cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of drought upon fish assemblage structure in two South Carolina Piedmont streams

The effects of drought on fish assemblages were studied in the Indian Creek (228 km2) and Kings Creek (46 km2) watersheds located in the Piedmont Province of South Carolina. Water and fish samples were collected at 13 localities during drought conditions in 2000 and again under post-drought conditions in 2003. Abundance, species richness, and Simpson’s diversity were calculated for each locality, and the masses and lengths of individual fishes were measured to determine total biomass and length distributions for each species. Assemblages were significantly different from 2000 to 2003 at 10 of the 13 sample localities (χ2 test for association; p < 0.05). The family Cyprinidae (minnows) was numerically dominant in both years and in both watersheds, but their dominance declined somewhat following the drought due to lower numbers of Nocomis leptocephalus and Notropis lutipinnis in 2003 collections. However, some cyprinids increased in abundance in 2003 collections, most notably Semotilus atromaculatus and Hybopsis hypsinotus. Abundance of catostomids (suckers) and ictalurids (catfish) was also decreased post drought. Conversely, centrarchids (sunfish) increased in dominance in 2003, especially the species Lepomis macrochirus and Lepomis gulosus. Many more juveniles and young of the year were observed in 2003 collections, suggesting that most species exhibited greater reproductive success following the drought. The significant differences in water chemistry observed between the two years were not associated with any change in fish community structure. Instead, we attributed the observed differences in fish assemblages to changes in habitat structure associated with higher rainfall during post-drought conditions. Finally, sample localities showed high variability in common measures of assemblage structure, including abundance, species richness, and diversity. We hypothesize that the observed variability in community structure is caused by the heterogeneous habitat structure and morphology of these small Piedmont Province streams.
Boosting and Hard-Core Set Construction

This paper connects hard-core set construction, a type of hardness amplification from computational complexity, and boosting, a technique from computational learning theory. Using this connection we give fruitful applications of complexity-theoretic techniques to learning theory and vice versa. We show that the hard-core set construction of Impagliazzo (1995), which establishes the existence of distributions under which boolean functions are highly inapproximable, may be viewed as a boosting algorithm. Using alternate boosting methods we give an improved bound for hard-core set construction which matches known lower bounds from boosting and thus is optimal within this class of techniques. We then show how to apply techniques from Impagliazzo (1995) to give a new version of Jackson's celebrated Harmonic Sieve algorithm for learning DNF formulae under the uniform distribution using membership queries. Our new version has a significant asymptotic improvement in running time. Critical to our arguments is a careful analysis of the distributions which are employed in both boosting and hard-core set constructions.
Activation and waste disposal of the ARIES-II tokamak fusion power reactor

A detailed activation analysis has been performed for the tokamak fusion power reactor ARIES-II. The reactor uses vanadium alloy as a structural material and liquid lithium as a coolant and tritium breeder. The total activity produced in the reactor at shutdown is 3848 MCi and drops to only 59 MCi during the first year following shutdown. Calculations of the decay heat showed that it is 53 MW at shutdown and it takes a relatively short time (<1 day) to decay by about a factor of 10. One week after shutdown, the values of the integrated decay heat generated in the structure are 548 and 1298 GJ for the reactor inboard and outboard regions, respectively. This heat represents less than 2% of the reactor thermal power and hence does not present a safety hazard. The biological hazard potential was calculated according to the NRC regulations specified in 10CFR20. The total BHP at shutdown is 388 x 10/sup 6/m/sup 3/ air. The radwaste classification of the ARIES-II structure has been evaluated according to both the NRC 10CFR61 and Fetter waste disposal concentration limits. Except for the reactor outboard blanket which would qualify as Class A low level waste, the rest of the reactor structure would only qualify for Class C rating. The outboard blanket has a Class A rating value of 0.95 which is based on allowing it to cool down for about 10 years following the end of the reactor lifetime.
Linkage disequilibrium and association mapping

Linkage disequilibrium refers to the association between alleles at different loci. The standard definition applies to two alleles in the same gamete, and it can be regarded as the covariance of indicator variables for the states of those two alleles. The corresponding correlation coefficient rho is the parameter that arises naturally in discussions of tests of association between markers and genetic diseases. A general treatment of association tests makes use of the additive and nonadditive components of variance for the disease gene. In almost all expressions that describe the behavior of association tests, additive variance components are modified by the squared correlation coefficient rho2 and the nonadditive variance components by rho4, suggesting that nonadditive components have less influence than additive components on association tests.
Nanorings and nanocrescents formed via shaped nanosphere lithography: a route toward large areas of infrared metamaterials

This paper presents a new approach to nanosphere lithography, which overcomes undesirable manufacturing issues such as complex tilted-rotary evaporation and ion beam milling. A key innovation in this process is the use of non-conductive edge strips placed on top of the samples prior to metal removal. Such elements help to direct the flow of reactive ions during plasma etching and produce well-ordered arrays of metallic nanorings and nanocrescents over large areas of ∼1 cm(2). The obtained highly uniform nanocrescent array exhibits an electric resonance of 1.7 μm and a magnetic resonance of 3 μm. The absorption resonances of the fabricated nanorings depend on their diameters and shift toward shorter wavelengths (λ = 1.7 μm for do = 308 nm) as compared to larger rings (λ = 2.2 μm do = 351 nm). FDTD-based simulations match well with the experimental results. This 'shaped nanosphere lithography' approach creates opportunities to generate nanorings and nanocrescents that promise potential applications in chemical and biological sensing, for surface enhanced spectroscopy and in the field of infrared metamaterials.
RF Beam Deflection Measurements and Corrections in the SLC Linac

The requirements of RF acceleration in the SLC Linac to produce high energy beams are complicated by the presence of small transverse RF beam deflections which arise from several sources. These RF deflections place stringent tolerances on the phase and amplitude stability of the klystrons. They also force the use of special magnetic bumps to correct the trajectories of oppositely charged beams that will pass down the linac. If left unabated, RF deflections can limit the performance of the SLC. There are several methods to reduce the deflections. Many measurements of RF deflections have been made in the low energy part of the linac where the beams are most sensitive.
An improved GAMBIT device structure

An improved device structure is presented for the gate modulated bipolar transistor (GAMBIT). By forming vertical walled collector regions, the GAMBIT voltage-controlled negative-resistance characteristic has been made to occur at low collector voltages without the presence of the threshold voltage observed for the planar diffused devices. The negative resistance of these devices varies exponentially with the reciprocal of the gate bias and increases with collector depth as expected from analysis.
Stable relativistic UV self-channeling in multi-layer gel targets

In the case of relativistic and ponderomotive self-channeling [1] of ultra-powerful laser pulses in highdensity plasmas, when the initial laser peak power is much greater than the critical power and the incident radius is much larger than the radius of the relativistic channel, highly unstable filamentation is the dominant mode of propagation [2]. This fully unstable self-channeling mode is characterized by the formation of multiple peripheral filaments each carrying a power on the order of the critical power for relativistic self-focusing. It has been demonstrated and experimentally verified that the unstable mode of relativistic self-channeling of ultrapowerful laser pulses in high-density gas targets can be converted into ultra-powerful stable channel formation using a two-stage relativistic self-channeling process, with the initial phase involving an appropriate gradient in the longitudinal gas density profile [3–6]. The present paper reports the stability control for relativistic and ponderomotive self-channeling of ultra-intense UV laser pulses in high-density gel targets. It has been demonstrated that the characteristic unstable mode of relativistic and ponderomotive self-channeling of ultraintense laser pulses in high-density gel targets can be converted into stable single channel formation using multilayer gel compositions with the increasing density in each following layer. The stable relativistic self-channeling of 2.5 TW UV laser pulses in multi-layer gel targets with the electron density equals to 0.25 of critical density in the final layer results in the formation of stable single channel with the trapped power exceeding 30 critical powers and peak channel intensity in the range of 2 × 1021 W/cm2 (see Fig. 1).
Instilling An Appreciation of Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility in First-Year Legal Research and Writing Courses

The Author suggests that the First-year legal research and writing classes provide the logical forum to remind students of the importance of honesty and integrity both to their work and to the profession and to society as a whole. The Author believes that teachers would do well to take advantage of this unique opportunity to provide such lessons early and often and more importantly, as part of the regular legal research and writing curriculum.
Extraction of milling know-how from NC programs through reverse engineering

To automate machining process planning, the acquisition and representation of machining knowledge or know-how in a reusable way is needed. The machining know-how is implied in NC programs made by experienced workers. In this paper, the methodology and system for extracting machining know-how in milling operations have been developed. With the system, machining features, operations and their associated cutting conditions (depth of cut, feed rate and spindle speed, etc.) and machining method can be extracted by analysing NC programs in conjunction with the tools used and workpiece blank model. The milling know-how is represented as a collection of these extracted data that can be used in future machining operations. To verify the system, actual NC programs for milling have been analysed and the milling know-how has been extracted successfully.
Improving Biomaterials from a Cellular Point of View

Bioactive glasses (6P55) used for coating Ti/Ti-alloy were tested for their in vitro behavior in a comparative study with commercial Bioglass™ (45S5) and commercial Ti alloy (Ti6Al4V). In vitro testing included pH and dissolution rate determination in simulated body fluid (SBF) along with in vitro cyto compatibility testing. It was seen in this work that 6P55 and 45S5 had similar dissolution behavior, demonstrating t½ dependence and maximum pH of approximately 8.1 after 10 days of immersion. This pH was reduce by 0.2 0.4 pH units when the in vitro V:A ratio was increased from 1 to 3. The dissolution rate of these glasses approached 0 after additional immersion tests after 15 days and the pH stablilized at less than 7.5. Cell culture studies showed that both glasses behaved in similar fashion after 16 hours in culture. Both glasses had an increase in cell numbers of close to 200-250%, whereas Ti6Al4V had a less pronounced cell number increase (∼ 180%)
Novel poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) nanofibrous biomaterials for peptide synthesis and biomedical applications

Poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (PE-co-AA) fibers in sizes of 200-500 nm were prepared by using a novel melt-extrusion-extraction fabrication process. The thermoplastic nanofibers could be controllably dispersed and reassembled by a novel solvent exchange filtration method. The dispersed PE-co-AA nanofibers possess active surface areas and could directly conduct chemical reactions on surfaces. Surface modifications and organic synthesis on the nanofibers were proven effective and controllable after the dispersion. Multistep synthesis of biomolecules, such as peptide ligand HWRGWV against Fc portion of human IgG, was successful. The surface-anchored ligand has shown bioactivity through selective binding to and staining by human IgG-alkaline phosphatase conjugate. Another peptide, LXY3, a selective cyclic peptide ligand against alpha3beta1 integrin of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, was also prepared on the surfaces of the dispersed nanofibers. The results showed that MDA-MB-231 cells were able to specifically bind to and grow on surfaces of the nanofibers that were functionalized with LXY3.
Swahili Histories and Texts in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Paradise

Most of the literary scholarship on Abdulrazak Gurnah's novel Paradise (1984) has focused extensively on Gurnah's subtle erudition, artful intertextuality and his complex weaving of Islamic and biblical references via the Yusuf/Joseph Qu'ranic and Biblical prophet story. Multiple readings of his equally sophisticated and sometimes playful engagement with Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and the spawn of its own, massive textual universe have complemented this. This article adds to these a reading of Gurnah's intertextual incorporation and transformations of his 19th-century Swahili sources, primarily Selemani bin Mwenye Chande's narrative ‘Safari Yangu ya Bara Afrika’ (‘My Journey Up-Country in Africa’), and Mtoro bin Mwinyi Bakari's Desturi za Waswahili (The Customs of the Swahili People).
Long term dynamics of aphelinid parasitoids attacking Bemisia tabaci

Abstract Aphelinid parasitoids are widely known natural enemies of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), a serious pest of agriculture globally. Here we examine pest–parasitoid interactions and dynamics in Arizona cotton from 1996 to 2010, during which a classical biological control program was implemented. Two native species, Eretmocerus eremicus Rose and Zolnerowich and Encarsia meritoria (Gahan) were either largely or completely displaced by exotic Eretmocerus sp. (Ethiopia) and Encarsia sophia (Gahan) in the early 2000s. Further, E. sophia became the dominant parasitoid of B. tabaci in cotton after many years of predominance by native and exotic Eretmocerus . Apparent rates of parasitism were highly variable within and between years and averaged ≈17% overall. In some years there was evidence that B. tabaci populations declined as apparent parasitism increased. Lower pest abundance was associated with higher rates of apparent parasitism over the entire 15-year period but this pattern was not supported by long term life-table based measurements of parasitism. Detailed life table studies within the entire agro-ecosystem will be needed to fully assess the impact of the classical biological control program.
The use of streptomycin during pregnancy

Abstract 1. 1. Five pregnant patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis treated with streptomycin during varying periods of their gestation were reported. 2. 2. Dramatic improvement in the clinical condition of all patients was observed. 3. 3. Streptomycin did not produce apparent toxic effect in mothers or infants.
Parenting Profiles and Adolescent Dating Relationship Abuse: Attitudes and Experiences

Parenting behaviors such as monitoring and communications are known correlates of abusive outcomes in adolescent dating relationships. This longitudinal study draws on separate parent (58 % female; 61 % White non-Hispanic, 12 % Black non-Hispanic, 7 % other non-Hispanic, and 20 % Hispanic) and youth (ages 12-18 years; 48 % female) surveys from the nationally representative Survey of Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence. Latent class analyses were applied to investigate whether there are distinguishable parenting profiles based on six measures of parent-youth relationship and interactions, with youth's attitudes about abusive dating behavior and both perpetration and victimization examined in a follow-up survey as distal outcomes (n = 1117 parent-youth dyads). A three-class model-a "Positive Parenting" class, a "Strict/Harsh Parenting" class, and a "Disengaged/Harsh Parenting" class-was selected to best represent the data. The selected latent class model was conditioned on parents' (anger trait, relationship quality, attitudes about domestic violence) and youth's (prior victimization and perpetration) covariates, controlling for parent's gender, race/ethnicity, income, marital status, and youth's age and gender. Youth in the "Positive Parenting" class were significantly less likely 1 year later to be tolerant of violence against boyfriends under any conditions as well as less likely to perpetrate adolescent relationship abuse or to be a victim of adolescent relationship abuse. Parents' anger and relationship quality and youth's prior perpetration of adolescent relationship abuse as well as gender, age, and race/ethnicity predicted class membership, informing universal prevention program and message design, as well as indicated efforts to target communications and services for parents as well as for youth.
Enzyme Activities in the Developing Muscle and Liver of Normal and Genetically Dystrophic Chick Embryos

SummaryActivities of succinic dehydroge-nase, cytochrome c oxidase and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) have been assayed in embryos and day-old chicks from a genetically dystrophic and normal strain of New Hampshire chicks. Results point out possible defects in the cytochrome c oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase systems as the site for the metabolic disturbance in the hereditary muscular dystrophy in chicks.
Real-Time Optimization Strategies for Building Systems†

We analyze different optimization strategies for real-time energy management in building systems. We have found that exploiting building-wide multivariable interactions between CO2, humidity, pressure, occupancy, and temperature leads to significant reductions of energy intensity. Our analysis indicates that it is possible to obtain drastic energy savings compared with traditional control strategies. The exploitation of the thermal comfort zone has been found to be the most relevant factor driving energy savings. We discuss strategies to handle multiple competing objectives as well as economic functions and we analyze financial incentives provided by real-time prices and existing market designs. Numerical experiments are provided to support the claims.
The Effect of New Product Features on Brand Choice

Companies often introduce new product features to differentiate their brands and gain a competitive advantage. The authors investigate factors that moderate the impact of a new feature on brand cho...
Comparison of pharmacological effects of lysine and arginine vasopressins.

Summary1. Ihe pharmacological effects of lysine and arginine vasopressins are the same with respect to their relative vasopressor, milk-ejecting and avian depressor potencies. 2. The ratio of pressor potency to antidiuretic potency is 1 for arginine vasopressin and 6 for lysine vasopressin when the antidiuretic potency is determined by intravenous injection in the hydrated, unanesthetized dog. On the other hand, this ratio of potencies is 1 for both vasopressins when the antidiuretic potency is determined by subcutaneous injection in the hydrated, unanesthetized rat. 3. Lysine vasopressin, compared with the U.S.P. standard or arginine vasopressin, is equally potent as an intravenous pressor agent in the dog and rat. Potency refers to relative potency; potency in units per mg is much higher for purified arginine vasopressin. 4. Lysine vasopressin is peculiar to the hog. The vasopressin of man, the macaque monkey, dog, rat, ox, sheep and camel appears, by pharmacological criteria, to be arginine vasopressin...
Experimental Porphyria. III. Hepatic Type Produced by Sedormid.

Summary and Conclusions1. Allylisopro-pylacetylcarbamid (“Sedormid”) produces an hepatic form of porphyria in rabbits. 2. The livers of these animals contain large amounts of proto-, copro- and uroporphyrin, the latter chiefly in the form of non fluorescing precursors. Porphobilinogen is also present. 3. The protoporphyrin is excreted only, and the coproporphyrin chiefly, in the bile, most of the uro- type porphyrins appearing in the urine, in amounts ranging up to 60 mg in 24 hours. The latter consists mainly of type III isomers, but type I has also been identified in small amount. Large amounts of porphobilinogen are excreted in the urine. 4. The porphyrin content of erythrocytes, bone marrow, spleen, and brain is within normal limits. 5. Transient paresis of hind limbs, dilatation of the stomach, and constriction of the pylorus are noted, with irregular small bowel spasm. Death is invariably due to rupture of the stomach. 6. The possibility is discussed that the genesis of the porphyria is related to a...
Designing an Impact Fee Program to Meet Rational Nexus Principle and Reduce Vertical Inequity Key Insights for Developing Countries

This article reviews three impact fee programs spread across three continents (North America, Australia, and Asia) in a search for those impact fee design features that meet the nexus and rough proportionality principles and promote vertical equity. To meet the nexus and rough proportionality principles, we assert that the impact fee should vary by use, intensity of use, and type of infrastructure or service funded by the fee, and that the fee should be based on clearly articulated service standards. Finally, specific policies that may be used to increase vertical equity include (a) allowing developers to pay the fee in installments and/or at a later stage of project development, (b) granting impact fee waivers for affordable housing, and (c) exempting smaller properties from paying the fee.
Federal Nursing Service Award. Impact of TriCare/managed care on total force readiness.

Mission readiness is dependent on a healthy total force and the response of military medical and nursing services. Managed care has become the norm in U.S. health care, including the Department of Defense Military Health System. Cost management, health maintenance organizations, and other health plans are defined as "managed care," an aggressive cost-control effort by health care purchasers and insurers to limit health care spending and services and advance a market-oriented, profit-driven system. The impact of managed care on mission readiness and retention of active and reserve personnel is and will continue to be profound. The purpose of this research was to conduct a qualitative, phenomenological study (life experiences) of TriCare/managed care to explore the impact and the meaning of the experience on total force mission readiness of the U.S. Air Force and how managed care has changed nursing practice. The results reveal the significance of the impact of TriCare/managed care on total force readiness by identifying, through themes, meta-themes, and a representative model, the negative effect that economics is having on active duty and reserve force health and well-being.
Predicting MEK Inhibitor Response in Lung Cancer: A Proper Signature Is Required

The ERK signaling pathway is one of the most commonly deregulated pathways in cancer. Assays that accurately measure ERK signaling output in clinical specimens would be extremely helpful not only in determining the pharmacodynamic effects of drug treatment but also in selecting those patients most likely to respond to therapy. Clin Cancer Res; 23(6); 1365-7. ©2016 AACRSee related article by Brant et al., p. 1471.
Capturing Chaotic Chromosomes: Pairing in Action†

Accurate chromosome segregation is critical for the formation of haploid gametes, and therefore healthy offspring. Errors in segregation result in aneuploidy, which increases exponentially with maternal age (Hassold and Hunt, 2001). Maternally aged mouse oocytes were recently found to exhibit premature sister chromatid separation due to reduced levels of Securin, an essential regulator of sister chromatid cohesion (Nabti et al, 2017). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
A Current Efficiency Prediction Model Based on Electrode Kinetics for Iron and Copper During Copper Electrowinning

Copper electrowinning is an important recovery method in the copper industry, which accounts for a growing proportion of the world copper production. In copper electrowinning, not all the current is used for the deposition of Cu, in large part because of the existence of dissolved iron in the electrolyte. The reduction of ferric ions is often the main factor that causes the current efficiency to decrease. The current efficiency is influenced by parameters such as electrolyte temperature, current density, iron concentration, copper concentration, etc. To obtain optimal operating conditions, thus minimizing energy consumption, a copper electrowinning current efficiency model was established using empirical formulas and electrode kinetics. Electrochemistry, gas-liquid flow, transport phenomena and comparisons to experimental data are considered to enhance the accuracy of the model. The model can predict the current efficiency under a variety of conditions to provide valuable guidance for the optimization of process parameters.
The effect of alternate background and kidney regions of interest and use of geometric mean versus posterior images on the computation of differential renal function with MAG-3

2089 Objectives To determine if there are significant changes in differential renal function (DRF) which may change clinical decision making when: 1. Two different types of background regions of interest (ROIs) or two types of kidney ROIs are drawn on geometric mean (GM) images from MAG-3 renal scans. 2. GM data is used as opposed to posterior image (PI) acquisition. Methods Twenty eight MAG-3 renal scans performed on 27 patients (average age of 50) were retrospectively analyzed. DRF was computed on each study using four separate techniques: GM data from: (1) perirenal background ROI and kidney ROI including the renal pelvis; (2) perirenal background ROI and kidney ROI excluding the renal pelvis; (3) inferolateral background ROI (excluding liver/spleen) and kidney ROI including the renal pelvis. PI data from: (4) perirenal background ROI and kidney ROI excluding the renal pelvis. These four data sets were compared against each other and mean differences in differential renal function were determined. Statistical analysis using a paired t-test for means was used to determine the significance of these differences to 95% confidence. Results Comparison of pelvic inclusion versus exclusion in the kidney ROI (1 vs. 2) yielded a mean difference = 2.02%; 95% CI 0.83 to 3.21; p = 0.002. Comparison of background ROIs (1 vs. 3) produced a mean difference = 4.15%; 95% CI -6.83 to -1.47; p = 0.004. GM versus PI (2 vs. 4) yielded a mean difference = -0.30%; 95% CI -2.22 to 1.63; p = 0.75. Conclusions This study reveals that when GM images are used to determine DRF, the location of the background ROIs as well as the inclusion/exclusion of the renal pelvis from the kidney ROI can play a statistically significant role in the determination of differential renal function. When the renal pelvis is excluded, we found no significant difference in DRF when PI data is used versus GM data
Loss of Heterozygosity in Lung Diseases

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death, accounting for over 1 million deaths per year worldwide.1, 2, 3 Exposure to insult, primarily tobacco smoke, is the indisputable root cause of most lung cancers,4 but it is the consequential epigenetic and genetic changes (promoter methylation, mutations, deletions, and amplifications) that drive tumor formation, progression, and metastasis. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) is an extremely common genetic feature of lung cancer and is a significant mechanism by which critical genes involved in growth regulation and homeostasis become inactivated, or silenced, during disease evolution. This chapter reviews LOH and its implications in the major classes of lung cancer as well as in nonmalignant lung diseases.
Two-Point Closures and Statistical Equilibrium

A two-point, or spectral, turbulence transport model describes the evolution of the two-point velocity covariance tensor, or its Fourier transform, the spectral tensor. Such a model describes the turbulent dynamics as functions of length-scale or wave-number. This permits a more general description of turbulence than is available with a one-point closure. This greater generality is useful in understanding the behavior of turbulent flows that are undergoing rapid transients and that are therefore not in “equilibrium”. If the turbulent flow is in an “equilbrium” environment wherein the mean forces on the flow are relatively constant in time, the turbulent spectra tend toward self-similar forms. When applied to a specific spectral model (Besnard et al., 1996) (Clark and Zemach, 1995), these selfsimilar forms may be exploited to reduce the model to the more familiar R ij — E and K — E models. These one-point models have coefficients that are functions of the spectral distributions. We discuss the limits of validity of the two-point descriptions as well as the consequences of the equilibrium assumptions embedded in the one-point variants.
Differentiation of Cerebellar Hemisphere Tumors: Combining Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Histogram Analysis and Structural MRI Features

Author(s): Payabvash, Seyedmehdi; Tihan, Tarik; Cha, Soonmee | Abstract: Background and purposeWe aimed to develop a diagnostic algorithm for differentiation of cerebellar hemisphere tumors, combining Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis and structural imaging features.MethodsPretreatment MRI of patients with pathologically proven cerebellar hemisphere neoplasms were reviewed. Voxel-wise volumetric ADC histograms of tumor solid components were determined. Histogram variables, patients' age, and structural imaging features were applied to develop a differential diagnosis algorithm.ResultsAmong 142 patients, the most common tumors were metastasis (n = 54), hemangioblastoma (n = 39), pilocytic astrocytoma (n = 18), and medulloblastoma (n = 9). On ADC histogram analysis, medulloblastomas had the lowest, and pilocytic astrocytomas had the highest ADC values. An ADC 15th percentile value l 580 × 10-6 mm2 /s could differentiate medulloblastomas from other cerebellar hemisphere tumors with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curve (AUC) of .98 (P l .001). Comparing the two most common adult cerebellar hemisphere tumors (metastases and hemangioblastomas), hemangioblastomas had higher ADC values; and an ADC 90th percentile value g 2000 × 10-6 mm2 /s could identify hemangioblastomas with ROC AUC of .82 (P l .001). Along with ADC histogram and patients' age, structural imaging features including enhancement pattern, prominent vascular flow voids, surrounding FLAIR hyperintensity, and solid component T2 signal hyperintensity were independent differentiation variables in the diagnostic algorithm.ConclusionIn pretreatment differentiation of cerebellar tumors, the ADC histogram analysis is particularly helpful for distinction of medulloblastomas from other subtypes, and differentiation of the two most common adult tumors (ie, metastases and hemangioblastomas) from each other. Combination of structural imaging features and ADC histogram analysis can help with pretreatment differentiation of cerebellar tumors.
Forced-Response Verification of the Inherent Damping in Additive Manufactured Specimens

The laser powder bed fusion AM process has been used to manufacture beams with unique internal geometries that are capable of increasing inherent damping in a part. The concept of the internal design is to have densely packed, unfused powder pockets that dissipate energy via particle interaction. Four Inconel (IN) 718 beams have been tested and all demonstrated the capability to suppress vibration 10X more effectively than a fully fused beam. The mechanism presumed to dissipate energy and thus suppress vibration is the sliding of unfused particles. This mechanism has been associated with a crack opening under Mode II fracture. Based on this assumption, a proportional expression has been developed as a criterion for optimizing unfused powder locations for vibration suppression effectiveness and was validated with 3.175 mm thick beams. This study investigates five uniquely designed IN-718 beams created via the optimizing criterion to assess accuracy of the expression. The intent of this study is to investigate the predictability of the unfused pocket optimization criterion. The results of this study will lead to a more robust design criterion for more complex 3D structures with improved damping capability.
CloudPoS: A Proof-of-Stake Consensus Design for Blockchain Integrated Cloud

Maintaining data provenance in cloud in a tamper-resistant manner that cannot be breached by malicious parties is a necessity from the current security standpoint. Blockchain technology has emerged as a secure solution to store and share information by offering an immutable distributed ledger service. Its effectiveness hinges on the infrastructure supporting the distributed ledger and consensus protocol that governs the validity of entries in the Blockchain. Hence, Blockchain can be a potential candidate to implement data provenance; however, traditional cryptocurrency-based consensus models become a bottleneck in the cloud environment. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a Blockchain based data provenance architecture (BlockCloud) that incorporates a proof-of-stake (PoS)-based consensus protocol (CloudPoS) for securely recording the data operations occurring in cloud environment. The critical operational phases of the protocol are discussed in depth, which leverages the cloud users' cyber infrastructure resources. A cloud-based testbed environment is created using a local cluster of physical machines managed by Xen hypervisor. Resource elasticity is enabled using Kubernetes setup that interacts with the dockerized containers, which emulate as peers in the Blockchain network. We then evaluate the effectiveness of the protocol in a simulated environment and conduct performance tests of the proposed consensus.
Mass balance analysis and calculation of wind effects on heat fluxes and water temperature in a large lake

Abstract Modeling applications often ignore the water mass balance for hydrodynamic simulations in large lakes such as the Great Lakes. However, evaluation of the water budget can be of interest, especially when water surface calculations are important, and also as it relates to the heat budget. In this study Lake Ontario is modeled using the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code for the heating seasons in 2008–2013, with calibration focused on 2008, for which more data are available. The model is used to test both water mass and heat budgets, and various interpolation schemes for meteorological data are tested to determine the degree of sensitivity of results to the interpolation method used. The water budget incorporates flow from major tributaries and precipitation/evaporation, and it is shown that these processes alone cannot provide a balance. Missing water quantities include direct runoff and flows from smaller, probably ungauged tributaries. In 2008 the calculated quantity is 1.61 × 1010 m3 during April to September, which is equivalent to a change in water surface level of 0.7 m and represents an average flow rate of 1018 m3/s, which is larger than the inflow of any tributary to the lake except the Niagara River. Latent and sensible heat flux calculations are highly affected by wind, and interpolation of wind data is found to impact model calculations of those quantities, though different interpolation schemes do not have a strong effect on surface water temperatures. In general, the natural neighbor interpolation method is preferred over inverse distance methods.
Mortality associated with tracheostomy complications in the United States: 2007-2016.

Objectives/hypothesis To investigate patterns of tracheostomy-associated death in the United States. Study design Retrospective database review. Methods We used Multiple Cause-of-Death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine cumulative national mortality associated with tracheostomy complications in the United States from 2007 to 2016. Using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision data, we investigated how frequently tracheostomy-related complications were reported in cause of death data. We then compared the characteristics of patients with tracheostomy-related mortality to patients reported to have died of other causes. Results Over the 10-year period studied, we identified 623 tracheostomy-related deaths (537 adults and 86 children) out of 25,587,306 total deaths reported. Although absolute mortality was higher in adults, the reported base rate of tracheostomy complication-associated mortality was tenfold higher in children. Most tracheostomy-related deaths occurred in a hospital facility (74.5% in adults). Deaths associated with tracheostomy complications were significantly more common for African American children (odds ratio [OR]: 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26-3.24) and adults (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.29-1.96) or in Hispanic adults (OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.06-1.89). Deaths related to a tracheostomy complication more commonly occurred on the weekend (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.04-1.49) and in the most recent 2-year period (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.03-1.68). Adults with a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree were significantly less likely to have mortality associated with a tracheostomy-related complication (OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.39-0.75). Conclusions Tracheostomy-related complications were implicated in the deaths of a significant number of individuals. Several demographic groups had increased likelihood of tracheostomy-related mortality. Future research is necessary to develop targeted interventions to decrease harm. Level of evidence NA Laryngoscope, 129:619-626, 2019.
Self-guide distinctions and episodic memory in L2 motivation: The case of Arabic in the United States

Abstract The L2 Motivational Self System (Dornyei, 2009) has offered a model of second language (L2) motivation that considers the role of possible self-guides. This study examined an expanded version of this model by incorporating a distinction in the ought-to L2 self: ought-to L2 self/own and ought-to L2 self/others. Also, it examined the relationship between memory and L2 self-guides. A questionnaire was administered to L2 Arabic learners to capture core constructs of L2 motivation and memories of past experiences, known as episodic memory. The results indicated that L2 learning experience had the strongest direct effect and ideal L2 self had the strongest indirect effect on intended effort. L2 self-guides were most influential when mediated by L2 learning experience or ideal L2 self. However, ought-to L2 self/own and ought-to L2 self/others exhibited dichotomous behavior, in which ought-to L2 self/own had a positive effect and ought-to L2 self/others had a negative effect on intended effort. Importantly, associations between episodic memory and L2 self-guides were found but selective, driven presumably by shared emotional and self-relevant content. The study concludes that L2 self-guide distinctions exhibit different effects on L2 motivation in the target language context. Also, it concludes that L2 self-guides exhibit particular associations with episodic memory.
Precision medicine for pediatric central nervous system tumors

Pediatric neuro-oncology has dramatically transformed over the past decade, as sophisticated tissue analyses now permit characterization of the genomic landscape and biologic drivers of disease. Pe...
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: 50 Years after the Original Description

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is one of the few diseases in neonatal medicine that has continued to evolve since its first description about 50 years ago. Over these years, advancements in neonatal medicine such as antenatal steroids and exogenous surfactant therapy have significantly reduced neonatal mortality and lowered the limits of viability for preterm infants. Although the incidence of BPD continues to be high, especially in extremely low birth weight infants, the clinical picture has evolved into a milder disease with low mortality or significant morbidities. This new BPD is the result of complex interactions between altered alveolar and vascular development, injury by ante- and postnatal pathogenic factors, and reparative processes in the lung. There has been significant progress in our understanding of risk factors for BPD, but challenges persist in its definition, and in finding effective preventive strategies. There are promising developments with newer preventive interventions such as mesenchymal stem cells, exosomes, immunomodulators, and growth factors, but they are still in preclinical stage. The future challenges include finding ways to define BPD based on the severity of lung pathology, which can better predict long-term outcomes, development of early predictors of lung disease, and finding innovative and evidence-based preventive and management strategies.
Safety profile of ultrasound enhancing agents in echocardiography.

Introduction Ultrasound enhancing agents (UEAs) are often utilized to enhance ultrasound image quality; however, concerns about adverse reactions have limited their use. Moreover, these agents had been either contraindicated or are labeled with a warning in patients with intra-cardiac shunts because of a theoretic risk of systemic microvascular obstruction. This labeling was recently removed in the United States, but data in these patients are lacking. Methods Over a 15-month period, patients receiving three different FDA-approved UEAs at our center were prospectively evaluated for clinically significant adverse events (AEs). Results A total of 5521 UEA administrations were performed (Definity® : 3306, Lumason® : 2137, Optison® : 78). There were 14 AEs (0.25%) reported (Lumason® : 0.05% [n = 1] vs Definity® : 0.39% [n = 13], P = 0.02). Back pain was the most common complaint (n = 9), followed by headache (n = 2), rash (n = 2), dyspnea (n = 2), and palpitations (n = 1). Among the 33 patients known to have intra-cardiac shunts, there were no AEs. Known right-to-left shunts with positive saline bubble study were present in 20 patients (Lumason® : n = 9, Definity® : n = 11). Left-to-right atrial shunts based on color Doppler were present in 10 patients (Lumason® : n = 5, Definity® n = 5). Three patients were known to have ventricular septal defect with left-to-right flow (Definity® : n = 2, Optison® : n = 1). Conclusion Adverse events were significantly higher with Definity® ; however, overall incidences were low, and AEs were minor. Furthermore, no AEs were reported in patients with known intra-cardiac shunts. UEAs showed a good safety profile in our study and should be afforded to all appropriate patients, including those with known intra-cardiac shunts.
Exploring the Hiring Process of K–12 Art Teachers: Tips for the Job Search

Looking for a K–12 art teaching position can be a daunting endeavor. What do school district administrators and art teachers feel is important when hiring visual arts teachers and how do they carry...
Cloud Readiness Planning Tool (CRPT): An AI-Based Framework to Automate Migration Planning

The growing popularity of cloud computing has increased demands of application migration to the cloud, but among others, the main deterrent has been the complexity of the migration planning for the large-scale projects with 1000s of servers. The complexity is mainly derived from the plethora of different migration options and required platform/application changes for cloud fitness of applications. In addition, the automated or artificial intelligence planning has been used to generate the migration plans, but despite its effectiveness, it has not been adopted broadly in migration because the AI planning language is complex and hard to scale. In this paper, we propose Cloud Readiness Planning Tool (CRPT), a system that constitutes a Migration Type Classifier trained under a novel active learning strategy dealing with "concept drift", and an AI Planner which generates plan from automatically created domain and problem files with declarative specifications such as goal states and data in user friendly input formats. A series of experiments were conducted on a real-world migration task. The results demonstrate the Migration Type Classifier is able to effectively adapt to the changing business needs and achieve high accuracy with low labeling cost.
An Approach Towards Extreme Fast Charging Station Power Delivery for Electric Vehicles with Partial Power Processing

This article proposes an approach for realizing the power delivery scheme for an extreme fast charging (XFC) station that is meant to simultaneously charge multiple electric vehicles (EVs). A cascaded H-bridge converter is utilized to directly interface with the medium voltage grid while dual-active-bridge based soft-switched solid-state transformers are used to achieve galvanic isolation. The proposed approach eliminates redundant power conversion by making use of partial power rated dc–dc converters to charge the individual EVs. Partial power processing enables independent charging control over each EV, while processing only a fraction of the total battery charging power. Practical implementation schemes for the partial power charger unit are analyzed. A phase-shifted full-bridge converter-based charger is proposed. Design and control considerations for enabling multiple charging points are elucidated. Experimental results from a down-scaled laboratory test-bed are provided to validate the control aspects, functionality, and effectiveness of the proposed XFC station power delivery scheme. With a down-scaled partial power converter that is rated to handle only 27% of the battery power, an efficiency improvement of 0.6% at full-load and 1.6% at 50% load is demonstrated.
Lipoprotein Lipase Sorting: Sphingomyelin and a Proteoglycan Show the Way

A mechanistic description for how soluble protein cargos are sorted into distinct vesicle classes at the level of the trans-Golgi network (TGN) has remained elusive. In a recent study in Developmental Cell, Sundberg et al. reveal that sphingomyelin and a proteoglycan mediate lipoprotein lipase sorting in the TGN.
Hearing Loss, Loneliness, and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review:

ObjectiveSocial isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality and higher health care spending in older adults. Hearing loss is a common condition in older adults and impairs comm...