cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Charge Transfer in Constricted Form of Surface Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

This paper presents experimental data characterizing surface dielectric barrier discharge morphology and dynamics of electric charge transfer over a dielectric surface in atmospheric air using the single polarity and alternating-polarity of the supplied voltage. The experiments were performed using microsecond-scale bursts of high-voltage pulses. Diagnostics included electrical measurements, synchronized gate camera imaging, optical emission spectroscopy, and a set of original charge sensors. Two basic modes were analyzed: diffusive and filamentary, appearing in the result of the discharge contraction. In a single-polarity discharge, the surface charge accumulation limits energy coupled to the plasma by subsequent pulses, whereas the alternating-polarity pulsing, accompanied by the constricted form of plasma, leads to a significant extension in the charged surface area and an increase in power deposition.
Structural Biology of Noroviruses

Abstract Noroviruses constitute a major genus in the family Caliciviridae , which contains icosahedral viruses with positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome. In humans, these constantly evolving viruses are the cause of sporadic and epidemic gastroenteritis. Despite a lack of a reproducible cell culture system or a small animal model, remarkable progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular biology, immunology, structural biology, and evolution of human noroviruses. This understanding is further enhanced by studies of nonhuman noroviruses and animal caliciviruses that are cultivatable. The main focus of this chapter is to review our current understanding of the structural biology of noroviruses in particular and of caliciviruses in general, with an emphasis on the unique modular organization of the capsid that allows for strain-dependent variations in glycan recognition and antigenicity to facilitate sustained virus evolution. Finally, structures of the proteins are reviewed that are critical for virus replication and that can be targeted in the design of small molecule drugs for use as effective antivirals.
The Utility of Scandal: Examples across Disciplines from Europe and India

Historians and sociologists of Europe have explored the role of events, incidents, and scandals in time. Yet, historians of India have less explored the study of scandal. The reason for this is the relative dominance of certain topics – colonial subjugation, the nationalist movement, independence, and partition of the subcontinent – among historians of India. However, scandals in particular – and events and incidents more generally – offer scholars insight and utility into particular times and places.
Hybrid membrane system design and operation

The design, equipment specification, and operation of process plants depend on the quality and quantity of feed water and product water. Plants are often modified or upgraded to meet newer demands. The initial or preliminary design is based on a simple line diagram incorporating mass balances, followed by designing the plant based on feasibility and cost. Increasingly, reverse osmosis (RO) membrane plants; integrated with microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), and nanofiltration (NF); are being built to supply potable water and treat wastewater. integrated membrane systems are more competitive than conventional processes. Hybrid membrane systems permit low energy consumption, higher quality of final products, and low environmental impact.
New employee education using 3D virtual manufacturing

3D virtual manufacturing holds a huge promise for industrial corporation education and training. From 3D simulation that makes it easier for new employees to understand complex concepts to allow new employees to experience nonsafety situations first-hand without threat to personal safety, and helping to make the training more efficient and productive. Proven to be a valuable training tool when trying to engage and enthuse new employee to new or complex topics. In 3D virtual manufacturing, a student can slow down the simulation of an industrial process, pause, and zoom on a point of interest, and do 360-degree view on a machine, things that are not possible in real world. This paper presents a method using existing virtual manufacturing technology in order to improve the quality of a new employee training, reduce the cost and the time consumed in the training. It could offer a tremendous advantage for the distance manufacturing new engineers as they could operate costly machining equipment on their own computer in a very mistake forgiving environment.
Quantifying performance in the medusan mechanospace with an actively swimming three-dimensional jellyfish model

In many swimming and flying animals, propulsion emerges from the interplay of active muscle contraction, passive body elasticity and fluid–body interaction. Changes in the active and passive body properties can influence performance and cost of transport across a broad range of scales; they specifically affect the vortex generation that is crucial for effective swimming at higher Reynolds numbers. Theoretical models that account for both active contraction and passive elasticity are needed to understand how animals tune both their active and passive properties to move efficiently through fluids. This is particularly significant when one considers the phylogenetic constraints on the jellyfish mechanospace, such as the presence of relatively weak muscles that are only one cell layer thick. In this work, we develop an actively deforming model of a jellyfish immersed in a viscous fluid and use numerical simulations to study the role of active muscle contraction, passive body elasticity and fluid forces in the medusan mechanospace. By varying the strength of contraction and the flexibility of the bell margin, we quantify how these active and passive properties affect swimming speed and cost of transport. We find that for fixed bell elasticity, swimming speed increases with the strength of contraction. For fixed force of contractility, swimming speed increases as margin elasticity decreases. Varying the strength of activation in proportion to the elasticity of the bell margin yields similar swimming speeds, with a cost of transport is substantially reduced for more flexible margins. A scaling study reveals that performance declines as the Reynolds number decreases. Circulation analysis of the starting and stopping vortex rings showed that their strengths were dependent on the relative strength of activation with respect to the bell margin flexibility. This work yields a computational framework for developing a quantitative understanding of the roles of active and passive body properties in swimming.
Chapter 10 Maintaining Protein Stability

Abstract Proteins are fragile molecules that often require great care during purification to ensure that they remain intact and fully active. Nowadays, many proteins are also purified in small amounts under denaturing conditions by various gel electrophoretic techniques, such that inactive proteins are obtained. But even here, it is usually advantageous to maintain the protein in an intact form. In the case of enzymes, and other proteins with assayable biological activities, maintenance of activity is generally of prime importance, both for following the protein during purification and for subsequent studies of function. This chapter will focus on the major points to keep in mind with regard to maintaining the stability of a protein during purification and storage. Various other chapters describe in detail stabilization procedures for specific biological systems and specific classes of proteins.
Racialized Labour Market Incorporation? African Immigrants and the Role of Education‐Occupation Mismatch in Earnings

U.S. immigration policy debates increasingly center on attracting highly-skilled immigrants. African immigrants, in particular, exhibit high levels of over-education. But questions remain about whether African immigrants’ skills are appropriately utilized in the U.S. labour market. This paper uses U.S. Census and American Community Survey data to determine whether Africans’ over-education leads to a corresponding wage disadvantage. I also investigate whether search and match, imperfect transferability, or queuing theory describes African immigrants’ wage outcomes. I find that, while African and Asian immigrants have similarly high rates of college education and over-education, Africans experience significantly larger wage disadvantages due to over-education. African immigrants’ low wages are closer to that of U.S. and Caribbean-born blacks indicating that queuing theory describes their wage disadvantage. These findings suggest the need for policy addressing racial disparities in the labour market rather than new immigration policy.
Structural Effects of Gating Poly(3-hexylthiophene) through an Ionic Liquid

Ionic liquids are increasingly employed as dielectrics to generate high charge densities and enable low-voltage operation with organic semiconductors. However, effects on structure and morphology of the active material are not fully known, particularly for permeable semiconductors such as conjugated polymers, in which ions from the ionic liquid can enter and electrochemically dope the semicrystalline film. To understand when ions enter, where they go, and how they affect the film, thin films of the archetypal semiconducting polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene), are electrochemically doped with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, the archetypal ionic liquid. High-resolution, ex situ X-ray diffraction measurements and complete pole figures reveal changes with applied voltage, cycling, and frequency in lattice spacing, crystallite orientation, and crystallinity in the bulk and at the buried interface. Dopant ions penetrate the film and enter the crystallites at sufficiently high voltages and low frequencies. Upon infiltrating crystallites, ions permanently expand lamellar stacking and contract pi-stacking. Cycling amplifies these effects, but higher frequencies mitigate the expansion of bulk crystallites as ions are hindered from entering crystallites. This mechanistic understanding of the structural effects of ion penetration will help develop models of the frequency and voltage impedance response of electrochemically doped conjugated polymers and advance electronic applications.
Chronic Exposure to Methamphetamine Disrupts Reinforcement-Based Decision Making in Rats

The persistent use of psychostimulant drugs, despite the detrimental outcomes associated with continued drug use, may be because of disruptions in reinforcement-learning processes that enable behavior to remain flexible and goal directed in dynamic environments. To identify the reinforcement-learning processes that are affected by chronic exposure to the psychostimulant methamphetamine (MA), the current study sought to use computational and biochemical analyses to characterize decision-making processes, assessed by probabilistic reversal learning, in rats before and after they were exposed to an escalating dose regimen of MA (or saline control). The ability of rats to use flexible and adaptive decision-making strategies following changes in stimulus-reward contingencies was significantly impaired following exposure to MA. Computational analyses of parameters that track choice and outcome behavior indicated that exposure to MA significantly impaired the ability of rats to use negative outcomes effectively. These MA-induced changes in decision making were similar to those observed in rats following administration of a dopamine D2/3 receptor antagonist. These data use computational models to provide insight into drug-induced maladaptive decision making that may ultimately identify novel targets for the treatment of psychostimulant addiction. We suggest that the disruption in utilization of negative outcomes to adaptively guide dynamic decision making is a new behavioral mechanism by which MA rigidly biases choice behavior.
Rigid scaffolds for the design of molecular catalysts and biomimetic active sites: A case study of anthracene-based ligands for modeling mono-iron hydrogenase (Hmd)

Abstract Herein we examine the use of scaffold-based ligands for organometallic catalysis and bio-inorganic modeling studies. The use of scaffolds in catalyst development and complex design stems from researchers’ desire to install specific donor geometries (e.g., cis vs trans, fac vs mer) to generate desired structures and corresponding reactivities in mononuclear metal complexes. Starting from the use of polyaryl ligands for asymmetric catalysis (primarily Ru), we review successive implementations of scaffold-based ligands of ever-increasing complexity. Particular attention is paid to rigidly planar anthracene-based (and related) ligands that support both precious metal (Pd, Rh, Re) and base metal (Mn, Fe) centers in structural and reactivity studies. Previous work in scaffold design by others (Lu, Gelman) is considered in concert with our own contributions to this field. Ultimately, the complexity of such scaffolds has evolved to include non-symmetric anthracene scaffolds relevant to bio-inorganic synthetic modeling. As an illustrative example, work regarding the enzyme mono-iron hydrogenase is documented, wherein the ligand scaffold provides a biomimetic CNS chelate (containing an organometallic acyl-C donor) for structural and functional synthetic models. A quantitative analysis of structural relationships among torsion angles, donor atom distances, and bite angles of the ligand systems and resulting metal complexes is presented. This provides a foundation for a rational, target-driven syntheses of metal complexes derived from rigid, tricyclic scaffold ligands.
The “Stat” Laboratory

The critical care environment demands immediate response from the laboratory to aid the physician in the management of the patient who is in a crisis condition and whose immediate survival is threatened by failure of respiratory, cardiac, or metabolic function. These are the circumstances that have prompted the development of the “stat” laboratory.
The State of Augmented Reality Advertising Around The Globe: A Multi-Cultural Content Analysis

As a new form of advertising, augmented reality (AR) advertising offers a unique opportunity to study how new technology-facilitated ad campaigns are constructed across cultures. This research anal...
Cerium-doped scintillating fused-silica fibers

We report on a set of measurements made on (scintillating) cerium-doped fused-silica fibers using high-energy particle beams. These fibers were uniformly embedded in a copper absorber in order to utilize electromagnetic showers as a source of charged particles for generating signals. This new type of cerium-doped fiber potentially offers myriad new applications in calorimeters in high-energy physics, tracking systems, and beam monitoring detectors for future applications. The light yield, pulse shape, attenuation length, and light propagation speeds are given and discussed. Possible future applications are also explored.
Growth and Structure of Tb2O3(111) Films on Pt(111)

We investigated the formation and structure of Tb2O3(111) thin films grown on Pt(111) using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We find that the Tb2O3(11...
KSHV induces immunoglobulin rearrangements in mature B lymphocytes.

Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8) is a B cell tropic human pathogen, which is present in vivo in monotypic immunoglobulin λ (Igλ) light chain but polyclonal B cells. In the current study, we use cell sorting to infect specific B cell lineages from human tonsil specimens in order to examine the immunophenotypic alterations associated with KSHV infection. We describe IL-6 dependent maturation of naive B lymphocytes in response to KSHV infection and determine that the Igλ monotypic bias of KSHV infection in vivo is due to viral induction of BCR revision. Infection of immunoglobulin κ (Igκ) naive B cells induces expression of Igλ and isotypic inclusion, with eventual loss of Igκ. We show that this phenotypic shift occurs via re-induction of Rag-mediated V(D)J recombination. These data explain the selective presence of KSHV in Igλ B cells in vivo and provide the first evidence that a human pathogen can manipulate the molecular mechanisms responsible for immunoglobulin diversity.
An analysis of highway work zone safety practices in Pakistan.

Highway Work Zones (HWZs) present a major hazard for road users, construction workers and equipment, and significantly contribute to occurrence of road crashes worldwide. The present study focuses ...
A Core Issue: The Inseparable Relationship between Nonprofits and Public Policy

Graduates of nonprofit management and public administration programs face a workplace increasingly dominated by complex relationships between government, nonprofit, and for-profit entities. Nonprof...
Steady and Oscillatory Flow Control Tests for Tilt Rotor Aircraft

The purpose of this manuscript is to address one of the many questions plaguing the application of fluidic active flow control for performance enhancement over wings and airplanes. Specifically, what mode of Active Flow Control (AFC) is most effective; steady suction, steady blowing, or a periodic variation of both? The tilt rotor model is chosen because it represents very demanding requirements over a wide range of incidence angles, α, varying from −90°<α<+20° and flap deflections 0°<Δf<85° as it transitions from hover to cruise.
Insect Pheromones: Useful Lessons for Crustacean Pheromone Programs?

Insect pheromones, especially sex pheromones, have successfully contributed to pest management programs around the world since the 1970s. In this chapter I examine some of the ways in which pheromones have been used in insect management programs and introduce some of the real-world issues that have promoted, and hindered, their adoption for use against different species. These include biological differences in the mate-finding behaviors of different species, the chemistries of the pheromones that they use, the successful engineering of controlled-release dispensers for different compounds, as well as the different political, economic, and use-pattern-related situations that exist even just in the United States to more strictly regulate the use of some types of pheromones and techniques than others. The experiences of entomologists who have witnessed insect pheromones finding their place in integrated pest management systems over the past four decades should be instructive in helping crustacean biologists develop crustacean pheromone systems into useful management tools. By far the greatest use of insect pheromones has been for monitoring existing populations and detecting the presence of invasive species. Monitoring with pheromone traps allows for other, curative measures such as insecticide applications or cultural/biological controls to be implemented intelligently. Mating disruption has taken its place in different cropping systems around the world, especially in fruit orchards. Research has now shown that pheromone does not need to completely shut off mating, but merely impede it to the point of delaying first and second matings in females to reduce their fecundity by ca. 50%. Mass trapping by deploying large numbers of pheromone traps regularly spaced in the cropping area has reemerged as a viable and effective technique for using pheromones directly for population suppression. This use of pheromones has been most effective in male-emitted pheromone systems such as in pest species of weevils (snout beetles). In these systems females can be trapped out using the synthetic version of the male-emitted pheromone, and thus egg-laying is directly reduced by mass trapping of females. Although the experimental, technological, and legal hurdles of developing pheromones for widespread use in the field can seem daunting, experience has shown that with determination and a real need, these hurdles can be overcome.
The Cost of Trichromacy for Spatial Vision

An ideal trichromatic visual system would provide three different spectral samples at each and every point in the retinal image. One way to achieve this would be to construct a three-tiered cone mosaic with each class of photoreceptor in a different tier, much like color film. Each tier could then have the same spatial resolution as a single-tiered monochromatic mosaic and trichromacy could be incorporated without a loss of spatial resolution. The human cone mosaic, on the other hand, has its three cone submosaics interleaved in a. single tier. This means that on a small spatial scale the retina is not trichromatic since there can be only one spectral sample at each point in the retinal image. This chapter explores the cost for vision of incorporating trichromacy in a single-tiered cone mosaic.
Non-PTH-Mediated Hypercalcemia

Causes of hypercalcemia can be categorized into parathyroid-dependent (PTH-mediated) and parathyroid-independent (non-PTH-mediated) disorders. Parathyroid-independent hypercalcemia encompasses hypercalcemia of malignancy, granulomatous disorders, endocrinopathies, medications, and other disorders.
Feasibility of a family-focused YMCA-based diabetes prevention program in youth: The E.P.I.C. Kids (Encourage, Practice, and Inspire Change) Study

Abstract Efficacious lifestyle modification programs for children at risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) have not been well established outside of clinical settings. In this study, the feasibility of a family-focused, YMCA-based prevention program for children at risk of T2D was evaluated between September 2015 and July 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. A 12-week YMCA-led lifestyle intervention was adapted for 9–12-year-old children and their families to encourage healthy eating, physical activity, and supportive home environments. Two YMCA locations were randomized to offer either a face-to-face lifestyle coach-led intervention or an alternating face-to-face and digitally-delivered intervention. Program feasibility and preliminary effects on child anthropometric and behavioral outcomes were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Changes were assessed using linear regression combining delivery formats, with adjustment for clustering of participants within site/format. Forty-eight children (10.9 ± 1.2 years old; 45% female; 40% Hispanic; 43% White; 87% obese) and their parents enrolled, and 36 (75%) completed 12-week measures. Weekly program attendance averaged 61%. Participants and coaches highly rated program content and engagement strategies. Statistically significant changes in child BMI-z score (−0.05, p = 0.03) and family food and physical activity environment (+5.5% family nutrition and physical activity score, p = 0.01) were observed. A YMCA-led family-focused T2D intervention was feasible for the YMCA and participants and effects on child weight, behavior, and the home environment warranted further investigation.
Struggling for ordinary

If you are interested in delving into the world of “queerly ordinary” and “badass ladies”, then pick up Struggling for Ordinary: Media and Transgender Belonging in Everyday Life by Andre Cavalcante...
A Few Puzzles in the Evolution of Feeding Mechanisms in Snakes

Abstract For their survival from hatching or birth, snakes depend on their ability to eat other animals. Thus, ontogeny and reproduction occur only if eating other animals is successful. Determinin...
Distribution Feeder Fault Comparison Utilizing a Real-Time Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Approach for Photovoltaic System Applications

Power outages are a challenge that utility companies must face, with the potential to affect millions of customers and cost billions in damage. For this reason, there is a need for developing approaches that help understand the effects of fault conditions on the power grid. In distribution circuits with high renewable penetrations, the fault currents from DER equipment can impact coordinated protection scheme implementations so it is critical to accurately analyze fault contributions from DER systems. To do this, MATLAB/Simulink/RT-Labs was used to simulate the reduced-order distribution system and three different faults are applied at three different bus locations in the distribution system. The use of Real-Time (RT) Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) simulations was also used to further improve the fidelity of the model. A comparison between OpenDSS simulation results and the Opal-RT experimental fault currents was conducted to determine the steady-state and dynamic accuracy of each method as well as the response of using simulated and hardware PV inverters. It was found that all methods were closely correlated in steady-state, but the transient response of the inverter was difficult to capture with a PV model and the physical device behavior could not be represented completely without incorporating it through PHIL.
Characteristics of Orbital Floor Fractures in the United States from 2006 to 2017

Purpose To examine the incidence, characteristics, and economic burden of orbital floor fractures in the United States. Design Retrospective, longitudinal study of the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Participants Patients in the Emergency Department (ED). Methods The NEDS, a representative sample of all hospital-based EDs in the US, was used to identify and describe ED visits with a primary diagnosis of orbital floor fracture from 2006 to 2017. Linear regression was used to estimate the trends in annual incidence and inflation-adjusted ED charges. Logistic regression was used to assess variables associated with inpatient admission. Main Outcome Measures Incidence, injury mechanisms, demographics, clinical characteristics, disposition, and economic burden. Results From 2006 to 2017, there were an estimated 350 379 ED visits in the US with a primary diagnosis of orbital floor fracture. The incidence increased by 47% over the study period (P Conclusions Orbital floor fractures are becoming an increasingly common and costly injury in the United States. Preventive strategies aimed at reducing assault and falls will be crucial to mitigate the burden of orbital floor fractures on the healthcare system.
Severe Decompression Sickness Associated with Shock and Acute Respiratory Failure.

Decompression sickness (DCS) is a well-recognized complication of diving but rarely results in shock or respiratory failure. We report a case of severe DCS in a diver associated with shock and respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. A healthy 50-year-old male diver dove to a depth of 218 feet for 43 minutes while breathing air but omitted 6.5 hours of air decompression due to diver error. The clinical presentation was remarkable for loss of consciousness, hypotension, cutis marmorata, peripheral edema, and severe hypoxia requiring mechanical ventilation with diffuse lung opacities on chest radiograph. Laboratories were significant for polycythemia and hypoalbuminemia. A single hyperbaric oxygen treatment was provided on the day of admission during which shock worsened requiring aggressive volume resuscitation and three vasopressors. In the first 37 hours of hospitalization, 22 liters of crystalloid and multiple albumin boluses were administered for refractory hypotension by which time all vasopressors had been discontinued and blood pressure had normalized. He required 10 days of mechanical ventilation and was discharged on day 21 with mild DCS-related neurologic deficits. This clinical course is characteristic of DCS-related shock wherein bubble-endothelial interactions cause a transient capillary leak syndrome associated with plasma extravasation, hemoconcentration, and hypovolemia. The pathophysiology and typical clinical course of DCS-related shock suggest the need for aggressive but time-limited administration of crystalloid and albumin. Because hyperbaric oxygen is the primary treatment for DCS, treatment with hyperbaric oxygen should be strongly considered even in the face of extreme critical illness.
A Comparison of Model-Free and Model Predictive Control for Price Responsive Water Heaters

We present a careful comparison of two model-free control algorithms, Evolution Strategies (ES) and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), with receding horizon model predictive control (MPC) for operating simulated, price responsive water heaters. Four MPC variants are considered: a one-shot controller with perfect forecasting yielding optimal control; a limited-horizon controller with perfect forecasting; a mean forecasting-based controller; and a two-stage stochastic programming controller using historical scenarios. In all cases, the MPC model for water temperature and electricity price are exact; only water demand is uncertain. For comparison, both ES and PPO learn neural network-based policies by directly interacting with the simulated environment under the same scenarios used by MPC. All methods are then evaluated on a separate one-week continuation of the demand time series. We demonstrate that optimal control for this problem is challenging, requiring more than 8-hour lookahead for MPC with perfect forecasting to attain the minimum cost. Despite this challenge, both ES and PPO learn good general purpose policies that outperform mean forecast and two-stage stochastic MPC controllers in terms of average cost and are more than two orders of magnitude faster at computing actions. We show that ES in particular can leverage parallelism to learn a policy in under 90 seconds using 1150 CPU cores.
The Blood Libel

This chapter investigates the long-standing myth of Jewish ritual murder from a perspective that combines the sociology of knowledge and historical contextualization. It proceeds from a consideration of the paradigms produced in medieval Christian societies regarding Jewish guilt and criminality and balances these images against concrete social interactions of Jews and Christians in specific settings and in the context of changing social, political, and historical circumstances. Prominent blood libel cases, stretching from twelfth-and thirteenth-century England and France, and reaching into twentieth-century Central Europe and Russia, reveal that the accusation in fact comprised a discontinuous phenomenon. The surprising number of ritual murder trials that took place in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century, for example, functioned as a rhetorical assault on the recently completed emancipation of Jews. They constituted not so much a return to “medieval superstition” as prosecutions that could only be articulated through the language and procedures of modern, forensic science.
Protecting Real-time Video Chat against Fake Facial Videos Generated by Face Reenactment

With the rapid popularity of cameras on various devices, video chat has become one of the major ways for communication, such as online meetings. However, the recent progress of face reenactment techniques enables attackers to generate fake facial videos and use others’ identities. To protect video chats against fake facial videos, we propose a new defense system to significantly raise the bar for face reenactment-assisted attacks. Compared with existing works, our system has three major strengths. First, our system does not require extra hardware or intense computational resources. Second, it follows the normal video chat process and does not significantly degrade the user experience. Third, our system does not need to collect training data from attackers and new users, which means it can be quickly launched on new devices. We developed a prototype and conducted comprehensive evaluations. Experimental results show that our system can provide an average true acceptance rate of at least 92.5% for legitimate users and reject the attacker with mean accuracy of at least 94.4% for a single detection.
Important meteorological predictors for long-range wildfires in China

Abstract Wildfire predictions provide useful information for fire management planning and implementation. Temperature and precipitation have been used as the primary meteorological predictors for wildfires in China. This study is to improve the prediction skills of long-range (monthly, seasonal, and annual) wildfires in China by identifying other important meteorological predictors. Provincial data during 1999–2020 were used to calculate the correlations between fire properties (fire count and burned area) and meteorological variables of maximum temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and drought indices of Keetch-Bryam Drought Index (KBDI), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The fitting rates of the linear regression fire prediction models were compared among these meteorological variables and drought indices. The results indicate that the number of provinces with significant correlations and / or high fitting rates is the largest with VPD for monthly fires, KBDI for seasonal fires, and KBDI, PDSI, and SPI for annual fires. The number is larger in Northeast, Central, and South China than in other China regions. The number is comparable between spring and other seasons for KBDI but often smaller in spring for meteorological variables. The number is generally smaller for burned areas than fire count. It is concluded that the skills of long-range fire predictions are expected to be improved in many provinces of China by using VPD and KBDI as well as some other drought indices.
Mass Attitudes and the Relationship Between Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons

The technical linkages between nuclear power and nuclear weapons have driven policymaking on civilian nuclear energy since the birth of the commercial industry in the 1950s. However, surprisingly little research considers how the two technologies may be linked in mass attitudes. Such inattentiveness is especially problematic in an era where nuclear power continues to be promoted internationally as a means of combating climate change, even as nonproliferation remains a core objective of US foreign policy. In this paper, I use survey experiments run in parallel in the United States and Japan to propose a previously under-theorized explanation of how mass publics relate civilian and military nuclear technologies. Using a multi-staged experimental design with machine-learning methods for efficiency, I construct effective persuasive treatments to assess the effects of persuasive messaging on attitudes toward nuclear power and nuclear weapons in both countries. I find that attitudes toward the two technologies are correlated in both countries, and that negative persuasive messaging yields cross-domain effects among US citizens, providing novel evidence of functional interdependence. Japanese citizens, on the contrary, are resistant to persuasive messaging on nuclear technologies, and show no signs of attitudinal spillover. Together, then, these experiments offer important new insight into the nature of attitudinal constraint among the US mass public, while underscoring the distinctions in constraint across comparative cases.
A simplified method for bulk production of cytoplasts from suspension-culture derived protoplasts of Solanum nigrum (L)

The present research presents a metholodogy for the bulk production of cytoplasts from suspension-culture-derived protoplasts of Solanurn nigrum (L.) containing cytoplasmically carried resistance to the herbicide atrazine. The ultimate purpose of this research is to use such cytoplasts in somatic fusion with protoplasts of atrazine—sensitive crop plants in an effort to transfer the herbicide resistance without concommitant transferance of nuclear genes of the weed species. Such a method is in contrast to those with similar aims such as the use of iodoacetate or irradiation inactivation of the donor nuclei.
Noninvasive Radioisotopic Techniques for Detection of Platelet Deposition in Mechanical and Bovine Pericardial Mitral Valve Prostheses and in Vitro Quantitation of Visceral Microembolism

A variety of mechanical and tissue prosthetic valves are presently used in patients with diseases of cardiac valves. The major limitation of the former is the propensity for thrombus formation, embolization (1–6) and that of the latter is calcification (7–10). Although thrombotic deposition has been demonstrated in the damaged perivalvular cardiac tissue and on the prosthetic sewing ring by light and electron microscopy, no in vivo technique has been available for the direct visualization of the process of platelet deposition and embolization after surgical implantation of the prostheses.
Tracking Files in the Kepler Provenance Framework

Workflow Management Systems (WFMS), such as Kepler, are proving to be an important tool in scientific problem solving. They can automate and manage complex processes and huge amounts of data produced by petascale simulations. Typically, the produced data need to be properly visualized and analyzed by scientists in order to achieve the desired scientific goals. Both run-time and post analysis may benefit from, even require, additional meta-data --- provenance information. One of the challenges in this context is the tracking of the data files that can be produced in very large numbers during stages of the workflow, such as visualizations. The Kepler provenance framework collects all or part of the raw information flowing through the workflow graph. This information then needs to be further parsed to extract meta-data of interest. This can be done through add-on tools and algorithms. We show how to automate tracking specific information such as data files locations.
Long-term outcome of leads and patients following robotic epicardial left ventricular lead placement for cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Introduction: In cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), positive clinical response and reverse remodeling have been reported using robotically assisted left ventricular (LV) epicardial lead placement. However, the long-term performance of epicardial leads and long-term outcome of patients who undergo CRT via robotic assistance are unknown. In addition, since the LV lead placement is more invasive than a transvenous procedure, it is important to identify patients at higher risk of complications. Methods: We evaluated 78 consecutive patients (70 ± 11 years, 50 male) who underwent robotic epicardial LV lead placement. The short- (<12 months) and long-term (≥12 months) lead performance was determined through device interrogations. Mortality data were determined by contact with the patient's family and referring physicians and confirmed using the Social Security Death Index. Results: All patients had successful lead placement and were discharged in stable condition. When compared to the time of implantation, there was a significant increase in pacing threshold (1.0 ± 0.5 vs 2.14 ± 1.2; P < 0.001) and decrease in lead impedance (1010 ± 240 Ω vs 491 ± 209 Ω; P < 0.001) at short-term follow-up. The pacing threshold (2.3 ± 1.2 vs 2.14 ± 1.2; P = 0.30) and lead impedance (451 ± 157 Ω vs 491 ± 209 Ω; P = 0.10) remained stable during long-term follow-up when compared to short-term values. At a follow-up of 44 ± 21 months, there were 20 deaths (26%). These patients were older (77 ± 7 vs 67 ± 11 years; P = 0.001) and had a lower ejection fraction (EF) (13 ± 7% vs 18 ± 9%; P = 0.02) than surviving patients. Conclusion: Robotically implanted epicardial LV leads for CRT perform well over short- and long-term follow-up. Older patients with a very low EF are at higher risk of death. The risks and benefits of this procedure should be carefully considered in these patients. (PACE 2011; 34:235–240)
From Spark Plugs to Railplugs – The Characteristics of a New Ignition System

Ignition of extremely lean or dilute mixtures is a very challenging problem. Therefore, it is essential for the engine development engineer to understand the fundamentals and limitations of existing ignition systems. This paper presents a new railplug ignition concept, a high-energy ignition system, which can enhance ignition of very lean mixtures by means of its high-energy deposition and high velocity jet of the plasma. This paper presents initial results of tests using an inductive ignition system, a capacitor discharge ignition system, and a railplug high-energy ignition system. Discharge characteristics, such as time-resolved voltage, current, and luminous emission were measured. Spark plug and railplug ignition are compared for their effects on combustion stability of a natural gas engine. The results show that railplugs have a very strong arc-phase that can ensure the ignition of very dilute mixtures.
Organometallic Chemical Vapor Deposition of GaAs and Related Semiconductors Using Novel Organometallic Precursors

Gallium arsenide and related ternary materials are used extensively in the electronics industry (Table I). Other III-V semiconductors such as indium phosphide are employed in the telecommunications industry and current interest in indium antimonide stems from its potential use in infrared sensors. Broadly speaking, two approaches are available for the preparation of III-V materials, namely molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD). Of these approaches, the OMCVD method is more suited to the production of larger quantities of compound semiconductors. Typically, the OMCVD method is based on the reaction of Me3Ga or Me3In with PH3 or AsH3 at 600–700 °C, e.g.1
Accessory sperm: their importance to fertility and embryo quality, and attempts to alter their numbers in artificially inseminated cattle.

Accessory sperm number and its relationship to fertilization and embryo quality was evaluated in cattle after nonsurgical recovery of ova or embryos 6 d after insemination. Efforts to alter accessory sperm number per ovum included 1) blockage of retrograde sperm loss at insemination using a modified insemination device, 2) elevated sperm number per inseminate (40 x 10(6) vs 20 x 10(6], and 3) alteration in semen quality (percentage of viable and morphologically normal sperm in the inseminate). None of these efforts affected accessory sperm number per ovum or embryo. However, blockage of retrograde semen flow for 3 h or use of semen of below-average quality (decreased percentage of viable and morphologically normal sperm) resulted in significant decreases in number of viable embryos and increases in number of degenerate embryos and unfertilized ova compared with conventional insemination (P less than .03) and use of semen with an average percentage of viable and morphologically normal sperm (P less than .06). Number of accessory sperm per embryo or ovum was positively related to fertilization and embryo quality (P less than .05). Mean accessory sperm +/- SD and the median value (in parentheses) for unfertilized ova, degenerate embryos, and embryos classified fair to poor and excellent to good were, respectively, .3 +/- .8 (0), 5.4 +/- 8.9 (1.0), 15.8 +/- 28.6 (3.5), and 16.9 +/- 29.5 (5.0). We conclude that efforts to improve accessory sperm numbers per embryo or ovum failed and that high variation and skewness of accessory sperm toward 0 may make median values more meaningful than means.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Using the electronic medical record to refer women taking category D or X medications for teratogen and contraceptive counseling

Background Women taking teratogens may not receive teratogen and contraceptive counseling. The objective of this study is to explore the feasibility of an electronic medical record (EMR) alert and referral system to improve teratogen and contraceptive counseling. Methods We conducted a descriptive study in an academic outpatient setting to evaluate the feasibility of an EMR alert and referral system. Reproductive age women taking category D or X medications seen in family medicine clinics were referred by means of an EMR alert for teratogen and contraceptive counseling. A subset of these women consented to follow-up surveys assessing contraceptive usage before counseling, intended contraceptive method after counseling and satisfaction with the counseling. Participants were contacted at 1 and 3 months to assess contraceptive usage. Results A total of 354 women were prescribed category D or X medications by clinicians who received the EMR alert, 170 women were referred, 59 women received counseling, and 33 participants enrolled in the study. One participant did not use any contraception. Among the 32 participants using contraception, 12 (37.5%) used oral contraceptives, 11 (34.4%) used condoms, 3 (9.4%) used withdrawal, 3 (9.4%) used intrauterine devices, 2 (6.3%) used contraceptive rings, and 1 (3.1%) used the diaphragm. After counseling, one-third of participants were considering more effective contraception. Almost all participants strongly agreed or agreed that the counseling was helpful. Conclusion Creating an EMR alert and referral system for women prescribed category X or D medications is feasible. Counseling on teratogen exposure and contraception may improve the acceptability of more effective contraception. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 103:644–647, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome Mimicking Sporadic Jakob-Creutzfeldt Disease (P5.235)

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of autopsy-proven Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) initially mistakenly diagnosed as sporadic Jakob-Creutzfeldt- disease (sCJD). BACKGROUND: Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE) is a life threatening neurologic disorder that results from thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. It is characterized clinically by the presence of ophthalmoparesis, cerebellar dysfunction, and confusion. Left untreated, most patients with WE develop Korsakoff syndrome (KS), characterized by anterograde confabulatory amnesia. By this stage (WKS), patients are usually unresponsive to thiamine supplementation. It is critically important identify patients early, when aggressive thiamine supplementation may be therapeutic. DESIGN/METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 61-year-old female presented to an outside hospital with a one-year history of rapidly progressive dementia and failure to thrive. Her cognitive decline was preceded by new onset of severe anxiety and panic, presumably leading to anorexia and weight loss. She lost nearly 100 pounds over the course of her illness. Brain MRIs performed ~12 months after onset showed DWI/FLAIR hyperintensities in dorsal midbrain and tectum, periaqueductal gray, mammillary bodies, hypothalamus, mesial thalami, and bilateral motor cortices. Based on the clinical course and MRI, the patient was referred to our program for concern of sCJD. We read the MRI, however, as consistent with thiamine deficiency and recommended immediate supplementation, but the patient unfortunately died before intervention. Brain autopsy (National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center) confirmed thiamine deficiency without evidence of prion disease; final neuropathologic diagnosis was WKS. CONCLUSIONS: More than 80% of WE cases published over the last decade occurred in non-alcoholic patients, such as the present case. Most autopsy-proven cases of WE do not develop the classic clinical triad. This patient’s MRI findings were typical of WKS. Peri-rolandic cortical involvement in WKS and motor strip in CJD is rare, but have been reported. The MRI appearance of WKS and CJD may overlap, but a history of malnutrition should immediately alert physicians to the possibility of WKS. Study Supported by: R01 AG031189 Disclosure: Dr. Lanata has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gambetti has nothing to disclose. Dr. Geschwind has received personal compensation for activities with Lundbeck, Inc., MedaCorp, The Council of Advisors, and Neurophage. Dr. Geschwind has received research support from NIH/NIA, the Tau Consortium and CurePSP.