cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Objective Liver Fibrosis Estimation from Shear Wave Elastography

Diffuse liver disease is common, primarily driven by high prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is currently assessed by liver biopsy to determine fibrosis, often staged as F0 (normal) - F4 (cirrhosis). A noninvasive assessment method will allow a broader population to be monitored longitudinally, facilitating risk stratification and treatment efficacy assessment. Ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) is a promising noninvasive technique for measuring tissue stiffness that has been shown to correlate with fibrosis stage. However, this approach has been limited by variability in stiffness measurements. In this work, we developed and evaluated an automated framework, called SWE-Assist, that checks SWE image quality, selects a region of interest (ROI), and classifies the ROI to determine whether the fibrosis stage is at or exceeds F2, which is important for clinical decisionmaking. Our database consists of 3,392 images from 328 cases. Several classifiers, including random forest, support vector machine, and convolutional neural network (CNN)) were evaluated. The best approach utilized a CNN and yielded an area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) of 0.89, compared to the conventional stiffness only based AUROC of 0.74. Moreover, the new method is based on single image per decision, vs. 10 images per decision for the baseline. A larger dataset is needed to further validate this approach, which has the potential to improve the accuracy and efficiency of non-invasive liver fibrosis staging.
Labor Out of Place: On the Varieties and Valences of (In)visible Labor in Data-Intensive Science

We apply the concept of invisible labor, as developed by labor scholars over the last forty years, to data-intensive science. Drawing on a fifteen-year corpus of research into multiple domains of data-intensive science, we use a series of ethnographic vignettes to offer a snapshot of the varieties and valences of labor in data-intensive science. We conceptualize data-intensive science as an evolving field and set of practices and highlight parallels between the labor literature and Science and Technology Studies. Further, we note where data-intensive science intersects and overlaps with broader trends in the 21st century economy. In closing, we argue for further research that takes scientific work and labor as its starting point.
The Association of Discharge Before Noon and Length of Stay in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients.

Background and objectives To optimize patient throughput, many hospitals set targets for discharging patients before noon (DCBN). However, it is not clear whether DCBN is an appropriate measure for an efficient discharge. This study aims to determine whether DCBN is associated with shorter length of stay (LOS) in pediatric patients and whether that relationship is different between surgical and medical discharges. Methods From May 2014 to April 2017, we performed a retrospective data analysis of pediatric medical and surgical discharges belonging to a single academic medical center. Patients were included if they were 21 years or younger with at least one night in the hospital. Propensity score weighted multivariate ordinary least squares models were used to evaluate the association between DCBN and LOS. Results Of the 8,226 pediatric hospitalizations, 1,531 (18.61%) patients were DCBN. In our multivariate model of all the discharges, DCBN was associated with an average of 0.27 day (P = .014) shorter LOS when compared to discharge in the afternoon. In our multivariate medical discharge model, DCBN was associated with an average of 0.30 (P = .017) day decrease in LOS while the association between DCBN and LOS was not significant among surgical discharges. Conclusions On average, at a single academic medical center, DCBN was associated with a decreased LOS for medical but not surgical pediatric discharges. DCBN may not be an appropriate measure of discharge efficiency for all services.
Corpus callosum axon diameter relates to cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis

Objective To evaluate alterations in apparent axon diameter and axon density obtained by high-gradient diffusion MRI in the corpus callosum of MS patients and the relationship of these advanced diffusion MRI metrics to neurologic disability and cognitive impairment in MS. Methods Thirty people with MS (23 relapsing-remitting MS [RRMS], 7 progressive MS [PMS]) and 23 healthy controls were scanned on a human 3-tesla (3T) MRI scanner equipped with 300 mT/m maximum gradient strength using a comprehensive multishell diffusion MRI protocol. Data were fitted to a three-compartment geometric model of white matter to estimate apparent axon diameter and axon density in the midline corpus callosum. Neurologic disability and cognitive function were measured using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), and Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS battery. Results Apparent axon diameter was significantly larger and axon density reduced in the normal-appearing corpus callosum (NACC) of MS patients compared to healthy controls, with similar trends seen in PMS compared to RRMS. Larger apparent axon diameter in the NACC of MS patients correlated with greater disability as measured by the EDSS (r = 0.555, P = 0.007) and poorer performance on the Symbol Digits Modalities Test (r = -0.593, P = 0.008) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (r = -0.632, P < 0.01), tests of interhemispheric processing speed and new learning and memory, respectively. Interpretation Apparent axon diameter in the corpus callosum obtained from high-gradient diffusion MRI is a potential imaging biomarker that may be used to understand the development and progression of cognitive impairment in MS.
Improving Lawyers’ Health by Addressing the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences

The legal community has recently acknowledged that many in the profession suffer from the effects of poor mental health and has called for steps to improve lawyers’ well-being. Though well intentioned, this movement has largely ignored what the Centers for Disease Control calls a “basis for much of adult physical and emotional health problems”: adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. Research by neuroscientists and others has concluded that much of adult physical and mental illness has its roots in the unresolved trauma of childhood adversity. At the same time, research also indicates that understanding the impact of these early experiences can alleviate such illness and its attendant maladaptive coping behaviors. Thus, efforts to help lawyers improve their mental health without addressing adverse childhood experiences will inevitably fall short. This Article recommends that bar associations and law schools take measures to educate attorneys and future attorneys about the potentially far-reaching consequences of these experiences and means to overcome them. Without such a commitment, countless lawyers will continue to be plagued by their trauma histories—to the tragic detriment of lawyers’ families, clients, communities, and mental health.
Thermal rearrangement of some 3-alkyl-2-aryltetrahydro-1,3-oxazine N-oxides. Synthesis of 2-alkyl-7-aryltetrahydro-1,6,2-dioxazepines

Several 2-alkyl-7-aryltetrahydro-1,6,2-dioxazepines 5a-i have been synthesized by a Meisenheimer-type rearrangement of 3-alkyl-2-aryltetrahydro-1,3-oxazine N-oxides 4a-i. These dioxazepines have not been previously described and for the first time compounds with the tetrahydro-1,6,2-dioxazepine ring-system have been made available. The structure assigned to members of this novel heterocycle is based on elemental analysis, infrared, and 1 H nmr spectral evidence. Further definitive evidence for the structure of these heterocycles is provided by an X-ray crystallographic analysis of 5c
Modelling severity of pedestrian-injury in pedestrian-vehicle crashes with latent class clustering and partial proportional odds model: A case study of North Carolina

Abstract There are more than 2000 pedestrians reported to be involved in traffic crashes with vehicles in North Carolina every year. 10%–20% of them are killed or severely injured. Research studies need to be conducted in order to identify the contributing factors and develop countermeasures to improve safety for pedestrians. However, due to the heterogeneity inherent in crash data, which arises from unobservable factors that are not reported by law enforcement agencies and/or cannot be collected from state crash records, it is not easy to identify and evaluate factors that affect the injury severity of pedestrians in such crashes. By taking advantage of the latent class clustering (LCC), this research firstly applies the LCC approach to identify the latent classes and classify the crashes with different distribution characteristics of contributing factors to the pedestrian-vehicle crashes. By considering the inherent ordered nature of the traffic crash severity data, a partial proportional odds (PPO) model is then developed and utilized to explore the major factors that significantly affect the pedestrian injury severities resulting from pedestrian-vehicle crashes for each latent class previously obtained in the LCC. This study uses police reported pedestrian crash data collected from 2007 to 2014 in North Carolina, containing a variety of features of motorist, pedestrian, environmental, roadway characteristics. Parameter estimates and associated marginal effects are mainly used to interpret the models and evaluate the significance of each independent variable. Lastly, policy recommendations are made and future research directions are also given.
HH Experiences (HHE)

The E kernel of HH includes five elements: read nonfiction books, visit cultural places, speak three languages, volunteer one week, and join the Hualish community. These are driven by the H and O components in HH, and also follow the rules of P. Each E element often serves more than one element of H, O and P. Some elements are individual in nature (the first three, and possibly the fourth) while others are collective in nature and require simultaneous participation of many members (the last element, and some forms of the fourth).
Energetics, Structures, and Phase Transitions of Cubic and Orthorhombic Cesium Lead Iodide (CsPbI3) Polymorphs.

Cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) perovskite has shown great potential as a light absorbing material for solar cell applications. Despite intense research leading to increasing power conversion efficienc...
In vitro immune function in laboratory-reared age-0 smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) relative to diet.

Abstract Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) are used as an indicator species in environmental monitoring and assessment studies. However, laboratory-based studies for methods development and effector assessment are limited for this species. Nutrition, a known modulator of teleost physiological responses including immune function, is a critical knowledge-gap sometimes overlooked in the design of laboratory studies. We report the results from a study evaluating a commercially available artificial pelleted diet for bass and live feed (fathead minnows). Following a six-month diet-acclimation period, age-0 smallmouth bass were assessed using morphometric measures, histologic and immune-function end points using conventional methods, miniaturized cell isolation and assay methods as well as imaging flow cytometry. Fish on the two diets did not significantly differ in length, weight, or condition factor, indicating that growth was similar in the two groups. Histologic examination revealed relatively higher levels of macrophage aggregates and accumulation of ceroid/lipofuscin in the spleen as well as hepatocyte changes in the pellet-fed group. Leukocytes from the pellet-fed group exhibited significantly elevated bactericidal activity and significantly depressed mitogen response compared to fish fed live feed. Following exposure to a known inducer of inflammatory responses, bacterial lipopolysaccharide, responses including the transition of leukocytes to an apoptotic/necrotic condition differed significantly based on diet. Histologic findings were consistent with the occurrence of diet-related oxidative stress in the pellet-fed fish. Oxidative stress can be induced by multiple factors including environmental pollutants. For a diet to be useful in laboratory-based studies, it cannot elicit response that could also be induced by experimental treatments. To do so greatly complicates the detection of experimental effects. Until an artificial diet is developed for smallmouth bass that does not produce potentially confounding conditions for laboratory-based studies, use of a live feed appears to be the best option.
Airborne lidar provides reliable estimates of canopy base height and canopy bulk density in southwestern ponderosa pine forests

Abstract Accurate estimates of canopy base height (CBH) and canopy bulk density (CBD) are critical inputs for many fire modeling and simulation programs. Commonly used LANDFIRE estimates of CBH and CBD are only available at 30 m resolution and have relatively low accuracy, and traditional field-based estimates can lead to inaccurate spatial estimates by assuming averages across spatial extents. Discrete-return airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) has become increasingly common in forestry applications, with demonstrated success in measuring canopy metrics and forest structure across broad landscapes and varied forest types. However, few studies have investigated the potential of airborne lidar for estimating these metrics in southwestern forests. This study developed an approach for estimating CBH and CBD using airborne lidar data and evaluated the accuracy of estimates at 20 m resolution. We also evaluated the predicted accuracy between managed and unmanaged forest stands. We employed a quantile-based method to derive CBH and utilized the Fire and Fuels Extension of the Forest Vegetation Simulator to estimate CBD from a lidar-derived tree list. Our results indicate that airborne lidar produced more accurate estimates of both CBH (R2 = 0.4; RMSE = 1.25 m) and CBD (R2 = 0.76; RMSE = 0.021 kg−3) as compared to LANDFIRE and other regional remote-sensing based estimates. We also report that airborne lidar is more accurate at estimating CBH in unmanaged stands versus managed stands, but CBD estimates maintain similar accuracy regardless of management history. Compared to methods developed in other regions, our approach resulted in relatively low R2 values, but our RMSE values were found to be similar or slightly improved. Our approach for deriving both metrics are conceptually and computationally simple making them especially valuable for use by land managers and ecologists alike. This study provides clear evidence that airborne lidar can be used to derive broad-scale, fine-resolution fuel data layers, which are commonly required in fire modeling and forest management activities and decision-making.
Progressive Politics and the Courts: Lessons from the United States

In recent years, contested political issues in the US have been subject to strategic judicial challenges that attempt to reopen political debates on a more favorable battleground. For example, twice in the four years after Congress and President Obama enacted health reform, legal challenges subjected this progressive achievement to a final veto point: the consent of an ideologically fractured Supreme Court. Conservatives attempted to achieve through the courts — citing novel legal doctrines — a policy goal of enormous consequence, which they could not achieve through the legislature. Party actors used the judiciary as an institutional veto for the political process; a final means to block a policy change that American progressives had for generations fought to secure. Conservatives made similar legal challenges to nearly all of President Obama’s major initiatives, in policy areas including oversight of the financial system, environmental regulation, and immigration. Further, recent Supreme Court decisions — particularly the decision securing nationwide marriage equality — may give the appearance that the US left has done well before the courts on ‘social’ issues, but that success may be overstated. And the perception may prove all the more illusory if we are entering an era in which economic policy issues dominate, or if the courts allow economic rights and powers, decided more in line with conservative values, to trump social ones. The stakes are even higher than particular, monumental policy decisions. Over time, delegating policymaking power to the courts could cause the mechanisms of healthy public participation in democratic decision-making to atrophy. The recent US experience is that the courts are erratic defenders of pillars of democratic participation, such as voting rights and measures against political corruption. Judicial power may also enervate citizens’ knowledge of and participation in far-reaching policy decisions. Judicial policymaking also distorts electoral politics because it increases the stakes of judicial appointments. These possibilities should concern anyone who values strong citizen participation in public life and a healthy democracy. The left should be especially troubled: when democratic engagement falters and policymaking constricts to litigation, progressive aims may be most hurt. The UK left may be attracted to constitutional arrangements that give the judiciary greater policymaking power through frustrations with political processes and court decisions on policy issues that advance progressive aims. But a view from the US — a mature system, in which judges already have much policymaking power — should temper that attraction. Recent US developments suggest that judicial policymaking does not reliably secure progressive goals, and, in the long run, could enfeeble democratic participation and debate in ways detrimental to democracy as a whole and progressive aims in particular.
Implementation and Evolution of a Primary Care-Based Program for Adolescents and Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum

Current primary care models are inadequate for adults on the autism spectrum. The Center for Autism Services and Transition (CAST) clinic was developed in 2014 using feedback from parents of adults on the autism spectrum and patient-centered medical home principles. We evaluated the reach of CAST’s services. As of January 2021, 858 patients were seen in CAST. Many continue to receive primary care from the CAST clinic. The program has undergone staffing changes but continues to accept new patients. We have added services such as “happy visits,” pre-procedure videos, and telehealth visits. CAST provides one example of how to improve primary care for adults on the autism spectrum. More research is needed to assess the effectiveness of the CAST model.
Biotinylated peptides/proteins: II. Identification of biotinylated lysyl phenylthiohydantoins

The identification and characterization of biotinylated lysyl residues in a polypeptide chain by automated sequence analysis is described. An in depth analytical study was conducted for the delineation of N epsilon modification of lysyl residues with N-hydroxysuccinimide esters of biotin and 6-aminohexanoic biotin. Confirmation of the structure of the phenylthiohydantoin derivatives of N epsilon biotinylated lysine was achieved by mass spectrometry. The analytical study focused on the identification of biotinylated lysine-4 of neuropeptide Y which served as a model peptide for the analytical procedures detailed.
Integrating Lightweight Systems Analysis into the United Process by Using Service Responsibility Tables

This paper is a step toward establishing direct, but non -automatic links between lightweight (semi -formal) analysis methods for business professionals and heavyweight analysis methods for IT professionals. After noting the impo rtance of user involvement in obtaining accurate and meaningful user requirements, the paper summarizes the Unified Process, a software development methodology that employs U nified Modeling Language (UML) . Another section in the paper summarizes previous e xtensions of the work system method that produced a lightweight analysis tool called Service Responsibility Tables (SRTs). This paper uses a straightforward example to demonstrate a set of heuristics for translating between service responsibility tables pr oduced by business professionals and UML diagrams that IT professionals can use as a partial basis for programming. This type of guideline -based link between lightweight and heavyweight methods could lead to more effective user involvement in requirements determination and reduce failure rate in IT projects .
Large-Scale SVD and Subspace-Based Methods for Information Retrieval

A theoretical foundation for latent semantic indexing (LSI) is proposed by adapting a model first used in array signal processing to the context of information retrieval using the concept of subspaces. It is shown that this subspace-based model coupled with minimal description length (MDL) principle leads to a statistical test to determine the dimensions of the latent-concept subspaces in LSI. The effect of weighting on the choice of the optimal dimensions of latent-concept subspaces is illustrated. It is also shown that the model imposes a so-called low-rank-plus-shift structure that is approximately satisfied by the cross-product of the term-document matrices. This structure can be exploited to give a more accurate updating scheme for LSI and to correct some of the misconception about the achievable retrieval accuracy in LSI updating. Variants of Lanczos algorithms are illustrated with numerical test results on Cray T3E using document collections generated from World Wide Web.
Entropy constrained halftoning by tree coding

An entropy constraint is introduced into a tree coding halftoner, so that one can control the degree of compressibility of the bi-level output images. The algorithm essentially trades image quality with compressibility as indicated by rate distortion theory. We demonstrate that this algorithm can generate halftone images that are of higher quality than error diffusion, and yet are also more amenable to compression than error diffused images.
Immorality or Abnormality: What's to Blame for Increasing Blame?

A growing body of research shows that immoral actors are judged to be more causal of and more blameworthy for bad outcomes. Prior research suggests that the immorality-blame link is a product of top-down processing, in which automatic judgments about an actor’s morality influence later cause and blame judgments. We, however, suggest that immorality is typically correlated with abnormality, and what appears to be a relationship between morality and blame is due at least in part to the relationship between normality and cause. Study 1 provides evidence that judgments of morality and normality are typically correlated. Studies 2 and 3 replicate this finding and also show that that normality mediates the relationship between morality, causation, and blame. Study 3 also provides evidence for why abnormal behavior affects blame judgments. Specifically, immoral behavior, because it is abnormal, prompts counterfactual thinking – i.e., imagining ways a bad outcome could have been prevented – and such thinking in turn affects cause and blame judgments. These findings support a bottom-up, probabilistic process of cause and blame assignment. They also conflict with prescriptive theories of blame and have applied implications for legal policy.
The Gestation of Birthright Citizenship, 1868-1898: States' Rights, The Law of Nations, and Mutual Consent

This article considers the inheritance of the seventeenth-century English common law conception of the subject in nineteenth-century America and, ultimately, in the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898). It examines the claims for birthright citizenship derived from British common law and the three principal arguments against them. These latter included: objections to the assertion of a federal common law of citizenship from the perspective of state sovereignty; arguments that the United States should embrace citizenship by blood rather than by birth in order to conform to the practice of the law of nations and other - civil law - countries; and, finally, the social contractarian claim that citizenship should be based on the consent of both the nation and the prospective citizen, rather than derived from a feudally based ascription. The article concludes by discussing Peter Schuck and Rogers Smith’s Citizenship without Consent, which recapitulates some of the arguments against birthright citizenship, and explaining why the common law practice, despite originating in the context of monarchical sovereignty, should be retained in the United States today.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLEANING POLLUTION:: An Interregional Programming Model

Significant amount of pollution can be generated in one region but its output is used directly and indirectly for providing final goods in other areas. Pollution of an upstream area may be carried downstream and air pollution generated in one area may be diffused to other areas. An integrated interregional input‐output and linear programming model has been presented through which responsibility for cleaning pollution can be established and optimum relocation of industries can be achieved in the framework of technological and economic constraints.
Successive interference cancellation for large-scale MIMO OFDM

In this paper, a new low complexity successive interference cancellation (SIC) technique is proposed for a QPSK mapping multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) spatial multiplexing system based on a Quadratic Programming detector (QP-SIC). The proposed technique uses Log-Likelihood ratio (LLR) for reliability ordering of received symbols, and then formulates SIC procedures using a QP formulation. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional SIC schemes, especially for large-scale MIMO configuration, in both error performance and computational complexity.
Contexts in Formal Semantics

Recent philosophical literature has debated the question of how much context-relativity needs to be countenanced in precise semantic theories for natural languages and has displayed different conceptions of the way in which it might be accommodated. This article presents reasons to think that context-relativity is a phenomenon that semantic theory must accommodate and identifies some of the issues concerning how it ought to be accommodated.
Phenotypic plasticity in the spawning traits of bigheaded carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) in novel ecosystems

Summary 1. Bigheaded carp, including both silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (H. nobilis) carp, are successful invasive fishes that threaten global freshwater biodiversity. High phenotypic plasticity probably contributes to their success in novel ecosystems, although evidence of plasticity in several spawning traits has hitherto been largely anecdotal or speculative. 2. We collected drifting eggs from a Midwestern U.S.A. river from June to September 2011 and from April to June 2012 to investigate the spawning traits of bigheaded carp in novel ecosystems. 3. Unlike reports from the native range, the presence of drifting bigheaded carp eggs was not related to changes in hydrological regime or mean daily water temperature. Bigheaded carp also exhibited protracted spawning, since we found drifting eggs throughout the summer and as late as 1 September 2011. Finally, we detected bigheaded carp eggs in a river reach where the channel is c. 30 m wide with a catchment area of 4579 km2, the smallest stream in which spawning has yet been documented. 4. Taken with previous observations of spawning traits that depart from those observed within the native ranges of both bighead and silver carp, our findings provide direct evidence that bigheaded carp exhibit plastic spawning traits in novel ecosystems that may facilitate invasion and establishment in a wider range of river conditions than previously envisaged.
Construction and Characterization of Viable Deletion Mutants of Simian Virus 40 Lacking Sequences near the 3′ End of the Early Region

Five viable deletion mutants of simian virus 40 (SV40) were prepared and characterized. These mutants lack 15 to 60 base pairs between map positions 0.198 and 0.218, near the 3' end of the early region of SV40 and extend further into the body of the A gene, encoding the large T antigen, than previously described deletion mutants. These mutants were isolated after transfection of monkey kidney CV-1p cells with full-sized linear DNA prepared by partial digestion of form I SV40 DNA with restriction endonucleases HinfI or MboII, followed by removal of approximately 25 base pairs of DNA from the 5' termini using lambda-5'-exonuclease and purification of the DNA in agarose gels. Based on camparisons of the DNA sequence of SV40 and polyoma virus, these mutations map in the 19% of the SV40 A gene that shares no homology with the A gene of polyoma virus. The mutations exist in two different genetic backgrounds: the original set of mutants (dl2401 through dl2405) was prepared, using as a parent SV40 mutant dl862, which has a deletion at the single HpaII site (0.725 map unit). A second set (dl2491 through dl2495) contains the same deletions in a wild-type SV40 (strain SV-S) background. Relative to wild-type SV40, the original mutants showed reduced rates of growth, lower yields of progeny virus and viral DNA, and smaller plaque size; in these properties the mutants resembled parental dl862, although mutant progeny yields were usually lower than yields of dl862, suggesting a possible interaction between the two deletions. The second set of mutants had growth properties and progeny yields similar to those of wild-type SV40; however, Southern blotting experiments indicated that viral DNA replication proceeds at a slightly reduced rate. All of the mutants transformed mouse NIH/3T3 cells and mouse embryo fibroblasts at the same frequency as wild-type SV40. Mutants dl2402, dl2492, and dl2405 consistently produced denser and larger foci in both types of cells. All mutants directed the synthesis of shortened large T antigens. Adenovirus helper function was retained by all mutants.
THE EVOLUTION OF DUPLICATE GENE EXPRESSION IN THE CARP (CYPRINUS CARPIO).

The carp, Cyprinus carpio (Teleostomi), is a tetraploid species which currently expresses 52% of its duplicate enzyme loci. This level of duplicate gene expression in this cyprinid species is comparable to those observed in tetraploid Catostomidae, but higher than those in tetraploid Cobitidae.
Special issue: honoring Derrick Bell’s contributions to CRT in Educational Studies

This special issue of Race Ethnicity and Education is dedicated to the late professor, Derrick Bell, J.D. and his particular contributions to Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Education. Professor Bel...
Assessing regional wind energy resources with biological indicators: a decision-analytic approach

Abstract The nation's substantial wind-energy resources are unevenly distributed, with highly profitable sites being relatively rare. The absence of long-term wind speed data makes siting of wind-energy conversion systems (WECS) extremely risky. Before investing in precise anemometry, wind prospectors may arrive at a first approximation with biological indicators, which are fairly inexpensive. This article describes an effort at calibrating three characteristics of mesquite trees at two sites in Texas, with wind speeds above and below the apparent economic threshold. These indicators differ in their cost of data acquisition. A discriminant analysis indicates the accuracy of these indicators in classifying samples. The value, risks, and cost effectiveness of biological information in assessing regional wind resources is illustrated through decision analysis.
Classification framework for nailfold capillary microscopy images

Nailfold capillary microscopy examination has been used since late 1950s as a non-invasive in-vivo technique for diagnosing and monitoring connective tissue disease in adults. Disorders such as Raynaud's phenomenon, progressive systemic sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis were detected in more than 80% of adult patients, by analyzing such high resolution images. In this research paper, we propose a framework to classify nailfold capillary microscopy images into SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) and PSS (Progress Systemic sclerosis) diseases. Based on statistical data collected in Taichung Veteran's General Hospital (TCVGH), Taiwan, higher percentage of adult patients are find with SLE patients, when compared with PSS. According to ARA (American Rheumatism Association), patients' outside features are obviously. The PSS patients are the same way to finding the features. And in the same time, we refer from doctor's idea add other conditions to help judging. In the first step, RP is the most important element. Most of the SLE and PSS features are raised by RP. In the other way, the features can be found in both of SLE and PSS patients. In order to divide the SLE and PSS patients into the correct class, other conditions are existed in necessary.
Nucleation Theory Near the Classical Spinodal.

We present a field-theoretic description of metastability and nucleation for arbitrary range interaction models near the limit of metastability, i.e., spinodal. We find that as the spinodal is approached, the size of the nucleating droplet diverges in all dimensions. The upper critical dimension is found to be six. For $dl6$, as the spinodal is approached the nucleating droplets become ramified and their free-energy cost goes to zero; thus the system nucleates before reaching the spinodal. The free-energy cost increases rapidly as the range of the interaction, $R$, is increased, so that even for $dl6$ the spinodal can be approached as close as desired by increasing $R$. The internal structure of the ramified droplets in all dimensions is mapped onto that of a percolation cluster. The lifetime, including both the free-energy cost of the nucleating droplet and a dynamic prefactor, diverges in all dimensions; this is due to "critical" slowing down as the spinodal is approached. For $dg6$, the free-energy cost of the ramified droplets diverges as the spinodal is approached; more compact droplets must also be considered. A crossover where the upper critical dimension changes continuously from 6, for spinodal behavior, to 4, for critical-point behavior, is found for the model; this crossover is hypothesized to be absent or unobservable for more realistic models. The initial growth of the droplet is found to take place through compactification rather than through radial accretion as occurs in nucleation near the coexistence curve.
Accounting for professionalism: an innovative point system to assess resident professionalism

Background: Professionalism is a core competency for residency required by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. We sought a means to objectively assess professionalism among internal medicine and transitional year residents. Innovation: We established a point system to document unprofessional behaviors demonstrated by internal medicine and transitional year residents along with opportunities to redeem such negative points by deliberate positive professional acts. The intent of the policy is to assist residents in becoming aware of what constitutes unprofessional behavior and to provide opportunities for remediation by accruing positive points. A committee of core faculty and department leadership including the program director and clinic nurse manager determines professionalism points assigned. Negative points might be awarded for tardiness to mandatory or volunteered for events without a valid excuse, late evaluations or other paperwork required by the department, non-attendance at meetings prepaid by the department, and inappropriate use of personal days or leave. Examples of actions through which positive points can be gained to erase negative points include delivery of a mentored pre-conference talk, noon conference, medical student case/shelf review session, or a written reflection. Results: Between 2009 and 2012, 83 residents have trained in our program. Seventeen categorical internal medicine and two transitional year residents have been assigned points. A total of 55 negative points have been assigned and 19 points have been remediated. There appears to be a trend of fewer negative points and more positive points being assigned over each of the past three academic years. Conclusion: Commitment to personal professional behavior is a lifelong process that residents must commit to during their training. A professionalism policy, which employs a point system, has been instituted in our programs and may be a novel tool to promote awareness and underscore the merits of the professionalism competency. Keywords: graduate medical education; internal medicine; health professional education (Published: 14 April 2014) Citation: Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2014, 4 : 23313 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/jchimp.v4.23313
CdZnTe Frisch collar detectors for γ-ray spectroscopy

Abstract Low-energy γ-ray spectra were collected from 241 Am, 57 Co, 133 Ba, 198 Au, 137 Cs and 235 U using a 3.4×3.4×5.7 mm 3 CdZnTe detector utilizing an insulated Frisch ring. The CdZnTe detector was fabricated from a single crystal and a copper shim was used as the Frisch collar. Room-temperature energy resolution of 1.45% full-width half-maximum (FWHM) was obtained for 137 Cs at 661.7 keV without electronic correction. The detector fabrication process is described and the resulting energy spectra are discussed. The detector fabrication process is described and the resulting energy spectra are discussed. The detector full-energy-peak intrinsic efficiency is reported for different γ-ray energies, specifically from 241 Am, 57 Co, 133 Ba and 137 Cs.
Reprint of "Non-causal spike filtering improves decoding of movement intention for intracortical BCIs".

Background Multiple types of neural signals are available for controlling assistive devices through brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). Intracortically recorded spiking neural signals are attractive for BCIs because they can in principle provide greater fidelity of encoded information compared to electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals and electroencephalograms (EEGs). Recent reports show that the information content of these spiking neural signals can be reliably extracted simply by causally band-pass filtering the recorded extracellular voltage signals and then applying a spike detection threshold, without relying on “sorting” action potentials.
Energy Efficient Hybrid Separation Processes

Distillation accounts for a large percentage of the energy used in the manufacturing industry. As energy costs rise, hybrid separation strategiesstrategies that combine one or more separation techn...
Evaluation of process safety indicators collected in conformance with ANSI/API Recommended Practice 754

Abstract At the request of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), we examined some of the possible uses of the process safety event metrics proposed by the American Petroleum Institute and published as ANSI/API Recommended Practice 754. We examined many sources to try to estimate what the likely number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 process safety events would be at refineries. Then we calculated the statistical power that would be available to compare rates, both over time and across facilities and firms. As Tier 1 and Tier 2 are defined, it appears that the event frequencies estimated for U.S. refineries (i.e., 0.12 per 100 employees for Tier 1 and 0.26 for Tier 2) would make it unlikely that even two-fold differences in the rates would be statistically significant, except at large refineries with several thousand workers.
Locating and classifying fluorescent tags behind turbid layers using time-resolved inversion

Fluorescent patches can be localized in 3D and identified behind a diffusive layer by use of streak images taken from one horizontal line on the diffusive barrier. Satat et al. show that the time-resolved inversion along with sparse prior can be used to perform this with deeper recovery range.
Morphology of Developing Rat Genioglossal Motoneurons Studied In Vitro: Changes in Length, Branching Pattern, and Spatial Distribution of Dendrites

ABSTWCT The aim of this study is to describe the postnatal change in dendritic morphology of those motoneurons in the hypoglossal nucleus that innervate the genioglossus muscle. Forty genioglossal (GG) motoneurons from four age groups (1-2, 5-6, 13-15, and 19-30 postnatal days) were labeled by intracellular injection of neurobiotin in an in vitro slice preparation of the rat brainstem and were reconstructed in three-dimensional space. The number of primary dendrites per GG motoneuron was - 6 and remained unchanged with age. The development of these motoneurons from birth to 13-15 days was characterized by a simplification of the dendritic tree involving a decrease in the number of terminal endings and dendritic branches. Motoneurons lost their 6th-8th order branches, in parallel with an elongation of their terminal dendritic branches maintaining the same combined dendritic length. The elongation of terminal branches was attributed to both longitudinal growth and the apparent lengthening caused by resorption of distal branches. The elimination of dendritic branches tended to increase the symmetry of the tree, as revealed by topological analysis. Later, between 13-15 days and 19-30 days, there was a reelaboration of the dendritic arborization returning to a configuration similar to that found in the newborn. The length of terminal branches was shorter at 19-30 days, while the length of preterminal branches did not change, suggesting that the proliferation of branches at 19-30 days takes place in the intermediate parts of terminal branches. The three-dimensional distribution of dendrites was analyzed by dividing space into six equal volumes (hexants). This analysis revealed that GG motoneurons have major components of their dendritic tree oriented in the lateral, medial, and dorsal hexants. Further twodimensional polar analysis (consisting of eight sectors) revealed a reconfiguration of the tree from birth up to 5-6 days involving resorption of dendrites in the dorsal, dorsomedial, and medial sectors and growth in the lateral sector. Later in development (between 13-15 days and 19-30 days), there was growth in all sectors, but of a greater magnitude in the dorsomedial, medial, and dorsolateral sectors. D 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Finite-difference-pseudopotential method: Electronic structure calculations without a basis.

We present a method for performing electronic structure calculations without the explicit use of a basis. We combine a finite-difference approach with ab initio pseudopotentials. In contrast to methods which use a plane wave basis, our calculations are performed completely in ``real space.'' No artifacts such as supercell geometries need be introduced for localized systems. Although this approach is easier to implement than one with a plane wave basis, no loss of accuracy occurs. The electronic structure of several diatomic molecules, ${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{C}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$, and CO, are calculated to illustrate the utility of this method.
Production of 13N-molecular nitrogen for pulmonary positron scintigraphy

A system for the production of 13 N labeled molecular nitrogen ( 13 NN) dissolved in physiological saline is described. The 12 C(d,n) 13 N reaction with 50 μA of 6 MeV deuterons from a small medical cyclotron is used to produce 13NN as the sole product in the target chamber. Carbon dioxide is both the target and the sweep gas in a flow system that termiriates with continuous absorption of C0 2 in an NaOH bubbler. The specific activity of1 3NN is raised in relation to its relative volume as impurity in the C0 2 . After C0 2 absorption, the residual1 3NN is shaken with physiological saline to produce 20 ml of sterile, pyrogen-free injectate with a specific activity of 270 μCi/ml. Radio-gas-chromatography is used for the development and quality control of the technique. 13 NN in solution is used for measurements of pulmonary function with positron scintigraphy.
Problems in Demand Estimation For a New Technology

It is difficult to estimate demand for a new product or service when a prelaunch test market is not practical. This is often the case for products that incorporate advanced technology. In this article, Robert Thomas reviews 29 different research methodologies used to measure demand for a new telecommunications service. He found several problems in how the research was designed and executed and offers a number of suggestions for improving the accuracy of demand estimates.
Place, Community Development, and Social Capital

Over the past decade, the concept of social capital has become an important component of many community development strategies. In this article we argue that social capital is predicated on assumptions that raise a number of questions about its usefulness in a variety of different settings. The most important features of social capital—trust and norms of reciprocity—emerge from repeated and regularized interactions that are bounded in space and time. They depend on an existing, relatively unproblematic relationship between place and social interaction. In many communities, this is not a tenable assumption. We conclude by suggesting that an interactional approach to community development can be a useful alternative.
An analysis of some over-water wind profile measurements

For several days during the spring of 1955, wind-speed profiles were measured from an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Various standard parameters such as the friction velocity, roughness parameter, surface stress, and resistance coefficient are computed from these profiles. Functional relationships are derived between the various computed parameters and the wind speed at ten meters. A re-analysis of data obtained by Wiist in 1919 shows that it is in very good agreement with the present data. An attempt is made to relate the roughness parameter with the root-mean-square of the water-level fluctuations, and though some indication of a dependence can be inferred, there is too much scatter of the plotted points to arrive at a unique functional relationship.
The impacts of Walter Isard on geography

In the course of preparing this paper, which initially focused solely on identifying the impacts of input-output analysis on geography, a much broader perspective on the impacts of Walter Isard on geography ultimately emerged. In the tradition of input-output analysis, these impacts are grouped into direct, indirect, and induced effects, and summarized under the heading of influence. Walter Isard touched the lives of many through personal relationships, books and articles, and an energetic devotion to and enthusiasm for the creation of a regional science association. The Regional Science Association and its publications supported something of a greenhouse environment in which the seedlings of GIS and scientific geography could take root, until they were well enough established to enter mainstream geography. While clearly not limited to geography, the fruits of Walter Isard’s labors continue to populate the discipline through his contemporaries, their students, students’ students, and so on. The formative years of both regional science and scientific geography left an indelible mark on the nature of geographic inquiry.