cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The essence of eschatology : A modal interpretation

On doit prendre en compte les deux notions d'eternite et de temporalite pour preserver la tension qui apparait essentielle pour une authentique possibilite eschatologique. L'au-dela se differencie du temps profane en ce qu'il transforme absolument le monde temporel en realisant de facon miraculeuse, dans un monde de chance impersonnelle, la valeur ultime qui n'existe autrement que comme ideal eternel. L'au-dela doit entrer en relation d'une maniere apocalyptique avec le temps historique. L'apocalypse n'est pas une destruction complete du monde moderne mais la finalite de l'ordre precedent
Mavo: Creating Interactive Data-Driven Web Applications by Authoring HTML

Many people can author static web pages with HTML and CSS but find it hard or impossible to program persistent, interactive web applications. We show that for a broad class of CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) applications, this gap can be bridged. Mavo extends the declarative syntax of HTML to describe Web applications that manage, store and transform data. Using Mavo, authors with basic HTML knowledge define complex data schemas implicitly as they design their HTML layout. They need only add a few attributes and expressions to their HTML elements to transform their static design into a persistent, data-driven web application whose data can be edited by direct manipulation of the content in the browser. We evaluated Mavo with 20 users who marked up static designs---some provided by us, some their own creation---to transform them into fully functional web applications. Even users with no programming experience were able to quickly craft Mavo applications.
A dose response for cardiac resynchronization therapy

The consequence of synchronous, rapid activation of the left ventricle (LV) by the cardiac conduction system is an efficient economy of energy expenditure for the work of ejection during the cardiac cycle. In the failing heart with concomitant conduction system disease, this economy is disrupted,
Impact of Pregnancy and Gender on Internal Medicine Resident Evaluations: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Pregnancy and its impact on graduate medical training are not well understood. To examine the effect of gender and pregnancy for Internal Medicine (IM) residents on evaluations by peers and faculty. This was a retrospective cohort study. All IM residents in training from July 1, 2004–June 30, 2014, were included. Female residents who experienced pregnancy and male residents whose partners experienced pregnancy during training were identified using an existing administrative database. Mean evaluation scores by faculty and peers were compared relative to pregnancy (before, during, and after), accounting for the gender of both the evaluator and resident in addition to other available demographic covariates. Potential associations were assessed using mixed linear models. Of 566 residents, 117 (20.7%) experienced pregnancy during IM residency training. Pregnancy was more common in partners of male residents (24.7%) than female residents (13.2%) (p = 0.002). In the post-partum period, female residents had lower peer evaluation scores on average than their male counterparts (p = 0.0099). A large number of residents experience pregnancy during residency. Mean peer evaluation scores were lower after pregnancy for female residents. Further study is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind these findings, develop ways to optimize training throughout pregnancy, and explore any unconscious biases that may exist.
Neuroinflammatory mechanisms and translational approaches in environmental neurotoxicity models

v CHAPTER I: GENERAL INTRODUCTION 01 Dissertation Organization 01 Introduction 03 Background and Literature Review 06 CHAPTER II: A ROLE FOR PROTEIN KINASE CDELTA (PKCδ) IN LPS/MN‐ INDUCED NEUROINFLAMMATION 24 Abstract 24 Introduction 25 Experimental Procedures 27 Results 31 Discussion 36 Figure Legends 41 Figures 46 References 55 CHAPTER III: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ANTI‐INFLAMMATORY FUNCTION OF DIAPOCYNIN IN CELL CULTURE LPS‐INDUCED NEUROINFLAMMATION 60 Abstract 60
Relationship Between Diabetes Knowledge, Glycemic Control, and Associated Health Conditions

Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify any existing relationship between diabetes knowledge and glycemic control, as well as possible associations with patient health, among patients with type 2 diabetes. Design and Methods. This qualitative study used a validated multiple-choice test (the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test) to assess diabetes knowledge among 17 hospital patients between the ages of 18 and 75 years with type 2 diabetes and a recent (within 3 months) A1C laboratory value. Participants also provided information about their diabetes self-care habits, previous diabetes education, and diabetes-related secondary health conditions. Results. The average diabetes knowledge score was 8.4 of 14 (60%), and the average A1C was 9.3%. Thirteen participants had previously received diabetes education, whereas four participants had never received diabetes education. The participants who had not received education scored 15.3% lower on the diabetes knowledge test and had an average A1C 0.89% higher than those who had received previous education. Although this difference was not statistically significant, it is clinically relevant. There was a significant association between diabetes knowledge and presence of retinopathy ( P = 0.03). Conclusion. Diabetes self-management education and support is a crucial component of diabetes care. There is a considerable need for diabetes education strategies to improve self-management of diabetes and thereby improve outcomes and decrease the costs of diabetes-related care. There is also a need for efforts to ensure regular vision screenings for individuals with type 2 diabetes.
The Narrative Strategies of Winners and Losers: Analyzing Annual Reports of Publicly Traded Corporations:

This study focuses on the narrative strategies corporations utilize to communicate their annual results to investors and the financial community. Specifically, the study looks at the sample of over...
Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease With a Low Procalcitonin Concentration: Impact of Antibiotic Therapy.

Background Patients admitted with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) often are prescribed antibiotics. Studies have shown that the use of procalcitonin (PCT) to guide the decision to initiate antibiotic therapy in AECOPD has resulted in less antibiotic use and similar outcomes compared with standard of care. We evaluated patients with AECOPD and low PCT concentrations to determine whether antibiotic therapy was associated with improved outcomes. Methods We retrospectively evaluated adult patients admitted with AECOPD who had a peak PCT concentration 24 hours. We also evaluated outcomes based upon the duration of azithromycin therapy: ≤24 hours vs >24 hours. The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day readmissions. Secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS) and COPD-related 30-day readmissions. Results One hundred sixty-one and 195 patients received ≤24 hours vs >24 hours of antibiotic therapy, respectively. The cohort with ≤24 hours of antibiotics had a shorter LOS (2.8 vs 3.7 days; P = .01). There were no differences in all-cause 30-day readmissions (15.5% vs 17.4%; P = .63) or COPD-related 30-day readmissions (11.2% vs 12.3%; P = .74). Additionally, patients receiving ≤24 hours of azithromycin had a shorter LOS (3.0 vs 3.8 days; P = .002) and there were no differences in all-cause 30-day readmissions (16.2% vs 17.1%; P = .82) or COPD-related 30-day readmissions (11.9% vs 11.6%; P = .94). Conclusions For adult patients hospitalized with nonsevere AECOPD and low PCT concentrations, antibiotic therapy beyond 24 hours did not improve outcomes.
What Cognitive Science Tells Us About Ethics and The Teaching of Ethics

A relatively new and exciting area of collaboration has begun between philosophy of mind and ethics. This paper attempts to explore aspects of this collaboration and how they bear upon traditional ethics. It is the author's contention that much of Western moral philosophy has been guided by largely unrecognized assumptions regarding reason, knowledge and conceptualization, and that when examined against empirical research in cognitive science, these assumptions turn out to be false -- or at the very least, unrealistic for creatures with our cognitive structures. The fundamental tension between the Western idea of morality (as basically rule-following) and the way in which people actually confront and experience moral dilemmas is a result of our failure to take the insights of cognitive psychology seriously. This failure has had a dramatic impact on not only how we teach ethics, but how we attempt to live out lives.
Gene Activation and Deactivation during Multistage Hepatocarcinogenesis in the Rat

That the development of most cancer occurs as a result of two or more separate and distinct processes or stages is rapidly becoming more evident as careful studies of carcinogenesis in defined systems take place. In at least five different species of animals, multistage carcinogenic processes have been demonstrated in more than 15 different tissues1. In addition, there is significant epidemiologic evidence that more than a half dozen human cancers exhibit demonstrable stages in their development2. However, there is to date no uniform agreement as to the number and characteristics of distinctive stages or processes in the development of cancer.
The neurobiology of oral cancer pain

Oral cancer pain is more severe, on average, than pain from any other cancer. The public health problem of cancer pain is, ironically, exacerbated by improved chemo- and radio-therapies that prolong survival. The intensity of oral cancer pain escalates with disease progression; terminal patients generally experience debilitating pain during their final months of life. The etiology of oral cancer pain is not known and current treatment is ineffective. Cancer pain is hypothesized to result from a tumor-mass effect and/or activation of primary afferent nociceptors by mediators liberated by the cancer. Dr. Schmidt discussed the molecular cross-talk between cancer and peripheral nervous system that might responsible for pain. He presented data demonstrating a reciprocal proliferative effect between cancer and surrounding sensory nerves.
Algorithms for Bayesian Computing and Mathematica

One approach to developing a general-purpose Bayesian computing system is to add a package of Bayesian commands to a mathematics/statistics program. Due to its symbolic algebra system, the program Mathematica appears very suitable for the implementation of the Laplace method. The use of a Laplace Bayesian package is illustrated.
Modal Technology for Damage Detection of Bridges

Technologies of analytical and experimental modal analysis have been investigated for their application in damage detection of bridges. In the context of experiments performed on a typical highway bridge in North Carolina, various signals and signal-processed data that can be used for interrogation are presented. By introducing simulated failures in a highway bridge in Pennsylvania and in a number of laboratory bridge models and analytical models, experimental results are examined for their ability to detect faults.
A Matlab 5 Program for Calculating the Statistics of Mass Change

Evaluating the statistics of elemental mass transfer associated with metasomatism is a complex and time-intensive process. Hence, we developed a Matlab 5 program, herein referred to as SACD, that has proven to be fast, efficient, and thorough at statistically analyzing elemental and rock-mass changes. The essence of SACD is that it calculates all pertinent statistics that stem from the null hypothesis, H0, that there is no change in elemental mass brought on by metasomatism. The results output by SACD were checked against published data from the Wepawaug Schist, Connecticut that was metamorphosed under Barrovian conditions, probably during the Acadian orogeny. Elemental and total rock-mass changes computed by SACD are nearly identical to those in the published literature but show that, contrary to the published literature, acceptance of H0 carries with it an unacceptable risk. We urge anyone teaching the principles of elemental mass transfer to students to make use of this tool. It will free students from...
I Tweet, You Tweet, SHe Tweets: Enhancing the ESL Language-Learning Experience Through Twitter

This study seeks to further the research on online language learning by examining the level at which intermediate ESL students understand and process sociopragmatic information in their second language L2 in globally networked environments like Twitter. In this semester-long study, L2 English learners from a variety of first languages Chinese, Spanish, Arabic analyzed authentic English-language tweets produced by well-known native speakers, with a focus on abbreviations, hashtags and tweeter mood. Results revealed that high intermediate ESL students relied most heavily on word choice when making sense of English tweets, demonstrating that a majority were able to extract significant meaning from common abbreviations, prosified hashtags, indices of tweeter mood and the tweet's larger context. This investigation highlights Twitter's status as an authentic and dynamic L2 setting that facilitates the cultural enrichment of learners and enhances their socio-pragmatic awareness, while developing their multiliteracy skills in an L2.
Hydrophobic Antioxidant Polymers for Corrosion Protection of an Aluminum Alloy

We explore synthetic polymeric antioxidants as powerful inhibitors of corrosion of metals. Antioxidant copolymers were designed to have polyphenol, gallol, or catechol moieties along with hydrophob...
Big Presses in the Open Movement

Elsevier is currently positioned as the largest scholarly publisher, a dominant force in open access publishing, and a provider of workflow and analytics tools for research and science. Now it is s...
Wellposedness and regularity of the variable-order time-fractional diffusion equations

Abstract It was proved that the solution to a time-fractional partial differential equation lacks regularity at the initial time t = 0 , which is often inconsistent with the physical problem being modeled even though the nature of the physical problem away from t = 0 is well captured by a time-fractional partial differential equation. We argue that the fundamental reason why this phenomenon occurs lies in the incompatibility between the nonlocality of the time-fractional partial differential equations and the locality of the classical initial condition at t = 0 . We show that the variable-order time-fractional partial differential equations, in which the order varies in time as t goes to 0 to accommodate the impact of the local initial condition at time t = 0 , turn out to be a natural candidate to eliminate the nonphysical singularity of the solutions to the (constant-order) time-fractional partial differential equations and open up opportunities for modeling multiphysics phenomena from nonlocal to local dynamics and vice versa. We prove the wellposedness of a variable-order linear time-fractional diffusion partial differential equation in multiple space dimensions. We also prove that the regularity of its solution depends on the behavior of the variable order (and its derivatives) at time t = 0 , in addition to the usual smoothness assumptions. More precisely, we prove that its solution has full regularity like its integer-order analogue if the variable order has an integer limit at t = 0 or exhibits singular behaviors at t = 0 like in the case of the constant-order time-fractional partial differential equations if the variable order has a non-integer value at time t = 0 .
Nonviral Gene Delivery with Cationic Glycopolymers

The field of gene therapy, which aims to treat patients by modulating gene expression, has come to fruition and has landed several landmark FDA approvals. Most gene therapies currently rely on viral vectors to deliver nucleic acid cargo into cells, but there is significant interest in moving toward chemical-based methods, such as polymer-based vectors, due to their low cost, immunocompatibility, and tunability. The full potential of polymer-based delivery systems has yet to be realized, however, because most polymeric transfection reagents are either too inefficient or too toxic for use in the clinic. In this Account, we describe developments in carbohydrate-based cationic polymers, termed glycopolymers, for enhanced nonviral gene delivery. As ubiquitous components of biological systems, carbohydrates are a rich class of compounds that can be harnessed to improve the biocompatibility of non-native polymers, such as linear polyamines used for promoting transfection. Reineke et al. developed a new class of carbohydrate-based polymers called poly(glycoamidoamine)s (PGAAs) by step-growth polymerization of linear monosaccharides with linear ethyleneamines. These glycopolymers were shown to be both efficient and biocompatible transfection reagents. Systematic modifications of the structural components of the PGAA system revealed structure-activity relationships important to its function, including its ability to degrade in situ. Expanding upon the development of step-growth glycopolymers, monosaccharides, such as glucose, were functionalized as vinyl-based monomers for the formation of diblock copolymers via radical addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Upon complexation with plasmid DNA, the glucose-containing block creates a hydrophilic shell that promotes colloidal stability as effectively as PEG functionalization. An N-acetyl-d-galactosamine variant of this diblock polymer yields colloidally stable particles that show increased receptor-mediated uptake by liver hepatocytes in vitro and promotes liver targeting in mice. Finally, the disaccharide trehalose was incorporated into polycationic structures using both step-growth and RAFT techniques. It was shown that these trehalose-based copolymers imparted increased colloidal stability and yielded plasmid and siRNA polyplexes that resist aggregation upon lyophilization and reconstitution in water. The aforementioned series of glycopolymers use carbohydrates to promote effective and safe delivery of nucleic acid cargo into a variety of human cells types by promoting vehicle degradation, tissue-targeting, colloidal stabilization, and stability toward lyophilization to extend shelf life. Work is currently underway to translate the use of glycopolymers for safe and efficient delivery of nucleic acid cargo for gene therapy and gene editing applications.
Increased epithelial membrane protein 2 expression in glioblastoma after treatment with bevacizumab.

Author(s): Patel, Kunal S; Kejriwal, Sameer; Thammachantha, Samasuk; Duong, Courtney; Murillo, Adrian; Gordon, Lynn K; Cloughesy, Timothy F; Liau, Linda; Yong, William; Yang, Isaac; Wadehra, Madhuri | Abstract: BackgroundAntiangiogenic therapy with bevacizumab has failed to provide substantial gains in overall survival. Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) is a cell surface protein that has been previously shown to be expressed in glioblastoma, correlate with poor survival, and regulate neoangiogenesis in cell lines. Thus, the relationship between bevacizumab and EMP2 was investigated.MethodsTumor samples were obtained from 12 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma at 2 time points: (1) during the initial surgery and (2) during a subsequent surgery following disease recurrence post-bevacizumab treatment. Clinical characteristics and survival data from these patients were collected, and tumor samples were stained for EMP2 expression. The IVY Glioblastoma Atlas Project database was used to evaluate EMP2 expression levels in 270 samples by differing histological areas of the tumor.ResultsPatients with high EMP2 staining at initial diagnosis had decreased progression-free and overall survival after bevacizumab (median progression-free survival 4.6 months vs 5.9 months; log-rank P = .076 and overall survival 7.7 months vs 14.4 months; log-rank P = .011). There was increased EMP2 staining in samples obtained after bevacizumab treatment in both unpaired (mean H-score 2.31 vs 1.76; P = .006) and paired analyses (mean difference 0.571; P = .019). This expression increase correlated with length of bevacizumab therapy (R 2 n= 0.449; Pearson P = .024).ConclusionsBevacizumab treatment increased EMP2 protein expression. This increase in EMP2 correlated with reduced mean survival time post-bevacizumab therapy. We hypothesize a role of EMP2 in clinical bevacizumab resistance and as a potential antiangiogenic therapeutic target in glioblastoma.
A mosaic analysis system with Cre or Tomato expression in the mouse

Somatic mutations are major genetic contributors to cancers and many other age-related diseases. Many disease-causing somatic mutations can initiate clonal growth prior to the appearance of any disease symptoms, yet experimental models that can be used to examine clonal abnormalities are limited. We describe a mosaic analysis system with Cre or Tomato (MASCOT) for tracking mutant cells and demonstrate its utility for modeling clonal hematopoiesis. MASCOT can be induced to constitutively express either Cre-GFP or Tomato for lineage tracing of a mutant and a reference group of cells simultaneously. We conducted mosaic analysis to assess functions of the Id3 and/or Tet2 gene in hematopoietic cell development and clonal hematopoiesis. Using Tomato-positive cells as a reference population, we demonstrated the high sensitivity of this system for detecting cell-intrinsic phenotypes during short-term or long-term tracking of hematopoietic cells. Long-term tracking of Tet2 mutant or Tet2/Id3 double-mutant cells in our MASCOT model revealed a dynamic shift from myeloid expansion to lymphoid expansion and subsequent development of lymphoma. This work demonstrates the utility of the MASCOT method in mosaic analysis of single or combined mutations, making the system suitable for modeling somatic mutations identified in humans.
New Life for the Death Tax Debate

This article examines the ascendancy of wealth redistribution as the policy underpinning the federal estate tax through the lens of sociology and argues that, by attempting to ensure equal access to the American dream by penalizing only those who have fulfilled its promise, the federal estate tax places fundamental American values in irreconcilable conflict. The reason that the current system does not work, I argue, is rooted more in history and sociology than it is in economics. The solution is not necessarily the repeal of the federal estate tax. Nor is the solution replacing the estate tax with an inheritance tax, an accessions tax or taxing inheritances as income, as proposed by other commentators. The estate tax plays — or should play — an important role in ensuring vertical and horizontal equity in our federal tax system. Perhaps more importantly, it also has the potential to provide a safety net of revenue during times of exigency — such as that currently faced by our nation. In order to achieve these goals, however, we must first correctly recognize the fundamental problem with the current system. When the history of the tax is examined from a sociological and historical vantage point, the real problem is clear.
Discontinuous Galerkin Time Domain Method with Dispersive Modified Debye Model and its Application to the Analysis of Optical Frequency Selective Surfaces

We develop a discontinuous Galerkin time domain (DGTD) algorithm with an experimentally validated modified Debye model (MDM) to take metal dispersion into consideration. The MDM equation is coupled with Maxwell’s equations and solved together through the auxiliary differential equation (ADE) method. A Runge-Kutta time-stepping scheme is proposed to update the semi-discrete transformed Maxwell’s equations and ADEs with high order accuracy. Then we employ the proposed algorithm to analyze an infinite doubly periodic frequency selective surface (FSS) operating in the optical regime that exhibits transmission enhancement due to the surface plasmatic effect. The accuracy and the efficiency enhancements are validated through a comparison with commercial simulation software. This work represents the first integration of MDM with DGTD, which enables the DGTD algorithm to efficiently analyze metallic structures in the optical regime.
Predictive Factors of Perioperative Stroke-Related Mortality Following Vascular Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis.

Abstract Objective Vascular surgical procedures have one of the highest risks of perioperative stroke and stroke-related mortality, yet the independent risk factors contributing to this increased mortality have not been described. Perioperative strokes are thought to result from a combination of embolism and hypoperfusion mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to describe the independent predictors of perioperative stroke-related mortality in the vascular surgical population using the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) database which collects cause of death data. Methods This retrospective, case-control study evaluated 4,128 patients aged 18-99 who underwent a vascular, non-carotid surgical procedure and subsequently suffered perioperative mortality. Common surgical comorbidities and risk factors for perioperative stroke, including carotid stenosis and atrial fibrillation, were evaluated in multivariate regression analysis. Results Patients with carotid stenosis were 2.6 (aOR, 95% CI 1.4-4.5) times more likely to suffer perioperative mortality from stroke than from other causes. Additionally, in-hospital stroke, history of stroke, admission from a healthcare facility, and cancer were all positive predictive factors, whereas atrial fibrillation, emergency admission, hypertension, and diabetes were associated with decreased risk of perioperative stroke-related mortality. Conclusions Identification of vascular surgical population-specific predictors of stroke-related mortality can help to enhance preoperative risk-stratification tools and guide perioperative management of identified high-risk patients. Increased neurophysiologic monitoring in the perioperative period to prevent delays in diagnosis of perioperative stroke offers a strategy to reduce risk of perioperative stroke-related mortality in vascular surgical patients.
Community violence exposure is associated with hippocampus-insula resting state functional connectivity in urban youth.

Abstract Our previous work has linked childhood violence exposure in Black youth to functional changes in the hippocampus, a brain region sensitive to stress. However, different contexts of violence exposure (e.g., community, home, school) may have differential effects on circuitry. We investigated the unique effect of community violence in predicting resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the hippocampus. Fifty-two (26F) violence-exposed Black youth ages 8–15 performed resting-state functional neuroimaging scans while looking at a fixation cross for seven minutes with eyes open. Seed-based analyses were conducted to examine the association between total violence exposure and rsFC of the hippocampus to the whole brain. Follow-up hierarchical regression analysis were performed to specifically investigate community violence. Violence exposure was associated with higher hippocampus rsFC with a core node of the Default Mode Network (i.e., posterior cingulate cortex) and lower hippocampal rsFC with a core node of the Salience Network (i.e., insula). Community violence uniquely associated with lower hippocampus–insula rsFC, after controlling for home and school violence, sex and age. Age-related decreases in hippocampus–insula rsFC were also present in youth with lower violence exposure, but not in youth with higher violence exposure. This is one of the first studies to investigate the unique impact of community violence, above home and school violence, on threat circuitry. Our data suggest functional alterations in the hippocampus in violence-exposed youth, and that violence in the community may be a more salient form of threat exposure compared to other forms of violence experienced by youth.
Collection and storage of DVI samples with microFLOQ® Direct swabs for direct amplification.

Abstract The rapid identification of decomposing human remains is a crucial component of disaster victim identification (DVI), often occurring in remote areas without access to laboratory or storage facilities. Due to the ease of collection and amenability to storage in harsh conditions, swabs may be used to collect DNA from decomposing remains as an alternative to sampling tissue or bone. Direct amplification could further streamline the process and reduce costs. This study investigated the efficacy of direct amplification of DVI samples using microFLOQ® Direct swabs and the QIAGEN Investigator QS GO! Kit. A comparison of performance between direct amplification and traditional methods was made to assess whether direct amplification offered an improvement to traditional methods. DNA was collected by swabbing the muscle of a decomposing human cadaver using three swab types (ADS Genetics 4N6FLOQSwabs®, NADS Genetics 4N6FLOQSwabs®, and the microFLOQ® Direct swab). Traditional swabs (4N6FLOQSwabs®) were extracted and quantified, while a direct amplification strategy was used with the microFLOQ® Direct swabs coupled with the Investigator 24Plex GO! Kit. Processing of the microFLOQ® Direct swabs were optimized and a hybrid strategy that used 4N6FLOQSwabs® to collect and store DNA before swabbing or “subsampling” the 4N6FLOQSwabs® for processing with microFLOQ® Direct swabs was developed. This hybrid strategy allowed for rapid processing without the consumption of the original sample. Traditional and direct PCR methods were comparable up to day 10 of decomposition depending on the sample location and for up to 3 months of storage at room temperature. This research indicated that microFLOQ® Direct swabs in conjunction with the Investigator 24Plex GO! Kit can be used to facilitate rapid direct processing of DNA from decomposing human remains.
Scaling Laws for Neural Machine Translation

We present an empirical study of scaling properties of encoder-decoder Transformer models used in neural machine translation (NMT). We show that cross-entropy loss as a function of model size follows a certain scaling law. Specifically (i) We propose a formula which describes the scaling behavior of cross-entropy loss as a bivariate function of encoder and decoder size, and show that it gives accurate predictions under a variety of scaling approaches and languages; we show that the total number of parameters alone is not sufficient for such purposes. (ii) We observe different power law exponents when scaling the decoder vs scaling the encoder, and provide recommendations for optimal allocation of encoder/decoder capacity based on this observation. (iii) We also report that the scaling behavior of the model is acutely influenced by composition bias of the train/test sets, which we define as any deviation from naturally generated text (either via machine generated or human translated text). We observe that natural text on the target side enjoys scaling, which manifests as successful reduction of the cross-entropy loss. (iv) Finally, we investigate the relationship between the cross-entropy loss and the quality of the generated translations. We find two different behaviors, depending on the nature of the test data. For test sets which were originally translated from target language to source language, both loss and BLEU score improve as model size increases. In contrast, for test sets originally translated from source language to target language, the loss improves, but the BLEU score stops improving after a certain threshold. We release generated text from all models used in this study.
Chronic Wasting Disease: An Ignored Epidemic

This Note focuses on why both federal and state governments should outlaw or ban “deer farms” or game ranching of cervids in the United States due to CWD. Part I describes CWD and those who it affects. Part II discusses what causes the spread of CWD among cervids. Part III assesses why the spread of CWD is significant, and why it needs to be curtailed. Part IV examines the current legal framework surrounding CWD. Finally, Part V analyzes what the federal and state legal framework should be surrounding CWD, specifically arguing that game ranching and cervid farming should be banned in the U.S.
Bearingless Generator Design and Optimization for High-Speed Applications

High-speed generators are gaining popularity due to their compact design, high power density, and high efficiency. However, the lifetime and reliability of these generators are often restricted by mechanical bearings. Bearingless generators could offer an alternate solution where the rotor is levitated using suspension forces created by magnetic fields within the electric machine. By eliminating mechanical wear, bearingless machines can operate reliably at high speeds, potentially increasing the power density of the generator. The objective of this paper is to investigate the design of bearingless generators for high-speed applications. The paper reviews the current state of research on high-speed generators, including design requirements and considerations, and uses these findings to propose a bearingless generator system topology. An optimization framework is established to explore the design space for a rated power of 50 kW at the rated speed of 25 krpm and 100 krpm. Compelling designs are found to have high efficiency ($\gt 97$%), high power factor ($\gt$ 0.9), and low back-emf total harmonic distortion (THD) ($\lt 5$%) while simultaneously levitating the rotor. This investigation finds that bearingless machines have the potential to be a high-performance solution for high-speed generator applications.
Analysis Of A Freeway Bus Transit System

As a partial attempt to relieve the urban traffic congestion, a limited freeway bus transit system has been operating In the Milwaukee metropolitan area. A study of this operation indicates: (1) The system can be initiated at extremely low cost and operated at a profit; (2) the present system has been growing rapidly in popularity and passenger usage; (3) the selection of external terminal points may be made on the basis of the housing densities, parking requirements, and geographical locations; (4) passenger pick-up loops through the external residential areas are helpful in selling the system to prospective users; (5) a quick and yet thorough distribution loop through the CBD with no need of further transferring satisfies the passengers' needs, and (6) there are several personal characteristics of the passengers that may be used in determining the required service level for the operation.
ServiceTrak Meets NLOG/NMAP

Network port scanning tools can be helpful in mapping services and exposures, but in large environments you often get more information than you can handle. This paper describes a project to take the output from NMAP/NLOG and merge it with the existing enterprise host management system. This makes it simple for service or platform specific administrators to study the machines in their purview. [Note 1]
High Order Filters for Estimation in Non-Gaussian Noise

In this paper high order vector filter equations are developed for estimation in non-Gaussian noise. The difference between the filters developed here and the standard Kalman filter is that the filter equation contains nonlinear functions of the innovations process. These filters are general in that the initial state covariance, the measurement noise covariance, and the process noise covariance can all have non-Gaussian distributions. Two filter structures are developed. The first filter is designed for systems with asymmetric probability densities. The second is designed for systems with symmetric probability densities. Experimental evaluation of these filters for estimation in non-Gaussian noise, formed from Gaussian sum distributions, shows that these filters perform much better than the standard Kalman filter, and close to the optimal Bayesian estimator.
Questions as Interventions: Perceptions of Socratic, Solution Focused, and Diagnostic Questioning Styles

A videotaped psychotherapy analogue compared psychology trainees' (n = 67) and undergraduate non-therapists' (n = 115) perceptions of three theoretically derived questioning styles: Socratic disputation in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), solution focused questioning (e.g. the “miracle question”), and diagnostic interviewing. Non-therapists rated REBT and diagnostic styles more highly than psychology trainees. All subjects rated solution focused questioning more highly than both other styles, perceiving it as more collaborative and conducive to the client's independent thinking. The constructs of collaborative empiricism and solution focused “cooperation” are discussed in relation to findings. The study also compared psychology trainees' and non-therapists' Big Five personality profiles, a topic which has not previously been addressed in the literature. Psychology trainees were higher in Big Five Openness and Agreeableness than non-therapists. Openness was negatively associated with ratings for solution focused and diagnostic questioning styles, replicating findings of previous analogue studies, in which undergraduate subjects preferred straightforward approaches to therapy.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

Published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard classification of mental disorders in the United States. Often called the “bible of mental illness,” the DSM provides criteria for making psychiatric diagnoses and, in turn, a common language with which to discuss mental disorders. The most recent edition is DSM-5, which was released in May 2013. Keywords: disease; health professions; medicalization; mental health; sociology of mental health
Neuronal Glutamate Transporters Limit Activation of NMDA Receptors by Neurotransmitter Spillover on CA1 Pyramidal Cells

Glutamate released at synapses in the CA1 region of the hippocampus escapes the synaptic cleft and activates extrasynaptic targets; it also may “spill over” into neighboring synapses and activate receptors there. Glutamate transporters in glial membranes restrict extrasynaptic diffusion, but it is unclear whether neuronal glutamate transporters also limit transmitter diffusion and receptor activation by spillover. I examined the effects of a low-affinity competitive NMDA receptor antagonist on EPSCs in acute hippocampal slices to distinguish receptors activated within active synapses from those activated by spillover. Glutamate spillover is observed between Schaffer collateral fiber synapses onto CA1 pyramidal cells only when transporters in the postsynaptic neuron are inhibited. Because glutamate transporters operate most effectively at negative membrane potentials, these results suggest that activation of NMDA receptors by spillover may depend on postsynaptic activity.
Titanium Dioxide Volatility in High Temperature Water Vapor

Titanium (Ti) containing materials are of high interest to the aerospace industry due to its high temperature capability, strength, and light weight. As with most metals an exterior oxide layer naturally exists in environments that contain oxygen (i.e. air). At high temperatures, water vapor plays a key role in the volatility of materials including oxide surfaces. This study will evaluate cold pressed titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder pellets at a temperature range of 1400 C - 1200 C in water containing environments to determine the volatile hydroxyl species using the transpiration method. The water content ranged from 0-76 mole% and the oxygen content range was 0-100 mole % during the 20-250 hour exposure times. Preliminary results indicate that oxygen is not a key contributor at these temperatures and the following reaction is the primary volatile equation for all three temperatures: TiO2 (s) + H2O (g) = TiO(OH)2 (g).
Tension–Tension Fatigue Behavior of NextelTM720/Alumina under Combustion Environment

Fatigue behavior of Nextel720™/alumina was investigated under combustion environment, which was then compared with that in laboratory environment. Fatigue strength for 90,000 cycles was equal to 150 MPa under combustion condition, while 170 MPa in laboratory environment. However, normalized fatigue strength (ratio of fatigue strength and ultimate tensile strength) was equal in combustion and laboratory environments. The difference in fatigue strength was due to thermal stresses from impingement of combustion flame on one side of specimen. Fractographic analysis showed that combustion had little effect on fiber/matrix bonding in only flame impingement region. Combustion environment was not thus damaging to Nextel720™/alumina.
Reactions of Hf-Ag and Zr-Ag alloys with Al2O3 at elevated temperatures

We are studying reactions of Ti, V, Zr, and Hf with ceramics as part of a program to understand fundamental reaction and bonding mechanisms in active metal brazing of ceramics. In this paper we present results of experiments with model systems comprising Ag alloys that contain different amounts of Hf or Zr that were reacted with sapphire or 99.6% alumina for different times and temperatures in a controlled atmosphere furnace. In these alloys the Ag functions as an inert solvent, which allowed us systematically to determine the effects of changes in concentration of the active element. We observed qualitative wetting and spreading tendencies of the alloys during heating and examined cross sections after cooling using electron analytical techniques. For all reaction times studied, the Hf/Ag alloys formed a discontinuous reaction layer, which was consistent with earlier high-resolution electron microscopy that showed sub-micrometer HfO2 particles embedded in the surfaces of the Al2O3 grains. By contrast, initial reaction of the Zr/Ag alloys with Al2O3 produced a continuous interface layer. With longer reaction times, the ZrO2 reaction product became much thicker and exhibited three distinct zones at the interface. The results suggest that the rate limiting step in the Zr/Ag reaction is the chemical reaction at the interface, whereas with Hf/Ag reaction diffusion of products away from the interface is rate limiting.
Gravitational radiation from first-order phase transitions in the presence of a fluid

First-order phase transitions are a source of stochastic gravitational radiation. Precision calculations of the gravitational waves emitted during these processes sourced by both the degrees of freedom undergoing the transition and the anisotropic stress of the ambient constituents have reached an age of maturity. Here we present numerical simulations of a scalar field coupled to a fluid for a set of models that represent different types of first-order phase transitions. We parametrize the final gravitational wave spectrum as a function of the ratio of the energies of the constituents and the coupling between the two sectors. In most of the cases we study, the field sector is the dominant source of gravitational radiation, but it is possible in certain scenarios for the fluid to have the most important contribution.
Management of cardiac myxoma during pregnancy: A case series and review of the literature

Cardiac myxomas are the most common primary benign tumors of the heart. The reported incidence during pregnancy is extremely low with only 17 reported cases in the medical literature. Standard therapy involves surgical resection given the potential for embolization. In the pregnant patient, however, the risks of embolization must be balanced against the risk of cardiopulmonary bypass to the mother and the fetus. We present two cases of cardiac myxoma diagnosed during pregnancy and review the presentation and management strategies of previously reported cases. In conclusion, successful surgical resection of the myxomas during pregnancy was performed in both of our cases. Given the rarity of cases, individual multidisciplinary assessment and management strategies are essential.
Irrigation uniformity as related to optimum crop production — additional research is needed

The fact that uniformity of infiltrated water has significant effects on crop yield and optimum water application has been well documented. However procedures for obtaining quantitative data on infiltrated water uniformity on a field scale which can appropriately be combined with crop-water production functions to quantify and establish optimum irrigation management have not been adequately developed and verified and justify further research. Matching the scale of measurement to root zone scale is conceptually important but has not been properly verified. Data on infiltration rates measured in the field which have been reported in the literature were combined with crop water production functions to illustrate that the effects of uniformity on yields can be large.
Lattice Boltzmann algorithms for plasma physics

Lattice Boltzmann (LB) algorithms are a mesoscopic approach to the solution of nonlinear macroscopic physics, which can be ideally parallelized on supercomputers to the full number of cores available. This is in contrast to the standard direct solution of the nonlinear physics by computational fluid dynamics codes. In its original formulation, LB algorithm consisted of a split operator method: collision relaxation at a spatial node, followed by appropriate streaming of the post-collision distribution to neighboring lattice sites. To reduce memory constraints, a minimal number of lattice streaming vectors are permitted so that one recovers the given nonlinear physics equations in the Chapman-Enskog limit. As in kinetic theory, the macroscopic transport coefficients are determined by the collisional relaxation time in the LB equation. The algorithm is explicit and typically is second-order accurate. However, the simple LB algorithm is prone to numerical instabilities for high Reynolds number flows. In this ...
Technological interdependence, labor production functions, and control systems

Abstract This study uses Thompson's Organizations in Action (New York: McGraw Hill, 1967) definition of internal interdependence in order to examine the potential link between technology and control. The internal interdependence of a firm implies a functional form of the group labor production function. The labor production function in turn defines the individuals that can affect group performance. This study hypothesizes that the control system should focus on these individuals. As an example of the interdependence-control link, implications for budget-based incentive contracts are analyzed.
Reaction to background stimulation of preschool children who do and do not stutter.

Abstract This study investigated the maintenance of attention and adaptation to background stimuli of preschool children who do (CWS) and do not stutter (CWNS). Participants were 13 monolingual, Standard American English speaking, 3–5-year-old CWS and 14 CWNS. Results indicated that CWS were significantly more apt than CWNS to attend to or look at changes in background stimuli, although there were no significant differences between groups in duration and latency of these looks. Findings suggest that preschool CWS are more reactive to, distracted by, and slower to adapt and habituate to environmental stimuli than their CWNS counterparts. Learning outcomes The reader should be able to: (1) recognize the temperamental differences between CWS and CWNS, (2) define attention reactivity and regulation, (3) explain how attention reactivity and regulation are associated with preschool stuttering, and (4) understand recent empirical evidence relating reactivity and regulation to preschool stuttering.
What America does right: Learning from companies that put people first

Abstract Reviews of current books discussing subjects on the horizon of business activities, particularly those on controversial issues being encountered by both practitioners and teachers, will be considered for publication. Manuscript guidelines are available upon request.