cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Infection of Melanoplus sanguinipes Grasshoppers following Ingestion of Rangeland Plant Species Harboring Vesicular Stomatitis Virus

Knowledge of the many mechanisms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) transmission is critical for understanding of the epidemiology of sporadic disease outbreaks in the western United States. Migratory grasshoppers [Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius)] have been implicated as reservoirs and mechanical vectors of VSV. The grasshopper-cattle-grasshopper transmission cycle is based on the assumptions that (i) virus shed from clinically infected animals would contaminate pasture plants and remain infectious on plant surfaces and (ii) grasshoppers would become infected by eating the virus-contaminated plants. Our objectives were to determine the stability of VSV on common plant species of U.S. Northern Plains rangelands and to assess the potential of these plant species as a source of virus for grasshoppers. Fourteen plant species were exposed to VSV and assayed for infectious virus over time (0 to 24 h). The frequency of viable virus recovery at 24 h postexposure was as high as 73%. The two most common plant species in Northern Plains rangelands (western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii] and needle and thread [Hesperostipa comata]) were fed to groups of grasshoppers. At 3 weeks postfeeding, the grasshopper infection rate was 44 to 50%. Exposure of VSV to a commonly used grasshopper pesticide resulted in complete viral inactivation. This is the first report demonstrating the stability of VSV on rangeland plant surfaces, and it suggests that a significant window of opportunity exists for grasshoppers to ingest VSV from contaminated plants. The use of grasshopper pesticides on pastures would decrease the incidence of a virus-amplifying mechanical vector and might also decontaminate pastures, thereby decreasing the inter- and intraherd spread of VSV.
Design of Energy Management Strategy in Hybrid Electric Vehicles by Evolutionary Fuzzy System Part II: Tuning Fuzzy Controller by Genetic Algorithms

This paper presents the second part of a two-part paper on development of an evolutionary fuzzy energy management strategy for parallel hybrid vehicles. In this part, we utilized Genetic Algorithms (GA) to optimize the parameters of the fuzzy controller. In addition, we employed a novel method to cope with the difficulties often encountered in designing a fitness function of GA. The simulation study reveals that the proposed " evolutionary fuzzy system" based energy management strategy provide a platform of new energy management system and gives improved performance of a parallel hybrid vehicle.
Peer-to-peer multimedia streaming and caching service

Reducing initial delay of playing time, delay jitter during playing time, and network bandwidth utilization is important for multimedia streaming service. In order to achieve these two goals, our peer-to-peer multimedia caching service exploits the proximity of set of clients and temporal and spatial locality of cached streams on the clients. Peer clients, which are fully connected together, not only receive multimedia streams from a server, but also send cached streams to peer clients like a proxy server upon its request. All information about the peer clients, and video segment they cache, quality of connections, are maintained by a cache service via the publish/subscribe protocols. This paper shows approaches for multimedia streaming, streaming scheduling, pre-fetching and switching streaming clients in the collaborative environment of peer-to-peer clients. Our simulation results show provisioning small initial delay and low jitter during playing time.
Specific alignment of structured RNA

Motivation: Whole-genome screens suggest that eukaryotic genomes are dense with non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). We introduce a novel approach to RNA multiple alignment which couples a generative probabilistic model of sequence and structure with an efficient sequence annealing approach for exploring the space of multiple alignments. This leads to a new software program, Stemloc-AMA, that is both accurate and specific in the alignment of multiple related RNA sequences. Results: When tested on the benchmark datasets BRalibase II and BRalibase 2.1, Stemloc-AMA has comparable sensitivity to and better specificity than the best competing methods. We use a large-scale random sequence experiment to show that while most alignment programs maximize sensitivity at the expense of specificity, even to the point of giving complete alignments of non-homologous sequences, Stemloc-AMA aligns only sequences with detectable homology and leaves unrelated sequences largely unaligned. Such accurate and specific alignments are crucial for comparative-genomics analysis, from inferring phylogeny to estimating substitution rates across different lineages. Availability:Stemloc-AMA is available from http://biowiki.org/StemLocAMA as part of the dart software package for sequence analysis. Contact:lpachter@math.berkeley.edu; ihh@berkeley.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Induced pluripotent stem cells free of exogenous reprogramming factors

The development of novel approaches for reprogramming mouse and human somatic cells has enabled the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells that are free of exogenous genes.
Tracking Multiple Targets Using Binary Decisions From Wireless Sensor Networks

This article introduces a framework for tracking multiple targets over time using binary decisions collected by a wireless sensor network, and applies the methodology to two case studies—an experiment involving tracking people and a dataset adapted from a project tracking zebras in Kenya. The tracking approach is based on a penalized maximum likelihood framework, and allows for sensor failures, targets appearing and disappearing over time, and complex intersecting target trajectories. We show that binary decisions about the presence/absence of a target in a sensor's neighborhood, corrected locally by a method known as local vote decision fusion, provide the most robust performance in noisy environments and give good tracking results in applications.
The number of amino acid residues mismatches correlates with flow cytometry crossmatching results in high PRA renal patients

Abstract Highly sensitized renal transplant candidates present a group at high risk for acute and chronic rejection. The probability of finding compatible donors for these recipients is significantly lower in comparison to those who have low PRA values. As a consequence, these patients spend longer time on the waiting list and become tethered to dialysis. The results of final cross match (XM) are critical for making a decision about whether such a candidate receives an organ or not. The degree of donor and recipient HLA compatibility predicts the results of XM. The goal of this study was to expand a variety of acceptable HLA-AB mismatches (MM) for high PRA kidney recipients using the HLAMATCHMAKER algorithm. This strategy focuses on the fine structural features of HLA polymorphism comprising amino acid residues or triplets (AAT), which are located in α-helical coils of HLA molecules and are available to antibodies. We analyzed serum samples from thirty-nine highly alloimmunized recipients (PRA ⩾ 85%). The level of sensitization was detected using FlowPRA Class I Screening Test. This group of transplant candidates included thirteen recipients who demonstrated negative results of final T/B FCXM and twenty-six, who were FCXM positive. The application of the HLAMATCHMAKER algorithm based on the HLA class I donor and recipient typing allowed us to detect the total number of AATMM as well as the number of immunogenic AAT in both FCXM negative and FCXM positive groups of recipients. Significantly greater numbers of both total and highly immunogenic AATMM have been emerged in the group of FCXM positive patients. Furthermore, the results of this analysis have shown a high degree of probability of positive FCXM if the number of highly immunogenic AATMM was ⩾ 1 (χ 2 = 22.9 Yate’s correction; p = 0.000001). We did not observe overlapping between antibody specificity and permissible HLA-AB MM detected using the HLAMATCHMAKER strategy. Thus, the number of highly immunogenic AATMM can serve as a reliable predictive value for final FCXM results in highly sensitized renal transplant candidates. The HLAMATCHMAKER algorithm appears to be the proper strategy to find donors for high PRA recipients.
Developing and Implementing a Model for Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness

Evaluation of faculty members in higher education has become an important issue in the past two decades. Institutions are facing difficult decisions about retaining and promoting faculty members during a period of economic constraints. Efforts to document teaching effectiveness in nursing are essential if nursing is to gamer its share of scarce education resources. This article describes the development and implementation of a model for evaluating teaching effectiveness.
Linking fabrication and parametric testing to VLSI design courses

The actual versus simulated performance of VLSI systems is dependent on the accuracy of the simulation model parameters and the soundness of the design rules used. Future process engineers must be schooled in VLSI design principles, while at the same time understanding the origin of the process based design rules and the statistical variation of device model parameters. This paper describes RIT's implementation of course work to meet these goals.
Error Reporting Logic

When a system fails to meet its specification, it can be difficult to find the source of the error and determine how to fix it. In this paper, we introduce error reporting logic (ERL), an algorithm and tool that produces succinct explanations for why a target system violates a specification expressed in first order predicate logic. ERL analyzes the specification to determine which parts contributed to the failure, and it displays an error message specific to those parts. Additionally, ERL uses a heuristic to determine which object in the target system is responsible for the error. Results from a small user study suggest that the combination of a more focused error message and a responsible object for the error helps users to find the failure in the system more effectively. The study also yielded insights into how the users find and fix errors that may guide future research.
What causes prostate cancer? A brief summary of the epidemiology

In recent decades, prostate cancer has emerged as one of the most common diseases among older men, particularly in Western society. Several years ago, only age, race, and family history were known risk factors for this disease. However, today, much progress has been made towards discovering nutritional and hormonal risk factors for prostate cancer. Biomarkers, including testosterone and insulin-like growth factor, and nutritional factors, especially meat, fat, and dairy intake, have been linked to greater risk of disease. Higher consumption of selenium and vitamin E, fructose/fruits, and tomatoes all have been associated with reduced occurrence of prostate cancer, but as yet their efficacy for prevention remains unproven. The challenge of understanding the enigmas of this disease will continue into future decades, as we convert current knowledge into preventive and therapeutic recommendations.
Breast and cervical cancer screening among women in metropolitan areas of the United States by county-level commuting time to work and use of public transportation, 2004 and 2006

Commuting times and behaviors have been associated with a variety of chronic disease outcomes and health behaviors. We examined the relationships between ecologic measures of commuting time and use of public transportation in relation to breast and cervical cancer screening among women in U.S. metropolitan areas who participated in the 2004 and 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. Self-reported county of residence was used to classify respondents as residents of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Only BRFSS respondents who resided in the 39 MSAs with a population of ≥ 1.5 million in 2007--representing a total of 337 counties--were included in this analysis. A total of 76,453 women aged ≥ 40 years were included in analyses on mammography. Analyses on Pap testing were limited to women aged ≥18 years with no history of hysterectomy (n = 80,959). Area-based measures of socio-economic status (SES) were obtained by utilizing county-level information from the 2000 U.S. Census. With adjustment for age, no important associations were observed between receipt of a recent mammogram and either a county-level measure of commute time or residence in an area where more residents had access to a car. Similarly, women living in counties where at least four percent of the residents used public transportation were as likely to have had a recent mammogram or Pap test compared with women in areas where less than four percent of residents used public transportation. However, women living in counties where < 2% of residents had no access to a car were somewhat more likely to have had a Pap test in the past 3 years than women in areas where ≥ 3% of the residents had no access to a car (87.3% versus 84.5%; p-value for test for trend < 0.01). In multivariate analysis, living in a county with a median commute time of at least 30 minutes was not significantly associated with having had a Pap test in the past 3 years (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.1, 95% CI 0.9-1.2, p = .50), or with having had a mammogram in the past 2 years (adjusted OR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.9-1.1, p = .28). A weak positive association was observed between residence in a county with less use of public transportation and having had a Pap test in the past 3 years, which was of borderline significance (adjusted OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.4, p = .05). In large U.S. metropolitan areas, transportation issues may play a role in whether a woman obtains cancer screening along with other factors (e.g., Hispanic ethnicity, low income, and no physician visit in the past year). In this contextual analysis, a longer commute time was not associated with breast and cervical cancer screening.
Removing the Genetics from the Standard Genetic Algorithm

We present an abstraction of the genetic algorithm (GA), termed population-based incremental learning (PBIL), that explicitly maintains the statistics contained in a GA''s population, but which abstracts away the crossover operator and redefines the role of the population. This results in PBIL being simpler, both computationally and theoretically, than the GA. Empirical results reported elsewhere show that PBIL is faster and more effective than the GA on a large set of commonly used benchmark problems. Here we present results on a problem custom designed to benefit both from the GA''s crossover operator and from its use of a population. The results show that PBIL performs as well as, or better than, GAs carefully tuned to do well on this problem. This suggests that even on problems custom designed for GAs, much of the power of the GA may derive from the statistics maintained implicitly in its population, and not from the population itself nor from the crossover operator.
Subcellular Localization and Tumor-suppressive Functions of 15-Lipoxygenase 2 (15-LOX2) and Its Splice Variants *

15-Lipoxygenase 2 (15-LOX2), the most abundant arachidonate (AA)-metabolizing enzyme expressed in adult human prostate, is a negative cell-cycle regulator in normal human prostate epithelial cells. Here we study the subcellular distribution of 15-LOX2 and report its tumor-suppressive functions. Immunocytochemistry and biochemical fractionation reveal that 15-LOX2 is expressed at multiple subcellular locations, including cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, cell-cell border, and nucleus. Surprisingly, the three splice variants of 15-LOX2 we previously cloned, i.e. 15-LOX2sv-a/b/c, are mostly excluded from the nucleus. A potential bi-partite nuclear localization signal (NLS),203RKGLWRSLNEMKRIFNFRR221, is identified in the N terminus of 15-LOX2, which is retained in all splice variants. Site-directed mutagenesis reveals that this putative NLS is only partially involved in the nuclear import of 15-LOX2. To elucidate the relationship between nuclear localization, enzymatic activity, and tumor suppressive functions, we established PCa cell clones stably expressing 15-LOX2 or 15-LOX2sv-b. The 15-LOX2 clones express 15-LOX2 in the nuclei and possess robust enzymatic activity, whereas 15-LOX2sv-b clones show neither nuclear protein localization nor AA-metabolizing activity. To our surprise, both 15-LOX2- and 15-LOX2sv-b-stable clones proliferate much slower in vitro when compared with control clones. More importantly, when orthotopically implanted in nude mouse prostate, both 15-LOX2 and 15-LOX2sv-b suppress PC3 tumor growth in vivo. Together, these results suggest that both 15-LOX2 and 15-LOX2sv-b suppress prostate tumor development, and the tumor-suppressive functions apparently do not necessarily depend on AA-metabolizing activity and nuclear localization.
Discovery of a Unique Clp Component, ClpF, in Chloroplasts: A Proposed Binary ClpF-ClpS1 Adaptor Complex Functions in Substrate Recognition and Delivery

Clp proteases are found in prokaryotes, mitochondria, and plastids where they play crucial roles in maintaining protein homeostasis (proteostasis). The plant plastid Clp machinery comprises a hetero-oligomeric ClpPRT proteolytic core, ATP-dependent chaperones ClpC and ClpD, and an adaptor protein, ClpS1. ClpS1 selects substrates to the ClpPR protease-ClpC chaperone complex for degradation, but the underlying substrate recognition and delivery mechanisms are currently unclear. Here, we characterize a ClpS1-interacting protein in Arabidopsis thaliana, ClpF, which can interact with the Clp substrate glutamyl-tRNA reductase. ClpF and ClpS1 mutually stimulate their association with ClpC. ClpF, which is only found in photosynthetic eukaryotes, contains bacterial uvrB/C and YccV protein domains and a unique N-terminal domain. We propose a testable model in which ClpS1 and ClpF form a binary adaptor for selective substrate recognition and delivery to ClpC, reflecting an evolutionary adaptation of the Clp system to the plastid proteome.
Satiating effect of fat in diabetic rats: gastrointestinal and postabsorptive factors

Streptozotocin-diabetic rats decrease food intake more than normal animals in response to a fat test meal. To determine the physiological basis of this differential response, we examined the effects of an ingested corn oil meal on food intake, gastrointestinal fill, and plasma triglycerides, glycerol, and ketone bodies. Hyperphagic diabetic rats decreased intake of a high-carbohydrate, low-fat stock diet starting 2-4 h after the fat meal, whereas normal rats did not. Gastric emptying was accelerated and intestinal mass and contents were increased in diabetic rats. The fat meal reduced gastric emptying and increased stomach contents in diabetic and normal rats starting within 2 h of ingestion. Intestinal fill decreased in diabetic animals after the oil meal. Triglycerides and glycerol increased transiently after fat ingestion in normal and diabetic rats, whereas ketone body concentrations rose only in diabetic rats starting 1-3 h after fat ingestion. The results indicate that the differential effect of a fat meal on food intake in normal and diabetic rats is related to differences in the postabsorptive metabolism of the ingested fat rather than to effects of fat feeding on gastrointestinal fill or clearance.
Language Consistency and Trading Volume: An Information Theory of Legitimacy

An information-theoretic model of the legitimacy construct is proposed. A measure called ‘language consistency’ is derived from this model and operationalized using data from thirteen years of trade journal articles on the biotechnology industry. This measure is then related to the trading volume of a representative portfolio of biotech stocks. Findings indicate that language consistency and trading volume have a joint (positive) causal influence on each other over the long term; however, brief language inconsistencies are also predictive of transient spikes in trading volume. I argue that these results are consistent with contemporary theories of institutional influence and with findings in economic sociology related to categorical legitimacy.
Commentary: Making the brain matter in assessing and treating adolescent substance use - A commentary on Conrod and Nikolaou (2016)

Adolescence represents a period of vulnerability to psychiatric problems due to a range of factors, including advances in social and cognitive abilities, increased levels of autonomy in decision-making and behavioral governance, and greater exposure to opportunities for risk-taking behavior. Adding to these psychological and social challenges, adolescence also is marked by robust maturational changes affecting both the microcircuitry and connectivity between widely distributed brain systems. These changes alter the communication among parallel, distributed brain networks, have implications for one's vulnerability to engage in risk behavior and make the brain particularly susceptible to external perturbations, such as exposure to neurotoxic substances.
Observations in Hyperthyroidism of Abnormal Glucose Tolerance and Other Traits Related to Diabetes Mellitus

Studies were made of glucose tolerance and other characteristics related to diabetes in fifty-one patients with hyperthyroidism. Glucose tolerance compatible with diabetes was present in 57 per cent of patients when toxic and 30 per cent on return to euthyroidism. Histories of family diabetes in both sexes and of heavy babies delivered by the women were obtained more frequently than expected in the general population. Reasons are given to suggest a genetic relation between hyperthyroidism and diabetes.
Analysis of epidemiological characteristics of rabies in Jiaxing city,Zhejiang province,China from 1983 to 2011

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics,epidemic trend,and risk factors for rabies in Jiaxing city,Zhejiang province,China,and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of rabies.Methods The data from the case questionnaires and post-exposure treatment outpatient clinics for rabies,which were reported by the notifiable reporting and surveillance system for epidemics in Jiaxing city from 1983 to 2011,were collected and analyzed.Results Fifty rabies cases were reported from 1983 to 2011 in Jiaxing,with an annual incidence rate not higher than 0.29/10 5.There were two epidemic peaks.The annual number of cases was 1-5 from 2006 to 2011.Each county(district) of Jiaxing had at least one case reported,and 94.44% of all cases were from rural areas.More cases occurred in summer and autumn than in other seasons.The ratio of male to female cases was 1.78:1,and most of the cases were aged 5-9 years and 60-64 years.All suspected animals which might cause rabies had no history of immunization before.All cases were not subject to post exposure wound treatment and vaccination.Conclusion The low immunization rate and failure of timely standardized wound treatment after exposure were associated with the epidemic situation of rabies in Jiaxing city,Zhejiang province,China.Therefore,measures should be taken to enhance the management of dogs,increase the vaccination rate of animals,further spread the knowledge about rabies control to the public,lower vaccination expense,and increase the rates of post-exposure wound treatment and rabies vaccination in Jiaxing,especially in the rural areas.
Analysis of prognostic factors in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.

Prognostic factors provide invaluable information about the natural history of a given cancer and assist the clinician in developing management plans for individual patients. They also have value in the design and interpretation of new treatments and investigational protocols. Prognostic factors can be grouped into three major categories: patient-related, disease-related, and treatment-related. This article evaluates the role of prognostic factors for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and highlights their predictive value in this disease.
Education as Design for Learning: A Model for Integrating Education Inquiry Across Research Traditions

How can we build on the diversity of approaches and methods used in educational researches to develop a shared research enterprise? We propose that all approaches to education research can be described in terms of the concept of education as design for learning. Design typically involves a plan to create something as well as the action taken to bring something new into the world. Education happens when people design learning opportunities for others. If education is the design for learning, then education research can be seen as the study of the design for learning. Instead of treating the efforts of education researchers as wildly divergent and incompatible quests, a design for learning perspective corrals the diverse methods of inquiry in education into the study of how people build, test, assess, and critique processes intended to guide learning. We suggest that the seemingly mutually exclusive approaches to education inquiry often presented in the literature might in fact serve as countervailing movements in an iterative design discourse of education research.
Mineral Collections in Hong Kong edited by Elissa Sz, Trudy Kwong, Lai Siu Kwong, and Sam Yung. Mineralogical Society of Hong Kong. 91 pages; 2016; HK $200 (hardbound).

This rather short, photograph-dominated book is clearly a takeoff on the Mineralogical Record series of special publications devoted to regional mineral collectors and their favorite personal speci...
The prostatic utricle: An under-recognized condition resulting in significant morbidity in boys with both hypospadias and normal external genitalia

Introduction Pediatric presentations of a prostatic utricle have received only scant attention. Though recognized with increased frequency in boys with hypospadias, little is described about their incidence and potential for morbidity in boys with normal external genitalia. Methods We initially reviewed a cohort of 64 patients with hypospadias seen over a 3-year period to determine the frequency of investigative lower urinary tract studies and utricle identification. Children with disorders of sexual differentiation were excluded from this review. A subsequent group of 70 boys with hypospadias and 23 boys with normal external genitalia presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) who were found to have an unsuspected utricle were reviewed. This comparative group was investigated since symptomatology was the indication for evaluation, contrasting with those in the hypospadias group who were investigated because of hypospadias presence alone. Results In our initial review of 64 patients only 24 (37.5%) underwent an investigative study and six (9.4%) had a utricle. Three (50%) required surgical excision, allowing their hypospadias repair to proceed. Results in the subsequent group with hypospadias confirmed these findings with increased rates of investigation and identification. The boys with normal external male genitalia all required surgery since symptoms were the result of the utricle alone. Penile pain with voiding, hematuria, epididymitis, and urinary infection were the most common causes for interventions. Conclusions The prostatic utricle should be considered as a cause of morbidity in boys with both normal external genitalia and those with hypospadias. Endoscopic or radiological evaluation (see Figure) should be undertaken in all boys with proximal hypospadias, boys with hypospadias and associated cryptorchidism, and those with hypospadias with associated urinary symptoms. Boys with normal external genitalia with lower urinary tract symptoms not explained with imaging should undergo cystoscopy, as an unidentified unsuspected utricle may be the underlying cause. Figure. A prostatic utricle is identified via voiding cystourethrogram. Figure options Download full-size image Download high-quality image (79 K) Download as PowerPoint slide
Special Session: ICER UP CS Ed Research Workshop Summary-Essence of Illustrative Projects

This SIGCSE special session provides an opportunity for new researchers in CS education to learn the elements of successful computing education research of different types through a series of exemplar projects. Specifically, this session reports on the findings and example, successful CS education research projects that were discussed and presented at ICER 2016 UP (Understanding and Propagating) CS Ed Research Workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. One goal of the session is to provide a way for proposers of computing education research to ensure that they have well identified education research questions and evaluation mechanisms that are appropriate for the proposal (exploratory vs. design & implementation) according to the Department of Education guidelines. The ICER Workshop was designed to focus exactly on this goal and report to the community.
Tailored water treatment using enhanced primary clarification for nutrient recovery and production of water for turfgrass irrigation

An emerging strategy for urban water infrastructure includes distributed water supply, storm water management, and wastewater treatment to manage water within a utility basin. The use of reclaimed water to offset intra-basin water demand for irrigation can be a key component of such a strategy—landscape irrigation is estimated to account for up to 70% of total potable water demand. Fertigation (i.e., irrigation with nutrient-rich water) with reclaimed water is able to offset fertilizer and potable water requirements, which provides an added benefit to end-users. However, research exploring fertigation water production in a decentralized setting is sparse. Two studies to produce high-nitrogen water using a sequencing batch reactor have been described in the literature. While nitrogen concentrations were increased, the changes in treatment resulted in a very low pH in the bioreactor (<5.0) and an increase in blower energy consumption (6.1–7.0%), or required substantial changes to the treatment operation. The research presented here demonstrates a new strategy, enhanced primary clarification coupled with a sequencing batch reactor (EPC-SBR) to produce nutrient-rich water with a balanced nitrogen–phosphorus ratio for turfgrass fertigation. The EPC-SBR system was operated for 114 days and produced water with an average inorganic nitrogen concentration of 13.9 mg N L−1 and an average N : P ratio of 10.5 : 1, without substantial increase in blower energy use or extreme modifications to the SBR operations.
Simulation of Blowtorch Reflow of Fused Silica Micro-Shell Resonators

Fabrication of high-precision micro-shell 3-D resonators is a challenging task. We report a non-isothermal model and finite-element simulation results for the prediction of geometries of fused silica micro-shell resonators fabricated with a blowtorch molding process. The model considers coupling between thermal and mechanical aspects of the reflowing process and heat transfer at the fused silica/mold interface, which dramatically controls the final shape of the resonator. The model is successfully applied to investigate the production details of 3-D hemi-ellipsoidal shells of revolutions with eccentricity, such as birdbath shell resonators. Comparisons of numerical results with experimental observations demonstrate that the model can predict an overall trend of thickness distribution. The numerical model can be used to optimize shell geometry and thickness by changing different fabrication parameters, such as surface heat flux, conductivity of the mold material, and initial temperature of the mold. The simulation technique also allows the mold shape and design to be optimized to fabricate different micro-shell geometries and dimensions. The model clarifies the blowtorch molding capabilities and limitations for fabrication of hollow 3-D shell resonators. [2016-0251]
A Philosophical Reconstruction of the Sublime

Robert Doran claims that the sublime is all about transcendence transferred from the religious to the aesthetic domain of experience. Taken in this philosophical rather than stylistic sense, it proved crucial for the development of modern subjectivity. Doran traces the issue from Longinus through the decisive reception of Nicolas Boileau, who first distinguished le sublime from le style sublime, on to an extended engagement with Immanuel Kant. In all this he seeks its place in the rise of the modern bourgeois subject. The social-historical connections tend to be a bit overstated, first, with regard to Boileau and the idea of the honnete homme, and especially with the claim that “Burke treats aesthetic concepts as proxies for sociopolitical categories.” It is not fruitful for an understanding of Kant, either. This weakens his powerful argument for the philosophical significance of the sublime in modern thought.
Venous thromboembolism in children with cystic fibrosis: Retrospective incidence and intrapopulation risk factors

Abstract Introduction Pediatric venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a rare but serious medical condition. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a risk for recurrent pediatric VTE and has potential thrombophilic tendency. However, much remains unknown, including incidence and intrapopulation risk factors. Methods A retrospective cohort of pediatric CF patients followed at Children's Hospital Colorado from January 1st 2003 through May 20th 2016 was examined. Cases were identified by informatics and validated manually. Data on CF severity, co-morbidities and treatment, central venous catheter (CVC) use, and thrombophilia were obtained from an institutional CF database and chart review. Results Nineteen VTE occurred in 458 participants followed for 3595 person-years, yielding an incidence rate of 53 VTE per 10,000 children with CF. VTE cases had additional co-morbidities including CF-related diabetes (p = 0.002) and sinus disease (p = 0.04), more total admissions (p Conclusions In this cohort, children with CF had a higher incidence of VTE when compared to the previously reported incidence in the overall pediatric population at Children's Hospital Colorado. Overall, those with VTE had a greater disease burden and older age, sinus disease, longer hospitalization and increased inflammation were VTE risk factors.
Metamorphosis of the Abdominal Ganglia of the Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta

1. Motor neurons in the fourth abdominal ganglion were identified by diffusing cobalt into the ganglion through the cut ends of the peripheral nerves. 2. The ganglion from the last instar larva had a total of 74 motor neurons. These were divided into 10 groups which were characterized by the position of the cell body in the ganglion and the root through which the axon travelled to the periphery. 3. In the transition to the pupal stage, 12 larval neurons were lost and 8 new motor neurons appeared. 4. There was no change in the number of motor neurons during adult development. Most of the larval neurons persist through metamorphosis and are used by the adult at emergence. At this stage there are 70 motor neurons. 5. After adult eclosion there was a loss of 40 motor neurons. Only “larval” neurons degenerated. Those which remained included both those which were larval in origin and those which appeared in the pupa. After emergence the interneuron number dropped from approximately 380 to 200. 6. At the time of emergence the eclosion hormone “turns-off” pupal behavior and “turns-on” adult behavior. It also triggers the breakdown of various muscle groups in the abdomen. It is concluded that the neural death was the end result of this aspect of eclosion hormone action.
Pitfalls of Trauma: Revisiting Postdictatorship Cinema from a Semiotic Standpoint

This article examines two approaches to postdictatorship cinema: trauma theory, which has been especially popular in reading this corpus, and semiotics, which has regained popularity in film analysis in general but is not often employed when analyzing postdictatorship films. The article claims that, though highly productive in the 1990s, trauma theory has become less fruitful after decades of continuous scholarship and after the emergence of administrations that have made the representation of the dictatorship the center of their public policies, such as kirchnerismo in Argentina (2003–2015). While trauma theory yields ahistorical analyses, a semiotic approach that takes into account how indexical, iconic, and symbolic signs merge in the cinematic field allows for historical interpretations that are more adequate for reading postdictatorship films, especially after 2003. The article first outlines the main tenets of the two approaches (trauma theory and semiotics), then assesses their suitability for historical interpretation via a brief analysis of Andres no quiere dormir la siesta , a 2009 Argentine film on the country’s last dictatorship. Resumen Este articulo se propone examinar dos aproximaciones al cine postdictatorial: la teoria del trauma, que ha sido especialmente popular para leer este corpus, y la semiotica, un acercamiento que ha vuelto a ganar popularidad en el analisis filmico en general pero que no es frecuentemente utilizado en la interpretacion de este tipo de peliculas. El articulo argumenta que la teoria del trauma, aunque productiva en los anos noventa, se ha vuelto menos fructifera despues de varias decadas de produccion academica constante y de la emergencia de gobiernos que, como el kirchnerismo en Argentina (2003–2015), han puesto la representacion de la dictadura en el centro de sus politicas publicas. Mientras que la teoria del trauma resulta insuficiente para leer historicamente el cine postdictatorial, una lectura semiotica de como los componentes indiciales, iconicos y simbolicos se combinan en la imagen cinematografica resulta mas apropiada para llevar a cabo una interpretacion historica, especialmente despues del 2003. Luego de delinear estas dos aproximaciones, el articulo las reevalua mediante un breve analisis de una pelicula argentina reciente sobre la dictadura militar, Andres no quiere dormir la siesta.
Response to pulmonary vasodilators in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is associated with lung hypoplasia, cardiac dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) and milrinone are commonly used pulmonary vasodilators in CDH. We studied the hemodynamic effects of iNO and milrinone in infants with CDH. A retrospective chart review was performed of all CDH infants admitted to two regional perinatal centers and infants classified into three groups: No-iNO group; iNO-responders and iNO-nonresponders. Oxygenation and hemodynamic effects of iNO and milrinone were assessed by blood gases and echocardiography. Fifty-four percent (39/72) of infants with CDH received iNO and 31% of these infants (12/39) had complete oxygenation response to iNO. Oxygenation response to iNO was not associated with a decrease in right ventricular pressures (RVP) or ECMO use. Four infants (33%) in the iNO-responder group and eight infants (30%) in the iNO-nonresponder group received milrinone. Milrinone lowered RVP and improved ejection fraction (EF). Response to iNO was associated with improved oxygenation to milrinone and increased survival following ECMO (67 vs. 20% among nonresponders). Response to inhaled nitric oxide in combination with milrinone may be associated with improved oxygenation and better survival after ECMO in infants with CDH.
The Damascus Shari‘a Court: The Judge, Arbitration, and Lawyers in 2005

Codification of the Law of Personal Status was divisive during Syria’s establishment as a nation state. Subsequent ‘state feminist’ legal reforms were forced through by the authoritarian Ba’ath regime. In 2005, Damascus hectic Shari‘a (family) Court One was routinely and efficiently applying Law No. 59/1953, allowing three types of divorce: repudiation (talāq), divorce for compensation (mukhāla’a), and judicial divorce (shiqāq or tafrīq). Only judicial divorce can be initiated by a wife without her husband’s consent, although it is used almost equally by women and men. It requires considerable input from the court through the aegis of professional arbiters, is granted on a wide range of gender-based grounds, and is hardly documented. It invariably results in divorce and financial compensation to even ‘transgressive’ wives.
A Perspective on Shared-memory and Message-memory Architectures

Parallel processing is becoming widely accepted as a key technology in the development of extremely high performance computing systems. Although a wide variety of parallel processor architectures have been proposed over the last five to ten years, to date there is very little quantitative analysis comparing the various alternatives. The proposed architectures essentially fall into two broad categories: message-passing architectures and shared-memory architectures. In this paper we will briefly review the key characteristics of message-passing and shared-memory architectures. We then propose an approach to obtaining a quantitative comparison of these architectures and suggest areas for research.
Family members as proxies for satisfaction with nursing home care.

Article-at-a-Glance Background Many benefits to collecting and reporting satisfaction information from nursing home residents, including promoting quality initiatives, consumer choice, and improved care, have been described. Yet barriers to collecting resident satisfaction information exist, the most significant of which is the often low cognitive status of residents. An alternative source of information can come from family members serving as proxies for the residents. A study was conducted to explore the agreement and association of nursing home residents' responses with family member proxy responses. Methods Satisfaction data from 286 paired residents and family members in 42 facilities were collected in 1999. The satisfaction questionnaire consisted of 16 items evaluating the art of care, technical quality, efficacy, amenities of the care environment, and global satisfaction. Bias indexes, intraclass correlation coefficients, and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients were used to compare resident and proxy responses. Results In general, proxy satisfaction ratings were higher than the same ratings given by residents. Proxy ratings varied less from residents' ratings for the amenities items, which were considered the most concrete items. Proxy ratings were much higher for the art of care and efficacy domain items—the least concrete questions. Discussion Proxy ratings do not necessarily substitute for resident ratings and are dependent on the nature of the question asked. Examining resident-proxy responses at different points in time may be useful.
„The social us“ – Arbeiten als Team

Neben der fortlaufenden Optimierung der Arbeit des Einzelnen an sich liegt ein weiteres Potenzial naturlich in der Frage der Optimierung der Zusammenarbeit, insbesondere mit Bezug auf Teams und Projektarbeit. Was andert sich dabei eigentlich, wenn das Unternehmen die Transformation zu einem Social Business umsetzt?
A hybrid probabilistic framework for model validation with application to structural dynamics modeling

Abstract Identifying useful mathematical models of physical systems is an essential part of computational modeling and simulation. Once appropriate models are identified, they can be used for applications such as response prediction, structural control, monitoring structural integrity, lifetime prognosis, etc. The number of models and model classes available to the modeler to represent a physical phenomenon, however, can be very large. Retaining all available models throughout a study can be computationally burdensome, so the modeler has the significant problem of identifying the valid models to be used in further studies. To address this challenge, a probabilistic framework is proposed herein for validating models by intertwining the concepts of model falsification and Bayesian model selection. Model falsification, based on the philosophy that measurements can only be used to falsify models, is used in this framework in both pre- and postprocessing steps to eliminate models and model classes, respectively, that cannot explain the measurements. This is the first study to propose a framework to integrate these two paradigms. A likelihood-bound model falsification, previously introduced by the authors, determines the validity of the initial candidate model classes, using the false discovery rate (FDR), and removes most of the incorrect ones without incurring any significant additional computational burden. Next, Bayesian model selection, which assigns posterior model class probabilities based on Bayes’ theorem, is applied to the remaining model classes to identify the model(s) and model class(es) that provide predictions that probabilistically best fit the data. Finally, a postprocessing likelihood-bound falsification checks the validity of the final model class(es). The proposed framework is first illustrated through two nonlinear structural dynamics examples that show the efficacy of the proposed framework in identifying models for these structures as well as reducing the computational burden relative to Bayesian model selection applied alone. Finally, a third example uses measurement data from experiments performed on a full-scale four-story base-isolated building at the world’s largest shake table in Japan’s “E-Defense” laboratory.
Prevalence and correlates of medical cannabis patients' use of cannabis for recreational purposes.

Abstract Background Rates of legal medical cannabis (MC) use are increasing, but little is known about the prevalence and correlates of recreational cannabis (RC) use among medical users (MC/R). Methods 348 MC users who resided in a state in which MC is legal and had medical authorization to use MC legally completed an anonymous survey in Spring 2017 (64.1% female, 82.8% White, mean age 33.03[±10.37] years). Rates of endorsing MC/R and the following potential correlates of MC/R were examined: the legal status of RC in participants' states of residence, sex, age, race, primary medical condition, MC product(s) used, MC expectancies, features of MC sought out (e.g., high tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] content), and negative cannabis use consequences. Results 55.5% of MC users engaged in MC/R. MC/R was associated with residing in a state in which RC is legal, being female, using MC for pain or mental health conditions, vaping MC concentrates, holding positive expectancies for combustible MC, and seeking out MC products with high THC concentrations. Preferring MC products with high cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations protected against MC/R. Conclusions More than half of MC users endorsed MC/R, which is considerably higher than rates of misuse observed for other prescription medications. Findings raise concerns about circumvention of RC laws in states where RC remains illegal and could be used to inform MC regulatory efforts (e.g., reducing THC content, increasing CBD content). Findings also suggest that prevention/intervention efforts to reduce MC/R are needed, especially among high-risk populations of MC users (e.g., women, pain patients, psychiatric patients).