cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Time-of-Use (TOU) Rate Structure on Consumption Patterns of the Residential Customers

Load participation is vital for the smart grid development. As an effective tool to improve reliability, stability, and financial efficiency of the power grids, demand response (DR) has brought significant financial and technical benefits to power systems. As one of the price-based DR programs with less control costs, the time-of-use (TOU) program has been applied as the default rate structure by many utility companies. To avoid financial risks and make the most profit from the market, utility companies treat TOU as an effective strategy to change customers’ electricity consumption patterns. As reported in many literature, existing TOU programs are not as effective as expected in many developed countries due to the complexity of human behaviors and disparities of residential customers. To examine whether to obtain different outcomes of TOU on the residential customers in developing countries, actual utility usage data from residential consumers in Shanghai, China, are analyzed in this paper. The result shows current TOU in Shanghai, China, has similar trends as TOU in developed countries. With high penetration level of renewable energy, an effective TOU program is urgently needed in the utility industry. In recent years, a creative TOU pricing structure has been introduced at the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas deregulated market, and it shows that the introduced “zero pricing” strategy has a significant impact on customers’ consumption patterns. The purpose of this research is to examine the key reasons that underlie ineffectiveness/effectiveness of TOU programs at residential level.
Emerging Technologies and Behavioural Cusps: A New Era for Behaviour Analysis?

A “behavioural cusp” is a special instance of behaviour change that comes into contact with new contingencies that have far-reaching consequences. A behavioral cusp opens access to new reinforcers ...
Toward efficient, reconfigurable, and compact beamforming for 5g millimeter-wave systems

In this paper, we discuss architectures and integrated circuits for efficient, reconfigurable and compact millimeter-wave beamforming in silicon. First, we present techniques to improve peak and back-off power-added efficiency (PAE) of SiGe power amplifiers, demonstrated with a 28-GHz harmonic-tuned amplifier (+15.5 dBm output 1-dB compression point, 35% peak PAE, 11.5% PAE at 6-dB back-off) and a 60GHz Doherty amplifier (+17.1 dBm output 1-dB compression point, 23.7% peak PAE, 13% PAE at 6-dB back-off). Second, we present a dual-vector Doherty beamformer architecture which allows reconfiguration between an efficient Doherty mode (+16.7 dBm output 1-dB compression point and 7% PAE at 6-dB backoff) and a linear class-AB mode (+13 dBm output 1-dB compression point and 4.5% PAE at 6-dB back-off), demonstrated in SiGe at 60 GHz. Finally, we present a compact architecture for beamformers which employs dual-vector scaling functions within each element and then global combining and interpolation. This is demonstrated with a 28-GHz dual-vector receiver array in SiGe which requires only 0.3 mm2 for each receiver front-end.
The Role of Autophagy in the Degradation of Misfolded HLA–B27 Heavy Chains

Objective To determine whether autophagy is involved in the degradation of misfolded HLA-B27 in experimental spondyloarthritis. Methods Bone marrow-derived macrophages from HLA-B27/human β2 -microglobulin (hβ2 m)-transgenic rats were incubated in the presence or absence of interferon-γ and proteasome or autophagy inhibitors. Immunoprecipitation, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence analysis were used to measure HLA-B27 heavy chains and autophagy. Autophagy was induced using rapamycin. Macrophages from HLA-B7/hβ2 m-transgenic and wild-type rats were used as controls. Results HLA-B27-expressing macrophages showed phosphatidylethanolamine-conjugated microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B levels similar to those in both control groups, before and after manipulation of autophagy. Blocking autophagic flux with bafilomycin resulted in the accumulation of misfolded HLA-B27 dimers and oligomers as well as monomers, which was comparable with the results of blocking endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. HLA-B7 monomers also accumulated after blocking each degradation pathway. The ubiquitin-to-heavy chain ratio was 2-3-fold lower for HLA-B27 than for HLA-B7. Activation of autophagy with rapamycin rapidly eliminated ~50% of misfolded HLA-B27, while folded HLA-B27 or HLA-B7 monomeric heavy chains were minimally affected. Conclusion This study is the first to demonstrate that both autophagy and ERAD play roles in the elimination of excess HLA class I heavy chains expressed in transgenic rats. We observed no evidence that HLA-B27 expression modulated the autophagy pathway. Our results suggest that impaired ubiquitination of HLA-B27 may play a role in the accumulation of misfolded disulfide-linked dimers, the elimination of which can be enhanced by activation of autophagy. Manipulation of the autophagy pathway should be further investigated as a potential therapeutic target in spondyloarthritis.
Investigating crater rim thermal inertia variations on Mars: A case study in Tisia Valles

Abstract Impact craters across Mars, that are otherwise similar, commonly exhibit vastly different thermal inertia values on their rims. We focused on the Tisia Valles region because the terrain is mostly flat, and craters of various ages are present within the same target geologic unit. We present an investigation of two hypotheses for why these thermal inertia variations exist. The first hypothesis is that crater rim thermal inertia is affected by crater degradation state, and the second hypothesis is that thermal inertia is affected by the amount of regolith mantling the rims, regardless of degradation state. To investigate the first hypothesis, we used a series of multilevel regression analyses to test for correlations between crater rim thermal inertia and depth-diameter ratio, rim irregularity, and radii variation, which are indicators of crater degradation state. To investigate the second hypothesis, we tested for a correlation between thermal inertia and mantled crater rim percentage, which is indicative of the amount of regolith atop the rims. Our results did not support the first hypothesis but did support the second hypothesis. Therefore, we concluded that regolith rim mantling affects crater rim thermal inertia variations in the Tisia Valles region. Crater degradation may not have an effect on rim thermal inertia because regolith is transported down the crater rim slopes faster than local regolith is produced from erosion in this region. An implication of this work is that the spatial extent of regolith-rich regions near Tisia Valles can be mapped using the spatial extent of proximal craters with low thermal inertia rims. Additionally, the timing of mantling events can be quantified by comparing counts of craters with high thermal inertia rims to those of low thermal inertia rims within a region.
Performance analysis of disk mirroring techniques

OF THE THESIS Performance Analysis of Disk Mirroring Techniques By Taysir Abdalla Florida International University, 1994 Miami, Florida Professor Cyril Orji, Major Professor Unequaled improvements in processor and I/O speeds make many applications such as databases and operating systems to be increasingly I/O bound. Many schemes such as disk caching and disk mirroring have been proposed to address the problem. In this thesis we focus only on disk mirroring. In disk mirroring, a logical disk image is maintained on two physical disks allowing a single disk failure to be transparent to application programs. Although disk mirroring improves data availability and reliability, it has two major drawbacks. First, writes are expensive because both disks must be updated. Second, load balancing during failure mode operation is poor because all requests are serviced by the surviving disk. Distorted mirrors was proposed to address the write problem and interleaved declustering to address the load balancing problem. In this thesis we perform a comparative study of these two schemes under various operating modes. In addition we also study traditional mirroring to provide a common basis for comparison.
South Sudan: Too Young to Consider a WTO Membership?

South Sudan becomes independent in a world where states are interconnected and interdependent on one another. Its history and current challenges make it the most vulnerable country in the world. The country is very rich in natural resources, has fertile land, shares the different fish varieties of the River Nile and has a government that wants to be different from that of the North. However, it has a limited market and its agricultural sector is archaic. Can a WTO membership help? This presentation aims to stimulate a debate that will help the people of South Sudan to see the benefits and challenges of being a sovereign state in a globalized world.
Radiation dose estimates of [123I] and [131I] iodoquine, putative radiotracers targeting cells with high ALDH expression

1926 Objectives High aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH) is seen in hematopoetic stem cells, and chemotherapeutic resistant tumor cells. ALDH is a target of chloroquine (CQ). A CQ analog, [125I] iodoquine (IQ), shows high uptake in tumor cell lines with high ALDH. This study determines radiation dosimetry of [123I] and [131I] IQ as potential agents for imaging and radiotherapy. Methods [125I] IQ was synthesized at no-carrier-added level by iododestannylation of a tin precursor. In 15 normal mice, [125I] IQ biodistribution was assessed at 1, 4, and 24 hr after IV injection (n=5/group) for [123I] and [131I] IQ dosimetry. Source organs for MIRD schema included: liver, spleen, heart wall, kidneys, adrenals, thyroid, skeleton, muscle, brain and lungs. To account for differences in metabolism, time points were scaled to the fourth root of the ratio of human to mouse body weight. Fraction of injected activity per whole organ was fit to a single-exponential function. Residence times for source tissues were input into OLINDA/EXM to calculate radiation absorbed dose (rad/mCi). Total body effective dose equivalent (EDE) was also calculated (rem/mCi). Results Organs receiving highest radiation include thyroid 0.399 (without blocking), and kidneys 0.397. Red marrow, spleen and total body effective EDE (0.0375, 0.128, and 0.119) were comparable to clinical [123I] MIBG (0.034, 0.074, and 0.067). [131I] IQ delivers substantially higher doses to red marrow, spleen, and total body EDE (0.730, 2.42, and 2.48). Conclusions [123I] IQ radiation dosimetry support its potential use in clinical imaging studies.
Hernia and Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women

The treatment of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) has been limited by our ability to specifically diagnose and treat the causes of the pain. It has been estimated that about 10% of all office visits to a gynecologist are for CPP. More than 40% of laparoscopic procedures are performed for the evaluation of patients with CPP. In women with CPP, the findings on physical examination are not reliable predictors of laparoscopic findings. Over 70% of patients with abnormal examinations will have abnormal laparoscopic findings, and more than 50% of women with normal examinations will have abnormal laparoscopic findings.
Layout and Composition for Animation

Buku ini memberikan informasi menarik dalam membuat animasi. Dengan contoh dari karakter Beuty and the beast dan Simpson buku ini membahas tata letak karakter dan tata letak membuat latar belakang serta memperkuat gaya komposisi. Buku ini ditujukan untuk animator tingkat pemula dan menengah.
To Preserve, Protect, and Defend: Masculine Honor Beliefs and Perceptions of the 2016 Presidential Candidates

AbstractWe investigated the relationship between masculine honor beliefs and perceptions of the candidates vying for the presidency. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that higher levels of mascu...
Characterization of the Hippocampal Neuroimmune Response to Binge-Like Ethanol Consumption in the Drinking in the Dark Model.

Objectives Alcohol dependence leads to dysregulation of the neuroimmune system, but the effects of excessive alcohol consumption on key players of the neuroimmune response after episodic binge drinking in nondependence has not been readily assessed. These studies seek to determine how the neuroimmune system within the hippocampus responds to binge-like consumption prior to dependence or evidence of brain damage. Methods C57BL/6J mice underwent the drinking in the dark (DID) paradigm to recapitulate binge consumption. Immunohistochemical techniques were employed to determine the effects of ethanol on cytokine and astrocyte responses within the hippocampus. Astrocyte activation was also assessed using qRT-PCR. Results Our results indicated that binge-like ethanol consumption resulted in a 3.6-fold increase in the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β immunoreactivity in various regions of the hippocampus. The opposite effect was seen in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Binge-like consumption resulted in a 67% decrease in IL-10 immunoreactivity but had no effect on IL-4 or IL-6 compared with the water-drinking control group. Moreover, astrocyte activation occurred following ethanol exposure as GFAP immunoreactivity was increased over 120% in mice that experienced 3 cycles of ethanol binges. PCR analyses indicated that the mRNA increased by almost 4-fold after one cycle of DID, but this effect did not persist in abstinence. Conclusions Altogether, these findings suggest that binge-like ethanol drinking prior to dependence causes dysregulation to the neuroimmune system. This altered neuroimmune state may have an impact on behavior but could also result in a heightened neuroimmune response that is exacerbated from further ethanol exposure or other immune-modulating events.
A photoacoustic imaging method for in-situ monitoring of laser assisted ceramic additive manufacturing.

Abstract We propose an in-situ monitoring method of laser assisted ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) fabrication process using photoacoustic (PA) imaging technique. This method is potentially very practical and of low cost, as it can be easily implemented with little modification to the original AM system. A major advantage of this method is that it does not require any complex or expensive component to be installed, just need a microphone to be setup near the work-piece and a data processing program to analyse the acoustic data. By collecting the photoacoustic wave that produced by the laser scanning during the AM process, a spectrogram of the acoustic signal can be generated using short-time Fourier transform (STFT). The PA signal can be extracted by specifying the modulation frequency of the laser in the spectrogram. Combining with the scanning position of the laser beam, the PA image of the layer under processing can be obtained. Detection of two kinds of defects (metal defect and dried paste defect) have been demonstrated. Although there are many other kinds of possible defects in additive manufacturing processes, this method could be a practical and low cost way to monitor most of them with proper choice of parameters of the laser and detection system. The parameters of the system that can influence the PA image quality have also been discussed.
Differences in Symptom Reporting Between Males and Females at Baseline and After a Sports-Related Concussion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Concussion literature and treatment guidelines are inconclusive regarding the role of sex in symptom reporting at baseline and post-concussion. Although empirical evidence is lacking, it is generally regarded that females have a more severe symptomatic presentation than males at all time-points on the concussion spectrum. Our objective was to determine whether differences exist between males and females at baseline (pre-season/before concussion) or post-concussion for self-reported (1) prevalence of individual symptoms and (2) total symptom scores in high school and college athletes. Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohort studies; level of evidence, 1. A computerized search of the PubMed, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and Scopus databases was performed. Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines were followed. Criteria for inclusion were (1) self-report of symptoms at any time within the concussion spectrum, including baseline and after concussion, (2) study sample included high school and/or collegiate athletes aged 12–26 years, (3) concussions occurred during participation in sport, and (4) symptom reporting was separated by sex. The Quality Assessment Tool for Cohort Studies, Q-Coh, was utilized for quality assessment. Twenty-one studies met the criteria for inclusion: seventeen had good quality and four, acceptable quality. At baseline, females had significantly higher odds than males of reporting the individual symptoms of vision/hearing problems, headache/migraine, difficulty concentrating, energy/sleep disturbances, and emotional disturbances. Post-concussion, only one symptom demonstrated significant differences between males and females, with females demonstrating lower odds of reporting confusion than males. Statistically, at baseline and post-concussion, females had significantly higher total symptom scores on the Post-Concussion Scale (PCS) and the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 2 (SCAT2), but when the standard mean difference was interpreted after back-transformation, these results were clinically insignificant. The symptomatic presentation of males and females, most notably the prevalence of specific symptoms, is very divergent. Females had higher total symptom scores at baseline and post-concussion, however, clinically this cannot be interpreted as a meaningful difference. It is possible that these differences can be explained by normal hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle. The implications of these findings are that symptomatic presentation during an individual female’s menstrual cycle needs to be taken into consideration post-concussion when making return-to-play decisions, as returning to a completely asymptomatic level may not be a reasonable expectation.
Tung Oil Production in Florida

Tung tree seed produce an oil that is valuable in wood finishing and for various other uses. Development of a later-flowering tung tree cultivar has sparked renewed interest in tung seed as a potential alternative crop for northern and central Florida on sites having relatively well-drained, fertile soils and adequate moisture. This 3-page fact sheet written by Pat Minogue and published by the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation presents a history of tung oil production in Florida and provides the ecology and cultivation of the fast-growing trees. It outlines a plan for additional research to determine whether tung oil could again be produced in Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr420
Cardiac Evaluation in Liver Transplantation

With more than 14,000 patients awaiting liver transplantation in the USA and a mortality rate of 20–25% on the wait list, a diligent pre-operative evaluation is crucial to ensure optimal risk assessment. Cardiac disease remains the leading cause of early mortality after liver transplantation. In this review, we discuss common cardiac comorbidities, frequently used testing modalities, and updated literature on cardiac evaluation in liver transplant candidates. Optimal cardiac evaluation, especially in the asymptomatic patient, remains controversial as shown by conflicting results in the literature. Non-invasive testing is associated with low sensitivity in this patient population; therefore, coronary angiography remains the standard for detecting CAD. There is general agreement that all liver transplant candidates have to undergo cardiac evaluation; however, universally accepted guidelines are currently not available. Often the choice of the cardiac evaluation modality has to be made on a case-by-case basis by a multidisciplinary transplant team based on the perceived risk of invasive studies when compared to perioperative cardiac events.
Chapter 2 – Sexual Differentiation

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an answer to “why there are two sexes?” by explaining the various biological and experiential factors that contribute to the development of females and males. Adult males and females differ in their shape, the way they walk, the style of their movements, and the way they interact with their babies. Babies pick up on these differences just as do adults, so gender categorization begins to emerge long before any knowledge of sex, reproduction, or genitalia. Two examples of sex and gender classification systems are discussed in this chapter. The first was derived from within the context of a medical perspective: John Money's Eight Elements of Sex and Gender. The second focuses more on gender roles and gender presentation: the Periodic Table of Gender Transpositions developed by evolutionary biologist James Weinrich. The explanations of the developmental underpinnings of sex and gender that were just provided are prerequisite for understanding the “how” of sex differences. In order to understand the “why” one needs to turn to evolution and the phylogeny of sex and gender.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Related Carcinoma of the Oropharynx with Squamous Cell and Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma-Like Features: Report of a Case

We describe the heretofore unreported case of an HPV-related carcinoma of the palatine tonsil with distinct areas of squamous cell- and adenoid cystic carcinoma-like differentiation in a 54-year old patient. The morphological, immunophenotypic and molecular findings of the tumor are illustrated. We discuss the parallels between the tumor and HPV-related multiphenotypic sinonasal carcinoma (HMSC) which is well-known to exhibit adenoid cystic carcinoma-like features. A review of the literature of high-risk HPV-associated non-squamous carcinomas of the oropharynx is presented.
Organizational Strategies to Support the Culture Change Necessary to Sustain Salary Equity

While women physicians have some agency in ensuring their own compensation is fair and equitable, organizations play a greater role in eliminating the gender pay gap. In addition to assessing and monitoring salary equity, institutions have the power to create policies that support and sustain equitable compensation practices and to address biased workplace expectations that contribute to pay disparities. This chapter will provide examples of how institutional leaders can mitigate gender bias and therefore close the physician pay gap. We will focus on the following areas of opportunity for change: medical education and early career physicians; equity in recruitment and selection; hiring practices and salary negotiations; compensation setting and physician workload; family and dependent care; career advancement, academic promotion, and leadership; and measuring organizational progress. We recommend that organizations adopt a holistic approach to achieving salary equity that goes beyond conducting compensation reviews. By employing best practices in each of these areas, organizations can address the forces that allow salary inequities to arise and sustain over time.
Detecting Arbitrage in the Foreign Exchange Market

In this paper, we propose a theoretical and computational framework for the detection and identification of (triangular) arbitrage opportunities among spot currency exchange rates in a foreign exchange market. We obtain sufficient conditions for excluding the triangular arbitrage opportunities in a market with or without market frictions, i.e. transaction costs. Then we propose a very efficient computational approach not only to detect triangular arbitrage opportunities in real time but also to identify the combinations of currencies that lead to the arbitrage opportunity from market data. In numerical studies, we utilize empirical data of foreign currency exchange rates to substantiate our theoretical findings and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed computational approach.
Expected Weight Loss After the Sleeve

There is strong and growing clinical evidence that metabolic and bariatric surgery have a significant impact on the overall metabolic health of recipients. As surgeons and other healthcare providers continue to strive to educate the public on the myriad of benefits, weight loss remains the primary motivation for those considering metabolic and bariatric surgery. Thus, it is important for the healthcare provider, and especially the metabolic and bariatric surgeon, to offer realistic expectations for weight loss for the patient seeking surgery. The sleeve gastrectomy is now the most commonly performed procedure, potentially due to its technical simplicity compared to other diversionary operations. This chapter will describe the expected weight loss after sleeve gastrectomy at various time points following surgery as well as cover special circumstances for specific groups of patients.
Constant Power Load Modeling for a Programmable Impedance Control Strategy

Expanded use of power electronics opens the possibility that input characteristics presented to the conventional utility as well as ac and dc microgrids could be controlled in ways that help support utility operation. Power factor correcting interfaces are one wide-spread example, used around the world to meet regulatory requirements for both power factor and also harmonic content injected to the utility. More support for ensuring healthy utility operation might be demanded from these power electronic interfaces. For example, the potentially destabilizing effects of constant power loads (CPLs) could be remediated on time scales useful for supporting utility operation. This article presents an equivalent circuit model for limited-bandwidth CPLs that quantifies the intrinsic damping properties of regulated converters. A control architecture based on this equivalent circuit model is then analyzed. The control scheme limits the impact of CPL operation by emulating the internal damping of CPLs through programmable input behavior. An intermediate, internal energy buffer is used to support CPL operation while enabling the programmable or selectable input impedance on designed time scales. The effectiveness of this strategy on system stability is shown using a stability analysis and experimental results.
Should Biden Apologize for Trump? National Remorse and the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.

This paper argues that if Biden wins the 2020 U.S. presidential election, his supporters should advocate for him to provide a value-declaring apology for what they consider the major offenses of the Trump administration. Such apologies differ considerably from categorical apologies, but they can provide significant meanings and serve substantive objectives during such a potentially volatile political transition
Congressional Immunity Grants and Separation of Powers: Legislative Vetoes of Federal Prosecutions

Congressional investigations can derail criminal prosecutions. The most famous example is the failure of the prosecution of Oliver North for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal after he testified at a congressional committee hearing about his conduct. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that much of the evidence being used in the prosecution was tainted by association with North's compelled congressional testimony and could not be used at trial. The knowledge that congressional investigations and grants of immunity can create problems for prosecutors has not stopped either the investigations or the immunity grants. Recently, Congress granted immunity to a former Department of Justice official, Monica Goodling, and required her to testify at a congressional committee hearing about the firing of eight United States Attorneys. This Note argues that immunity grants from congressional committees, and the federal statute that allows committees to make the grants, are unconstitutional under separation of powers doctrine. The privilege against self-incrimination requires the government to make a decision: it can either prosecute someone on criminal charges and allow him to remain silent, or it can grant immunity, compel him to testify, and give up the prosecution. The essential separation of powers question is whether Congress has the constitutional authority to grant immunity, or whether that choice is committed to the prosecutorial discretion of the executive branch. I argue that the congressional immunity statute violates separation of powers doctrine. The statute unconstitutionally allows a committee of Congress to dictate prosecutorial decisions to the executive branch and to make changes to legal rights and duties without using the legislative process laid out in the Constitution. The decision whether or not to prosecute and the decision of which evidence should be used in pursuing a conviction are matters within executive branch control. Congress can make binding decisions in these areas only by statute.
Radiation-Induced Lymphopenia Risks of Photon Versus Proton Therapy for Esophageal Cancer Patients.

Purpose To assess possible differences in radiation-induced lymphocyte depletion for esophageal cancer patients being treated with the following 3 treatment modalities: intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), passive scattering proton therapy (PSPT), and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT). Methods and materials We used 2 prediction models to estimate lymphocyte depletion based on dose distributions. Model I used a piecewise linear relationship between lymphocyte survival and voxel-by-voxel dose. Model II assumes that lymphocytes deplete exponentially as a function of total delivered dose. The models can be fitted using the weekly absolute lymphocyte counts measurements collected throughout treatment. We randomly selected 45 esophageal cancer patients treated with IMRT, PSPT, or IMPT at our institution (15 per modality) to demonstrate the fitness of the 2 models. A different group of 10 esophageal cancer patients who had received PSPT were included in this study of in silico simulations of multiple modalities. One IMRT and one IMPT plan were created, using our standards of practice for each modality, as competing plans to the existing PSPT plan for each patient. We fitted the models by PSPT plans used in treatment and predicted absolute lymphocyte counts for IMRT and IMPT plans. Results Model validation on each modality group of patients showed good agreement between measured and predicted absolute lymphocyte counts nadirs with mean squared errors from 0.003 to 0.023 among the modalities and models. In the simulation study of IMRT and IMPT on the 10 PSPT patients, the average predicted absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) nadirs were 0.27, 0.35, and 0.37 K/μL after IMRT, PSPT, and IMPT treatments using Model I, respectively, and 0.14, 0.22, and 0.33 K/μL using Model II. Conclusions Proton plans carried a lower predicted risk of lymphopenia after the treatment course than did photon plans. Moreover, IMPT plans outperformed PSPT in terms of predicted lymphocyte preservation.
Demonstration of hybrid lidar and passive polarimetric infrared imaging

This paper demonstrates the combination of lidar and passive polarimetric infrared imaging for object detection and classification. Lidar imaging characterizes reflective properties and provides high-resolution 3-D spatial information, and passive imaging offers faster imaging capabilities of large scenes. A cooperative imaging approach improves the imaging process by exploiting polarimetric features of hidden objects and cueing only the anomalous regions for further interrogation. Then, features from each sensor are combined for object classification. A demonstrator is assembled and utilized to evaluate the hybrid approach in an outdoor environment. The adaptive scanning technique reduces lidar scan time by 99%, locates the hidden object among the top areas cued, and outperforms single modality classification accuracy by over 20%. The demonstration verifies that hybrid lidar and passive polarimetric imaging is applicable for the classification of objects hidden in a large scene.
Replication of Viral Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Breakdown of Cellular Deoxyribonucleic Acid in Epstein-Barr Virus Infection

Abstract Infection of Raji cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes suppression of cellular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis and fragmentation of the cellular DNA. About 1,000 copies of EBV DNA of normal size (about 5 × 107 daltons in a single strand, as shown in an alkaline gradient) are synthesized per cell.
Partial nephrectomy in two patients with known T3a tumours involving the renal vein.

UNLABELLED: Study Type--Therapy (case series). Level of Evidence 4. What's known on the subject? And what does the study add? Although nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) has became accepted therapy for T1 tumours, radical nephrectony is considered the best therapy for T3a tumours involving the renal vein. NSS can be considered in T3a or greater tumours if imperative indications exist, such as bilateral disease or solitary kidney. However, there is little published data on the characteristics of these patients, the impact of surgery on their renal function, and long-term oncologic outcomes. This study profiles single-institution experience with nephron-sparing surgery for known T3a tumours involving the renal vein, including patient characteristics, tumour characteristics, preoperative and follow-up imaging, preoperative and follow-up estimated glomerular filtration rate, length of temporary postoperative haemodialysis, and oncologic outcome. Additionally, we compare this to other published data on nephron-sparing surgery for similar tumors. OBJECTIVE: • To present two patients with T3a tumours involving the renal vein who underwent nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) for imperative reasons. PATIENTS AND METHODS: • Retrospective chart review of patients who underwent NSS for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with known renal vein tumour thrombus (RVTT). • Both patients underwent open partial nephrectomy and renal vein thrombectomy of a solitary kidney. • Primary outcomes of the study include radiographic evidence of recurrence, haemodialysis requirement and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) before and after surgery. RESULTS: • Patient 1 is 24 months from NSS and has no evidence of recurrence based on CT scan. His final pathology revealed a 9-cm, T3a, clear cell, Fuhrman grade II carcinoma. He spent 42 days on haemodialysis and is now off all dialysis. His preoperative and most recent eGFR are 48 and 23 mL/min/1.73 m(2) based on the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation and 69.4 and 29.8 mL/min by the Cockcroft-Gault equation. • Patient 2 is 9 months from NSS and has no evidence of recurrence based on CT scan. Her final pathology revealed a 6-cm, T3a, clear cell, Fuhrman grade II-III carcinoma. She spent 30 days on haemodialysis and is now off all dialysis. Her preoperative and most recent eGFR are 58 and 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) based on the MDRD equation and 62.2 and 32.8 mL/min by the Cockcroft-Gault equation. CONCLUSION: • Based on our review, preservation of renal function and favourable oncological outcome can be accomplished with NSS in patients with known stage T3a RCC with RVTT and should be considered in carefully selected patients.
DDT-14C Metabolism by Rumen Bacteria and Protozoa in Vitro,

Abstract Whole rumen liquor and bacterial suspensions actively dechlorinated DDT to DDD. After a 48hour incubation, 54 and 48% of DDT- 14 C activity was found as DDD in cell fractions of whole rumen liquor and bacteria. Distribution of DDT- 14 C activity within protozoal fractions showed the inability of protozoa to convert DDT- 14 C to DDD. DDT dechlorination in the rumen may be by reductive processes.
Asymmetric cell division

With the recent identification of intrinsic cell-fate determinants for asymmetric cell division in several systems, biologists have begun to gain insight into the cellular mechanisms by which these determinants are preferentially segregated into one of the two daughter cells during mitosis so that the daughter cells acquire different fates.
Short videos improve student learning in online education

This paper describes the use of video mini-lectures to enhance an online introductory course in computer science/mathematics. Prior to adding the mini-lectures, student withdrawal and failure rate was relatively high. Initial remediation by the instructor required time-intensive interactive chats and much written communication. After adding the videos, students were more satisfied with the course and were more likely to stay in the course with a passing score. Average grades in the course increased slightly, but with a significantly higher percentage of students and with much less instructor intervention.
Fighting against windmills: strategic information systems and organizational deep structures

This paper focuses on the process of implementing strategic information systems (SIS) by studying the radical changes it may bring to an organization's deep structure. It argues that a full understanding of the process of implementation of such systems should include not only technical aspects but also the social dynamics of an organization; specifically core values, distribution of power and mechanisms of control. A theoretical framework is formulated based on punctuated equilibrium and previous SIS literature, and is applied to an exploratory case study conducted in a Latin American public organization. The case study depicts how the initiative to implement SIS was the result of external and internal disturbances. The case analysis highlights relationships between an organization's deep structure and SIS implementation. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the study. These include (1) the role of the formal organizational structure in influencing the outcome of SIS implementations, (2) the impact of exogenous contingencies such as elections and external funding that may create a sense of crisis and (3) the influence of newcomers who may be brought in to solve the crisis.
Enhanced Empirical Mode Decomposition Applied to Waveform Distortions

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Estimating nonstationary distortions Modified Hilbert-Huang technique Algorithm for appropriate masking signal to separate higher frequencies Amplitude demodulation of IMF Demonstration Frequency heterodyne Stationary signals Nonstationary signals Conclusions Acknowledgements References ]]>
Mechanical Aspects of Anti-Corrosive Coatings Performance Tests

Abstract : Protective coating corrosion failure is a complicated process that involves various phenomena which are hard to test for separately. An adequately protected pipe can be in service for a relatively long time without exhibiting any signs of corrosion failure, and then all of a sudden it corrodes over a short period of time. Failure will definitely happen if the interface between the pipe surface and its protective coating system is somehow compromised or exposed to the environment. While corrosion reactions have quite a bit of variability in terms of time, the situation is further complicated when corrosion is coupled with the protective coating mechanical failure. Similar to materials fracture, corrosion failures are governed by the laws of probability, where multiple variables control the ultimate outcome. The coating system needs to be adequately tested before placing it in service, so there is a strong need for a meaningful corrosion test. A typical test would incorporate exposing scratched coating surface to certain corrosive environments for a fixed amount of time, trying to simulate the real conditions as close as possible. Sometimes, a so-called "freeze" step is introduced to "stress" the coating prior to exposing it to the test environment, ultimately causing its failure. Due to the differences in thickness, elastic, thermal and adhesion properties, various coatings would exhibit different results when exposed to a fixed freeze temperature. One needs to understand the mechanics of the freeze in order to properly utilize it. This paper considers the coating delamination and fracture mechanics, including the freeze step mechanics in terms of the strain energy release rate, and coating sub-critical debonding. This research is sponsored by the NACE University Research Seed Grant.
Genetics of Spoken Language Disorders

If language is the result of specialized structures in the brain and if these language-specific structures are genetically encoded, one would expect to find evidence of the heritability of language. In this article I review the results of family aggregation, pedigree, sex ratio, commingling, and segregation studies of spoken language disorders. The results of these studies provide evidence that, although spoken language disorders are genetically and behaviorally heterogeneous, genetic factors may play a substantial role in many cases of developmental spoken language disorders.
Performance characteristics of biased estimators

The performance characteristics of biased coherence estimators are developed and displayed as a function of the signal and processor parameters. Examples of biased coherence estimators include the magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) estimator and the normalized correlation envelope (NCE) estimator. Design parameters that optimize the detection performance in a given application are demonstrated.
The influence of acidity on microbial fuel cells containing Shewanella oneidensis

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) traditionally operate at pH values between 6 and 8. However, the effect of pH on the growth and electron transfer abilities of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (wild-type) and DSP10 (spontaneous mutant), bacteria commonly used in MFCs, to electrodes has not been examined. Minia- ture MFCs using bare graphite felt electrodes and nanoporous polycarbonate membranes with MR-1 or DSP10 cultures generated >8 W/m 3 and ∼400A between pH 6-7. The DSP10 strain significantly outper- formed MR-1 at neutral pH but underperformed at pH 5. Higher concentrations of DSP10 were sustained at pH 7 relative to that of MR-1, whereas at pH 5 this trend was reversed indicating that cell count was not solely responsible for the observed differences in current. S. oneidensis MR-1 was determined to be more suitable than DSP10 for MFCs with elevated acidity levels. The concentration of riboflavin in the bacterial cultures was reduced significantly at pH 5 for DSP10, as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the filter sterilized growth media. In addition, these results suggest that medi- ator biosynthesis and not solely bacterial concentration plays a significant role in current output from S. oneidensis containing MFCs. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Surface-anisotropic spherical colloids in geometric and field confinement

Abstract The development of novel approaches to assemble colloids into hierarchical structures, in which every colloidal particle is taking a predetermined position, is at the core of modern applied colloids technology. Current assembly techniques for isotropic spherical colloids often include the application of either templates such as patterned surfaces and geometrical confinement or external forces such as electric and/or magnetic fields. More recently, researchers have begun to modify the surfaces of colloids in such a way that their natural assembly process is changed giving access to new colloids-based materials and applications. In this review, the fabrication methods for these surface-modified colloids, i.e., Janus and patchy colloids, are briefly introduced followed by a review of work from the past five years dealing with the assembly of such surface-anisotropic spherical colloids under geometric and field confinement. The observed differences in the assembly of plain and modified colloids are highlighted and the review concludes in a discussion of potential applications of these colloids and the resulting materials.
The New Witch of the West: Feminists Reclaim the Crone

L'A. examine le processus historique des mouvements feministes de sorcellerie apparus en Occident (Etats-Unis, Europe occidentale, Grande-Bretagne, Nouvelle-Zelande) depuis les annees 1950-1960. Reexaminant les images de la sorciere d'une part, et de la deesse d'autre part, comme modeles de la feminite, ces mouvements revendiquent une identite feminine associee a l'image unitaire de la sorciere et de la deesse conjointement. L'A. soutient que ces revendications remettent en cause le systeme symbolique dual opposant sorciere et deesse, afin de permettre aux femmes l'acces au pouvoir feminin independant que representent les deux personnages.
The effects of leptin administration in non-obese human subjects.

Objective: Body fatness is partly under hypothalamic control with effector limbs that include the endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In previous studies of both obese and never-obese subjects, we have shown that weight increase leads to increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic activity, whereas weight decrease leads to decreased sympathetic and increased parasympathetic activity. We now report on the effect of leptin, independent of weight change, on the ANS. Research Methods and Procedures: Normal weight males (ages 20–40 years) were fed a solid food diet, measured carefully to maintain body weight, for 3 weeks, as inpatients at the Rockefeller University General Clinical Research Center. In a single-blind, 22-day, placebo/drug/placebo design, six subjects received leptin 0.3 mg/kilogram subcutaneously for 6 days. ANS measures of amount of parasympathetic control and sympathetic control of heart period (interbeat interval) were made by sequential pharmacological blockade with intravenous atropine and esmolol. Norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine levels in 24-hour urine collections were also measured as well as resting metabolic rate. Results: Sufficient food intake maintained constant body weight in all subjects. There was no evidence that leptin administration led to changes in energy metabolism sufficient to require additional food intake or to alter resting metabolic rate. Likewise, leptin administration did not alter autonomic activity. Parasympathetic control and sympathetic control, as well as the urinary catecholamines, were not significantly affected by leptin administration. Glucose and insulin levels were increased by food intake as expected, but leptin had no affect on these levels before or after food intake. Discussion: ANS responses to changes in energy metabolism found when food intake and body weight are altered were not found in these never-obese subjects given leptin for 6 days. Although exogenous leptin administration has profound effects on food intake and energy metabolism in animals genetically deprived of leptin, we found it to have no demonstrable effect on energy metabolism in never-obese humans. The effects of longer periods of administration to obese individuals and to those who have lost weight demand additional investigation.
Radiative transfer: Gaussian quadrature formulas for integrals with the weight functions exp(-|x−t|) and En(|x−t|)

Abstract One to six point Gaussian quadrature formulas have been computed for the roots and weight coefficients of the integrals, from zero to infinity, of the integrands f ( x ) exp(-| x − t |) and f ( x ) E n (| x − t |). These are then tabulated as functions of t . Analytic formulas are given explicitly for one and two point quadratures for any n . The asymptotic behavior of the roots and weight coefficients is discussed. Estimates of errors for the quadratures are also given.