cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Staying well during pregnancy and the postpartum: A pilot randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence.

Objective Clinical decision-making regarding the prevention of depression is complex for pregnant women with histories of depression and their health care providers. Pregnant women with histories of depression report preference for nonpharmacological care, but few evidence-based options exist. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy has strong evidence in the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence among general populations and indications of promise as adapted for perinatal depression (MBCT-PD). With a pilot randomized clinical trial, our aim was to evaluate treatment acceptability and efficacy of MBCT-PD relative to treatment as usual (TAU). Method Pregnant adult women with depression histories were recruited from obstetric clinics at 2 sites and randomized to MBCT-PD (N = 43) or TAU (N = 43). Treatment acceptability was measured by assessing completion of sessions, at-home practice, and satisfaction. Clinical outcomes were interview-based depression relapse/recurrence status and self-reported depressive symptoms through 6 months postpartum. Results Consistent with predictions, MBCT-PD for at-risk pregnant women was acceptable based on rates of completion of sessions and at-home practice assignments, and satisfaction with services was significantly higher for MBCT-PD than TAU. Moreover, at-risk women randomly assigned to MBCT-PD reported significantly improved depressive outcomes compared with participants receiving TAU, including significantly lower rates of depressive relapse/recurrence and lower depressive symptom severity during the course of the study. Conclusions MBCT-PD is an acceptable and clinically beneficial program for pregnant women with histories of depression; teaching the skills and practices of mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy during pregnancy may help to reduce the risk of depression during an important transition in many women's lives.
Primary percutaneous coronary intervention was more effective than thrombolytic therapy for acute MI.

Source Citation Aversano T, Aversano LT, Passamani E, et al., for the Atlantic Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Team (C-PORT). Thrombolytic therapy vs primary percutaneous coronary interven...
Optimal Customer Targeting for Sustainable Demand Response in Smart Grids

Abstract Demand Response (DR) is a widely used technique to minimize the peak to average consumption ratio during high demand periods. We consider the DR problem of achieving a given curtailment target for a set of consumers equipped with a set of discrete curtailment strategies over a given duration. An effective DR scheduling algorithm should minimize the curtailment error - the difference between the targeted and achieved curtailment values - to minimize costs to the utility provider and maintain system reliability. The availability of smart meters with fine-grained customer control capability can be leveraged to offer customers a dynamic range of curtailment strategies that are feasible for small durations within the overall DR event. Both the availability and achievable curtailment values of these strategies can vary dynamically through the DR event and thus the problem of achieving a target curtailment over the entire DR interval can be modeled as a dynamic strategy selection problem over multiple discrete sub-intervals. We argue that DR curtailment error minimizing algorithms should not be oblivious to customer curtailment behavior during sub-intervals as (expensive) demand peaks can be concentrated in a few sub-intervals while consumption is heavily curtailed during others in order to achieve the given target, which makes such solutions expensive for the utility. Thus in this paper, we formally develop the notion of Sustainable DR (SDR) as a solution that attempts to distribute the curtailment evenly across sub-intervals in the DR event. We formulate the SDR problem as an Integer Linear Program and provide a very fast -factor approximation algorithm. We then propose a Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme (PTAS) for approximating the SDR curtailment error to within an arbitrarily small factor of the optimal. We then develop a novel ILP formulation that solves the SDR problem while explicitly accounting for customer strategy switching overhead as a constraint. We perform experiments using real data acquired from the University of Southern Californias smart grid and show that our sustainable DR model achieves results with a very low absolute error of 0.001-0.05 kWh range.
Philosophical Foundations of Utilitarianism

We have finally come to the point of elucidating the basic structure of utilitarianism by making the most of Sidgwick’s analyses and arguments. In The Methods of Ethics, utilitarianism gets its theoretical foundations through philosophical inquiry and gains external support from a careful examination of common-sense morality. In this chapter we will examine both ways of verifying utilitarianism. We will see that the previously described conceptual analyses and the three intuitive fundamental principles, plus the proof of hedonism (to be explained later in this chapter), construct the essential components of utilitariaism, namely consequentialism and the principle of maximizing the sum total of people’s pleasure.
Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c . 936–1075: SERVITIUM REGIS AND MONASTIC PROPERTY

In the Carolingian Empire, and especially in the German realm from the mid-tenth to the mid-eleventh century, as the great ecclesiastical institutions – the bishoprics and the royal monasteries – gradually became integrated into the structure of feudal government, they had to serve the realm in a secular as well as a religious capacity. This new legal relationship between the bishoprics and royal monasteries and their ‘protector’, the king, brought with it manifold obligations to the king, which we call the servitium regis described above. These services for the king generally tended to ‘secularize’ the royal monasteries, and seriously affected the monastic ideal as well as the development of monasticism in Germany. For instance, the monastic ideal required the relinquishment of private property and avow of poverty. Yet in order to fulfil the servitium regis , the royal monasteries had to have property far beyond their needs for subsistence. Likewise, the monastic conception of the ascetic life was partially compromised by increased contact with the secular world. As father of his congregation and as the king's vassal (or royal representative), the abbot no longer stood within the congregation, but outside and above it, a prince of the realm between the monastery and the king. This progressive secularization of the abbot's position and of monastic property began to threaten the brothers' endowment and, consequently, their ability to lead the ascetic life unencumbered and to offer constant prayer for the king and the realm.
Anarchy in Our Churches? The American Architectural Press, 1944–65

AbstractIn the mid-twentieth century American architectural journals, including Architectural Forum, Architectural Record, and Progressive Architecture, routinely ran features on the state of contemporary church architecture in the United States. Rapid suburban expansion and the revival of religious life in the post-Depression, postwar era generated tremendous amounts of construction, with a great deal of work available for architects. This article examines the concerns and hopes of modernist editors in the 1940s–1960s, as they sought to stabilize a “direction” for church architecture. Specifically, it examines the role of the architectural press as the self-established gatekeepers for acceptable church design, and their relationship with theologians, liturgists, and building commissions within the Catholic Church. Questions of authority (who was competent to determine whether a church design was successful?) and expertise (whose theological knowledge should be weighted more heavily?) lay behind the stark...
Synthesis of Observations from the Precision Atmospheric Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (PreAMBLE)

AbstractResearch flights during the Precision Atmospheric Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (PreAMBLE) in Southern California during May–June 2012 focused on three main features found in the nearshore marine boundary layer (MBL): the coastal jet (10 flights), the Catalina eddy (3 flights), and the initiation of a southerly surge (1 flight). Several topics were examined with case studies, but results from individual events may not represent typical conditions. Although these flights do not constitute a long-term set of data, observations from PreAMBLE are used to find common features. Two main topics are addressed: the MBL collapse into the expansion fan, and the subsequent transition into the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC). The midmorning to late afternoon flights occur during moderate to strong northerly wind. Slope of the MBL in the expansion fan varies and wave perturbations can be embedded within the expansion fan. As the cool MBL flow turns into the SBC, it moves underneath a deeper and warmer MBL that o...
A BCWD-resistant line of rainbow trout exhibits higher abundance of IgT+ B cells and heavy chain tau transcripts compared to a susceptible line following challenge with Flavobacterium psychrophilum.

Abstract Bacterial Cold Water Disease (BCWD) is a common, chronic disease in rainbow trout, and is caused by the gram-negative bacterium Flavobacterium psychrophilum (Fp) . Through selective breeding, the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture has generated a genetic line that is highly resistant to Fp challenge, designated ARS-Fp-R (or R-line), as well as a susceptible “control” line, ARS-Fp-S (S-line). In previous studies, resistance to Fp had been shown to correlate with naive animal spleen size, and further, naive R-line trout had been shown to have a lower abundance of IgM + and IgM ++ cells compared to S-line fish. Here we wished to first determine whether the abundance of IgT + and/or IgT ++ cells differed between the two lines in naive fish, and if so, how these patterns differed after in vivo challenge with Fp . Fp challenge was by intramuscular injection of live Fp and tissue collections were on days 5, 6, and/or 28 post-challenge, in two independent challenge experiments. Flow cytometric and gene expression analyses revealed that naive R-line fish had a higher abundance of IgT + B cells in their anterior kidney, spleen, and blood, compared to S line fish. Further, that after Fp challenge, this difference was maintained between the two lines. Lastly, abundance of IgT + B cells and expression of secHCtau correlated with lower Fp pathogen loads in challenged fish. In the anterior kidney, IgM + B cell abundance correlated with increased Fp loads. Together, these results suggest that IgT + B lineage cells may have a protective function in the immune response to Fp.
Evaluating Behavioral Health Interventions for Military-Connected Youth: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Military-connected youth are at increased risk for experiencing distinct psychosocial and behavioral health vulnerabilities. Although behavioral health interventions have been developed to treat vulnerabilities in military-connected youth, little is known about the methodological quality of studies evaluating these interventions. In this study, a systematic review of behavioral health interventions for military-connected youth was conducted to examine methodological quality and treatment outcomes. Materials and Methods: Electronic databases were systematically searched for studies evaluating behavioral health interventions for military-connected youth which yielded 3,324 citations. Methodological quality was evaluated by 2 researchers with 3 measures that assessed scientific rigor, transparency, external and internal validity, and power for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method trials. Interrater reliability was strong (κ = 0.81). Sample characteristics and treatment outcomes ...
Effectiveness of interprofessional education in renal physiology curricula for health sciences graduate students

The primary purpose of conducting an interprofessional education (IPE) experience during the renal physiology block of a graduate-level course was to provide basic science, physical therapy, and physician assistant graduate students with an opportunity to work as a team in the diagnosis, treatment, and collaborative care of a patient with acute kidney injury. The secondary purpose was to enhance the understanding of basic renal physiology principles with a patient case presentation of renal pathophysiology. The overall purpose was to assess the value of IPE integration within a basic science course by examining student perceptions and program evaluation. Graduate-level students operated in interprofessional teams while working through an acute kidney injury patient case. The following Interprofessional Education Collaborative subcompetencies were targeted: Roles/Responsibilities (RR) Behavioral Expectations (RR1, RR4) and Interprofessional Communication (CC) Behavioral Expectations (CC4). Clinical and IPE stimulus questions were discussed both within and between teams with assistance provided by faculty facilitators. Students were given a pre- and postsurvey to determine their knowledge of IPE. There were statistically significant increases from pre- to postsurvey scores for all six IPE questions for all students. Physical therapy and physician assistant students had a statistically significant increase in pre- to postsurvey scores, indicating a more favorable perception of their interprofessional competence for RR1, RR4, and CC4. No changes were noted in pre- to postsurvey scores for basic science graduate students. Incorporating planned IPE experiences into multidisciplinary health science courses represents an appropriate venue to have students learn and apply interprofessional competencies.
Micro-level experiences of macro-level change: A cohort perspective on China's shift away from state-sector employment

Abstract An expanding and more lucrative private sector characterizes China’s economic transition over the last four decades. But have these labor market opportunities been equally distributed, or does historical timing of labor force entries matter? Drawing on a life-course, cohort perspective and nationally representative occupational histories (2003 and 2008 Chinese General Social Surveys), we examine the odds of a private-sector first job and of shifts from state- to private-sector jobs for two reform cohorts entering the labor market between 1978 and 2008. We find cohort variations in the impact of structural location (education and party affiliation) in predicting sector of first job and sector shifts. The least educated (high school dropouts) from the Late Reform cohort are most impacted by the expanding private sector, in terms of their first job (in private/hybrid firms and self-employment). Party membership takes on a different meaning over time, promoting Early Reform cohort members’ private-sector entry, but being a deterrent for Late Reform cohort members. A key potential consequence of Chinese economic reform based on our cohort comparisons: increasing transfer of those with less educational and political credentials from the state to the private sector, either through first-job availability or through (forced) self-employment following layoffs. The China case demonstrates the value of a cohort and life-course perspective grounded in careful institutional and historical analysis for capturing the impact of historical timing in shifting opportunity structures shaping individuals’ work lives and for understanding social change.
The Information Explosion: UCF-STAC The Gateway to Information

The pace of research and development has been accelerating in all fields of engineering, science, marketing, and business. One of the fallouts is that an explosion has been taking place in the publication of the resulting information and data. It is estimated that the volume of published information is doubling roughly every eight to ten years. Clearly, there exists a wealth of knowledge waiting to be tapped. In looking to the future, Breton notes that, “knowledge will replace capital as society’s most important resource.” (Reinventing the Wheel; Breton, Ernest J., Mechanical Engineering, 54, March 1981).Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
MR Imaging of Pleural Neoplasms

The pleura may be affected by primary tumors or metastatic spread of intrathoracic or extrathoracic neoplasms. Primary pleural neoplasms represent ∼10% of all pleural tumors, and malignant lesions are more common than benign lesions. The most common primary tumors include malignant pleural mesothelioma and solitary fibrous tumor. Although pleural neoplasms may initially be evaluated with computed tomography (CT) and/or fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is complementary to these other imaging modalities for disease staging and evaluation of patients. In this article, we discuss the etiology, clinical presentation, and imaging of pleural neoplasms, with specific attention given to the role of MR imaging.
Opto-plasmonic devices: controlling light with electrons

We investigate mechanisms by which interaction of light and matter may be affected by electrons, and show how this can lead to optoelectronic devices with superior properties. In particular, confined cloud of electron gas allows sculpting a wave function that affects both emission and absorption of radiation, while its collective, plasmonic, excitation may be used for optical wave guiding, coupling and radiation. Such processes require much less energy and are much faster than classical kinetic energy-based charge transport in traditional electronics. Here we present thin-film photodetectors in which 2D electron and hole charges allow operation in hundreds of GHz, without applied bias, requiring a fraction of microwatt of optical power. The 2D channel can also be structured to provide the momentum change that is required for coupling to excitation at THz range. The confined charge is then used as a plate of (an unconventional) capacitor which changes states by a factor of >1000, in tens of fs, requiring atto-joules of energy which is also switchable by light. This opto-plasmonic capacitor finds application in threshold logic based neuromorphic systems. These thin-film devices are produced in bottom-up core-shell nanowire (CSNW) technology, resulting in resonant optical cavities whose properties are controlled by 2D and 1D charge plasma, with orders of magnitude increase in absorption and emission of light that leads to lasing at room temperature even without vertical structure. Since CSNWs can be grown on Si, they can be good candidate platforms for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) and Silicon Photonics.
Friends by Design: A Design Philosophy for Personal Robotics Technology

Small robotic appliances are beginning the process of home automation. Following the lead of the affective computing movement begun by Professor Rosalind Picard in 1995 at the MIT Media lab, roboticists have also begun pursuing affective robotics, robotics that uses simulated emotions and other human expressions and body language to help the machine better interact with its users. Here I will trace the evolution of this design philosophy and present arguments that critique and expand this design philosophy using concepts gleaned from the phenomenology of artifacts as described in the literature of the philosophy of technology.
Synthesizing customized network protocols using genetic programming

Given the advances in areas such as home automation, agricultural networks, smart cities, designers often need to design protocols that utilize the features of that network while dealing with its limitations. Utilizing standardized protocols for such networks may not be appropriate as they may not address limitations of the network such as heterogeneous nodes or limited capability of some nodes. While designing a customized protocol for that network would be desirable, it is extremely time-consuming unless we can automate the development of the required protocol. In this paper, we present NetSynth, a GP based mechanism to develop customized routing protocol for the given network. NetSynth lets us conveniently describe a network using an XML file, and it synthesizes a routing protocol that suits the input network by considering the characteristics specific to the given network. We show how NetSynth creates protocols that perform comparably to best-known protocols for the case where we want to broadcast a set of messages to all nodes in a grid. We also show how NetSynth helps us design protocols that provide a tradeoff between throughput and energy.
Symmetries and Local Controllability

In this paper we review some results concerning the local controllability of nonlinear control systems. We stress those results which are most closely related to the existence of certain symmetries, including results by the authors and H. J. Sussmann. We also comment on the relation between this work and generalizations of Lie group theory to semigroups and Lie wedges.
Towards Ni(II) complexes with spin switches for 19 F MR-based pH sensing

Our aim was to demonstrate the potential of exploiting simultaneous changes in coordination geometry and spin state in fluorinated Ni(II) complexes as an avenue for 19F magnetic-resonance (MR)-based pH sensing. Crystal structures were studied using an Agilent Technologies SuperNova Dual Source diffractometer. Solution magnetic moment was determined using Evan’s method. MR images were collected on a 7.0-T MR scanner equipped with a quadrature 19F volume coil. NiL1 and NiL2 were synthesized; crystallographic and spectroscopic data supported NiL1 as being diamagnetic and NiL2 as being paramagnetic. In aqueous solution, ligand dissociation from Ni(II) center was observed for both complexes at around pH 6, precluding their use as reversible pH sensors. The two complexes have distinct 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals in terms of both chemical shift and relaxation times, and selective imaging of the two complexes was achieved with no signal interference using two 19F MRI pulse sequences. The significant difference in the chemical shift and relaxation times between NiL1 and NiL2 allowed selective imaging of these species using 19F MRI. While NiL1 and NiL2 were not stable to acidic environments, this report lays the framework for development of improved ligand scaffolds that stably coordinate Ni(II) in acidic aqueous solution and act as agents for ratiometric pH mapping by 19F MRI.
New DEStiny Revealed: Young Woman Postablation for Wolf-Parkinson-White Syndrome With Recurrent Syncope and Progressive Myopathy.

Patient presentation: A 28-year-old woman with a long-standing history of palpitations presented to the emergency department for syncope. Three years prior she had unsuccessful radio frequency (RF) ablation for Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome complicated by complete heart block necessitating dual-chamber pacemaker implantation. Following pacemaker implantation, she had partial recovery of atrioventricular conduction. A treadmill stress electrocardiogram after pacemaker implant revealed sinus rhythm at baseline with pre-excitation in a pattern of a mid-septal accessory pathway (AP). Her rhythm during recovery after stress was from the sinus node at 114 bpm with a prolonged PR interval (Length) and a right bundle branch block morphology without pre-excitation. A repeat electrophysiology procedure shortly thereafter revealed ventricular pre-excitation at baseline with no inducible arrhythmias with aggressive pacing maneuvers and isoproterenol infusion. There was no change in the degree of pre-excitation despite decremental AV node conduction, and there was a preserved HV interval during incremental RA pacing and preserved ventricular pre-excitation during junctional rhythm. These observations suggested a fasiculo-ventricular accessory pathway (FVAP), but a standard atrio-ventricular AP that had been partially ablated during her previous procedure could not be excluded. The His-Purkinje conduction was abnormal with a prolonged HV interval, right bundle branch block, and left anterior fascicular block. The AP mapped to a relatively wide area of the upper-mid RA septum and ablation was unsuccessful, despite extensive RF delivery to the right atrium septum. At that time, it was felt that the AP was most likely a fasiculo-ventricular pathway and did not participate in tachycardia. Her pacemaker was reprogrammed to VDD with long AV delay to minimize pacing. For the next three years, she remained asymptomatic until her episode of syncope. Dr. Knight: A FVAP is a common cause of ventricular preexcitation and can be an incidental observation. It is a connection from the His-bundle region to the local ventricular myocardium below the AV node, but does not result in AV reentrant tachycardia. Although AV block can occur as a complication of ablation attempts in a patient with an FVAP, the marked conduction disease would not be expected in most patients with WPW.
Proceedings of the forty-fifth annual ACM symposium on Theory of computing

The results in this volume were presented at the 45th Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC 2013), which was held in Palo Alto, CA, June 2-4, 2013, and sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT). At the suggestion of SIGACT Past Chair Lance Fortnow, we experimented with a two-tiered program committee for the first time in STOC's 45-year history. Specifically, the program was constructed by a nine-person Executive Committee (EC) and a 62-person Program Committee (PC). Members of the PC were allowed to submit, but members of the EC were not. It was an interesting and highly controversial experiment that I blogged about at Michael Mitzenmacher's invitation (http://mybiasedcoin.blogspot.com/2013/02/discussing-stoc-2013-pc-with-joan.html). I will post a longer report on the experiment on my web page in June 2013. We received 373 submissions, 13 of which were withdrawn before accept/reject decisions were made. Of the remaining 360 submissions, 100 were accepted, for an acceptance rate of 27.8%; after accept/reject decisions were announced, one of the accepted submissions was withdrawn. One pair of accepted submissions was presented in a joint talk, for a total of 98 talks and 99 proceedings contributions. Submissions were not formally and officially refereed, and many of the proceedings contributions are preliminary reports on ongoing research; it is expected that most of the results in the proceedings will ultimately be published in final form in refereed journals. From the many excellent candidates, we selected "Low Rank Approximation and Regression in Input Sparsity Time," by Kenneth L. Clarkson and David P. Woodruff, and "Approximation Resistance from Pairwise Independent Subgroups," by Siu On Chan, as co-winners of the Best- Paper Award and "Maintaining Shortest Paths Under Deletions in Weighted Directed Graphs," by Aaron Bernstein, and "Approximation Resistance from Pairwise Independent Subgroups," by Siu on Chan, as co-winners of the Danny Lewin Best-Student-Paper Award. In addition to the basic conference program, STOC 2013 included the Knuth-Prize lecture by Gary Miller on June 3 and three workshops on June 1: "New (Theoretical) Challenges in Machine Learning," "Information Complexity and Applications," and "Online Matching and Ad Serving: Theory and Practice." The June 1 program also included an invited talk by Prabhakar Raghavan and a panel session on grant-proposal writing. A poster session was held in the evening of June 2.
Does the Community College Pathway Influence the Selectivity of Students’ Destination 4-Year Institution?:

Objectives: In this study, we explore the influence of enrolling initially at a community college before transferring to a 4-year institution on the selectivity of the destination 4-year institutio...
Preserving Endocrine Function in Premenopausal Women Undergoing Whole Pelvis Radiation for Cervical Cancer

Abstract Purpose: Whole pelvis radiation therapy (WPRT) in premenopausal women with cervical cancer can cause permanent ovarian damage, resulting in premature menopause. Oophoropexy, often consider...
Tumbling Magnetic Microrobots for Biomedical Applications

This paper presents a magnetic microrobot that demonstrates the ability to travel through wet conditions inside a murine colon. Under the influence of an external rotating magnetic field, it tumbles end-over-end to propel itself forward. The microrobot's real-time position can be accurately tracked using ultrasound imaging to help guide it to a desired target location. Diffusion tests were conducted and show that the microrobot releases a fluorescein payload over a two hour time period when it is applied as a coating. Cytotoxicity tests demonstrated that the microrobot's SU-8 body doped with magnetic NdFeB particles is also biocompatible with murine fibroblasts. The microrobot's capabilities make it promising for targeted drug delivery and other in vivo biomedical applications.
Language, labor and reification

Abstract In this article, I attempt to describe how language is reified, using the call center as an extended example. I take up recent debates regarding language and economic value, attempting to disentangle a by now substantial series of arguments about language and commodification. The theoretical core of the paper is drawn from the work of Georg Lukacs, who provided the account of reification that was at the root of twentieth century critical theory. Following Lukacs, I argue that what is indispensable in the process of reification is both a “contemplative stance” in relation to economic laws and the presence of “special partial systems” within the production process of commodities. These are particularly important considerations for what I refer to as the one-sided rationalization of language that occurs in call centers in particular, but also on a more widespread social basis.
Die-Package-PCB Signal Integrity Performance Debug of a High-Speed (25Gbps) Retimer: Simulation to Measurement Correlation

In this paper we detail the signal integrity performance debug of a 130nm BiCMOS high-speed (25Gbps) 4-channel multi-rate retimer device, packaged in a small 7mm×7mm new fine pitch ball grid array (nFBGA), a laminate-based family of chip-scale packaging technology. During the electrolytic plating IC packaging manufacturing process, residual plating tie-bar, i.e. “stubs”, can introduce “quarter-wavelength” resonance which can impact signal integrity performance. We discussed here the process of troubleshooting a resonance issue observed during system performance characterization. Key figure of merits for system electrical performance (viz. insertion loss, return loss, crosstalk/isolation, and jitter) are modeled and analyzed. Laboratory measurements are presented that validate the integrity of the system co-design modeling methodology. Good correlation between simulations and laboratory measurements is achieved. Design optimization schemes, to alleviate resonance issues, are implemented and validated with the modeling methodology.
Traction-separation response of bilayer graphene interfaces: The role of an intercalated single atomic layer of water molecules and hydroxyl groups

Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations of the normal and shear traction-separation response of dry and wet bilayer graphene interfaces were performed. The influence of a single, atomic layer of water molecules sandwiched between graphene layers and hydroxyl functionalization on one or both layers were investigated. Hydroxyl groups provided a shielding effect during normal separation while favoring stick-slip friction under sliding conditions. The single, atomic layer of water molecules confined between hydrophilic and asymmetric hydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces was found to ease sliding friction. The mechanisms arose from the balance between the attractive and repulsive graphene/water interactions through bridges of single water molecules between the two surfaces and the structure of the water monolayer under confinement for which an out-of-plane water/water hydrogen bond network could not be developed. The single, atomic layer of water molecules reduced the sliding friction the most when both surfaces were hydrophilic and lowered the sliding friction of the asymmetric hydrophobic/hydrophilic interfaces to that when both surfaces were hydrophobic. An optimal hydroxyl surface coverage of less than 10% may exist for efficient water lubrication, with diminishing effect with increasing number of hydroxyl groups. The findings offer a design strategy for assembling bilayer graphene interfaces with tailored friction and sliding contact properties.
Alabama After Shelby v. Holder: Polling Place Changes and Access to Polling Place Information

While ensuring the voting rights of all citizens in this country is assumed to be a modern established norm, the fight continues in many states against voter disenfranchisement and discriminatory exclusions from the democratic process. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Shelby v. Holder (2013), allowed states with historically discriminatory voting processes to make changes to their voting laws without federal oversight. Since this decision, some states have closed or moved an alarming number of polling places, according to the Leadership Conference Education Fund (2019). Thus, we explored the extent of polling place changes in Alabama. This research involved contacting county election offices to obtain publicly available data on polling place changes, closures, and consolidations. The process and challenges of obtaining information are also included, such as the process of identifying the correct county level election office and election official, revising the wording of questions asked, and noting the response rates and challenges to obtaining polling place data. The results indicate that locating appropriate election officials and requesting polling place information are challenging and burdensome, and the number of polling place changes (including closures, moves, and consolidations) exceeds the number estimated by previous reports.
Paths in Utopia: School as Holding Environment for the Dialogical Self

This paper explores the genealogy of a form of collective intelligence that cultivates the democratic social character, understood as a style of subjectivity that is implicitly dedicated to the exp...
Epigenetically Mediated Ciliogenesis and Cell Cycle Regulation, and Their Translational Potential

Primary cilia biogenesis has been closely associated with cell cycle progression. Cilia assemble when cells exit the cell cycle and enter a quiescent stage at the post-mitosis phase, and disassemble before cells re-enter a new cell cycle. Studies have focused on how the cell cycle coordinates with the cilia assembly/disassembly process, and whether and how cilia biogenesis affects the cell cycle. Appropriate regulation of the functions and/or expressions of ciliary and cell-cycle-associated proteins is pivotal to maintaining bodily homeostasis. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation and histone/chromatin modifications, are involved in the regulation of cell cycle progression and cilia biogenesis. In this review, first, we discuss how epigenetic mechanisms regulate cell cycle progression and cilia biogenesis through the regulation of DNA methylation and chromatin structures, to either promote or repress the transcription of genes associated with those processes and the modification of cytoskeleton network, including microtubule and actin. Next, we discuss the crosstalk between the cell cycle and ciliogenesis, and the involvement of epigenetic regulators in this process. In addition, we discuss cilia-dependent signaling pathways in cell cycle regulation. Understanding the mechanisms of how epigenetic regulators contribute to abnormal cell cycle regulation and ciliogenesis defects would lead to developing therapeutic strategies for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases, such as cancers, polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and other ciliopathy-associated disorders.
IKKβ-NF-κB signaling in adult chondrocytes promotes the onset of age-related osteoarthritis in mice.

Canonical nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling mediated by homo- and heterodimers of the NF-κB subunits p65 (RELA) and p50 (NFKB1) is associated with age-related pathologies and with disease progres...
Investigations in land use modelling: comparing analytical techniques, data volumes, and policy scenarios in sumatra (indonesia)

Spatially explicit models of land use decisions have been applied to a variety of applications such as determinants of deforestation, effects of urbanization, and the influence of protected areas on land use. The models have generally been based on linear-in-parameters functional forms whose parameters are estimated from relatively small datasets. This dissertation considers the implications of linear-in-parameters models and assesses the benefits and costs of estimating the parameters for non-linear neural network specifications on large datasets as compared to the traditional linear-in-parameters specifications. The estimated models are used to simulate a variety of policy scenarios for protected areas in southern Sumatra. The parameters estimated from a large dataset are found to be substantially different than those from a small dataset. The linear-in-parameters multinomial logit and neural network specifications as estimated on the large dataset are not consistently ranked by the standard performance measures. The protected areas are found to be closely associated with the presence of evergreen forest. Removal of the protection results in deforestation for only one of the protected areas (Way Kambas National Park). Increases in population density and decreases in the cost of access index have virtually no effect on land use within protected areas. Systematic climate change results in dramatic deforestation in Way Kambas National Park as well as some minor deforestation in some of the other protected areas. The benefits of using large datasets and flexible specifications are dubious and currently outweighed by the costs for small projects. Future research should focus on obtaining better and more detailed economic data, and developing more suitable performance measures and estimation techniques.
Fusion of mammalian cells by lipid vesicles.

Publisher Summary The fusion of different types of cultured mammalian cells to produce hybrid cells and heterokaryons is now an established research tool that is widely used in many areas of cell biology and virology. The use of viruses, Sendai virus in particular, to fuse cells was a major factor in the successful development of cell-fusion techniques in the 1960s, and viruses remain the most commonly used agents for inducing cell fusion. Although viruses are undoubtedly highly efficient agents for inducing cell fusion in vitro , there are certain practical difficulties associated with their use. First, the virus components responsible for inducing cell fusion are not fully characterized, and therefore the fusion potential of different virus preparations cannot be standardized. The use of lysolecithin and similar lipolytic agents to induce cell fusion is accompanied by substantial cell damage, and the number of viable cells recovered is significantly lower than in cells treated with viruses. Consequently, there is still a need for a simple procedure for inducing cell fusion that avoids the problems accompanying fusion induced by inactivated viruses or membrane lytic agents, such as lysolecithin. Potential progress in this direction has been made with the recent demonstration that small vesicles (approximately 250-500 A diameter) prepared from a variety of phospholipids are able to induce fusion of mammalian cells in vitro. Lipid vesicles compare favorably with inactivated Sendai virus in their ability to fuse cells, yet are devoid of the cytotoxic properties associated with lysolecithin. This chapter presents an outline of the methods used in this laboratory to produce lipid vesicles for inducing fusion and hybridization of cultured mammalian cells.
EXPERIMENTAL WORK FOR ACTIVE CLAYS IN MISSISSIPPI

The design and construction of phase one field work, completed in 1970, is examined. Techniques using sand drains and flooding to dissipate swelling potential, lime treatment capillary barrier to prevent desiccation, and a bituminous membrane to waterproof the roadway to prevent swelling are presented. To date, the experimental sections constructed with these techniques are performing very well in providing smooth riding surface and no movement. On the other hand, the control sections have experienced severe distress and have been repaired several times. The second phase field work is to be started in 1974. The techniques that will be used in this experimental work come from the findings of phase one work. Special emphasis will be placed on having practical and economical designs. The four experimental sections that will be constructed during this phase will depend on the utilization of remolded clay and bituminous membrane to waterproof the roadway.
Driving Safety and Adolescent Behavior

Accidents, and mainly automotive accidents, are currently the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among young people. Understanding and addressing the issue of automotive accident prevention requires an awareness of the multiple psychodynamic, familial, and societal influences that affect the development and behavior of adolescents. Risk-taking behavior is the product of complex personal and environmental factors. As pediatricians, we have the obligation and the opportunity to improve the safety of our youth who drive and ride. This opportunity is available to us not only in our roles as counselors to youth and families, but also as we serve as role models, educators, and agents for change within our communities.
Word-Based correction for retrieval of arabic OCR degraded documents

Arabic documents that are available only in print continue to be ubiquitous and they can be scanned and subsequently OCR’ed to ease their retrieval. This paper explores the effect of word-based OCR correction on the effectiveness of retrieving Arabic OCR documents using different index terms. The OCR correction uses an improved character segment based noisy channel model and is tested on real and synthetic OCR degradation. Results show that the effect of OCR correction depends on the length of the index term used and that indexing using short n-grams is perhaps superior to word-based error correction. The results are potentially applicable to other languages.
Drug transport from thin applications of topical dosage forms: development of methodology.

There are presently no standards for in vitro research dealing with the release and delivery of drugs from semisolid dosage forms, largely because of inherent experimental difficulties. Among the problems, it has proven difficult to apply dosage forms to membranes mounted in in vitro diffusion cells in facsimile to the manner in which the dosage forms are applied clinically. In the present studies, methodology has been developed which allows films with thicknesses approaching clinical dimensions to be spread evenly over silicone rubber membranes. Using methyl p-aminobenzoate as a test permeant and gelled water and water/propylene glycol solvent systems as test vehicles, it has proven possible to spread films as thin as 75 µm, yielding highly reproducible delivery profiles. Using this application technique, it has been shown how the diffusive clearance of drug from films of fixed composition placed over a resistant membrane is dependent on the thickness of application. For a given medium and thickness of application, when the vehicle composition is enriched in propylene glycol, partitioning into the membrane is suppressed, resulting in a lessening of the absolute rate of delivery and, consequently, a prolongation of the period over which drug is released. Increasing the membrane's resistance, i.e., increasing the membrane's thickness, likewise slows down the absolute delivery rate, extending the effective period of total clearance of drug from the applied film.
CCR2-dependent dendritic cell recruitment to CNS tissues during EAE promotes disease progression and inflammatory cytokine production by CNS T cells (CCR1P.243)

Dendritic cells (DCs)—while absent from the healthy central nervous system (CNS)—rapidly accumulate within brain and spinal cord tissue during neuroinflammation associated with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE, a mouse model of multiple sclerosis). Yet, while DCs have been appreciated for their role in initiating adaptive immune responses in peripheral lymphoid organ tissues, how DCs infiltrate the CNS and contribute to ongoing neuroinflammation in situ is poorly understood. Therefore we sought to identify key chemokines and chemokine receptors on DCs that govern DC migration across the blood-brain barrier and within the CNS. Here we report that 1) CD11c+ bone marrow-derived (BM)DCs and CNS-infiltrating DCs express CCR2, 2) compared to CCR2+/+ cells, adoptively transferred CCR2-/- BMDCs or DC precursors do not accumulate in the CNS during EAE, despite abundance in blood, 3) CCR2-/- DCs show less accumulation in the inflamed CNS in mixed bone marrow chimeras, when compared to CCR2+/+ DCs, and 4) ablation of CCR2+/+ DCs during EAE clinical onset delays progression and attenuates T cell cytokine production. These data suggest that CCR2-dependent DC recruitment to the CNS during ongoing neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in effector T cell cytokine production and disease progression, and signify that CNS-DCs and circulating DC precursors might be key therapeutic targets for modifying ongoing neuroinflammation in CNS autoimmune diseases.
Aggregation chimeras. Combining ES cells, diploid and tetraploid embryos.

During the past 40 years, mouse chimeras have served as invaluable tools for studying not only genetics but also embryonic development, and the path from undifferentiated cell populations to fully committed functional cell types. This chapter gives a description of the early events of cell commitment and differentiation in the pre-and postimplantation-stage embryo. Next, a discussion follows highlighting the most commonly used as well as more recently developed applications of various cell types and origins used in the production of chimeras. Finally, detailed protocols and trouble-shooting suggestions will be presented for each of the steps involved.
Evolving a CS networking emphasis

This paper describes Lander University's efforts to create an emphasis in networking and telecommunications within its Computer Science program. The goal is to design a viable emphasis within an existing program that presents data communications and computer networking within the larger contexts of both computer science and telecommunications. This must be done in the absence of a widely accepted model or established curriculum guidelines suitable for a small institution. The approach taken was to follow a principle of minimal commitment-to introduce a small number of core courses augmented with special topics courses. This has provided a high degree of flexibility in a rapidly changing area, an area that sometimes defies definition.