cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On vorticity shedding by unstable jets

Abstract The process by which unstable jets shed vorticity is investigated numerically for Gaussian jets with a quasi-geostrophic model. The shedding process that occurs in jets evolved from potential-vorticity-conserving perturbations is compared with that from transport-conserving perturbations given in the literature. The differences in vorticity pool formation and meander pinch-off between the two situations are discussed for the barotropic jets on a β-plane. The concept of acceleration potential is applied to show that the jet instability and vorticity shedding occur through the feedback between the jet meander and vorticity flux convergence. The analysis is extended to two-layer baroclinic jets. It is shown that the vortex stretching produced by the isopycnal displacement stabilizes the jets as β does and that such an effect allows meander pinch-off. The mixed barotropic-baroclinic instability of the Gaussian jet is shown to occur as a result of the phase difference between the destabilizing vorticity flux convergence and the stabilizing vortex stretching.
Energy-based segmentation of very sparse range surfaces

This paper describes a new segmentation technique for very sparse surfaces which is based on minimizing the energy of the surfaces in the scene. While it could be used in almost any system as part of surface reconstruction/model recovery, the algorithm is designed to be usable when the depth information is scattered and very sparse, as is generally the case with depth generated by stereo algorithms. We describe a sequential implementation that constructs seed surfaces, automatically sets thresholds, adds points to the seeds, merges surfaces, and corrects for incorrectly added points. We discuss a parallel implementation that runs on the Connection Machine™. We show results from a sequential algorithm that processes synthetic or range finder data. The idea of segmentation by energy minimization is not new. However, prior techniques have relied on discrete regularization or Markov random fields to model the surfaces to build smooth surfaces and detect depth edges. Both of the aforementioned techniques are ineffective at energy minimization for very sparse data. In addition, out method does not require edge detection and is thus also applicable when edge information is unreliable or unavailable. The technique presented herein models the surfaces with reproducing kernel-based splines which can be shown to solve a regularized surface reconstruction problem. From the functional form of these splines we derive computable bounds on the energy of a surface over a given finite region. The computation of the spline, and the corresponding surface representation are quite efficient for very sparse data. An interesting property of the algorithm is that it makes no attempt to determine segmentation boundaries; the algorithm can be viewed as a classification scheme which partitions the data into collections of points which are “from” the same surface. Among the significant advantages of the method is the capacity to process overlapping transparent surfaces, as well as surfaces with large occluded areas.
Skeletal effects of systemic treatment with basic fibroblast growth factor

Systemic treatment of intact and ovariectomized rats with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has strong bone anabolic effects. These effects include marked increases in osteoblast number and activity along cancellous and endocortical bone surfaces, which result in accumulation of osteoid and augmentation of cancellous and cortical bone mass after only short-term treatment with bFGF. Osteoclast surface is markedly decreased in bFGF-treated rats, but this finding may be secondary to the extensive osteoid surface in these animals. Some undesirable skeletal effects of the growth factor include impaired bone mineralization and formation of structurally inferior woven bone. The lack of a bone anabolic response to bFGF at skeletal sites with fatty marrow and along the periosteal surface of cortical bone is also disappointing. Despite these disadvantages, bFGF stimulates cancellous bone formation to such a great extent that it may eventually be considered for use in patients with severe osteoporosis who are unresponsive to conventional therapies, provided that local delivery of the growth factor to bone can be achieved to avoid systemic side effects.
Estimated CSO Conventional and Toxic Concentrations from Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Plant Influent Data.

Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) are a major source of conventional and toxic contamination for the Detroit River (DR). In 1979-1980, a major monitoring and mo…
Effect of Ethyl Alcohol and Acetone on the Toxicity of Ethion in Bioassays on Two Species of Rust Mites of Citrus1

Replicated laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect that ethyl alcohol and acetone exert upon the toxicity of ethion against the citrus rust mite, Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead); and Aculops pelekassi (Keifer). In routine screening work, technical acaricides are dissolved in 4 ml of solvent and then diluted to 800 ml with distilled water into which mites are dipped. Three dosages of ethion were tested comparing this method with 2 other methods using increased concentrations of solvents. A significant reduction in mean percent mortality of both mites resulted when mites were either dipped in 10% solvent before immersion into the toxicant or were dipped into toxicant diluted with 10% solvent. Using the standard technique, mortality of mites was essentially the same as obtained in previous tests.
Spot Release Planner: Efficient Solution for Detailed Airport Surface Traffic Optimization

The Spot Release Planner (SRP) is an algorithm previously developed by the authors to reduce delay and congestion on the airport surface. The algorithm was developed to provide real time advisories to tower controllers. A Human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation in April 2010 showed that the SRP reduced the average movement area delay of departure aircraft by 64%. The SRP is a two-stage algorithm that considers runway scheduling in the rst stage, and the rest of the ground movement, such as gate pushback and spot release, in the second stage. This decomposition of airport surface scheduling into two stages provides fast computational times and makes the SRP applicable for real-time decision making. However, the two stages also result in the given scheme being a heuristic for solving the complicated airport surface scheduling problem; no guarantees on quality of the obtained solution have been provided. This paper explores the quality of solutions obtained by the SRP and compares them with the optimal solution for airport surface trac. Simulations conducted for the East side of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) show that the SRP solutions are within 14s of the optimal solution for a detailed airport surface planner.
Plasma KC and IL-6 are early predictive markers of severe acute pancreatitis

s / Pancreatolog Department of Anatomic Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Background: EUS-FNA has recently taken the place of ERCP for the assessment of various pancreatic diseases; however, in case of possibly resectable PDAC, there might be a risk of seeding of cancer cells and dissemination during EUS-FNA. Thus, we have been attempting to get a preoperative cytological confirmation of PDAC by ERCP first, then followed by EUS-FNA only in unsuccessful cases. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of our diagnostic strategy. Methods: Medical records of consecutive 98 patients diagnosed as having possibly resectable PDAC from 2010 to 2011 were retrospectively reviewed, and abilities to detect cancer cells (class IV or V) of ERCP and EUS-FNA were evaluated. Results: ERCP were performed in 90 patients, 55 of whom (63%) showed positive cancer cells. On the other hand, 23 patients underwent EUS-FNA, and 22 (96%) demonstrated positive results. Post-ERCP pancreatitis developed in 8 patients (9%), all of which were mild, while there was no adverse event after EUS-FNA. A total of 81 patients (83%) had preoperative confirmation of the cancer cells, and the confirmation rate was higher in pancreas head lesions (91%, 64/70) than in body to tail (61%, 17/28, p<0.01). Ninety-six patients (98%) had final diagnosis of cancer after operation (93 PDACs, 2 bile duct cancers, and one neuroendocrine carcinoma), while the other 2 without preoperative cytological confirmation had PanIN-II and autoimmune pancreatitis. Conclusion: Our strategy using “ERCP first” to get cytological confirmation for possibly resectable PDAC seems to be adequate with the high confirmation rate and low morbidity. Further investigation is necessary to clarify whether EUS-FNA might really affect postoperative outcomes.
Regeneration of [3H]ouabain binding to (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in chemically sympathectomized cat peripheral organs.

Regeneration of specific binding of [3H]ouabain in particulate fractions and Na+-dependent [3H]norepinephrine uptake in tissue slices from salivary gland, heart, spleen and nictitating membrane were measured in control and chemically sympathectomized cats. Regeneration of ouabain binding was relatively rapid in salivary gland and relatively slow in heart and nictitating membrane particulate fractions. Similarly, recovery of norepinephrine uptake was relatively rapid in salivary gland and relatively slow in heart and spleen slices. Thus rates of reappearance of ouabain binding and norepinephrine uptake appear to be similar in separate organs. Kinetic analyses of ouabain binding show that the return of ouabain binding sites in regenerating sympathetic nerve endings is due to augmentation of density of binding sites. The norepinephrine uptake and ouabain binding in salivary glands degenerated to a similar extent 24 hours after administration of 6-hydroxydopamine. These results support the idea that a major fraction of ouabain binding sites in several sympathetically innervated organs is localized at the sympathetic nerve terminals.
The Yoruba Universe

It is easy to observe that neither an appeal to reason nor a rationalized factual exegesis will explain his reaction or dissuade the displayed customary response.
Atmospheric-Particle Research: Past, Present, and Future

Except when wistfully daydreaming, admiring the sunset, or perhaps worrying about the weather for the day's field work, our attention and gaze as earth scientists is downward. No “Hans Guck-in-die-Luft”[2][1] are we. And yet, a refocusing of interest upwards to the atmosphere, and the minerals
Aspiring to the Condition of Music: Hardy and his Art from the 1840s to the 1890s

Thomas Hardy gave up on his chosen field of architecture, was only an occasional patron of art museums,1 told friends that he preferred concerts to plays,2 and even stopped writing fiction. Yet, as he told a friend in 1909, “to be honest, I am never tired of music.”3
Health Care Reform and Psychologists in Medical Schools: Stress, Challenge, and Change

Psychologists from 45 academic health science centers throughout the United States and Canada gathered at Georgetown University for a national conference November 2–5, 1995 organized by the Association of Medical School Psychologists. This paper introduces the proceedings of that conference described in the next four articles in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings[Volume 4, number 1]. Papers prepared by the working groups focus upon clinical services, education and training, research, and governance and administration within the academic medical setting.
Promotion of Rooting of Mung Bean Cuttings by Dihydroasparagusic Acid Synergistic Interaction with Indoleacetic Acid

Summary Dihydroasparagusic acid (β,β’-dithiolisobutyric acid) increased the number of roots formed on mung bean hypocotyl segments under continuous illumination. Longer initial treatment did not affect root number, but did decrease root elongation. Dihydroasparagusic acid in combination with indoleacetic acid synergistically increased root number, but not root elongation.
First Cycle Risk of Severe and Febrile Neutropenia in Cancer Patients Receiving Systemic Chemotherapy: Results from a Prospective Nationwide Study.

Introduction: Myelosuppression represents the major dose-limiting toxicity of cancer chemotherapy. This prospective, nationwide study was undertaken to better define risk of neutropenia and its complications and to develop risk models for selecting patients for appropriate supportive care. Methods: More than 3,500 patients initiating a new chemotherapy regimen have been prospectively registered at 137 randomly selected practice sites. Major disease sites include breast, lung, colorectal, ovary and lymphoma. Primary outcomes include severe neutropenia (SN; absolute neutrophil count nadir Results: This analysis is based on the first 2,361 patients treated to date including 924 (39%) age ≥65. Severe neutropenia was documented in 28% and FN in 16% across all cancer categories. The proportion of patients with ANC The proportion of initial episodes of severe neutropenia that occur in cycle 1 include: colorectal (67%); lung (59%); ovary (44%); lymphoma (62%) and breast (70%). Likewise, the proportion of initial episodes of FN occurring in cycle 1 include: colorectal (53%); lung (60%); ovary (57%); lymphoma (56%) and breast (58%). Conclusions: Rates of severe and febrile neutropenia vary with tumor type. The initial episode of severe or febrile neutropenia is most likely to occur during the first cycle of chemotherapy across all major cancer types.
Acetic Acid Promoted Redox Annulations with Dual C-H Functionalization.

Amines such as 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline undergo redox-neutral annulations with 2-alkylquinoline-3-carbaldehydes as well as the corresponding 4-alkyl isomers and pyridine analogues. These processes involve dual C–H bond functionalization. Acetic acid is used as a cosolvent and acts as the sole promoter of these transformations.
On the Distribution of Lexical Features at Multiple Levels of Analysis.

Natural language processing has increasingly moved from modeling documents and words toward studying the people behind the language. This move to working with data at the user or community level has presented the field with different characteristics of linguistic data. In this paper, we empirically characterize various lexical distributions at different levels of analysis, showing that, while most features are decidedly sparse and non-normal at the message-level (as with traditional NLP), they follow the central limit theorem to become much more Log-normal or even Normal at the user- and county-levels. Finally, we demonstrate that modeling lexical features for the correct level of analysis leads to marked improvements in common social scientific prediction tasks.
High Pressure Pasteurization of Citrus Juices

High hydrostatic pressures affect chemical reactions and phase changes of matter, denaturing proteins, solidifying lipids and disrupting biological membranes. The consequences of this in food systems has importance in killing spoilage microbes without the need for heat. Some applications of high pressure treatment to the processing of citrus juices are included herein. Effective pressures for pasteurization of yeasts and yeast ascospores in citrus juice fall in the range of 43,000–72,000 psi. The corresponding Dp (time for 1 log cycle reduction) values for inactivation of ascospores were 10 min at 43,000 psi or 8 sec at 72,000 psi. Pressure treatments of orange and grapefruit juices to by-pass thermal processing for pectinesterase (PE) inactivation were in the range of 72,000–130,000 psi. Dp values for orange PE inactivation at 72,000 and 87,000 psi were 83.3 minutes and 2.4 minutes, respectively. Pressures ≥87,000 psi caused instantaneous inactivation of the heat labile form, but did not inactivate the heat stable form of PE. Heat labile grapefruit PE was also more sensitive than orange to pressure. Orange juice pressurized at 100,000 psi for 1 minute had no cloud loss for >50 days.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
Intensive Treatment of Pediatric Feeding Disorders

Children who are failing to consume enough calories to maintain adequate growth are at risk for a number of negative health consequences (e.g., dehydration, malnutrition, and long-term behavioral and cognitive consequences). Although crisis management (e.g., placement of a feeding tube) may be necessary in some cases, participation in an interdisciplinary, evidence-based feeding program that provides goal-oriented, data-based assessment and treatment is often a necessary avenue to increase oral feeding. Interdisciplinary programs using applied behavior analytic techniques are able to address the most difficult feeding problems and progress the child until he or she is eating at a developmentally appropriate level. This current chapter provides an overview of an evidence-based and interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of pediatric feeding disorders.
Hypotonia and intellectual disability without dysmorphic features in a patient with PIGN-related disease.

Defects in the human glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor biosynthetic pathway are associated with inherited glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-deficiencies characterized by a broad range of clinical phenotypes including multiple congenital anomalies, dysmorphic faces, developmental delay, hypotonia, and epilepsy. Biallelic variants in PIGN, encoding phosphatidylinositol-glycan biosynthesis class N have been recently associated with multiple congenital anomalies hypotonia seizure syndrome. Our patient is a 2 year old male with hypotonia, global developmental delay, and focal epilepsy. Trio whole-exome sequencing revealed heterozygous variants in PIGN, c.181G > T (p.Glu61*) and c.284G > A (p.Arg95Gln). Analysis of FLAER and anti-CD59 by flow-cytometry demonstrated a shift in this patient’s granulocytes, confirming a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-biosynthesis defect, consistent with PIGN-related disease. To date, a total of 18 patients have been reported, all but 2 of whom have congenital anomalies and/or obvious dysmorphic features. Our patient has no significant dysmorphic features or multiple congenital anomalies, which is consistent with recent reports linking non-truncating variants with a milder phenotype, highlighting the importance of functional studies in interpreting sequence variants.
Fast Multi-stage Submodular Maximization

Motivated by extremely large-scale machine learning problems, we introduce a new multi-stage algorithmic framework for submodular maximization (called MULTGREED), where at each stage we apply an approximate greedy procedure to maximize surrogate submodular functions. The surrogates serve as proxies for a target sub-modular function but require less memory and are easy to evaluate. We theoretically analyze the performance guarantee of the multi-stage framework and give examples on how to design instances of MULTGREED for a broad range of natural submodular functions. We show that MULTGREED performs very closely to the standard greedy algorithm given appropriate surrogate functions and argue how our framework can easily be integrated with distributive algorithms for further optimization. We complement our theory by empirically evaluating on several real-world problems, including data subset selection on millions of speech samples where MULTGREED yields at least a thousand times speedup and superior results over the state-of-the-art selection methods.
Spatial memory and cognitive flexibility trade-offs: to be or not to be flexible, that is the question

Cognitive flexibility allows animals to readily acquire new information even when learning contingencies may rapidly change, as is the case in highly variable, but predictable, environments. While cognitive flexibility is broadly thought to be beneficial, animals exhibit inter- and intraspecific variation, with higher levels of flexibility associated with reduced memory retention and vice versa. In this review, we discuss when and why such variation may exist and focus specifically on memory and memory flexibility. We argue that retained memories may negatively affect the acquisition of new information, most likely via proactive interference, and available data suggest that there may be a trade-off between memory retention and acquiring new memories. We discuss neurogenesis-mediated forgetting as the mechanism reducing memory interference, as new neurons enhance learning new information but also cause forgetting of older memories. Selection may be expected to favour either end of the continuum between memory retention and memory flexibility depending on life history and environment. More stable environments may favour memory retention over flexibility whereas rapidly changing environments may favour flexibility over retention. Higher memory capacity also seems to be associated with higher memory interference, so higher neurogenesis rates associated with forgetting of unnecessary information may be favoured when higher capacity is beneficial such as in food-caching species. More research is necessary to understand whether inter- and intraspecific differences in the association between memory retention and flexibility are related to some general ecological patterns, whether this association is heritable, and whether developmental conditions and experience have different effects on this association in different species.
Pharmacotherapy Options in Cancer Treatment-Induced Bone Loss: Focus on Bisphosphonates

Bone loss and its associated risk of fracture is a serious long-term health issue for breast cancer and prostate cancer survivors. Hormone ablation therapy, in particular aromatase inhibitors (AIs) for breast cancer and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer, causes marked reduction in circulating estrogen or testosterone levels, resulting in increased bone resorption, decreased bone mineral density (BMD), and an increased risk of fragility fracture. In several clinical trials with small sample sizes and short follow-up periods, oral and intravenous bisphosphonates have been shown to improve BMD, but not actual fracture rates, in cancer patients on hormone ablation therapy. A number of professional organizations and expert panels recommend the use of bisphosphonates for selected patients at risk. Although bisphosphonates are generally well tolerated, physicians should be aware of safety concerns, including the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw. With the growing number of older breast and prostate cancer survivors, additional research is needed to characterize patients who would benefit from pharmacotherapy and optimize strategies to prevent cancer treatment-induced bone loss.
Narrative, Documentary, and Editorial Photography

Truth has many viewpoints, all of which depend on the individual photographer. From its inception in 1839, photography itself was heralded as the epitome of realistic representation, in large part because of its unique ability to show things in literal, objective, and commonly understood visual terms. The medium's unsurpassed power of realistic representation rested on its precision, clarity, sharpness, impartiality, truth to nature, and compelling believability. Photography thus provided evidence of places and events in an accurate and truthful way, the cornerstone of factual documentary reporting.
Utilization of Lignin in Biopolymeric Packaging Films.

Lignin is a byproduct of agricultural industries and only has limited applications. In this study, lignin was investigated for use in sustainable biopolymeric packaging film. Alkali lignin (AL) and lignosulfonate (LSS) were added to enzymatically modified soy protein isolate (SPI) biopolymeric film with different concentrations with the goal of improvement of film physical and functional properties. A radical scavenging activity test revealed that films containing LSS had values 28 and 6% higher than control and AL-based films, respectively; AL itself (not in films) had significantly higher radical scavenging activity than LSS. This indicates the activity of lignin is affected by interaction with SPI. The higher compatibility between LSS and enzymatically modified SPI resulted in a positive effect on surface smoothness, water absorption, and mechanical properties of LSS-based films. Films containing AL showed a high light absorption range in the UV region, and this UV-blocking ability increased with incre...
Concepts and Direction of Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants and its Application

Resistance to plant disease is often specific and metabolites and receptors contributing to this specificity may have specific structures. However, simple, structurally-unrelated compounds induce systemic resistance in unrelated plants to diverse pathogens including fungi, bacteria and viruses. Both resistance and induced systemic resistance (ISR) are associated with the rapid accumulation of the same structurally unrelated putative defense compounds that have diverse functions. It has been suggested that cultivar (race)-specific resistance is initiated by the specific interaction of a pathogen product (or pathogen induced product) and a plant receptor. However, restricted infection by pathogens can result in ISR and many different compounds can cause ISR. It is thus evident that there are both specific and non-specific routes to the master switch for ISR and there may be more than one master switch. Are reactive oxygen species and free radicals regulating the master switch(es) via both routes? It is also evident there are many switches, other than the master switch. Adding to the complexity of resistance and ISR are the observations that different compounds and pathways may mediate different biochemical resistances. Activation of one of the pathways may antagonize or enhance the activation or effectiveness of another. The review will address these complexities and questions and propose directions of research which require high priority. Factors which encourage and suppress the application of ISR in agriculture will also be addressed.
Biochemical Effects of Adrenocortical Steroids on the Central Nervous System

Ever since Addison in 1855 first described the clinical manifestations of adrenocortical insufficiency, it has become increasingly evident that the adrenocortical hormones exert a profound influence on the functions of the central nervous system. Several of the cases reported by Addison exhibited neurological and psychological symptoms, which included depression, anxiety, vocal weakness, delirium, “mind-wandering,” etc. Thus Addison was aware of the characteristic psychological and neurological alterations which occur in adrenocortical insufficiency. Similar, but incomplete, studies of adrenocortical hyperfunction emphasized the psychic effects of the adrenocortical steroids. However, despite the fact that the early investigators recognized the important relationship between adrenocortical function and the central nervous system, systematic studies of this relationship had to await parallel advances in the physiology and biochemistry of the adrenal cortex. This chapter will summarize the biochemical effects of adrenocortical steroids on the central nervous system. However, a short review of the neurophysiological and neuropharmacological effects of corticoids on the central nervous system will first be given (see Ref. 1 for a review of this aspect).
Disparities in Bladder Cancer Treatment and Survival Amongst Elderly Patients with a Pre-existing Mental Illness

Abstract Background Pre-existing mental illness is known to adversely impact cancer care and outcomes, but this is yet to be assessed in the bladder cancer setting. Objective To characterize the patterns of care and survival of elderly patients with a pre-existing mental illness diagnosed with bladder cancer. Design, setting, and participants We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients enrolled in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare. A population-based sample was considered. Elderly patients (≥68 yr old) with localized bladder cancer from 2004 to 2011 were stratified by the presence of a pre-existing mental illness at the time of cancer diagnosis: severe mental illness (consisting of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders), anxiety, and/or depression. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to compare the stage of presentation and receipt of guideline-concordant therapies (radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive disease). Survival between patients with a pre-existing mental disorder and those without were compared using Kaplan–Meier analyses with log-rank tests. Results and limitations Of 66 476 cases included for analysis, 6.7% (n = 4468) had a pre-existing mental health disorder at the time of cancer diagnosis. These patients were significantly more likely to present with muscle-invasive disease than those with no psychiatric diagnosis (23.0% vs 19.4%, p– Conclusions Elderly patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer and a pre-existing mental disorder were less likely to receive guideline-concordant management, which led to poor overall and disease-specific survival. Patient summary Patients with severe mental illness and depression were only significantly less likely to undergo radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive disease, that is, to receive guideline-concordant treatment. Overall survival and disease-specific survival were inferior in patients with a pre-existing mental disorder, and were especially low in those who did not receive guideline-concordant care.
Electrospun Nanofiber-Based Patches for the Delivery of Cardiac Progenitor Cells.

Congenital heart disease is the number one cause of birth defect-related death because it often leads to right ventricular heart failure (RVHF). One promising avenue to combat this RVHF is the use of cardiac patches composed of stem cells and scaffolds. Herein, we demonstrate a reparative cardiac patch by combining neonatal or child c-kit+ progenitor cells (CPCs) with a scaffold composed of electrospun polycaprolactone nanofibers. We examined different parameters of the patch, including the alignment, composition, and surface properties of the nanofibers, as well as the age of the CPCs. The patch based on uniaxially aligned nanofibers successfully aligned the CPCs. With the inclusion of gelatin in the nanofiber matrix and/or coating of fibronectin on the surface of the nanofibers, the metabolism of both neonatal and child CPCs was generally enhanced. The conditioned media collected from both patches based on aligned and random nanofibers could reduce the fibrotic gene expression in rat cardiac fibroblast...
Regional measurements and spatial/temporal analysis of CDOM in 10,000+ optically variable Minnesota lakes using Landsat 8 imagery.

Abstract Information on colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is essential for understanding and managing lakes but is often not available, especially in lake-rich regions where concentrations are often highly variable in time and space. We developed remote sensing methods that can use both Landsat and Sentinel satellite imagery to provide census-level CDOM measurements across the state of Minnesota, USA, a lake-rich landscape with highly varied lake, watershed, and climatic conditions. We evaluated the error of satellite derived CDOM resulting from two atmospheric correction methods with in situ data, and found that both provided substantial improvements over previous methods. We applied CDOM models to 2015 and 2016 Landsat 8 OLI imagery to create 2015 and 2016 Minnesota statewide CDOM maps (reported as absorption coefficients at 440 nm, a440) and used those maps to conduct a geospatial analysis at the ecoregion level. Large differences in a440 among ecoregions were related to predominant land cover/use; lakes in ecoregions with large areas of wetland and forest had significantly higher CDOM levels than lakes in agricultural ecoregions. We compared regional lake CDOM levels between two years with strongly contrasting precipitation (close-to-normal precipitation year in 2015 and much wetter conditions with large storm events in 2016). CDOM levels of lakes in agricultural ecoregions tended to decrease between 2015 and 2016, probably because of dilution by rainfall, and 7% of lakes in these areas decreased in a440 by ≥3 m-1. In two ecoregions with high forest and wetlands cover, a440 increased by >3 m-1 in 28 and 31% of the lakes, probably due to enhanced transport of CDOM from forested wetlands. With appropriate model tuning and validation, the approach we describe could be extended to other regions, providing a method for frequent and comprehensive measurements of CDOM, a dynamic and important variable in surface waters.
Parents’ Investment in a French-English Dual Language Immersion Program in the United States

Drawing upon Darvin and Norton’s framework of investment, this article explores the multiple factors underlying parents’ commitment to bilingual education. I use open-ended responses on a survey to...
Research Paper Classification using Supervised Machine Learning Techniques

In this work, different Machine Learning (ML) techniques are used and evaluated based on their performance of classifying peer reviewed published content. The ultimate objective is to extract meaningful information from published abstracts. In pursuing this objective, the ML techniques are utilized to classify different publications into three fields: Science, Business, and Social Science. The ML techniques applied in this work are Support Vector Machines, Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbor, and Decision Tree. In addition to the description of the utilized ML algorithms, the methodology and algorithms for text recognition using the aforementioned ML techniques are provided. The comparative study based on four different performance measures suggests that – with the exception of Decision Tree algorithm – the proposed ML techniques with the detailed pre-processing algorithms work well for classifying publications into categories based on the text provided in the abstract.
On Non-Markovian Performance Models.

We present an approach that can be useful when the network or system performance is described by a model that is not Markovian. Although most performance models are based on Markov chains or Markov processes, in some cases the Markov property does not hold. This can occur, for example, when the system exhibits long range dependencies. For such situations, and other non-Markovian cases, our method may provide useful help.
Minimization of CNN Training Data by using Data Augmentation for Inline Defect Classification

Detecting the defects in silicon wafers generated by semiconductor manufacturing is essential for quality assurance, and requires the acquisition and accurate classification of high-resolution images by scanning electron microscopy. However, owing to the difficulty of automation, the classification process is costly and its efficiency must be improved. To improve the classification accuracy and the cost of creating a classifier, which are the main bottlenecks of conventional technology, we propose a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) based on the VGG16 architecture, and perform appropriate data augmentations on training images. The CNN was successfully trained on a very small number of images, and achieved high defect classification accuracy.
Assessing the Alignment of Social Robots with Trustworthy AI Design Guidelines: A Preliminary Research Study

The last few years have seen a strong movement supporting the need of having intelligent consumer products align with specific design guidelines for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). This global movement has led to multiple institutional recommendations for ethically aligned trustworthy design of the AI driven technologies, like consumer robots and autonomous vehicles. There has been prior research towards finding security and privacy related vulnerabilities within various types of social robots. However, none of these previous works has studied the implications of these vulnerabilities in terms of the robot design aligning with trustworthy AI. In an attempt to address this gap in existing literature, we have performed a unique research study with two social robots - Zumi and Cozmo. In this study, we have explored flaws within the robot's system, and have analyzed these flaws to assess the overall alignment of the robot system design with the IEEE global standards on the design of ethically aligned trustworthy autonomous intelligent systems (IEEE A/IS Standards). Our initial research shows that the vulnerabilities and design weaknesses, which we found in these robots, can lead to hacking, injection attacks, and other malfunctions that might affect the technology users negatively. We test the intelligent functionalities in these robots to find faults, and conduct a preliminary examination of how these flaws can potentially result in non-adherence with the IEEE A/IS principles. Through this novel study, we demonstrate our approach towards determining alignment of social robots with benchmarks for trustworthy AI, thereby creating a case for prospective design improvements to address unique risks leading to issues with robot ethics and trust.
The Practice of Ensuring Repeatable and Reproducible Computational Models

Recent studies have shown that the majority of published computational models in systems biology and physiology are not repeatable or reproducible. There are a variety of reasons for this. One of the most likely reasons is that given how busy modern researchers are and the fact that no credit is given to authors for publishing repeatable work, it is inevitable that this will be the case. The situation can only be rectified when government agencies, universities and other research institutions change policies and that journals begin to insist that published work is in fact at least repeatable if not reproducible. In this chapter guidelines are described that can be used by researchers to help make sure their work is repeatable. A scoring system is suggested that authors can use to determine how well they are doing.
Frozen in Time: Evaluating Class Action Settlements in the Face of Changes in Law

What is the impact on judicial review of class action settlements when there is a change in the law after the parties sign a settlement, and should judges consider such a change when adjudicating the reasonableness of the settlement? In this BNA Insight, attorneys Laurence J. Hutt and Amy B. Levin review pertinent case law, and argue that courts should abide by the law in effect at the time of settlement. Reviewing courts ‘‘should honor parties’ bargained-for settlement terms rather than giving effect to the changed law, which would potentially ‘undo’ the settlement terms,’’ the authors say.
A representative driven system to interrogate passive dynamics of an airfoil in the wake of a cylinder

Passive motion of an airfoil in the wake of a circular cylinder is compared with driven motion of an airfoil in the same configuration, through simultaneous measurement of both the airfoil dynamics and the surrounding flow field. The passive mounting allows the airfoil to move in the transverse (heaving) direction in response to oncoming forcing, while introducing significant parasitic effects to the dynamics including friction. The driven motion of the airfoil reproduces important characteristics of the imperfect passive motion, validating idealized sinusoidal motion as a model for dynamics of the passive airfoil operating in a more realistic engineering context. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) of the driven case is then used to illuminate flow structures contributing to observed power and thrust production in both cases.
OPF-Learn: An Open-Source Framework for Creating Representative AC Optimal Power Flow Datasets.

Increasing levels of renewable generation motivate a growing interest in data-driven approaches for AC optimal power flow (AC OPF) to manage uncertainty; however, a lack of disciplined dataset creation and benchmarking prohibits useful comparison among approaches in the literature. To instill confidence, models must be able to reliably predict solutions across a wide range of operating conditions. This paper develops the OPF-Learn package for Julia and Python, which uses a computationally efficient approach to create representative datasets that span a wide spectrum of the AC OPF feasible region. Load profiles are uniformly sampled from a convex set that contains the AC OPF feasible set. For each infeasible point found, the convex set is reduced using infeasibility certificates, found by using properties of a relaxed formulation. The framework is shown to generate datasets that are more representative of the entire feasible space versus traditional techniques seen in the literature, improving machine learning model performance.
CALCULATION OF THE STREAMLINES ABOUT A SHIP ASSUMING A LINEARIZED FREE-SURFACE BOUNDARY CONDITION.

The problem of computing the inviscid-fluid flow about a ship hull is investigated. A boundary-value problem, including a linearized free-surface boundary conditions, is posed for the velocity potentials. Singularities distributed over the hull surface are used to determine this potential. Surface streamlines are computed by numerically integrating a set of differential equations along the hull surface. A sample calculation for a Series 60, block coefficient 0.60 hull at a Froude number of 0,259 is included.
Rescue of a Drosophila NF1 mutant phenotype by protein kinase A

The neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) tumor suppressor protein is thought to restrict cell proliferation by functioning as a Ras-specific guanosine triphosphatase-activating protein. However, Drosophila homozygous for null mutations of an NF1 homolog showed no obvious signs of perturbed Ras1-mediated signaling. Loss of NF1 resulted in a reduction in size of larvae, pupae, and adults. This size defect was not modified by manipulating Ras1 signaling but was restored by expression of activated adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Thus, NF1 and PKA appear to interact in a pathway that controls the overall growth of Drosophila.
Use of Antibody to Membrane Adenosine Triphosphatase in the Study of Bacterial Relationships

An antiserum to Ca(2+)-activated adenosine triphosphatase from membranes of Micrococcus lysodeikticus cross-reacted in agar gels with membrane adenosine triphosphatases from other pigmented micrococci and related species. Species of Micrococcus and Sarcina showed different levels of inhibition of adenosine triphosphatase activities in heterologous reactions with antiserum. Inter- and intraspecific relationships based on the inhibition reaction were compared with an independent parameter, namely the quantitative and qualitative composition of the bacterial membrane phospholipids and fatty acids. The guanine plus cytosine contents in the deoxyribonucleic acid of the species studied correlated well with the serological cross-reactivity of adenosine triphosphatases from their membranes. The types of cross-bridges found in the peptidoglycans of these cocci were also compared with the other properties. The results suggest that an antiserum specific for a major membrane protein may be a reliable and most useful adjunct in studying bacterial serotaxonomy.
An exploratory assessment of the use and benefits of ESDLC in practice

The importance of Expert Systems ES as a powerful business tool has become widely recognized in industry. That in turn has led to a major increase in ES development activities and has exacerbated the need to manage these activities for more efficient use of development resources. An important component for effectively managing ES development is an Expert System Development Life Cycle ESDLC. Based on ES development managers' opinions, this study ascertains the general benefits to be expected from an ESDLC, integrates existing ESDLC models into one expected to be widely accepted in practice, and uses this standard ESDLC to explore what is being done in practice in terms of company specific ESDLC phases/activities and the percentage of time ES developers spend in each phase.
Determination of cocaine, norcocaine, benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

An isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection at 235 nm is described for the determination of cocaine and its metabolites benzoylecgonine, norcocaine and ecgonine methyl ester in rat plasma, collected during toxicity studies. Following simultaneous solid-phase extraction of all analytes and the internal standard tropacocaine, cocaine, benzoylecgonine and norcocaine were separated on a C18 column. Ecgonine methyl ester and cocaine were separated on coupled cyanopropyl and silica columns, following derivatization of ecgonine methyl ester to p-fluorococaine. The extraction efficiencies of these compounds from plasma ranged from 78 to 87%, while the limits of detection ranged from 35 to 90 ng/ml. The assay was linear from 300 to 5000 ng/ml, and the within-day precision 2 to 8% over this concentration range.
Detection of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ with Mammography, Breast Specific Gamma Imaging, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Comparative Study

Rationale and Objectives. To evaluate the sensitivity of high-resolution breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) for the detection of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) based on histopathology and to compare the sensitivity of BSGI with mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of DCIS. Materials and Methods. Twenty women, mean 55 years (range 34‐76 years), with 22 biopsy-proven DCIS were retrospectively reviewed. After injection of 25‐30 mCi (925‐1,110 MBq) technetium 99m-sestamibi, patients had BSGI with a high-resolution, small-field-of-view gamma camera in craniocaudal and mediolateral oblique projections. BSGI studies were prospectively classified according to focal radiotracer uptake usin ga1t o 5scale, as normal 1), with no focal or diffuse uptake; benign 2), with minimal patchy uptake; probably benign 3), with scattered patchy uptake; probably abnormal 4), with mild focal radiotracer uptake; and abnormal 5), with marked focal radiotracer uptake. Imaging findings were compared to findings at biopsy or surgical excision. The sensitivity of BSGI, mammography, and when performed, MRI were determined for the detection of DCIS. Breast MRI was performed on seven patients with eight biopsy-proven foci. The sensitivities were compared using a two-tailed t-test and confidence intervals were determined. Results. Pathologic tumor size of the DCIS ranged from 2 to 21 mm (mean 9.9 mm). Of 22 cases of biopsy-proven DCIS in 20 women, 91% were detected with BSGI, 82% were detected with mammography, and 88% were detected with magnetic resonance imaging. BSGI had the highest sensitivity for the detection of DCIS, although this small sample size did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference. Two cases of DCIS (9%) were diagnosed only after BSGI demonstrated an occult focus of radiotracer uptake in the contralateral breast, previously undetected by mammography. There were two false-negative BSGI studies. Conclusions. BSGI has higher sensitivity for the detection of DCIS than mammography or MRI and can reliably detect small, subcentimeter lesions.
Interim analyses in clinical research.

AbstractInterim analyses are those that occur before the scheduled completion of a clinical study. The motivation for such analyses may be to see whether conclusive evidence is available concerning the aims of the study, or it may be simple curiosity. Statisticians disagree about the impact that interim analyses have on inferences that can be drawn from the study. The significance testing view insists that conclusions from a study with interim analyses are different than from one without—even though the data are identical. In the Bayesian view there is no penalty for interim analyses: study results can even be monitored continually without changing the conclusions. Both views are explained and recommendations for designing and analyzing studies with interim analyses are made.