cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control Issues of Digital Clay – Massive Hydraulic Actuator Array for Man-machine Communication

Abstract Digital Clay is an NSF funded project for human machine communication through a tangible haptic surface actuated using fluid power. Digital Clay's hardware can be divided into three subsystems: massive-integrated actuator-sensor array, fluidic driving system, and control system. Focus of this paper is the control of some of the special mechanisms of Digital Clay. Specifically, the Fluid Matrix Drive, Capacitive-Coupled Resistive Sensing technology for position feedback and the other control related issues are discussed. Analysis and testing results on these topics are provided based on a 5×5 actuator array prototype. Most of the topics discussed in this paper are widely applicable to other devices as well as Digital Clay.
Regional and interspecific variation in Sr, Ca, and Sr/Ca ratios in avian eggshells from the USA.

To examine regional variation in strontium (Sr), which at high concentrations may reduce eggshell quality, increase egg breakage and reproductive failure, we analyzed Sr, and calcium (Ca) concentrations and Sr/Ca ratios in eggshells from 20 avian species from California, Texas, Idaho, Kansas, and Michigan. In addition, we included data previously reported from Arizona to expand the regional comparisons and to better establish patterns of Sr, and Sr/Ca ratios in bird species across the United States. We found Sr concentrations varied significantly among regions, among species, and among foraging guilds; this variability is strongly influenced by the Sr/Ca ratios in surface water from locations close to the region where the eggshells were collected. Sr concentrations and Sr/Ca ratios were significantly higher in bird eggshells from the Volta wildlife region in the San Joaquin Valley, California and in various locales from Arizona. Sr concentrations and Sr/Ca ratios in bird eggshells from other locations in the USA were lower than those detected in these two regions. Among foraging guilds, invertivores had the highest Sr concentrations and Sr/Ca ratios and carnivores had the lowest. In general, the Sr/Ca ratio increased strongly with increasing Sr concentrations (R 2 = 0.99, P \ 0.0001). There was a significant correlation (R 2 = 0.58, P \ 0.0001) between Sr/Ca ratios in water and the average Sr/Ca ratios in eggshells suggesting that these values could be determined from Sr/Ca ratios in water. Eggshell thickness was poorly correlated with Sr (R 2 = 0.03) but had a significant and positive correlation with Ca and was more properly corre- lated by a quadratic equation (R 2 = 0.50, Thickness = 2.13 - 0.02Ca - 3.07 * 10 -5 Ca 2 ). Our study provides further evidence that Sr accumulates significantly in the avian eggshell, in some regions at concentrations which could be of concern for potential negative effects on repro- duction. We suggest that when assessing the effects of metals on avian reproduction in regions with high Sr deposits in rock and soil, Sr concentrations in the eggshell also should be measured to evaluate additional effects on thickness and reproduction.
Variation in Palatal Production in Buenos Aires Spanish

Argentine Spanish is well-known among varieties of Spanish for its “hardened” palatals. The sonorant palatals of European Spanish have undergone fortition in most dialects of Argentine Spanish, resulting in fricatives or affricates in all environments. In one recent study focusing on Buenos Aires, Colantoni (2006) examined the change from sonorant /j/ to obstruent /ʒ/ in some detail. However, when walking through Buenos Aires today, one actually hears voiceless [ʃ] more often than voiced [ʒ], a fact that might be behind marked discrepancies among layperson impressions of these sounds. On the one hand, many popular authors indicate that the predominant pronunciation of palatals in Argentina is voiced. For instance, Bao and Greensfelder (2002: 187) claim that “most Argentines say ‘zh’ for [‘y’] and for ‘ll’”, while others make reference to the “replacement of the ‘ll’ and ‘y’ sounds by a soft ‘j’ sound, as in ‘beige’” (Dilks 2004: 25) and to “the unique way in which portenos [Argentines from Buenos Aires] pronounce the letters ll and y (with a sound akin to the French ‘je’)” (Tozer 2001). Very recent publications present similar thoughts, stating that “Argentine Spanish differs from other countries in its pronunciation of the ll and y not as a y but as English speakers would pronounce a j” (Luongo 2007: 59). Lawrence (2007: 367) concurs that “the local accent imposes a soft ‘j’ sound on the ‘ll’ and ‘y’”, such that “llave (key) sounds like ‘zha-ve’ and desayuno (breakfast) sounds like ‘de-sazhu-no’” (Luongo et al. 2007: 421). On the other hand, some authors suggest that the predominant pronunciation of palatals in Argentina has become either partially or completely voiceless. Greenberg (2000: 15) asserts that “the ‘y’ becomes a combination of ‘z’ and ‘sh’”, a statement echoed by McCloskey (2006: 395–396), who describes and as “somewhere between ‘ch’ and ‘zh’”, a sound “not pronounced in English”. Finally, Palmerlee et al. (2005: 489–496) call attention to “the trait of pronouncing the letters ll and y as ‘zh’ (as in ‘azure’)”, but then say that is pronounced “as the ‘sh’ in ‘ship’ when used as a consonant” and consistently transcribe both and with ‘sh’ (e.g. calle ‘street’ = “ka·she”, desayuno ‘breakfast’ = “de·sa·shoo·no”). These differing descriptions of Argentine palatals suggest that there is a high degree of variation in the phonetic realization of the palatal phoneme in Argentine Spanish. The nature of this variation is what is examined in the present study, which uses acoustic analysis to investigate the realization of palatals in a small sample of speakers from the Buenos Aires area. In the following sections, I review technical work that has been done on this topic, present new data on variation in palatal production and its sociolinguistic correlates, and conclude that a change from voiced to voiceless is already complete. 2. Background
Linear Polarimeter with rapid modulation, achromatic in the 0.3-1.1-microm range.

A polarimeter is described, which provides achromatic modulation over the spectral range 0.3 to 1.1 microns, with very small light losses. The instrument is the first one to use superachromatic half-wave plates; such a plate is made of three achromatic half-wave plates of quartz and magnesium fluoride cemented with the optical axis of the central plate making an angle of 1.00 rad with the axes of the parallel-oriented outer half-wave plates. Wavelength dependence of the axis direction of the optical axis was eliminated by using two identical such plates in front of a Wollaston prism. The plate closer to the prism is stationary, while the other is continuously rotated by a stepper motor. In the polarimeter constructed, the range of instrumentally induced wavelength dependence of the plane of polarization did not exceed 0.002 rad. Using the polarimeter on a 228-cm telescope, a 10-min integration through the blue filter of the UBV photometric system for a star of magnitude 10.0 gives the percentage polarization with a mean error of + or - 0.014%.
Synchronizing nonautonomous chaotic circuits

Shows that the synchronizing of chaotic circuits may be extended to circuits that are periodically forced. The authors use a phase correction circuit to match the phase in a response circuit to the phase in a drive circuit. These periodically forced synchronized chaotic circuits are much more noise-resistant than autonomous synchronized chaotic circuits, even when the noise is chaos with large components in the same frequency band as the synchronizing signal. >
Radical induced disulfide bond cleavage within peptides via ultraviolet irradiation of an electrospray plume

Radical induced disulfide bond cleavage in peptides was demonstrated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the electrospray ionization (ESI) plume using a low pressure mercury (LP-Hg) lamp. Tandem mass spectrometry and accurate mass measurements confirmed that the primary reaction products were due to disulfide bond cleavage to form thiol (–SH) and sulfinyl radical (–SO˙). Mechanistic studies showed that the 185 nm emission from a LP-Hg lamp was responsible for UV photolysis of atmospheric O2, which further initiated secondary radical formation and subsequent disulfide bond cleavage by radical attack. The radical induced disulfide bond cleavage was found to be analytically useful in providing rich sequence information for naturally occurring peptides containing intrachain disulfide bonds. The utility of this method was also demonstrated for facile disulfide peptide identification and characterization from protein digests.
Analysis and implementation of charge recycling for deep sub-micron buses

Charge recycling has been proposed as a strategy to reduce the power dissipation in data buses. Previous work in this area was based on simplified bus models that ignored the coupling between the lines. Here we propose a new charge recycling technique (CRT) appropriate for sub-micron technologies. CRT is analyzed mathematically using a bus energy model that captures the energy loss due to strong line to line capacitive coupling. In theory CRT can result in an energy reduction by a factor of 2. It becomes even more energy efficient when combined with bus invert coding (see Stan, 1997). A circuit has been designed and simulated with all parasitic elements extracted from the layout. Taking into account the circuit energy overhead the net result in energy saving can be up to 32%.
Quantification of in vivo 3H-estrogen uptake by individual anterior pituitary cell types of male rat: a combined autoradiographic-immunocytochemical technique.

A refined version of the combined dry-mount auto-radiographic-immunocytochemical technique (Keefer DA, Stumpf WE, Petrusz P: Cell Tissue Res 166:25, 1976) is described in detail. In vivo nuclear estrogen uptake is measured by silver grain counting in immunocytochemically stained gonadotropes (G), somatotropes (S), lactotropes (L), corticotropes (C), and thyrotropes (T) of male rats. In rats 1 day after orchidectomy and adrenalectomy, the order of nuclear estrogen uptake was S = L G = C T, with T concentrating less than half as much radioactivity as L or S. Fifteen percent of anterior pituitary cells neither concentrated estrogen nor stained immunocytochemically. Estrogen uptake was examined in gonadotropes 1, 14, and 50 days after orchidectomy and was found to be identical at all three times. Estrogen uptake in gonadotropes of rats 14 days following orchidectomy and treatment with progesterone was reduced significantly. Guidelines for reliable quantification of the autoradiographic data is discussed.
Incorporating Loss to Follow-up in Estimates of Survival Among HIV-Infected Individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa Enrolled in Antiretroviral Therapy Programs

BACKGROUND: Measuring the survival of human immunodeficiency virus-infected adult patients enrolled in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs is complicated by short observation periods and loss to follow-up. We synthesized data from treatment cohorts in sub-Saharan Africa to estimate survival over 5 years after initiation of ART. METHODS: We used data on retention mortality and loss to follow-up from 34 cohorts including a total of 102306 adult patients from 18 sub-Saharan African countries. These data were augmented by data from 13 sub-Saharan African studies tracking death rates among adult patients who were lost to follow-up (LTFU). We used a Poisson regression model to estimate survival over time incorporating predicted mortality among LTFU patients. RESULTS: Across studies the median CD4(+) cell count at ART initiation was 104 cells/mm(3) 65% of patients were female and the median age was 37 years. Survival at 1 year and 5 years were estimated to be 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72-0.94) and 0.70 (95% CI 0.36-0.86) respectively after adjustment for loss to follow-up. The life-years gained by a patient during the 5-year period after starting ART were estimated at 2.1 (95% CI 1.6-2.3) in the adjusted model compared with 1.7 (95% CI 1.1-2.0) if there was 100% mortality among LTFU patients and with 2.4 (1.7-2.7) if there was 0% mortality among LTFU patients. CONCLUSIONS: Accounting for loss to follow-up produces substantial changes in the estimated life-years gained during the first 5 years of ART receipt.
Group B coxsackievirus diabetogenic phenotype correlates with replication efficiency.

Group B coxsackieviruses can initiate rapid onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in old nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. Inoculating high doses of poorly pathogenic CVB3/GA per mouse initiated rapid onset T1D. Viral protein was detectable in islets shortly after inoculation in association with beta cells as well as other primary islet cell types. The virulent strain CVB3/28 replicated to higher titers more rapidly than CVB3/GA in the pancreas and in established beta cell cultures. Exchange of 5′-nontranslated regions between the two CVB3 strains demonstrated a variable impact on replication in beta cell cultures and suppression of in vivo replication for both strains. While any CVB strain may be able to induce T1D in prediabetic NOD mice, T1D onset is linked both to the viral replication rate and infectious dose.
Enp1, a yeast protein associated with U3 and U14 snoRNAs, is required for pre-rRNA processing and 40S subunit synthesis

ENP1 is an essential Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene encoding a 483 amino acid polypeptide. Enp1 protein is localized in the nucleus and concentrated in the nucleolus. An enp1-1 temperature-sensitive mutant inhibited 35S pre-rRNA early processing at sites A0, A1 and A2 as shown by northern analysis of steady state levels of rRNA precursors. Pulse-chase analysis further revealed that the enp1-1 strain was defective in the synthesis of 20S pre-rRNA and hence 18S rRNA, which led to reduced formation of 40S ribosomal subunits. Co-precipitation analysis revealed that Enp1 was associated with Nop1 protein, as well as with U3 and U14 RNAs, two snoRNAs implicated in early pre-rRNA processing steps. These results suggest a direct role for Enp1 in the early steps of rRNA processing.
UDTv4: Improvements in Performance and Usability

This paper presents UDT version 4 (UDTv4), the fourth generation of the UDT high performance data transfer protocol. The focus of the paper is on the new features introduced in version 4 during the past two years to improve the performance and usability of the protocol.
Qedešet: A Syro-Anatolian Goddess in Egypt

This article considers the iconographic origins of the Egyptian goddess Qedeset and her Levantine cognate Qudsu through an examination of their individual iconographic elements, such as V-pose arms, snakes, and coiffures. As the evidence indicates, the nude, en face female, typically standing upon an animal and often portrayed as a potnia theron, derives from Anatolia. Specifically Egyptian elements are the Hathoric coiffure and the grasping of snakes. Highly distinctive regional aspects of the iconography are presented, distinguishing among Anatolian, North Levantine, South Levantine, and Egyptian iconographic types. DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v07i4_budin
Climbing fibers encode a temporal-difference prediction error during cerebellar learning in mice

Climbing fiber inputs to Purkinje cells are thought to be involved in generating the instructive signals that drive cerebellar learning. To investigate how these instructive signals are encoded, we recorded the activity of individual climbing fibers during cerebellum-dependent eyeblink conditioning in mice. We found that climbing fibers signaled both the unexpected delivery and the unexpected omission of the periocular airpuff that served as the instructive signal for eyeblink conditioning. In addition, we observed that climbing fibers activated by periocular airpuffs also responded to stimuli from other sensory modalities if those stimuli were novel or if they predicted that the periocular airpuff was about to be presented. This pattern of climbing fiber activity is markedly similar to the responses of dopamine neurons during reinforcement learning, which have been shown to encode a particular type of instructive signal known as a temporal difference prediction error.
Abstract 271: Id3 Promotes Obesity-Induced Inflammatory Macrophage Accumulation Through Proliferation of MCP-1-Producing Adipocyte Progenitor Cells

High fat diet (HFD)-induced increases in MCP-1 are a hallmark feature of adipose tissue inflammation during obesity. Macrophages are the main producers of MCP-1 in established obesity; however, early increases in obesity-induced production of MCP-1 precede migration of M1 macrophages to adipose tissue. Global deletion of transcription factor Inhibitor of Differentiation 3 (Id3) attenuates HFD-induced obesity and adipose tissue inflammation. Specifically, Id3-/- mice have less visceral adipose tissue (VAT), fewer M1 adipose tissue macrophages, and attenuated HFD-induced MCP-1 production. The source of initial obesity-induced MCP-1 in vivo, as well as the role that Id3 plays in regulation of MCP-1, is currently unknown. Flow cytometry demonstrated that committed CD45-CD31-Ter119-CD29+CD34+Sca-1+CD24- adipocyte progenitor cells (AdPCs) express high levels of MCP-1. HFD increased the number of AdPCs in an Id3-dependent manner. Loss of Id3 increased levels of p21Cip1 and attenuated HFD-induced proliferation of AdPCs, resulting in lower levels of MCP-1 and reduced M1 macrophage numbers in VAT, compared to Id3+/+ littermate controls. Adoptive transfer of 50,000 Id3+/+ AdPCs into Id3-/- recipient mice restored adipose tissue inflammation via increased MCP-1 levels and M1 macrophage accumulation in VAT. Notably, the M1:M2 macrophage ratio significantly increased due to injection of AdPCs. Additionally, flow cytometry identified MCP-1-producing CD45-CD31-CD34+CD44+CD90+ AdPCs in human omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue. The percentage of AdPCs expressing MCP-1 was higher in omental adipose compared to subcutaneous adipose. Furthermore, high surface expression of CD44 marked abundant MCP-1 producers, only in omental adipose tissue. The present study provides the first in vivo evidence that committed AdPCs are the source of early obesity-induced MCP-1. Id3 is a critical regulator of p21Cip1 expression and proliferation in AdPCs, and in this manner, promotes overall MCP-1 expression and M1 macrophage accumulation in VAT. Inhibition of Id3 and AdPC expansion, as well as CD44 expression in human AdPCs, may serve as unique therapeutic targets for the regulation of adipose tissue inflammation.
I Feel I Am

Has his doubt affected me? I do accept as true what I just wrote about him, but do not know. What do I know? What is it I know? It is what I feel with my body, more briefly what I feel. For instance, I know when I run into my desk and I know it with my body; my knowledge and my body, my mind and my body, my soul and my body are not separate, are not separable, but are one. The "it is said," "it is supposed," "what is called," "what goes by the name," "he appears" were to indicate my ignorance at the same time as my reliance on others?tradition, experts, more general education, and all I learned on how to deal with such sources ? to believe them or some of them, take them for granted, doubt them, or whatever attitude to take toward them. We are born into a world that is prepared for us to enter. The process by which this is done ?throughout our life, most intensely as we grow up also physically?is called acculturation or socialization:1 we become cultured and socialized, after be? ing born as predominately biological organisms. But there is the paradox of socialization: we cannot possibly learn or hope to know what things are in themselves, an sich, because we cannot learn anything about them without interacting with them, which means that we co-constitute them. Our choice concerning knowing the world thus is complete ignorance or one-sided or distorted knowledge. The first alternative is hard to imagine because it is so
Interfacial Organic Layers for Chemical Stability and Crystalline Ordering of Thiophene and Carboxyl Films on a Metal Surface

Organic-based devices require multicomponent, multilayer architectures consisting of functional molecules that may be chemically unstable at a metal interface. In this work, we demonstrate that an interfacial organic layer (IOL) provides chemical stability at and above room temperature, while also achieving desired crystalline ordering of the functionalized organic layer. As the IOL decouples organic species from direct interactions with the metal, new structural motifs become available that are not otherwise observed, yielding the first submolecular resolution imaging of phenylthiophene stacking at a surface. We studied self-organized layers comprising two classes of functional groups, carboxylic acids and thiophenes, which have applications in organic electronics but are each chemically unstable and structurally disordered when deposited directly onto the Cu(001) and other metal surfaces. The IOL strategy demonstrated here resolves these issues and broadens opportunities for organic thin films on metal ...
DO ANGIOTENSIN RECEPTOR BLOCKERS SLOW PROGRESSION OF AORTIC ROOT DILATION IN MARFAN’S SYNDROME?

Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB's) have been hypothesized to slow the progression of aortic root dilatation in Marfan's syndrome (MFS) by virtue of decreasing transforming growth factor beta (TGF-B), the critical mediator in pathogenesis. We pooled the existing data from the prospective studies
Observations on Rats and Rabbits Infected With Angiostrongylus Cantonensis (Chen)

SUMMARY Lung worm ( Angiostrongylus cantonensis ) of rats, which is known to be a causative agent of “eosinophilic meningitis” of men in the Pacific area, was experimentally studied in rats and rabbits at its cerebral stage. Penetration of the larvae into the central nervous system is usual in rats, while it seems to be unusual in rabbits. The clinical manifestation of neurological disorder is obscure or not detectable in rats, while it is evident in rabbits. In some occasions of heavy infection one or two worms were observed under the dura mater of the optic nerve of rats. No eosinophils are found in the meninges and the brain of either rats or rabbits. The lesions of “cerebrospinal setariosis” of domestic animals (sheep, goats and horses) are compared to those of “cerebrospinal angiostrongyliosis”.
How group discussions create strong attitudes and strong partisans

Group discussions matter in politics—they affect individuals’ attitudes as well as their political participation. But how do discussions influence the strength of attitudes? This is a question that has received scant attention, despite its relevance to both empirical and normative theories of democracy. We argue that group discussion generates strong attitudes via psychological elaboration. For many, this is a positive outcome. But we also show that discussion has a downside. Specifically, homogenous group discussions—which are the norm—strengthen partisan identities, which can increase partisan bias and motivated reasoning. Using an original experiment, we find strong support for our predictions. Our results, then, underline a tension in the political effects of group discussion: while it produces normatively desirable strong attitudes, it also creates more entrenched and potentially biased partisans.
Study on the surveillance of pathogens and molecular subtyping of meningococcal meningitis cases during 2012-2013 in Hebei province

Objective To analyze the results of surveillance on pathogens of Neisseria Meningitidis in Hebei province during2012-2013. To know the serogroups species and molecular subtyping of Neisseria Meningitidis. Methods Neisseria Meningitidis( Nm) strains isolated from patients during 2012-2013 were investigated by culturing,biochemistry test,serogrouping,real-time PCR,multilocus sequence typing( MLST) and por A subtyping. The specimens of cerebrospinal fluid and serum from patients during 2012-2013 were analyzed by real-time PCR and multilocus sequence typing( MLST). Results During 2012-2013,among the case samples,5 were serogroup B,14 were serogroup C and 2 were serogroup W135. Except for 1 sample without any complex,16 samples all belonged to ST-4821 complex. The por A genes of the 6 Nm strains were classified to different types. Conclusion Serogroup C was the main serogroup in Hebei province in the recent two years. Serogroup B showed a trend of increase. The case of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W135 infection appeared for the first time in Hebei Province.Most of cases belonged to the highly pathogenic ST-4821 complex. All of above indicated that surveillance of Nm should be strengthened in Hebei province.
Study the Subject and Thread Strategic Thinking of Chairman Hu Propel the Scientific Development of Our Army's Equipment Construction

The subject and thread thinking of chairman Hu is important guiding ideology to propel national defense and troops forward,and the guide to action to propel the scientific development of equipment construction.The equipment battlefront must change the concept of equipment construction around the subject and thread thinking,carry out cardinal claims seriously through the practice of equipment construction,and propel the scientific development of equipment construction in new starting point.
JNC 8: relaxing the standards.

The Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) recently issued the most anticipated hypertension guideline in some time. The most significant change in the JNC 8 guideline is relaxation of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure goals for adults 60 years and older. As a result of the new guidelines, fewer older adults now meet the diagnostic criteria for hypertension.
From Punishing Penalties to Brown Bodies Raiding the NFL

“From Punishing Penalties to Brown Bodies Raiding the NFL” considers several significant moments when Latinos broke through the brown color line, including the pivotal moment when two of the NFL’s most significant Latino figures Tom Flores (coach) and Jim Plunkett (quarterback) took the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories.
Evaluation of leaf removal as a means to reduce nutrient concentrations and loads in urban stormwater

While the sources of nutrients to urban stormwater are many, the primary contributor is often organic detritus, especially in areas with dense overhead tree canopy. One way to remove organic detritus before it becomes entrained in runoff is to implement a city-wide leaf collection and street cleaning program. Improving our knowledge of the potential reduction of nutrients to stormwater through removal of leaves and other organic detritus on streets could help tailor more targeted municipal leaf collection programs. This study characterized an upper ideal limit in reductions of total and dissolved forms of phosphorus and nitrogen in stormwater through implementation of a municipal leaf collection and street cleaning program in Madison, WI, USA. Additional measures were taken to remove leaf litter from street surfaces prior to precipitation events. Loads of total and dissolved phosphorus were reduced by 84 and 83% (p<0.05), and total and dissolved nitrogen by 74 and 71% (p<0.05) with an active leaf removal program. Without leaf removal, 56% of the annual total phosphorus yield (winter excluded) was due to leaf litter in the fall compared to 16% with leaf removal. Despite significant reductions in load, total nitrogen showed only minor changes in fall yields without and with leaf removal at 19 and 16%, respectively. The majority of nutrient concentrations were in the dissolved fraction making source control through leaf removal one of the few treatment options available to environmental managers when reducing the amount of dissolved nutrients in stormwater runoff. Subsequently, the efficiency, frequency, and timing of leaf removal and street cleaning are the primary factors to consider when developing a leaf management program.
Trends in Adhesion Energies of Metal Nanoparticles on Oxide Surfaces: Understanding Support Effects in Catalysis and Nanotechnology.

Nanoparticles on surfaces are ubiquitous in nanotechnologies, especially in catalysis, where metal nanoparticles anchored to oxide supports are widely used to produce and use fuels and chemicals, and in pollution abatement. We show that for hemispherical metal particles of the same diameter, D, the chemical potentials of the metal atoms in the particles (μM) differ between two supports by approximately −2(Eadh,A – Eadh,B)Vm/D, where Ead,i is the adhesion energy between the metal and support i, and Vm is the molar volume of the bulk metal. This is consistent with calorimetric measurements of metal vapor adsorption energies onto clean oxide surfaces where the metal grows as 3D particles, which proved that μM increases with decreasing particle size below 6 nm and, for a given size, decreases with Eadh. Since catalytic activity and sintering rates correlate with metal chemical potential, it is thus crucial to understand what properties of catalyst materials control metal/oxide adhesion energies. Trends in how...
Basic Colonoscopic Interventions: Cold, Hot Biopsy Techniques, Submucosal Injection, Clip Application, Snare Biopsy

Colonoscopy for the early detection of premalignant lesions of the colon and rectum has changed the natural history of colorectal cancer since its inception in the mid 1900s. The prevention of colorectal cancer by removal of adenomatous polyps (polypectomy) via colonoscopy is one of the greatest public health innovations in recent history. Programs such as the “80% by 2018” initiative have been successful in promoting age-appropriate colorectal cancer screening across the United States, and worldwide. Advances in flexible endoscopes and devices used for polypectomy have allowed for improvement in the sensitivity of colonoscopy in the detection of adenomatous polyps as well as improved safety. In this chapter, we will discuss various basic colonoscopic interventions, including hot and cold biopsy techniques, submucosal injection of substances (for tattooing and for facilitating polypectomy), clip application, and snare polypectomy.
Space and the Social Worth of Public Libraries

ABSTRACTIn spite of the growth of digital information and the resultant questioning by some of the value of public libraries, library usage data indicate there were 497,600,000 more visits to public libraries in 2013 than in 1993. Why do people still visit public libraries in the digital age? While many factors drive people to visit public libraries, one thing that public libraries offer that cannot be duplicated online is physical space. Over the decades, library space has been the glue holding the library universe together even as the specific activities that take inside libraries have evolved. While public libraries do an excellent job of promoting their important role in providing access to information, educational resources, technology, and a host of valuable services, they must also promote the value of public library space itself. This requires more than trotting out numbers; it requires telling compelling stories of how public library space is used and reminding the public that the kind of spaces ...
Use of the Microculture Kinetic Assay of Apoptosis to Determine Chemosensitivities of Leukemias

Chemotherapeutic agents exert their antitumor effects by inducing apoptosis. The microculture kinetic (MiCK) assay provides an automated, continuous means of monitoring apoptosis in a cell population. We used the MiCK assay to determine the chemosensitivities of the human promyelocytic HL-60 and lymphoblastic CEM cell lines and leukemia cells freshly isolated from patients with acute nonlymphocytic (ANLL) or acute lymphocytic (ALL) leukemias. Continuous monitoring of apoptosis in the MiCK assay permits determination of the time to the maximum apoptosis (Tm) and its two components which are initiation time (Ti) and development time (Td). Duration of the three timing components of apoptosis varies from hours to days depending on the drug, drug concentration, and type of target cells. In the MiCK assay, the extent of apoptosis is reported in kinetic units of apoptosis. Kinetic units are determined by the slope of the curve created when optical density caused by cell blebbing is plotted as a function of time. Using the leukemia cell lines, we define the relationship between kinetic units determined by the MiCK assay and the percentage of morphologically apoptotic cells in the culture. Flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis in Annexin-V-fluorescein isothiocyanate–labeled preparations of HL-60 and CEM cells was also used to compare with data obtained by the MiCK assay. The feasibility of the MiCK assay of apoptosis as a chemosensitivity test was confirmed by its comparison with a 3H-thymidine incorporation assay. We show that samples from 10 ANLL and ALL patients patients tested for sensitivity to various doses of idarubicin (IDR), daunorubicin (DNR), or mitoxantrone (MTA) gave the same percentages of apoptotic cells when calculated by the MiCK assay as when determined by morphological analysis. The MiCK assay was used for dose-response analyses of the sensitivities to IDR, DNR, and MTA of leukemia cells from 4 other patients (2 ANLL and 2 ALL). The results from both cell lines and patient samples indicate that ANLL cells are more sensitive than ALL cells to all three of these chemotherapeutic agents. However, for individual patients the chemosensitivities varied significantly among the three chemotherapeutic agents. These varying responses to IDR, DNR, and MTA indicate that the MiCK assay results can be of potential use in designing a treatment regimen for a specific patient with acute leukemia. Among several drugs of presumed similar efficacy, the MiCK assay can permit the selection of the specific chemotherapeutic agent that causes the most apoptosis in the patient's leukemic cells. © 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.
Study of cadmium uptake and accumulation in Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most toxic metals to man and other forms of life, has no known biological function [1, 2]. Cadmium compounds enter the environment through a variety of industrial processes, such as mining, smelting and electroplating, and to a less extent, from natural weathering. The effects from human exposure via food chains in cadmium-polluted areas and the known lethality of the metal in case of extreme exposure [3] have focused attention on developing methods for its removal from polluted areas.
How Commutative Are Direct Products of Dihedral Groups

If G is a finite group, then Pr(G) is the probability that two randomly selected elements of G commute. So G is abelian iff Pr(G) = 1. For any positive integer m, we show that there is a group G wh...
Wi-Fi spectrum usage analytics in University of Nevada, Reno

WiFi Access Points (APs) deployed publicly are facing serious demands due to the proliferation in WiFi enabled devices. This becomes more prominent when the user crowd moves dynamically in space creating a sporadic usage pattern like in universities, conference halls, disaster scenarios and so on. In such situation, there arises need for the efficient usage of WiFi channels so as to avoid the signal interference among devices and maintain the Quality of Service. It becomes essential to find a mechanism that caters for the dynamically changing demands by identifying areas with high spectrum usage and thus providing better WiFi coverage. The concept of floating access points play a key role in this domain whereby Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) acting as APs can move around to cover the hot zones and solve the problem of network congestion in those zones. Floating AP is one of the numerous applications that UAVs can offer and it addresses a very important issue of load balancing among the access points. As much as this concept is novel and appealing, it is of prime importance to analyze the feasibility of its deployment and operation which is what we are trying to achieve through this paper. Before launching these mobile APs, we aim to understand the dynamic spectrum usage over space, time and channels. The temporal and spatial analysis helps us to identify places that are highly congested at any given time. The channel usage pattern determines channels that are over utilized and under utilized in the congested areas. The sudden spike in the network usage also lets us detect any malicious activities going around and thus preventing the risk of getting attacked. Our goal is to use this information to deploy the floating APs during appropriate times into the congested locations and dynamically reconfigure the deployed floating APs so as to evenly distribute load across all available WiFi channels.
Nonuniform random point sets via warping

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a method for generating transformations that are useful for computer graphics. Several of those transformations can be simplified for simple densities. There are several methods for generating sets of random or pseudorandom points on the unit square, such as jittering and Poisson disk sampling. These methods present a set of N reasonably equidistributed points on the unit square (u1, ν1) through (uN, νN). Sometimes, sampling space may not be square or may not be uniform. It would be better if a mathematical transformation could be written that would take equidistributed points (ui, νi) as input and that would result in a set of points in desired sampling space with desired density.
Economic Self-Sufficiency among Women Who Experienced Intimate Partner Violence and Received Civil Legal Services

Literature supports the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women’s short and long-term material hardship; yet, little research has examined the role of civil legal services in addressing women’s economic self-sufficiency. Using survey data from a sample of low-income women seeking civil legal services related to IPV, we examined changes in women’s economic self-sufficiency over a one-year period of time. The sample consisted of women who were experiencing IPV and receiving assistance with a civil protective order (CPO) or a family law problem. Eighty-five women completed three waves of data collected, baseline and every six months, over a period of one year. Nearly two-thirds of the women received assistance for a CPO (n = 56); the rest were represented in a family law matter. Approximately 45% of women lived in non-metro/rural areas (n = 38). Measures of economic self-sufficiency included income, use of public assistance, adequacy of family resources, and perceptions of the difficulty living off their current income. Women’s monthly income and adequacy of some family resources increased, while difficulty living on their current income and the number of assistance resources used decreased (Wave 1 to 3). There was no relation between the type or amount of legal services received and changes in study outcomes. Study findings suggest that civil legal services are a critical component of a community coordinated response to IPV.
Investigating the Applicability of the Normalized Programming State Model to BlueJ Programmers

It has long been a goal of educators to accurately identify at-risk students early enough in the term to intervene, and the increasing availability of programming process data and learning analytics tools has brought education researchers closer to realizing that objective. The Normalized Programming State Model (NPSM), for example, a recent approach that considers students' editing and testing behaviors in addition to compilations, has been shown to predict a student's overall course grade with 36-67% accuracy [14] depending on the number of assignments analyzed. To date, NPSM has not been evaluated outside of its original context: a group of CS2 students writing C++ programs in Visual Studio. We re-implemented NPSM to analyze the program-development processes of Java programmers using the BlueJ IDE, and applied the model to data collected from 9,338 subjects working to solve a specific programming exercise from the BlueJ textbook. While our study does not yet establish the predictive abilities of NPSM in this new domain, our contributions include the reimplementation of an existing model --- something the education research community has established as a priority --- and a preliminary exploration of the kinds of programming activity an NPSM implementation will encounter when working with BlueJ users. We identify differences between IDEs that necessarily lead to variations in their NPSM models, and highlight aspects of NPSM and this new context that suggest NPSM's predictive power is likely to decrease for BlueJ programmers.
Comparison between Anuran Call Only and Multiple Life-Stage Occupancy Designs in Missouri River Floodplain Wetlands following a Catastrophic Flood

Abstract Amphibian conservation studies often rely on auditory call surveys to determine distribution, abundance, and habitat associations of anuran species. Call surveys omit important life stages, however, and conservation recommendations from call surveys alone risk creating population sinks or ecological traps. To more effectively determine the effects of a catastrophic flood on an amphibian community, we surveyed tadpoles and metamorphs of six anuran species in the Missouri River floodplain in 2012 and 2013. Inference gleaned from these surveys was compared to inference from previous work with call surveys. For 8 of 10 species-years, extinction probabilities were >0 for tadpole and metamorph stages, indicating there may be habitat factors affecting tadpoles and metamorphs beyond those affecting calling adult males. In several cases we discovered habitat associations for tadpoles and metamorphs that were not present during call surveys. We had previously recommended shallow slopes for Blanchard's Cric...
Characterization of Fungal Colonization of Indwelling Esophagostomy Tubes

Fungal colonization of feeding tubes occurs rapidly in people, resulting in decreased structural integrity and complications such as luminal obstruction and tube failure. Esophagostomy tubes (E-tubes) are commonly used in dogs and cats for enteral support, but data are lacking regarding colonizing fungi and the impact of colonization on tube integrity. In this study, esophagostomy tubes were collected in lieu of disposal from dogs and cats undergoing feeding tube exchange. Fungi were isolated with culture and identified using morphological characteristics. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the surface characteristics of the tubes. Two silicone and one polyurethane E-tube were evaluated. Fungi associated with the normal microbiota, including Candida sp. and Penicillium sp., as well as environmental fungi were identified. This case series represents the first documentation of fungal colonization of silicone and polyurethane E-tubes in dogs and cats. Additionally, this is the first report to document degenerative changes in a silicone E-tube.
A RARE CASE OF ST ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION AFTER CHEST TRAUMA

ST-elevation myocardial infarction due to coronary artery damage is a rare but potential complication of blunt chest trauma. The most common artery involved is LAD. Proposed mechanisms include tearing of the intima and intraluminal thrombosis. A 37-year-old male patient with a history of
Pulsed 140 GHz fourier transform microwave spectrometer

An improved pulsed microwave spectrometer for the detection of rotational transitions in gaseous molecules in the frequency range of 130–150 GHz is described. It incorporates a tunable Fabry-Perot cavity and a low noise superheterodyne receiver for the detection of the molecular emission signals. The molecules are excited by π/2 pulses provided by a high efficiency frequency doubler which is pulse modulated at an IF frequency of 1.4 GHz.
Infrastructures of discovery: examining podcast ratings and rankings

This article uses the case of podcasting to think through how elements and features like ratings, charts and other discovery mechanisms are at once part of the industrialization process and an aren...
Eating Disorders and Related Symptomatology in Sexual Minority Men and Boys

While prevalence rates for eating disorders in sexual minority men and boys (e.g., gay, bisexual) are difficult to estimate, research suggests that they are more likely to exhibit eating disorders and eating pathology as compared to heterosexual men and boys. Current models of eating pathology, originally developed and tested in heterosexual women and girls, have found some support among sexual minority men and boys but have also been modified to represent sexual minority-specific influences. Thus far, some work has been done modifying existing treatment and prevention protocols for this population; however, it remains to be seen how much modification is necessary to achieve positive outcomes.
A Review on Low-Cost Microwave Doppler Radar Systems for Structural Health Monitoring

Portable, low-cost, microwave radars have attracted researchers’ attention for being an alternative noncontact solution for structural condition monitoring. In addition, by leveraging their capability of providing the target velocity information, the radar-based remote monitoring of complex rotating structures can also be accomplished. Modern radar systems are compact, able to be easily integrated in sensor networks, and can deliver high accuracy measurements. This paper reviews the recent technical advances in low-cost Doppler radar systems for phase-demodulated displacement measurements and time-Doppler analysis for structural health information, including digital signal processing and emerging applications related to radar sensor networks.
Style is NOT a single variable: Case Studies for Cross-Style Language Understanding

Every natural text is written in some style. Style is formed by a complex combination of different stylistic factors, including formality markers, emotions, metaphors, etc. One cannot form a complete understanding of a text without considering these factors. The factors combine and co-vary in complex ways to form styles. Studying the nature of the co-varying combinations sheds light on stylistic language in general, sometimes called cross-style language understanding. This paper provides the benchmark corpus (xSLUE) that combines existing datasets and collects a new one for sentence-level cross-style language understanding and evaluation. The benchmark contains text in 15 different styles under the proposed four theoretical groupings: figurative, personal, affective, and interpersonal groups. For valid evaluation, we collect an additional diagnostic set by annotating all 15 styles on the same text. Using xSLUE, we propose three interesting cross-style applications in classification, correlation, and generation. First, our proposed cross-style classifier trained with multiple styles together helps improve overall classification performance against individually-trained style classifiers. Second, our study shows that some styles are highly dependent on each other in human-written text. Finally, we find that combinations of some contradictive styles likely generate stylistically less appropriate text. We believe our benchmark and case studies help explore interesting future directions for cross-style research. The preprocessed datasets and code are publicly available.