cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stochastic aspects of motor behavior and their dependence on auditory feedback in experienced cellists.

This study aimed to investigate movement accuracy of experienced cellists, the statistical properties of their note sequences during a reciprocal task, and the degree to which these movement characteristics depend on auditory feedback. Nine experienced cellists were asked to shift alternately between two notes using only their index finger to make contact with the string and fingerboard. Shifting sequences continued for two minutes at a rate of one note per second. The task was performed under two conditions: with auditory feedback (provided by the bow) or without auditory feedback (i.e., without the use of bow). When the bow was used, subjects had no difficulty in shifting between target notes with precision and stability. Some variability was present, but notes in these sequences were generally uncorrelated. The contact data and correlations in most bowed trials resembled those expected of a renewal process, a process in which successive values are statistically independent and identically distributed. Without the bow, subjects lost their ability to reach the same target positions accurately; contact locations tended to drift and had a random quality, indicating that without the bow subjects were uncertain of the target location in relation to the spatial location of their fingertips. Within these unbowed sequences, finger positions were highly correlated—within and between note sequences. In some trials without the bow, the statistical correlation patterns of the sequence were consistent with the expectations of a discrete Wiener process. Throughout our study, computer simulations of renewal and Wiener processes enabled us to determine the types of correlations to be expected from these theoretical models. The implications of the statistical results in terms of subject behavior are discussed.
Biological decontamination by nonthermal plasmas

Nonthermal gaseous discharges have been found to be effective agents for biological decontamination/sterilization. The ability to generate these discharges at atmospheric pressure makes the decontamination process practical and inexpensive. In addition, the fact that the plasmas generated by such discharges are cold makes their use suitable for applications where medium preservation is desired. To fully understand the biophysical and biochemical processes induced by the interaction of living cells with gaseous discharges, a multidisciplinary approach is required. In this paper, we present two studies on bacteria killing obtained by two different discharges: a glow discharge at atmospheric pressure and an enhanced corona discharge at atmospheric pressure.
Abnormal soft palate posturing in patients with laryngeal movement disorders.

Summary Laryngeal movement disorders (LMDs), including spasmodic dysphonia and essential voice tremor, have been described as focal disorders affecting the muscles of the larynx. Little reference has been made to possible hyperfunction of supralaryngeal structures and/or palatal involvement. Videonasolaryngoscopic examinations of 83 patients with LMDs revealed a significantly high incidence of abnormal soft palate posturing (84%). Further associations and implications are presented.
Serum Hemagglutination Inhibition Activity Correlates with Protection from Gastroenteritis in Persons Infected with Norwalk Virus

ABSTRACT A hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assay to assess serum antibody responses following Norwalk virus (NV) infection was developed. HAI activity increased significantly in individuals experimentally infected with NV (n = 18) and correlated with antibody levels measured in a histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) blocking assay. Prechallenge HAI antibody levels also correlated with protection from the development of gastroenteritis (Mann-Whitney test, P = 0.02). The HAI assay is another assay suitable for the detection of antibody that correlates with protection from Norwalk virus-associated disease.
Refinement of the Silencing the Self Scale—Work for Registered Nurses

Keywords: administration; intervention research; outcome evaluation; patient advocacy; patient outcomes; quality improvement
The metabolic topography of idiopathic torsion dystonia

Summary We used [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and PET with a statistical model of regional metabolic covariation to study brain topographic organization in idiopathic torsion dystonia (ITD). We studied 11 patients with predominantly right-sided ITD and 11 age-matched controls, and measured global, regional cerebral and normalized metabolic rates for glucose (GMR, rCMRGlc, rCMRGlc/GMR). The Scaled Subprofile Model was applied to the combined rCMRGlc dataset to identify topographic covariance profiles associated with ITD. We found that global and regional metabolic rates were normal in ITD. The SSM analysis of the combined groups of ITD patients and normals revealed a significant topographic profile characterized by relative bilateral increases in the metabolic activity of the lateral frontal and paracentral cortices, associated with relative covariate hypermetabolism of the contralateral lentiform nucleus, pons and midbrain. Subject scores for this profile correlated significantly with Fahn-Marsden disease severity ratings (r= 0.67, P<0.02). In contrast to parkinsonism, lentiform and thalamic metabolism were dissociated in dystonia. We conclude that ITD is characterized by relative metabolic overactivity of the lentiform nucleus and premotor cortices. The presence of lentiform thalamic metabolic dissociation suggests that in this disorder hyperkinetic movements may arise through excessive activity of the direct putameno-pallidal inhibitory pathway
Effect of treadmill running on soluble beta-amyloid concentrations in brains of young Tg2576 mice

Background: Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are the two most common neurodegenerative diseases, which are characterized by amyloid-beta (A b) plaques and alpha-synuclein (a-syn) rich Lewy bodies, respectively. An overlap of these two pathologies is found in patients with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). Postmortem brains of LBD patients display significant synuclein accumulation in dystrophic neurites decorating A b plaques. Furthermore, in vitro studies report co-aggregation of Ab and a-syn, yet the precise role of a-syn in amyloid plaque formation remains elusive. Methods: In order to investigate a putative interaction of a-syn with amyloid plaque formation in vivo, we crossed APPPS1 with (Thy1)-[A30P]a-syn transgenic mice. Immunhistochemical and biochemical analysis revealed that a-syn affects amyloid plaque formation in vivo, whereas overall APP levels remain unaffected by the additional a-syn expression. Results: To further study the effect of a-syn on A b deposition, we performed cerebral stereotactic injections of 1) brain homogenate from aged APPPS1 transgenic mice into APPPS1x[A30P]a-syn transgenic mice and 2) a mixed preparation of brain homogenates from APPPS1 and (Thy1)-[A30P]a-syn transgenic mice into APPPS1 transgenic mice. We observed reduced seeding of Ab plaques under both experimental conditions, implying an inhibitory effect of a-syn on Ab plaque formation. Conclusions: In summary, our data suggest that a-syn plays an important role in Ab deposition. This work deepens our understanding of the complex pathophysiology of LBD and many other, related neurodegenerative diseases.
How Novice Science Teachers Appropriate Epistemic Discourses Around Model-Based Inquiry for Use in Classrooms

To test whether epistemically unproblematic ways of thinking and talking about science could be transformed during preservice teacher training, we designed a system of learning activities based on a set of heuristics for progressive disciplinary discourse (HPDD). The HPDD outline six design principles of learning environments where the aim is to foster learners' participation in material and discursive activities that characterize the work of scientists. After tracking participants through university coursework where the HPDD was employed and into their teaching practicums, we found that most came to reconceptualize the interrelated roles of models, theory, evidence, and argument. These ideas ultimately supported a shift in their goals for scientific investigation—from “proving” a hypothesis, to testing and revising explanatory models. Preliminary findings from teaching episodes with their own secondary students indicated that some participants took up “epistemically ambitious” classroom practices, pressi...
Acetaminophen Modulates P-glycoprotein Functional Expression at the Blood-Brain Barrier by a Constitutive Androstane Receptor-Dependent Mechanism

Effective pharmacologic treatment of pain with opioids requires that these drugs attain efficacious concentrations in the central nervous system (CNS). A primary determinant of CNS drug permeation is P-glycoprotein (P-gp), an endogenous blood-brain barrier (BBB) efflux transporter that is involved in brain-to-blood transport of opioid analgesics (i.e., morphine). Recently, the nuclear receptor constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) has been identified as a regulator of P-gp functional expression at the BBB. This is critical to pharmacotherapy of pain/inflammation, as patients are often administered acetaminophen (APAP), a CAR-activating ligand, in conjunction with an opioid. Our objective was to investigate, in vivo, the role of CAR in regulation of P-gp at the BBB. Following APAP treatment, P-gp protein expression was increased up to 1.4–1.6-fold in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, APAP increased P-gp transport of BODIPY-verapamil in freshly isolated rat brain capillaries. This APAP-induced increase in P-gp expression and activity was attenuated in the presence of CAR pathway inhibitor okadaic acid or transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D, suggesting P-gp regulation is CAR-dependent. Furthermore, morphine brain accumulation was enhanced by P-gp inhibitors in APAP-treated animals, suggesting P-gp–mediated transport. A warm-water (50°C) tail-flick assay revealed a significant decrease in morphine analgesia in animals treated with morphine 3 or 6 hours after APAP treatment, as compared with animals treated concurrently. Taken together, our data imply that inclusion of APAP in a pain treatment regimen activates CAR at the BBB and increases P-gp functional expression, a clinically significant drug-drug interaction that modulates opioid analgesic efficacy.
The SURF model and the curvature effect for PBX 9502

SURF is a high explosive burn model based on the ignition & growth concept of hot-spot reaction. For the TATB based explosive PBX 9502, the model has been calibrated to shock-to-detonation transition experiments. To apply the SURF model for propagating detonation waves, the rate has to be extended to a higher pressure regime than is sampled by shock initiation experiments. The experimentally measured curvature effect – detonation speed as a function of front curvature or D n(κ) – provides the appropriate data for calibrating the propagation regime. The calibration to the curvature effect is based on the ODEs for the reaction zone profile of a detonation wave in conjunction with a shooting algorithm to determine the rate model parameters, for a given κ, needed to obtain a specified detonation speed. A complication for calibrating PBX 9502 rate models arises from the kink in the experimentally measured D n(κ) curve. This results from the fast and slow reactions that TATB exhibits. To account for this, we us...
Diverse Phenotypes Resulting from Polyphosphate Kinase Gene (ppk1) Inactivation in Different Strains of Helicobacter pylori

Connections among biochemical pathways should help buffer organisms against environmental stress and affect the pace and trajectory of genome evolution. To explore these ideas, we studied consequences of inactivating the gene for polyphosphate kinase 1 (ppk1) in strains of Helicobacter pylori, a genetically diverse gastric pathogen. The PPK1 enzyme catalyzes synthesis of inorganic polyphosphate (poly P), a reservoir of high-energy phosphate bonds with multiple roles. Prior analyses in less-fastidious microbes had implicated poly P in stress resistance, motility, and virulence. In our studies, ppk1 inactivation caused the expected near-complete absence of poly P (>250-fold decrease) but had phenotypic effects that differed markedly among unrelated strains: (i) poor initial growth on standard brain heart infusion agar (five of six strains tested); (ii) weakened colonization of mice (4 of 5 strains); (iii) reduced growth on Ham's F-12 agar, a nutritionally limiting medium (8 of 11 strains); (iv) heightened susceptibility to metronidazole (6 of 17 strains); and (v) decreased motility in soft agar (1 of 13 strains). Complementation tests confirmed that the lack of growth of one Δppk1 strain on F-12 agar and the inability to colonize mice of another were each due to ppk1 inactivation. Thus, the importance of ppk1 to H. pylori differed among strains and the phenotypes monitored. We suggest that quantitative interactions, as seen here, are common among genes that affect metabolic pathways and that H. pylori's high genetic diversity makes it well suited for studies of such interactions, their underlying mechanisms, and their evolutionary consequences.
User-centric spatial data warehousing: a survey of requirements and approaches

The increased availability of spatial data in recent years has lead to new challenges in the analysis of large multidimensional datasets. One solution is to integrate GIS with OLAP and relational databases. Another strategy has been to leverage existing spatial capabilities of databases to perform spatial OLAP. In this article, we review existing modelling strategies for spatial data warehousing at all three levels: conceptual, logical and implementation. We gather the most essential requirements for handling spatial data and use insights from spatial databases and GIS systems to design a meta-framework that would enable a user-centric modelling of complex data. Our strategy is to keep the user as the focal point in the analysis process and lay the foundation for clear data abstraction at different levels using multidimensional abstract data types and operations and thus support complex spatial data in data warehouses.
Genetic effect of mottled locus on reproduction and preweaning growth in laboratory mice

An experiment was conducted to study the maternal and fetal effects of the sex-linked gene tortoise on litter size, birth weight, body weight from birth to 30-day of age, and mortality in normal (N) and mutant (M) mice (Mus musculus). The experiment involved two mating types: (1) N x N (dam x sire) which produced normal male and normal female offspring and (2) M X N which produced mutant males that died in utero, mutant females and normal male and female offspring. Comparison 1 consisted of all phenotypically normal male and female offspring from both N X N and M X N mating types born in 2 parities. The data supports the hypothesis that the tortoise gene, when present in the dam, did not significantly affect the body weight of normal progeny prior to 18 days old. There is also evidence for a negative maternal effect of the tortoise gene on body weight from 21 to 30 days of age postpartum. Mating type X parity interaction was not significant prior to 9 day postpartum. Sex of mice did not influence body weight of siblings prior to 18 day old, but males were heavier than females there-after. Normal and mutant females born in six parities from the M X N mating type constituted Comparison 2. The birth weight of the offspring in Comparison 2 was not significantly influenced by the presence of the tortoise gene. All other body weight measurements, however, were lower for mutant females when compared to normal females. Parity affected all body weight measurements in both comparisons. Mortality rate of the offspring was not influenced by parental mating type or parity, but sex differences were observed. Mutant females had higher mortality than normal sisters. This study provides evidence that the mottled locus in the tortoise dam and progeny influences growth and survival.
In Situ Measurements of Nitrate Leaching Implicate Poor Nitrogen and Irrigation Management on Sandy Soils

Minimizing the risk of nitrate contamination along the waterways of the U.S. Great Plains is essential to continued irrigated corn production and quality water supplies. The objectives of this study were to quantify nitrate (NO(3)) leaching for irrigated sandy soils (Pratt loamy fine sand [sandy, mixed, mesic Lamellic Haplustalfs]) and to evaluate the effects of N fertilizer and irrigation management strategies on NO(3) leaching in irrigated corn. Two irrigation schedules (1.0x and 1.25x optimum) were combined with six N fertilizer treatments broadcast as NH(4)NO(3) (kg N ha(-1)): 300 and 250 applied pre-plant; 250 applied pre-plant and sidedress; 185 applied pre-plant and sidedress; 125 applied pre-plant and sidedress; and 0. Porous-cup tensiometers and solution samplers were installed in each of the four highest N treatments. Soil solution samples were collected during the 2001 and 2002 growing seasons. Maximum corn grain yield was achieved with 125 or 185 kg N ha(-1), regardless of the irrigation schedule (IS). The 1.25x IS exacerbated the amount of NO(3) leached below the 152-cm depth in the preplant N treatments, with a mean of 146 kg N ha(-1) for the 250 and 300 kg N preplant applications compared with 12 kg N ha(-1) for the same N treatments and 1.0x IS. With 185 kg N ha(-1), the 1.25x IS treatment resulted in 74 kg N ha(-1) leached compared with 10 kg N ha(-1) for the 1.0x IS. Appropriate irrigation scheduling and N fertilizer rates are essential to improving N management practices on these sandy soils.
The Role of Polarization in Microscopic Physics

In this lecture I want to give a brief summary, accessible to physicists in all fields of research, of the essential role polarizations play in microscopic (that is, atomic and subatomic) physics. I will outline the essential features and illustrate them on a simple example that is familiar to everybody from studies of elementary quantum mechanics.
National study of emergency department visits for sepsis, 1992 to 2001.

Study objective Epidemiologic data on emergency department (ED) patients with sepsis are limited. Inpatient discharge records from 1979 to 2000 show that hospitalizations for sepsis are increasing. We examine the epidemiology of sepsis in US EDs and the hypothesis that sepsis visits are increasing. Methods The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data (1992 to 2001) provided nationally representative estimates of frequency and disposition in adult ED visits for sepsis. Sepsis visits were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes; severe sepsis was defined as sepsis in conjunction with organ failure. Results Of 712 million adult visits during the 10-year period, approximately 2.8 million (0.40%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33% to 0.46%) were related to sepsis. We found no significant increase in overall ED visits for sepsis from 1992 to 2001 ( P for trend=.09). ED patients with sepsis were more likely to be elderly, non-Hispanic, and publicly insured and to arrive by ambulance compared with nonsepsis patients (all P Conclusion In contrast to data from hospital discharges, ED visits for sepsis demonstrated no increase. Most ED visits for sepsis resulted in admission to non–critical care units.
Property-driven Urban Change in Post-Socialist Shanghai: Reading the Television Series Woju

In late 2009, the television series Woju (蜗居) received extremely high audience ratings in major Chinese cities. Its visual narratives engage the public and comment on social developments by presenting detailed pictures of urban change in Shanghai and the everyday lives of a range of urban characters who are involved in and affected by the urban-restructuring process and represent three distinct social groups: “white-collar” immigrants, low-income local residents, and powerful officials. By analysing the visual narratives of these characters, this article highlights the loss of the city’s historical identity and shows how the reorganization of urban space translates into a reallocation of resources, power and prestige among the social groups. The article also shows that Woju repre-sents a new development in literary and television production in the age of the Internet and globalization; its imaginative construct of the city was based on transnational and virtual rather than local and neighbourhood experience. This also testifies to the loss of the city’s established identity in cultural production.
The Effect of Short Nerve Grafts in Series on Axonal Regeneration Across Isografts or Acellular Nerve Allografts.

Purpose To evaluate the regenerative effect of the additional suture line when using either isografts (ISOs) or acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) placed end-to-end to span a short gap in a rat model. Methods Rat sciatic nerves were transected and repaired with 2-cm nerve grafts (ISO or ANA). The grafts were 2 cm in length or a 1-cm segment was connected end-to-end to a 1-cm segment to yield a 2-cm length. At 8 weeks, extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle force and mass were measured. Nerves were harvested for histomorphometry. In a separate parallel study, the nerves were harvested 2 weeks following graft implantation to assess gene expression changes. Results All grafts demonstrated regeneration across the 2-cm segment(s). The additional suture line did not result in statistical differences in the number of myelinated nerve fibers that reached the distal nerve. However, when the graft types were compared, there was a significant decrease in nerve fibers in the ANA groups. The EDL muscle mass was significantly greater by using nerve ISOs compared with ANAs, regardless of an additional suture line, but there were no statistical differences noted in EDL muscle force. Gene expression analysis did not differ owing to an additional suture line. Conclusions Minimal axonal loss and no functional deficits were identified with an additional suture line in this rodent short nerve gap model. Clinical relevance Placing nerve grafts in series is a viable option for treating short nerve gaps; however, the use of autografts remains preferable over the use of ANAs.
By words alone shall we know Is the history of ideas enough to understand the world to which our concepts refer

Some of the most important geographical concepts—geopolitics, region, and territory—are often decoded according to the norms of the history of ideas, broadly construed. By this, I mean that their ‘genealogies’ as ideas are regarded as providing the key to unlocking their current meaning in relation to how the world works. As such they are thought of as constituting the world as we know it. Practice is seen as deriving from the meaning ascribed to the concept. In certain circumstances, an empirical case can be made for this. But it cannot be presumed to be the case. This idealist epistemology is a rather inadequate basis for the spatial ontology that is more our focus as geographers. We are not primarily interested in the history of ideas/concepts per se, only in how they help us understand real-world phenomena. After a brief review of the dilemma using Ian Hacking’s approach, I question thinking about the three geographical concepts mentioned at the outset to suggest some limitations to the infatuation wi...
A man with altered mental status and metabolic acidosis

A 52 year old man was brought to the emergency department for acute onset shortness of breath and confusion. On physical examination he was agitated and taking deep breaths at the rate of 28/min. Initial venous blood gas on ambient air showed pH 7.02, partial pressure of carbon dioxide 3.4 kPa, partial pressure of oxygen 4.1 kPa. …
Reproductive and developmental effects of tributyltin, bisphenol A, and 17 β-estradiol in pale anemones (Aiptasia pallida)

The effects of exposure to estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals in most clades of marine invertebrates are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if exposure to 3 such chemicals modulates asexual reproduction and development in pale anemones (Aiptasia pallida). Anemones (n = 18 in each group) were exposed for 21 days to one of 8 treatments: seawater alone, seawater containing vehicle, or seawater containing a low (environmentally relevant) or high dose of tributyltin (TBT), bisphenol A (BPA), or 17 β-estradiol (E2) dissolved in vehicle. The number of asexually generated pedal lacerates produced by each anemone and the number of days required for each lacerate to develop a stomodeum and tentacles were recorded. At the end of the study, parent anemones were homogenized, and total protein content (as a proxy for body size) was quantified by Bradford assay. The roles of chemical treatment and parent anemone size in determining lacerate production were evaluated with binomial-Poisson hurdle m...
Tensile behavior and fractography of two kinds of ultra-high strength steels

This paper employs the CS4410 mechanical test machine and Hopkinson tensile bar to carry out the tensile test with the strain rate ranging from 0.001 s-1 to 3300 s-1.Results show that there are evident strain hardening and necking phenomena for both materials at different strain rates;both materials all exhibit comparable strain rate sensitivity and the material I is more sensitive than the material II.In the end,tension fracture surface of strain rate 0.001 s-1 and 3 300 s-1 is studied by using the SEM,and observations of the cup and cone fracture surface reveal that shear zone area ratio increases with the strain rate.
TTS protein orthologs as interspecific reproductive barriers in the solanaceae

iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES x INTRODUCTION 1 Part I. Reproductive Barriers in the Solanaceae 3 Part II. Role of TTS Proteins within the Pistil 13 Part III. Research Objectives and Significance 17 METHODS 20 RESULTS 32 DISCUSSION 42 LITERATURE CITED 88
Hormones and the Incentive Salience of Bird Song

Nervous systems have evolved many features to ensure that the resources necessary for survival and reproduction are attractive. Because not all resources are valuable in all contexts, those features need to be plastic, in other words, the attractiveness or ‘incentive salience’ of some stimuli should change according to context. Courtship vocalizations, for example, have high incentive salience only during the breeding season, when approaching potential mates is adaptive. Female songbirds are attracted to male song only when reproductive hormones, such as estradiol, are high. In this chapter, the brain mechanisms by which estradiol changes the incentive salience of song are considered. First, estradiol may act directly on central auditory structures. Second, cells synthesizing dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin innervate the auditory pathway and are sensitive to estradiol, making them excellent candidates for mediating the effects of endocrine state on the perception of song. Third, the auditory forebrain of songbirds contains dense populations of oxytocin receptors, which in mammals play a clear role in social reward and are regulated by estradiol. Each of these neuromodulatory systems may prime auditory areas to respond differently to song depending on the bird’s reproductive condition. Seasonally breeding songbirds, for which attraction to song changes throughout the year, are ideal model systems for understanding how these neuromodulatory systems contribute to plasticity of behavioral responses to sound. Juvenile male songbirds, which seek out song in order to learn to sing, offer the opportunity to study how these systems contribute to social motivation during development.
introduction: the political economy of human happiness

In The Political Economy of Human Happiness: How Voters’ Choices Determine the Quality of Life, Benjamin Radcliff considers a wide variety of data from North America and Europe and argues that, on balance, welfare state policies make people happier. In short, there is a positive correlation and a causal relationship between happiness and welfare state provisions. This is an important conclusion for anyone interested in public policy and debates about the size of government. In their reviews, Larry M. Bartels and William A. Galston take issue with Radcliff’s thesis. They challenge the relationships that Radcliff suggests exist between specific policies and happiness. Bartels challenges the way Radcliff uses his statistics to support his thesis about the relationship between happiness and specific policies as well as our ability to make generalisations from the data. Galson’s objections to Radcliff’s analysis and argument is more conceptual, and, among other things, he challenges the connection Radcliff seeks to establish between happiness and the satisfaction of human needs.
Peter Shaffer and his Early Career: The Novels and Broadcast Plays

British playwright Peter Shaffer represents a rare breed becoming even rarer as the twenty-first century approaches: a writer for the stage who combines verbal articulateness with exceptional theatrical inventiveness. Since his first stage play, Five Finger Exercise, appeared in 1958, Shaffer has grown into giant prominence in the world of theatre. The mainstay of his reputation is a series of philosophically probing dramas: The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964), Equus (1973), Shrivings (1970, 1974), Amadeus (1979) and Yonadab (1985). But there also are dazzling comedies and satires as well, such as the one-act comedies The Private Ear/The Public Eye (1962), Black Comedy (1965) and White Liars (1967) and the full-length Lettice & Lovage (1987). When considered together, Peter Shaffer’s stage works comprise as varied and entertaining a one-man repertoire as is available today.
Utilizing Six Sigma to develop standard attributes for a Safety for Facilities Management (SFFM) framework

Abstract Introduction Repair and maintenance personnel in the field of facilities management (FM), have a much higher rate of injury and illness than the national average. Research has shown that a major contributing factor to these high incidence rates is the disorganization and fragmentation of relevant safety information, coupled with the often time sensitive nature of FM tasks. Practical application In order to improve worker’s safety during the FM phase, a BIM-based Safety for Facilities Management (SFFM) framework is being developed to categorize, consolidate, process, and efficiently present job specific, relevant safety information to FM personnel. Method In order to properly develop the SFFM, the safety information that is applicable to FM staff must first be identified, organized, and categorized. This is executed through a number of research methods, structured within the theoretical framework of Six Sigma’s Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify (DMADV). Results By systematically collecting, analyzing, and categorizing data within the Define Phase of DMADV, an iterative process with validation steps provides a rigorous and a comprehensive evaluation of the data. Conclusion This paper describes the data collection and analysis methods, known as the Define Phase, of Six Sigma’s Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify (DMADV) methodology, in order to develop safety properties that are utilized within the BIM-based SFFM framework.
The Birth of the Cinema Age

Moving pictures appeared in the major cities of the British Empire in the late 19th century, at the same moment that they were being introduced in Europe and North America. Over the first two decades of the 20th century the medium spread from the large urban centers of the West Indies, India, Southern Africa, and British Malaya into provincial towns and villages. By the end of the First World War ‘going to the pictures’ had become a fixture of public leisure for hundreds of thousands of imperial subjects, who were seeing movies in a wide array of urban and rural venues.
Polymeric Biomaterials in Nanomedicine

Polymeric nanomaterial-based therapeutics play a key role in the field of medicine in treatment areas such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Advantages in the use of polymers over other materials for nanomedicine include increased functionality, design flexibility, improved processability, and, in some cases, biocompatibility. However, with the excitement surrounding the use of nanomaterials for therapeutic and diagnostic biological applications, there are also health and safety concerns. This chapter introduces nanomedicine and the use of both natural and synthetic polymeric biomaterials, focuses on specific current polymeric nanomedicine applications and research, and concludes with the challenges of nanomedicine research.
On a MEMS-Based Parametrically Amplified Atomic Force Sensor

We have built a functional MEMS-based parametric amplifier. This system amplifies the output of a MEMS-based atomic-scale force sensor. We have separately characterized the two main components (parametric amplifier and atomic-scale force sensor) in addition to characterization of the complete system. The parametric amplifier provides a gain of 49.9 dB. The force sensor displays a frequency shift of 62.4% when the gap is small. When combined into a complete system, the output of the force sensor is amplified by 47.7 dB. Our complete system is fully monolithic, with built-in actuation, displacement detection, bandpass filtering, and nonlinear mixing.
Highly Efficient Temperature-Induced Visible Light Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production from Water

Intensive effort has led to numerous breakthroughs for photoprocesses. So far, however, energy conversion efficiency for the visible-light photocatalytic splitting of water is still very low. In this paper, we demonstrate (1) surface-diffuse-reflected-light can be 2 orders of magnitude more efficient than incident light for photocatalysis, (2) the inefficiency of absorbed visible light for the photocatalytic H2 production from water with a sacrificial agent is due to its kinetic limitation, and (3) the dispersion of black Pt/TiO2 catalyst on the light-diffuse-reflection-surface of a SiO2 substrate provides a possibility for exploiting a temperature higher than H2O boiling point to overcome the kinetic limitation of visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production. Those findings create a novel temperature-induced visible light photocatalytic H2 production from water steam with a sacrificial agent, which exhibits a high photohydrogen yield of 497 mmol/h/gcat with a large apparent quantum efficiency (QE) of...
‘Advance’ quantum mechanics

To the true physicist, there is surely no area of life that lies beyond the illumination of physical thinking.
Modeling temperature dependent exchange bias in systems with magnetoelectric chromia

Exchange bias in a magnetoelectric Cr2O3/ferromagnet system at finite temperature, based on the formation of a domain wall in Cr2O3, has been investigated using Monte Carlo simulation. It has been shown that the calculation of the exchange bias based on domain wall formation yields a more realistic value than that calculated using interfacial exchange coupling between Cr2O3 and the adjacent ferromagnet. Possible shortcoming of the magnetoelectric effect in setting the switchable exchange bias in the low temperature regime has also been demonstrated based on an energy threshold requirement. Specifically, it has been found that the magnetoelectric effect becomes intrinsically less effective in switching the exchange bias at low temperature, thus making the applicability of the system limited to only a certain temperature range.
Communities of innovation: Individual, group, and organizational characteristics leading to greater potential for innovation

In this paper I will explain what I see as some of the core attributes of Communities of Innovation, or communities fostering collaborative creativity, and what we have learned from the research literature about each attribute. There is a critical need to design learning environments that foster creative thinking in students, particularly in the area of collaborative creativity. Many of the current problems and challenges graduates will face in society and industry are too large to be faced alone. However, the research and pedagogical understanding of how to develop skills in collaborative creativity is still underdeveloped. In seeking to understand what collaborative creativity would look like in education, I reviewed the literature on organizational and social creativity, along with social learning theory, to develop a framework of characteristics common to most environments that foster collaborative creativity in students (West, 2009). This framework describing Communities of Innovation explains some of the similar characteristics at the individual, group, and organizational levels of innovative communities.
Intermedia Attribute Agenda Setting in the Context of Issue-Focused Media Events: Caitlyn Jenner and transgender reporting

On April 24, 2015, Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner confirmed her transgender identity on the 20/20 Special: Bruce Jenner—The Interview with Diane Sawyer and started her own reality show, I am Cait. This study identifies patterns of second-level intermedia agenda setting in the framing of transgender issues, examining the extent to which Jenner’s high-profile planned media events about her gender transition influence how national print newspapers and television report transgender-related stories and the salience of certain story attributes. More specifically, through a comparative quantitative content analysis, this study found that transgender-related reports appearing after Jenner’s interview were more likely to (1) mention alternative non-binary gender discourses to highlight transgender subjectivity, (2) take the intersectionality perspective to address the complexity of transgender issues from the aspects of race, class, and sexuality differences, (3) differentiate transgender issues from LGB (le...
Collective Computation of Many-Body Properties by Neural Networks

Artificial neural networks constitute a novel class of many-body systems in which the particles are neuron-like units and the interactions are weighted synapse-like connections between these units.1,2 The most extraordinary feature of these systems is that the interactions are subject to modification, depending on the states recently visited by the system. Thus, as the network experiences varied stimuli, knowledge can be stored in the neuron-neuron interactions, for later retrieval in some information-processing task. Indeed, multilayered, feedforward networks of analog neurons can be taught by example to solve complex pat tern-categorization problems using the backpropagation learning algorithm3 or other procedures for modifying connection weights. During the learning process, inner neurons may evolve into useful feature detectors tailored to regularities or correlations inherent in the ensemble of input stimulus patterns and desired output response patterns used for training. The system builds an internal representation, or model, of its pattern environment, which may provide a good approximation to the actual rules determining the underlying input-output map. Accordingly, the artificial neural network may possess a useful generalization or predictive ability, as demonstrated by a high percentage of correct responses when presented with unfamiliar input patterns absent from the training set.
Mid-Term Results of Particulated Juvenile Articular Cartilage Allograft Transplantation to the Knee

Objectives:Full-thickness chondral defects of the knee in the young, active patient remain a concerning orthopedic entity given the low capacity for natural regeneration of articular cartilage and ...
A Microvascular System for the Autonomous Regeneration of Large Scale Damage in Polymeric Coatings

Self-healing polymers are capable of self-repair either in response to the damage or through external stimuli, but are limited in their ability to autonomously control the volume of healing agents released, in the length scale of damage they address, and in their ability to respond to multiple damage events. Here, the authors report a novel design for healing agent storage and release for vascular coating systems that allows for complete regeneration of a coating with precise and autonomous control of coating thickness. A variety of healing agent formulations that cure under ambient sunlight are explored and their cure profiles and mechanical properties are reported. In the proposed vascular coating system, the stored healing agent remains stable within the network until large-scale damage (e.g., abrasion) completely removes the protective coating. A precise volume within the network is then released, and cures when exposed to simulated sunlight to reform the protective coating. This coating system facilitates consistent coating thickness and hardness for several cycles of coating removal and regeneration.
Management’s Role in Food Sanitation

A major challenge of management in the food industry is to recruit, train, and retain employees for an effective sanitation operation. The success or failure of a sanitation program depends on the extent to which company leadership is committed to and supports the program.
Properties and Origin of Uterine Renin.

For many years, renin has been considered to be an enzyme that is synthesized and stored in the juxtaglomerular apparatus of the kidney. Recently, substantial quantities of renin have been extracted from the salivary gland of the white mouse and from the pregnant rabbit uterus and placenta (1–3). In view of the recent reports of high concentrations of renin in the plasma and amniotic fluid of pregnant women, this finding takes on special significance (4,5). The present report summarizes some of our studies on rabbit uterine renin that have been published in more detail elsewhere (6–8).
Essence of Information and Mathematical Model of Information Measurement

Essence of Information and measurement of information is an important problem in the information theory research. By further analyzing essence of information, and based on the classical information theories represented by Shannon’s theory, a succinct and scientific definition “Information is a certainty about the uncertainty of interrelation between things and its feature” is put forward, which combines organically the concept of ontology on information and that of epistemology, and the theoretical evidence of that quantity of information can be divided into quantity of data and quantity of information is provided, and a mathematical model of integrated information measurement is also set up on this basis.
Dissecting the role of a large chromosomal inversion in life history divergence throughout the Mimulus guttatus species complex

Chromosomal inversions can play an important role in adaptation, but the mechanism of their action in many natural populations remains unclear. An inversion could suppress recombination between locally beneficial alleles, thereby preventing maladaptive reshuffling with less-fit, migrant alleles. The recombination suppression hypothesis has gained much theoretical support but empirical tests are lacking. Here, we evaluated the evolutionary history and phenotypic effects of a chromosomal inversion which differentiates annual and perennial forms of Mimulus guttatus. We found that perennials likely possess the derived orientation of the inversion. In addition, this perennial orientation occurs in a second perennial species, M. decorus, where it is strongly associated with life history differences between co-occurring M. decorus and annual M. guttatus. One prediction of the recombination suppression hypothesis is that loci contributing to local adaptation will predate the inversion. To test whether the loci influencing perenniality pre-date this inversion, we mapped QTLs for life history traits that differ between annual M. guttatus and a more distantly related, collinear perennial species, M. tilingii. Consistent with the recombination suppression hypothesis, we found that this region is associated with life history in the absence of the inversion, and this association can be broken into at least two QTLs. However, the absolute phenotypic effect of the LG8 inversion region on life history is weaker in M. tilingii than in perennials which possess the inversion. Thus, while we find support for the recombination suppression hypothesis, the contribution of this inversion to life history divergence in this group is likely complex.
Multidimensional Assessment of the Elderly Client

Practitioners encounter more elderly clients and their families as the service demands of our aging society continue to grow. This article seeks to increase gerontological knowledge among students ...
Proposing a Multiple Pathway Approach to Leading Innovation: Single and Dual Leader Approaches

Abstract Innovation is a complex and often paradoxical endeavor. Leading such efforts presents a number of unique challenges to those tasked with managing innovative pursuits. In keeping with the growing trend of considering multiple approaches and pathways to leading, we suggest that there are two broad ways to approach leading innovative endeavors. The first is a single leader approach that requires a leader capable of ambidexterity. The second is a dual leadership approach, where two leaders share the paradoxical burdens of innovation. We discuss the challenges and advantages of each pathway, as well as issues to consider when choosing an appropriate route to leading.
Humanitized violence: Targeted killings and civilian deaths in the US war against the Islamic State:

Based on a qualitative content analysis of human rights reports, US military statements, and newspaper accounts, this article describes the ascendency of ‘humanitized violence,’ which characterizes...
Improving quantitative precipitation estimates in mountainous regions by modelling low-level seeder-feeder interactions constrained by Global Precipitation Measurement Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar measurements

Abstract A physically-based framework to address the underestimation and missed detection errors in Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) from Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Precipitation Radar (PR) in regions of complex terrain is presented. The framework is demonstrated using GPM Ku-PR because of its wider swath. GPM Ku-PR precipitation estimates are evaluated against ground validation (GV) observations from the long-term ground-based rain-gauge network in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The detection and estimation errors exhibit a diurnal cycle consistent with the diurnal cycle of low-level clouds and fog (LLCF), thus suggesting the importance of low-level orographic microphysical processes. Contamination of near-surface reflectivity profiles due to ground-clutter is the major source of error in the Ku-PR QPE with spatial features that mirror landform. In particular, GPM Ku-PR drop size distribution (DSD) retrieval algorithms systematically overestimate Dm (mass-weighted mean diameter), and underestimate Nw (normalized DSD intercept) and the precipitation-rate when low-level multilayer clouds and fog are present. Second, column simulations of rainfall dynamics constrained by reflectivity measurements show an emergent relationship in Dm-Nw phase-space that explains an increase in the frequency of Dm
Better radio-frequency transistors with nanotubes

Arrays of carbon nanotubes can be used to build radio-frequency transistors with a higher operating frequency and better linearity than silicon technology.