cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Testing for Guidance and Counseling in Junior Colleges

This paper presents some of the results from a survey of the use of standardized tests in junior colleges. Testing practices and problems related to the use of tests for guidance purposes are emphasized. The findings suggest that junior colleges are making substantial use of a variety of standardized tests primarily for guidance purposes. Problems in using the tests are being experienced, however, because of the inappropriateness of many tests, the scarcity of research evidence indicating how best to use the test results, the unavailability of tests designed to meet the specialized needs of junior colleges, and the lack of personnel with sufficient measurement training or experience.
Configuring Networked Classifiers in Distributed and Resource Constrained Stream Processing Systems

We design algorithms for optimally configuring, in terms of model complexity as well as operating point, a cascade of exclusive classifiers on distributed systems, given underlying resource constraints. Under rate-dependent constraints we design a Viterbi-like strategy to determine the optimal solution with significantly lower computational complexity than an exhaustive search. We illustrate the performance of this strategy on a cascade of classifiers for a speaker verification task, and highlight performance gains over using a single classifier.
Design of an efficient ambient WiFi energy harvesting system

This study is focused on equipping wireless devices (including sensors) with novel, high-efficiency circuitry to harvest and convert ambient radio frequency (RF) power to direct current (dc). Key components of this technology are (a) miniaturised antenna and (b) high-efficiency rectifying circuit. The first is responsible for capturing the RF waves, and the latter converts the RF energy to dc. A major challenge is the design of novel circuitry to generate a battery-like voltage from very low incoming RF energy. Under this study, the authors designed a novel RF power harvesting front-end whose conversion efficiency is significantly improved at low RF power levels (<;-20 dBm) as compared to existing technologies. Thus, the new circuitry can harvest ambient and widely available RF energy, making a game changing technology for powering mobile devices. In this study, the authors demonstrate this technology by using it to power a commercially available temperature and humidity meter with an LCD display. The latter is powered using nothing more than ambient WiFi signals in an office environment.
NUTRIENT LOSSES OVER FOUR MILLION YEARS OF TROPICAL FOREST DEVELOPMENT

Biological, atmospheric, and geochemical processes interact to shape how element cycles and nutrient losses develop within newly formed landscapes. We examined losses of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and base cations across a four-million-year substrate age gradient of Hawaiian montane tropical forests, with the goal of understanding how losses depend on changes in biotic demand, weathering, and atmospheric sources. We were particularly interested in whether losses of nutrients that are not subject to traditional mechanisms of biotic availability could influence ecosystem fertility and nutrient limitation over time. Over a three-year period we sampled nutrient outputs in soil solutions below the active plant-soil system and small streams, gaseous N losses (NO, N2O, and N2), and pools and transformations of N in soils. Weathering was the major determinant of ecosystem losses of P, of base cations and Si, and of ecosystem acid-base status. Sharp reductions in weathering inputs after 20 000 years of forest development caused dramatically lower outputs of P (;65% reduction), Ca 2 1 (;99%), and Si (;94%), to rates that matched inputs from dilute sea-salt and dust aerosols. Internal production of organic acids, in combination with low weathering, caused highly acidic soil waters (pH , 5.0) with elevated Al (up to 300 mg/L) and Ca:Al ratios (,0.3) below values considered critical thresholds for many plant species. Long-term N and P interactions were more complex than predicted by the Walker and Syers model, with important influences of N and P loss pathways that were not subject to direct biotic availability. While losses of available forms of dissolved N and P, and N gases followed (as predicted) ecosystem nutrient availability, significant dissolved organic N (DON) and dissolved organic P (DOP) losses occurred independent of ecosystem N or P status. DON losses were not sufficient (relative to external inputs) to sustain N limitation beyond 20 000 years, while dissolved P losses remained large enough to maintain P lim- itation in older forests. Forests developed high N:P loss ratios over time ( .300 on mass weight basis) due to efficient P recycling and unexpectedly high N throughputs (4-9 kg N·ha 21 ·yr 21 ) by either N fixation and/or N deposition.
The role of temperature and humidity in python nest site selection

Parental care is a convergent trait shown by a broad range of taxa. Often, successful parents must balance multiple developmental variables (e.g. embryonic water balance and thermoregulation). Pythons have recently emerged as valuable parental care models because females show simple egg-brooding behaviours that significantly influence variables of widespread importance (i.e. embryonic predation, hydration, temperature and respiration). Nest site selection is an important parental behaviour that has been shown to enhance several developmental variables in numerous taxa. In pythons, where brooding can substantially mitigate environmental conditions to enhance the developmental environment, it is unclear to what extent females utilize environmental cues in selecting their nest site. Thus, we determined whether nest humidity and temperature influence python nest site selection because these variables influence python egg-brooding behaviour and are strongly associated with offspring fitness. We created a radial maze with three nest site options: OTH: optimal temperature (31.5 °C) and humidity (23 g/m3 H2O), as determined by previous studies; OT: optimal temperature, suboptimal humidity (13 g/m3 H2O); OH: suboptimal temperature (25 °C) and optimal humidity. We monitored the locations of female Children’s pythons, Antaresia childreni, during gravidity, at oviposition and when nonreproductive. Females significantly preferred OTH over OT and OH during both reproductive stages; yet, female choice was not significantly different from random when females were nonreproductive. These results, when considered with previous results, demonstrate that female pythons sense environmental temperature and humidity and use this information at multiple time points (i.e. during gravidity, at oviposition and during egg brooding) to enhance the developmental environment of their offspring.
Impact of a hypomorphic Artemis disease allele on lymphocyte development, DNA end processing, and genome stability.

Artemis was initially discovered as the gene inactivated in human radiosensitive T−B− severe combined immunodeficiency, a syndrome characterized by the absence of B and T lymphocytes and cellular hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation. Hypomorphic Artemis alleles have also been identified in patients and are associated with combined immunodeficiencies of varying severity. We examine the molecular mechanisms underlying a syndrome of partial immunodeficiency caused by a hypomorphic Artemis allele using the mouse as a model system. This mutation, P70, leads to premature translation termination that deletes a large portion of a nonconserved C terminus. We find that homozygous Artemis-P70 mice exhibit reduced numbers of B and T lymphocytes, thereby recapitulating the patient phenotypes. The hypomorphic mutation results in impaired end processing during the lymphoid-specific DNA rearrangement known as V(D)J recombination, defective double-strand break repair, and increased chromosomal instability. Biochemical analyses reveal that the Artemis-P70 mutant protein interacts with the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit and retains significant, albeit reduced, exo- and endonuclease activities but does not undergo phosphorylation. Together, our findings indicate that the Artemis C terminus has critical in vivo functions in ensuring efficient V(D)J rearrangements and maintaining genome integrity.
Kinetic Model for α–Tricalcium Phosphate Hydrolysis

A mechanistic model for the kinetics of hydrolysis of α-tricalcium phosphate (α-Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 or α-TCP) to hydroxyapatite (Ca 10-x (HPO 4 ) x (PO 4 ) 6-x (OH) 2-x or HAp) has been developed. The model is based on experimental hydrolysis rate data obtained using isothermal calorimetry. Analysis of the kinetic data according to the general kinetics models in terms of the fractional degree of reaction and time suggests the hydrolysis to be controlled by different rate-limiting mechanisms as reaction proceeds. Initially, the hydrolysis kinetics depend on the surface area of the anhydrous α-TCP. Subsequently, they change to a dependence on the rate of HAp product formation controlled by a nucleation and growth mechanism. The model predicts that HAp nuclei form at essentially one time and growth occurs in two dimensions, leading to a platelike morphology. The change in the reaction mechanism occurs at a fractional degree of hydrolysis, which does not change significantly with temperature in the range of 37°-56°C.
Theoretical examination of the growth and attenuation of acoustic and entropy waves in ideal Faraday generators

The results of a theoretical investigation of the interaction between electromagnetic fields and acoustic and entropy waves in a partially ionized gas are presented. The simulation uses for the first time actual property curve fits for a coal-combustion plasma rather than the perfect gas relationships that were used in previous studies. The working fluid employed was a combustion plasma from Illinois Hash 6 coal. This allowed for a variable average molecular weight which can be a function of both pressure and temperature. The theoretical analysis also involved the use of a better numerical technique. In the present study the solution is not restricted to constant wave number approximation. The results, presented in the form of reflection and transmission coefficients, are analyzed. The results demonstrate the successful development of a user-friendly computer program that can be used to evaluate the axial linear time response of various types of MHD generator channels including Faraday. >
Universal Logic Modules for Series-Parallel Functions

The need for a two-way interaction between logic synthesis and FPGA logic module design has been stressed recently. Having a logic module that can implement many functions is a good idea only if one can also give a synthesis strategy that makes efficient use of this funtionality. Traditionally technology mapping algorithms have been developed after the logic architecture has been designed. We follow a dual approach, by focusing on a specific technology mapping algorithm, namely the structural tree-based mapping algorithm, and designing a logic module that can be mapped efficiently by this algorithm. It is known that the tree-based mapping algorithm makes optimal use of a library of funtions, each of which can be represented by a tree of AND, OR and NOT gates (series-parallel or SP functions). We show how to design a SP function with a minimum number of inputs, that can implement all possible SP functions with a specified number of inputs. For instance, we demonstrate a 7-input SP function that can implement all 4-input SP functions. Mapping results show that, on an average, the number blocks of this function needed to map benchmark circuits is 12% less than that for Actel's ACT1 logic modules. Our logic modules show a 4% improvement over ACT1, if the block count is scaled to take into account the number of transistors needed to implement different logic modules.
Optimal Component Sizing and Forward-Looking Dispatch of an Electrical Microgrid for Energy Storage Planning

Optimal design of an electrical microgrid and sizing of its components seeks to balance capital investment with expected operational cost while meeting performance requirements. Calculating operational cost requires scheduling each microgrid component over some time period (dispatching) for each design evaluated. Heuristic or rule-based dispatch strategies typically consider only single time instances and are computationally efficient but do not include scheduling energy storage for future time periods. In this paper, we propose to optimize microgrid designs using forward-looking optimal dispatch for future energy storage planning. We present a case study of an ‘islanded’ military base microgrid with renewable and non-renewable electricity generation, battery storage, and plug-in vehicles with electrical export power capability. The optimal design and forward-looking dispatch strategy are compared to results obtained using the publicly available rulebased dispatch strategy in HOMER Energy software. Results show that the forward-looking strategy uses storage batteries to plan for future energy shortfalls rather than simply as a buffer for variable renewable energy supply, resulting in a 7.8% reduction in predicted fuel use. For the given cost assumptions, sensitivity analysis of the optimal design with respect to fuel price shows that investment in renewable energy technology is justified at prices greater than $5 per gallon ($1.32/liter) with an attendant reduction in fuel use of 3–30%.
A Note on the Rate of Decay of Mean-Squared Error With SNR for the AWGN Channel

The problem of transmitting a Gaussian source over an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel when the channel signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is unknown at the transmitter and is known at the receiver is considered. The performance metric used is distortion SNR exponent which is defined as the rate of decay of mean-squared error (MSE) distortion with SNR. The optimal exponent is shown to be equal to the ratio of the number of channel uses to number of source samples. A superposition-based scheme is proposed that can achieve an exponent arbitrarily close to the optimal value.
Pet Ownership, but Not ACE Inhibitor Therapy, Blunts Home Blood Pressure Responses to Mental Stress

In the present study, we evaluated the effect of a nonevaluative social support intervention (pet ownership) on blood pressure response to mental stress before and during ACE inhibitor therapy. Forty-eight hypertensive individuals participated in an experiment at home and in the physician's office. Participants were randomized to an experimental group with assignment of pet ownership in addition to lisinopril (20 mg/d) or to a control group with only lisinopril (20 mg/d). On each study day, blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma renin activity were recorded at baseline and after each mental stressor (serial subtraction and speech). Before drug therapy, mean responses to mental stress did not differ significantly between experimental and control groups in heart rate (94 [SD 6.8] versus 93 [6.8] bpm), systolic blood pressure (182 [8.0] versus 181 [8.3] mm Hg), diastolic blood pressure (120 [6.6] versus 119 [7.9] mm Hg), or plasma renin activity (9.4 [0.59] versus 9.3 [0.57] ng. mL(-1). h(-1)). Lisinopril therapy lowered resting blood pressure by approximately 35/20 mm Hg in both groups, but responses to mental stress were significantly lower among pet owners relative to those who only received lisinopril (P<0.0001; heart rate 81 [6.3] versus 91 [6.5] bpm, systolic blood pressure 131 [6.8] versus 141 [7.8] mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure 92 [6.3] versus 100 [6.8] mm Hg, and plasma renin activity 13.9 [0.92] versus 16.1 [0.58] ng. mL(-1). h(-1)). We conclude that ACE inhibitor therapy alone lowers resting blood pressure, whereas increased social support through pet ownership lowers blood pressure response to mental stress.
Optically controlled silicon microactuators

Four novel schemes are introduced for controlling the motion of a Si mu -actuator directly using a low-power optical signal: (i) photoelectric leakage current, (ii) electric field screening in a semi-insulating layer, (iii) modulating the leakage current of a p-n junction and (iv) modulating the permittivity of a dielectric gas. All use a parallel-plate capacitor with a flexible Si cantilever as one plate. Experiments with the photoelectric device demonstrate for the first time light-controlled actuation, over a distance approximately 0.1 mu m in a time <0.5 s. A figure of merit, defined as a product of useful force and displacement over the product of required power and actuation duration, is introduced for evaluating and comparing different mechanisms that are used to achieve mu -actuation. The figure of merit for direct optical mechanisms are: mu approximately=0.34 for the photoelectric actuator, mu approximately=1 for the electric field screening controlled actuator, mu approximately=1 for the p-n junction leakage current controlled actuator, and mu approximately=2.5*10-6 for the permittivity modulated actuator. Direct optical mechanisms are faster and use less power than thermal techniques ( mu approximately=10-5) and purely electrostatic actuators ( mu approximately=0.1).
Effect of Web‐based interactive tailored health videos on users' attention, interactivity, overall evaluation, preference and engagement

Web-based interactive tailored approaches hold much promise as effective means for delivering health education and improving public health. This study examines the effects of web-based interactive tailored health videos on attention, interactivity, overall evaluation, preference and engagement to health messages using a survey questionnaire. Sixty-eight college students were randomized to examine one of two conditions: a web-based interactive tailored health video or a static site on the same health topic. A survey questionnaire examined participants' self-reported perceptions about their viewing experience including: attention, interactivity, overall evaluation, preference, and engagement. Results show that the attention, interactivity, overall evaluation, preference and engagement were significantly higher when viewing the web video compared to when viewing the static site, indicating greater scores, which was confirmed by the self-reported data. These results suggested that interactive tailored health intervention programs achieved a relatively greater effect on attention, interactivity, overall evaluation, preference and engagement indicated by self-report, when compared to static message delivery.
Screening for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Children and Adolescents: Attitudes, Barriers, and Practices Among Pediatric Clinicians

Objective The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends screening children at risk for type 2 diabetes with a fasting plasma glucose test or an oral glucose tolerance test. The purpose of this study was to describe attitudes, barriers, and practices related to type 2 diabetes screening in children among pediatric clinicians. Methods Pediatricians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants from a multispecialty, group practice in Eastern Massachusetts completed a mailed survey. To assess screening practice, three vignettes were presented representing pediatric patients with low, moderately high, and high risk for type 2 diabetes. The moderately high-risk and high-risk patients met ADA criteria for screening. ADA-consistent practice was defined as only screening the moderately high-risk and high-risk patients; lower-threshold practice was defined as also screening the low-risk patient; and higher threshold practice was screening only the high-risk patient. Results Sixty-two of 90 clinicians responded (69%). Based on intent to screen in the 3 vignettes, 21% of respondents reported ADA-consistent screening practice, 39% lower-threshold, and 35% higher-threshold screening practice. Five percent had incomplete or nonclassifiable responses. Many clinicians ordered screening tests other than those recommended by the ADA; few (≤8% in any vignette) ordered only an ADA-recommended test. Preferences for nonfasting tests were influenced by nonmedical factors such as access to or cost of transportation. Inadequate patient education materials and unclear recommendations for appropriate screening methods were the most frequently reported moderate/strong barriers to screening. Conclusions Most respondents reported type 2 diabetes screening practices that differed from current ADA recommendations. Our findings suggest that type 2 diabetes screening tests must be practical for clinicians and patients if they are to be used in pediatric practice. Further study of the benefits and cost-effectiveness of type 2 diabetes screening in children is warranted to clarify the role and optimal methods for screening in pediatric primary care.
Stand restoration burning in oak-pine forests in the southern Appalachians: effects on aboveground biomass and carbon and nitrogen cycling

Understory prescribed burning is being suggested as a viable management tool for restoring degraded oak–pine forest communities in the southern Appalachians yet information is lacking on how this will affect ecosystem processes. Our objectives in this study were to evaluate the watershed scale effects of understory burning on total aboveground biomass, and the carbon and nitrogen pools in coarse woody debris (CWD), forest floor and soils. We also evaluated the effects of burning on three key biogeochemical fluxes; litterfall, soil CO2 flux and soil net nitrogen mineralization. We found burning significantly reduced understory biomass as well as the carbon and nitrogen pools in CWD, small wood and litter. There was no significant loss of carbon and nitrogen from the fermentation, humus and soil layer probably as the result of low fire intensity. Burning resulted in a total net loss of 55 kg ha � 1 nitrogen from the wood and litter layers, which should be easily replaced by future atmospheric deposition. We found a small reduction in soil CO2 flux immediately following the burn but litterfall and net nitrogen mineralization were not significantly different from controls throughout the growing season following the burn. Overall, the effects of burning on the ecosystem processes we measured were small, suggesting that prescribed burning may be an effective management tool for restoring oak–pine ecosystems in the southern Appalachians. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Measuring and Comparing the Productivity of Mandarin Chinese Suffixes

The present study attempts to measure and compare the morphological productivity of five Mandarin Chinese suffixes: the verbal suffix -hua, the plural suffix -men, and the nominal suffixes -r, -zi, and -tou. These suffixes are predicted to differ in their degree of productivity : -hua and -men appear to be productive, being able to systematically form a word with a variety of base words, whereas -zi and -tou (and perhaps also -r) may be limited in productivity. Baayen [1989, 1992] proposes the use of corpus data in measuring productivity in word formation. Based on word-token frequencies in a large corpus of texts, his token-based measure of productivity expresses productivity as the probability that a new word form of an affix will be encountered in a corpus. We first use the token-based measure to examine the productivity of the Mandarin suffixes. The present study, then, proposes a type-based measure of productivity that employs the deleted estimation method [Jelinek & Mercer, 1985] in defining unseen words of a corpus and expresses productivity by the ratio of unseen word types to all word types. The proposed type-based measure yields the productivity ranking “-men, -hua, -r, -zi, -tou,” where -men is the most productive and -tou is the least productive. The effects of corpus-data variability on a productivity measure are also examined. The proposed measure is found to obtain a consistent productivity ranking despite variability in corpus data.
The pterygopalatine fossa: postoperative MR imaging appearance.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The pterygopalatine fossa (PPF) is an important anatomic location of the deep portion of the face. It is essential to review this area on both pre- and posttreatment studies of head and neck malignancies to assess local extent of disease or recurrence and perineural tumor spread. The purpose of this study was to review the postoperative appearance of the PPF on MR images. METHODS: Imaging and clinical data of 10 patients who underwent surgical resection of tumor in which the PPF was violated at surgery were reviewed. Patients were included in the study if there was no imaging or clinical evidence of tumor in the PPF pre- or postoperatively. Postoperative MR studies were examined to assess the appearance of the PPF. RESULTS: The PPF is consistently and persistently abnormal after surgical violation. There is loss of the normal T1 signal hyperintensity and abnormal, increased contrast enhancement, as seen on fat-suppressed T1-weighted images. These postoperative changes are strikingly similar to those of tumor involvement. CONCLUSION: After surgical violation, the PPF will always appear abnormal on MR images, and the expected imaging findings must be recognized to avoid the misdiagnosis of tumor recurrence.
Thick film strain gauges on insulated metal substrates for high sensitivity mechanical sensors

New thick film (TF) pastes have been tested on unconventional metal substrates for applications in sensor manufacturing. The good elastic properties of selected metals and alloys can improve TF transducer sensitivity. The compatibility of metal substrates and pastes with respect to TF technology has been characterized. Various systems have been tested with regard to the adhesion and to the dielectric surface condition; strain gauges have been printed and fired on the obtained insulated substrates and data on the measured values of some electrical parameters such as the sheet resistance value, the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), the gauge factor (GF) are reported. >
Case 50: A Most Important Lesson

A 56-year-old woman (72 kg, 5 ft 10 in.) is scheduled for laparoscopic hysterectomy. She is classified as an ASA 1 and has no allergies. Her only medication is vitamins. General anesthesia is induced in a routine manner. You have a grade 1 view on laryngoscopy and pass a #7 endotracheal tube (ETT) without any problem. The ETT cuff is inflated. There is mist in the ETT and you see end-tidal CO2. You confirm bilateral air entry. The ETT is secured at 22 cm at the lip. A temperature probe is placed in the esophagus and an upper body Bair Hugger is placed on the patient. The nurse inserts a urinary catheter. She hands you the urine catheter bag (Bard Criticore collection container, CR Bard Inc., Covington, GA 30014) and you place it in the Criticore (Fluid output and temperature monitor, CR Bard Inc., Covington, GA 30014). The surgeon has not come into the room. You are waiting for her to tell you what antibiotic she wants.
Learning Robust and Discriminative Subspace With Low-Rank Constraints

In this paper, we aim at learning robust and discriminative subspaces from noisy data. Subspace learning is widely used in extracting discriminative features for classification. However, when data are contaminated with severe noise, the performance of most existing subspace learning methods would be limited. Recent advances in low-rank modeling provide effective solutions for removing noise or outliers contained in sample sets, which motivates us to take advantage of low-rank constraints in order to exploit robust and discriminative subspace for classification. In particular, we present a discriminative subspace learning method called the supervised regularization-based robust subspace (SRRS) approach, by incorporating the low-rank constraint. SRRS seeks low-rank representations from the noisy data, and learns a discriminative subspace from the recovered clean data jointly. A supervised regularization function is designed to make use of the class label information, and therefore to enhance the discriminability of subspace. Our approach is formulated as a constrained rank-minimization problem. We design an inexact augmented Lagrange multiplier optimization algorithm to solve it. Unlike the existing sparse representation and low-rank learning methods, our approach learns a low-dimensional subspace from recovered data, and explicitly incorporates the supervised information. Our approach and some baselines are evaluated on the COIL-100, ALOI, Extended YaleB, FERET, AR, and KinFace databases. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, especially when the data contain considerable noise or variations.
Transthyretin is not essential for thyroxine to reach the brain and other tissues in transthyretin-null mice

As part of a study on tissue uptake of thyroxine (T4) in a transthyretin (TTR)-null mouse strain, kinetic parameters of thyroxine metabolism in wild-type mice under normal physiological conditions ...
Evolution of behavioral resistance in German cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) selected with a toxic bait

Two strains of German cockroaches, Blattella germanica (L.), with low-level chlorpyrifos resistance were given a choice between a chlorpyrifos bait and an alternate food source. Survivors were mated, their progeny tested, and the procedure repeated for 5 generations on 1 strain and 7 on the other. Selection caused mortality to drop from 50 to 9.2% in 1 strain and from 38 to 6.7% in the other. Percentage bait consumption (amount of bait consumed divided by total food consumption) was >50% of that in the parent strains. Physiological resistance tended to increase slightly in 1 strain but to decrease in the other. Increased avoidance was the major cause of the drop in mortality.
Systems Analysis of Thrombus Formation

The systems analysis of thrombosis seeks to quantitatively predict blood function in a given vascular wall and hemodynamic context. Relevant to both venous and arterial thrombosis, a Blood Systems Biology approach should provide metrics for rate and molecular mechanisms of clot growth, thrombotic risk, pharmacological response, and utility of new therapeutic targets. As a rapidly created multicellular aggregate with a polymerized fibrin matrix, blood clots result from hundreds of unique reactions within and around platelets propagating in space and time under hemodynamic conditions. Coronary artery thrombosis is dominated by atherosclerotic plaque rupture, complex pulsatile flows through stenotic regions producing high wall shear stresses, and plaque-derived tissue factor driving thrombin production. In contrast, venous thrombosis is dominated by stasis or depressed flows, endothelial inflammation, white blood cell-derived tissue factor, and ample red blood cell incorporation. By imaging vessels, patient-specific assessment using computational fluid dynamics provides an estimate of local hemodynamics and fractional flow reserve. High-dimensional ex vivo phenotyping of platelet and coagulation can now power multiscale computer simulations at the subcellular to cellular to whole vessel scale of heart attacks or strokes. In addition, an integrated systems biology approach can rank safety and efficacy metrics of various pharmacological interventions or clinical trial designs.
Investigation on present status of occupational hazards in an equipment forging company of Guilin City

[Objective]To investigate occupational hazards in the production process of equipment forging company in Guilin City,and provide a basis to protect the health for workers.[Methods]The field occupational health survey,field detection of occupational hazards were performed in this company in 2012,as well as analysis of health examination results.[Results]The main occupational hazards of the factory included productive dust,carbon monoxide,manganese dioxide,methanol,benzene and benzene series,noise and heat,etc.Field test results showed that the time weighted average concentration(TWA) qualified rate of productive dust was 96.2%,short time exposure concentration(STEL) qualified rate of productive dust was 88.5%;Productive noise qualified rate was 56.5%,and the highest noise equivalent sound level of operating point was 93.3 dB(A);The results of electro-audiometry found that hearing abnormal rate was 24.2% in 302 workers with noise exposure(noise group),mainly in the high-frequency hearing loss.In noise group,the rates of elevated blood pressure and abnormal electrocardiogram were 13.9% and 12.3%,respectively.However,in 135 workers without noise exposure(non-noise group),the rates of elevated blood pressure and abnormal ECG were 5.2% and 3.0%,respectively,with significant difference between the 2 groups(both P 0.01).[Conclusion]The noise intensity is high in this enterprise,health of workers are affected by noise exposure.It is necessary to improve the working environment with noise exposure,and prevent the occurrence of the occupational noise deafness.
Exercise training in coronary artery disease.

Most patients with coronary artery disease can be safely guided in an exercise program that will increase their functional capacity and lower the cardiac work required for total body work. A training effect is usually achieved with the modest effort of 20 minutes of dynamic exercise at a heart rate of about 75 per cent maximal three times per week. The adaptations producing this effect in coronary patients are primarily peripheral, but central effects may occur. Psychologic improvements are often accomplished, Other factors that lower the risk of coronary disease morbidity and mortality may be favorably altered.
Biomaterials Used In Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is a field that has rapidly advanced as a result of the development of new techniques and materials (Table 4.1). For instance correction of vision using contact lenses has been accomplished since the 1960s and will eventually be replaced using a procedure in which a biomaterial and laser surgery are used to change the curvature of the cornea. Viscous solutions containing large molecules are used during surgical procedures to protect the cellular linings of the eye chambers and to allow insertion of intraocular lenses. These lenses are used to replace natural lenses containing cataracts. Polymer solutions are used to replace the fluid contained in the posterior eye chamber to force the retina backward and maintain its position after surgery. Scleral buckling materials are used to indent the retina inward toward a site of retinal detachment.
LAPping up dead cells to prevent lupus nephritis: a novel role for noncanonical autophagy in autoimmunity

The mechanisms underlying the development of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis remain poorly understood. A recent study demonstrates that deficiencies in the immune system's ability to degrade scavenged dead cells via noncanonical autophagy is sufficient to break immune tolerance and produce features commonly seen in lupus, including circulating autoantibodies, inflammatory cytokines, and nephritis. This work provides a possible mechanism for the association of polymorphisms in autophagy genes with the risk of lupus.
Speed-Controlled Impact into Cornstarch and Water Suspensions

In Chap. 4 we investigate the dependence of the solidification of the suspension on particle packing fraction with speed-controlled impact experiments. We find that for high-enough impact speeds, it is consistent with the 2D experiments of Chap. 3. Additionally, we also uncover the role of the liquid viscosity.
Interactive Democracy: A Promising Path Forward?

This essay critically examines Carol Gould's recent defense of interactive democracy as an essential component of any viable path forward toward global democracy. It argues that interactive democracy requires more than a 'rights as pro tanto equally valid claims' conception of human rights and that it remains underspecified in the absence of a well-worked out conception of the rule of law.
Measuring muscle fatigue during computer mouse use

The goal of this study is to determine whether muscle fatigue can be measured in the finger muscles used to grip the sides of a computer mouse. Ten subjects used a mouse with and without drag-lock intensively for six hours each on two separate days. The mouse was instrumented to continuously measure forces applied to the sides and button of the mouse. Before, during and after mouse use, the subject's level of muscle fatigue in the mousing hand was assessed by measuring the muscle twitch forces resulting from 2 Hz electrical stimulation of the ring finger Flexor Digitorum Superficialis muscle. Subjects applied a mean force equivalent of 0.6% MVC to the sides of both mice during the experiment. Significant levels of muscle fatigue (p=0.034) were measured after 3 hours of mouse operation and persisted up to 40 minutes after mouse use had ceased. This study demonstrates that muscle fatigue can be measured in the finger muscles after applying prolonged, low level, quasi-static forces to the sides of the mouse.
Statement of Lawrence B. Solum: Hearings on the Nomination of the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

This statement addresses the nature of originalism. Originalism consists of three core ideas: (1) the original meaning of the constitutional text is its public meaning; (2) the original meaning of the text is fixed at the time the text was framed and ratified; and, (3) judges should be bound by the original meaning of the text. Much of the public discussion of originalism has focused on myths: originalism does not attempt to answer the question, "What would Madison do?," and many other charges against originalism are mythical as well. Originalism is in the mainstream of American jurisprudence historically, and originalism should be acceptable to Americans from a broad range of political orientations. The two core arguments for originalism focus on the rule of law and legitimacy.
Enhanced effective second-order nonlinearities in Si-rich SiN x thin films

We develop Si-rich SiN x thin films exhibiting large effective second-order nonlinearity (χ(2)) as high as 22.7 pm/V by combining the nonlinear contribution from pre-existing χ(2) in SiN x and from the electric-field induced second-harmonic (EFISH) effect.
The politics of identity and security in post-Cold War Western and Central Europe

This essay reviews recent contributions to important contemporary discussions on international politics and proposes some ways in which scholars and observers of European politics might utilize the...
Conservation Equations and Their Application to Queuing Simulations

In this paper we continue our study of efficient estimators for simulated queuing systems. We previously showed that it is more efficient to estimate the first moments of all the usual measures of performance from an estimate of mean wait in queue than to estimate them directly. Here we derive some new conservation equations that are then used to obtain efficient estimators of the variances of the usual measures of performance. We also introduce an estimator that is more efficient than the usual estimator for the probability that an arriving customer is blocked.
Perspectives on Policy and the Value of Nursing Science in a Big Data Era

As data volume explodes, nurse scientists grapple with ways to adapt to the big data movement without jeopardizing its epistemic values and theoretical focus that celebrate while acknowledging the authority and unity of its body of knowledge. In this article, the authors describe big data and emphasize ways that nursing science brings value to its study. Collective nursing voices that call for more nursing engagement in the big data era are answered with ways to adapt and integrate theoretical and domain expertise from nursing into data science.
Effects of a Video-Based Teacher Observation Program on the De-Privatization of Instruction: Evidence From a Randomized Experiment:

Purpose: U.S. schools have traditionally been characterized by teacher privacy and independence, yet theory and empirical work suggest that peer observation and support—or “de-privatized instructio...
Coarse proximity and proximity at infinity

Abstract We define coarse proximity structures, which are an analog of small-scale proximity spaces in the large-scale context. We show that metric spaces induce coarse proximity structures, and we construct a natural small-scale proximity structure, called the proximity at infinity, on the set of equivalence classes of unbounded subsets of an unbounded metric space given by the relation of having finite Hausdorff distance. We show that this construction is functorial. Consequently, the proximity isomorphism type of the proximity at infinity of an unbounded metric space X is a coarse invariant of X.
Animal Models: Illuminating the Pathogenesis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Three research areas derived from human studies of epidemiology, pathology, and sleep in infants have made contributions to our understanding of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Epidemiological studies of infants who died of SIDS have identified a variety of risk factors associated with increased and decreased risk of SIDS (1-7), including prone sleeping position (8, 9), maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy, and heat stress in the infant, often related to overheated environments, excessive bed clothing, or other unsafe sleeping practices (8, 10, 11). Additional risk factors include a recent upper respiratory tract infection, bed sharing, prematurity, and intrauterine and/or postnatal hypoxic stress.Similar progress in understanding the origins of SIDS has been made by pathologists analysing the brains of infants who died and were classified as SIDS. Analyses of brain tissue from these infants have consistently revealed a high prevalence of abnormalities in the brainstem serotoninergic system including an increased number of serotonergic neurons, a higher proportion of serotonergic neurons displaying immature morphology, decreased tissue levels of serotonin (5-HT) and its synthetic enzyme, tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2), and decreased 5-HT receptor binding intensity both in serotonergic nuclei themselves and in several nuclei that are important in cardiorespiratory control (9, 12-16). Similar serotonin system deficits have been described in infants who died of asphyxia (17). There has been persistent speculation that infants who died of SIDS suffered from hypoxia (i.e. low oxygen levels) at some time preceding death (18-22), and hypoxia appeared to delay maturation of the brain in infants who died of SIDS (19-21, 23, 24).Finally, sleep studies in the infants who subsequently died of SIDS have revealed a sequence of repetitive episodes of hypoxia preceding, or following, apnea and/or bradycardia, followed by autoresuscitative efforts to restore normal breathing and arouse from sleep (25-28). Death occurred when the autoresuscitation or arousal following prolonged apnea failed to restore regular breathing and adequate oxygenation. Many infants experienced sequences of multiple hypoxic apneic events from which they recovered, only to succumb to a final event in which autoresuscitation and/or arousal failed.
The Spacetime Perspective on AI-assisted Decision Making

We consider human decisions as shaped by five P's: People, Principle, Policy, Process and Practice. We examine and characterize three continua in terms of the five P's: (1) the natural continuum from particle to transcendental system where human species (people) is the major component, (2) the hardware-software continuum from bit to complex computer application created by humans (people), and (3) human decision spacetime as "E4={rational, non-rational, irrational, time} → problem identification and investigation → solution" in which human (people) decisions govern and move their creations such as business, market and economy. We use analogy and analogical reasoning among components of the continua to formulate automation for AI-assisted decision making.
Sparse Hardware Embedding of Spiking Neuron Systems for Community Detection

We study the applicability of spiking neural networks and neuromorphic hardware for solving general opti- mization problems without the use of adaptive training or learning algorithms. We leverage the dynamics of Hopfield networks and spin-glass systems to construct a fully connected spiking neural system to generate synchronous spike responses indicative of the underlying community structure in an undirected, unweighted graph. Mapping this fully connected system to current generation neuromorphic hardware is done by embedding sparse tree graphs to generate only the leading-order spiking dynamics. We demonstrate that for a chosen set of benchmark graphs, the spike responses generated on a current generation neuromorphic processor can improve the stability of graph partitions and non-overlapping communities can be identified even with the loss of higher-order spiking behavior if the graphs are sufficiently dense. For sparse graphs, the loss of higher-order spiking behavior improves the stability of certain graph partitions but does not retrieve the known community memberships.
Enabling Safe Sodium Metal Batteries by Solid Electrolyte Interphase Engineering: A Review

With the merits of a naturally abundant sodium (Na) resource with similar electrochemical characteristics to that of lithium-ion batteries, Na-based batteries have been widely studied as the next-g...
Discovery and Contribution of Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae NTHI1441 to Human Respiratory Epithelial Cell Invasion.

ABSTRACT Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is the primary cause of bacterially induced acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). NTHi adheres to and invades host respiratory epithelial cells as a means to persist in the lower airways of adults with COPD. Therefore, we mined the genomes of NTHi strains isolated from the airways of adults with COPD to identify novel proteins to investigate their role in adherence and invasion of human respiratory epithelial cells. An isogenic knockout mutant of the open reading frame NTHI1441 showed a 76.6% ± 5.5% reduction in invasion of human bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells at 1, 3, and 6 h postinfection. Decreased invasion of the NTHI1441 mutant was independent of either intracellular survival or adherence to cells. NTHI1441 is conserved among NTHi genomes. Results of whole-bacterial-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry experiments identified that NTHI1441 has epitopes expressed on the bacterial cell surface. Adults with COPD develop increased serum IgG against NTHI1441 after experiencing an exacerbation with NTHi. This study reveals NTHI1441 as a novel NTHi virulence factor expressed during infection of the COPD lower airways that contributes to invasion of host respiratory epithelial cells. The role in host cell invasion, conservation among strains, and expression of surface-exposed epitopes suggest that NTHI1441 is a potential target for preventative and therapeutic interventions for disease caused by NTHi.
An 81-Year-Old Man With Shortness of Breath After Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer

Case Presentation An 81-year-old man was admitted for evaluation of progressive dyspnea over the previous 4 weeks. He initially noticed dyspnea when walking briskly, but this progressed to dyspnea after only walking several feet. He also endorsed a dry cough without hemoptysis. Review of systems revealed a history of intermittent low-grade fevers, malaise, and nonexertional chest pain. He had been treated for a urinary tract infection twice over the past 3 weeks with prolonged courses of levofloxacin; while his urinary symptoms improved, his respiratory symptoms did not. Medical history was pertinent for lung adenocarcinoma stage IIIb status post right upper lobectomy 10 years prior with recurrence of lung adenocarcinoma in the right lower lobe and was recently diagnosed with stage 1 primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma. He had been a longstanding tobacco smoker but quit two decades ago. Treatment of his recurrent lung adenocarcinoma included four cycles of carboplatin-pemetrexed over the preceding 5 months and intensity-modulated radiation therapy totaling 60 Gy over 30 fractions to his right lower lobe 2 months prior to presentation. He also received stereotactic body radiation therapy totaling 45 Gy over five fractions to his pancreas.