cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A gallery of mathematical teapot shaders

In the 1980s and 1990s, it was often said that computer literacy was the key to the economic future. This applied to individuals, companies, and the country as a whole. But, we have moved beyond that. Today, it is visual computer literacy that is the key to so much success. No matter where you turn, in fields as diverse as biology, chemistry, animation, art, mechanical design, natural resources, energy, and government, using computers as a way to construct and use visual representations is a crucial skill.
Qualitative Analysis on Stage: Making the Research Process More Public:

Discussions regarding standards for assessing qualitative research have not sufficiently addressed questions concerning the privatization of this type of analysis. In response to this dilemma, the authors of this article address some of the strategies that they have employed in working with doctoral students and offer suggestions for assessing and publicly disclosing the methodological rigor and analytical defensibility of qualitative research. Specifically, tabular strategies are introduced for use in documenting the relationship between data sources and a study’s research questions, the development of themes and categories, and the triangulation of findings. Examples from three dissertations are provided.
The Congruence of Factor-Analytic Structures: Comparisons of Four Procedures and Their Solutions

Use of factor analytic techniques for the analysts of organizational data is increasing. Four readily available techniques are described. Results derived from application of each technique to a common data set are compared.
Diagnostic ultrasound for nerve transection

The current approach for localizing and assessing the severity of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries involves clinical evaluation and electrodiagnostic studies. However, the ability of this approach to determine the extent of nerve damage within the first 6 weeks after trauma is limited. This is problematic because outcome is improved with early surgical intervention after complete nerve transection. This led us to explore alternative techniques, such as imaging, for assessing peripheral nerve injuries. Twelve fresh cadavers were obtained and after inspection 20 arms were deemed suitable for inclusion in the study. Random sites were transected in median, ulnar, and radial nerves, and sham skin incisions were performed throughout the arm. These nerves were then systematically scanned by an ultrasonographer blinded to the nerve transection sites, who made a final decision as to whether the nerve was transected. High-resolution ultrasound was able to identify transected nerves in the upper extremity with 89% sensitivity and 95% specificity in fresh cadavers. This proof-of-concept study shows that ultrasound can accurately identify nerve transection, which should lead to further ultrasound studies in patients with traumatic peripheral nerve injuries.
A reanalysis of competing hypotheses for the spread of the California sea otter.

From 1938 to 1972, the range of California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) expanded with the northern and southern fronts spreading at rates of approximately 1.4 km/yr and 3.1 km/yr, respectively. J. A. Lubina and S. A. Levin proposed the following three factors to explain the large disparity in spread rates: (1) regional differences in dispersal; (2) regional differences in population growth; and (3) advection due to the known presence of a southerly flowing offshore current. While Lubina and Levin used a reaction–diffusion framework to argue for large differences in dispersal, our approach uses a stage-structured integrodifference matrix model to show that relatively minor differences in survival provide a more parsimonious explanation for the disparity in spread rates; especially if the survival rates between the northern and southern groups differ in more than one life stage. The argument is made that many of the present estimates for otter survival rates span intervals wide enough to explain the d...
Persistent pleural effusions in primary systemic amyloidosis: etiology and prognosis.

Background: Restrictive cardiomyopathy frequently complicates primary systemic amyloidosis (AL), yet only a small number of these patients develop large pleural effusions refractory to diuretic therapy and thoracentesis. We hypothesized that disruption of pleural function by amyloid deposits underlies persistent pleural effusions (PPEs) in patients with AL disease. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of AL patients with and without PPEs who had been referred to Boston University between 1994 and 2001. The presence of PPEs was defined by a failure to resolve the condition with thoracentesis and aggressive diuresis. AL cardiomyopathy patients without pleural effusions constituted the control (cardiac) group. Indexes of plasma cell dyscrasia, nephrotic syndrome, thyroid function, and echocardiographic measures of left and right ventricle performance were compared between groups. When available, closed needle biopsies and autopsy specimens of parietal pleura were examined for amyloid deposits. Results: Among 636 patients with AL, 35 PPE patients underwent a median of three thoracenteses each. No statistical differences were found between the PPE and cardiac groups in echocardiographic measures of septal thickness, left ventricular systolic function, or diastolic compliance. Right ventricular (RV) hypokinesis occurred more often in PPE patients; however, nearly half of this group had normal RV systolic function. Renal function, plasma protein levels, and thyroid function were the same between groups. Nephrotic range proteinuria ( ie , > 3 g/d) was more prevalent in the cardiac group than in the PPE group (44% vs 26%, respectively; p = 0.057). All pleural biopsies in the PPE group (six biopsies) revealed amyloid deposits. Autopsy samples of parietal pleura were negative for disease in two cardiac patients. Eighteen patients had chest tubes placed, and 11 underwent pleurodesis. PPE signaled limited survival among patients who were ineligible for treatment. Untreated PPE patients lived a median 1.8 months vs 6 months for untreated cardiac patients (p = 0.031). Survival after intensive chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation was comparable in the PPE and cardiac groups (21.8 vs 15.6 months, respectively; p = 0.405). Conclusion: In AL patients with cardiac amyloid, neither echocardiographic measures of ventricular function nor the degree of nephrosis distinguished those patients with PPEs. We conclude that pleural amyloid infiltration plays a central role in the creation and persistence of pleural effusions among patients with AL.
Detection of poliovirus by ICC/qPCR in concentrated water samples has greater sensitivity and is less costly using BGM cells in suspension as compared to monolayers

The integrated cell culture quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (ICC/qRT-PCR) method is used in our lab to detect enteroviruses in environmental waters. Typically we utilize monolayers of 3 cell lines; buffalo green monkey kidney (BGM), human colonic carcinoma (CACO-2) and African rhesus monkey kidney (MA104) with the intent of providing one or more permissive hosts to a wide range of enteroviruses. In this study the BGM cell line was used to compare poliovirus infectivity in conventional monolayer cultures to BGM cells in suspensions. Propagated virus was subsequently amplified by qRT-PCR. Our PCR data showed lower cycle threshold (Ct) values in the suspensions which corresponded to a higher rate of infectivity than that observed in the monolayers. The difference in Ct values was determined statistically significant by One-way ANOVA (0.000). Infecting BGM cells in suspensions required less hands-on time, less chance of contamination and was more cost effective than utilizing the conventional monolayer technique.
Secondary conversion due to failed endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Since Parodi et al reported their initial experience with endograft placement in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) more than a decade ago, endovascular repair has become an increasingly accepted treatment option for aneurysmal disease. Currently three endovascular grafts have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), namely, AneuRx, Ancure, and Excluder, and a number of other devices are at various stages of FDA review. Endovascular repair of infrarenal AAA has been extensively investigated, with encouraging short-term results. There is little doubt that endovascular repair of AAA is equivalent to open repair in the short term. The enthusiasm for this minimally invasive treatment is driven in part by shorter hospital course, decreased anesthetic risk, and expedient convalescent period, compared with the conventional open operation. Along with numerous positive short-term and mid-term reports of AAA endovascular repair, a growing number of reports are beginning to reveal some of the limitations of this evolving technology. Problems with device integrity, component separation, migration, infection, iliac limb occlusion, and aneurysm sac expansion with and without the presence of endoleak have been described. Many of these problems have resulted in device explantation and repair of the aneurysm with an open surgical approach. Explantation of an endovascular graft is reported as primary conversion if it is removed at the original endovascular grafting procedure, and as secondary conversion if it is removed sometime after the original endovascular grafting procedure. Clearly the rate of primary conversion has been significantly reduced with improved device design, patient selection, and increasing operator experience. Recently several investigators reported their rate of secondary conversion. Lyden et al evaluated 110 patients who received endovascular AAA treatment, 5 (4.5%) of whom required secondary conversion. Dattilo et al reported a secondary conversion rate of 2.2% (8 patients) over 7 years in 362 AAA endovascular grafts. Finally, Ohki et al, in a 9-year experience with 239 endovascular grafts, reported a secondary conversion rate of 2.1% (5 patients). In this article we review our experience in patients with late endovascular graft clinical failure in whom secondary conversion was required. In addition, we examine the indications, operative strategies, and technical maneuvers that may facilitate endograft explantation.
On a ferroelastic mechanism governing the toughness of metastable tetragonal-prime (t') yttria-stabilized zirconia

This article investigates the toughness of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with the tetragonal-prime (t) structure. Such materials are used as durable thermal barriers in gas turbines. Their durab...
Context-Adaptive Approach for Vehicle Detection Under Varying Lighting Conditions

This paper presents a vision-based vehicle detection method, taking into account the lighting context of the images. The adaptability of a vehicle detection system to lighting conditions is an important characteristic on which little research has been carried out. The scheme presented here categorizes the scenes according to their lighting conditions and switches between specialized classifiers for different scene contexts. In our implementation, four categories of lighting conditions have been identified using a clustering algorithm in the space of image histograms: Daylight, Low Light, Night, and Saturation. Classifiers trained with AdaBoost are used for both Daylight and Low Light categories, and a tail-light detector is used for the Night category. No detection is made for the Saturation case. Experiments have shown a considerate improvement in the detection performance when using the proposed context-adaptive scheme compared to a single vehicle detector for all lighting conditions.
Application guidelines for dry-type distribution power transformers

A large number of distribution transformers, currently utilized in low voltage (LV) power systems are of dry-type design. This includes, the IEEE Class II ventilated dry-type design with 3-phase kVA ratings in the approximate range of 500 kVA - 2.5 MVA and primary voltage ratings ranging from 4.16 kV to 34.5 kV and the secondary voltage ratings of 600 V and below. This paper presents a comprehensive review of dry-type transformers design and provides some application guidelines including insulation system characteristics; BIL; losses, overloading, and loss-of life; and price.
All-optical timing extraction at 40 GHz using a mode-locked figure-eight laser with an SLA

All-optical timing extraction using a figure-eight laser with a semiconductor nonlinearity generates a synchronised 40 GHz output pulse stream which displays lower timing jitter than the input stream. A high contrast ratio recovered clock is observed over a ~200 kHz locking range.
Role of CD1d-restricted NKT cells in microbial immunity.

The discovery that T cells recognize lipid and glycolipid molecules presented by CD1 proteins has greatly expanded the number of potential microbial antigens targeted by the immune system following infection. The ability of CD1d-restricted NKT cells to activate innate and adaptive immune responses has led to the idea that these cells can modulate immunity to infectious agents. In addition, CD1d-restricted NKT cells may directly contribute to host resistance as they express a variety of effector molecules that could mediate an antimicrobial effect. Although much has been learned about CD1d-restricted NKT cells through the use of the synthetic antigen α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer), the field has been hampered by the paucity of information about the physiological self and microbial lipid antigens that can be presented by CD1d. Here we review the literature stating that CD1d-restricted NKT cells contribute to host defense against microbial pathogens.
A lumped-parameter mechanical model of human ear for sound transmission

A lumped model of human middle ear consisting of 6 masses suspended with 9 pairs of springs and dashpots was proposed. 18 unknown parameters were identified based on the governing equations of the system. The experimental data of the tympanic membrane (TM) and stapes footplate displacements measured from ten human temporal bones using double laser interferometers were incorporated into the derived equations. All 18 parameters for springs and dashpots were calculated through optimization process and parameter-perturbation using MATLAB software. The agreement between the model prediction and the experimental data at the TM and footplate in both amplitude and phase shows that the model gives a good simulation of middle ear dynamics for sound transmission. This lumped model will be used for the developing of a 3-D physical model, which will be applied to the design of middle ear implantable devices.
A high-precision quantameter for NAL

Abstract Specifications and test data are given for a high-precision ionization quantameter to be used at NAL. The gain per GeV is expected to be independent of photon beam energy from 1 to 1000 GeV and to be independent of beam intensity for any practical photon flux that can be produced at NAL during a uniform spill of 1 s duration. Measurements of the quantameter gain with incident electrons at SLAC yield (416.0±0.8) ions/GeV at 10 GeV and (416.1±0.8) ions/GeV at 19.7 GeV for a hydrogen filling, corrected to a standard pressure of 30.00″ Hg and temperature of 300 K. The gain is independent of intensity up to about 3 × 107 electrons per cm2 per 1.5 μs pulse at 10 GeV, and it varies with beam centering by less than 0.1% over a 20-cm diameter. Concurrent tests of a new SLAC quantameter yield (426.2±0.8) ions/GeV at 10 GeV and (426.1±0.8) ions/GeV at 19.7 GeV. The errors given above are calculated from fluctuations in various series of integrations; the systematic uncertainties are estimated to be ±1.4 ions/GeV at each point.
Organ-specific expression of maize Adh1 is altered after a Mu transposon insertion.

A new, unstable, organ-specific Adh1 mutant was isolated from a Robertson's mutator line by germinating kernels under partial anaerobic conditions. Families of kernels which showed segregation of a conditional anaerobic lethal phenotype were identified. One mutant, Adh1-3F1124, was shown to express approximately 6% normal levels of ADH1 in seed and anaerobically treated seedlings but expresses normal levels of ADH1 in pollen, the male gametophyte. The ADH1 polypeptide encoded by the mutant allele was found to be indistinguishable from that encoded by the Adh1-3F progenitor but its message levels were lower in seed and seedlings. Robertson's mutator lines are known to carry Mu transposons that cause increased mutation rates. Genomic Southern analysis of Adh1-3F1124 and Adh1-3F showed the presence of a 1.85 kbp insertion at the 5' region of Adh1. Comparison of the DNA sequences revealed that a Mu1-like element was inserted 31 bp 5' from the transcriptional start site of Adh1-3F1124 gene. The insertion of the Mu element creates an additional TATA box by duplicating the 9 bp genomic sequence—ATATAAATC—at the site of insertion. Consequently, there are two potentially functional TATA sequences, separated by the 1.85 kbp Mu element, 5' to the transcriptional start site. It is not yet understood how such an arrangement alters the organspecific expression of Adh1.
Occupation-centred, occupation-based, occupation-focused: same, same or different?

Abstract Background: Since the beginning of the occupational therapy profession, engagement in occupation has been valued as the primary therapeutic agent as well as the goal of intervention. While there are few today who would not support this idea, occupational therapists continue to struggle with implementing their beliefs through “what we do” and “how we do it”. Contributing to this problem is their failure to use terminology in a manner that clearly defines what and how occupational therapists do what they do in occupational therapy research, education, and practice. Methods: The author will, therefore, first discuss some key occupational therapy terms and propose that they represent an occupation-related taxonomy that can be used to more clearly define and describe for occupational therapists and others what they do and how they do what they do as occupational therapists. Then, with a goal of fostering critical self-reflection among occupational scientists and occupational therapy researchers, educa...
Stress-induced mesenteric vasoconstriction in rats is mediated by neuropeptide Y Y1 receptors.

The physiological role of neuropeptide Y (NPY), a sympathetic cotransmitter and vasoconstrictor, has not been determined yet. We used a specific nonpeptide antagonist to the NPY Y1 receptor [BIBP-3226; (R)-N2-(diphenacetyl)-N-[(4-hydroxyphenyl) methyl]-D-arginineamide] to study the involvement of NPY in stress-induced vasoconstriction in the mesenteric bed. In rats subjected to cold water stress (COLD), plasma NPY immunoreactivity levels increased progressively from 0.15 +/- 0.01 to 0.32 +/- 0.05 pmol/ml and remained elevated during recovery. Administration of BIBP-3226 (3 mg.kg-1.h-1 infusion) tended to decrease the stress-induced pressor response and significantly attenuated the post-COLD elevation of blood pressure. The COLD-induced fall in the superior mesenteric artery blood flow and the increase of up to 300% in the mesenteric vascular resistance were either reduced or eliminated by BIBP-3226. Conversely, the Y1 antagonist had no effect on the COLD-induced tachycardia. This study provides the first evidence of the physiological role of NPY. The peptide is released during stress and increases mesenteric vascular resistance via activation of its Y1 receptors. Specific Y1-receptor antagonists may therefore be of potential benefit in prevention or treatment of stress-induced vasospasm.
Alcohol-related injuries, hazardous drinking, and BrAC levels among a sample of bar patrons.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related injuries are a serious public health issue and research has found that alcohol consumption is positively correlated with injury risk. OBJECTIVE: To better understand the association between alcohol consumption and injury risk. METHODS: We conducted four anonymous cross-sectional field studies among a sample of bar patrons (N = 917) to assess breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels, hazardous drinking levels (based on AUDIT-C score), and past year alcohol-related injuries in Fall 2014. Next, we conducted two logistic regression analyses to predict alcohol-related injuries: one model used hazardous drinking level as a predictor variable and the other model used BrAC. RESULTS: Among participants in our sample, the average BrAC% was.076 (SD =.055) and the average hazardous drinking score (based on the AUDIT-C) was 5.0 (SD = 2.6). The majority of participants indicated that they had not experienced an alcohol-related injury in the past year (859; 93.7%). Our regression analyses found that each incremental increase in a participants' hazardous drinking score increased the odds of experiencing a self-reported alcohol-related injury by 1.4 times and as BrAC increased one unit of change (percentage), the odds of a past-year alcohol related injury increased twofold (OR = 2.2). Other covariates (ie, age, gender, race, college student status) did not significantly predict alcohol-related injuries in either model. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: High-risk drinking behaviors, including higher BrAC levels, greatly influenced experiencing an alcohol-related injury. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first examination of BrAC levels and alcohol-related injuries in a primarily college student sample. (Am J Addict 2016;XX:1-6). Language: en
Assessment of CO2 injection at the mountaineer power plant site using scalable numerical simulation

Publisher Summary Numerical simulations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) injection are conducted as a part of a comprehensive program to assess the potential for geologic sequestration in deep geologic reservoirs at the American Electric Power's (AEP's) Mountaineer Power Plant site in West Virginia. Initial assessments of the site geology indicated two potential injection reservoirs—the Rose Run and Lower Marysville formation. The Rose Run formation is simulated, considering the dolomite confining and interbedding units explicitly, using three geologic conceptual models for intrinsic permeability and porosity: homogeneous, core-sample-stochastic, and wireline stochastic. The Copper Ridge formation is simulated using stochastically generated geology from the wireline and borehole field testing data. The confining layers above and below the Copper Ridge formation are not explicit modeled and are assumed impermeable. Subsequent borehole field testing has identified an additional potential injection reservoir in the Copper Ridge formation. This chapter presents a pilot study to predict CO 2 injection rates over a 20-year injection period and CO 2 distributions over a 100-year injection and redistribution period for two potential brine reservoir—the Rose Run and Copper Ridge formations. Simulations of CO 2 injection and redistribution were conducted for both the single-vertical and double-horizontal injection wells. Single-vertical well simulation scenarios assumed radial symmetry using a two-dimensional radial domain centered on the vertical injection well, extending radially to 8 km. Double-horizontal injection wells assumed planar symmetry, normal to the horizontal well and centered on the vertical well using three-dimensional domains that extended from the vertical well to 8 km.
Polyvictimization: latent profiles and mental health outcomes in a clinical sample of adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to multiple traumatic events (polyvictimization) is a reliable predictor of deleterious health outcomes and risk behaviors in adolescence. The current study extends the literature on the prevalence and consequences of adolescent trauma exposure by (a) empirically identifying and characterizing trauma exposure profiles in a large, ethnically diverse, multisite, clinical sample of adolescents, and (b) evaluating relations among identified profiles with demographic characteristics and clinical correlates. METHOD: Data from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Data Set were used to identify and characterize victimization profiles using latent class analysis in a sample of 3,485 adolescents (ages 13-18, 63% female, 35.7% White, 23.2% Black/African American, 35.0% Hispanic/Latino). Multiple measures of psychological distress and risk behaviors were evaluated as covariates of trauma exposure classes. RESULTS: Five trauma exposure classes, or profiles, were identified. Four classes--representing approximately half the sample--were characterized by polyvictimization. Polyvictimization classes were differentiated on number of trauma types, whether emotional abuse occurred, and whether emotional abuse occurred over single or multiple developmental epochs. Unique relations with demographic characteristics and mental health outcomes were observed. DISCUSSION: Results suggest polyvictimization is not a unidimensional phenomenon but a diverse set of trauma exposure experiences with unique correlates among youth. Further research on prevention of polyvictimization and mechanisms linking chronic trauma exposure, gender, and ethnicity to negative outcomes is warranted. Language: en
Phenomenal Properties, Psychophysical Laws, and the Identity Theory

My aim in this paper is to discuss, and provide answers to, two of the more important objections to the identity theory of mind. The first objection I shall consider rests on the observation that mental events (say, pains) have phenomenal properties (say, throbbing, being sharp, etc.) which no physical events have. We may call this "the objection from phenomenal properties." The second objection to be discussed argues that the identification of, say, pain with a physico-chemical state of the brain entails that some unique physico chemical state must invariably correlate with the occurrences of pain, and that, given the possibility of diverse "physical realizations" of pain (we can for instance think of creatures with a biochemistry that is very different from ours), this is extremely unlikely. In I, I examine and reject two proposed solutions to the difficul ties created by the phenomenal properties of mental events, and show how these difficulties can be avoided by a formulation of the identity theory based on an analysis of events (this formulation itself is not new). In II, the version of the identity theory thus developed is seen to entail the thesis of psychophysical correspondence, viz., the thesis that types of psychological events are lawfully correlated with types of physical events. I indicate here how a version of the identity theory that does not involve the psychophysical correspondence thesis can be formulated; such a version, however, is vulnerable to the objection from phenomenal properties. In III, I take up the second objection. I show, first, that the basis of the claim that the psychophysical correspondence thesis is unlikely to be true is not as firm as it might appear, and, second, that even if there were no universal, species-independent psychophysical correlations, that would not rule out the identity theory. I close with some queries about the range of mental events that come under the correspondence thesis. I
Lane following and obstacle detection techniques in autonomous driving vehicles

This paper presents techniques developed for lane following and obstacle detection capabilities for autonomous vehicles. The proposed system is based on a single 120 degrees fish eye camera and a 180 degrees scanning LIDAR sensor. For the lane detection a modified lane marking technique was used representing the position of the lines making the lane with respect to the position of the camera mounted on the vehicle. The paper describes implementation of the lane detection system using Hough transform to detect the lanes. Based on the detected lane markings, the position of the relative vehicle is determined as to whether it is in its lane or if it has drifted outside the lane. The system shows the offset amount, as a percentage of distance, it has drifted from the centre of the lane. The SICK LIDAR LMS-291 S-O5 laser range sensor is adopted for the obstacle detection.
Simulation study of enhancing laser driven multi-keV line-radiation through application of external magnetic fields

We present a path forward for enhancing laser driven, multi-keV line-radiation from mid- to high-Z, sub-quarter-critical density, non-equilibrium plasmas through inhibited thermal transport in the presence of an externally generated magnetic field. Preliminary simulations with Kr and Ag suggest that as much as 50%–100% increases in peak electron temperatures are possible—without any changes in laser drive conditions—with magnetized interactions. The increase in temperature results in ∼2−3× enhancements in laser-to-x-ray conversion efficiency for K-shell emission with simultaneous ≲4× reduction in L-shell emission using current field generation capabilities on the Omega laser and near-term capabilities on the National Ignition Facility laser. Increased plasma temperatures and enhanced K-shell emission are observed to come at the cost of degraded volumetric heating. Such enhancements in high-photon-energy x-ray sources could expand the existing laser platforms for increasingly penetrating x-ray radiography.
Feedback for electromagnetic induction sensor arrays

A method using feedback is presented that reduces several measurement errors inherent in electromagnetic induction sensors. Errors associated with coupling between receive coils and errors associated with operating near magnetic soils will both be reduced. The method uses feedback that is directly injected into the receive coils and does not require secondary coils. A simple circuit is introduced to perform the feedback and is optimized to reduce the errors and make the circuit stable. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the feedback.
Strenuous Exercise and Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes

This review summarizes several issues at the forefront of recent controversies involving the appropriate exercise dose including epidemiologic data describing mortality trends in those who engage in high levels of physical activity and recent observational data suggesting adverse cardiovascular outcomes among long-term endurance athletes. The benefits of habitual and moderate levels of exercise on cardiovascular disease outcomes in the general population have been well established. However, recent data have questioned whether higher doses of physical and athletic activity are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Specifically in regard to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, the evidence and limitations of the available data associating veteran endurance athletes with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, exercise-induced arrhythmogenic cardiac remodeling, and accelerated coronary atherosclerosis will be discussed. This review will also provide a conceptual framework in the context of the clinical management of athletic patients and will highlight key areas of future research that may resolve many of these controversial issues.
A Qualitative Study of Cognitive, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Challenges Associated With Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes in Ethnic Minority Parents and Adolescents:

PurposeThe purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial challenges associated with having and/or parenting an adolescent with pediatric type ...
Normalization and microbial differential abundance strategies depend upon data characteristics

Data from 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing present challenges to ecological and statistical interpretation. In particular, library sizes often vary over several ranges of magnitude, and the data contains many zeros. Although we are typically interested in comparing relative abundance of taxa in the ecosystem of two or more groups, we can only measure the taxon relative abundance in specimens obtained from the ecosystems. Because the comparison of taxon relative abundance in the specimen is not equivalent to the comparison of taxon relative abundance in the ecosystems, this presents a special challenge. Second, because the relative abundance of taxa in the specimen (as well as in the ecosystem) sum to 1, these are compositional data. Because the compositional data are constrained by the simplex (sum to 1) and are not unconstrained in the Euclidean space, many standard methods of analysis are not applicable. Here, we evaluate how these challenges impact the performance of existing normalization methods and differential abundance analyses. Effects on normalization: Most normalization methods enable successful clustering of samples according to biological origin when the groups differ substantially in their overall microbial composition. Rarefying more clearly clusters samples according to biological origin than other normalization techniques do for ordination metrics based on presence or absence. Alternate normalization measures are potentially vulnerable to artifacts due to library size. Effects on differential abundance testing: We build on a previous work to evaluate seven proposed statistical methods using rarefied as well as raw data. Our simulation studies suggest that the false discovery rates of many differential abundance-testing methods are not increased by rarefying itself, although of course rarefying results in a loss of sensitivity due to elimination of a portion of available data. For groups with large (~10×) differences in the average library size, rarefying lowers the false discovery rate. DESeq2, without addition of a constant, increased sensitivity on smaller datasets ( 20 samples per group) but also critically the only method tested that has a good control of false discovery rate. These findings guide which normalization and differential abundance techniques to use based on the data characteristics of a given study.
Popular Memories: Commemoration, Participatory Culture, and Democratic Citizenship

Reflecting upon his childhood in postwar Leningrad, Joseph Brodsky remarked, “attempting to recall the past is like trying to grasp the meaning of existence … one’s palms keep sliding off.”1 Althou...
Segmentation and the Role of Labor Standards Enforcement in Immigration Reform

Despite the fact that many low-wage, violation-ridden industries are disproportionately occupied by immigrants, labor standards and immigration reform have largely been treated as separate pieces o...
Multipartner Fertility in Nicaragua: Complex Family Formation in a Low-Income Setting.

CONTEXT Multipartner fertility (having children with more than one partner) is an important topic in demographic research, but little is known about its incidence and correlates in low-income settings, where rates may be high because of poverty, union instability and early childbearing. METHODS Data from the 2011-2012 Encuesta Nicaraguense de Demografia y Salud were used to calculate the prevalence of multipartner fertility among 8,320 mothers and 2,141 fathers with two or more children. Logistic and multinomial regression were used to identify individual and family characteristics associated with multipartner fertility. RESULTS Among those with multiple children, 33% of mothers and 41% of fathers had had children with more than one partner. The prevalence of multipartner fertility was elevated among less-educated women, nonreligious men, and women and men who had grown up in urban areas (odds ratios, 1.3-1.6). Multipartner fertility was associated with lower current household wealth among mothers, and with increased risk of single parenthood and higher fertility among mothers and fathers. Fathers who had had multiple fertility partners were six times as likely as fathers with one fertility partner to report not providing financial support to, or sharing their surname with, at least one of their biological children. CONCLUSION Multipartner fertility is a critical demographic and social phenomenon that may contribute to and reflect important gender and family structure inequalities in Nicaragua. Mothers with multipartner fertility may be at especially high risk of raising children without the children's fathers and with low levels of economic support.
Analysis of optimum substream lengths for dual TCP/UDP streaming of HD H.264 video over congested WLANs

Flexible Dual-TCP/UDP Streaming Protocol (FDSP) is a new method for streaming H.264-encoded High-definition (HD) video over WLANs. FDSP streaming is done in sequential video segments or chunks called substreams. Substreams are typically used in HTTP/TCP streaming for efficient switching between different quality levels of video. However, in FDSP, substream lengths are used to control the amount of TCP data that needs to be sent prior to the playback of that substream. Substream length choice also affects the corresponding amount of UDP data. This paper presents an analysis of substream length modification in the context of FDSP. Our results show that as substream length increases, TCP rebuffering time decreases while the number of TCP rebuffering instances increases. However, our results also show that substream length alone does not have a clear correlation with UDP packet loss.
Queenship and Power: The Heart and Stomach of a Book Series

This introductory chapter chronicles the conceptualization and execution of the “Queenship and Power” book series, published by Palgrave Macmillan and edited by Carole Levin and Charles Beem. Many of the contributors to this volume have published books in the series, some more than once. As this essay briefly recounts the origins of the books published in the series between 2009 and 2016, it also offers a micro-history of Levin’s historical worldview and the relationship between her work as both a scholar and a teacher, which reveals her to be an empathetic and generous historian of protean proportions.
Symbiotic Plant-Bacterial Endospheric Interactions

While plant-microbe symbioses involving root nodules (Rhizobia and Frankia) or the root-soil interface (rhizosphere) have been well studied, the intimate interaction of microbial endophytes with the plant host is a relatively new field of research.[...]
Energy storage system control strategy to minimize the voltage and frequency fluctuation in the microgird

The goal of this paper is to solve the voltage and frequency fluctuation problem of microgrid in the standalone operation. The proposed main idea is to use super capacitor to prevent large voltage and frequency fluctuation during the transient and use the battery to maintain the long-term voltage and frequency stability. The control strategies for the renewable energy sources, storage system, load and power quality improvements devices in three different operation modes “grid-connected”, “standalone”, and “transient of islanding and reconnection” have been proposed. A sample microgrid system is used to verify the effectiveness of the control strategies.
Untangling the Talk: A New Multimodal Discourse Analysis Method to Investigate Synchronous Online Learning

AbstractThis article introduces a new method of multimodal discourse analysis to study synchronous online learning through using screen-captured digital video as the data source. This new methodolo...
Soluble recombinant neutral endopeptidase (CD10) as a potential antiinflammatory agent.

Several endogenous peptides, including bradykinin and sustance P, have potent inflammatory effects in the joint. Levels of these peptides are regulated by plasma and cell-associated peptide degrading enzymes. One of these peptidases, neutral endopeptidase-24.11 (NEP-24.11), is expressed constitutively and in high density on human synovial cells and is presumed to play a critical role in local regulation of peptide levels in the joint. We examined the role of endogenous NEP-24.11 in regulating bradykinin-mediated effects in an articular model, and investigated the ability of soluble, recombinant human NEP-24.11 to augment the effects of the endogenous enzyme. Our studies demonstrate that endogenous synovial NEP-24.11 does not significantly modulate inflammatory peptide effects on cells when competing with colocalizing peptide receptors expressed in high density. Administration of excess, soluble recombinant NEP-24.11 can overcome this problem, however. Furthermore, the activity of the recombinant enzyme was not compromised in the presence of oxidants or inflammatory joint fluids. Recombinant NEP-24.11 holds promise as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis.
Renewed Activism for the Labor Movement: The Urgency of Young Worker Engagement:

In this article, the authors consider the findings of a multi-year, case study-based research project on young workers and the labor movement in four countries: France, Germany, the United Kingdom,...
ADVANCED INTELLIGENT CONTROL FOR TRAINABLE MANIPULATORS

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on advanced intelligent control for trainable manipulators. General purpose manipulators, with diversified tasks composed of unspecified a-priori motions, present a challenging variant of the above problem because of the required advanced decision making for planning and execution of the requested tasks. Studies of such systems have been performed in certain research centers in conjunction with remote manipulation in hazardous or inaccessible environments, robotic and prosthetic assistance to incapacitated people. A computer-controlled manipulator system consists of a general-purpose digital computer with appropriate peripheral devices, a seven-degree of freedom electric arm, a television digitizing camera, external sensors for the arm, and an interfacing device between the arm and the computer. Research currently performed at the Robotics and Automation Laboratory at the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute aims to the development of such intelligent control for robotic arms operating in industrial, hospital, or areas inaccessible by the operator environments.
Characterization of murine CD34, a marker for hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells

CD34 is expressed on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and its clinical usefulness for the purification of stem cells has been well established. However, a similar pattern of expression for murine CD34 (mCD34) has not yet been determined. Two polyclonal anti-mCD34 antibodies that specifically recognize both endogenous and recombinant murine CD34 were developed to characterize the mCD34 protein and to determine its pattern of expression on murine cell lines and hematopoietic progenitor cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis showed that mCD34 is expressed on NIH/3T3 embryonic fibroblasts, PA6 stromal cells, embryonic stem cells, M1 leukemia cells, and a subpopulation of normal bone marrow cells. Murine CD34 was found to be a glycoprotein expressed on the cell surface as either a full-length (approximately 100 kD) or truncated (approximately 90 kD) protein in NIH/3T3 and PA6 cells. Recombinant full-length CD34, when expressed in the CHO-K1 cell line, had a molecular weight of approximately 105 kD. Full-length CD34 expressed on M1 leukemia cells, had a higher apparent molecular weight (110 kD). These results suggest that there are glycosylation differences between CD34 expressed by different cell types. The full-length form, but not the truncated form, is a phosphoprotein that is hyperphosphorylated in response to 12-0-Tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate treatment, suggesting potential functional differences between the two forms. Selection of the 3% highest-expressing CD34+ bone marrow cells enriched for the hematopoietic precursors that form colony-forming unit-spleen (CFU-S), CFU-granulocyte-macrophage, and burst-forming unit-erythroid. Transplantation of lethally irradiated mice with these cells demonstrated both short- and long-term repopulating ability, indicating that this population contains both functional hematopoietic progenitors and the putative stem cell. These antibodies should be useful to select for murine hematopoietic stem cells.
A Developmental Perspective on Theories of Achievement Motivation

Research in the area of achievement motivation is concerned ultimately with predicting the strength of desire to engage and persist in achievement-related activities. There have been numerous theoretical orientations guiding this research and several important components of achievement behavior have been identified. However, notably absent from theoretical formulations of achievement (with only a few exceptions—see Smith, 1969; Weiner, Kun, & Benesh-Weiner, in press) has been a developmental perspective—a model of the emergence of the central components of motivation and an analysis of the antecedents and consequences of such developmental changes.
An Introduction to the Kähler–Ricci Flow

These notes give an introduction to the Kahler–Ricci flow. We give an exposition of a number of well-known results including: maximal existence time for the flow, convergence on manifolds with negative and zero first Chern class, and behavior of the flow in the case when the canonical bundle is big and nef. We also discuss the collapsing of the Kahler–Ricci flow on the product of a torus and a Riemann surface of genus greater than one. Finally, we discuss the connection between the flow and the minimal model program with scaling, the behavior of the flow on general Kahler surfaces and some other recent results and conjectures.
Development of novel peptide antibiotics for vancomycin resistant infection using the “one-bead, one-compound” combinatorial library method

Vancomycin, a glycopeptide antibiotic against Gram-positive bacteria, works by binding tightly to peptidoglycan strands in the bacterial cell wall that terminates in D-Ala-D-Ala and blocks the transglycosylation of nascent peptidoglycan strands [1]. Vancomycin resistant cells have replaced the normal D-Ala-D-Ala peptidoglycan termini with D-AlaDLactate termini that are no longer recognized by vancomycin [2,3]. We hypothesize that by using D-Ala-D-lactate as a probe for screening “one-bead, one-compound” combinatorial chemical libraries [4,5], antibacterial agents that inhibit vancomycin resistant bacteria can be isolated.
Agreement between grating acuity at age 1 year and Snellen acuity at age 5.5 years in the preterm child. Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity Cooperative Group.

PURPOSE. To examine the relation between grating acuity at age 1 year and Snellen acuity and grating acuity at 5.5 years, in preterm children with birth weights less than 1251 g. METHODS. Subjects were participants in the multicenter study of Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity. The Teller acuity card (TAC; Vistech Consultants, Dayton, OH) procedure was used to measure monocular grating acuity in children at ages I and 5.5 years. Early-treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) charts were used to measure the childrens' monocular recognition (snellen) acuity at age 5.5 years. Data are presented for 575 eyes with measurable TAC grating acuity at 1 year and 111 eyes that had no measurable acuity at 1 year. RESULTS. Among eyes with normal acuity at 1 year, 86.8% showed normal Snellen acuity, and 94.3% showed normal grating acuity at 5.5 years. Among eyes that were blind (i.e., had no measurable TAC grating acuity) at 1 year, 96.8% showed no quantifiable Snellen acuity, and 89.2% showed no quantifiable grating acuity at 5.5 years. Only 2.4% of eyes had acuity in the range between normal and blind at 1 year (i.e., measurable grating acuity <1.6 cyc/deg); thus, the predictive value of acuity scores in this range could not he determined. Correlation analysis indicated that the relative position within the normal range of an eye's grating acuity score at 1 year was not predictive of the relative position within the normal range of that eye's acuity score at 5.5 years. CONCLUSIONS. Among a large population of low-birth-weight infants, eyes with normal grating acuity at age 1 year generally showed normal Snellen and grating acuity at age 5.5 years, and eyes that had no quantifiable acuity at 1 year remained blind at 5.5 years. Relative position of an eye's acuity score within the normal range was not predictive of the relative position of that eye's later acuity score.