cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Serum uric acid and risk of multiple sclerosis

Because of evidence implicating oxidative stress in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis, it has been postulated that high levels of urate, a potent antioxidant, could reduce risk or favorably influence disease progression. We conducted a prospective study to determine whether serum urate levels contribute to prediction of multiple sclerosis risk. Analyses included 31 cases with blood collected a median of 1.9 years before multiple sclerosis onset from the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study II cohorts, and 42 cases with collection a median of 14.5 years before onset from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health plan cohort. Relative risks were estimated by unconditional logistic regression, including 26 controls in the Nurses’ cohorts and 130 controls in the Kaiser cohort. In analyses including only cases in the Nurses’ cohorts where blood was collected shortly before onset, there was a trend toward a lower risk of multiple sclerosis among individuals with higher serum urate, but the association was not significant (multivariable relative risk 0.52, 95% CI 0.22, 1.20, p value 0.13). In contrast, there was no evidence of a decline in risk with increasing serum urate in the Kaiser cohort where there was a longer period of time between blood collection and onset (multivariable relative risk 1.36, 95% CI 0.87, 2.14, p value 0.18). The results of this study suggest that serum urate is not a strong predictor of MS risk. This lack of association is consistent with the interpretation that the lower urate levels among multiple sclerosis cases are a consequence rather than a cause of the disease.
Thermal effects in packaging high power light emitting diode arrays

The package and system level temperature distributions of a high power (>1 W) light emitting diode (LED) array have been investigated using numerical heat flow models. For this analysis, a thermal resistor network model was combined with a 3D finite element submodel of an LED structure to predict system and die level temperatures. The impact of LED array density, LED power density, and active versus passive cooling methods on device operation were calculated. In order to help understand the role of various thermal resistances in cooling such compact arrays, the thermal resistance network was analyzed in order to estimate the contributions from materials as well as active and passive cooling schemes. Finally, an analysis of a ceramic packaging architecture is performed in order to give insight into methods to reduce the packaging resistance for high power LEDs.
Commentary on Early Identification and Interventions for Students With Mathematical Difficulties Make Sense—Do the Math

Gersten, Jordan, and Flojo (in this issue) have written an elegant summary of the research on early identification and interventions for students with mathematical difficulties. The general constructs of arithmetic combinations, counting strategies, and number sense encapsulate elemental components of early math learning and suggest approaches to remediation. Recent changes in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act may enhance opportunities for researchers, practitioners, and young learners to benefit from this knowledge.
Primary liver cancer: Pattern of metastasis

The causes of death and patterns of metastasis of 43 patients with primary liver cancer were studied and discussed in comparison with reports in the literature. Data from 6 recent reports of 1,673 patients showed that the 3 leading causes of death from hepatoma were liver failure (34%), bleeding (30%), and advanced cancer (24%). Distribution of sites of metastasis in 1,497 patients with hepatoma from 7 reports showed that the 3 leading sites were: lung (median 44%), portal vein (35%), and portal lymph node(s) (27%). The pattern of metastasis of hepatoma arising from cirrhotic liver is somewhat different from that of the noncirrhotic liver; the former are more likely to involve the portal vein, whereas the latter involves more regional lymph node(s). Compared to hepatoma, cholangiocarcinoma is less likely to metastasize to the lung or portal vein, but more likely to involve lymph node(s), peritoneum, and bone and/or marrow.
Zum Einfluss der Elektrolytströmung an der tropfenden Quecksilberelektrode

An der tropfenden Quecksilberelektrode wird durch eine besondere Messanordnung der Einfluss der erzwungenen Elektrolytstromung untersucht. Es zeigt sich eine sehr starke Abhangigkeit der Grenzstromdichte von der Stromungs- und damit von der Durchfluss-Geschwindigkeit. Mit dieser Anordnung lassen sich Konzentrationen bis 10−7 molar noch gut mit einem gewohnlichen Gleichstrompolarographen festhalten.
Advanced technologies for the molecular diagnosis of fragile X syndrome

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a trinucleotide repeat disorder, is the most common heritable form of cognitive impairment. Since the discovery of the FMR1 gene in 1991, great strides have been made in the field of molecular diagnosis for FXS. Cytogenetic analysis, which was the method of diagnosis in the early 1990, was replaced by Southern blot and PCR analysis albeit with some limitations. In the past few years many PCR-based methodologies, able to amplify large full mutation expanded alleles, with or without methylation, have been proposed. Reviewed here are the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of the most recent developments in the field of FXS diagnosis.
Beyond barriers: fundamental ‘disconnects’ underlying the treatment of breast cancer patients' sexual health

Sexual health concerns represent one of the most frequently experienced and longest-lasting effects of breast cancer treatment, but research suggests that service providers rarely discuss sexual health with their patients. Existing research examining barriers to addressing patients' sexual health concerns has focused on discrete characteristics of the provider-patient interaction without considering the broader context in which these interactions occur. Drawing on the experiences of 21 breast cancer survivors, this paper explores three ways in which fundamental cultural and structural characteristics of the cancer care system in the USA may prevent breast cancer survivors from addressing their sexual health concerns, including: (1) when patients discussed sexual health with their providers, their providers approached sexuality as primarily physical, while participants experienced complex, multidimensional sexual health concerns; (2) specialisation within cancer care services made it difficult for patients...
Green Vehicle Routing for Small Motor Carriers

This article proposes a simple vehicle-routing technique that can help motor carriers reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emission. This technique is designed specifically for small motor carriers, which, unlike large carriers, may not benefit from modern vehicle-routing techniques because of the lack of technical capabilities to implement such methods or financial power to buy expensive vehicle-routing software products. Since the majority of motor carriers are small in many places (especially in the United States and Europe), it is important that we help this particular segment of the trucking industry (small carriers) reduce their environmental impacts if we wish to minimize the overall impacts of the industry. Computational testing shows that our method not only cuts fuel consumption and pollutant emission, but also reduces road damage.
Localization of TFIIB binding regions using serial analysis of chromatin occupancy

Background: RNA Polymerase II (RNAP II) is recruited to core promoters by the pre-initiation complex (PIC) of general transcription factors. Within the PIC, transcription factor for RNA polymerase IIB (TFIIB) determines the start site of transcription. TFIIB binding has not been localized, genome-wide, in metazoans. Serial analysis of chromatin occupancy (SACO) is an unbiased methodology used to empirically identify transcription factor binding regions. In this report, we use TFIIB and SACO to localize TFIIB binding regions across the rat genome.
The limits of religious coercion in mid-colonial Peru

Faire entrer toutes les nations dans la chretiente a pose probleme a de nombreux membres du clerge et des ordres religieux engages dans l'evangelisation de l'Amerique espagnole aux XVI e et XVII e siecles. Bien que la coercition fut autorisee, les conditions imposaient sa limitation parce que les indiens etaient consideres comme de nouveaux convertis a la capacite intellectuelle reduite, vulnerables aux appels du demon et sujets de la couronne espagnole. Dans une premiere partie, l'A. analyse les effets de l'evangelisation sur la religion peruvienne au XVII e siecle. La seconde partie s'attache aux formes d'idolâtrie reprimees par les espagnols
Photovoltaics of ordered CdTe/CdS nanoarrays

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a good absorber layer for solar cells with a predicted efficiency of 29% however the highest reported efficiency is only ≪17% due to various loss mechanisms. One particular loss is attributed to non-uniformity in grain shape and size by Karpov. Simulation of Karpov's model yields counter-intuitive insight that highlights how empirical data can lead researchers to wrong conclusions. A method to grow ordered arrays of ZnTe/CdTe heterostructures is presented. The method has potential for probing the electronic characteristics of individual photodiodes at the granular level.
Grandparenting Roles and Volunteer Activity

Objectives. W e examine whether grandparenting roles are related to formal volunteering among older adults. Method. Logistic re gression is used to examine the likelihood of volunteering based on grandchild care using data from the 2004 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (n = 13,785). Longitudinal analyses utilize treatment effects models to examine changes in volunteering for grandparents who begin nonresidential grandchild care between the 2004 and 2008 waves (n = 10,811). Results. Results sho w that grandparents raising coresidential grandchildren have lower odds of volunteering than grandparents providing no regular grandchild care. However, grandparents who provide nonresidential grandchild care are more likely to volunteer than grandparents not providing grandchild care and those raising a coresidential grandchild. Grandparents who provide nonresidential care for grandchildren engage in more volunteering before assuming grandchild care, and their volunteerism increases after becoming a caregiver for a grandchild. Discussion. Consistent with resource theory and the accumulation of roles, pro viding nonresidential grandchild care may draw grandparents into formal volunteer activity. The lower human capital resources evidenced by grandparents raising coresidential grandchildren may play a role in their lower likelihood of formal volunteering.
Modeling and simulation of advanced read channels

As the density in digital magnetic recording is increased, various linear as well as nonlinear signal distortions affect the performance of detection algorithms. These include transition noise and electronics noise. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performances of several detection techniques at different linear densities, noise environments, and channel mismatch conditions using Monte Carlo simulation. The algorithms considered are the conventional peak detection, various maximum likelihood sequence detection methods and decision feedback type techniques. >
Multiscale Phenomena in the Tropical Atmosphere over the Western Pacific

The paper examines multiscale variabilities in the atmosphere over the tropical western Pacific during the 1979 Northern Hemisphere winter in order to identify possible interactions between phenomena of different spatial and temporal scales. Based on the convection-index information derived from satellite measurements, two intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs), accompanied by both rotational and divergent circulations, propagate eastward from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific. Over the warm pool in the western Pacific, the ISOs develop into quasi-stationary systems with an enhanced rotational circulation characterized by a strong westerly jet in the lower troposphere and western Pacific region.
Indefinitely sustained consumption despite exhaustible natural resources

This paper analyzes the feasibility of sustaining uniformly positive consumption forever — even when flows of exhaustible resources are an indispensable input. The main result is a characterization of an economy's capability for sustaining such consumption — under quite general maintained assumptions on technology — in terms of a single, simple capital-resource substitution condition.
The Jantzen Method of Short-Range Forecasting

THE ratio-estimate method of forecasting is one whereby the ratio of two samples representing past events is used for predicting the total of such events in the future. For many years the Association of American Railroads has used a form of ratio estimation in preparing forecasts of freight shipments.' A suggested application is the calculation of estimated annual sales for all dealers in a certain classification.2 An example of the latter is Jantzen's method of short-range forecasting, to be discussed in the present article. The products for which the forecasts are made consist of a number of lines of seasonal, fashion sportswear for men, women, and children. Distribution is international, with Portland, Oregon, as the headquarters for the United States and those foreign countries not served by the company's foreign branches and licensees. Sales are direct to retailers, with thousands of accounts located throughout the United States. The Method
Syntax-phonology mapping and the Tongan DP

Tongan, a Polynesian language, is almost entirely head-initial. There are some exceptions to this, including Demonstrative enclitics and the so-called Definitive Accent (Churchward 1953), which appears to be a stress-shift operation, typically in the rightmost word of the DP. One question that arises here is: where does the morphophonological status of being an enclitic come from – particularly in a rather radically head-initial language? By investigating the distributional properties of the Definitive Accent, it will become clear that this is the result of syntactic and phonological structures proceeding without any direct appeal to morphophonological properties. A new formal analysis presented here derives the positions of the Definitive Accent and possible prosodic phrasings, appealing to independently motivated phonological constraints applying to structures with three cross-linguistically supported movement operations. It is shown that achieving this requires neither including morpheme-indexed constraints, nor having lexemes pre-specified with morphophonological properties such as “enclitic” or “prefix”. Finally, Tongan Definitive Accents raise important issues about the immutability of phases. Specifically, it must be that Phonology may access and manipulate previously spelled out material in a way that Syntax cannot, which is in fact exactly what a Minimalist architecture predicts.
Chapter 8 – FTIR and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Operating Fuel Cells

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and the x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of operating fuel cells. Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are an attractive option for portable, automotive and stationary power. PEFC can afford high power densities because of the robustness of the thin polymer membranes. For high power applications compressed hydrogen is preferred, whereas for portable applications methanol is preferred. The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is a polymer electrolyte membrane. It is the core of PEFC. Gas diffusion layers (GDLs) are high void volume hydrophobized carbon paper that can facilitate the transport of reactant gases and water vapor to the catalytic layers. The GDLs also conduct electrons between the catalytic layers and bipolar plates. The catalytic layers are active components. They are an extremely complex matrix of carbon supported on metal black catalysts. The methods for obtaining specular reflectance FTIR (25, 50 and 90oC) of gas fed direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are also described in the chapter.
Laser pushing or pulling of absorbing airborne particles

A single absorbing particle formed by carbon nanotubes in the size range of 10–50 μm is trapped in air by a laser trapping beam and concurrently illuminated by another laser manipulating beam. When the trapping beam is terminated, the movement of the particle controlled by the manipulating beam is investigated. We report our observations of light-controlled pushing and pulling motions. We show that the movement direction has little relationship with the particle size and manipulating beam's parameters but is dominated by the particle's orientation and morphology. With this observation, the controllable optical manipulation is now able to be generalized to arbitrary particles, including irregularly shaped absorbing particles that are shown in this work.
Buffering capacity of vertebrate muscle: Correlations with potentials for anaerobic function

Buffering capacities (β), measured in slykes (μmoles of base required to titrate the pH of one gram wet weight of muscle by one pH unit, over the pH range of pH 6 to pH 7) due to non-bicarbonate buffers were measured in locomotory muscles from a variety of terrestrial and marine mammals and teleost fishes (Tables 1 and 2). The highest buffering capacities were found in muscles capable of either intense, burst glycolytic function or prolonged, low-level anaerobic function. Marine mammals had higher muscle buffering capacity on the average than terrestrial mammals. Among the fishes studied, warm-bodied species had the greatest β values of all animals examined (Table 2). Deep-sea fishes and shallow-living fishes with sluggish locomotory abilities had low β values. Fish white muscle displayed higher buffering capacity than red muscle (Fig. 1; Table 2), in keeping with the more aerobic poise and higher capillary density of the latter type of muscle. Strong correlations were found between (1) β and muscle myoglobin concentrations in the mammalian species (Table 1; Fig. 2), and (2) β and muscle lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities in both the mammals and the fishes (Tables 1 and 2; Fig. 3). No correlation was found between β and the activity of a citric acid cycle indicator enzyme, citrate synthase, in the mammalian species. While strongly correlated with buffering capacity, the amounts of myoglobin and LDH in a muscle are not the principal determinants of β. The results indicate that muscle intracellular buffering capacity is especially critical in locomotory muscles which must function under conditions (burst locomotion and prolonged, low-level anaerobic function) where circulatory perfusion is inadequate to rapidly remove the acidic end-products such as lactic acid that are produced by anaerobic glycolysis. In this respect, the locomotory muscle of diving mammals and the white skeletal muscles of teleost fishes face a common acid-base regulatory problem and utilize a common biochemical strategy to resolve it.
Approximate Solution Methods for One-Dimensional Media

Because of their importance and their relative simplicity, the cases of gray (or spectral), planeparallel, or other one-dimensional media bounded by isothermal, gray, diffusely emitting and reflecting walls have been studied extensively. Even for the simplest case the exact solution can only be cast implicitly in the form of an integral equation, thus prompting the development of numerous approximate solution techniques. These approximate methods may roughly be classified into those applicable for limiting conditions (cold medium approximation, optically thin approximation, optically thick approximation) and those making approximations for the directional distribution of intensity (two-flux approximation, moment method). In the following we shall discuss a few of these methods as applied to the one-dimensional case of a medium contained between isothermal gray surfaces. In principle, all of these methods could also be applied to more complicated geometries, although such an extension is not obvious for all of them (and may, indeed, be very tedious). We shall assume that the medium is gray and, therefore, not carry along any spectral subscripts on intensity and other quantities; however, all of the methods discussed here are equally valid on a spectral basis.
Epilogue Marxist and Leninist Revolutionary Theory Compared

The philosophical dialectic holds that the truth of something comes-to-be through its self-negation as an instrumental condition leading to the negation of its self-negation in realizing its higher or ultimate truth. For both Marx and Lenin the Hegelian dialectic was the philosophical basis for the development of stages of historical consciousness. However, for Marx, more than for Lenin, the Hegelian dialectic was tied directly to historical materialism in the development of the forces of production as the foundation of historical consciousness.
Oral Cancer: Location, Staging, Surgical Management, and Outcomes

Although substantial advances in adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancers of the oral cavity and neck have been made in recent years, surgery will be the preeminent approach for the treatment of the 46,000 new US patients in 2015 (Cancer Facts and Figure 2015). Squamous cell carcinoma is the predominate form of cancer that occurs in the head and neck (HNSCC) and is classified by location; it can occur in the oral cavity (mouth), nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx (upper section of the throat), oropharynx (midsection of the throat), hypopharynx (lower part of the throat), and larynx (voice box). Despite the large number of new cases of HNSCC every year, the National Cancer Institute spent only ~$7 million of its nearly $3 billion FY2013 budget (0.002 %) on laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer research (http://fundedresearch.cancer.gov). Esophageal cancers (between the pharynx and the stomach), which are considered a digestive disease are also predominately SCCs, will register as additional 17,000 US patients this year. As nonsurgical approaches to treating HNSCC lag egregiously behind the progress realized in many other cancers, and funding for research is negligible, nearly all 46,000 new patients will face surgical intervention and the associate comorbidities. This chapter will focus specifically on the diagnosis, staging, surgical treatment, and expected outcomes of patient with oral cavity and neck cancers.
Chapter 15 – The domain

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on some concepts and distinctions that are useful in considering the issue of communicability from the perspective of domain knowledge. The various types of articulation discussed in the chapter reflect two forces. One—illustrated by the notion of configuration—is linguistic or epistemological. From this perspective, articulation creates epistemic objects to describe phenomena; it strives for increased descriptive power and enriches the vocabulary with new distinctions that capture useful patterns. The other force—illustrated by the notion of justification—is mechanistic. From this perspective, articulation reduces phenomena to mechanisms involving lower-level invariants and to logical implications; it retracts assumptions to account for the world in terms of structure, goals, and constraints, and it strives for robustness and for simplicity of principles. An epistemic study of domain expertise puts the emphasis on the functionality of the constituents of various aspects of this expertise but defers overly specific representational commitments to concentrate on the role of a model in a communication environment. The goal of having an implemented process model of expertise is an interesting constraint for the definition of the subject matter.
Global sensitivity analysis of the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model: Ozone and hydrogen oxides during ARCTAS (2008)

Abstract. Developing predictive capability for future atmospheric oxidation capacity requires a detailed analysis of model uncertainties and sensitivity of the modeled oxidation capacity to model input variables. Using oxidant mixing ratios modeled by the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and measured on the NASA DC-8 aircraft, uncertainty and global sensitivity analyses were performed on the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model for the modeled oxidants hydroxyl (OH), hydroperoxyl (HO2), and ozone (O3). The sensitivity of modeled OH, HO2, and ozone to model inputs perturbed simultaneously within their respective uncertainties were found for the flight tracks of NASA's Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) A and B campaigns (2008) in the North American Arctic. For the spring deployment (ARCTAS-A), ozone was most sensitive to the photolysis rate of NO2, the NO2 + OH reaction rate, and various emissions, including methyl bromoform (CHBr3). OH and HO2 were overwhelmingly sensitive to aerosol particle uptake of HO2 with this one factor contributing upwards of 75 % of the uncertainty in HO2. For the summer deployment (ARCTAS-B), ozone was most sensitive to emission factors, such as soil NOx and isoprene. OH and HO2 were most sensitive to biomass emissions and aerosol particle uptake of HO2. With modeled HO2 showing a factor of 2 underestimation compared to measurements in the lowest 2 km of the troposphere, lower uptake rates (γHO2
Semantically Enhanced Virtual Learning Environments Using Sunflower

Teaching procedural skills is relevant for a broad range of applications, from IT administration to automotive repair to medical diagnostics. Virtual learning environments reduce the cost, time, and risk, and increase the availability of such training. We introduce ontologies and rules to characterize the objects in the learning environment, and the actions that the user can perform on them. These semantic models are used as the basis for automated reasoning about a student’s actions and their effects, and guide automated assessment and feedback to the student. We describe our system and models in the context of weapon skills such as disassembling and assembling a rifle.
A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Police Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) on Response-to-Resistance in a Large Metropolitan Police Department

ABSTRACTThe current study provides a statistically rigorous program evaluation of the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police response-to-resistance (e.g., use of force). Results indicate that BWC officers’ mean frequency of response-to-resistance decreased by 8.4% from the 12 months pre-BWC implementation to the 12 months post-BWC implementation compared with a 3.4% increase observed for the matched sample of non-BWC officers. Police departments should consider adopting BWCs alongside other strategies to reduce police response-to-resistance, and to improve transparency and accountability. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.
Mesolimbic Dopamine Signaling in Cocaine Addiction

The mesolimbic dopamine system is a critical mediator of reward-related learning and behavior, and is strongly implicated in cocaine addiction. Cocaine acutely stimulates dopamine signaling primarily by inhibiting the dopamine transporter, which is responsible for rapidly clearing recently released dopamine from the synaptic space. Depending on how cocaine is administered, along with the withdrawal period, repeated exposure can induce persistent alterations in mesolimbic dopamine system function by either augmenting or diminishing dopamine signaling. There is a large and growing body of research indicating that cocaine’s immediate and long-lasting effects on the mesolimbic dopamine system, such as neurochemical sensitization and tolerance, contribute to the development of pathological drug-taking and -seeking behaviors. This chapter provides a concise overview of several lines of research on this topic, and considers recent studies that link cocaine-related alterations in mesolimbic dopamine signaling to the escalation of cocaine intake and cue-motivated behavior.
Her Ladyship and the Postal Princes

This portrayal was obtained from observing "Her Ladyship" as a street person, as well as through a newspaper article, her social workers, and a relative of a postal worker. This tale has been repeatedly used, in a graduate public administration course on administrative behavior, to provide a basis for discussion about the roles and responsibilities of public administrators. A resulting major question that it raised is the balance between providing for the needs of an individual and those of society as a whole. That is, do we want those in the public service to be compassionate and respond to the special needs of individuals, or do we want them to be value neutral and follow the usually impersonal rules and regulations.
Care Talk Within Transnational Families: “I Hold Myself so I Don’t Cry”

This chapter looks closely at the communication surrounding the exchanges of care within both local and transnational families, including how members re-organized and interacted around health issues and medical problems. The focus is mainly on the care talk that both left-behind and local families engaged in when struggling to cope with health and medical problems and how their identities and relationships formed around these conversations. The families communicated about a type of care that was characterized by protecting the person experiencing a crisis, providing material goods, and then, checking on the effects of the support given. The tensions that the participants experienced in making emotional and ethical decisions are highlighted.
User Perceptions of Haptic Fidgets on Mobile Devices for Attention and Task Performance

Fidgeting, while primarily recognized as a distinguishing characteristic of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism or ADHD, has also recently been recognized as a potential focus and attention aid for learning in traditional classroom environments. Everyone fidgets to greater or lesser extents, perhaps everyone can benefit from fidgeting aids to refocus attention. The recent explosion in popularity of fidgeting aids, such as fidget spinners, fidget cubes, and other toys highlights the broad appeal of these objects. Human-Computer Interaction researchers have taken an interest in the contributions of fidgeting to productivity. While these works connect the concepts of visual and motor stimulus as meaningful fidgets, little investigation has been done as to the potential contributions of haptic stimulus in digital fidgets. We designed and tested haptic mobile fidgets and compared their effects on task performance and user preference against the traditional spinner and no fidget apparatus.
The End of the World As We Might Know It

Cet article propose un commentaire de deux ouvrages consacres aux croyances millenaristes apocalyptiques Apocalypse Pretty Soon : Travels in End-Time America d'Alex Heard et Apocalypses: Prophesies, Cults, and Millenial Beliefs Through the Ages d'Eugen Weber. Tandis que le premier ouvrage se presente sous la forme d'un reportage de terrain sur les groupes millenaristes americains, le second retrace un historique des visions et des croyances apocalyptiques a travers les âges. L'A. examine differentes formes sous-lesquelles le theme de la fin du monde est decline dans certaines interpretations des textes bibliques comme dans certaines croyances formulees en termes de science-fiction
Ranking of Multiattribute Alternatives with an Application to Coal Power Plant Siting

This paper shows how the results in the multiattribute utility theory and the measurable value function theory can be utilized for ranking multiattribute alternatives. An application to the ranking of coal power plant sites is discussed. The approach discussed here significantly extends the range of assessment techniques that can be used in a particular analysis, and allows a richer interpretation of the results.
Online Simulation Tools for Global Photovoltaic Performance: Purdue University Meteorological Tool (PUMET) and Bifacial Module Calculator (PUB)

The deployment of solar photovoltaics (PV) is an ongoing global effort; however, local climatic condition dictates the performance and reliability of a solar farm. Therefore, it is necessary to fully account for local meteorological information, for predicting and optimizing the long-term performance of PV. In this paper, we report two recently developed online simulation tools to facilitate this calculation. The first tool, Purdue University Meteorological Tool (PUMET), offers direct downloads of comprehensive worldwide PV-relevant meteorological data (e.g., irradiance, temperature, relative humidity) from a variety of public databases. The second tool, Purdue University Bifacial Module Calculator (PUB), can rigorously translate this meteorological dataset to the performance of a bifacial solar module installed at any arbitrary location in the world. The calculation employs an analytical view-factor based approach, which explicitly takes the self-shading loss of albedo light into account, and are based on recent publications on global performance of bifacial technology from the Purdue group. Both tools are publicly accessible through 1) PUMET: https://nanohub.org/tools/pumet and 2) PUB: https://nanohub.org/tools/pub, and can be integrated with other web-based tools (e.g. LCOE calculators) to make informed decisions regarding the financial viability of the bifacial PV technology.
The Effects of Suspension Policy on Learning: Evidence from Gender Gaps in Exceptional Districts

I study the effects of suspension policy on student learning in grades three through eight using variation across America’s school districts. While the effects of district-level suspension rates on student performance are naturally confounded with student behavior, districts with very atypical rates of in-school or out-of-school suspension may be likely to have adopted exceptional policies, rather than having exceptional students. Following this intuition, I identify exceptional districts using the rate of suspensions for females and ask whether in such apparent policy-adopting districts, males learn relatively faster compared to their female counterparts. Differencing rates of learning across genders is motivated by the fact that males are disciplined at about twice the rate as females in American schools; thus, the direct effects (though possibly not the peer effects) of suspension policy should be larger for males than for females. Among the mid-to-large size districts I study, males learn more slowly on average, but these gaps are smaller for districts that lean toward in-school suspension and districts that use suspension little. The evidence for benefits from policies favoring in-school suspension use is the most robust. I conclude with a discussion of the potential costs involved for districts that heavily use out-of-school suspension to switch to in-school suspension, the policy reform most justified by my findings.
4 Motor Development

This chapter provides a synthesis of recent research in motor development. Motor behavior encompasses everything that we do, and therefore is relevant to every branch of psychological science. Our aim is to address central concepts and methodological issues that continue to challenge developmental scientists, and to show how the study of motor behavior can yield fresh insights into the process of development. The chapter is organized into three broad themes that are emblematic of the state of current work on motor development: (1) movements are embodied, and are thus the product of a physical body acting in the real world; (2) behavior is embedded within a physical environment rich with sensory information, and requiring perception for effective action; (3) motor development is enculturated, shaped by cultural practices from caregiving to social norms. We illustrate 10 general developmental concepts within these broad themes using examples drawn from research on humans and animals, with an emphasis on early development, from prenatal through childhood. Keywords: affordances; body growth; locomotion; manual action; motor development; perception-action; perceptual-motor development; physical development; reaching; walking
Guest Editorial IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM) 2015 Special Issue

Bioinformatics and biomedicine research is fundamental to our understanding of complex biological systems, impacting the science and technology of fields ranging from agricultural and environmental sciences to pharmaceutical and medical sciences. This type of research requires close collaboration among multidisciplinary teams of researchers in computer science, statistics, physics, engineering, life sciences and medical sciences, and their interfaces. The IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM) aims to provide an open and interactive forum to catalyze the cross-fertilization of ideas from these disciplines and to bridge our knowledge gaps.
Corporate Responsibility: Ensuring Independent Judgment of the General Counsel - A Look at Stock Options

Recent corporate scandals and allegations of corporate fraud in public companies have most people asking how things went so wrong. When looking to assess blame for corporate malfeasance, many ask, “Where were the lawyers?” In several high-profile corporate fraud investigations, outside and in-house lawyers were criticized for not doing more to prevent corporate executives from violating the law, and several general counsels were charged with criminal misconduct by state and federal authorities. Why would the general counsel of a public corporation risk his or her career, reputation, and criminal prosecution to assist executives in perpetuating corporate fraud? The answer may be in the purported reason for corporate greed and ultimately corporate fraud – the desire for equity wealth. This article generally explores the issue of whether stock options granted to the general counsel increases financial dependence of the general counsel on a single client, aligns the financial interests of the general counsel too closely with the financial interests of senior management, and risks the loss of independent judgment and candor by general counsel. Part II of the article reviews the role of the general counsel in public companies, the growth in salary and stock option compensation, and introduces discussion of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Part III examines case law and administrative decisions, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.
Effect of Cold Storage on Bud Break, Root Regeneration and Shoot Extension of Douglas Fir, Paper Birch and Green Ash

Abstract Dormancy level, days to bud break, root regrowth and rate of shoot extension were determined for 18-in seedlings of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), paper birch (Betula ...
Mass Spectrometry- and Computational Structural Biology-Based Investigation of Proteins and Peptides.

Recent developments of mass spectrometry (MS) allow us to identify, estimate, and characterize proteins and protein complexes. At the same time, structural biology helps to determine the protein structure and its structure-function relationship. Together, they aid to understand the protein structure, property, function, protein-complex assembly, protein-protein interaction, and dynamics. The present chapter is organized with illustrative results to demonstrate how experimental mass spectrometry can be combined with computational structural biology for detailed studies of protein’s structures. We have used tumor differentiation factor protein/peptide as ligand and Hsp70/Hsp90 as receptor protein as examples to study ligand-protein interaction. To investigate possible protein conformation, we will describe two proteins—lysozyme and myoglobin. As an application of MS-based assignment of disulfide bridges, the case of the spider venom polypeptide Phα1β will also be discussed.
Intrinsically stable organic solar cells under high-intensity illumination

Organic photovoltaic cells are now approaching commercially viable efficiencies, particularly for applications that make use of their unique potential for flexibility and semitransparency1–3. However, their reliability remains a major concern, as even the most stable devices reported so far degrade within only a few years4–8. This has led to the belief that short operational lifetimes are an intrinsic disadvantage of devices that are fabricated using weakly bonded organic materials—an idea that persists despite the rapid growth and acceptance of organic light-emitting devices, which can achieve lifetimes of several million hours9. Here we study an extremely stable class of thermally evaporated single-junction organic photovoltaic cells. We accelerated the ageing process by exposing the packaged cells to white-light illumination intensities of up to 37 Suns. The cells maintained more than 87 per cent of their starting efficiency after exposure for more than 68 days. The degradation rate increases superlinearly with intensity, leading to an extrapolated intrinsic lifetime, T80, of more than 4.9 × 107 hours, where T80 is the time taken for the power conversion efficiency to decrease to 80 per cent of its initial value. This is equivalent to 27,000 years outdoors. Additionally, we subjected a second group of organic photovoltaic cells to 20 Suns of ultraviolet illumination (centred at 365 nanometres) for 848 hours, a dose that would take 1.7 × 104 hours (9.3 years) to accumulate outdoors. No efficiency loss was observed over the duration of the test. Overall, we find that organic solar cells packaged in an inert atmosphere can be extremely stable, which is promising for their future use as a practical energy-generation technology. Organic photovoltaic cells containing an intrinsically stable organic absorber layer that are likely to be stable for many decades under illumination are demonstrated.
Mental Health/Global Mental Health: Prevention and Promotion with the Inclusion of Diversity and Gender – A Binational Integration Initiative

Prevention and promotion of mental health are very important in order to reduce the burden of mental and physical disorders. This case study illustrates experiences from the US-Mexico border to provide insight into how integration of mental health and community health can be accomplished, through the training of community health workers, in a region with different health care systems and financial structures. Mental health problems can pose particular challenges in border communities where mental health professionals are scarce and populations experience enhanced stressors due to migration. There are differences in ways people view mental health, particularly among border populations where there is a huge diversity. Community health workers can be the liaison between the community and primary care for a more sustainable health care system.
A Comprehensive Empirical Analysis of TLS Handshake and Record Layer on IoT Platforms

The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol has been considered as a promising approach to secure Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The different cipher suites offered by the TLS protocol play an essential role in determining communication security level. Each cipher suite encompasses a set of cryptographic algorithms, which can vary in terms of their resource consumption and significantly influence the lifetime of IoT devices. Based on these considerations, in this paper, we present a comprehensive study of the widely used cryptographic algorithms by annotating their source codes and running empirical measurements on two state-of-the-art, low-power wireless IoT platforms. Specifically, we present fine-grained resource consumption of the building blocks of the handshake and record layer algorithms and formulate tree structures that present various possible combinations of ciphers as well as individual functions. Depending on the parameters, a path is selected and traversed to calculate the corresponding resource impact. Our studies enable IoT developers to change cipher suite parameters and immediately observe the resource costs. Besides, these findings offer guidelines for choosing the most appropriate cipher suites for different application scenarios.
Performance Variation of Transonic Centrifugal Compressor at Different Tip Clearances Using Numerical Simulations

One of the prime contributors to entropy generation and performance loss in centrifugal compressors is the presence of tip-clearance gap and associated tip-leakage flow. This paper aims to study the fundamental performance variation of a high-pressure transonic centrifugal compressor at different tip clearances using three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations. In this study the test case used is the transonic SRV2-O compressor designed and developed by DLR (German Aerospace Center). Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based $\mathrm{k}-\mu$ model has been used for numerical simulations. The performance of centrifugal compressor is significantly affected by tip-leakage flow, which combines with the secondary flow and results in a considerable entropy generation accumulated at the shroud suction-side of the impeller blade. For understanding of flow mechanism, eleven different tip clearances have been simulated along with comprehensive evaluation of the tip-leakage flow. At constant tip-clearance ranging 0.01 to 1mm, a loss of about 17.7% occurred in the stage pressure ratio of compressor and isentropic efficiency was dropped by 5.5%, at design conditions of 2.55 kg/s of mass flow rate and 50,000 1/min. The compressor isentropic efficiency and pressure ratio is observed optimum at constant tip-clearance in range 0.09 mm and 0.18 mm. While at variable tip-clearance between leading-edge (LE) and trailing-edge (TE), almost 11 percent loss has been noted in the stage pressure ratio, while isentropic efficiency was reduced by 3.3 percent as tip clearance increased from 0.3 to 1.1mm at the leading edge and 0.1 to 0.9 mm at the blade exit of the impeller. This paper provides the quantitative estimate of losses in compressor pressure ratio and efficiency due to tip-clearance.
Influence of low water activity on the thermal resistance of Salmonella Enteritidis PT30 and Enterococcus faecium as its surrogate in egg powders.

Egg powders are increasingly popular ingredients, due to their functionality and compactness, in industrial food production and preparation at homes. However, there is a lack of studies that evaluate the thermal resistance of Salmonella Enteritidis PT30 and its potential surrogate Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 in egg powders. This study examined the log-linear relationship between the thermal resistance of Salmonella Enteritidis (D-value) and the water activity (aw) of egg powders. The changes of aw in the egg powders with temperature were measured using a Vapor Sorption Analyzer and a high-temperature cell. The D80 ℃-value of S. Enteritidis PT30 and E. faecium inoculated in the egg powders preconditioned to three aw levels (0.3, 0.45, and 0.6) at 20 ℃ were determined using aluminum thermal death test cells. The aw values increased (P < 0.05) in all three egg powders when the temperature of the samples was raised from room temperature to 80 ℃. The D80 ℃-values ranged from 5.3 ± 0.1 to 25.9 ± 0.2 min for S. Enteritidis while 10.4 ± 0.4 to 43.8 ± 0.4 for E. faecium in samples of the three different aw levels. S. Enteritidis PT30 showed a log-linear relationship between D80 ℃-values and aw80 ℃ for the egg powders. This study contributes to our understanding of the impact of aw on the development of thermal treatments for low-moisture foods.