cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liquid interfaces probed by second-harmonic and sum-frequency spectroscopy

A powerful approach to the study of interfaces has been developing rapidly in the past decade. It is based on the spectroscopic methods of second-harmonic (SHG) and sum-frequency generation (SFG). These nonlinear optical techniques, being spectroscopic, provide information at the most fundamental level. A microscopic description of equilibrium and dynamic interface processes requires knowledge of the molecules at the interface, their orientational structure, the energetics that drive chemical and physical processes, and the time scale of molecular motions and relaxation processes. The techniques of second-harmonic and sum-frequency generation have made it possible to selectively probe the chemistry, physics, and biology of gas/liquid, liquid/liquid, liquid/solid, gas/solid, and solid/solid interfaces at the molecular level. In this abbreviated article only liquid interfaces will be considered; gas/solid and solid/solid interfaces are not included. This restriction is necessary because of the enormous increase in SH and SF studies in recent years, which makes it extremely difficult to properly discuss the range of work being carried out around the world. Unfortunately not all of the fine work even in the area of liquid interfaces has been included because of both space and time limitations. A number of review articles are referred to which cover some ofmore » the research material not covered in this article. 99 refs.« less
Recent Developments with the Dripless Bubbler Ultrasonic Scanner

In keeping with the requirements of the air carrier maintenance community, we have developed a closed-cycle, water-coupled, ultrasonic method using a focused-beam broadband pulse for the nondestructive inspection (NDI) of adhesively bonded aluminum and composite aircraft fuselage structures. This approach, known as the “Dripless Bubbler” technique, is a combination of focused-beam immersion ultrasonics with portable ultrasonic scanners[1–4]. The Dripless Bubbler retains the high quality associated with focused-beam immersion ultrasonics, eliminates uncontained couplant water; and more importantly, it provides the capability to ultrasonically scan the exterior of an aircraft over surface protrusions such as button-head rivets and lap splice edges.
The Clinical Spectrum of Nocardia brasiliensis Infection in the United States

Seven cases of infection due to Nocardia brasiliensis were identified over a 13-year period at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. These seven cases and a review of 55 cases in the literature reported from the United States show that N. brasiliensis can cause a wide spectrum of disease. Forty-six of the 62 patients had disease of skin and soft tissues. Cutaneous manifestations included cellulitis, pustules, ulcerations, pyoderma, subcutaneous abscesses, a lymphocutaneous syndrome, and mycetoma. Six patients had pleuropulmonary disease, and one patient had isolated central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Dissemination of disease, a characteristic generally attributed to Nocardia asteroides infection, was seen in eight instances. Patient ages ranged from one to 79 years; 51 of the patients were males. N. brasiliensis was an opportunistic pathogen in only 28% of the cases for which adequate clinical information was available, although trauma was an important predisposing feature of cutaneous disease (19 of 43 cases). Infection may be acquired either by cutaneous inoculation or respiratory inhalation. Clinical outcome is related to the site and extent of disease and to the presence or absence of serious underlying disease. All patients with skin and soft-tissue infections recovered, as did 83% of those with pulmonary involvement. For patients with disseminated or CNS disease, however, mortality was 67%. Traditional therapy with sulfonamides is not optimal for metastatic nocardial disease, and administration of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole may increase rates of cure.
Comparison of Leaf and Stem Hygrometers for Measuring Changes in Peanut Plant Water Potential1

Abstract For an “in situ” thermocouple hygrometer to be of value it must give reasonable estimates of plant-water potential and must respond rapidly to plant-water potential changes. Leaf thermocouple hygrometers (Wescor) and specially fabricated stem thermocouple hygrometers were evaluated on peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plants under well-watered and drought conditions in a growth chamber. When soil-water stress was low and plant-water movement was near steady state, the two sensors gave similar water potential values. When soil-water stresses were imposed or when plant process varied cyclically (eg., photosynthesis, transpiration), stem hygrometers sensed dynamic changes in the plant's water potential more consistently than did leaf hygrometers placed on leaves with intact cuticles. It appears that both the stem and leaf hygrometers hold promise for sensing plant water potential changes of peanut in the field.
Accurate enthalpies of formation of alkali and alkaline earth metal oxides and hydroxides: assessment of the correlation consistent composite approach (ccCA).

Computing the enthalpies of formation for alkali metal and alkaline earth metal oxides (MxO) and hydroxides [M(OH)n] using the Gaussian-n (Gn) and Weismann-n (Wn) ab initio model chemistries is difficult due to an improper treatment of core-valence electron correlation effects. Using a new model chemistry called the correlation consistent Composite Approach (ccCA), enthalpies of formation were determined for eight different alkali/alkaline earth metal oxides and hydroxides. Unlike the Gn and Wn model chemistries, which must be modified to properly account for core-valence electron correlation, the standard implementations of the ccCA provide acceptable results, and all enthalpies of formation obtained with the ccCA are within the accepted range of recommended values.
Integrating Positive Psychology Into Family Therapy Positive Family Therapy

The article provides an overview of positive family therapy that combines family therapy and positive psychology to develop a nonpathologizing, growth-oriented, strengths-based, relationship-focused model of intervening with families. The theoretical roots from both family therapy and positive psychology are described. The unique feature is the mechanism of change, broaden and build theory from positive psychology. Examples of techniques are provided that foster strengths, virtues, approach goals, and positive affect. In accordance with the counseling psychology tradition, we argue that positive family therapy is culturally sensitive, growth oriented, and hope enhancing.
A graph theoretic approach for synthesizing very low-complexity high-speed digital filters

We present computation reduction techniques which can either be used to obtain multiplierless implementation of finite impulse response (FIR) digital filters or to further improve multiplierless implementation obtained by currently used techniques. Although presented in the FIR filtering framework, these ideas are also directly applicable to any task/application which can be expressed as multiplication of vectors by scalars. The presented approach is to remove computational redundancy by reordering computation. The reordering problem is formulated using a graph in which vertices represent coefficients and edges represent resources required in a computation using the differential coefficient defined by the difference of the vertices joined by the edge. This interpretation leads to various methods for computation reduction for which simple polynomial run time algorithms are presented. It is shown that about 20% reduction in the number of add operations per coefficient can be obtained over the conventional multiplierless implementations. It is also shown that implementations requiring less than one adder per coefficient can be obtained using the presented approaches when using nonuniformly scaled coefficients quantized from infinite precision representation by simple rounding.
The kinetics of vascular thermotolerance in SCK tumors of A/J mice

Abstract Development of thermotolerance has been observed in diverse biological systems. Despite the important role of blood circulation in heat-induced tissue damage, little is known about vascular thermotolerance. The kinetics of vascular thermotolerance in SCK tumors of A/J mice was investigated in this study. A single heating at 43.5°C or 44.5°C for 1 hr caused marked damage in tumor vasculature, as demonstrated by a marked decrease in Rb-86 uptake (% of injected dose/g of dried tissue). The tumor vasculature became resistant or tolerant to subsequent heatings at those temperatures when the tumors were preheated at 42.5°C for 1 hr. Vascular thermotolerance became significant at 5 hr and reached its maximum at 18 hr after preheating at 42.5°C. When the vascular thermotolerance was at its peak, heating at temperatures as high as 44.5°C for 1 hr could not reduce the tumor blood flow. The vascular thermotolerance decayed considerably but not completely at 72 hr after the preheating. The vascular thermotolerance may exert a profound implication on the response of tissues, including tumors, to multiple heatings.
Perfect Auxiliary Selection in the Old Saxon Heliand

Shannon (1990) argues that the notions of lexical aspect ( Aktionsart ) and transitivity are a central part of perfect auxiliary variation. This paper builds on Shannon's (1993, 1995) analyses of perfect auxiliary selection in German and other related languages. Shannon accounts for perfect auxiliary variation by means of prototypes for high transitivity and high mutativity as well as the notion of Aktionsart . This paper examines the transitivity/mutativity parameters and the concept of Aktionsart using the examples of perfect auxiliary + past participle found in the Old Saxon Heliand . An examination of some 150 examples reveals that the choice of auxiliary can be explained by Aktionsart and a definition of transitivity that is characterized by conceptual imagery.
The influence of impact velocity and ice specimen geometry on the charge transfer associated with temperature gradients in ice

When pure uniform ice specimens of different temperatures are brought into gentle contact for times ranging from 10−3 to 5.10−2 sec and are then separated, the charge transfer is a maximum for a contact time of about 7.5 × 10−3 sec and is in agreement with the equations of Latham and Mason (1961a). With ice of higher conductivity the maximum charge transfer occurs after smaller contact times. For impact velocities less than about 7.5 cm sec−1 the charge transfer is in agreement with the theory but above this value the charge transfer increases linearly with impact velocity. The charge transfer is also enhanced, by as much as an order of magnitude, if the ice specimens are tapered. A tentative conclusion to be drawn from these experiments is that the value of 5 × 10−4 e.s.u., measured by Reynolds, Brook and Gourley (1957) for the charge transfer per collision between an ice crystal and a warmer artificial hailstone, which is sufficient to generate charge at a rate required by a tenable theory of thunderstorm electrification, may be explicable in terms of the temperature-gradient effect. When steady temperature gradients are applied to uniform specimens of pure ice the potentials developed across the ice are unaffected by the pressure to which the ice is subjected. The application of steady temperature gradients to tapered ice specimens produces potentials which are up to an order of magnitude greater than predicted theoretically.
Cyanobacterial response regulator PatA contains a conserved N-terminal domain (PATAN) with an alpha-helical insertion

The cyanobacterium Anabaena (Nostoc) PCC 7120 responds to starvation for nitrogen compounds by differentiating approximately every 10th cell in the filament into nitrogen-fixing cells called heterocysts. Heterocyst formation is subject to complex regulation, which involves an unusual response regulator PatA that contains a CheY-like phosphoacceptor (receiver, REC) domain at its C-terminus. PatA-like response regulators are widespread in cyanobacteria; one of them regulates phototaxis in Synechocystis PCC 6803. Sequence analysis of PatA revealed, in addition to the REC domain, a previously undetected, conserved domain, which we named PATAN (after PatA N-terminus), and a potential helix--turn--helix (HTH) domain. PATAN domains are encoded in a variety of environmental bacteria and archaea, often in several copies per genome, and are typically associated with REC, Roadblock and other signal transduction domains, or with DNA-binding HTH domains. Many PATAN domains contain insertions of a small additional domain, termed α-clip, which is predicted to form a four-helix bundle. PATAN domains appear to participate in protein--protein interactions that regulate gliding motility and processes of cell development and differentiation in cyanobacteria and some proteobacteria, such as Myxococcus xanthus and Geobacter sulfurreducens. Contact: galperin@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Supplementary information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Complete_Genomes/SigCensus/PATAN.html
cAMP-independent and cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylations by isolated goldfish xanthophore cytoskeletons: evidence for the association of cytoskeleton with a carotenoid droplet protein.

Abstract Triton-insoluble cytoskeleton of nonpigment cells has bound protein kinase that phosphorylates, with or without added cAMP, tubulins and the intermediate filament proteins p60, p56, p53, and p45a to give multiple charge variants. In the absence of 8-Br-cAMP, Triton-insoluble cytoskeletons from xanthophores also phosphorylate p60, p56, and p45a, but not p53; tubulin phosphorylation may also be reduced. In the presence of 8-Br-cAMP, p53, as well as several other peptides, are phosphorylated. One of these latter peptides was identified as the carotenoid droplet (pigment organelle) protein p57, whose phosphorylation and dephosphorylation precede pigment dispersion and aggregation respectively (Lynch et al.: J. Biol. Chem. 261:4204-4211, 1986). The amount of pp57 produced depends on the state of pigment distribution in the xanthophores used to prepare the cytoskeletons for labeling. With cytoskeletons from xanthophores with aggregated pigment, pp57 is a major labeled phosphoprotein seen in two-dimensional gels. With cytoskeletons prepared from xanthophores with dispersed pigment, the yield of labeled pp57 is greatly reduced (by at least 90%). Together with earlier results, we propose that, in the aggregated state, p57 serves to bind carotenoid droplets to the cytoskeletons, most likely the microtubules. The significance of other cAMP-dependent phosphorylation reactions is unknown but may be related to cAMP-induced cytoskeleton rearrangement in intact xanthophores.
Rapid ecological and behavioural changes in carnivores: the responses of black bears (Ursus americanus) to altered food

Many areas have experienced disproportionate increases in the number of conflicts between large carnivores and humans, and this is especially true in western North America where urban sprawl has encroached into regions that have historically contained large carnivores. Yet, globally there is a paucity of studies of temporal changes in behavioural and ecological parameters of carnivores associated with human-induced perturbations at the same location. We capitalized on the extent to which human population growth and its coincident food stores offer a quasi-experimental setting to test hypotheses about the impact of novel food resources. Using black bears Ursus americanus and garbage, measures of behaviour and ecology were contrasted between individuals living in urban– wildland interface (‘experimental’) and in wildland (‘control’) settings at the interface of the Sierra Nevada Range and the Great Basin Desert in the western United States. A temporal dimension was included by comparing our data to those from the same population lacking areas of human encroachment 10–15 years earlier. Specifically, an examination was made of the impacts of garbage on bear time budgets, patterns of activity, and den chronology. Individuals at urban interface areas relative to wildland conspecifics were: (1) active for significantly fewer h per day (8.5 vs 13.3 h; P < 0.01); (2) shifted their activities to nocturnal periods (P < 0.001); (3) entered dens significantly later and remained in them for significantly fewer days (P < 0.05). Our results are contrasted with selected carnivores from sites where attendant changes in behaviour and ecology have accompanied landscape changes associated with human activity. Our findings suggest alterations in carnivore ecology may be rapid and occur within shorter periods than had been previously assumed.
Mass communication research on China from 2000 to 2010: a meta-analysis

This study presents a meta-analysis of mass communication research on China from 2000 to 2010. It reveals patterns in authorship, methodological and theoretical approaches, medium, and area of focus, through a content analysis of 159 articles published in 20 major communication journals. Eight frameworks frequently used by communication scholars to study China are identified in a follow-up analytical review. The paper concludes with discussion on the implications of the findings and suggestions for future work.
Null double injection and the extra element theorem

The extra element theorem (EET) states that any transfer function of a linear system can be expressed in terms of its value when a given 'extra' element is absent, and a correction factor involving the extra element and two driving-point impedances are seen by the element. In the present work, the EET is derived and applied to several examples in a manner that has been developed and refined in the classroom over a number of years. The concept of null double injection is introduced first, because it is the key to making easy the calculation of the two driving-point impedances needed for the EET correction factor. The EET for series and parallel elements is then considered, and attention is also given to the EET as an analysis tool, to the symmetry of the two forms of the EET, and to return ratios and sensitivity. >
Detecting privacy leaks using corpus-based association rules

Detecting inferences in documents is critical for ensuring privacy when sharing information. In this paper, we propose a refined and practical model of inference detection using a reference corpus. Our model is inspired by association rule mining: inferences are based on word co-occurrences. Using the model and taking the Web as the reference corpus, we can find inferences and measure their strength through web-mining algorithms that leverage search engines such as Google or Yahoo!.Our model also includes the important case of private corpora, to model inference detection in enterprise settings in which there is a large private document repository. We find inferences in private corpora by using analogues of our Web-mining algorithms, relying on an index for the corpus rather than a Web search engine.We present results from two experiments. The first experiment demonstrates the performance of our techniques in identifying all the keywords that allow for inference of a particular topic (e.g. "HIV") with confidence above a certain threshold. The second experiment uses the public Enron e-mail dataset. We postulate a sensitive topic and use the Enron corpus and the Web together to find inferences for the topic.These experiments demonstrate that our techniques are practical, and that our model of inference based on word co-occurrence is well-suited to efficient inference detection.
Space, time and phantasms in Aristotle, De Memoria 2, 452B7-25

Analyse de la notion d'image (phantasma) definie par Aristote dans son traite «De memoria» (II, 452b7-25), exposant les mecanismes de la memoire. Examinant la notion de changement lie a l'objet, definie comme marque de l'evenement, et celle de changement lie au temps, definie comme marque du temps, l'A. developpe sa propre interpretation des diagrammes geometriques etablis par Aristote pour presenter son analyse directe et indirecte de la saisie des temps et des grandeurs determinees
YELLOW FEVER VACCINE-ASSOCIATED VISCEROTROPIC DISEASE (YEL-AVD) AND CORTICOSTEROID THERAPY: ELEVEN UNITED STATES CASES, 1996–2004

During 1996 through 2004, 29 cases of yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease (YEL-AVD) have been reported worldwide; 17 were fatal. Stress-dose corticosteroid (SDS) therapy has recently been found to improve survival among patients with septic shock but benefit for the treatment of YEL-AVD patients in septic shock is unknown. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 11 U.S. YEL-AVD cases reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from 1996 through 2004. Four of 11 case-patients received SDS; 3 of these 4 (75%) survived. Seven patients did not receive SDS and 2 (29%) survived. Altered mental status was documented on admission for 5 of the 11 patients; 4 of these 5 did not receive SDS and died, whereas one received SDS and survived. The use of stress-dose steroids might be a factor that influenced the survival of these YEL-AVD patients and should be further evaluated in the management of both YEL-AVD and wild-type yellow fever septic shock.
Borderline Disorders in Childhood

Since the mid-1950s, clinicians, theorists, and, more recently, empirical researchers have been involved in an ongoing process of differentiating, defining, and understanding the borderline disorders of childhood. The major emphasis of differentiation and definition has been the clinical explication of the differences among borderline children and psychotic or severely neurotic or acting-out children. Only recently have researchers turned toward the creation of empirical, valid diagnostic criteria and research instruments (Bemporad, Smith, Hanson, & Cicchetti, 1982; Bentivegna, Ward, & Bentivegna, 1985; Greenman, Gunderson, Cane, & Saltzman, 1986; Vela, Gottlieb, & Gottlieb, 1983). Understanding borderline conditions in children has been aided by the various etiological conceptualizations from ego-psychology and psychoanalytic theory.
The relationship of individual- and community-level sociocultural and neighborhood factors to the mental health of ethnic groups in two large U.S. CITIES

Using multilevel modeling, the present study examines psychological well-being as a function of sociocultural factors, neighborhood disadvantage, neighborhood fragmentation, and neighborhood integration, along with individual factors among a sample of 1,306 African and Latino/a Americans living in New York City and Chicago neighborhoods. Neighborhood blocks were prestratified based on racial/ethnic and economic characteristics and then randomly selected within predefined strata, resulting in a total of 140 block (neighborhood) groups. A means-as-outcome and slopes-as-outcome model was fit to the data. Intraclass correlation coefficients for psychological well-being for the fully unconditional model revealed that 15% of the variance in psychological well-being is between neighborhoods. Results from subsequent model building revealed differences in mean levels of psychological well-being as well as heterogeneity between neighborhoods through varying predictor effects on psychological well-being (i.e., certain predictor effects varied across neighborhoods). Sociocultural variables such as cultural identity, religious/spiritual coping, and family obligation were significantly associated with psychological well-being, generally beneficial, and sometimes varying with generation status and across neighborhoods. Different dimensions of neighborhood disadvantage and fragmentation emerged as important factors, although neighborhood integration did not. Our final models explained a substantial proportion of the variance in psychological well-being within and between neighborhoods. They also revealed the contextual and conditional nature of sociocultural factors.
Locality-aware data replication in the last-level cache for large scale multicores

Next generation large single-chip multicores will process massive data with varying degree of locality. Harnessing on-chip data locality to optimize the utilization of on-chip cache and network resources is of fundamental importance. We propose a locality-aware selective data replication protocol for the last-level cache (LLC). The goal is to lower memory access latency and energy by only replicating cache lines with high reuse in the LLC slice of the requesting core, while simultaneously keep the off-chip miss rate low. The approach relies on low-overhead yet highly accurate in-hardware runtime cache line level classifier that only allows replication of cache lines with high reuse. Furthermore, a classifier captures the LLC pressure at the existing replica locations and adapts its replication decision accordingly. On a set of parallel benchmarks, the proposed protocol reduces overall energy by 14.7, 10.7, 10.5, and 16.7 % and completion time by 2.5, 6.5, 4.5, and 9.5 % when compared to the previously proposed Victim Replication, Adaptive Selective Replication, Reactive-NUCA, and Static-NUCA LLC management schemes. An efficient classifier implementation is evaluated with an overhead of 5.44 KB, which translates to only 1.58 % on top of the Static-NUCA baseline's cache related per-core storage.
Diagnostic Approach to Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Syndromes

Approximately 5 to 10% of colorectal cancers develop within a known hereditary syndrome. Specific underlying genetic mutations drive the clinical phenotype and it is imperative to determine the genetic etiology to provide meaningful surveillance and intervention. Recognizing potential patients and families with a hereditary predisposition is the first step in management. Syndromes can be categorized according to polyp burden as polyposis or nonpolyposis. Clinical assessment should start with a personal and family medical history, physical examination, and evaluation for the presence and type of colorectal polyps or cancers. Key information is gained from these simple steps and should guide the specific genetic analysis for diagnosis. Genetic counseling is a critical component to any hereditary colorectal cancer program and should be conducted before genetic testing to provide education about the implications of test results. This review focuses on the thought process that drives initial clinical evaluation and guides genetic testing for patients with suspected hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes.
Lifetimes of the 246- and 46.7-keV Transitions in Po 210

The half-lives of the 1431- and 1478-keV levels in ${\mathrm{Po}}^{210}$ have been measured, the experimental values being 1.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2 nsec and 29\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 nsec, respectively. These levels are depopulated by $E2$ transitions of 246 and 46.7 keV whose transition probabilities are approximately three times greater than the single particle estimates.
A Comparison of Word Similarity Performance Using Explanatory and Non-explanatory Texts

Vectorial representations of words derived from large current events datasets have been shown to perform well on word similarity tasks. This paper shows vectorial representations derived from substantially smaller explanatory text datasets such as English Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia preserve enough lexical semantic information to make these kinds of category judgments with equal or better accuracy.
New High Cross Section Laser Crystal: Neodymium-Doped Strontium Fluorovanadate

Many low and medium power cw laser applications are based on the use of laser diodes to pump Nd-doped crystals arranged in compact cavity configurations. In an effort to minimize the pump power consumption, it is desirable for the laser crystal to exhibit the lowest possible threshold of operation. This aspect of the system places many requirements on the laser crystal, including that the crystal have a large emission cross section lifetime product σemτem have low passive losses, and possess a useful pump band. Additional subtle concerns also arise, such as the nature of the thermal lens. One of the leading contenders in this area has been Nd-doped YVO4.1 Our new crystal Nd:Sr5(VO4)3F (hereafter Nd:S-VAP), has also emerged as possessing the properties suitable for low-threshold applications.
Fast linearized forecasts for subsurface flow data assimilation with ensemble Kalman filter

Ensemble methods present a practical framework for parameter estimation, performance prediction, and uncertainty quantification in subsurface flow and transport modeling. In particular, the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) has received significant attention for its promising performance in calibrating heterogeneous subsurface flow models. Since an ensemble of model realizations is used to compute the statistical moments needed to perform the EnKF updates, large ensemble sizes are needed to provide accurate updates and uncertainty assessment. However, for realistic problems that involve large-scale models with computationally demanding flow simulation runs, the EnKF implementation is limited to small-sized ensembles. As a result, spurious numerical correlations can develop and lead to inaccurate EnKF updates, which tend to underestimate or even eliminate the ensemble spread. Ad hoc practical remedies, such as localization, local analysis, and covariance inflation schemes, have been developed and applied to reduce the effect of sampling errors due to small ensemble sizes. In this paper, a fast linear approximate forecast method is proposed as an alternative approach to enable the use of large ensemble sizes in operational settings to obtain more improved sample statistics and EnKF updates. The proposed method first clusters a large number of initial geologic model realizations into a small number of groups. A representative member from each group is used to run a full forward flow simulation. The flow predictions for the remaining realizations in each group are approximated by a linearization around the full simulation results of the representative model (centroid) of the respective cluster. The linearization can be performed using either adjoint-based or ensemble-based gradients. Results from several numerical experiments with two-phase and three-phase flow systems in this paper suggest that the proposed method can be applied to improve the EnKF performance in large-scale problems where the number of full simulation is constrained.
Effect of Dimethylformamide Exposure on Kidney and Cardiovascular System of Workers

[Objective]To study the effect of dimethylformamide(DMF) exposure on kidney and cardiovascular system of workers. [Methods]A total of 139 workers with DMF exposure from a synthetic leather enterprise were selected as exposure group in 2010 which was divided into subgroups according to exposure concentration(high,medium and low concentration subgroups)and service length(5 years subgroup and ≥5 years subgroup).Another 98 workers without DMF and other occupational hazards exposure from food processing enterprises were recruited as control group.The 2 groups were examined for renal function,urinary β2 microglobulin(β2-MG),urinary dimethyl formamide(NMF) and electrocardiogram.Occupational health survey was performed in working environment with DMF exposure. [Results]150 DMF air samples were collected in 6 operating points,with concentration of(2.6~282.6)mg/m3.Four points exceeded standard,accounting for 66.7%;Although exposure to DMF concentration was positively correlated with renal function,But there was no significant difference(P0.05) between groups;The detection of urinary β2-MG in high concentration group was significantly higher than that of other groups,(P0.05),comparing medium and low concentration groups with control group,the differences were not significant(P0.05);the NMF concentration in urine of shift end was significantly correlated with DMF exposure level in workplace;the main ECG abnormalities of DMF exposed workers were sinus bradycardia,sinus tachycardia,sinus arrhythmia,and the differences between medium concentration group,the high concentration group,service length ≥5 years subgroup and the control group were significant(P0.05);the second abnormalities were ST-T segment changes,incomplete right bundle branch block,left ventricular high voltage.Although the three types of abnormal ECG rates increased with exposure to DMF level and time increase,but differences between groups were not significantly different(P0.05). [Conclusion]DMF exposure concentration and renal function(BUN,Cr) is positively correlated;Urine β2-MG can be considered as one of the indicators of acute DMF poisoning detection;NMF concentration in urine can be used as biological monitoring index of workers exposed to DMF;Cardiac function of workers are affected by exposure of DMF to varying degrees.
Queries, the missing link in automatic data integration

This paper introduces the ontology mapping approach of a system that automatically integrates data sources into an ontology-based data integration system (OBDI). In addition to the target and source ontologies, the mapping algorithm requires a SPARQL query to determine the ontology mapping. Further, the mapping algorithm is dynamic: running each time a query is processed and producing only a partial mapping sufficient to reformulate the query. This approach enables the mapping algorithm to exploit query semantics to correctly choose among ontology mappings that are indistinguishable when only the ontologies are considered. Also, the mapping associates paths with paths, instead of entities with entities. This approach simplifies query reformulation. The system achieves favorable results when compared to the algorithms developed for Clio, the best automated relational data integration system.
Investigation of unsteady aerodynamics effects in cycloidal rotor using RANS solver

The cycloidal propeller for a Micro-Aerial Vehicle (MAV)-scale cyclogyro in hover was studied using a 2D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations solver. The effects of the blade dynamic stall, parallel Blade Vortex Interaction (BVI), inflow variation and flow curvature were discussed, based on the results of numerical simulation. The results from the 2D Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation indicated that the blade of the cycloidal rotor is actually performing a pitching oscillation, if observed in a moving reference frame. The dynamic stall vortices shed from the upstream blade cause intense parallel BVI on the downstream blade. The interaction will induce upwash and downwash on the downstream blade. This changes the effective reduced frequency and actually delays the stall of the blade, which is beneficial to the thrust generation. There is also strong downwash in the rotor cage and it changes the inflow velocity experienced by the blade. The downwash and flow curvature can either be beneficial or harmful to the thrust generation. The combined effects of dynamic stall, parallel BVI, inflow variation and flow curvature cause large aerodynamic force peaks and ensure the cycloidal rotors work at very low rotation speeds with high thrust. This guarantees that the cycloidal rotors possess at least the same level of hover efficiency as screw propellers.
Novel Hybrid Silicon/CNT 4T SRAM Cell Design

With CMOS technology scaling down, static random access memories (SRAMs) consume more than 90 % of chip area and power consumption in modern microprocessor designs and system-on-chip applications. In order to achieve lower power consumption and less area for SRAMs, 4T SRAM structure can be used. However, the conventional silicon 4T SRAM suffers low static noise margin (SNM) and other stability issues compared with commonly used 6T SRAM. In order to improve the SNM and the robustness of 4T SRAM, in this paper we propose a novel hybrid silicon/carbon nanotube (CNT) 4T SRAM structure. The latch transistors in silicon 4T SRAM structure are replaced with carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNFETs). The proposed design reduces 58 % cell area compared with silicon 6T SRAM and features improved performance and stability compared with silicon 4T SRAM. With the benefits of low OFF current and high ON current from CNFET devices, the proposed hybrid 4T SRAM has 8.3x faster reading speed, 2.5x faster writing speed, 34.5 % reduction for reading power and 24 % reduction for writing power compared with silicon 4T SRAM. The SNM of the proposed design is increased to 6x and 1.11x compared with silicon 4T and 6T SRAM respectively.
Energetic Trade-Offs and Physical Activity During Childhood and Adolescence

One unique aspect of the human life span is an extended childhood. Compared to other primates, human offspring grow more slowly and remain dependent on their parents to produce food for much longer post-weaning. All energy during childhood is focused on somatic growth and maintenance, including substantial continued investments in brain growth, learning, and immune development. This chapter examines the important environmental factors that influence energy allocation strategies: resource availability, exposure to infectious diseases and parasites, and mortality risks. Research that demonstrates trade-offs between immune function and growth during childhood is summarized. Putting energy toward physical activity is hypothesized to trade-off similarly against these competing demands. Once pubertal maturation begins, there are increases in energetic demands for the pubertal growth spurt and investment in reproductive maturation. Research from traditional and modern populations suggest that competing demands of somatic growth (including brains) and reproductive maturation influence physical activity during childhood and adolescence.
The Fog of War in Cyberspace

A "cyberfog" security approach that splits data into numerous fragments and continually disperses them across multiple end-user devices could provide greater attack resiliency but also presents formidable technical challenges.
Correlations in thermal vibrations of crystal atoms. Effect on dechanneling and bremsstrahlung

Abstract In a crystal, thermal vibrations of neighboring atoms are correlated: long wavelength phonons make them displace in the same direction. These correlations can speed up the dechanneling of axially channeled particles, as shown by a simulation with binary collisions and a Markov chain model of atom vibrations. In the case of e + or e - at small angle with a crystal axis, the correlated vibrations should give rise to a semi-coherent bremsstrahlung on several consecutive atoms of a row.
Abstract TP290: Decreased Recognition of Minor Stroke Patients Leads to Longer Door-to-Needle Time

Intro: Shorter door-to-needle time (DTN) is associated with better outcomes for ischemic stroke. National increases in tPA volumes are partially driven by treatment of larger numbers of minor strokes. However, it is not known whether treatment times differ in these patients. We sought to evaluate DTN and component times in minor strokes. Hypothesis: In minor strokes DTN is longer due to more diagnostic uncertainty Methods: We reviewed the record of all patients who received tPA in our ED from 7/2011-7/2015. Minor stroke was defined as NIHSS≤5. We compared demographics, EMS usage, pre-notification rates and DTN between minor strokes and all others. We also compared DTN component times, specifically neurologist-dependent times where diagnostic uncertainty may be apparent (stroke activation (SA)-to-tPA and imaging-to-tPA) and ED-dependent times which capture initial stroke recognition (door-to-SA and door-to-imaging). Means were compared via t test, medians via Mann Whitney U test, and dichotomous variables via chi square test. Results: Over this period 311 patients received tPA; 126 (41%) were minor strokes. There were no significant differences in language (48 vs 52% English-speaking, p=0.6) or sex (39 vs 34% male, p=0.3) for minor strokes compared to all others. Minor strokes were younger (62 vs 73 years, p We found longer DTN (61 vs 55 min, p=0.01) in minor strokes compared to all others. For DTN components, door-to-SA (5 vs 2 min, p Conclusion: We found longer DTN in minor strokes. The difference in door-to-stroke activation and door-to-imaging but not other component times suggests delayed recognition of minor strokes at ED presentation. Similarly, less frequent pre-notification points to poor recognition by EMS. Efforts are needed to improve minor stroke recognition by EMS and ED providers
Challenges and Opportunities in Discovery of Secondary Metabolites Using a Functional Metagenomic Approach

Bioprospecting for natural products via a metagenomic approach has been highly successful for enzyme discovery, yet methodological challenges have inhibited discovery of diverse secondary metabolites from environmental metagenomes. In this chapter, we discuss metagenomic approaches to identify and/or express secondary metabolites encoded from environmental DNA. The application of next-generation sequencing techniques has generated enormous metagenomic sequence databases for polyketide synthases. Isolated biosynthetic pathways can be introduced into multiple heterologous hosts, with some hosts engineered for expression of specific pathways. The goal of tapping into the extant diversity of secondary metabolites encoded by environmental metagenomes is being enabled by a combination of approaches, including advances in NGS technology, cloning methods, high-throughput screening, development of improved heterologous hosts, and pathway engineering.
Phosphate Minerals: Their Properties and General Modes of Occurrence

This chapter presents a review of the physical, chemical and crystallographic properties of phosphate minerals, and discusses their general modes of occurrence. It provides the necessary backdrop to the subsequent chapters which deal intensively with the various aspects of the important group of compounds.
Infective endocarditis following transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Diagnostic yield of echocardiography and associated echo-Doppler findings.

Abstract Background Studies have suggested the diagnostic yield of echocardiography to be lower in prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) than reported in surgically-implanted valves but data are limited. Methods We reviewed transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal (TEE) echo-Doppler findings in 17 patients with PVE (13 definite and 4 possible cases according to modified Duke criteria) after TAVR at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN between 2007 and 2016. Results Median age was 81 years [56; 91] and 5 patients (29%) were female. Median Society of Thoracic Surgery predicted risk of mortality was 8.8%. PVE occurred 197 days [27; 923] after TAVR. Enterococcus faecalis was the most commonly encountered organism (29%). All patients had TEE performed at the time of PVE; TTE was performed in 11 patients. TEE was diagnostic for PVE in 47% of cases and TTE in 18%. TEE was diagnostic in 62% of patients if only definite PVE cases are included. Two patients showed prosthetic obstruction at the time of PVE; obstruction improved with antibiotic therapy in the surviving patient. Conclusion Standard echocardiography techniques had limited diagnostic performance in patients with TAVR-related PVE. PVE can present as features of TAVR obstruction, thus PVE should also be considered in patients presenting with worsening prosthetic obstruction.
"It's a Wonderful Life". signaling generosity among the Ache of Paraguay.

Abstract Intensive food sharing among foragers and horticulturists is commonly explained as a means of reducing the risk of daily shortfalls, ensuring adequate daily consumption for all group members who actively pool resources. Consistently high food producers who give more than they receive, however, gain the least risk-reduction benefit from this daily pooling because they are the least likely to go without food on any given day. Why then do some high producers consistently share food, and why do some average producers share proportionally more food than others? We propose that although these individuals may not receive the same amounts they give (i.e., strict Tit-for-Tat), one explanation for their generosity is that they receive additional food during hard times. These include brief episodes of sickness, disease, injury, or accidents—fairly common events in traditional societies that can render individuals incapable of producing food, thereby having long-term effects on morbidity and fecundity and ultimately on lifetime reproductive success. Data collected among the Ache, a group of South American forager-horticulturists, indicate that those who shared and produced more than average (signaling cooperative intent and/or ability to produce) were rewarded with more food from more people when injured or sick than those who shared and produced below average. These results, framed within the context of tradeoffs between short-term and long-term fitness, may provide insight into motivations behind costly expenditures for establishing and reinforcing status and reputation.
Internet intermediaries and counter-terrorism: Between self-regulation and outsourcing law enforcement 1

Recent years have seen increasing pressure on Internet intermediaries that provide a platform for and curate third-party content to monitor and police, on behalf of the State, online content generated or disseminated by users. This trend is prominently motivated by the use of ICTs by terrorist groups as a tool for recruitment, financing, and planning operations. States and international organizations have long called for enhanced cooperation between the public and private sectors to aid efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. However, as the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression noted in his latest report to the Human Rights Council, 'the intersection of State behaviour and corporate roles in the digital age remains somewhat new for many States'. Detailed information on the means and modalities of content control exercised by online platforms is scarce. Terms of service and community standards are commonly drafted in terms that do not provide sufficiently clear guidance on the circumstances under which content may be blocked, removed or restricted, or access to a service may be restricted or terminated. Users have limited possibilities to challenge decisions to restrict material or access to a service. Moreover, as private bodies, such platforms are generally subject to limited democratic or independent oversight. At the same time, having private actors such as social media companies increasingly undertake traditionally public interest tasks in the context of Internet governance is likely unavoidable, as public authorities frequently lack the human or technical resources to satisfactorily perform these tasks. Against this background, this paper aims to examine ways to define the contours of the division of responsibilities in countering terrorism and violent extremism between the public and private spheres. It addresses ways to ensure that Internet intermediaries carry out quasi-enforcement and quasi-adjudicative tasks in a manner compliant with international human rights norms and standards.