cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of etiquette strategy on human---robot interaction in a simulated medicine delivery task

The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which a model of linguistic etiquette in human---human interaction could be applied to human---robot interaction (HRI) domain, and how different etiquette strategies proposed through the model might influence performance of humans and robots as mediated by manipulations of robot physical features, in a simulated medicine delivery task. A "wizard of Oz" experiment was conducted in which either a humanoid robot or a mechanical-looking robot was used to present medicine reminding utterances (following different etiquette strategies) to participants, who were engaged in a primary cognitive task (a Sudoku puzzle). Results revealed the etiquette model to partially extend to the HRI domain. Participants were not sensitive to positive language from robots (e.g., appreciation of human values/wants) and such a strategy did not succeed in supporting or enhancing the "positive face" of human users. Both "bald" (no linguistic courtesy) and mixed strategies (positive and "negative face" (minimizing user imposition) saving) resulted in moderate user perceived etiquette scores (PE). However, individual differences suggested such robot linguistic strategies should be applied with caution. Opposite to this, a negative face saving strategy (supporting user freedom of choice) promoted user task and robot performance (in terms of user response time to robot requests), and resulted in the highest PE score. There was also evidence that humanoid robot features provide additional social cues that may be used by patients and support human and robot performance, but not PE. These results provide a basis for determining appropriate etiquette strategies and robot appearance to promote better collaborative task performances for future health care delivery applications of service robots.
Job Satisfaction of Hospitality Educators

This paper examines current satisfaction levels of faculty employed at four-year hospitality management programs in the United States and Canada. An instrument designed to measure respondents'satis...
Investigation of Evalglare software, daylight glare probability and high dynamic range imaging for daylight glare analysis

The latest glare metric, called daylight glare probability (DGP), has been developed specifically for daylight glare issues inside a building. Unlike other glare indices, DGP considers vertical ill...
CDK-5 regulates the abundance of GLR-1 glutamate receptors in the ventral cord of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The proline-directed kinase Cdk5 plays a role in several aspects of neuronal development. Here, we show that CDK-5 activity regulates the abundance of the glutamate receptor GLR-1 in the ventral cord of Caenorhabditis elegans and that it produces corresponding changes in GLR-1– dependent behaviors. Loss of CDK-5 activity results in decreased abundance of GLR-1 in the ventral cord, accompanied by accumulation of GLR-1 in neuronal cell bodies. Genetic analysis of cdk-5 and the clathrin adaptin unc-11 AP180 suggests that CDK-5 functions prior to endocytosis at the synapse. The scaffolding protein LIN-10/Mint-1 also regulates GLR-1 abundance in the nerve cord. CDK-5 phosphorylates LIN-10/ Mint-1 in vitro and bidirectionally regulates the abundance of LIN-10/Mint-1 in the ventral cord. We propose that CDK-5 promotes the anterograde trafficking of GLR-1 and that phosphorylation of LIN-10 may play a role in this process.
Chronic nitrofurantoin reaction associated with T-lymphocyte alveolitis.

Nitrofurantoin use was associated with the development of severe interstitial lung disease which was characterized by bronchoalveolar lavage with a marked increase in lymphocytes to 60 percent (compared to normal of 7±1 percent). Lymphocytes were predominantly of the T-helper subset. Lavage may prove useful in the assessment of the immune response in drug-induced lung disease.
Team-based learning in a pathology residency training program.

Objectives: Team-based learning (TBL) has been integrated into undergraduate and medical education curricula in many institutions. However, TBL has not been widely introduced into postgraduate medical education. Our study aimed to measure the effect of TBL on promoting learning and teamwork in the setting of pathology residency training. Methods: Four TBL sessions were held and individual and group readiness assurance tests (IRAT/GRATs) were performed; scores were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank tests. Residents completed 18-item validated team performance surveys measuring the quality of team interactions on a scale of 0 (none of the time) to 6 (all of the time). Mean and standard deviation were calculated for each item. Results: Scores on the IRAT vs GRAT were significantly different ( P < .05). The team performance survey received mean scores ranging from 5.3 ± 1.1 to 6.0 ± 0.0. Conclusions: The use of TBL promotes teamwork and learning in a pathology residency program. Residents scored higher on the readiness assurance tests when working in teams, demonstrating the effectiveness of team learning and achievement. In addition, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies of professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills were further enhanced by incorporating TBL into pathology residency training.
Myogenic differentiation triggered by antisense acidic fibroblast growth factor RNA.

Abstract Acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and related family members regulate differentiation in organisms as diverse as Xenopus laevis and mammals. We utilized a well-characterized model of myogenic development to directly assess the importance of endogenously produced FGF in controlling differentiation. A role for endogenous FGF is suggested by the previous finding that acidic and basic FGF abundance in cultured myocytes decreases during differentiation. In this study we inhibited the endogenous production of FGF in murine Sol 8 myoblasts by using antisense RNA and observed precocious myogenic differentiation. Exogenously supplied acidic FGF rescues this phenotype. Further results suggest that the effect of FGF on myogenic differentiation is mediated in part through inhibition of myogenin expression. These results demonstrate a direct role for endogenously synthesized growth factors in regulating myogenesis and provide support for a general role for related proteins in mammalian development.
New Structural Patterns in Moribund Grammar: Case Marking in Heritage German.

Research treats divergences between monolingual and heritage grammars in terms of performance — ‘L1 attrition’, e.g. lexical retrieval — or competence — ‘incomplete acquisition’, e.g. lack of overt tense markers (e.g. Montrul 2008, Polinsky 1995, Schmid 2010, Sorace 2004). One classic difference between monolingual and Heritage German is reduction in morphological case in the latter, especially loss of dative marking. Our evidence from several Heritage German varieties suggests that speakers have not lost case, but rather developed innovative structures to mark it. More specifically, Heritage German speakers produce dative forms in line with established patterns of Differential Object Marking (Bossong 1985, 1991; Aissen 2003), suggesting a reallocated mapping of case. We take this as evidence for innovative reanalysis in heritage grammars (Putnam & Sanchez 2013). Following Kamp and Reyle (1993) and Wechsler (2011, 2014), the dative adopts a more indexical discourse function, forging a tighter connection between morphosyntax and semantic properties. Moribund grammars deploy linguistic resources in novel ways, beyond narratives of ‘attrition’ and ‘incomplete acquisition’.
Ceftriaxone attenuates cocaine relapse after abstinence through modulation of nucleus accumbens AMPA subunit expression

Using the extinction-reinstatement model of cocaine relapse, we and others have demonstrated that the antibiotic ceftriaxone attenuates cue- and cocaine-primed reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. Reinstatement is contingent on the release of glutamate in the nucleus accumbens core (NAc) and manipulations that reduce glutamate efflux or block post-synaptic glutamate receptors attenuate reinstatement. We have demonstrated that the mechanism of action by which ceftriaxone attenuates reinstatement involves increased NAc GLT-1 expression and a reduction in NAc glutamate efflux during reinstatement. Here we investigated the effects of ceftriaxone (100 and 200 mg/kg) on context-primed relapse following abstinence without extinction training and examined the effects of ceftriaxone on GluA1, GluA2 and GLT-1 expression. We conducted microdialysis during relapse to determine if an increase in NAc glutamate accompanies relapse after abstinence and whether ceftriaxone blunts glutamate efflux. We found that both doses of ceftriaxone attenuated relapse. While relapse was accompanied by an increase in NAc glutamate, ceftriaxone (200 mg/kg) was unable to significantly reduce NAc glutamate efflux during relapse despite its ability to upregulate GLT-1. GluA1 was reduced in the NAc by both doses of ceftriaxone while GluA2 expression was unchanged, indicating that ceftriaxone altered AMPA subunit composition following cocaine. Finally, GLT-1 was not altered in the PFC by ceftriaxone. These results indicate that it is possible to attenuate context-primed relapse to cocaine-seeking through modification of post-synaptic receptor properties without attenuating glutamate efflux during relapse. Furthermore, increasing NAc GLT-1 protein expression is not sufficient to attenuate glutamate efflux.
Cervical dermatome overlap: frequently forgotten in search of a clear answer.

Commentary on Rainville J, Laxer E, Keel J, Pena E, Kim D, Milam RA, et al. Exploration of sensory impairments associated with C6 and C7 radiculopathies. Spine J 2016:16:49–54 ( in this issue ).
Ricote, un español fuera de España: identidad y espacios de libertad en Cervantes

This paper offers a reading of the Morisco character Ricote ( Quijote , II, 54) from the perspective of the experience of emigration and exile of a Spaniard outside of Spain. The paper offers also a reflection on the related issues of Ricote’s identity as a «Spaniard», as well as that of the spaces created by Cervantes within the novel to present, with a certain degree of freedom, both a moving portrait of the character, and a defense of his expulsion from Spain.
Population Trends in Aspirin Use for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention 1980–2009: The Minnesota Heart Survey

Background Daily low‐dose aspirin is recommended for primary prevention of myocardial infarction and stroke in higher‐risk patients. Population trends in aspirin use for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in an urban population (Minneapolis/St. Paul, 2010 population 2.85 million) from 1980 to 2009 were evaluated. Methods and Results Surveys of randomly selected adults aged 25 to 74 years were collected at 5‐year intervals. Self‐reports of regular aspirin use for CVD prevention and history of CVD were obtained. Six cross‐sectional surveys included 12 281 men and 14 258 women. Age‐adjusted aspirin use for primary prevention increased during this period from 1% to 21% among men and 1% to 12% among women. Aspirin use was highest in those aged 65 to 74 years. For secondary prevention, age‐adjusted aspirin use increased from 19% to 74% among men and 11% to 64% among women. While data are based on self‐report, a substudy using a biochemical indicator of aspirin use (serum thromboxane B2) supports the validity of self‐report. Conclusions Aspirin for CVD prevention is commonly used by a large and growing portion of the general population. It is not known if this is based on professional advice or self‐prescribed use. It is also likely that many who would benefit do not use aspirin and others use aspirin inappropriately.
2. Laboratory Measurement of Internal Friction in Rocks and Minerals at Seismic Frequencies

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes the various models and mechanisms of internal friction and describes experimental methods for measuring internal friction in rocks and minerals. It emphasizes on the seismic frequency range and analyzes the subresonance technique that has investigated. The disagreement between the various internal friction data results from both sample differences and systematic errors. Factors contributing to sample differences example, porosity, volatile content, crack distribution, and sample size are common to all methods, and their effects require careful evaluation. Systematic errors, however, depend on the method used. Distinguishing between instrument losses from the intrinsic internal friction in the sample is difficult. With regard to the various experimental methods for measuring internal friction in rocks and minerals, subresonance methods have several advantages. The frequencies are in the seismic range, and they can be changed by small increments. Small strain amplitudes are applied to the sample. The three sample dimensions can be made large compared to the grain size. The systematic errors can be determined. Such features are important for the application of internal friction measurements to geophysical problems.
Biodemography: Adding Biological Insight into Social, Economic, and Psychological Models of Population and Individual Health Change with Age

In recent decades demographers interested in the health of aging populations have developed new approaches to understanding trends, differences, and changes in health based on biologically informed models. The multidisciplinary nature of demographic research on health and aging continues to grow in scope and importance as it has been enlightened by insights from sociology, economics, psychology, and now, biology. Biodemographic work in aging incorporates biological theory and measurement with traditional demographic approaches to better understand variation in health and mortality across and within populations as well as changes among aging individuals in those populations. Incorporating biology begins to uncover mechanisms through which traditional demographic variables (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity) are linked to subsequent health outcomes. The rapid aging of populations and extension of life expectancy in recent decades, coupled with the persistence of health differentials within populations and between countries such as the United States and other developed countries, has resulted in questions such as: Are people living longer healthy lives? How does one explain the variability in the aging process across individuals, groups, and contexts? Why do Americans appear to have relatively poor health? In other words, the focus of work in demographic analyses of mortality and health has changed from description to understanding how and why health change and differences occur and the identifying factors that contribute to the plasticity of health relative to environmental, social, behavioral, and technological changes.
A Lambayeque sacrificial temple

Seven females and one male were sacrificed and buried beneath the floor of a Lambayeque temple at the site of Dos Cabezas, on the north coast of Peru. These burials provide a wealth of information about the Lambayeque people whose civilization flourished between c. 900 and 1470 C.E. Each of the individuals had been put to death by strangulation and buried with a remarkable array of associated objects. The preponderance of avian iconography and feathers that were associated with the burials may allude to the nature of this temple and the individuals who were sacrificed and buried beneath its floors.
The Collapse of a Noble Idea

In March 2004, the once-heralded Los Angeles Community Development Bank (LACDB) closed its doors because of insolvency. The government-created bank's demise should come as no surprise. Credit officers at the not-for-profit bank lacked incentives to monitor loans on an ongoing basis. The LACDB's lending was subject to pressures by public officials, which distorted decisions so as to favor politically connected borrowers. Moreover, the bank - like other public lenders - was actively encouraged to fund ill-conceived, high-risk projects. A financial institution with a portfolio of very high-risk loans was bound to fail.
Vulnerability Analysis of a Circuit Layout to Hardware Trojan Insertion

While the horizontal integrated circuit design process is extensively practiced, untrusted foundries can impose significant threats on the security of final products. A carefully inserted extra circuitry as a hardware trojan in a circuit layout can interfere with circuit functionality under very rare circumstances with inconsiderable footprints. In this paper, we introduce a novel layout-level vulnerability analysis flow to evaluate the susceptibility of a circuit layout’s regions to hardware Trojan insertion. We also present several metrics based on a circuit layout to quantify the possibility of hardware Trojan insertion in a specific region of layout. Results of applying our flow to several benchmarks have revealed considerably high vulnerability of circuit layouts to hardware Trojan insertion. Furthermore, several Trojans are implemented and inserted in layout regions with different vulnerabilities to evaluate the effectiveness of our new metrics. Our novel layout-level vulnerability analysis flow makes it possible to quantitatively determine the vulnerability of different implementations of a circuit and analyze the susceptibility of each corner of circuit layout to different types of functional Trojans.
Spiroplasmal Viruses: Group 1 Characteristics

Virus-like particles of three morphologic groups have been detected by electron microscopy in 90% of spiroplasma strains. In this study, virus-like particles of group 1 (SpV1)--unenveloped rods 230-280 nm by 10-15 nm--were found in 575 of spiroplasmas. SpV1 occurred spontaneously in large numbers in cultures of strains B (corn stunt), G1 (tulip tree flower), BC3 (honeybee), and KC3 (honeybee), respectively; the viruses were isolated and assayed as plaque-forming units, with several of the same strains used as indicators. No virus plaqued on its strain of origin, and all except one (SpV1/BC3) plaqued best on strain BC3. Host range and yields of progeny virus differed. All isolates were identical in morphology, size, and buoyant densities; contained DNA; formed turbid 1.5 to 5.0-mm plaques; produced nonlytic infections and similar one-step growth curves; were inactivated by a single antiserum; had similar kinetics of adsorption and heat inactivation; and demonstrated similar patterns of resistance and sensitivity to a variety of physical and chemical agents, as well as an inability to infect resistant host mutants. SPV1 isolates from diverse host strains apparently share many physicochemical and biological properties, but are not identical in all biological respects.
Fiscal Leanness and Fiscal Responsiveness: Exploring the Normative Limits of Strategic Nonprofit Financial Management:

The principles of normative nonprofit financial management instruct organizations to minimize overhead and to remain fiscally lean. Although prior scholarship has addressed many of the unintended n...
Research of Power Module Structure Techniques

In communications-equipment,there is a requisite part--power module.Under the circumstances of more and more integration level in communication products,power modules are required to be in compliance to the level and to be more integrated also.How to implement the structure under the condition of high integration and the heat dissipation under the high power density is becoming a choke point of power module design.Put forward some common methods to deal with the question mentioned above for reference.
Evaluation of the patient for vascular surgery.

While the standard approach to occlusive vascular disease is satisfactory, physiologic testing procedures are being implemented on a larger scale to complement the information obtained from the routine work-up. A balanced appraisal of the currently available methods of evaluation is presented, along with how the results of these studies can be used in evaluating the patient for vascular surgery.
Whither the Life-Support System?

The human population of the globe has been increasing according to some superexponential law. One possible form of this relationship is: where N is the total population size, and t the time in years AD. This expression was derived by fitting a model, which assumes the rate of increase to be a weak monotonic increasing function of N, to 24 estimates of the human population of the world ranging over the last 2,000 years (Foerster et al., 1960). The time, t = 2026.87, was appropriately identified as ‘Doomsday’. The assumed relationship between the rate of increase and N was logically justified on the grounds that an increasing population would reduce environmental hazards to survival by forming coalitions to combat them. By thus invoking the ‘principle’ of ‘adequate technology’, the authors concluded, sardonically, that ‘our great-great grandchildren will not starve to death. They will be squeezed to death’. It is somewhat chilling to note that current population estimates are higher than would be predicted from the above equation. This particular version of ‘Doomsday’ need not concern us, however; our food and life-support systems seem likely to give out first.
Factored Extended Kalman Filter for Monocular Vision-Aided Inertial Navigation

This paper describes a novel visual simultaneous localization and mapping system based on the UD factored extended Kalman filter. A novel method for marginalizing and initializing state variables i...
Order from chaos with molecular beams

The use of molecular beam methods in the elucidation of collision processes in gases is traced from its beginnings early in this century. Some results which have been obtained are described. Limitations as well as advantages of the method are pointed out. Prospects for the future are predicted.
CAMIL: Clustering and Assembly with Multiple Instance Learning for phenotype prediction

The recent advent of Metagenome-Wide Association Studies (MGWAS) has allowed for increased accuracy in the prediction of patient phenotype (disease), but has also presented big data challenges. Meanwhile, Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) is useful in the domain of bioinformatics because, in addition to classifying patient phenotype, it can also identify individual parts of the microbiome that are indicative of that phenotype, leading to better understanding of the disease. We demonstrate a novel, efficient, and effective MIL-based computational pipeline to predict patient phenotype from MGWAS data. Specifically, we use a Bag of Words method, which has been shown to be one of the most effective and efficient MIL methods. This involves assembly of the metagenomic sequence data, clustering of the assembled contigs, extracting features from the contigs, and using an SVM classifier to predict patient labels and identify the most relevant read clusters. With the exception of the given labels for the patients, this entire process is de novo (unsupervised). We use data from a well-known MGWAS study of patients with Type-2 Diabetes and show that our pipeline significantly outperforms the classifier used in that paper, as well as other common MIL methods. We call our pipeline “CAMIL”, which stands for Clustering and Assembly with Multiple Instance Learning.
Evolution of a Social Media-Driven Campus-Community Partnership: Collaborative Learning at The Knowledge Café

This article describes an early-stage collaborative partnership between a local community foundation and a regional campus of a major university to increase dialogue on the strategic importance and practical execution of advanced social media best practices for small- to medium-sized businesses. Started through a grant won by the author, an interactive program was established as The Knowledge Cafe. This program includes a series of participative lectures and discussions on advanced social media applications, guest speakers addressing relevant topics, and a community-driven wiki where participants can share their expertise. The origination of the partnership and the evolutionary pathway traveled to date are described, along with data and key learnings generated during the first 2 years of operation. Possibilities for future changes in structure and activities to expand the offerings of The Knowledge Cafe provide an indication of how the campus–community partnership should continue to grow with time.
Humility, Forgiveness, and Emerging Adult Female Romantic Relationships.

Among a sample of emerging adult females (N = 152) we empirically examined the role of humility and forgiveness in romantic relationships. We specifically tested a model linking perceived humility to relationship satisfaction with self-forgiveness and partner-forgiveness. Participants in a romantic relationship completed measures of self-reported humility, self-forgiveness, partner-forgiveness, and relationship satisfaction. Serial mediation analyses were conducted using path analysis to test the following sequence, humility self-forgiveness partner-forgiveness relationship satisfaction. Findings indicate that humility was related to relationship satisfaction via a serially mediated path of self-forgiveness and partner-forgiveness, which was not reducible to impression management. We consider implications for research and clinical practice.
Low-complexity compressive beamforming for portable ultrasound imaging

Most of the advancements in medical ultrasound is concentrated on increasing the quality and resolution of resulting images, without much concern for hardware footprint. The method proposed in this paper is concerned with hardware complexity reduction without sacrificing image quality or resolution. This is done by compressing the acquired signal in analog domain, while the image reconstruction employs the concept of random modulation pre-integration as well as convex optimization. The results of the simulation in Field II of anechoic cyst with the radius of 3 mm at 2.5 MHz frequency show that the contrast ratio doesn't change using the proposed method, compared to the traditional B-mode with full aperture. This method could potentially lead to a fully portable medical ultrasound.
Using carbonaceous nanoparticles as surfactant carrier in enhanced oil recovery: A laboratory study

Abstract Carbonaceous nanoparticles multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and carbon blacks (CBs) exhibit promising properties for potential applications in crude oil production. The combination of large specific surface area and the strong affinity toward surfactants of nanoparticles mark their candidacy for delivering surfactant deep inside the reservoir. This study is aimed to assess the feasibility of surfactant carriers in tertiary oil recovery. Stable dispersions of aqueous-phase MWNTs or CBs that are formulated and able to propagate through the reservoir medium (3 wt% brine and 60 °C) were first examined as a prerequisite for reservoir application. Competitive adsorption of surfactant on nanoparticles was beneficial to decrease adsorptive loss on Ottawa sand at equilibrium concentration below critical micelle concentration (CMC). As a proof of concept, phase behavior of a ternary surfactant microemulsion system confirmed that the chosen nanoparticles (100 mg/L) successfully delivered surfactants and spontaneously released them to the O/W interface. The observed phenomenon is in accordance with calculation of the Gibbs free energy associated with oil/water/surfactant system. Besides, surfactants carried by nanoparticles achieved equilibrium ultralow interfacial tension between excess oil and aqueous phase similar to the value of surfactant-only formulation (0.007–0.009 mN/m). In one-dimensional sand pack tests, injection of MWNT-surfactant blend achieved faster and higher tertiary recovery than surfactant-only formulation, with cumulative tertiary oil recovery of 42.7% versus 38.1%. It has been noticed that once surfactant been released, destabilization of nanoparticle dispersion occurred and thus increased their retention in porous medium. In case of tight formations, further improvements may be addressed by applying functionalized carbonaceous nanoparticles to assure their transport in porous media after release of surfactant.
Exradin W1 plastic scintillation detector for in vivo skin dosimetry in passive scattering proton therapy.

Abstract In vivo skin dosimetry is desirable in passive scattering proton therapy because of the possibility of high entrance dose with a small number of fields. However, suitable detectors are needed to determine skin dose in proton therapy. Plastic scintillation detectors (PSDs) are particularly well suited for applications in proton therapy because of their water equivalence, small size, and ease of use. We investigated the utility of the Exradin W1, a commercially available PSD, for in vivo skin dosimetry during passive scattering proton therapy. We evaluated the accuracy of the Exradin W1 in six patients undergoing proton therapy for prostate cancer, as part of an Institutional Review Board-approved protocol. Over 22 weeks, we compared in vivo PSD measurements with in-phantom ionization chamber measurements and doses from the treatment planning system, resulting in 96 in vivo measurements. Temperature and ionization quenching correction factors were applied on the basis of the dose response of the PSD in a phantom. The calibrated PSD exhibited an average 7.8% under-response (±1% standard deviation) owing to ionization quenching. We observed 4% under-response at 37 °C relative to the calibration-temperature response. After temperature and quenching corrections were applied, the overall PSD dose response was within ±1% of the expected dose for all patients. The dose differences between the PSD and ionization chamber measurements for all treatment fields were within ±2% (standard deviation 0.67%). The PSD was highly accurate for in vivo skin dosimetry in passively scattered proton beams and could be useful in verifying proton therapy delivery.
Two new endophytic Atractiellomycetes, Atractidochium hillariae and Proceropycnis hameedii.

Sterile fungal isolates are often recovered in leaf and root endophytic studies, although these seldom play a significant role in downstream analyses. The authors sought to identify and characteriz...
ANALYSIS OF NONLINEAR ELLIPTIC SYSTEMS ARISING IN REACTION/DIFFUSION MODELING

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the analytical foundations associated with certain nonlinear elliptic systems of partial differential equations. These systems are components of boundary value problems, defining stationary solutions of parabolic evolutions, and appear recursively in semidiscrete approximations to solutions of the initial/boundary-value problem. Although the mathematical formulations of these models are effectively of reaction-diffusion type, the physical modeling does cover reaction/convection/diffusion Brownian motion models for which the Einstein relations, linking mobility and diffusion, are valid. Numerical procedures, particularly variationally based ones, require a well-defined operator map as a necessary preliminary to effective approximation. The point wise stability estimates are used to provide well-defined maps of appropriate Hubert space subsets into themselves, or into natural dual spaces.
Perceived social support and mental retardation: A social–cognitive approach.

Adults with mental retardation tend to have difficulty accurately interpreting social situations as well as the emotions of others. Predictions from a social–cognitive model of perceived social support were tested with 50 adults with mild mental retardation. Videotaped scenes portraying three levels of support were presented. The ratings of support perceptions provided by adults with mental retardation were contrasted with those of 40 staff working in the field of mental retardation and 22 community members. As hypothesized, social support and loneliness predicted perceptions of support of individuals with mental retardation, after controlling for depressed mood and receptive language ability. Individuals with mental retardation rated the videotaped interactions as more supportive than did staff and community members. This is the first study to address the contribution of cognitive level to perceived social support. Findings suggest that for those individuals with cognitive deficits, as with other groups, one's interpretations of social support are based in part on one's prior conceptions about social support.
Elopement Patterns and Caregiver Strategies

The Interactive Autism Network (IAN) administered a survey to caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on their interventions for elopement behavior (EB). Data from 526 respondents were analyzed. Most families reported multiple interventions for EB and rated interventions overall as effective but burdensome. Several interventions such as fencing and window locks had favorable effectiveness/burden profiles. Tracking devices were used infrequently and rated as having low effectiveness. Behavioral specialists were commonly used, rated as effective, and most often provided by insurance. Medications were rated as having low effectiveness for EB, whether taken off-label for EB or for other reasons. Further study is needed to identify EB interventions that are effective, affordable, and easy to implement are needed.
A new genus and species of termitophilous Staphylinidae associated with Rhadinotermes Sands In Rhodesia (Coleoptera)

A new genus, Rhadinoxenus, is descriptionbed, illustrated (type-species, Rhadinoxenus pretoriusi spec. nov.), and assigned to the subtribe Termitogastrina tribe Corotocini, subfamily Aleocharinae. The type-species, also new, is descriptionbed from a nest of Rhadinoltrmes coarclatus (Sjoestedt) from the eastern district of Rhodesia. Its relationships with other genera of Term ito gastrin a and the genus Termitochara are discussed.
Combinatorial Models of Subjective States

I identify subjective state spaces for three structures --- complete and transitive preferences, incomplete dominance relations, and choice functions --- that are given on finite menus. These structures can be modeled together or separately. My results employ some combinatorial techniques and motivations. In particular, up to k subjective states can be derived from monotonic preferences over menus that have at most K elements, or from choices in menus that have at most K1 elements.
Early life stress reduces voluntary exercise and its prevention of diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunction in mice.

The development of obesity-related metabolic syndrome (MetS) involves a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. One environmental factor found to be significantly associated with MetS is early life stress (ELS). We have previously reported on our mouse model of ELS, induced by neonatal maternal separation (NMS), that displays altered regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increased sensitivity in the urogenital organs, which was attenuated by voluntary wheel running. Here, we are using our NMS model to determine if ELS-induced changes in the HPA axis also influence weight gain and MetS. Naive (non-stressed) and NMS male mice were given free access to a running wheel and a low-fat control diet at 4-weeks of age. At 16-weeks of age, half of the mice were transitioned to a high fat/sucrose (HFS) diet to investigate if NMS influences the effectiveness of voluntary exercise to prevent diet-induced obesity and MetS. Overall, we observed a greater impact of voluntary exercise on prevention of HFS diet-induced outcomes in naive mice, compared to NMS mice. Although body weight and fat mass were still significantly higher, exercise attenuated fasting insulin levels and mRNA levels of inflammatory markers in epididymal adipose tissue in HFS diet-fed naive mice. Only moderate changes were observed in exercised NMS mice on a HFS diet, although this could partially be explained by reduced running distance within this group. Interestingly, sedentary NMS mice on a control diet displayed impaired glucose homeostasis and moderately increased pro-inflammatory mRNA levels in epididymal adipose, suggesting that early life stress alone impairs metabolic function and negatively impacts the therapeutic effect of voluntary exercise.
Training recurrent spiking neural networks in strong coupling regime

Abstract Recurrent neural networks trained to perform complex tasks can provide insights into the dynamic mechanism that underlies computations performed by cortical circuits. However, due to a large number of unconstrained synaptic connections, the recurrent connectivity that emerges from network training may not be biologically plausible. Therefore, it remains unknown if and how biological neural circuits implement dynamic mechanisms proposed by the models. To narrow this gap, we developed a training scheme that, in addition to achieving learning goals, respects the structural and dynamic properties of a standard cortical circuit model, i.e., strongly coupled excitatory-inhibitory spiking neural networks. By preserving the strong mean excitatory and inhibitory coupling of initial networks, we found that most of trained synapses obeyed Dale’s law without additional constraints, exhibited large trial-to-trial spiking variability, and operated in inhibition-stabilized regime. We derived analytical estimates on how training and network parameters constrained the changes in mean synaptic strength during training. Our results demonstrate that training recurrent neural networks subject to strong coupling constraints can result in connectivity structure and dynamic regime relevant to cortical circuits.
Structural Modeling and Implementation of Smart Sensor and Actuator Networks using IEEE 1451

This paper demonstrates the structural modeling and implementation of smart sensor and actuator networks. The modeling is shown using a two-dimensional methodology from capturing system requirements phase to design and implementation phases. The implementation is based on IEEE 1451 family of standards proposed for design and development of smart transducers which has a great potential to be the enabling technology for distributed control and measurement systems. A pick-and-place robotic station is used in order to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed distributed control scheme.
The influence of environmental microseismicity on detection and interpretation of small-magnitude events in a polar glacier setting

Glacial environments exhibit temporally variable microseismicity. To investigate how microseismicity influences event detection, we implement two noise-adaptive digital power detectors to process seismic data from Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. We add scaled icequake waveforms to the original data stream, run detectors on the hybrid data stream to estimate reliable detection magnitudes and compare analytical magnitudes predicted from an ice crack source model. We find that detection capability is influenced by environmental microseismicity for seismic events with source size comparable to thermal penetration depths. When event counts and minimum detectable event sizes change in the same direction (i.e. increase in event counts and minimum detectable event size), we interpret measured seismicity changes as ‘true’ seismicity changes rather than as changes in detection. Generally, one detector (two degree of freedom (2dof)) outperforms the other: it identifies more events, a more prominent summertime diurnal signal and maintains a higher detection capability. We conclude that real physical processes are responsible for the summertime diurnal inter-detector difference. One detector (3dof) identifies this process as environmental microseismicity; the other detector (2dof) identifies it as elevated waveform activity. Our analysis provides an example for minimizing detection biases and estimating source sizes when interpreting temporal seismicity patterns to better infer glacial seismogenic processes.
Gaussian kernel smoothing

Image acquisition and segmentation are likely to introduce noise. Further image processing such as image registration and parameterization can introduce additional noise. It is thus imperative to reduce noise measurements and boost signal. In order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and smoothness of data required for the subsequent random field theory based statistical inference, some type of smoothing is necessary. Among many image smoothing methods, Gaussian kernel smoothing has emerged as a de facto smoothing technique among brain imaging researchers due to its simplicity in numerical implementation. Gaussian kernel smoothing also increases statistical sensitivity and statistical power as well as Gausianness. Gaussian kernel smoothing can be viewed as weighted averaging of voxel values. Then from the central limit theorem, the weighted average should be more Gaussian.
Fabrication and characterization of a water purification system using activated carbon and graphene nanoplatelets: towards the development of a nano‐filtration matrix

Researchers are trying to tackle water scarcity in numerous ways. One of those ways is the use of nanotechnology in water processing and purification. The current work involves the fabrication and optimization of activated carbon and graphene-based hybrid water purification system. Five different concentrations of methylene blue and deionized water (DI) dye solutions were used, and they were filtered in three different cycles. For the potential usage on the consumer side, a small-scale, low-cost water filter is developed using activated carbon, commercial filter paper, and graphene nanoplatelets. The filter paper is used to hold mixtures of the activated carbon and graphene nanoplatelets within the water filter. The conductivity, TDS, and pH are measured for the feed water and the processed water using an Oakton EcoTestr and Apera Instruments PH60 Premium Pocket pH meter, respectively. A UV-Vis spectrometer is used to measure the absorption of solutions. The distribution and adsorption of the dye particles were observed by scanning electron microscopy. PRACTITIONER POINTS: These results show the effectiveness of the system in the removal of dye particles above a given particle size. The concentration of the dye solution decreased after every cycle. The GnPs filtration system more effectively dye particles as compared to the filtration system containing only Activated carbon. UV-Vis spectroscopy results showed that the methylene blue dye particles decreased after every cycle. This research can open a broad area of projects toward waste/wastewater practice for particles above a certain particle size.
Optical-sectioning super-resolution structured illumination microscopy for fast virtual pathology

On-site pathology of the surface of resected tumors provides real-time assessments of surgical procedure and improve treatment outcomes. Tissue preparation is a major bottleneck of standard pathology procedures that can be overcome by virtual pathology imaging. Here, we use optical sectioning super-resolution structured illumination microscopy (OS-SR-SIM) with a low magnification objective. Low magnification objective provides a higher field of view, and super-resolution reconstruction retrieves lost resolution due to lower NA. We successfully resolved sub-resolution fluorescent beads in highly scattering media that were not resolvable with standard OS-SIM with an NA 0.45 objective. Human tissue testing is underway.
Centrifuge Modeling Study of Backward Erosion Piping with Variable Exit Size

AbstractThis study presents the results from a series of centrifuge modeling tests conducted to investigate the backward erosion piping across a sandy foundation underlying an impervious cohesive l...
Diagnostic developments for the DIII-D national fusion facility

The DIII-D National Fusion Facility has long been a center of innovation and development of diagnostics for magnetic fusion devices. The DIII-D device, a moderate size tokamak, with a high flexibility shaping coil set, neutral beam injection (NBI), electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and ion cyclotron heating (ICH), supports a very broad research program in fusion science, including critical aspects related to burning plasmas expected to be encountered in ITER. This scientific program is supported by a large set of diagnostics (approximately 50), which is the product of a highly collaborative program between universities, national laboratories and industry. Although many diagnostic systems are now routinely employed to measure a wide range of plasma parameters, such as temperature, rotation, density and current profiles, there are many areas that are inherently difficult or prohibitively expensive to diagnose. Such areas include the measurements associated with energetic ion populations or with the characterization of plasma flows in the divertor/edge area. In addition, the study of burning plasmas will require the development of new and updated techniques, which need to be developed and tested in existing devices in relevant plasma conditions.
Immunogenicity of lipopolysaccharide derived from Brucella abortus: potential as a carrier in development of vaccines for AIDS.

In view of its unique ability to stimulate human B cells, we have considered using Brucella abortus (BA) as a carrier for human vaccines. Recently we showed that HIV-1 coupled to BA, but not unconjugated HIV-1, was able to stimulate murine responses even in the relative absence of CD4+ T cells. This result suggested that HIV-BA may be useful in boosting the immunity of individuals infected with HIV-1 and who have impaired CD4+ T cell function. In order to refine this carrier we purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from BA and examined its effects on immune responses. Similar to LPS from E. coli (LPS-EC), LPS-BA was capable of stimulating mouse B cells to proliferate. In addition, LPS-BA could activate mouse spleen cells to secrete antibodies in vitro. Isotype analysis revealed that IgM and all the IgG subclasses were elicited. When comparing these responses to those of LPS-EC, LPS-BA induced a greater percentage of IgG2a and LPS-EC evoked more IgG3. IgG2a is probably important in protection against murine viral infection. LPS-BA was haptenated with trinitrophenol TNP-LPS (BA) and tested for carrier effect. Similar to TNP-BA and TNP-LPS (EC), TNP-LPS (BA) triggered anti-TNP antibody of the IgM and all IgG subclasses. In contrast, TNP-ficoll induced mainly IgM and only small amounts of IgG3. These results suggest that LPS-BA, like intact BA, behaves as a T-independent type 1 carrier, and as such may be advantageous as a carrier for human vaccines development
Mechanobiology of Embryonic and Adult Tendons

Abstract During locomotion and other mechanical functions, tendons transmit significant mechanical forces from skeletal muscles to bone. These forces, which can include tension, compression, and shear, facilitate skeletal movements and also influence the behavior of tendon cells residing within the tissue. In vivo and in vitro experimental studies suggest that mechanical cues are necessary for the development and maintenance of tendon tissue, and that this occurs in part via mechanoregulation of tendon cell behavior. This chapter first introduces the reader to tendon structure and composition during embryonic, postnatal, and adult phases to establish a basic understanding of tendon that will be important for the subsequent sections. Subsequent sections in this chapter discuss in vivo and in vitro experiments that have investigated tendon tissue and cell responses to mechanical cues. Finally, the last section highlights potential mechanisms of tendon cell mechanotransduction.
Science Periodicals in a System-Wide OCLC Conversion Project

This article briefly describes the experiences of one science library in a system-wide project to convert serial entries, primarily periodical titles, to AACR2 using OCLC. The intent of AACR2 to simplify identifying periodicals titles has not proven to be entirely successful due to factors inherent to serials and periodicals. Many of these factors apply also to collections in the social sciences and humanities.