cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Local Fusion with Fuzzy Integrals

We propose a novel method for fusing different classifiers outputs. Our approach, called Context Extraction for Local Fusion with Fuzzy Integrals (CELF-FI), is a local approach that adapts fuzzy integrals fusion method to different regions of the feature space. It is based on a novel objective function that combines context identification and multi-algorithm fusion criteria into a joint objective function. This objective function is defined and optimized to produce contexts as compact clusters via unsupervised clustering. Optimization of the objective function also provide an optimal Sugeno measure within each context. Our initial experiments have indicated that the proposed fusion approach outperforms all individual classifiers, the global fuzzy integral fusion method, and the basic local fusion with linear aggregation.
Advanced modulation strategy for a three-phase AC-DC dual active bridge for V2G

The introduction of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and Electric Vehicles (EV) into the consumer market provides opportunities and challenges to implement Vehicle-2-Grid (V2G). V2G is a vehicle that can connect to the grid and consume power to charge its battery pack or supply power to the grid. This paper presents research on a novel converter that implements bidirectional power flow between the grid and a vehicles battery pack. The main advantages of this converter are the following: i) soft switching for all switches of the input converter independent of the load, Zero Current Switching (ZCS) ii) The switching of the input converter is simplified i.e four-step commutation is not required for the four quadrant switches of the input side converter iii) The average power flow through the converter is a linear function of the control variable so the control is simple iv) open loop input power factor correction, v) high power density, vi) isolation. The entire topology has been simulated with the proposed modulation method and simulation results confirm the analytical predictions.
Epidemiology of criniviruses: an emerging problem in world agriculture

The genus Crinivirus includes the whitefly-transmitted members of the family Closteroviridae. Whitefly-transmitted viruses have emerged as a major problem for world agriculture and are responsible for diseases that lead to losses measured in the billions of dollars annually. Criniviruses emerged as a major agricultural threat at the end of the twentieth century with the establishment and naturalization of their whitefly vectors, members of the genera Trialeurodes and Bemisia, in temperate climates around the globe. Several criniviruses cause significant diseases in single infections whereas others remain asymptomatic and only cause disease when found in mixed infections with other viruses. Characterization of the majority of criniviruses has been done in the last twenty years and this article provides a detailed review on the epidemiology of this important group of viruses.
Source parameters from identified hadron spectra and HBT radii for Au-Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV in PHENIX.

The characteristics of the particle emitting source are deduced from low p{sub T} identified hadron spectra ((m{sub T}-m0) < 1 GeV) and HBT radii using a hydrodynamic interpretation. From the most peripheral to the most central data, the single particle spectra are fit simultaneously for all {pi}{sup {+-}}, K{sup {+-}}, and {bar p}/p using the parameterization in [1] and assuming a linear transverse flow profile. Within the systematic uncertainties, the expansion parameters T{sub fo} and {beta}{sub T}, respectively decrease and increase with the number of participants, saturating for both at mid-centrality. The expansion using analytic calculations of the k{sub T} dependence of HBT radii in [2] is fit to the data but no {chi}{sup 2} minimum is found.
Production and Analysis of Transgenic Rice Plants

Several gene constructs were used to transform rice protoplasts and several hundred transgenic plants were regenerated. in one construct, the 5’ region of the rice actin 1 gene (Act1) was ligated to a bacterial β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. The Act1/Gus construct was expressed constitutively in transgenic plants because GUS activity was found in all tissues tested. Quantitative analysis showed that in two lines of transgenic plants, the level of GUS protein represents 3% and 0.5% of total soluble protein, respectively. In two other constructs, the 5’ region of the potato protease inhibitor lI (PlNII) gene was joined to the Gus gene to produce: pin2/Gus and pin2/Act1 intron/Gus. In transgenic plants, the pin2/Gus construct showed low GUS activity and a weak wound response. However, in plants harboring the pin2/Act1 intron/Gus construct, wounding of a leaf dramatically increased the production of GUS. Moreover, the wound response is systemic because high levels of GUS activity were also found in non-wounded leaves that are adjacent to the wounded leaf.
Hot-cold empathy gaps and medical decision making.

Prior research has shown that people mispredict their own behavior and preferences across affective states. When people are in an affectively “cold” state, they fail to fully appreciate how “hot” states will affect their own preferences and behavior. When in hot states, they underestimate the influence of those states and, as a result, overestimate the stability of their current preferences. The same biases apply interpersonally; for example, people who are not affectively aroused underappreciate the impact of hot states on other people’s behavior. After reviewing research documenting such intrapersonal and interpersonal hot–cold empathy gaps, this article examines their consequences for medical, and specifically cancer-related, decision making, showing, for example, that hot–cold empathy gaps can lead healthy persons to expose themselves excessively to health risks and can cause health care providers to undertreat patients for pain.
Petrology and Sr‐Nd‐Pb‐He isotope geochemistry of postspreading lavas on fossil spreading axes off Baja California Sur, Mexico

Postspreading volcanism has built large seamounts and volcanic ridges along the short axes of a highly segmented part of the East Pacific Rise crest that ceased spreading at the end of the middle Miocene, offshore Baja California Sur, Mexico. Lava samples from Rosa Seamount, the largest volcano, are predominantly alkalic basalts, mugearites, and benmoreites. This lavas series was generated through fractional crystallization and is compositionally similar to the moderately alkalic lava series in many oceanic islands. Samples from volcanic ridges at three adjacent failed spreading axes include mildly alkalic, transitional, and tholeiitic basalts and differentiated trachyandesites and andesite. The subtle but distinct petrologic and isotopic differences among the four sites may be due to differences in the degree of partial melting of a common, heterogeneous source. Postspreading lavas from these four abandoned axes off Baja California Sur together with those from other fossil spreading axes and from seamount volcanoes that grew on the East Pacific Rise flanks define a compositional continuum ranging from normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (NMORB)-like to ocean island basalt (OIB)-like. We propose that the compositional spectrum of these intraplate volcanic lavas is due to different degrees of partial melting of the compositionally heterogeneous suboceanic mantle in the eastern Pacific. A large degree of partial melting of this heterogeneous mantle during vigorous mantle upwelling at an active spreading center produces NMORB melts, whereas a lesser degree of partial melting during weak mantle upwelling following cessation of spreading produces OIB-like melts. The latter melts have a low (<8 RA) 3He/4He signature indicating their formation is different from that of OIBs from major “hot spot” volcanoes in the Pacific with high 3He/4He ratios, such as Hawaii and Galapagos.
Mindbomb 1, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, forms a complex with RYK to activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Receptor-like tyrosine kinase (RYK) functions as a transmembrane receptor for the Wnt family of secreted protein ligands. Although RYK undergoes endocytosis in response to Wnt, the mechanisms that regulate its internalization and concomitant activation of Wnt signaling are unknown. We discovered that RYK both physically and functionally interacts with the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mindbomb 1 (MIB1). Overexpression of MIB1 promotes the ubiquitination of RYK and reduces its steady-state levels at the plasma membrane. Moreover, we show that MIB1 is sufficient to activate Wnt/β-catenin (CTNNB1) signaling and that this activity depends on endogenous RYK. Conversely, in loss-of-function studies, both RYK and MIB1 are required for Wnt-3A–mediated activation of CTNNB1. Finally, we identify the Caenorhabditis elegans orthologue of MIB1 and demonstrate a genetic interaction between ceMIB and lin-18/RYK in vulva development. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms of Wnt/RYK signaling and point to novel targets for the modulation of Wnt signaling.
Microscale observations of sulfate reduction: Correlation of microbial activity with lithified micritic laminae in modern marine stromatolites

We report for the first time micrometer-scale correlation of geologic and microbial processes in modern marine stromatolites. Precipitation of micritic laminae in these stromatolites was studied by comparing microstructure, as observed in petrographic thin sections, with microbial sulfatereduction activity. Two-dimensional mapping of sulfate-reduction rates was implemented by incubating a vertical section of a stromatolite face on silver foil coated with 35 SO 4 2– . Our results show that sulfate-reduction activity is high in zones of CaCO 3 precipitation and indicate that microbial activity produces lithified micritic laminae near the surface of the stromatolites. Similarities with micritic laminae in ancient stromatolites suggest that sulfate reduction may also have been an important mechanism of carbonate precipitation in these fossilized structures.
Evaluating ramp metering control systems using microsimulation for US interstate highway I-80

This paper describes the evaluation approach that will be used to assess the performance of the Ramp Metering Control (RMC) for the New Jersey Department of Transportation in the United States. The primary objectives of the evaluation are to assess the impact of RMC control strategies on traffic flow and support the analysis of critical operational procedures. The framework for the evaluation consists of identifying a set metering control strategies and performance measures that will test the robustness of the RMC. The metering control strategies are designed to capture dynamic traffic conditions that might occur on the Interstate Freeway I-80 in New Jersey. The primary evaluation tool is a micro-simulation model (CORSIM) that has been developed to integrate the metering control strategies.
Abstract 1499: Periprostatic fat from obese patients promotes prostate cancer growth

Background: Obesity, particularly visceral obesity, increases the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) progression. However, the mechanism of this remains unclear. Here, we hypothesized that the visceral periprostatic fat (PPF) from obese PCa patients stimulates progression as compared to subcutaneous fat (SQF) or PPF from lean patients. Methods: PPF and SQF were collected from PCa patients. MTT assays were performed on endothelial and PC-3 PCa cells to test proliferative activity in explant culture tissue conditioned media (CM). Angiogenesis was evaluated ex vivo using MR to generate T2 relaxation times from a series of T2-weighted spin-echo images (Bruker 14.1 T imager). Results: PPF CM from an obese patient increased endothelial cell proliferation ∼5 times that of PPF CM from a lean patient (P Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1499. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1499
Enhanced Inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts during Solar Photolysis of Free Available Chlorine

Solar irradiation of aqueous solutions containing free available chlorine (FAC) dramatically enhances inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts compared to FAC or sunlight alone. In pH 8, 10 mM phosphate buffer at 25 °C, exposure to FAC alone yields no oocyst inactivation at CTFAC ≤ 832 (mg min) L–1, while exposure to simulated sunlight alone for 60 min yields 2 log oocyst inactivation. Similar enhancement effects are observed in natural water under natural sunlight. Experiments undertaken in the presence of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger tert-butanol or in the absence of oxygen indicate that these enhancements are due to in situ ROS and ozone production via FAC photolysis.
EVOLUTION OF AN APHID-PARASITOID INTERACTION: VARIATION IN RESISTANCE TO PARASITISM AMONG APHID POPULATIONS SPECIALIZED ON DIFFERENT PLANTS.

The evolution of associations between herbivorous insects and their parasitoids is likely to be influenced by the relationship between the herbivore and its host plants. If populations of specialized herbivorous insects are structured by their host plants such that populations on different hosts are genetically differentiated, then the traits affecting insect-parasitoid interactions may exhibit an associated structure. The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) is a herbivorous insect species comprised of genetically distinct groups that are specialized on different host plants (Via 1991a, 1994). Here, we examine how the genetic differentiation of pea aphid populations on different host plants affects their interaction with a parasitoid wasp, Aphidius ervi. We performed four experiments. (1) By exposing pea aphids from both alfalfa and clover to parasitoids from both crops, we demonstrate that pea aphid populations that are specialized on alfalfa are successfully parasitized less often than are populations specialized on clover. This difference in parasitism rate does not depend upon whether the wasps were collected from alfalfa or clover fields. (2) When we controlled for potential differences in aphid and parasitoid behavior between the two host plants and ensured that aphids were attacked, we found that pea aphids from alfalfa were still parasitized less often than pea aphids from clover. Thus, the difference in parasitism rates is not due to behavior of either aphids or wasps, but appears to be a physiologically based difference in resistance to parasitism. (3) Replicates of pea aphid clones reared on their own host plant and on a common host plant, fava bean, exhibited the same pattern of resistance as above. Thus, there do not appear to be nutritional or secondary chemical effects on the level of physiological resistance in the aphids due to feeding on clover or alfalfa, and therefore the difference in resistance on the two crops appears to be genetically based. (4) We assayed for genetic variation in resistance among individual pea aphid clones collected from clover fields and found no detectable genetic variation for resistance to parasitism within two populations sampled from clover. This is in contrast to Henter and Via's (1995) report of abundant genetic variation in resistance to this parasitoid within a pea aphid population on alfalfa. Low levels of genetic variation may be one factor that constrains the evolution of resistance to parasitism in the populations of pea aphids from clover, leading them to remain more susceptible than populations of the same species from alfalfa.
UPTAKE OF ETHIONINE-ETHYL-H3 BY THE RAT CONCEPTUS.

SummaryRadioactive ethionine is present in the soluble fraction and in the proteins of the rat fetus and placenta within 5 minutes after injection on day 12 of pregnancy. The maximum amount of soluble activity is found in the placenta within 15 minutes after injection and not until 2 hours in the fetus and amniotic fluid. The maximum amount of protein-bound label is present in the conceptus 12 hours after injection. Auto-radiography studies show the presence of diffuse radioactivity throughout the conceptus within 5 minutes after injection of ethionine, which persists up to 72 hours after injection. There is a possible concentration of the label in or adhering to the maternal and fetal erythrocytes at all times after injection of labeled ethionine.The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. C. A. Woolever for use of the Packard Tri-Carb liquid scintillation system, to Mrs. Barbara D. Fleischaker and Miss Juanita Graves for technical assistance, and to Dr. S. W. Smith for suggestions on autoradio...
How neuronal activity regulates glioma cell proliferation

Tumors are complex organs with numerous interactions among malignant and nontransformed cells of their microenvironment. Nonmalignant cells in the tumor microenvironment were recently shown to contribute to all hallmark capabilities of cancer cells and exert a tumor-promoting effect at all stages of carcinogenesis.1
Angiomyofibroblastoma of the cervix in tamoxifen treated breast cancer patient

The patient was a 61-year-old woman presenting with pelvic and vaginal discomfort who had a past history of breast cancer, and her treatment included tamoxifen therapy. She underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and left salpingo-oophorectomy, for left adnexal mass which was noticed on ultrasound. Macroscopically, a well circumscribed and homogenously white, nodule was identified within the cervix. Histologically, the nodule comprised of spindle to oval shaped tumour cells present around numerous thin walled blood vessels within a slightly myxomatous stroma. With the appropriate immunohistochemical stains a diagnosis of angio-myofibroblastoma was made. Angiomyofibroblastoma is a benign soft tissue neoplasm of mesenchymal origin, usually occurring in the female genital tract. Cervical presentation is extremely rare. The histogenesis of angiomyofibroblastoma is unknown and it has been postulated that the neoplastic cells most likely arise from mesenchymal cells in the subepithelial myxoid stromal zone. Some authors have suggested that tamoxifen may be causally related to angiomyofibroblastoma. However, further extensive studies are needed to establish the causal association between tamoxifen and angiomyofibroblastoma.
Linking Native and Invader Traits Explains Native Spider Population Responses to Plant Invasion.

Theoretically, the functional traits of native species should determine how natives respond to invader-driven changes. To explore this idea, we simulated a large-scale plant invasion using dead spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) stems to determine if native spiders’ web-building behaviors could explain differences in spider population responses to structural changes arising from C. stoebe invasion. After two years, irregular web-spiders were >30 times more abundant and orb weavers were >23 times more abundant on simulated invasion plots compared to controls. Additionally, irregular web-spiders on simulated invasion plots built webs that were 4.4 times larger and 5.0 times more likely to capture prey, leading to >2-fold increases in recruitment. Orb-weavers showed no differences in web size or prey captures between treatments. Web-spider responses to simulated invasion mimicked patterns following natural invasions, confirming that C. stoebe’s architecture is likely the primary attribute driving native spider responses to these invasions. Differences in spider responses were attributable to differences in web construction behaviors relative to historic web substrate constraints. Orb-weavers in this system constructed webs between multiple plants, so they were limited by the overall quantity of native substrates but not by the architecture of individual native plant species. Irregular web-spiders built their webs within individual plants and were greatly constrained by the diminutive architecture of native plant substrates, so they were limited both by quantity and quality of native substrates. Evaluating native species traits in the context of invader-driven change can explain invasion outcomes and help to identify factors limiting native populations.
Gentzen’s Anti-Formalist Views

In June of 1936 Gentzen gave a lecture at Heinrich Scholz’ seminar in Munster. The title of the lecture was “Der Unendlichkeitsbegriff in der Mathematik.”1
The fundamental forces shaping U.S. health care and how to respond to them.

The fundamental economic, social, and technological forces currently reshaping the health care system will have a profound impact on managed health care. The successful organization of the future will implement procedures now that respond to these forces.
Cyclic Sciatica and Back Pain Responds to Treatment of Underlying Endometriosis: Case Illustration

Background Multiple causes outside the spine can mimic spinal back pain. Endometriosis is an important gynecologic disorder, which commonly affects the lower region of the female pelvis and less frequently the spine and soft tissues. The lumbosacral trunk is vulnerable to pressure from any abdominal mass originating from the uterus and the ovaries. Therefore symptoms of endometriosis include severe reoccurring pain in the pelvic area as well as lower back and abdominal pain. Case Description We report on a 39-year-old gymnast with cyclic sciatica and back pain, whose initial presentation initially led to a spinal fusion at L4/5 and L5/S1, but that procedure did not change her symptoms. Her diagnosis of endometriosis was not made until 2 years after her spinal fusion. Ultimately, once diagnosed with endometriosis of the retroperitoneal spinal and neural elements, her back and leg pain responded completely to hormonal therapy and then to a hysterectomy and a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Because her true diagnosis of endometriosis was unknown and she had some degenerative changes in her spine, she underwent a spinal fusion that would probably not have been done if the diagnosis of endometriosis had been suggested. Conclusions It is critical for any clinician who deals with back pain to at least consider the diagnosis of endometriosis in female patients who have a history of pelvic pain. The diagnosis of endometriosis should be considered in candidate patients by asking whether there is a significant hormonal cyclic nature to the symptoms, to prevent such unnecessary surgical adventures.
SiGe Technology as a Millimeter-Wave Platform: Scaling Issues, Reliability Physics, Circuit Performance, and New Opportunities

This paper reviews recent work aimed at a comprehensive assessment of the potential of SiGe technology to support emerging millimeter-wave (mm-wave) and sub-mm-wave integrated circuit applications. Scaling limits, reliability constraints, and the limits of CMOS for mm-wave are addressed, followed by a diverse variety of mm-wave and sub-mm-wave SiGe circuits that are offered as examples of the many opportunities awaiting.
Fast parallel cosine K-nearest neighbor graph construction

The k-nearest neighbor graph is an important structure in many data mining methods for clustering, advertising, recommender systems, and outlier detection. Constructing the graph requires computing up to n2 similarities for a set of n objects. This has led researchers to seek approximate methods, which find many but not all of the nearest neighbors. In contrast, we leverage shared memory parallelism and recent advances in similarity joins to solve the problem exactly, via a filtering based approach. Our method considers all pairs of potential neighbors but quickly filters those that could not be a part of the k-nearest neighbor graph, based on similarity upper bound estimates. We evaluated our solution on several real-world datasets and found that, using 16 threads, our method achieves up to 12.9x speedup over our exact baseline and is sometimes faster even than approximate methods. Moreover, an approximate version of our method is up to 21.7× more efficient than the best approximate state-of-the-art baseline at similar high recall.
Laser lithotripsy for removal of uroliths in dogs

Introduction: This study evaluated the ability to fragment and remove naturally occurring uroliths in dogs using a holmium: YAG laser. Methods: Twenty four dogs with naturally occurring uroliths including 10 spayed females and 14 neutered males. The dogs were 8.7 ± 2.8 years old and weighed 13.7 ± 8.0 kg. All dogs had bladder stones and 5 male dogs also had urethral stones. In female dogs, cystoscopy was performed using a rigid cystoscope with sheath diameter of 14 to 19 french. Cystoscopy was performed in males dogs using a 7.5 french diameter pediatric ureteroscope. Uroliths were fragmented using a 20 watt Holmium: YAG laser and the fragments were removed by basket extraction and voiding urohydropropulsion. Results: Average laser parameters for urolith fragmentation were 0.7 Joules at 8 Hertz (range: 0.5 to 1.3 Joules at 5 to 13 Hertz). All urolith fragments were successfully removed in all 10 female dogs and 11 of 14 male dogs. In one male dog, the urethra was too small to allow passage of the ureteroscope. In one of the male dogs, the urethral stones were successfully removed by laser lithotripsy, but removal of the bladder stones was performed by cystotomy. There was one complication of urethral perforation during attempts to pass an access sheath transurethrally in a dog with extensive proliferative urethritis. Conclusions: Laser lithotripsy is a safe and effective method of removing bladder and urethral stones in dogs provided the dog is large enough to permit transurethral passage of a cystoscope or ureteroscope.
Effects of feeding condensed distiller's solubles and crude glycerin alone or in combination on finishing beef cattle performance, carcass characteristics, and in vitro fermentation.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding condensed distiller's solubles (DS) and crude glycerin alone or in combination on performance of finishing beef cattle and in vitro fermentation. In both experiments, dietary treatments consisted of a steam-flaked corn-based diet with 0% DS or crude glycerin (CON), 10% DS (CDS), 10% crude glycerin (GLY), or a combination of 5% DS and 5% crude glycerin (C+G) included on a DM basis. All treatment diets contained 15% (DM basis) wet distiller's grains plus solubles. In Exp. 1, crossbred steers ( = 256; 322 ± 15 kg initial BW) were used in a randomized complete block finishing trial. Growth performance and gain efficiency were not different ( > 0.10) across all treatments. Treatment had no effect ( > 0.10) on carcass weight, marbling score, yield grade, LM area, or percent grading USDA choice. In Exp. 2, ruminal fluid was collected from 2 ruminally cannulated steers to evaluate in vitro fermentation characteristics. No differences ( = 0.43) were observed for DM disappearance across all treatments. The GLY and C+G treatments had decreased ( = 0.02 and = 0.05, respectively) NDF disappearance (NDFD), whereas the CDS treatment tended to have decreased ( = 0.06) NDFD compared with CON. Concentrations of NH decreased ( 0.17) on concentrations of acetate, propionate, and butyrate, but valerate concentrations were the greatest ( < 0.04) for the CON treatment. Concentrations of isobutyrate increased ( < 0.05) for the CON and C+G treatments compared with the GLY treatment and tended to increase ( < 0.10) compared with the CDS treatment. Including DS or glycerin in the substrates decreased ( < 0.08) isovalerate compared with CON. Feeding additional byproducts such as DS and crude glycerin alone or in combination in a finishing diet did not alter live animal performance or carcass characteristics; however, feeding a combination of the 2 byproducts may alter in vitro fermentation.
COST AND ACCESSIBILITY RELATED FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SELECTION OF AREAS OF RESIDENCE IN KENYA: A SURVEY OF NAIROBI RESIDENTS

Purpose: The purpose the study was to investigate the cost and accessibility related factors influencing the selection of areas of residence in Kenya in the case of Nairobi residents. Methodology: The researcher used descriptive research design. The scope of the study was limited to Nairobi County. The study identified a population of 985,016 households in Nairobi County out of which a sample of 150 respondents were used. Random sampling technique was used to select the respondents from each category. The study used primary data that was collected using questionnaires. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data was then analysed in terms of descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages. Results: The results indicated that majority of the respondents found economic and accessibility factors as being important while choosing their places of residence. The results indicated that the most important economic factor is income, followed by transfer costs, cost of living, price, and transport costs. Ease of qualifying for a mortgage, availability of mortgage, ease of qualifying for a mortgage, maintenance costs were least ranked. The study also found that the most important accessibility factor was road network, followed by water, nearness to workplace, parking space, health centers, internal space, and electricity, and transport costs. The least ranked factors were drainage, parks and open spaces, availability of garden, and floor plans. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that cost related factors such as cost of living among others should be given a priority when making a decision on where to reside since such economic related factors touch on one’s disposable amount. It is also recommended that it would be significant for landlords to put into consideration such economic factors before concluding on either the rent prize or the prize of a piece of land since their potential tenants’ or buyers’ decision is most likely to be influenced by such factors. It is also recommended that landlords should put into consideration accessibility factors before building rental houses. Such factors as road network are very important and will obviously influence the tenants’ decision on residing in a certain area.
Insightful problem solving and emulation in brown capuchin monkeys

We investigated problem solving abilities of capuchin monkeys via the "floating object problem," a task in which the subject must use creative problem solving to retrieve a favored food item from the bottom of a clear tube. Some great apes have solved this problem by adding water to raise the object to a level at which it can be easily grabbed. We presented seven capuchins with the task over eight trials (four "dry" and four "wet"). None of the subjects solved the task, indicating that no capuchin demonstrated insightful problem solving under these experimental conditions. We then investigated whether capuchins would emulate a solution to the task. Seven subjects observed a human model solve the problem by pouring water from a cup into the tube, which brought the object to the top of the tube, allowing the subject to retrieve it. Subjects were then allowed to interact freely with an unfilled tube containing the object in the presence of water and objects that could be used to solve the task. While most subjects were unable to solve the task after viewing a demonstrator solve it, one subject did so, but in a unique way. Our results are consistent with some previous results in great ape species and indicate that capuchins do not spontaneously solve the floating object problem via insight.
The biology of essential oils in the pollination of flowers

Pollination is an essential biological process in higher plant reproduction that involves the transfer of pollen to the female sexual organs of flowers or cones. It plays a critical role in the rep...
Effects of the direct-injected fuel’s physical and chemical properties on dual-fuel combustion

Abstract An experimental and computational study was conducted to explore the effects of the physical properties of the high reactivity fuel in a Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion dual-fuel strategy. The objective is to systematically isolate the effects of the boiling characteristics of the direct injected fuel in dual-fuel combustion strategies with different levels of fuel stratification. In all studies, iso-octane was used as the low reactivity fuel. The effect of high reactivity fuel physical properties was investigated by comparing the results of engine experiments using two fuels with equal cetane numbers (CN), but different boiling characteristics. The two fuels are 1) a certification grade Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel with a cetane number of 45 and 2) a blend of 21% iso-octane and 89% n -heptane with a cetane number of 45. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling using the KIVA-3v code with a discrete multi-component evaporation model capable of capturing important physical property influences and a multi-fuel chemistry model capable of describing the chemical kinetics of single and multi-component fuels was used to explain the observed differences in the experiments. It was found that the different boiling curves of the two fuels have minimal effect on the combustion phasing at early and late injection timings. Differences in the combustion phasing were explained by differences in the chemical characteristics of each fuel that could not be matched solely by fixing the CN.
Methanol Adsorption and Dissociation on LaMnO3 and Sr Doped LaMnO3 (001) Surfaces

Abstract Using density functional theory, we investigate methanol adsorption and dissociation on the MnO2- and LaO-terminated LaMnO3 (001) surface as a function of Sr dopant enrichment in and near the surface. In response to bulk cleavage, we find electron depletion of the negatively charged MnO2 surface layer that is enhanced by Sr doping in the subsurface. In contrast, we observe electron accumulation in the positively charged LaO surface layer that is reduced by Sr doping in the surface layer. Methanol adsorbs dissociatively on the LaO termination of the LaMnO3 (001) surface. Methanol adsorption on the LaO termination is strongly preferred over adsorption on the MnO2 termination. While moderate doping has a small influence on methanol adsorption and dissociation, when 100% of La is replaced by Sr in the surface or subsurface, the adsorption preference of methanol is reversed. If the surface is highly dopant enriched, methanol favours dissociative adsorption on the MnO2-terminated surface.
H 2 O Masers

H2O was the third interstellar molecule discovered in radio wavelengths. Cheung et al. (1969) detected the 22 GHz line corresponding to the 616 → 523 transition (figure 3.2) toward a number of star-forming regions using the 20 foot radio telescope of the University of California Hat Creek Observatory. The emission was rather strong, antenna temperatures as high as 60 K, even though the transition levels lie more than 600 K above ground and would require substantial excitation rates for population. Maser emission was suspected at the outset, and was promptly confirmed by the observations of Knowles et al. (1969). These were performed at the 85 foot reflector at the Maryland Point Observatory of the Naval Research Laboratory and added more defections, including the supergiant star VY CMa. The much larger aperture results in a smaller beam pattern, and since these are point sources the antenna temperatures were much higher (cf. eq. 2.3.29) — 1700 K in the case of W49. From the measured upper limit of 0.7′ on the source size it was deduced that the brightness temperature exceeds 50,000 K. Time variability suggested even smaller sizes, less than 0.005′, corresponding to brightness temperatures in excess of 109 K (subsequent interferometry showed that some features in W49 have T b ≳ 1014 K). Remarkably, a search for water radiation in the 22 GHz line had been proposed just prior to these observations by Snyder and Buhl (1969) who compiled a list of OH sources, suggested as potential candidates for H2O detection. All four emission sources on their list were detected in the original discoveries!
Multimodal Tactile Perception of Objects in a Real Home

When operating in human environments, such as homes, robots could use tactile sensing to better perceive objects. A challenge that has not been sufficiently addressed is the influence of an object's surroundings on tactile perception. Prior research has focused on perception of objects in laboratory settings. Yet, a number of factors found in homes can affect multimodal tactile sensing. For example, the time-varying thermal characteristics of an object's surroundings, such as sunlight, HVAC, and refrigeration, can affect thermal sensing. Likewise, the placement of an object with respect to other objects and surfaces will affect force sensing and alter the way an object moves when pushed. In order to investigate these and other issues, we had a mobile robot reach out and push 47 different objects found in a real home over a three day period resulting in 1340 pushing episodes. We then characterized the performance of data-driven methods (k-nearest neighbors, support vector machines, hidden Markov models, long short-term memory networks) for a variety of tactile perception problems using the first two seconds of force, thermal, and motion sensing data collected by the robot. We paid particular attention to the ability of these methods to generalize what they have learned to different robot velocities, times of day, and object instances. Our results demonstrate the value of multimodal tactile sensing and data-driven methods for tactile perception from short-duration contact, and also illustrate the great diversity of real-world phenomena relevant to tactile sensing.
Ethnographic study of business students' information-seeking behavior: Implications for improved library practices

This study aim to gain insight into the information-seeking habits of upper-division business students. While studying information-seeking habits is a large subcategory of information literacy, not...
Periampullary Variceal Bleeding: An Atypical Complication of Portal Hypertension

Variceal bleeding remains a fatal complication of portal hypertension. Periampullary varices are rare and, due to their location, are difficult to diagnose and treat. Similar to esophagogastric varices, they are the result of high portosystemic pressures secondary to intrahepatic causes such as cirrhosis and extrahepatic causes such as portal or splenic vein thrombosis. We report a case of a periampullary varix resulting in hemobilia during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).
Contextual Intelligence for Unified Data Governance

Current data governance techniques are very labor-intensive, as teams of data stewards typically rely on best practices to transform business policies into governance rules. As data plays an increasingly key role in today's data-driven enterprises, current approaches do not scale to the complexity and variety present in the data ecosystem of an enterprise as an increasing number of data requirements, use cases, applications, tools and systems come into play. We believe techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning have potential to improve discoverability, quality and compliance in data governance. In this paper, we propose a framework for 'contextual intelligence', where we argue for (1) collecting and integrating contextual metadata from variety of sources to establish a trusted unified repository of contextual data use across users and applications, and (2) applying machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques over this rich contextual metadata to improve discoverability, quality and compliance in governance practices. We propose an architecture that unifies governance across several systems, with a graph serving as a core repository of contextual metadata, accurately representing data usage across the enterprise and facilitating machine learning, We demonstrate how our approach can enable ML-based recommendations in support of governance best practices.
Practical method for designing robust RBF-MRAC neurocontrollers: The first-order case

The model reference adaptive control (MRAC) system built with radial basis function (RBF) neural network proved to be useful in controlling nonlinear plants. In this paper a novel method is proposed for designing RBF-MRAC neurocontrollers. The resulted RBF network is optimal in minimal norm-product sense, and the method can be used in case of plants' known nonlinear function. The robustness of the resulted controller was investigated with simulations concerning both parameter tolerances of the nonlinearity and abrupt disturbances. In case of unknown nonlinearity a heuristic method is given, which also resulted in a robust solution. The simulation results of the neurocontroller are also presented in the paper in case of several nonlinearities.
A Rubric to Guide Curriculum Development of Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: Focus on Inquiry

The term “inquiry” is used ubiquitously in the chemistry and science education literature. However, there are inconsistencies in how the modifiers of inquiry such as “guided,” “structured,” or “open” are used. We developed a rubric to classify levels of inquiry based upon laboratory characteristics and student independence. We validated the rubric and used it to analyze 229 undergraduate chemistry laboratories in 13 manuals. Our findings indicated that nearly 90% were highly structured laboratory activities with little opportunity for student independence. The rubric can be used to analyze a laboratory course or departmental curricula thus playing a role in departments that are attempting to modify the level of inquiry in their curriculum. To demonstrate how the level of inquiry can be changed, we offer an example of a laboratory written to support varying degrees of student independence. By connecting terms that describe inquiry to levels of student independence this rubric can be used by researchers to place their definition of inquiry on a firm foundation and by practitioners to analyze and modify practices.
Transgender Experience and Identity

In this chapter, we review and critique how conventional models of gender and sexual identity development have represented the experiences of transgender individuals, and we argue for an expanded model of transgender identity development which can accommodate the diversity of their lived realities. Transgender is a broad category typically used to denote any individual whose gender identity or presentation either violates conventional conceptualizations of “male” or “female” or mixes different aspects of male and female role and identity. Despite increasing social scientific acknowledgment and investigation of transgender experience, most contemporary perspectives presume that the primary identity dilemma for transgender individuals is a conflict between one’s psychological gender and one’s biological sex, such that the normative and healthy endpoint of transgender identity development is the achievement of a stable, integrated, unambiguous identification as 100% male or 100% female, often achieved via some form of physical transformation aimed at bringing one’s psychological gender and one’s physical gender presentation into alignment. Yet there is increasing evidence that such dichotomous models of gender fail to accommodate the true complexity and diversity of transgender experience. Hence, in this chapter we argue for broader, more flexible models of gender identity development among transgender individuals which can accommodate the fact that for some of these individuals, identity development will have a linear trajectory leading to a singular outcome, whereas for others, identity development may be a recursive process that accommodates multiple and shifting identity states over time. We explore the implications of such an expanded model of identity development for clinical practice and intervention with transgender individuals.
Fundamental Problems of Gauge Field Theory: Introduction to the Problems

We have now had nearly a decade and a half of successful applications of gauge field theory to electroweak and strong interactions. The pioneering experiments, and the more systematic experiments that have followed, have given rough agreement for QCD and rather precise agreement for the standard model of the electroweak interactions. There is a general consensus that the new theories represent important progress. However, the calculations to be compared with experiment are at the moment still rather tentative in places, and there are many questions of principle the answers to which have not yet been given in an unambiguous way.
Depression in Special Education Populations

Depression in children and youth is analogous in many ways to depression in adulthood (Reynolds, 1984). Defining features include a dysphoric mood occurring in combination with cognitive, motivational, and psychomotor changes or disturbances. These changes in mood and behavior may range from a mild degree of reactive sadness to intensely experienced feelings of dysphoria that may include suicidal ideation or lead to suicide attempts. Among the general population of children and youth, unique age-specific features have emerged due to the influence of schools, family, and peer groups occurring during this developmental period.
Redundant Sensor Validation by Using Fuzzy Logic

This research is motivated by the need to relax the strict boundary of numeric-based signal validation. To this end, the use of fuzzy logic for redundant sensor validation is introduced. Since signal validation employs both numbers and qualitative statements, fuzzy logic provides a pathway for transforming human abstractions into the numerical domain and thus coupling both sources of information. With this transformation, linguistically expressed analysis principles can be coded into a classification rule-base for signal failure detection and identification.
A Data-Driven Approach for Gaze Tracking

Gaze tracking presents an intuitive interface for technology in today’s society, with its application focus in controlling electronic devices. This paper concentrates on the design and application of an automatic gaze tracking system utilizing commodity equipment. Compared to preceding low-cost methods, the proposed method is significantly simpler, lowering the barrier of entry for this type of device, and can potentially afford more accurate tracking. Through the careful placement of the infrared (IR) light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) on the monitor and coaxially to the optical axis of the camera, the pupil was illuminated and reference glints became visible on the cornea. These glints were captured by a camera capable of detecting IR light, and were used to determine the users line of sight relative to the monitor. A linear model was used to address the horizontal and vertical components of the glints in the users eye and match them to the corresponding location point on the monitor. K-means clustering was utilized to classify the separate gaze regions with promising results.
Effects of cyclosporine on feline lymphocytes activated in vitro.

Abstract Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a calcineurin inhibitor that is known to decrease lymphocyte expression of NFAT-regulated cytokines in humans, dogs and cats, and thereby depress lymphocyte function. Less is known about the effects of CsA on lymphocytes in cats than in other species. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 6 healthy cats. PBMCs were exposed to i) no treatment, ii) 5 μg/ml concavalin A (ConA), iii) 500 ng/ml CsA and iv) 5 μg/ml ConA and 500 ng/ml CsA. The effects of CsA on cell proliferation were assessed via live and necrotic cell counts from day 1 to day 6. Additionally, flow cytometry was utilized to determine the effect of CsA on apoptosis in feline lymphocytes at day 1 and day 5. ConA exposure resulted in increases in cell counts from day 1 to 6, peaking at day 5. CsA inhibited cell proliferation, indicated via decreased live lymphocyte cell counts in the cell cultures exposed to ConA and CsA, compared to the cell cultures exposed to ConA only. Furthermore, CsA induced early and late apoptotic changes in feline PBMCs. Differences in these responses may influence an individual cat’s response to cyclosporine therapy.