapter illustrates salient socio-economic conditions that allowed the implementation of neoliberalism and reviews basic aspects of early theories of neoliberalism. It opens with an illustration of the transition from Fordism to neoliberalism and the development of neoliberal globalization. It underscores the creation of global networks of production and consumption and the emergence of the current global working class and global capitalist class. It further stresses the importance of the crisis of the left vis-a-vis discourses that discredited the negotiated solutions of the contradictions of capitalism and supported the impartiality and desirability of the functioning of the market. The fundamental ideological components of neoliberalism are illustrated through a review of relevant ideas of Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek and the debate and events surrounding the evolution of neoliberalism from the creation of the Mont Pelerin Society to the first adoption of neoliberal ideas by the ordoliberals in the post-World War II West Germany. The chapter concludes by stressing the importance of the related concepts of the impartiality of the market and the “end of politics.”
The Virtue™ Quadratic Sling for Post-prostatectomy Incontinence

The male sling is the preferred surgical treatment for mild to moderate post-prostatectomy stress urinary incontinence. The Virtue male sling is a hybrid device, combining proximal relocation of the membranous urethra and compression of the bulbous urethra, relying on quadratic fixation of both a trans-obturator and a pre-pubic component. By incorporating a novel method of sling fixation, with appropriate sling tensioning to a retrograde leak point pressure of 60–70 cm water, subjective and objective success rates are 71% and 79% respectively, with a median pad weight reduction of 88% at 12 months. Baseline degree of incontinence and adjuvant radiation do not appear to adversely affect sling success, and there have no reports of prolonged urinary retention or sling erosion. The quadratic male sling adds to the surgical armamentarium for the treatment of intrinsic sphincter deficiency.
Introduction to Stochastic Simulations for Chemical and Physical Processes: Principles and Applications

An introduction to digital stochastic simulations for modeling a variety of physical and chemical processes is presented. Despite the importance of stochastic simulations in chemistry, the prevalence of turn-key software solutions can impose a layer of abstraction between the user and the underlying approach obscuring the methodology being employed. This article introduces the use of random variable generators in simulating physical and chemical processes suitable for use in undergraduate chemistry courses through detailed illustrative examples which include DNA sequences, Brownian motion, diffusion, chemical kinetics, and chain-growth polymerization. The results of the stochastic simulations are also compared to theoretical models. Jupyter notebooks containing Python code for running these simulations are provided in the Supporting Information section.
The Saharan Air Layer as an Early Rainfall Season Suppressant in the Eastern Caribbean: The 2015 Puerto Rico Drought

Eastern Puerto Rico and the surrounding Caribbean experienced a severe drought in 2015 that resulted in record low reservoir and river levels. Rainfall deficits in April and May, which represent the period when the drought began, were more severe in 2015 than recent droughts of record. While El Nino has been associated with drought in the Caribbean, onset of the 2015 drought was strongly associated with lower-than-average values of a recently developed tool used by weather forecasters in San Juan, the Galvez-Davison Index (GDI), which is used to measure the potential for thunderstorm development and rainfall. Persistently low GDI values indicate strong and frequent intrusions of hot, dry air in the low- to mid-troposphere, suppressing convection, both locally and in development regions for tropical waves that impact Puerto Rico. The Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is largely responsible for this anomalously hot, dry air, which produced thermodynamically stable conditions and limited thunderstorms and rainfall. Moreover, higher-than-normal aerosol concentrations, typically associated with SAL intrusion over the Caribbean, were recorded in April and May 2015. A comparison to AVHRR aerosol optical thickness demonstrate that higher Caribbean aerosols in the early rainfall season, particularly June, are associated with decreased rainfall in eastern Puerto Rico. Results here demonstrate a direct link between the early and more pronounced SAL intrusions into the Caribbean and the suppression of the early rainfall season. More broadly, a reduction in the GDI and increase in the trade wind inversion was associated with reduced early season rainfall in the eastern Caribbean.
A Tribute to Richard Easterlin: Economist, Demographer, and Gentleman

No short tribute can do justice to the many contributions made by Richard 1974 to the field of economics, and social science more generally. This short piece provides an overview of how his creative mindâ€”combining demography and economicsâ€”made a paradigm shifting contribution to the field; most importantly by reintroducing homo-sapiens and quality of life into economic analysis. While initially his work was at the margin, it has since become front and center and yielded a whole new sub-field in economics and inspired a wide range of scholars. The paper also discusses Richard Easterlin the persona, and his role in inspiring and mentoring a large number of rising scholars.
Effects of Large Cigarette Warning Labels on Smokers' Expected Longevity.

Objectives Smokers underestimate the health risks of smoking and overestimate their expected longevity. Warning labels on cigarette packs might help correct these misperceptions. Methods We carried out an online study with 1200 smokers (18-62 years old), randomized to 3 conditions: text warning labels, pictorial warning labels, and a control group (water bottle labels). Warning labels were based on those proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2010. Participants in each condition saw 4 randomly selected labels and rated their expected longevity and chances of surviving to age 75 after exposure. Analyses of covariance controlled for cigarettes per day and self-rated health. Results Compared to control, both text and pictorial warnings reduced participants' expected longevity (text: mean = 76.8 years, pictorial: 77.3, control 79.4) and their estimated chances of living to 75 (text: 62.0%, pictorial: 63.0%, control 66.5%). The contrast between text and pictorial labels combined and control showed significantly reduced expected longevity (p = .011) and chances of living to 75 (p = .004). Differences between text and pictorial conditions were not statistically significant. Conclusions Large text or pictorial warnings on cigarette packs might help smokers develop a more accurate understanding of the effects of smoking on their longevity.
Challenge to a National School at Risk: Mikel Dufrenne’s The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience (1953)

For centuries the arts have played a central role in establishing French identity and reputation worldwide. Because the visual arts have played such a historic role it comes as no surprise that during a period of particular national upheaval and change, from 1945 to 1959, authoritative voices in France would continue to evaluate aesthetic efforts through the lens of artistic nationalism. Over the course of the Fourth Republic, state control over teaching and patronage continued to guide artistic taste and production along the lines of official, classical academic standards as had been true for centuries. Purveyors of a composite classical ideal, practiced in the name of the nation, reigned in the museums, art schools, critical press, administrative offices and even abstract artists’ groups of Fourth Republic France. A distinctly Gallic sociological model prevailed in the field of Aesthetics as well. However, modern developments proved prob­lematic for this national cultural model in the decades following the second world war. Important native painters such as Jean Bazaine, Pierre Soulages, Jean Fautrier, Georges Mathieu, Jean Dubuffet and Andre Masson pushed abstractionist approaches to a revolutionary edge, leading to violent polemics within the French art world over the course of the 1950’s. Official prejudices in favor of a classical composite French ideal, despite divergent practices, led to numerous instances of “family quarrel” involving heated charges of cultural rupture amidst polarized views over conservative versus progressive stylistic tastes.
MPE and partial inversion in lifted probabilistic variable elimination

It is often convenient to represent probabilistic models in a first-order fashion, using logical atoms such as partners (X, Y) as random variables parameterized by logical variables. (de Salvo Braz, Amir, & Roth 2005), following (Poole 2003), give a lifted variable elimination algorithm (FOVE) for computing marginal probabilities from first-order probabilistic models (belief assessment, or BA). FOVE is lifted because it works directly at the first-order level, eliminating all the instantiations of a set of atoms in a single step, in some cases independently of the number of these instantiations. Previous work could treat only restricted potential functions. There, atoms' instantiations cannot constrain each other: predicates can appear at most once, or logical variables must not interact across atoms. In this paper, we present two contributions. The first one is a significantly more general lifted variable elimination algorithm, FOVE-P, that covers many cases where atoms share logical variables. The second contribution is to use FOVE-P for solving the Most Probable Explanation (MPE) problem, which consists of calculating the most probable assignment of the random variables in a model. The transition from BA to MPE is straightforward in propositional models, but the lifted first-order case is harder. We introduce the notion of lifted assignments, a distribution of values to a set of random variables rather than to each individual one. Lifted assignments are cheaper to compute while being as useful as regular assignments over that group. Both contributions advance the theoretical understanding of lifted probabilistic inference.
Adenosine receptors: clinical implications and biochemical mechanisms.

Adenosine receptors comprise a group of cell surface receptors which mediate the physiological effects of adenosine. These receptors were originally classified by Burnstock as P1 and P2 purinergic receptors, depending on their preference for adenosine or adenine nucleotides [1]. The relative potencies for P1 sites are adenosine ≥ AMP ≥ ADP ≥ ATP, while relative potencies for P2 sites are ATP ≥ ADP ≥ AMP ≥ adenosine [1]. Further distinctions between P1 and P2 sites can be made by the use of selective antagonists. For example, methylxan-thines, such as theophylline and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, are potent inhibitors of P1 receptors, but are without effect on P2 sites. These latter sites are selectively blocked by quinidine and high concentrations of 2-substituted imidazoline compounds such as antazoline and phentolamine, and 2’2-dipyridilisatogen.
Racial disparities in health outcomes after spinal cord injury: mediating effects of education and income.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate heath disparities as a function of race and gender and the extent to which socioeconomic factors mediate disparities among participants with ...
Blood Flow in Skeletal Muscle

Continuing the biomechanical analysis of specific organs in accordance with detailed anatomical data, we present in this chapter blood flow in skeletal muscles. A systematic approach should begin with the collection of geometric and materials data, determination of the constitutive equations of the materials, derivation of basic equations according to the laws of physics and chemistry, and formulation of meaningful boundary value problems, and then proceed to solve the equations, predict results, and validate the predictions with animal experiments. Such a program has been carried out by Schmid-Schonbein and his associates for blood flow in skeletal muscle. We present their main results here.
A Virtual Reality Investigation of the Impact of Wallpaper Pattern Scale on Qualitative Spaciousness Judgments and Action-Based Measures of Room Size Perception

Visual design elements influence the spaciousness of a room. Although wallpaper and stencil patterns are widely used in interior design, there is a lack of research on how these surface treatments affect people’s perception of the space. We examined whether the dominant scale of a wallpaper pattern (i) impacts subjective spaciousness judgments, or (ii) alters action-based measures of a room’s size. We found that both were true: participants reported lower subjective ratings of spaciousness in rooms covered with bolder (larger scale) texture patterns, and they also judged these rooms to be smaller than equivalently-sized rooms covered with finer-scaled patterns in action-based estimates of their egocentric distance from the opposing wall of the room. This research reinforces the utility of VR as a supporting technology for architecture and design, as the information we gathered from these experiments can help designers and consumers make better informed decisions about interior surface treatments.
Hybrid mechanisms for robust synchronization and coordination of multi-agent networked sampled-data systems

Abstract We present a novel approach for the design of robust feedback coordination and control mechanisms for networks of asynchronous nonlinear multi-agent systems (MAS). Each agent corresponds to a sampled-data system characterized by a continuous-time plant, a discrete-time controller with logic or integer states, and a sampler/zero-order hold with a local clock. The goal is to robustly stabilize an application-dependent compact set defined a priori for the MAS, taking into account the asynchronous nature of the triggering mechanisms of the agents, and the limited information in the network. To solve this problem, we propose an emulation-like approach, where the feedback mechanism for each agent is initially designed for a nominal ideal synchronous MAS with a single logic state. Unlike existing emulation results for networked sampled-data systems with a single triggering mechanism, the implementation of multiple triggering mechanisms in MAS requires additional decentralized coordination algorithms to guarantee that the implemented system robustly emulates the behavior of the nominal synchronous system. Therefore, we propose a decentralized synchronization and coordination mechanism that controls the triggering mechanisms of the agents, guaranteeing robust stabilization of the closed-loop MAS. Our results are established by using Lyapunov tools, the invariance principle, and robustness corollaries for set-valued hybrid dynamical systems.