cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Kinodynamic motion planning with state lattice motion primitives

This paper presents a type of motion primitives that can be used for building efficient kinodynamic motion planners. The primitives are pre-computed to meet two objective: to capture the mobility constraints of the robot as well as possible and to establish a state sampling policy that is conductive to efficient search. The first objective allows encoding mobility constraints into primitives, thereby enabling fast unconstrained search to produce feasible solutions. The second objective enables high quality (lattice) sampling of state space, further speeding up exploration during search. We further discuss several novel results enabled by using such motion primitives for kinodynamic planning, including incremental search, efficient bi-directional search and incremental sampling.
Spectroscopic constants and potential energy curves of AsF

Spectroscopic constants and potential energy curves of 21 electronic states of AsF are computed using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) followed by first- and second-order configuration interaction (FOCI, SOCI) and multireference singles and doubles configuration interaction (MRSDCI) methods. The computed spectroscopic constants agree with the experimental values for the observed states.
Influence of Rocking Motion on Vibratory Roller-Based Measurement of Soil Stiffness

Experimental data have shown that vibratory roller compactors often exhibit rotational kinematics in addition to translation during operation. This rotation is not considered in roller-integrated measurement systems that estimate soil stiffness based on drum vibration. To model and explore the effect of rotation, a lumped parameter roller/soil model was developed. The machine parameters for this model were tuned from suspended drum testing that isolated the drum from the ground. The model was then verified using field data collected over a range of excitation frequencies on spatially homogenous soil, and over transversely heterogeneous soil using one excitation frequency. Rotational motion was found to significantly influence roller-integrated measurement of soil stiffness based on single position drum vibration data. Rotational motion causes single position measurement system results to be nonunique and to vary depending on the direction of roller travel. Using the model, various alternative measurement ...
Delayed fetal pulmonary maturation in a rabbit model of the diabetic pregnancy

A rabbit model for the diabetic pregnancy was used to investigate the etiology of delayed pulmonary maturation observed in infants of diabetic mothers. Pregnant rabbit does were made glucose intolerant and insulinopenic by injection of alloxan, a pancreatic beta-cell cytotoxin. At 28 d (term approximately 31 d) fetuses of these animals were hyperglycemic, but were not hyperinsulinemic and did not demonstrate tissue overgrowth. Fetal pulmonary maturity was assessed by measurement of pressure-volume relationships on the fetal lungs. Fetuses of glucose-intolerant does demonstrated less retention of air on deflation. Phospholipid components of pulmonary surfactant were assayed on fluid obtained from lavage of the fetal lungs. Levels of disaturated phosphatidylcholine (per-cent total-lavage phospholipids) were diminished in fetuses of glucose-intolerant does compared to control fetuses (20.5 +/- 4.2 vs. 38.0 +/ 4.3%; P less than 0.01). Lecithin/sphingomyelin ratios were similar in both groups and phosphatidylglycerol was not detected in either group. There was a direct correlation between the percentage of alveolar disaturated phosphatidylcholine and retention of air on lung deflation. These findings suggest that in this model pulmonary instability was a result of diminished alveolar disaturated phosphatidylcholine, and this diminution did not result from fetal hyperinsulinemia.
Getting over the Andes: The Geo-Eco-Politics of Indigenous Movements in Peru's Twenty-First Century Inca Empire

This article examines how President Alejandro Toledo's self-professed Andean identity and efforts to establish a state-led indigenous rights framework conflicted with a growing eco-ethno alliance of Andean and Amazonian representatives in Peru. Existing scholarly accounts declare the indigenous movement to be unimportant or, indeed, entirely absent in Peru. Yet, they do so by emphasising the centrality of the historical dynamic between the Andean region, where until recently local peoples have desisted from making explicit indigenous claims, and the urbanised coastal region, where the elite's power is most clearly concentrated. This obscures the Amazon as a site of historical events and eco-ethno-politics of national and global scope. The recent emergence of a debate on indigenous issues shows that the Amazonians' longer engagement in the global sphere of indigenous and environmental politics now places them in the position of exemplifying indigeneity for the Andeans and Peruvians at large. This shift challenges in fundamental ways the historical image of Peru the nation as inextricably implicated in the post-colonial fantasies of what I term the ‘Inca slot’.
Acetylated tau, a novel pathological signature in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies

The microtubule-binding protein, tau, is the major component of neurofibrillary inclusions characteristic of Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative tauopathies. When tau fibrillizes, it undergoes abnormal post-translational modifications resulting in decreased solubility and altered microtubule-stabilizing properties. Recently, we reported that the abnormal acetylation of tau at lysine residue 280 is a novel, pathological post-translational modification. Here, we performed detailed immunohistochemistry to further examine acetylated-tau expression in Alzheimer's disease and other major tauopathies. Immunohistochemistry using a polyclonal antibody specific for acetylated-tau at lysine 280 was conducted on 30 post-mortem central nervous system regions from patients with Alzheimer's disease (10 patients), corticobasal degeneration (5 patients), and progressive supranuclear palsy (5 patients). Acetylated-tau pathology was compared with the sequential emergence of other tau modifications in the Alzheimer's disease hippocampus using monoclonal antibodies to multiple well-characterized tau epitopes. All cases studied showed significant acetylated-tau pathology in a distribution pattern similar to hyperphosphorylated-tau. Acetylated-tau pathology was largely in intracellular, thioflavin-S-positive tau inclusions in Alzheimer's disease, and also thioflavin-S-negative pathology in corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy. Acetylated-tau was present throughout all stages of Alzheimer's disease pathology, but was more prominently associated with pathological tau epitopes in moderate to severe-stage cases. These temporal and morphological immunohistochemical features suggest acetylation of tau at this epitope is preceded by early modifications, including phosphorylation, and followed by later truncation events and cell death in Alzheimer's disease. Acetylation of tau at lysine 280 is a pathological modification that may contribute to tau-mediated neurodegeneration by both augmenting losses of normal tau properties (reduced solubility and microtubule assembly) as well as toxic gains of function (increased tau fibrillization). Thus, inhibiting tau acetylation could be a disease-modifying target for drug discovery target in tauopathies.
Cost‐effectiveness of construction safety programme elements

Every year the construction industry accounts for a disproportionate injury rate when compared to the all‐industry average. In recent years, incident rates have declined as a result of improvements in safety management. While there is a great deal of knowledge regarding the safety management strategies of highly effective construction firms, little is known about the cost‐effectiveness of these strategies. Interviews with 26 representatives of construction firms headquartered in the US were undertaken to quantify the cost of implementing common safety programme elements by: (1) quantifying cost for each element per US$1 million of project scope; and (2) determining the distribution of safety funding to each element. Using these cost data and effectiveness ratings from previous research, the cost‐effectiveness of 13 safety programme elements was quantified. The results indicate that the most cost‐effective safety programme elements are subcontractor selection and management and upper management support and...
An Architecture-Based Software Reliability Modeling Tool and Its Support for Teaching

This paper presents an architecture-based software reliability modeling tool for pedagogy and demonstrates its support for conveying learning materials to students. Software reliability is an important quality attribute. Improving this attribute early in the software life cycle is highly desirable, because it greatly reduces testing and maintenance effort later on. The architecture-based approach is for such a purpose. This tool enables students to conduct relative analyses on different architectural designs and to compute a more accurate measure once detailed information is available. It equips a GUI for architecture-to-state modeling, taking into account four architectural styles. Students can incorporate additional architectural styles into this framework, and exercise different design alternatives. The GUI shows a graphical representation of software architecture, and helps students visualize the matrix construction for design changes. This tool has shortened students' learning curve, helped them understand the impact of different designs on reliability estimates, and increased their interests in other quality attributes
Seed longevity in three pairs of native and non-native congeners: Assessing invasive potential

The goal of this study was to determine whether seed longevity is an indicator of invasive potential. We studied annual (Polygonum) and woody perennial (Celastrus, Parthenocissus) non-native species and their native con- geners in a three-year buried seed experiment. The woody perennial species formed a transient seed bank lasting only one year. In year one, both perennial non-native species had significantly greater germination than their native con- geners. Both Polygonum species formed a persistent seed bank, but the invasive P. perfoliatum had greater longevity than the native P. sagittatum. The study demonstrated that seed bank strategies of invasive species are qualitatively similar to their less abundant native congeners, but there were significant quantitative differences.
Seasonal Abundance of Aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) in Wheat and Their Role as Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus Vectors in the South Carolina Coastal Plain

Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) seasonal flight activity and abundance in wheat, Triticum aestivum L., and the significance of aphid species as vectors of barley yellow dwarf virus were studied over a nine-year period in the South Carolina coastal plain. Four aphid species colonized wheat in a consistent seasonal pattern. Greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), and rice root aphid, Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominalis (Sasaki), colonized seedling wheat immediately after crop emergence, with apterous colonies usually peaking in December or January and then declining for the remainder of the season. These two aphid species are unlikely to cause economic loss on wheat in South Carolina, thus crop managers should not have to sample for the subterranean R. rufiabdominalis colonies. Bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), was the second most abundant species and the most economically important. Rhopalosiphum padi colonies usually remained below 10/row-meter until peaking in February or March. Barley yellow dwarf incidence and wheat yield loss were significantly correlated with R. padi peak abundance and aphid-day accumulation on the crop. Based on transmission assays, R. padi was primarily responsible for vectoring the predominant virus serotype (PAV) we found in wheat. Pest management efforts should focus on sampling for and suppressing this aphid species. December planting reduced aphid-day accumulation and barley yellow dwarf incidence, but delayed planting is not a practical management option. English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.), was the last species to colonize wheat each season, and the most abundant. Sitobion avenae was responsible for late-season virus transmission and caused direct yield loss by feeding on heads and flag leaves during an outbreak year.
Accuracy and interobserver variability of the cytologic diagnosis of low-grade urothelial carcinoma in instrumented urinary tract cytology specimens.

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of diagnosis and level of agreement of the cytologic diagnosis of low-grade urothelial carcinoma (LGUC) among experienced cytopathologists to help the development of the upcoming classification scheme (“The Paris System”) of urinary cytology (UTCy). Methods Forty ThinPrep (Cytyc, Boxborough, MA) UTCy specimens (19 with corresponding biopsy specimens diagnosed as LGUC and 21 with negative biopsy and/or cystoscopy specimens) were blindly reviewed by six cytopathologists from three institutions and diagnosed as negative for malignancy (NM), atypical urothelial cells (AUCs), and LGUC. Interobserver agreement was measured with the weighted κ statistic. Each observer’s receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the ROC curve (AUROC) were calculated. Results Four to six reviewers diagnosed LGUC in five (26%) of 19 UTCy specimens, corresponding to a biopsy diagnosis of LGUC. Overall agreement was fair (κ = 0.30). After collapsing AUC with NM, the reviewers’ ranges of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for LGUC were 21% to 53%, 81% to 95%, 71% to 90%, and 57% to 67%, respectively. AUROC varied from 0.66 to 0.74. Conclusions We found that UTCy has a low sensitivity but relatively high specificity, resulting in poor to fair accuracy for the diagnosis of LGUC; the level of agreement between reviewers was only fair to moderate.
Quantifying in from a Fregean Perspective

As Quine (1956) observed, the following sentence has a reading which, if true, would be of special interest to the authorities: This is the reading where the quantifier is naturally understood as taking wide scope relative to the attitude verb and as binding a variable within the scope of the attitude verb. This essay is interested in addressing the question what the semantic analysis of this kind of reading should look like from a Fregean perspective—a perspective according to which attitude states are generally relations to structured Fregean thoughts composed of senses. The Fregean view faces a challenge of compositionality here. This essay describes the challenge and offers a response on the Fregean's behalf
Strategies for College and University Instructional Physical Activity Program (IPAP) Directors

There is a growing trend to rely on part-time instructors including both adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in higher education (Eney, & Davidson, 2012). Most kinesiology departments depend on part-time instructors to teach instructional physical activity programs (IPAPs) to the general student population historically referred to as basic instruction. These part-time instructors are content experts but come from many different backgrounds. The purpose of this article is to highlight important topics for program coordinators, directors and faculty supervisors to consider including when training part time instructors of instructional physical activity programs using a best practice approach. Three main area of concern will be addressed; adjusting to graduate school, classroom issues and teaching administrative duties. The use of effective strategies, such as orientation, mentoring, and teacher development for part-time instructors, will help ensure quality teaching and learning in physical activity programs.
The Cumulative Lifting Index (CULI) for the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation Quantifying Risk for Workers With Job Rotation

Objective:The objectives were to: (a) develop a continuous frequency multiplier (FM) for the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation (RNLE) as a function of lifting frequency and duration of a lifting task, and (b) describe the Cumulative Lifting Index (CULI), a methodology for estimating physical exposure to workers with job rotation.Background:The existing FM for the RNLE (FME) does not differentiate between task duration >2 hr and <8 hr, which makes quantifying physical exposure to workers with job rotation difficult and presents challenges to job designers.Method:Using the existing FMs for 1, 2, and 8 hr of task durations, we developed a continuous FM (FMP) that extends to 12 hr per day. We simulated 157,500 jobs consisting of two tasks each and, using different combinations of Frequency Independent Lifting Index, lifting frequency and duration of lifting. Biomechanical stresses were estimated using the CULI, time-weighted average (TWA), and peak exposure.Results:The median difference between FME and FMP was ±...
Lloyd Nyhus and Rene Stoppa: preperitoneal inguinal pioneers

A brief history of the seminal contributions of Stoppa and Nyhus to inguinal hernia surgery.
Update on Pediatric Bone Scintigraphy

Radionuclide bone scintigraphy is very helpful to the clinician in detecting and diagnosing many bone and soft tissue abnormalities in the pediatric population. Bone scintigraphy is more sensitive than routine radiographs for subtle changes in bone metabolism. The radiation burden is quite acceptable. Many institutions are hesitant to image children due to lack of experience and knowledge. Although the radiopharmaceuticals and the equipment are essentially the same for adult and pediatric nuclear medicine, children need special attention to certain details and modifications of procedures. Children are not adults, and they have varying diseases and anatomy at different ages.
Studies Toward the Enantiospecific Total Synthesis of Rhodexin A

Studies toward the enantiospecific total synthesis of rhodexin A via a very hindered inverse electron demand Diels–Alder reaction are described. The C8-diastereomer of the fully elaborated tetracyclic core of rhodexin A, 23, was prepared in good yield and excellent selectivity using as the key step the stepwise Diels–Alder reaction of the very hindered dienone 3 and the silyl enol ether 4 catalyzed by the very strong Lewis acid, dimethylaluminum triflimide.
Home Economics: What is the Difference between a Family and a Corporation?

The spread of the rhetoric as well as practice of commodification have been subject to many critiques. While the critiques of commodification are myriad, there have been far fewer attempts at envisioning what the world would look and feel like if the rhetoric of commodification should give way - to what? What would be an alternative to the way we currently organize the marketplace? In our present economic and legal understanding, the family is at least in theory the last surviving haven from the relentless spread of markets and commodification. Whether the family in fact constitutes such a haven is an entirely different question, as most contemporary observers recognize, yet conceptually we do not seem to have many other alternative paradigms for economic organization - except for the socialist model of a planned economy, and that paradigm certainly seems to have exhausted its political appeal for now.Yet the notion of arranging an entire society on the ideological model of the family is in fact not simply an intriguing thought experiment. I first rehearse briefly a claim I have made in greater detail elsewhere, arguing that in late imperial China extended families often constituted what I call clan corporations. After de-naturalizing traditional Chinese kinship structures, I then consider the investment of Anglo-American liberal theories in the integrity and distinctiveness of the corporation and the family, which I treat as paradigmatic units in the economic and intimate spheres, respectively. The governing logic of the economic sphere is that of reciprocity, while the intimate sphere operates - at least ideally - on the basis of altruistic kinship norms. I draw on Gary Becker's economic theory of the family as well as anthropological work on the distinction between gift economies and market economies to suggest that, prevailing ideologies aside, we can indeed interpret the modern American nuclear family as a kind of family corporation as well. In the end, there is no firm boundary between the family and the corporation. Just as the family is not oppositional to the corporation, the corporation is not oppositional to the family. Neither model represents a truth about social and economic organization, and whichever model we choose, we must not think that we have made an ontological discovery about the nature of either the family or the corporation. Moreover, exploitation is possible everywhere, both in the institutionalization of altruism in the family and in the institutionalization of profit in the corporation. As social and economic locations, both the family and the corporation are ambiguous, complex, and risky. Commodified or not, neither location constitutes a safe haven.
A clinicopathological research on endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma

Objective:To explore the clinicopatholgical features of endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma(EIC) and review its research advancement,to enhance the recognition of EIC.Methods:Five cases of EIC were collected and follow-up for 3-5 years.All cases were staged completely.HE section and immunostaining were employed,and clinical follow-up data were analyzed for their clinicopatholgical features.Immunomarkers including p53,Ki67,ER and PR were determined.Results:All five cases were post-menopausal women,aged from 57 to 79(mean age 68,median age 65),presented abnormal bleeding,and imaging showed "endometrial polypi" or "endometrium thickening".Microscopely,the histological features of endometrial biopsy and intraoperative pathological consultant were same as typical uterine papillary serous carcinoma(UPSC) without myometrium invasion,carcinoma was limited within the endometrial layer with a clinical-pathological stage TIa.After completely operative-pathological staging,no extra-uterine spread were found.Immunohistochemically,all cases display diffuse strong positive for p53 and Ki-67,and negative for ER and PR.These five patients were all alive without disease,without recurrence and metastasis.Conclusion:EIC is a rare disease in post-menopause women with a good prognosis if no spread beyond unterine after completely operative-pathological staging.Recent studies proposed that EIC was likely a specific early carcinoma,while endometrial glandular dysplasia(EmGD) may be its precursor lesion.
On Actual Effect of Higher Vocational Moral Education

Moral education ought to be close to the objective of higher vocational education and social requirement from system,contents and methods.It is the need of moral education to hold the thinking pulse of higher vocational students to carry out pointed activities so that the students' comprehensive qualities can be improved roundly and the actual effect of moral education can be raised in practice.
The Learning Curve Associated with Revision Total Ankle Replacement

As the frequency in which foot and ankle surgeons are performing primary total ankle replacement (TAR) continues to build, revision TAR will likely become more commonplace, creating a need for an established benchmark by which to evaluate the safety of revision TAR as determined by the incidence of complications. In this chapter, we will review the surgeon learning curve and how it may apply to revision TAR with respect to the incidence of complications. Furthermore, we will investigate the incidence of complications encountered during the surgeon learning curve period for primary TAR as reported in the world literature and will use this as a comparison by which to judge the safety of revision TAR when performed by a surgeon in their learning curve. According to data compiled by the authors, the incidence of complications associated with primary implantation of the Agility™ Total Ankle Replacement System during the surgeon learning curve is roughly 60 %. Based on both a case series of our patient data and a review of the literature, revision of these specific TAR systems during the surgeon learning period can be accomplished safely and with a lower incidence of complications, when performed meticulously by a qualified foot and ankle surgeon. Lastly, a validated classification system for complications encountered during TAR regardless of prosthetic design is needed to allow for more standardized reporting of complications, irrespective of whether they are primary or revision TAR.
The Early Days of the Federal Reserve

The Bank of Amsterdam (Amsterdamsche Wisselbank) is considered to be the forerunner of modern central banks. It was established in 1609 in Amsterdam when it was part of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces; the United Provinces had formed when Netherlands had seceded from Spanish rule in the late sixteenth century. The Bank of Amsterdam performed some of the activities associated with modern central banks. This was a time when Europe was fractured into many small states whose currency typically traded at a discount, and the Bank of Amsterdam accepted deposits in these myriad currencies and credited the depositors in what was known as “bank money,” which traded at a premium. The bank closed its doors as a result of providing large and risky loans to the local government of Amsterdam and the Dutch East India Company and committing other financial improprieties in 1819, just a few years after the creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in March of 1815.
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Jus Cogens

The doctrine of jus cogens attracts fierce advocates as well as strong sceptics, who debate the nature, functions and even the existence of such norms. Like Sherlock Holmes, the idea of jus cogens emerged as a concept in the imagination of writers. Over time both Sherlock Holmes and jus cogens have generated widespread belief in their reality, but it is a reality that is subjectively shaped by each follower. Early publicists creating and developing international law posited the existence of extra-consensual norms that constrained the exercise of state sovereignty, a theory that emerged in large part from Christian theology with its notions of overriding divine law. Later publicists argued that non-derogable norms originate either in natural law, ‘necessary’ law, the ‘dictates of the public conscience’, ‘universal law’, or international moral imperatives. Some recent scholars rely on the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties to argue to the contrary that norms of jus cogens do not fundamentally differ from other international rules in their origin; they emerge only from state consent, being identified ‘by the international community of states as a whole’ as peremptory norms. Within the literature as to the origin of jus cogens, in the absence of state practice, theorists differ in their views of the functions the concept serves, some arguing that it is limited in application to treaty law. Others assert that such norms act to place absolute limits on the conduct of states, governments and individuals and establish a hierarchy of norms. This article examines the origin of jus cogens in doctrine and the scant evidence to be found in state practice. It also examines the functions of jus cogens, questioning whether these remain largely literary and theoretical, with an impact like Sherlock Holmes that derives primarily from belief in its existence.
"Holy Starches Batman!! We are Getting Walloped!": Crowdsourcing Comic Book Transcriptions

Comic books are among the most popular forms of popular media, but most comics are not provided in an accessible format. Creating an accessible transcript of a comic book may be more challenging than simply describing the images, as comics involve complex interplay between words and images, and often feature long-running and complex storylines. In this poster we describe a pilot study exploring the feasibility of crowdsourcing transcriptions of comic book pages. We recruited 60 crowd workers and asked them to transcribe a page of a comic book; half were told that the description was for a blind person, and half were not. We found that people who knew that they were transcribing for a blind person produced longer, more detailed descriptions. Our results also suggest that comic book knowledge may have at least some small impact on description detail.
Biologically Inspired Mechanics of Wavy Surface Adhesion

Inspired by the attachment ability of insects with smooth pads to vertical walls and ceilings, the mechanics of detachment of a rigid solid from an elastic wavy surface has been analyzed for the axisymmetric case of a sphere and the plane strain case of a cylinder [1]. Due to the qualitative similarities, the discussion was limited to the axisymmetric case only. The load-displacement curve for a sphere indenting a wavy flat surface is shown in Fig. 1, in which the load P is normalized with the JKR pull-off force P jxr and the approach displacement h is normalized with the waviness amplitude λ.
Guard band reduction via dynamic voltage sensing and reference setting schemes in power gated applications

Use of power gates for leakage power reduction comes at the expense of higher DC and AC load lines due to location of voltage regulator sense point before the power gate and choice reference voltage to guarantee minimum voltage across all power gate and load conditions. This paper proposes schemes to dynamically change both the sense voltage and the reference voltage to reduce AC & DC load lines and consequently voltage guard bands. The simultaneous choice in sense and reference centers the load voltage variation between different gated domains providing an optimal solution without increase in maximum voltages. Application to client microprocessors show a benefit of a few tens of milli-Volts.
Mechanism and Kinetics for Reaction of the Chemical Warfare Agent Simulant, DMMP(g), with Zirconium(IV) MOFs: An Ultrahigh-Vacuum and DFT Study

The mechanism and kinetics of interactions between dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), a key chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulant, and Zr6-based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been investigated with in situ infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and DFT calculations. DMMP was found to adsorb molecularly to UiO-66 through the formation of hydrogen bonds between the phosphoryl oxygen and the free hydroxyl groups associated with Zr6 nodes on the surface of crystallites and not within the bulk MOF structure. Unlike UiO-66, the infrared spectra for UiO-67 and MOF-808, recorded during DMMP exposure, suggest that uptake occurs through both physisorption and chemisorption. The XPS spectra of MOF-808 zirconium 3d electrons reveal a charge redistribution following exposure to DMMP. In addition, analysis of the phosphorus 2p electrons following exposure and thermal annealing to 600 K indicates that two types of stable phosphorus-containing species e...
Challenges of measuring accurate estradiol levels in aromatase inhibitor‐treated postmenopausal breast cancer patients on vaginal estrogen therapy

Breast cancer patients who are taking adjuvant Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) therapy typically have extremely low estradiol levels, which are undetectable by routine clinical laboratories. Thus, it becomes difficult to assess the safety of interventions such as low-dose vaginal estrogen, which may increase estradiol levels. In this study, we aimed to assess the utility of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure low estradiol concentrations in breast cancer survivors on AI therapy treated with either vaginal estrogen or lubricant for atrophic vaginitis as a part of clinical trial. The samples were tested using two independent ELISA kits. Some of the samples were also evaluated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for comparison. We found that while the results by ELISA were reproducible, they were not accurate when compared to LC-MS/MS. It is possible that medications or supplements may cross-react with the ELISA reagents and confound the assessment; however, those were often not the reason for the discrepancy. Our results highlight the need for developing novel, reliable, and clinically accessible assays to measure ultra-low estradiol levels to improve care of breast cancer survivors. At this stage, based on our findings, we recommend using MS-based assays for estradiol quantitation for breast cancer survivors, whenever necessary.
A Probabilistic Active Learning Algorithm Based on Fisher Information Ratio

The task of labeling samples is demanding and expensive. Active learning aims to generate the smallest possible training data set that results in a classifier with high performance in the test phase. It usually consists of two steps of selecting a set of queries and requesting their labels. Among the suggested objectives to score the query sets, information theoretic measures have become very popular. Yet among them, those based on Fisher information (FI) have the advantage of considering the diversity among the queries and tractable computations. In this work, we provide a practical algorithm based on Fisher information ratio to obtain query distribution for a general framework where, in contrast to the previous FI-based querying methods, we make no assumptions over the test distribution. The empirical results on synthetic and real-world data sets indicate that this algorithm gives competitive results.
Task Interspersal: a Meta-Analytic Review of Effective Programming

Task interspersal is a commonly used teaching method for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. There are several procedural variations of task interspersal reported in the literature. The purpose of the present meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of different procedural variations and the effectiveness of task interspersal across target skills. Results revealed that no procedural variation presents a significant benefit over any other, suggesting that task interspersal may be an instructional procedure easily adapted to a client’s needs or preferences. Further, task interspersal was effective across a range of target skills. The flexibility of task interspersal as an instructional procedure is limited in that practitioners still must rely upon clinical judgment when deciding to implement specific task interspersal procedures. Considerations for programming task interspersal are discussed.
Relieving Bottlenecks in RNA Drug Discovery for Retinal Diseases

The development of efficacious and safe post transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) agents is a challenging scientific endeavor that embraces “biocomplexity” at many levels. The target mRNA exhibits a level of structural complexity that profoundly limits annealing of PTGS agents. PTGS agents are macromolecular RNAs that must be designed to fold into catalytically active structures able to cleave the target mRNA. Pushing into and beyond the biological complexity requires new technologies for high throughput screening to efficiently and rapidly assess a set of biological and experimental variables engaged in RNA drug discovery.
EFFECT OF TECHNICAL AND METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS ON THE PV GENERATOR SIZE FOR WATER PUMPING IN EGYPT

ABSTRACT Based on the optimal sizing method developed by the author, the effects of the pump efficiency, the electrical efficiency, minimum and maximum water storage, load variation, solar intensity, and ambient air temperature were studied. Results showed that changing the pump efficiency from 20% to 35% will reduce the generator size from 15 to 8.6 kW peak, while changing the electrical efficiency from 55% to 90% will change the generator peak power from 15.5 to 10 kW. Changing the minimum storage capacity from 250 m3 to 2500 m3 will reduce the generator size from 10.84 to 10 kW, while changing the maximum storage capacity from 250 to 2500 m3 will increase the generator size from 10 to 10.84 kW peak. Changing the location from north Egypt to south will lead to generator size variation of about 23% due to change of ambient air temperature and solar intensity. Finally the study showed that for load variation from zero to +/- 75% from the mean yearly load the generator size increase will reach 30% with the minimum value at +/- 27.5% load variation.
Abstract 10387: Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction is a Pathophysiologic Mechanism for the Development of Late Atrial Fibrillation After Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: A Community-Based Study

Introduction Late atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a frequent occurrence after CABG and increases the risk of stroke and mortality. LV diastolic dysfunction, which reflects abnormalities in LV relaxation, has been reported to be a strong risk factor for early postoperative AF (POAF). We hypothesized that the severity of LV diastolic dysfunction would also predict the development of late AF following CABG. The objective was to examine the association of LV diastolic dysfunction severity on the risk of late AF after CABG. Methods We conducted a study of all Olmsted County, MN residents who underwent isolated CABG surgery with had complete diastolic function assessment preoperatively (integrating mitral E/A waves, deceleration time, mitral annulus velocity (e’) and left atrial volume into 4 diastolic function grades (DFG 0-3)] and were discharged from the hospital in sinus rhythm from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2005 (n=196). Patients were followed up to the last clinical visit, repeat cardiac surgery or death for first documentation of late AF (AF after 30 days of surgery). We excluded patients with prior history of AF, pacemaker, or congenital heart disease. Results The mean age of the population was 66±11 years. At 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years, late AF developed in 7.2%, 16.7, 33.5%, respectively. The median time from surgery to late AF was 1.87 years, (range 0.25, 3.9). By univariate analysis, patients who developed late AF were likely to be older (HR 1.04; p=0.006), develop early POAF (HR 2.93; p Conclusions Diastolic dysfunction severity is also a strong independent predictor for the development of late AF after CABG. Increased LV stiffness and increased atrial pressure and stretch are believed to account for AF occurrence. Optimization of LV diastolic properties should be a logical strategy of prophylaxis against the development of late AF.
Spin Excitations in Pure and Zn-Substituted YBa2Cu3O6+x

The effects of varying the hole concentration and the concentration of nonmagnetic (Zn) impurities on the spin excitation spectra of YBa2Cu3O6+x are compared and contrasted. With decreasing hole concentration, the magnetic resonance peak observed below Tc for x = 1 is shifted to lower energies, but remains sharp and continues to set in at Tc. By contrast, a minute concentration (0.5%) of nonmagnetic impurities broadens the spectrum dramatically. The broadened spectral distribution persists up to temperatures significantly higher than Tc.
Rapid Uncertainty Propagation and Chance-Constrained Trajectory Optimization for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

As the number of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in the national airspace increases, it is becoming increasingly important to develop and implement a system for their air traffic management. Such an envisioned system will be capable of trajectory prediction, trajectory validation and trajectory optimization while accounting for uncertainty due to wind gusts, and in aircraft and flight control system parameters. This paper illustrates the use of covariance propagation based on linearized models for fast sUAS trajectory prediction and for trajectory optimization subject to chance constraints. The approach is demonstrated to be sufficiently accurate and much faster than Monte Carlo simulation techniques.
Is good enough good enough?: negotiating web user value judgments of small businesses based on poorly designed websites

This article explores whether amateur Web designs would deter Web users from engaging with a business after viewing a wWebsite---and if their expectations and value judgments are influenced by business size and scope. This topic is important to small business owners, practitioners, and educators because credibility judgments by Web visitors may be quick and detrimental to a small business if they do not yield a positive response and subsequent engagement with the small business. This study provides an opportunity to broaden our understanding of Web visitor credibility judgments about small businesses and introduces a new thread to the discussion about alignment of consumer expectations, Web design teaching, industry best practices, and the shaping of universal values as they relate to the rhetoric of the Internet.
Correction to: Pathway crosstalk perturbation network modeling for identification of connectivity changes induced by diabetic neuropathy and pioglitazone.

Aggregation of high-throughput biological data using pathway-based approaches is useful to associate molecular results to functional features related to the studied phenomenon. Biological pathways communicate with one another through the crosstalk phenomenon, forming large networks of interacting processes. In this work, we present the pathway crosstalk perturbation network (PXPN) model, a novel model used to analyze and integrate pathway perturbation data based on graph theory. With this model, the changes in activity and communication between pathways observed in transitions between physiological states are represented as networks. The model presented here is agnostic to the type of biological data and pathway definition used and can be implemented to analyze any type of high-throughput perturbation experiments. We present a case study in which we use our proposed model to analyze a gene expression dataset derived from experiments in a BKS-db/db mouse model of type 2 diabetes mellitus–associated neuropathy (DN) and the effects of the drug pioglitazone in this condition. The networks generated describe the profile of pathway perturbation involved in the transitions between the healthy and the pathological state and the pharmacologically treated pathology. We identify changes in the connectivity of perturbed pathways associated to each biological transition, such as rewiring between extracellular matrix, neuronal system, and G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathways. The PXPN model is a novel, flexible method used to integrate high-throughput data derived from perturbation experiments; it is agnostic to the type of data and enrichment function used, and it is applicable to a wide range of biological phenomena of interest.
WIP: Influence of Laboratory Group Makeup on Recognition and Identity Development in the Engineering Graduate Student Population

The purpose of this research category work-in-progress paper is to explore the relationships between laboratory groups (specifically, the number and types of students) and the development of engineering, science, and researcher identity among engineering graduate students (EGS). We analyzed preliminary data collected as part of a national survey (current n = 826, 38% of sample target). Our sample aligns with student demographics nationally, with the majority of participants identifying as White (50%) or Asian (32%), male (63%), domestic (62%), and heterosexual (89%). A 3x3 MANOVA found a significant interaction between the type of recognition and the number of students in the lab, F(6,1166) = 2.29, p =.034, $\eta_{p}^{2}$ =.012. Univariate analyses indicated that it was scientist recognition, F(2,584) = 3.52, p =.005, $\eta_{p}^{2}$ =.018, that was significantly affected by the presence of undergraduate researchers. Specifically, participants with 2-3 and 4+ undergraduate lab mates had significantly higher scientist recognition ratings than participants with 0 or 1 undergraduate lab mates. There were no effects on engineer or researcher recognition, and no effects on scientist recognition related to graduate or postdoctoral students. These results suggest that EGS benefit from working with undergraduate students, but the relationship is complex and not always linear. Additionally, the lack of effect on engineer recognition has implications for how EGS identify and relate to fellow engineers in graduate school. Future analyses will identify trends in the overall lab composition and explore their impacts on recognition and engineering identity in more depth.
Characterizing deviation from equilibrium in direct simulation Monte Carlo simulations

A fundamental and yet computationally feasible parameter based on the characteristic function of the velocity distribution function (VDF) is proposed for determining the deviation from near-equilibrium conditions in rarefied flow simulations using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The proposed parameter utilizes the one-to-one correspondence between the VDF and its characteristic function (or Fourier transform), thereby correlating the deviation of the VDF (from a Chapman-Enskog VDF) with the deviation of the characteristic function (also from that of a Chapman-Enskog VDF). The results are first presented for an unsteady Bobylev solution for approach to equilibrium in 0-D, free-molecular Fourier-Couette flow problem and the Mott-Smith solution for the shock wave all of which have analytical solutions for the VDF, thereby confirming that the proposed parameter indeed captures the deviation from near-equilibrium conditions accurately. The utility of the proposed parameter is then demonstrated using two benchmark problems—Couette flow (over a range of Knudsen numbers) and structure of a normal shock (for upstream Mach numbers of 1.5, 3, and 5)—solved using the DSMC method. While the current work only presents results for benchmark one-dimensional DSMC simulations, the approach can be extended easily to rarefied flows in higher dimensions. Therefore, the proposed parameter has the potential to be used for understanding the nature of VDF and its deviation from near-equilibrium conditions at all locations in a flow field without the need for explicitly sampling the VDF.A fundamental and yet computationally feasible parameter based on the characteristic function of the velocity distribution function (VDF) is proposed for determining the deviation from near-equilibrium conditions in rarefied flow simulations using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The proposed parameter utilizes the one-to-one correspondence between the VDF and its characteristic function (or Fourier transform), thereby correlating the deviation of the VDF (from a Chapman-Enskog VDF) with the deviation of the characteristic function (also from that of a Chapman-Enskog VDF). The results are first presented for an unsteady Bobylev solution for approach to equilibrium in 0-D, free-molecular Fourier-Couette flow problem and the Mott-Smith solution for the shock wave all of which have analytical solutions for the VDF, thereby confirming that the proposed parameter indeed captures the deviation from near-equilibrium conditions accurately. The utility of the proposed parameter is then demonstrated...