cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Respirator Cartridge Efficiency Studies IV. Effects of Steady-State and Pulsating Flow

The service life of organic vapor respirator cartridges has been evaluated for steady-state and pulsating flow rates; a mechanical breathing simulator was used to evaluate the pulsating flow rates. Two types of cartridge have been tested at work rates of 0, 208, 415, 622, 830, and 1107 kg-m/min and their equivalent respective steady-state flow rates of 14.0, 20.6, 29.8, 36.9, 53.3, and 71.4 liters/min. Cartridge break-through characteristics were recorded with both types of flow for several solvents at 1000 ppm and 0%, 50%, and 80% relative humidity. No significant differences were observed between the steady-state and pulsating flows, even at the highest work rate and humidity conditions. The effective service life appears to be inversely proportional to the flow rate at a given concentration.
Condensin and the spindle midzone prevent cytokinesis failure induced by chromatin bridges in C. elegans embryos.

Summary Background During cell division, chromosomes must clear the path of the cleavage furrow before the onset of cytokinesis. The abscission checkpoint in mammalian cells stabilizes the cleavage furrow in the presence of a chromatin obstruction. This provides time to resolve the obstruction before the cleavage furrow regresses or breaks the chromosomes, preventing aneuploidy or DNA damage. Two unanswered questions in the proposed mechanistic pathway of the abscission checkpoint concern factors involved in (1) resolving the obstructions and (2) coordinating obstruction resolution with the delay in cytokinesis. Results We found that the one-cell and two-cell C. elegans embryos suppress furrow regression following depletion of essential chromosome-segregation factors: topoisomerase II TOP-2 , CENP-A HCP-3 , cohesin, and to a lesser degree, condensin. Chromatin obstructions activated Aurora B AIR-2 at the spindle midzone, which is needed for the abscission checkpoint in other systems. Condensin I, but not condensin II, localizes to the spindle midzone in anaphase and to the midbody during normal cytokinesis. Interestingly, condensin I is enriched on chromatin bridges and near the midzone/midbody in an AIR-2-dependent manner. Disruption of AIR-2, the spindle midzone, or condensin leads to cytokinesis failure in a chromatin-obstruction-dependent manner. Examination of the condensin-deficient embryos uncovered defects in both the resolution of the chromatin obstructions and the maintenance of the stable cleavage furrow. Conclusions We postulate that condensin I is recruited by Aurora B AIR-2 to aid in the resolution of chromatin obstructions and also helps generate a signal to maintain the delay in cytokinesis.
DIURNAL PHOTOSYNTHETIC RESPONSES TO LIGHT BY MACROALGAE

The diurnal variability of photosynthesis vs. irradiance (P-I) curves was evaluated for the six most dominant species of macroalgae that occur annually in North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina. Three existing models best simulated the observed data: (1) the Hyperbolic Tangent Model of Jassby and Platt (1976), which was applied to data that showed no photoinhibition; (2) the Exponential Inhibition Model of Parker (1974); and (3) the Photoinhibition Model of Platt et al. (1980), which were employed when photo-inhibition was measured. Photoinhibition was observed in about 75% of the experiments, and in some cases at irradiance levels as low as 500 μE.m−2. s−1. Most of the resulting P-I curves did not differ significantly when measured at various times of the day. As a consequence of these results, we question conclusions expressed by others that it is not possible to accurately determine diurnal photosynthesis of macroalgae from light saturation curves that are measured over short time periods.
Ability of the objective structured clinical examination to differentiate surgical residents, medical students, and physician assistant students.

Abstract Background. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has been used extensively to evaluate the clinical abilities of medical students and residents. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the standard OSCE would differentiate performance of subjects with different levels and/or types of training. Methods. We conducted a blinded OSCE, during which we simultaneously evaluated surgical residents from all 5 years of the general surgery training program, third-year medical students, and second-year physician assistant students. All examinees went through the same clinical evaluation stations, which consisted of history-taking, physical examination, technical skills, trauma management, and X-ray interpretation. The students and residents were rated at each station by a trained standardized patient evaluator or a faculty evaluator using a checklist for performance evaluation. All subjects wore surgical scrubs without name tags or identification of program or year of training. Results. Overall mean performance scores ( P = 0.09, NS) were for surgical residents 71.2% (±9.7); for medical students 66.9% (±5.7); for physician assistant students 64.7% (±5.8). This shows a significant trend toward higher scores with more training. Surgical residents scored higher on technical stations, history-taking, and X-ray interpretation. Medical students scored higher in performance of physical examination. Physician assistant students scored quite close to the other two groups. Conclusions. The differences among group performance appeared to reflect the level of experience of the learners. Some components of the OSCE appear to better differentiate levels of training.
On the least prime primitive root

Abstract We study the uniform upper bound for the least prime that is a primitive root. Let g ⁎ ( q ) be the least prime primitive root (mod q) where q is a prime power or twice a prime power of a prime p. The upper bound for g ⁎ ( q ) is studied by many authors who succeeded in establishing various conditional upper bounds. However, no uniform bounds were known other than Linnikʼs bound on the least prime in an arithmetic progression. In this paper, we prove that g ⁎ ( q ) ≪ p 3.1 . The exponent 3.1 is improved from the known exponent 4.5 from Linnikʼs bound for the prime modulus.
General theorem on symmetry-imposed decoupling of ports of a waveguide junction

A general theorem concerning the decoupling of ports of a waveguide junction imposed by reflection symmetry is stated and proved. Several examples are given of the use of this theorem to determine, by inspection, that certain ports of specific waveguide junctions must be decoupled because of the symmetry of the junction.
Mie scattering parameter estimation in near-infrared tomographic breast imaging

The Mie-type scattering parameters were estimated from NIR tomography of breast tissue. Results show that the average particle size and the number density can be estimated from bulk tissue transport scattering measurements at discrete wavelengths.
Correction for Massari et al., meningococcal porin PorB prevents cellular apoptosis in a Toll-like receptor 2- and NF-κB-independent manner.

Volume 78, no. 3, p. [994–1003][1], 2010. Page 996: [Figure 1][2] should appear as shown below. ![Figure][3] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1128/IAI.00156-09 [2]: #F1 [3]: pending:yes
A Joint Illumination and Shape Model for Visual Tracking

Visual tracking involves generating an inference about the motion of an object from measured image locations in a video sequence. In this paper we present a unified framework that incorporates shape and illumination in the context of visual tracking. The contribution of the work is twofold. First, we introduce a a multiplicative, low dimensional model of illumination that is defined by a linear combination of a set of smoothly changing basis functions. Secondly, we show that a small number of centroids in this new space can be used to represent the illumination conditions existing in the scene. These centroids can be learned from ground truth and are shown to generalize well to other objects of the same class for the scene. Finally we show how this illumination model can be combined with shape in a probabilistic sampling framework. Results of the joint shape-illumination model are demonstrated in the context of vehicle and face tracking in challenging conditions.
Building Student Teamwork with the Student Geo-Challenge

Teamwork is an essential part of engineering practice. The Geo-Challenge is a teambuilding competition for civil engineering students, and both teambuilding and competition are useful for preparing students for engineering practice. while university education focuses on technical skills taught in the classroom environment, very little emphasis is placed on teamwork, even though the need to foster teamwork skills within the future engineering work force is recognized. Extramural student competitions can supplement classroom teaching and are effective in providing these essential skills. This paper describes three Geo-Challenge competitions and their effectiveness in building student teamwork. The background and competition details are provided. Competing students were given postcompetition surveys, and a statistical review of the results shows the goals of the Geo-Challenge were met. Those goals, along with other lessons learned, are discussed. DOI: 10 .1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000082. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers. CE Database subject headings: Geotechnical engineering; Undergraduate study; Competition; Teamwork; Walls; Professional development; Geosynthetics. Author keywords: Geotechnical; Undergraduate student competition; Teamwork; Walls; Professional development; Geosynthetics.
Lyα blobs as an observational signature of cold accretion streams into galaxies

Recent hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation reveal streams of cold (T ∼ 10 4 K) gas flowing into the centres of dark matter haloes as massive as 10 12-13.5 M ⊙ at redshifts z ∼ 1-3. In this paper, we show that if ≳20 per cent of the gravitational binding energy of the gas is radiated away then the simulated cold flows are spatially extended Lyα sources with luminosities, Lyα linewidths and number densities that are comparable to those of observed Lyα blobs. Furthermore, the filamentary structure of the cold flows can explain the wide range of observed Lyα blob morphologies. Since the most massive haloes form in dense environments, the association of Lyα blobs with overdense regions arise naturally. We argue that Lyα blobs - even those which are clearly associated with starburst galaxies or quasars -provide direct observational support for the cold accretion mode of galaxies. We discuss various testable predictions of this association.
Licked by the Mother Tongue: Imagining Everyday Sanskrit at Home and in the World

This paper examines the ways in which Sanskrit revivalists in contemporary India imagine social contexts for the production and reproduction of Sanskrit speech. In contrast to the received view of Sanskrit as being a ritual language par excellence, opposed at every step to the domestic sphere and everyday life, Sanskrit revivalists treat Sanskrit as a “mother tongue,” figuring the home as the primary site for the creation of an “everyday Sanskrit” world and the mother as the primary agent of this process of Sanskritizing the domestic sphere. “Domesticating Sanskrit,” the process of bringing the elevated ritual language down into everyday life, at the very same time “Sanskritizes the domestic,” that is, ritually transforms or elevates the home into a “Sanskrit home.” Moving outward from the Sanskritized domestic sphere, activists also imagine other contexts in which one could use Sanskrit, which nonetheless conforms to a notion of a Sanskrit interiority or domesticity. [India, Sanskrit, language revival, mother tongue, middle class, ritual]
STBC MIMO-OFDM peak-to-average power ratio reduction by cross-antenna rotation and inversion

Multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) has become a promising candidate for high performance 4G broadband wireless communications. However, like OFDM, one main disadvantage of MIMO-OFDM is that the signals transmitted on different antennas might exhibit a prohibitively large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). We will show that the PAPR reduction for MIMO-OFDM needs a more efficient solution than applying existing schemes for OFDM systems separately on each antenna. Further, we suggest a scheme of cross-antenna rotation and inversion (CARI), which utilizes additional degrees of freedom by employing multiple antennas. Two suboptimal schemes, termed successive suboptimal CARI (SS-CARI) and random suboptimal (RS-CARI) show significant performance advantages and lower computational complexity compared to the concurrent selective mapping (SLM) scheme proposed in Y. -L. Lee et al. (2003).
Robust segmentation of switching dynamics in time series

A method to identify nonstationary dynamics in time series, based on Annealed Competition of Experts algorithm (ACE), has been developed by J. Kohlmorgen, et al. [2000]. Incorrect selection of embedding dimension and time delay of the signal significantly affects the performance of the ACE method. In this paper, we utilize systematic approaches based on mutual information and false nearest neighbor to determine appropriate embedding dimension and time delay. Using this ameliorated approach, we have enhanced the performance of the ACE algorithm in determining the location of the switching dynamics in time series. Furthermore, application of the ACE algorithm to time series containing multiple time-varying frequency components reveals that the method achieves better time resolution than does the short-time Fourier transform.
On Second Language Writing

Contents: Preface. B. Kroll, The Composition of a Life in Composition. I. Leki, Hearing Voices: L2 Students' Experiences in L2 Writing Courses. P. Currie, On the Question of Power and Control. W. Grabe, Notes Toward a Theory of Second Language Writing. D. Belcher, Does Second Language Writing Theory Have Gender? L. Goldstein, For Kyla: What Does the Research Say About Responding to ESL Writers? C. Polio, Research Methodology in Second Language Writing Research: The Case of Text-Based Studies. L. Hamp-Lyons, Fourth Generation Writing Assessment. T. Smoke, Instructional Strategies for Making ESL Students Integral to the University. J. Reid, Advanced EAP Writing and Curriculum Design: What Do We Need to Know? S. Benesch, Critical Pragmatism: A Politics of L2 Composition. T. Santos, The Place of Politics in Second Language Writing. J. Carson, Second Language Writing and Second Language Acquisition. C. Severino, Dangerous Liaisons: Problems of Representation and Articulation. A. Cumming, The Difficulty of Standards, For Example in L2 Writing.
Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis WdChs5p, a Class V Chitin Synthase, Is Essential for Sustained Cell Growth at Temperature of Infection

ABSTRACT The chitin synthase structural gene WdCHS5 was isolated from the black fungal pathogen of humans Wangielladermatitidis. Sequence analysis revealed that the gene has a myosin motor-like-encoding region at its 5′ end and a chitin synthase (class V)-encoding region at its 3′ end. Northern blotting showed that WdCHS5 is expressed at high levels under conditions of stress. Analysis of the 5′ upstream region of WdCHS5 fused to a reporter gene indicated that one or more of the potential regulatory elements present may have contributed to the high expression levels. Disruption of WdCHS5 produced mutants that grow normally at 25°C but have severe growth and cellular abnormalities at 37°C. Osmotic stabilizers, such as sorbitol and sucrose, rescued the wild-type phenotype, which indicated that the loss of WdChs5p causes cell wall integrity defects. Animal survival tests with a mouse model of acute infection showed that all wdchs5Δ mutants are less virulent than the parental strain. Reintroduction of the WdCHS5 gene into the wdchs5Δ mutants abolished the temperature-sensitive phenotype and reestablished their virulence. We conclude that the product of WdCHS5 is required for the sustained growth of W. dermatitidis at 37°C and is of critical importance to its virulence.
Learning multi-linear representations of distributions for efficient inference

We examine the class of multi-linear polynomial representations (MLR) for expressing probability distributions over discrete variables. Recently, MLR have been considered as intermediate representations that facilitate inference in distributions represented as graphical models. We show that MLR is an expressive representation of discrete distributions and can be used to concisely represent classes of distributions which have exponential size in other commonly used representations, while supporting probabilistic inference in time linear in the size of the representation. Our key contribution is presenting techniques for learning bounded-size distributions represented using MLR, which support efficient probabilistic inference. We propose algorithms for exact and approximate learning for MLR and, through a comparison with Bayes Net representations, demonstrate experimentally that MLR representations provide faster inference without sacrificing inference accuracy.
Climate and Glacier Variability in Western North America

A simple model using once-daily upper-air values in the NCEP‐NCAR reanalysis database estimates seasonal mass balance at two glaciers in southern Alaska, one in western Canada, and one in Washington substantially better than any of several seasonally averaged, large-scale climate indices commonly used. Whereas sea level pressure and sea surface temperature in the Pacific exert a strong influence on the climate in the region, temperature and moisture flux at 850 mb have a more direct effect on mass balance processes—accumulation and ablation—because their temporal variability better matches that of those processes. The 40-yr record of 850-mb temperature shows winter warming after 1976 and summer warming after 1988 throughout the region; mass balance records reflect the summer warming at all four glaciers but winter warming only at the southern two. The only pronounced long-term change in the moisture regime is a decrease of precipitation in the south and an increase in the north. Interannual variations in the location of the moisture flux, however, apparently account for the strong negative correlation between the Alaska glaciers and the other two.
Syndromes with congenital brittle bones

There is no clear definition of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The most widely used classification of OI divides the disease in four types, although it has been suggested that there may be at least 12 forms of OI. These forms have been named with numbers, eponyms or descriptive names. Some of these syndromes can actually be considered congenital forms of brittle bones resembling OI (SROI). A review of different syndromes with congenital brittle bones published in the literature is presented. Syndromes are classified in "OI" (those secondary to mutations in the type I pro-collagen genes), and "syndromes resembling OI" (those secondary to mutations other that the type I pro-collagen genes, identified or not). A definition for OI is proposed as a syndrome of congenital brittle bones secondary to mutations in the genes codifying for pro-collagen genes (COL1A1 and COL1A2). A debate about the definition of OI and a possible clinical and prognostic classification are warranted.
Using Comprehensive Analysis for Performance Debugging in Distributed Storage Systems

Achieving performance, reliability, and scalability presents a unique set of challenges for large distributed storage. To identify problem areas, there must be a way for developers to have a comprehensive view of the entire storage system. That is, users must be able to understand both node specific behavior and complex relationships between nodes. We present a distributed file system profiling method that supports such analysis. Our approach is based on combining node-specific metrics into a single cohesive system image. This affords users two views of the storage system: a micro, per-node view, as well as, a macro, multi- node view, allowing both node-specific and complex inter- nodal problems to be debugged. We visualize the storage system by displaying nodes and intuitively animating their metrics and behavior allowing easy analysis of complex problems.
Telemedicine: The Future of Outpatient Therapy?

Early hospital discharge of acutely infected patients to received outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy has been shown to be safe and effective. However, concerns over safety, potential litigation, and anxieties of the patient and family about not receiving professional care have limited the use of this approach. Telemedicine may overcome these barriers by allowing health care providers to monitor and communicate with acutely infected patients from a remote medical center via a home computer station transmitting audio, video, and vital signs data. Potential benefits of telemedicine include significant cost savings and faster convalescence, because patients at home may feel more comfortable and actively involved in their treatment than patients in the hospital. Clinical studies have shown that telemedicine is safe and cost-effective, compared with hospital treatment, in chronically ill and acutely infected patients. More studies are needed to further establish the widespread and increasing practice of telemedicine, which may represent the future of medicine.
Direct and indirect effects of light environment generate ecological trade-offs in herbivore performance and parasitism

A variety of ecological factors influence host use by parasitoids, including both abiotic and biotic factors. Light environment is one important abiotic parameter that differs among habitats and influences a suite of plant nutritional and resistance traits that in turn affect herbivore performance. However, the extent to which these bottom-up effects “cascade up” to affect higher trophic levels and the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of sunlight on tritrophic interactions are unclear. The objective of this study was to test how light environment (light gap vs. shaded forest understory) and leaf type (sun vs. shade leaves) affect the performance and incidence of parasitism of two species of moth larvae, Euclea delphinii and Acharia stimulea (Limacodidae). We manipulated the leaf phenotype of potted white oak saplings by growing them in either full sun or full shade throughout leaf expansion to produce sun and shade leaves, respectively. These saplings were then placed in light gap and ad...
Category label and response location shifts in category learning.

The category shift literature suggests that rule-based classification, an important form of explicit learning, is mediated by two separate learned associations: a stimulus-to-label association that associates stimuli and category labels, and a label-to-response association that associates category labels and responses. Three experiments investigate whether information–integration classification, an important form of implicit learning, is also mediated by two separate learned associations. Participants were trained on a rule-based or an information–integration categorization task and then the association between stimulus and category label, or between category label and response location was altered. For rule-based categories, and in line with previous research, breaking the association between stimulus and category label caused more interference than breaking the association between category label and response location. However, no differences in recovery rate emerged. For information–integration categories, breaking the association between stimulus and category label caused more interference and led to greater recovery than breaking the association between category label and response location. These results provide evidence that information–integration category learning is mediated by separate stimulus-to-label and label-to-response associations. Implications for the neurobiological basis of these two learned associations are discussed.
Biomechanics at the micro scale

Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology was applied to study the mechanical aspects of biological tissues at the micro scale, one for in vitro use and the other for in vivo. Microfabricated platforms have been developed to investigate the effect of mechanical stress on neurogenesis in vitro. These platforms are designed to exert mechanical tension along radial glial processes between groups of neural stem cells to study the effect of tension on cerebral cortex neurogenesis. The use of MEMS enables a high-precision application of quantifiable stresses on the sample under investigation, and thus will better enable in-depth study on the correlation of stress and neuron growth. For in vivo study, micro strain sensor arrays have been developed to enable the investigation of bones in healthy or cancerous states or in the presence of bone implants. These implantable micro strain sensors are fabricated on a flexible substrate to allow conformal attachment onto the curved bone surfaces, while providing high-resolution mechanical data in real time.
Explaining Interstate Conflict and War: What Should Be Controlled for?

Most multivariate models designed by analysts of intemational conflict focus on one key explanatory factor and include several control variables. There are prominent norms or customs in the subfield of international politics regarding the construction of multivariate models and the selection of control variables. Several of these norms or customs may make the results of multivariate analyses confusing and difficult to interpret. Analysts typically do not, for example, distinguish between confounding and intervening variables even though the implications and impacts of such variables are substantially different. Most researchers also fail to distinguish between confounding variables and variables that have an impact on interstate conflict that is complementary to that of the key explanatory factor. Commonly, control variables are included in a model for no other reason than that they also have an impact on interstate conflict or some other outcome variable. In some recent analyses, "independent" variables ...
Nondestructive Inspection Using Rotating Magnetic Field Eddy-Current Probe

Rotating magnetic field eddy-current (RoFEC) probe for nondestructive evaluation of steam generator tubes in a nuclear power plant offers an alternate method that has compact configuration and higher speed compared to traditional bobbin coil, rotating probe coils, and array probes. This paper investigates the feasibility of the proposed RoFEC eddy-current probe which is composed of three windings excited by three-phase ac current and does not require mechanical rotation of probe. Results of finite-element modeling using reduced magnetic vector potential (RMVP) formulation are presented for modeling the inspection of ferromagnetic and nonferromagnetic tubes. Design parameters of the excitation coils and GMR pick-up sensor are optimized by means of a parametric study.
The inflammophilic character of the periodontitis‐associated microbiota

In periodontitis, dysbiotic microbial communities exhibit synergistic interactions for enhanced protection from host defenses, nutrient acquisition, and persistence in an inflammatory environment. This review discusses evidence that periodontitis-associated communities are 'inflammo-philic' (=loving or attracted to inflammation) in that they have evolved to not only endure inflammation but also to take advantage of it. In this regard, inflammation can drive the selection and enrichment of these pathogenic communities by providing a source of nutrients in the form of tissue breakdown products (e.g. degraded collagen peptides and heme-containing compounds). In contrast, those species that cannot benefit from the altered ecological conditions of the inflammatory environment, or for which host inflammation is detrimental, are likely to be outcompeted. Consistent with the concept that inflammation fosters the growth of dysbiotic microbial communities, the bacterial biomass of human periodontitis-associated biofilms was shown to increase with increasing periodontal inflammation. Conversely, anti-inflammatory treatments in animal models of periodontitis were shown to diminish the periodontal bacterial load, in addition to protecting from bone loss. The selective flourishing of inflammophilic bacteria can perpetuate inflammatory tissue destruction by setting off a 'vicious cycle' for disease progression, in which dysbiosis and inflammation reinforce each other. Therefore, the control of inflammation appears to be central to the treatment of periodontitis, as it is likely to control both dysbiosis and disease progression.
CheckCell: data debugging for spreadsheets

Testing and static analysis can help root out bugs in programs, but not in data. This paper introduces data debugging, an approach that combines program analysis and statistical analysis to automatically find potential data errors. Since it is impossible to know a priori whether data are erroneous, data debugging instead locates data that has a disproportionate impact on the computation. Such data is either very important, or wrong. Data debugging is especially useful in the context of data-intensive programming environments that intertwine data with programs in the form of queries or formulas. We present the first data debugging tool, CheckCell, an add-in for Microsoft Excel. CheckCell identifies cells that have an unusually high impact on the spreadsheet's computations. We show that CheckCell is both analytically and empirically fast and effective. We show that it successfully finds injected typographical errors produced by a generative model trained with data entry from 169,112 Mechanical Turk tasks. CheckCell is more precise and efficient than standard outlier detection techniques. CheckCell also automatically identifies a key flaw in the infamous Reinhart and Rogoff spreadsheet.
Learning about engineering education research: What conceptual difficulties still exist for a new generation of scholars?

In 2007, Borrego published her groundbreaking work “Conceptual difficulties experienced by trained engineers learning educational research methods”[1] that described five conceptual difficulties engineering faculty encountered as they began to learn about rigorous research in engineering education. Since Borrego's research was published the engineering education departments have been formed and a new generation of engineering education researchers has emerged. These researchers must tackle the same paradigm shift that faced the engineering faculty in Borrego's study. The research question that guided this study was: “What conceptual hurdles still exist for the new generation of engineering education researchers?” PhD students in Engineering Education were asked to reflect on their conceptual difficulties during the first semester of their PhD courses and write an end-of-semester reflective paper that summarizes their cognitive journey. The summative reflections were coded using Borrego's conceptual hurdles as a framework. The results of the present study can inform those entering the engineering education research community by highlighting areas that remain problematic and offer strategies that emerging scholars have used to make sense of educational theories and methods.
Optimization of the strength of self-piercing rivets (SPRs)

Abstract: This chapter discusses strength optimization and failure mode prediction of self-piercing rivets (SPRs) for automotive applications. The limit load-based strength estimator is used to estimate the static strength of an SPR under a cross tension loading configuration. Failure modes associated with the estimated failure strength are also predicted. Experimental strength and failure mode observations are used to validate the model. It is shown that the strength of an SPR joint depends on the material and gauge combinations, rivet design, die design and riveting direction. The rivet strength estimator is then used to optimize the rivet strength by comparing the measured rivet strength and failure mode with the predicted ones. Two illustrative examples are used in which rivet strength is optimized by changing rivet design and riveting direction from the original manufacturing parameters.
A Toolkit for Metabolic Engineering of Bacteria

Dark, anaerobic hydrogen fermentations of starches and sugars have generally produced less than 20% of the stoichiometrically possible yield, compared to 80–90% yields in the case of ethanol and methane fermentations. Indeed, a 33% yield from glucose, with the remaining electrons secreted as acetate, is generally considered the maximum achievable hydrogen production. However, this restriction would not apply to non-growing cultures; in principle, non-growing cells could recycle much of the metabolic energy derived from the initial hydrogen/acetate fermentation into driving additional hydrogen production. Such improvements in hydrogen production may be possible using directed strategies to manipulate cellular metabolism—metabolic engineering.
Note on Exchange Rate Regimes

This note describes different exchange rate regimes that are currently used in the world economy. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of fixed versus floating exchange rate regimes.
The Relationship of Technology To Science and the Teaching of Technology

"Technology" as parallel subject matter to "science" has never found any major place in our K-12 system. This is due to the enormous confusion surrounding the question of the relationships between the icon-words "Science" and "Technology." In the American public's belief system, "Science" is a uniform good. The American credo affirms "more scientific research" is certain to be good for the nation. In economic terms, it fails to distinguish between a "consumption good" and an "investment good." Without any thought or reflection, the U.S. public and its leaders base actions on the proposition that the supply of new "basic science" is infinite, that science leads to applied science which in turn leads to technology and jobs. ALL of which assumptions are now regarded as, almost certainly, egregious errors.
De-identification of Unstructured Clinical Data for Patient Privacy Protection

The adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems is growing at a fast pace in the United States and in Europe, and this growth results in very large quantities of patient clinical information becoming available in electronic format, with tremendous potential, but also equally growing concern for patient confidentiality breaches. Secondary use of clinical information is essential to fulfil the promises for high quality healthcare, improved healthcare management, and effective clinical research. De-identification of patient information has been proposed as a solution to both facilitate secondary use of clinical information, and protect patient information confidentiality. Most clinical information found in the EHR is unstructured and represented as narrative text, and de-identification of clinical text is a tedious and costly manual endeavor. Automated approaches based on Natural Language Processing have been implemented and evaluated, allowing for much faster de-identification than manual approaches. This chapter introduces clinical text-de-identification in general, and then focuses on recent efforts and studies at the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. It includes the origins and definition of text de-identification in the United States and Europe and a discussion about text anonymization. It also presents methods applied for text de-identification, examples of clinical text de-identification applications, and U.S. Veterans Health Administration clinical text de-identification efforts.
Towards the Rational Design and Synthesis of Zeolites

The mechanisms by which the geometries of organic structure-directing agents are translated into the product pore architectures in the syntheses of pure-silica and high-silica zeolites and of aluminum-rich zeolites are discussed. Two different mechanisms of structure direction and self-assembly via the formation of extended inorganic-organic composite structures or of purelyinorganic structures are proposed for the two different classes of materials. The primary impetus for developing a mechanistic understanding of zeolite synthesis is the ultimate goal of the rational design and synthesis of novel zeolite pore architectures. By considering issues such as hydrophobic hydration behavior of the structure-directing agent and the optimization of inorganic–organic van der Waals interactions, the successful design of structure-directing agents for the synthesis of new zeolite structures may be possible, particularly for high-silica systems.
INVESTIGATION ON DISINFECTION EFFICACY OF GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY IN SHANDONG MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS

Objective To investigate the exclusive room settings and the disinfection efficacy of the gastrointestinal endoscopy for enforcing the qualification disinfection and sterilization of the gastrointestinal endoscopy in medical institutions.Methods On site investigation and the sampling testing were used to supervise and evaluate the gastrointestinal endoscopy disinfection efficacy in ten medical institutions.Results Only 7 medical institutions in our investigation had the exclusive gastrointestinal endoscopy room and the cleaning and disinfecting equipment as well as the detailed record correspondingly.189 gastroscopy samples were collected and the average qualified rate of disinfection efficacy was 75.13%,those for the third level hospitals and for the second level hospitals were 87.88% and 61.11% respectively.In the 69 colonoscopy samples,the qualified rate of disinfection efficacy was 77.41%,60.15% and 57.89% for the third and second level hospitals respectively.Conclusion More supervision should be taken to ensure the disinfection qualification for gastrointestinal endoscopy since almost one-third of medical institutions can not reach the qualification both in the hard ware and in the disinfection efficacy in our investigation.
Significance of Expression of Interferon γ Inducible Protein 10 in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Children with Kawasaki Disease

Objective To explore the expression of interferon γ inducible protein 10(IP-10)mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cell(PBMC)in children with Kawasaki disease(KD)and its significance.Methods The expression of PBMC IP-10 mRNA in 42 children with KD and 40 healthy children were assayed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(real-time RT-PCR).Results The value of IP-10 mRNA in KD group was 0.741±0.161,which was higher than that of control group 0.388±0.063(t=12.988 P=0).The value of IP-10 mRNA in coronary artery lesions(CAL)group was 0.825±0.142,which was higher than that non-coronary artery lesions(non-CAL)group 0.708±0.158 (t=2.233 P=0.031).The value of IP-10 mRNA in KD after human immunoglobulin for intravenous injection(IVIG) treatment was 0.421±0.119,which was higher than the value before treatment 0.728±0.170(P0.05).but there was no significant difference compared to the control group(P0.05).The value of IP-10 mRNA in KD without IVIG treatment was 0.674±0.141,and no significant difference compared with the value before rout treatment 0.780±0.131(P0.05).Conclusions The expression of PBMC IP-10 mRNA increases in KD.IP-10 may participate in the pathogenesis of KD and CAL in KD.Perhaps the inhibition to the expression of PBMC IP-10 mRNA is one of the mechanisms of IVIG.
Biology as an autonomous science.

The goal of science is the systematic organization of knowledge about the universe on the basis of explanatory principles that are genuinely testable. The starting point of science is the formulation of statements about objectively observable phenomena. Common sense knowledge also provides information about the world. The distinction between science and common sense knowledge is based upon the joint presence in science of at least three distinctive characteristics. First, science seeks to organize knowledge in a systematic way by exhibiting patterns of relations among statements concerning facts which may not appear obviously as mutually related.
Emergency Medical Services in Michigan: Challenges and Approaches Among Local Governments

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ concerns regarding assessments of ambulance and emergency medical services in their jurisdiction, including how these services are provided and funded. The findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Fall 2015 wave of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS).
High-yield production of fuel- and oleochemical-precursors from triacylglycerols in a novel continuous-flow pyrolysis reactor

Abstract In this study, conversion of soybean oil was carried out in a continuous pyrolysis system with feed injected through an atomizer. This allowed introduction of micron-sized droplets of oil that could be rapidly vaporized inside the reactor. With this novel design, we were able to achieve feed vapor residence times (τ) of 6–300 s without use of carrier gas, which would significantly reduce the overall cost of pyrolysis. Effects of reaction temperature (450 C12 and 16% > C12), 33% long-chain fatty acids (C16 C18, but primarily oleic acid) and 15% short-chain fatty acids (C6 C12). Upon distillation of the liquid products, the long-chain fatty acids were cleanly separated from the hydrocarbons. Overall, our results demonstrate the feasibility of producing liquid products at high yields, including a wide range of fuels (gasoline, jet and diesel) and enriched oleic acid (for oleochemicals production), using our reactor design for pyrolytic conversion of vegetable oil.
DMF: a promising therapeutic option in CTCL

In this issue of Blood , Nicolay et al present their exciting findings that show that dimethyl fumarate (DMF) specifically inhibits NF-κB activity in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) cells, thus inducing their apoptosis, while having minimal effect on healthy T cells (see figure). Their study suggests that DMF may represent a new promising therapeutic option in CTCL. 1
The effect of preexisting respiratory co-morbidities on burn outcomes

Abstract Introduction Burns cause physiologic changes in multiple organ systems in the body. Burn mortality is usually attributable to pulmonary complications, which can occur in up to 41% of patients admitted to the hospital after burn. Patients with preexisting comorbidities such as chronic lung diseases may be more susceptible. We therefore sought to examine the impact of preexisting respiratory disease on burn outcomes. Methods A retrospective analysis of patients admitted to a regional burn center from 2002–2012. Independent variables analyzed included basic demographics, burn mechanism, presence of inhalation injury, TBSA, pre-existing comorbidities, smoker status, length of hospital stay, and days of mechanical ventilation. Bivariate analysis was performed and Cox regression modeling using significant variables was utilized to estimate hazard of progression to mechanical ventilation and mortality. Results There were a total of 7640 patients over the study period. Overall survival rate was 96%. 8% (n = 672) had a preexisting respiratory disease. Chronic lung disease patients had a higher mortality rate (7%) compared to those without lung disease (4%, p Conclusion Preexisting chronic respiratory disease significantly increases the hazard of progression to mechanical ventilation and mortality in patients following burn. Given the increasing number of Americans with chronic respiratory diseases, there will likely be a greater number of individuals at risk for worse outcomes following burn.
Priming airway epithelial cells with transforming growth factor-beta recapitulates the biophysical properties of asthmatic cells

Rationale: We have previously showed that primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells in air-liquid interface (ALI) culture undergo a transition from a fluid-like unjammed to a solid-like jammed state during maturation. This transition is delayed in HBE cells from asthmatic donors compared to cells from non-asthmatic donors. We tested the hypothesis that this delay is recapitulated by priming non-asthmatic cells with transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), a fibrotic mediator elevated in asthmatic airways. Methods: HBE cells were incubated with vehicle or TGF-β during expansion, then plated on transwells without further treatment. We quantified cell motions during maturation in ALI, and measured cell-substrate tractions and intercellular stresses exerted by these cells on soft polyacrylamide gels. We detected vimentin and E-cadherin proteins by western blot. Results: Control, unprimed HBE cells were highly mobile and unjammed at day 3 of ALI culture, but were immobile and jammed by day 7. However, TGF-β primed HBE cells remained unjammed until day 10. Compared to unprimed cells, primed cells exhibited significantly higher tractions and intercellular stresses by 1.7- and 1.5-fold, respectively. In TGF-β primed cells, the level of vimentin protein was substantially higher compared to control cells, but the level of E-cadherin protein was the same. Conclusion: Here we show that priming human airway epithelial cells with TGF-β causes a delay in the jamming transition during maturation in ALI, accompanied by increased monolayer physical forces. These findings suggest that TGF-β promotes a dysmature epithelial phenotype that delays HBE cell jamming in asthma.
A strategy for AP selection with mutual concessions in sustainable heterogeneous wireless networks

This study proposes a decision-making strategy for optimizing a problem of selecting access points for user associations in heterogeneous networks. Considering the feasibility regarding computational complexity, we design a selection algorithm which sustainably and fairly enhances the total and worst minimal utility of users. The minimal utility can be obtained from bare essentials of the quality of experience and defined considering different user requirements. Our simulations verify the effectiveness of our selection algorithm comparing it with other selection algorithms on each evaluation criterion.
Toward an “Age of Imposed Use”? Evidence-Based Crime Policy in a Law and Social Science Context:

Central to the evidence-based paradigm is the explicit goal to increase the influence of scientific research on public policy. The research utilization literature delineates a number of ways that e...
Is Fish Oil a Potential Treatment for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Background Peripheral neuropathy affects about 50% of the diabetic population. The manifestations range from pain, numbness, paresthesia and ulceration in the extremities and it is the major cause of non-traumatic amputations. Currently there is no effective treatment for peripheral neuropathy. With the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes and associated complications reaching epidemic levels, there is a critical need for finding a treatment to preserve nerve function. Introduction This article will review the potential for fish oil as a treatment for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Methods A through search of the PubMed database was performed and relevant articles on the topic were included in this review. Results Many studies support a role for fish oil in cardiovascular health. However, less information is available regarding the effect of fish oil on diabetes complications including neuropathy. Pre-clinical studies from my laboratory using diabetic rodent models have demonstrated that fish oil can slow progression and reverse diabetic neuropathy as determined by examining multiple endpoints. Mechanistically fish oil has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Lowering the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio has been shown to be anti-thrombotic. Moreover, metabolites of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, the main polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish oil, commonly referred to as resolvins and neuroprotectin have been shown to be neuroprotective and can stimulate neuron outgrowth in vitro. Conclusion Additional studies are required but existing data suggests that dietary enrichment with omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish oil may be beneficial treatment for diabetic neuropathy.