cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What's Left of Rights? Arendt and political ontology in the anthropocene

My project in this paper is to make a perverse, post-human, and even queer return to Arendt’s thinking on the ontological foundation of rights, to ask: What is left of rights? Could the challenge of encompassing and representing non-human entities re-energize the political pursuits that have hinged on rights thinking? Post-humanist proponents of critical race theory, indigenous studies, disability and queer studies have thoroughly problematized the givenness of the liberal rights-bearing subject, and the attributes of sovereignty, autonomy, motility, reason, self-possession, intention, speech, and efficacy that have qualified it, defining the parameters of the human in the process by disqualifying bodies (the woman, the slave, the refugee, the disabled) deemed different. But they have, largely, stopped short of inquiring into a concept of rights that embraces a radically non-human subject, limiting themselves instead to arguing either for a continual expansion of the domain of the human beyond its foundational exclusions, or for an abandonment of rights altogether. But how might conceptualizing rights away from inherited presumptions about how a rights-bearing subject acts, manifests, or appears help us reclaim what was politically generative about the project of rights in the first place? Ultimately, do rights retain any validity if they do not also embrace the non-human? How might performance help us imagine non-human rights—help us figure, speak with and for, non-humans in the domain of the political? And what insight might we gain from revisiting Arendt in the light of post-humanist thought?
Looking Forward in Ominous Times: Two Pathways for Urban Colleges and Universities.

On the whole, futurists usually suffer badly. Unforeseen challenges, new political realities, technological breakthroughs, and cultural patterns shape futures as well as markets. As one realist once said, “real life happens in‑between plans.” I suspect the future reality lies somewhere in between these two possible pathways. The larger point is that higher education can allow other societal forces to predominate in shaping its future or it can challenge itself to find a pathway to a future where its commitment to deep learning will be predicated on our core values of evidence‑based and logical reasoning, openness to new and challenging ideas and educating students to play their roles as creative, ethical, and civic professionals, all necessary for a dynamic economy and a robust, diverse democracy.
VECTOR MEASURES AND THE SPECTRAL THEOREM

We show how viewing the spectral theorem as a theorem about measures with values in a locally convex space leads to an improvement of some results of Schaefer [4] for spectral operators. In the present summary, we discuss the Hilbert space case for motivation and then state the main results for the general case.
Prospective relationships between youth assets, negative life events, and binge drinking in a longitudinal cohort of the youth

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate whether individual, family, and community assets can 1) protect youth from binge drinking in the face of negative life events and 2) modify the relationship between negative life events and binge drinking. Methods Data from waves 2-5 of the Youth Asset Study were analyzed. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess the relationship between negative life events, assets, and binge drinking. Multiplicative and additive interaction between negative life events and assets was evaluated. Results When included in the same model as negative life events, individual, family, and community assets had a graded, protective relationship with binge drinking, with strongest protection for those with the greatest number of assets. For example, youth with 3 [adjusted odds ratio (AOR):0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65-0.93], 4 [AOR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.49-0.73], 5 [AOR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.41-0.69], and 6 [AOR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.28-0.63] assets within the community domain had a significantly lower odds of binge drinking than youth with 0-2 community assets. No significant interactions were observed. Conclusions The findings suggest that while youth who are exposed to negative life events are at risk for binge drinking, building assets across individual, family, and community domains can have a protective influence.
Domesticity in the Trilogies of Sean O’Casey and Yu Ch’i-jin

This article examines Sean O’Casey and Yu Ch’i-jin’s portrayal of the domestic realm in the Dublin Trilogy of the 1920s and Nongchon Trilogy of the 1930s, respectively. Yu is indebted to O’Casey for his themes and style in playwrighting, for he saw O’Casey’s works as models for his own dramatic depictions of colonial Korea. A close study of Yu’s approach and the two trilogies reveal that his “deep-rooted admiration” for O’Casey does not indicate Yu’s aims to Westernize Korean theatre, but rather reveals his desire to impact the Korean audiences with realistic depictions of their everyday struggles. Using Lionnet and Shih’s idea of “minor transnationalism,” I argue that this lateral relationship is an instance of transcolonial solidarity in which Yu echoes O’Casey’s methodology to contribute to establishing a national theatre and drama tradition as did O’Casey to the Abbey Theatre.
Facilitating the Language Acquisition Skill of Blind Infants

Language acquisition should ideally begin at the same age for blind children as it should for sighted children. Parents of blind infants should be educated to their child's behavior and use it to a...
Extracellular vesicles for treatment of solid organ ischemia-reperfusion injury.

As the incidence of ischemia reperfusion (I-R) injury has substantially increased, there is a pressing need to develop effective strategies to treat this global health issue. I-R injury can affect all organs and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Pathological settings such as myocardial infarction, stroke, hemorrhagic shock, and solid organ transplantation are particularly prone to cause I-R injury. Ischemia (hypoxia) and/or reperfusion (re-oxygenation) induce various forms of cellular and structural damage. A major cause of damage is local inflammatory responses, which may spread to produce more advanced systemic inflammation. Management of I-R injury relies primarily on supportive measures, as specific treatment strategies are lacking. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-secreted nano-scale structures containing various biomolecules involved in cell communication and multiple physiological processes. EVs derived from certain cell types have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and angiogenic properties. This review provides an overview of EV-based therapeutics for I-R injury in kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, and brain. Additionally, the mechanisms by which EVs protect against I-R injury are discussed. Promising preclinical findings highlight the potential clinical use of EVs for I-R injury.
What’s the problem?

Abstract The first chapter discusses the scope of the problem. Why is debugging a real-time system so difficult? It discusses the embedded design life cycle and where and why defects become intertwined between hardware and software.
Cyclic redox scheme towards shale gas reforming: a review and perspectives

Alkanes are potential precursors to many value-added chemicals such as olefins and other petrochemicals. However, the conversion of light alkanes can be challenging due to their strong C–H bonds. Chemical looping technology based on cyclic redox schemes is an attractive platform that utilizes metal oxides as oxygen carriers for clean and effective fuel processing. Chemical looping systems can potentially be operated over a wide range of reaction conditions with a lower capital and operating cost under a reduced energy and environmental penalty. The reactivity and long-term performance of the oxygen carriers are key for the successful deployment of the chemical looping technology. This work reviews the recent advances in chemical looping alkane utilization including chemical looping partial oxidation (CLPO) of methane, chemical looping oxidative coupling of methane (CLOCM) and oxidative dehydrogenation (CLODH) of ethane, propane and butane. In particular, material design, mechanistic insights of the reactions, and associated reactor configurations for the reactions are discussed. The perspective viewpoints are also given on the viability of the cyclic redox schemes for shale gas dehydrogenation/reforming applications.
The Perturbative Resolvent Method: spectral densities of random matrix ensembles via perturbation theory

We present a simple, perturbative approach for calculating spectral densities for random matrix ensembles in the thermodynamic limit we call the Perturbative Resolvent Method (PRM). The PRM is based on constructing a linear system of equations and calculating how the solutions to these equation change in response to a small perturbation using the zero-temperature cavity method. We illustrate the power of the method by providing simple analytic derivations of the Wigner Semi-circle Law for symmetric matrices, the Marchenko-Pastur Law for Wishart matrices, the spectral density for a product Wishart matrix composed of two square matrices, and the Circle and elliptic laws for real random matrices.
Foreign Accent in Second Language Mandarin Chinese

This chapter discusses second language pronunciation of Mandarin from the perspective of the native Mandarin speakers who listen to it. For such listeners, second language Mandarin often bears a noticeable foreign accent. I will provide a framework for defining foreign accent and for distinguishing accented pronunciation from pronunciation errors. I will then review the results of research related to foreign-accented Mandarin and how it affects listeners’ judgments, comprehension, and the efficiency with which they process second language Mandarin speech. Naturally, lexical tones will receive special attention in this discussion.
Deep Transfer Learning & Beyond: Transformer Language Models in Information Systems Research.

AI is widely thought to be poised to transform business, yet current perceptions of the scope of this transformation may be myopic. Recent progress in natural language processing involving transformer language models (TLMs) offers a potential avenue for AI-driven business and societal transformation that is beyond the scope of what most currently foresee. We review this recent progress as well as recent literature utilizing text mining in top IS journals to develop an outline for how future IS research can benefit from these new techniques. Our review of existing IS literature reveals that suboptimal text mining techniques are prevalent and that the more advanced TLMs could be applied to enhance and increase IS research involving text data, and to enable new IS research topics, thus creating more value for the research community. This is possible because these techniques make it easier to develop very powerful custom systems and their performance is superior to existing methods for a wide range of tasks and applications. Further, multilingual language models make possible higher quality text analytics for research in multiple languages. We also identify new avenues for IS research, like language user interfaces, that may offer even greater potential for future IS research.
Relationships Between E-cigarette Use and Subsequent Cigarette Initiation Among Adolescents in the PATH Study: an Entropy Balancing Propensity Score Analysis.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between electronic cigarette use and subsequent combustible cigarette use, controlling for confounding by using a propensity score method approach. Data from the first three annual waves of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study were analyzed (n = 6309). Participants were tobacco-naive at Wave 1; used e-cigarettes exclusively (n = 414), used combustible cigarettes exclusively (n = 46), or not used any tobacco products (n = 5849) at Wave 2. We conducted entropy balancing propensity score analysis to examine the association between exclusive e-cigarette or cigarette initiation and subsequent cigarette use at Wave 3, adjusting for non-response bias, sampling bias, and confounding. Among tobacco-naive youth, exclusive e-cigarette use was associated with greater risk for subsequent combustible cigarette smoking initiation (OR = 3.42, 95% CI = (1.99, 5.93)) and past 30-day combustible cigarette use (OR = 2.88, 95% CI = (1.22, 6.86)) in the following year. However, the latter risk was comparatively lower than the risk if youth started with a combustible cigarette (OR = 25.79, 95% CI = (9.68, 68.72)). Results of sensitivity analyses indicated that estimated effects were robust to unmeasured confounding. Use of e-cigarettes in tobacco-naive youth is associated with increased risk of subsequent past 30-day combustible cigarette use but the risk is an order of magnitude higher if they start with a combustible cigarette.
Gas processing with intrinsically porous 2D membranes

Abstract The importance of membranes for the processing of gases with significant technological as well as environmental impact is rapidly increasing given their advantages in operation, low energy consumption, and efficiencies. In this work we employ density functional theory calculations to investigate the performance of a number of intrinsically porous two-dimensional (2D) membranes for gas separation applications. Our results indicate that gases with small kinetic diameters such as He, H2O, Ne, H2, and CO2 present low energy barriers and high permeability through these membranes, in contrast to other components of natural and atmospheric gases. Additionally, we show that some of the studied membranes present high selectivities for a number of permeating gases. Our results indicate that these materials are promising candidates for applications in gas processing such as natural gas dehydration and sweetening, He recovery, O2 and N2 production from air, H2 purification, and CO2 capturing.
Community resources and community sentiment: youth in rural Brandenburg, Germany

Dramatic social change in East Germany has warranted the need for communities to assist youth in managing new opportunities and risks. Using data from "Youth in Rural Brandenburg '96," the relationship between youth ages 15 to 21 and their communities was examined through a model of community sentiment. Incorporated were sociodemographic, life interest, social network and support, community, and community resource variables in explaining community attachment and satisfaction. Of interest were resources of special relevance for youth: employment, housing, leisure, and social support. Descriptive analyses indicated negative evaluations of employment and leisure resources, more positive views of housing and social support, above-average levels of attachment, and ambivalent feelings of satisfaction. Males expressed more favorable attitudes toward employment, leisure, and community satisfaction than did females; no differences were noted by age or income. Structural equation modeling results emphasized the importance of social support and leisure resources in explaining community sentiment. Gender, length of residence, family interest, and social support resources directly influenced community attachment. Gender, organizational memberships, population, social support resources, and leisure resources directly influenced community satisfaction. Leisure and social support resources also allowed for the indirect effects of various social network variables on attachment and satisfaction. In addition, social support resources mediated the negative effects of female gender on attachment and satisfaction, and social support and leisure resources mediated the negative effects of community organizational memberships on satisfaction. The final, best-fitting parsimonious model explained almost half the variance in attachment and three-quarters of the variance in satisfaction. Age, income, family socioeconomic status, regional economic status, employment, and housing resources were not significant predictors in the model.
Dynamic Structure-Soil-Wave Model for Deep Water

A mathematical model has been developed for analyzing space-frame, offshore structures. The model, which is based on the normal mode approach, is amenable to either deterministic or stochastic forcing functions. Resistance of the soils to structural deflections is provided by means of a Winkler foundation. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of the restrained structures are the initial results. For harmonic wave forcing, the model produces complex structural deflections throughout the structures, and for random wave forcing, spectra of the structural responses are produced. The model has been used to investigate the response of a realistic offshore structure in a tropical storm. The results also indicate the importance of modeling the foundation as correctly as possible.
SYMPOSIUM: Fiduciary Duties in the Closely Held Business 35 Years After Wilkes v. Springside Nursing Home: Foreword

On October 15, 2010 — exactly fifty-nine years to the day after the opening of the original nursing home operation in 1951 which formed the core business asset of the closely held Springside Nursing Home, Inc. corporation — the Western New England University School of Law and School of Business jointly hosted their 2010 Academic Conference on “Fiduciary Duties in the Closely Held Business 35 Years after Wilkes v. Springside Nursing Home.” As with installments from prior years, the Conference was sponsored by the Western New England University Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship. This issue of the Western New England Law Review documents the papers which were presented at the Symposium.
Condition assessment of water mains using fuzzy evidential reasoning

This paper describes a method of combining fuzzy inference and evidential reasoning to quantify the corrosion rate of buried metallic pipes, i.e., cast-iron and ductile-iron. The method relies on two bodies of evidence: the corrosivity of surrounding soil and the corrosion rate estimated from measured maximum pit depth. Fuzzy inference is used to deduce a corrosivity criterion, viz., corrosivity potential (CoP), for each body of evidence. The two CoPs are then fused using evidential reasoning to obtain a CoP that is expected to be more reliable than that obtained from any one individual body of evidence. This type of criterion can help utility managers make informed decisions on how to protect their pipes exposed to different soil conditions. The proposed reasoning framework is demonstrated through a case study based on soil properties and corrosion rate data.
Neutral Particle Kinetics in Fusion Devices

The theory of neutral particle kinetics treats the transport of mass, momentum, and energy in a plasma due to neutral particles which themselves are unaffected by magnetic fields. This transport affects the global power and particle balances in fusion devices, as well as profile control and plasma confinement quality, particle and energy fluxes onto device components, performance of pumping systems, and the design of diagnostics and the interpretation of their measurements. This paper reviews the development of analytic, numerical, and Monte Carlo methods of solving the time-independent Boltzmann equation describing neutral kinetics. These models for neutral particle behavior typically use adaptations of techniques developed originally for computing neutron transport, due to the analogy between the two phenomena, where charge-exchange corresponds to scattering and ionization to absorption. Progress in the field depends on developing multidimensional analytic methods, and obtaining experimental data for the physical processes of wall reflection, the neutral/plasma interaction, and for processes in fusion devices which are directly related to neutral transport, such as H/sub ..cap alpha../ emission rates, plenum pressures, and charge-exchange emission spectra.
HIV infection destabilizes a targeted subset of the gamma/delta T cell repertoire

The mature gamma/delta T cell receptor repertoire arises by a process of positive selection and amplification of cells expressing the Vg2Vd2 TCR, with further skewing to TCR with the Vg2-Jg1.2 rearrangement. Once formed, the Vg2 repertoire is stable in healthy adults showing more than 50% sequence conservation over intervals of up to 7 years. The Vg2-Jg1.2 chains are among the most conserved elements in healthy individuals and even the balance among naive and memory cell types is maintained. This situation is altered by HIV infection. We showed previously that HIV disease was associated with the targeted loss of cells expressing the Vg2-Jg1.2 rearrangement. In longitudinal studies with specimens from the MACS cohort, we showed that peripheral blood Vg2Vd2 T cell has a high frequency of staining with the vital dye 7-AAD, in most specimens the Vg2Vd2 T cells were twice as likely to be 7-AAD positive compared with CD4+ T cells. The lower viability of circulating Vg2Vd2 T cells was reflected in the repertoire characteristics. We observed a high degree of repertoire conservation in HIV+ individuals, with values consistent with the lower range found in healthy adults. However, stability was confined largely to Vg2 cells with rearrangements using J segments other than Jg1.2. In most cases, any Jg1.2 sequences that were found in HIV+ individuals were not seen in subsequent specimens collected at 6 monthly intervals. The pattern of instability among only the Vg2-Jg1.2+ cells, shows that the effect of HIV on repertoire is a process of rapid turn-over among cells that may be reacting to viral antigens while cells without known responses to HIV (Vg2 with all other Jg rearrangements) are relatively unaffected. Even in this population of cells that are not susceptible to direct infection, owing to the lack of CD4 receptor, depletion is confined to the virus reactive cells.
German Codetermination and German Securities Markets

Germany lacks good securities markets. Initial public offers are infrequent, securities trading is shallow, and even large public firms typically have big blockholders that make the big firms resemble 'semi-private' companies. These 'private' firm characteristics of German ownership are often attributed to poor legal protection of minority stockholders, to the lack of an equity-owning and entrepreneurial culture, and to permissive rules that allow big banks and bank blockholding in ways barred in the U.S. Here, I sketch out another explanation. German codetermination (by which employees control half of the seats on the German supervisory board) undermines diffuse ownership. First, stockholders may want the firm's governing institutions to have a blockholding 'balance of power,' a balance that, because half the supervisory board represents employees, diffusely owned firms may be unable to create. Second, managers and stockholders sapped the supervisory board of power (or, more accurately, stopped it from developing power). Board meetings are infrequent, information flow to the board is poor, and the board is often too big and unwieldy to be effective. Instead of boardroom governance, out-of-the-boardroom shareholder caucuses and meetings between managers and large shareholders substitute for effective boardroom action. But, because diffuse stockholders will at key points in a firm's future need a plausible board (due to a succession crisis, a production downfall, or a technological challenge), diffuse ownership for the German firm would deny the firm both boardroom and blockholder governance. Blockholder governance would be gone (if the block dissipated into a diffuse securities market) and board-level governance would be unavailable because the shareholders and managers had weakened the board beforehand. Stockholders would face a choice of charging up the board (and hence further empowering its employee-half) or of living with sub-standard (by current world criteria) boardroom governance. In the face of such choices, German firms (i.e., their managers and blockholders) retain their 'semi-private,' blockholding structure, and German securities markets do not develop.
Modeling Human Pilot Adaptation to Flight Control Anomalies and Changing Task Demands

A control-theoretic model of the human pilot as an adaptive element in a flight control system is presented. An earlier version of the model has been discussed in the literature for use with single-axis linear, vehicle system descriptions, including an application to a two-axis task with a linear vehicle model. The current study expands the model’s applicability to multiaxis, nonlinear systems. Three illustrative examples are presented: 1) a single-axis control problem with a transfer function description of the controlled-element dynamics; 2) a two-axis flight control problem involving a linear, highly coupled rotorcraft model including fundamental rotor degrees of freedom; and 3) a two-axis flight control problem involving a nonlinear, coupled aircraft model with dynamics patterned after the subscale NASA Langley Research Center’s Generic Transport Model. The ability of the refined adaptive pilot model to accommodate significant and sudden variations in elements of the flight control system, as well as ...
Recognition of Problem Insufficiency: A Proposed Threshold Concept Emergent in Student Accounts of Memorable Interior Design Educational Experiences

Students striving to gain design expertise are likely to face significant barriers, some of which may be specific to a given individual, while others are likely shared among many novices in a discipline. Identifying recurrent patterns of such barriers may inform design pedagogy and indicate larger threshold concepts functioning as portals to disciplinary expertise. In this paper, 38 interior design students in their final required studio, representing three different cohort groups, participated in interviews regarding their design school experiences. From these student accounts, themes pertaining to difficulties which may have functioned as barriers in design expertise development were identified. This paper explores two central themes that are the focus of this inquiry: difficulty in seeking out standards to judge the quality of design work and difficulty in time management. Interview excerpts are used to illustrate how these issues were presented by participating students and the interaction of these factors is examined. An argument is presented that these themes may be indicators of a larger threshold concept for these students, here conceptualized as recognition of problem insufficiency. How this idea might relate to established concepts such as “wicked problems,” “problem structuring,” and “primary generators” is discussed and possible implications of such a threshold concept are explored.
Sleep Disorders in Adults

The goal of this chapter is to review the evidence for treating sleep disorders in adults, with a focus on chronic insomnia. After reviewing the diagnostic criteria, we review the impressive evidence base for cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I is a multicomponent treatment typically comprised of stimulus control, sleep restriction, sleep hygiene, relaxation training, paradoxical intention, and cognitive restructuring. The evidence accrued from meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, including comparisons with medication treatments, single subject experimental analyses, open trials, and case series indicate that CBT-I is an effective method for the treatment of chronic insomnia. The positive effects are well sustained for at least one year after the treatment has ceased. Moreover, trials testing CBT-I for insomnia that is comorbid with a psychiatric or medical disorder are very encouraging. Promising newer, less researched treatments are also reviewed including sleep retraining, cognitive therapy, and mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches. Keywords: insomnia; sleep; cognitive behavior therapy; cognitive therapy; mindfulness
Personality traits in plots with nondeterministic planning for interactive storytelling

Interactive storytelling is a form of digital entertainment in which users participate in the process of composing and dramatizing a story. In this context, determining the characters' behaviour according to their individual preferences can be an interesting way of generating plausible stories where the characters act in a believable manner. Diversity of stories and opportunities for interaction are key requirements to be considered when designing such applications. This work presents concepts and a prototype for the generation and dramatization of interactive nondeterministic plots, using a model of personality traits that serves to guide the actions of the characters presented by the plan generation algorithm. Also, to improve the quality and diversity level of the stories, characters are able to evolve in terms of their personality traits as the plot unfolds, as a reflection of the events they perform or are exposed to.
A least-squares approach based on a discrete minus one inner product for first order systems

The purpose of this paper is to develop and analyze a least-squares approximation to a first order system. The first order system represents a reformulation of a second order elliptic boundary value problem which may be indefinite and/or nonsymmetric. The approach taken here is novel in that the least-squares functional employed involves a discrete inner product which is related to the inner product in H -1 (Ω) (the Sobolev space of order minus one on Ω). The use of this inner product results in a method of approximation which is optimal with respect to the required regularity as well as the order of approximation even when applied to problems with low regularity solutions. In addition, the discrete system of equations which needs to be solved in order to compute the resulting approximation is easily preconditioned, thus providing an efficient method for solving the algebraic equations. The preconditioner for this discrete system only requires the construction of preconditioners for standard second order problems, a task which is well understood.
In vitro investigation of the origin of echoes within biliary sludge

To investigate the origin of echoes from "biliary sludge," concentrated bile and bile from 5 patients with ultrasound findings of biliary sludge were examined in a tissue-equivalent phantom before and after filtration through progressively smaller pore sizes. Filtration converted echogenic bile to echo-free bile. Examination of the filtration residue by light microscopy established that the source of echoes in biliary sludge was particles, predominantly pigment granules, with lesser amounts of cholesterol crystals. Partial chemical characterization by determination of vulnerability to different solvents verified that the sludge was mainly calcium bilirubinate.
Vandaag tanden morgen nieren

Zoals vaak in de geschiedenis van de gezondheidszorg wordt eerst in de tandheelkunde een bepaalde techniek toegepast. In onze tijd is dat het met behulp van een 3D-printer genereren van een vervangend lichaamsdeel.
Infrared surveillance. 1:Statistical model

A new procedure is presented for calculating the performance of scanning background-limited IR sensors with adaptive threshold signal-processing logic. The IR background scene is presumably specified as a radiance map of arbitrary (but deterministic) structure. The nonstationary statistical nature of the photocurrent is taken into account by combining some results from optical communications theory with a formalism for the threshold-crossing statistics of nonstationary noises. The present work is extended in a companion paper in which various simplifying approximations and illustrative numerical examples are presented. The theory developed in these two papers is applicable to design studies for IR passive surveillance devices.
Synthesis and Characterization of Electrocatalytically Active Platinum Atom Clusters and Monodisperse Single Crystals

A novel synthesis technique has been developed that yields monodisperse Pt particles in electrostatically stabilized suspensions without the use of structure directing organic surfactants. The approach uses stannous chloride as both reducing and stabilizing agent to form multifaceted Pt single crystal nanoparticles and clusters of less than 20 atoms. These particles may be assembled into layered electrode structures having well-controlled Pt loadings without precipitation onto organic supports or sintering to remove organic residues, both of which are known to yield particle aggregation and the formation of nonregular structures. Consequently, the particles may be used for fundamental investigations on the effect of platinum dispersion on catalytic activity never previously possible. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) of these particles provides the first direct evidence that peak oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity with increased catalyst dispersion ...
Severe acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) causing ventilatory failure : Successful treatment with mycophenolate mofetil and corticosteroids

Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) has recently been identified as an unusual variant of acute lung injury. We describe a man with rapidly progressive lung disease who had AFOP detected via surgical lung biopsy. The patient acutely decompensated while in the hospital and required mechanical ventilation as well as a prolonged ICU stay. He responded poorly to initial treatment and progressively worsened, but he subsequently responded very well to combined therapy with mycophenolate mofetil and methylprednisolone. The combination of corticosteroids and mycophenolate may provide a safe and effective treatment strategy for severe forms of this newly defined pulmonary syndrome.
Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on haloperidol-induced increases in prolactin release and dopamine turnover in weanling, periadolescent, and adult offspring

Abstract Offspring of dams given 40 mg/kg cocaine SC on gestational days (GD) 8–20 (E8-20) (C40), dams given 0.9% saline SC on E8-20 that were pair fed and watered to C40 dams (PF), and untreated control dams given ad lib access to food and water (LC) were challenged with haloperidol (0.0, 0.05, 0.10, or 0.50 mg/kg) at either 21, 35, or 60 days postnatally (P21, 35, 60). One hour postinjection, animals were sacrificed, trunk blood collected for assay of prolactin, and the striatum (ST) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) removed. The ratio of the dopamine metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid to dopamine (DA) as well as the ratio of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) to serotonin (5-HT) were determined in these brain regions as an index of DA and 5-HT turnover, respectively. Assessment of 5-HIAA/5-HT ratios did not indicate any reliable dose or prenatal treatment effects. Reminiscent of previous findings obtained in C40 offspring at P11 (35), P21 C40 offspring exhibited a slightly reduced sensitivity to haloperidol relative to LC controls both in terms of DA ratios in the NAc as well as plasma prolactin levels. These findings were also evident in PF controls suggesting that they may be the result of prenatal undernutrition. Furthermore, this reduced sensitivity was not evident at the older test ages. At P60, planned comparisons revealed haloperidol-induced increases in prolactin levels in C40 males but not PF or LC males; these findings could potentially reflect feminization in males following prenatal cocaine exposure. Taken together, these data suggest that prenatal cocaine exposure does not produce long-term alterations in basal or haloperidol-induced increases in DA turnover rates in the nigrostriatal or mesolimbic dopamine pathways, although adult male C40 offspring may exhibit a potential alteration in tuberoinfundibular DA release as indexed by altered plasma prolactin levels.
Module mismatch loss and recoverable power in unshaded PV installations

Distributed electronics which optimize power in PV systems have the potential to improve energy production even under unshaded conditions. This work investigates the extent to which mismatch in the unshaded electrical characteristics of PV panels causes system-level power losses, which can be recovered in arrays employing power optimizers. Of particular interest is how this potential for power recovery is affected by factors such as available light, cell temperature, panel technology, and field degradation.
Uniterm indexing principles, problems and solutions

IN INFORMATION systems built on the fundamental principles of Uniterm indexing, operational difficulties can and do develop. Some Uniterm installations were abandoned after development to no more that laboratory scale because the individuals responsible for system operation neglected to, or elected not to develop the simple refinements necessary to solve these problems in their own local situations. Others which could visualize the benefits to be derived from the great depth of indexing possible with Uniterms, face the problems and developed simple but effective solutions. Smoothly functioning Uniterm systems many locations have developed: simplified posting procedures; vocabulary treatment and controls (such as for synonyms and homographs); syntactical control techniques; controls for providing automatic indexing or search on generic levels when indexing provided only narrow specificity; and thesauri word-association matrices to provide to indexers and searchers suggested additional Uniterms for expressing concepts from other viewpoints. In many organizations, solutions to problems inherent indexing via the Uniterm approach have demonstrated that effective, rapid, low-cost output is an assures end result of multi-dimensional analysis and description at input, coupled with selective or parallel storage and search techniques.
Investigation of the thorium-ths phase system

Abstract The phase relationships between Th and ThS have been investigated. A eutectic was found at 1630 °C and 9.5 at.% sulfur. The solubility of sulfur in thorium was found to be less than 1 at.% at 1050 °C. No intermediate phases between Th and ThS were found. ThS appears to become somewhat more metal-rich at higher temperatures.
Thermal energy deposition from a single‐loop rf whole‐body applicator

Whole-body hyperthermia at moderate temperatures (40.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C) is currently being investigated to assess its effectiveness as an adjuvant to other cancer therapies. At our institution, the whole-body heating is achieved by a combination of hot air circulation and rf inductive heating at 27.1 MHz. This paper reports the results of a study of the thermal energy deposition pattern associated with the rf applicator. The applicator consists of a single loop of nearly elliptical shape with dimensions 20 x 46 cm. The loop is embedded in a mattress and is fed by lead wires entering the side of the mattress. Temperature mapping in a heated gelatin phantom placed just above the rf loop showed maximum heating near the lead wires and a cool region above the center of the loop. Calculations of the magnetically induced and capacitive contributions to the electric field near the applicator indicate that the heating near the lead wires is largely capacitive in nature. This feature of the rf heating is of interest because capacitive fields result in preferential heating of fatty tissues. Further calculations showed that the capacitive heating contribution falls away much more rapidly than the induced field contribution with increasing distance from the plane of the rf loop.
Profitability of dairy farming in relation to the type of feeding system

We investigated the profitability of dairy farms in relation to the type of feeding system (seasonal pasture vs. permanent housing). An economic analysis was carried out of data on the structure and financial health of 50 farms in 2007 using questionnaires filled in by the farmers. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to reveal causal relationships between a number of characteristics of the farms. The two axis of PCA explained 40.48% and 16.13% of the variability among the selected farm characteristics. Profitability related more to the number of subsidies, the area of arable land, the number of livestock and to the milk and plant production than to the area of meadows and pastures. Although a better cow performance was achieved on farms with confined herds, the profit per agricultural area and profit rate did not differ significantly between the two feeding strategies (P>0.05). The profit was 3,259 and 3,655 CZK/ha on average and the profit rate 7.9% and 5.6% on average on farms with pastured herds and on farms with confined herds, respectively. A lowering of input costs and a more effective utilisation of grasslands may further enhance profitability.
Dielectric and pyroelectric properties of LiTaO 3 :P(VDF-TrFE) composite films

Pyroelectric infrared radiation detectors are one of kind thermal sensors, operating at ambient temperature, unlike semiconductor detectors, which require cooling. They also have a uniform spectral response in a wide range of wavelengths, including the main band of infrared transmission of the earth's atmosphere. Recently, 0-3 composites consisting of ferroelectric ceramic particles dispersed in a ferroelectric polymer have stimulated interest due to their good mechanical flexibility and strength, and excellent piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. Lithium tantalite [(LiTaO3), LT] ceramic particles have been incorporated into a polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene [P(VDF-TrFE) 70/30 mol%] copolymer matrix to form composite films. The films were prepared using solvent casting method with the LT powder homogeneously dispersed in the P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer matrix with various volume fractions. Electrical properties such as the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and pyroelectric coefficient have been measured as a function of temperature as well as frequency. In addition, materials' figures-of-merit have also been calculated to assess their use in infrared detectors. The results show that the fabricated lithium tantalite: polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene composite films have a good potential for uncooled infrared sensor applications operating at moderate temperatures.
Depressed mood and social support as predictors of quality of life in women receiving home health care

We examined relationships among depressed mood, social support and quality of life in 58 medically ill low-income women 40 years and older receiving home health care. Analyses showed a negative relationship between depressed mood and quality of life (p's < or = 0.05). Positive relationships were found between number of people available for support and two of three quality of life domains as well as satisfaction with support and all three domains (p's < or = 0.05). Results also provided preliminary support that belonging to a church is related to emotional well-being (p = 0.039) and among those belonging to a church, recent increased activity was related to social/family well-being (p = 0.004). Mediational analyses revealed a cycle of depressed mood, dissatisfaction with social support, and loss of social support providers underlying the poor quality of life of many participants. This highlights the need to address the relationship between depression and social support when treating patients with chronic illness.
Classification of NDE Waveforms with Autoregressive Models

This paper describes a new approach for classifying NDE waveforms. Using this approach a set of matched filters is constructed one for each category of waveform, based on parameters from autoregressive models. The method offers advantages in terms of hardware implementation over conventional pattern recognition approaches. Feasibility is shown using computer generated data. Results are then presented for real data from acoustic emission experiments.
Differential labelling of alpha and beta-noradrenergic receptors in calf cerebellum membranes with 3H-adrenaline.

β-NORADRENERGIC receptor detection with radiolabelled catecholamines has been hampered by binding of catecholamines to other sites1,2. Lefkowitz and Williams3 described binding of a synthetic catecholamine 3H-hydroxybenzylisoprenaline to β-noradrenergic receptors on frog red blood cell membranes. Using procedures to prevent metabolism and nonspecific binding, we identified binding of 3H-adrenaline to α-noradrenergic receptor sites in brain membranes4,5. We report here the labelling of β-noradrenergic receptors in membranes of the calf cerebellum with 3H-adrenaline.
Treating prostate cancer in elderly men: how does aging affect the outcome?

Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer in United States and remains the second leading cause of death in the Western world. Because the median age of diagnosis for men with prostate cancer is greater than 75 years, PCa can be considered a disease of the elderly. Several disease-specific factors (e.g., stage, tumor grade, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level) and patient-specific factors (e.g., age, co-morbidity, and functional status) need to be considered in the decision-making process. In an attempt to incorporate these important factors to select optimal treatment for older individuals, several decision models have been published, yet their utility in clinical practice remains poorly understood. Current guidelines for the management of patients with PCa do not make specific recommendations for the elderly. Clearly there is a need to improve our understanding of the complex interrelationships between old age, co-morbidities, and their impact on expected outcomes.
Adaptive Finite-State Models of Manual Control Systems

A model of human operator behavior is presented based on the following assumptions: that the input and output are quantized into a limited number of states and that data processing is performed on asynchronous samples of this coarsely quantized input, i.e., that the human operator behaves as a finite-state machine. A hybrid element or hybrid actuator is used to achieve a continuous variation of output position.
An Effective Dithering Method for Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Reduction in Single-Phase DC/AC Inverters

A comprehensive method of electromagnetic emission interference (EMI) reduction in dc/ac inverters through periodic dithering of the pulse-width modulated (PWM) switching frequency is presented in this paper. The periodic dithering is the process of changing the switching frequency of the PWM signal that drives the switches of the power electronics inverter. The effects of the various parameters involved in the PWM dithering process have been analyzed in this paper. The important parameters involved in the dithering process are the frequency range used for dithering, the periodic time of the dithering signal, and the phase of the dithering signal. The effect of each of these parameters has been studied to determine their values that minimize the EMI. Additionally, analytical expressions for theoretical prediction of the EMI levels at different frequencies have been derived for performance analysis during the design stage. The theoretical predictions for the dithering signals have been found to accurately correlate with both the simulation and experimental results.