cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recognizing Intentions in Infant-Directed Speech: Evidence for Universals

In all languages studied to date, distinct pro- sodic contours characterize different intention categories of infant-directed(ID) speech. This vocal behavior likely exists universally as a species-typical trait, but little research has examined whether listeners can accurately recognize inten- tions in ID speech using only vocal cues, without access to semanticinformation.Werecordednative-English-speaking mothers producing four intention categories of utterances (prohibition, approval, comfort, and attention) as both ID and adult-directed (AD) speech, and we then presented the utterances to Shuar adults (South American hunter-horti- culturalists).Shuarsubjectswereabletoreliablydistinguish ID from AD speech and were able to reliably recognize the intention categories in both types of speech, although per- formance was significantly better with ID speech. This is the first demonstration that adult listeners in an indigenous, nonindustrialized, and nonliterate culture can accurately infer intentions from both ID speech and AD speech in a language they do not speak.
Absorption from the peritoneal cavity: Sem study of the mesothelium covering the peritoneal surface of the muscular portion of the diaphragm†

Colored tracers, injected intraperitoneally in mice, are taken up by diaphragmatic lymphatics, outlining their large, terminal cisterns, the so-called lacunae. The lacunae occur exclusively on the muscular portion of the diaphragm. The mesothelium covering non-lacunar and lacunar areas of the muscular portion was examined with the SEM. Mesothelial cells overlying non-lacunar areas are extremely flat, and their boundaries are indistinct. Mesothelial cells overlying lacunae protrude towards the lumen of the peritoneal cavity and have distinct outlines. There are openings or stomata, 4-12 micron in diameter, between them. Some of the stomata overlie a deep pit; others overlie a shallower pit in which the surface of another cell can be seen beneath the opening. It seems likely that the bulk of the fluid draining from the peritoneal cavity passes through these stomata into underlying lymphatic lacunae.
A consistent poleward shift of the storm tracks in simulations of 21st century climate

[1] A consistent poleward and upward shift and intensification of the storm tracks is found in an ensemble of 21st century climate simulations performed by 15 coupled climate models. The shift of the storm tracks is accompanied by a poleward shift and upward expansion of the midlatitude baroclinic regions associated with enhanced warming in the tropical upper troposphere and increased tropopause height. The poleward shift in baroclinicity is augmented in the Southern Hemisphere and partially offset in the Northern Hemisphere by changes in the surface meridional temperature gradient. The poleward shift of the storm tracks also tends to be accompanied by poleward shifts in surface wind stress and precipitation, and a shift towards the high index state of the annular modes. These results highlight the integral role that the storm tracks play in the climate system, and the importance of understanding how and why they will change in the future.
A Novel Decision Strategy of Vertical Handoff in Overlay Wireless Networks

In an overlay wireless network, a mobile user can connect to different radio access networks if it is equipped with appropriate network interfaces. When the mobile user changes its connection between different radio access networks, a vertical handoff occurs. Most existing vertical handoff decision strategies are designed to meet individual needs that may not achieve a good system performance. In this paper, we propose and analyze a novel vertical hand-off decision strategy that considers the performance of the whole system. The performance comparison of the proposed vertical handoff decision strategy and existing strategy shows that the proposed strategy is better in the blocking probability of vertical handoff calls
The Glitch That Stole Christmas From The Pac-10

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) employs a multi-criteria decision model (MCDM) to determine eligibility to play in the most elite college football bowls at the end of the season. MCDM’s are widely used in business and government to make important decisions, including those with tremendous financial impacts. The BCS college bowls have the biggest payouts involving several million dollars. This year, the PAC-10 could have been the first football conference to place two teams in the BCS bowl. What a Merry Christmas that would have been! The payout would have been $2.75 million or $275 thousand per team. Unfortunately, due to the use of a faulty MCDM that distorts the relationship between those football programs considered, a glitch in the BCS formula stole the Rose Bowl prestige and the money from the PAC-10 during the Christmas holidays. Using appropriate multipliers, the economic impact in PAC-10 communities could have been very significant. The implication for future competition through enhanced athletic facilities, for example, could have a sustained economic impact for several years in those communities. It will be demonstrated in this paper that had the BCS employed a valid and consistent algorithm for determining a final score, even with the BCS’s own data, the University of California would have a higher score than the University of Texas and the PAC-10 would have benefited by $2.75 Million, and they would have a much merrier Christmas than they had from playing in the Holiday Bowl.
Parent Factors and Adolescent Sickle Cell Disease: Associations With Patterns of Health Service Use

Objective: To examine relationships among parent characteristics (parent-adolescent relationship, parents’ illness knowledge, and parents’ perceptions of illness-related burden) and use of routine and urgent health services among adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). Method: Seventy adolescents, ages 12–18, and their parents completed questionnaires assessing illness knowledge, perceptions of illness burden, parent-adolescent relationships, and adolescents’ psychological functioning. Information about pain, routine services (i.e., care at home, clinic visits) and urgent service use (i.e., emergency department visits, hospitalizations) was obtained from parents and medical records. Results: After we controlled for disease severity and life events, parents’ perception of more illness-related stress was the strongest predictor of both types of service use. Greater parental knowledge about SCD also related to higher frequency of routine service use. Disease severity was strongly associated with frequency of urgent service use. Conclusions: Both parent characteristics and disease severity were associated with patterns of service use. Enhancing aspects of parental functioning may help families make adaptive decisions regarding health care services for SCD pain management.
Executive Power and the Passion for Virtue

To be taken seriously is the hope of a serious author, next to which being agreed with is a petty affair. If this sentiment sounds inhuman, and too good to be true, it is because it abstracts from the desire for recognition, which can take the form of desire for political power. Sheldon Wolin takes my book Taming the Prince 1 seriously as—as if it were!—an important political influence. He flatters the all-too-human side of my soul by fastening on the book's conclusion and working backwards from that.
Propofol: Effects on the Central Nervous System:

Propofol remains a popular agent for providing intraoperative anesthesia as well as sedation during mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. In addition to its sedative/anxi...
The role of a "germinal plasm" in the formation of primordial germ cells in Rana pipiens.

Abstract Ultraviolet irradiation of the vegetal hemisphere of Rana pipiens eggs, beginning the first cleavage division, with doses greater than 8000 ergs/mm 2 resulted in the complete elimination of primordial germ cells in 100% of the larvae that were otherwise apparently normal. Irradiation of the animal hemisphere with equivalent doses of UV had no apparent effect on the formation of primordial germ cells. The effect of UV on germ cell formation was greatest at the time of the first division. After this, increasingly fewer eggs, which had been irradiated at the vegetal hemisphere, developed into larvae without germ cells. At the 8-cell stage, complete elimination of germ cells was not observed. Restitution of the germ line in irradiated eggs was obtained by injecting vegetal hemisphere cytoplasm from unirradiated eggs into the vegetal hemisphere of irradiated eggs, but restitution did not occur by injection of animal hemisphere cytoplasm. The UV action spectrum of germ cell inactivation suggests that the sensitive material is a nucleic acid. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of a specific cytoplasmic germinal determinant. This determinant is present only in the vegetal hemisphere cytoplasm; it is probably a nucleic acid; and it appears in embryonic development prior to the first cleavage division.
Degradation Modeling of Polyurea Pavement Markings

Polyurea is a long life, quick-curing material used in pavement markings and a material of interest to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. This article presents a performance model and the characteristics of polyurea pavement markings in North Carolina by using Ordinary Least Squares models. The performance-based models provide pavement marking managers with tools to better allocate limited manpower and resources to optimize budgets while maintaining newly proposed pavement marking retroreflectivity levels of service. This research constructed performance models for polyurea pavement markings based on the independent variables of time, initial retroreflectivity, lateral line location, and annual average daily traffic. Using the models generated by this research, pavement marking managers can predict the remaining life of a given pavement marking to maintain a standard level of service. A key finding of this article is that the type of glass bead used in the marking significantly affects polyurea pavement marking degradation. Language: en
Determining the Optimal Pneumococcal Vaccination Strategy for Adults: Is There a Role for the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine?

On February 24, 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a 13-valent pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccine (PCV13) for use in children. Currently, the only pneumococcal vaccine approved for use in adults in the United States is the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23). Although PPV23 provides partial protection against invasive pneumococcal disease, it does not appear to impact the risk of pneumonia in elderly patients or younger adults with comorbidities. Experience with PCV7 in children and studies of the immunogenicity of PCV7 in high-risk adults suggest that PCV13 may be effective in adults. However, prior receipt of PPV23 may blunt the antibody response to protein conjugate vaccination; thus, receipt of PPV23 could potentially diminish the benefit of subsequent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination. The approval of PCV13 for children has created a unique dilemma for physicians seeking to provide optimum protection for their high-risk adult patients. Potential options could include use of the PCV13 "off-label," perhaps followed by PPV23; withholding pneumococcal vaccination of adults while awaiting approval of PCV13; or continuing to use the PPV23. Although there are limited data on PCVs in adults, the availability of PCV13 for children will likely cause uncertainty for some physicians until there is updated official guidance regarding the optimum strategies for prevention of pneumococcal infection in adults.
Measurement of brain structures with artificial neural networks: two- and three-dimensional applications.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of an artificial neural network (ANN) to identify brain structures. This ANN was applied to postprocessed magnetic resonance (MR) images to segment various brain structures in both two- and three-dimensional applications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An ANN was designed that learned from experience to define the corpus callosum, whole brain, caudate, and putamen. Manual segmentation was used as a training set for the ANN. The ANN was trained on two-thirds of the manually segmented images and was tested on the remaining one-third. The reliability of the ANN was compared against manual segmentations by two technicians. RESULTS: The ANN was able to identify the brain structures as readily and as well as did the two technicians. Reliability of the ANN compared with the technicians was 0.96 for the corpus callosum, 0.95 for the whole brain, 0.86 (right) and 0.93 (left) for the caudate, and 0.71 (right) and 0.88 (left) for the putamen. CONCLUSION: The ANN was able to identify the stru...
The Acoustic Properties of Different Noise Sources

This paper discusses a method to find the acoustic properties of different types of background noise: highway, airport, subway, restaurant, rain, inside a car, and inside a train. Four parameters are calculated using the Auto Correlation Function (ACF). These parameters are energy (at the origin of delay ?(0)) the amplitude of the first positive peak of the ACF (?_{FP), } τ_{PF} (delay of ?{FP} ), the amplitude of the first negative peak of the ACF ( ?_{FN} ).
Creating 3D specific systems: architecture, design and CAD

3D stacking and integration can provide system advantages. Following a brief technology review, this abstract explores application drivers, design and CAD for 3D ICs. The main application area explored in detail is that of logic on memory. This application is explored in a specific DSP example. Finally critical areas that need better solutions are explored. These include design planning, test management, and thermal management.
Expectation disconfirmation and technology adoption: polynomial modeling and response surface analysis

Individual-level information systems adoption research has recently seen the introduction of expectation-disconfirmation theory (EDT) to explain how and why user reactions change over time. This prior research has produced valuable insights into the phenomenon of technology adoption beyond traditional models, such as the technology acceptance model. First, we identify gaps in EDT research that present potential opportunities for advances-specifically, we discuss methodological and analytical limitations in EDT research in information systems and present polynomial modeling and response surface methodology as solutions. Second, we draw from research on cognitive dissonance, realistic job preview, and prospect theory to present a polynomial model of expectation-disconfirmation in information systems. Finally, we test our model using data gathered over a period of 6 months among 1,143 employees being introduced to a new technology. The results confirmed our hypotheses that disconfirmation in general was bad, as evidenced by low behavioral intention to continue using a system for both positive and negative disconfirmation, thus supporting the need for a polynomial model to understand expectation disconfirmation in information systems.
The New Holy Clubs: Testing Church-to-Sect Propositions

The familiar sect-to-church theory holds that successful sects will gradually become more church-like over time, reducing the level of tension they hold with their environment. H. Richard Niebuhr (1929), the originator of sect-to-church theory, took it for granted that transformation was possible only in the church-like direction - that churches could not reverse the process and become more sectlike. Recent theoretical developments, however, suggest that under certain conditions, and where groups are market-dependent, religious organizations will shift in the direction of higher tension with their environment (Stark and Finke 2000). Using recent data from Methodist congregations, we test selected propositions from these new theoretical developments.
Testicular recurrence from "primary" retroperitoneal germ cell tumor.

Abstract Extragonadal germ cell tumors are a rare clinical entity. We present the case of an extragonadal germ cell tumor followed by testicular recurrence more than 4 years later. This presents an interesting dilemma as to whether this was recurrence of the original tumor or a new, primary tumor. The patient’s outcome and surveillance protocol for these tumors are presented.
Towards Green Broadband Access Networks

Energy consumption in next-generation access networks is rapidly increasing with the increase of bandwidth demands. In this paper, we devise design techniques aimed to build "green" access networks to reduce energy consumption. We apply these techniques on a novel access network paradigm named Wireless-Optical Broadband Access Network (WOBAN). We present a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) model to investigate the power consumption in WOBAN over dynamic traffic profiles. We analyze the impact of energy-aware design on the performance of WOBAN. Our results indicate that there are large scopes of power savings if we incorporate energy-aware design and routing in access networks.
Phosphorylation state of the Na+–K+–Cl− cotransporter (NKCC1) in the gills of Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) during acclimation to water of varying salinity

SUMMARY Euryhaline teleosts such as Atlantic killifish ( Fundulus heteroclitus ) are able to acclimate to changing environmental salinity by tightly regulating NaCl absorption and secretion across their gills. Many studies have examined the mechanisms responsible for long-term (days) salinity acclimation; however, much remains unknown about the mechanisms of acute (hours) salinity acclimation. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that phosphorylation of the Na + –K + –Cl − cotransporter (NKCC1) located in the basolateral membrane of the gill plays a role in acute salinity acclimation and that changes in NKCC1 phosphorylation are mediated by a cAMP–protein kinase A (cAMP–PKA) pathway. Using a phospho-specific antibody, we determined the time course of changes in total and phosphorylated NKCC1 protein during acclimation to water of various salinities. Long-term (≥14 days) acclimation of killifish to seawater (SW) and 2× SW resulted in 4- to 6-fold and 5- to 8-fold increases, respectively, in total gill NKCC1 protein relative to fish maintained in freshwater (FW). NKCC1 was found to be between 20% and 70% activated in fish, with lower average activation in fish acclimated to SW and 2× SW compared with FW fish. Increases and decreases in the fractional level of NKCC1 phosphorylation were seen within 1 h of transfer of fish to water of higher and lower salinity, respectively, consistent with a regulatory role of phosphorylation prior to an increase in the biosynthesis of NKCC1; large changes in protein expression of NKCC1 were observed over periods of hours to days. We found that NKCC1 phosphorylation is acutely regulated in the killifish gill in response to changing environmental salinity and that phosphorylation in excised gills increases in response to forskolin stimulation of the cAMP–PKA pathway. The role of phosphorylation is further underscored by the observation that mRNA expression of sterile 20 (Ste20)-related proline–alanine-rich kinase (SPAK) changes with salinity acclimation, being 2.7-fold greater in SW-acclimated killifish relative to FW fish. Overall, these results demonstrate an important role of NKCC1 phosphorylation in the gill of Atlantic killifish during acute salinity acclimation.
FUNCTIONAL PROTEIN ISOLATES FROM MECHANICALLY DEBONED TURKEY BY ALKALINE SOLUBILIZATION WITH ISOELECTRIC PRECIPITATION

Functional protein isolates were separated from coarsely and finely ground mechanically deboned (MDB) turkey using a combined alkaline solubilization with isoelectric precipitation method. Although the two types of MDB turkey were quite different in original composition, the compositions of the resultant protein isolates were very similar. Almost all of the fat, collagen and calcium originally present in the MDB turkey were removed during the processing. Gels made from the resultant protein isolates showed good textural properties and water retention ability with lighter color than the original MDB turkey.
In Situ Study of the Temperature Dependence of Irradiation-Induced Amorphization in A-Sic

Ion-beam-induced amorphization in single crystal α-SiC has been studied as a function of temperature. Specimens have been irradiated with 1.5 MeV Xe+ ions over the temperature range from 20 to 475 K using the HVEM-Tandem Facility (ANL), and the evolution of the amorphous state has been followed in situ in the HVEM. Specimens also have been irradiated at 170, 300, and 370 K with 360 keV Ar+ ions, and the damage accumulation process followed in situ by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/channeling using the dual beam facilities at the Ion Beam Materials Laboratory (LANL). At 20 K, the displacement dose for complete amorphization is 0.25 dpa and increases with temperature in two stages. The activation energy associated with the simultaneous recovery processes above 100 K is 0.12 ± 0.02 eV. The critical temperature above which amorphization does not occur is 485 K under the 1.5 MeV Xe+ irradiation conditions. Ion channeling results suggest that the rate of simultaneous recovery increases with temperature only above a critical damage level. Raman spectroscopy indicates that rapid chemical disordering occurs during irradiation.
Characterizing the Effect of Videophone Conversations on Intersection Driving Performance

The present study examined the efficacy of videophone conversations for enhancing conversation partner situational awareness and mitigating cell phone distraction during intersection drives. Younger and older drivers drove through simulated intersections in four conditions: undistracted, with an in-car passenger, with a remote partner who could see the driver and a subset of the driving scene via a videophone, and with a remote partner on a cell phone. Relative to the cell phone condition, passenger and videophone conversations enhanced situational awareness and mitigated distraction. Younger and older drivers showed similar benefits, although there were age-related costs to driving performance overall. Videophone information offers a simple and promising potential strategy to enhance partner situational awareness during cell phone conversations, even when the conversation partner can see only a subset of the driving scene.
The January effect anomaly: effect on the returns-earnings association

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the January effect, a well-documented capital markets pricing anomaly in which January return premiums are observed to be on average higher than in other months of the year. Extant literature focusses primarily on investor trading behaviors and incentives. This study is different in that it investigates the link between the unusually high returns characteristic of the January effect and accounting earnings, a popular measure that investors use to judge firm value. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical model used in this study is derived from the analytical framework of Ohlson (1995) and Feltham and Ohlson (1995), which explains returns as a function of current and future accounting earnings. Isolating firms that exhibit January effect return premiums from those that do not offers a deeper look at the characteristics of the anomaly. Regression analyses are carried out using a modified Fama-MacBeth (1973) methodology. Quarterly earnings and returns dat...
Extracting thermal histories from the near-rim zoning in titanite using coupled U-Pb and trace-element depth profiles by single-shot laser-ablation split stream (SS-LASS) ICP-MS

Abstract A method for depth profiling using single-shot laser-ablation split stream (SS-LASS) ICP-MS is developed to simultaneously measure U-Pb age and trace-element concentrations in titanite. Simple semi-infinite, 1-D half-space diffusion models were applied to near-rim, trace-element zoned domains in titanite to distinguish between cooling and (re)crystallization ages and investigate the potential for preservation of thermally mediated diffusive loss profiles. These data illustrate the need to measure multiple trace elements with varying diffusivities to interpret a mineral's thermal history resulting from the non-unique nature of 1-D diffusion models where both temperature and time are unknown. A case study of titanites from two Pamir Plateau gneiss domes indicates they underwent ≥ 25 Myr of amphibolite and granulite facies metamorphism yet did not experience significant volume diffusion modification following (re)crystallization. The interpretation of prolonged (re)crystallization rather than diffusion allows for high-resolution, near-rim temperature-time histories to be extracted using U-Pb dates and Zr4 + apparent temperatures by SS-LASS.
Abstract 477: Diverse Actions of the EP4 Prostaglandin E2 Receptor in Blood Pressure Control

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a major prostanoid produced by the kidney having the potential to influence renal blood flow, Na excretion, and thus mean arterial pressure (BP). PGE2 actions are mediated by four distinct E-prostanoid (EP) receptor isoforms: EP1-EP4. The EP4 receptor (EP4R) triggers macula densa stimulation of renin, induces vasodilation, and may inhibit epithelial sodium transport. Thus, the impact of EP4Rs on BP may differ with the sites of PGE2 synthesis and pattern of EP4R activation within the kidney. To examine the role of EP4R on BP regulation we generated EP4R-deficient mice. Because deletion of EP4R in utero causes peri-natal mortality due to persistent patent ductus arteriosus, we carried out conditional deletion by crossing EP4flox/flox with a transgenic line with tamoxifen-inducible Cre expression in all tissues. Resting mean arterial pressure (MAP) measured by radiotelemetry was increased by 5±1mm Hg (p
Objective Function Development for Optimized Path Guidance for Rotorcraft Shipboard Recovery

A methodology is presented for formulating objective functions that may be incorporated in formal optimization studies with the goal of determining path guidance for autonomous rotorcraft shipboard recovery. In the present study, two objective functions are developed within the context of two separate trajectory optimizations that are executed simultaneously. The objective functions are designed to include multiple performance factors, and the relative weights between those performance factors are tailored for operational considerations. Results illustrate that the specific performance factors and relative weights can influence the mathematical properties of the resulting optimization problem, which may influence the tractability of the numerical solution. Additionally, it was found that segmenting the path variables in spatial and temporal variables was effective for analyzing the results of this particular optimization.
Detonation Initiation and Shock-Flame Interaction in Hydrogen-Air Mixtures

Two-dimensional simulations of the interaction of a planar incident shock wave with a circular laminar flame bubble in a narrow rectangular channel containing a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture are presented. The results are examined and compared for three different chemical-diffusive models: (1) a single-step irreversible reaction with constant heat capacity and simplified transport, (2) a detailed chemical reaction mechanism with variable heat capacity and simplified transport properties, and (3) a detailed chemical reaction mechanism with variable heat capacity and mixture-averaged transport properties. The major result is that the three models produce similar limits of detonation initiation as a function of the incident shock Mach number. Depending on the incident shock strength, two mechanisms of detonation initiation are observed: direct ignition by reflected shock waves and a gradient mechanism involving hot spots in shock-compressed material.
Pregnancy Related Breast Carcinoma: Comparison of Receptor Status with Age-Matched Controls.

Pregnancy related breast cancer (PRBC) is defined as breast cancer that is diagnosed during a pregnancy or within 1 year post-partum. These are generally considered as biologically aggressive tumors but the recent data suggests their prognosis to be similar to that of non-pregnant patients matched for age and stage. In the last few years, gene-expression profiling has been used to define breast cancer molecular classes with prognostic significance. The determination of tumor molecular class by immunohistochemistry is a reasonable alternative to molecular profiling. Therefore, we used immunohistochemical surrogate markers, estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR) and HER2 to determine breast cancer molecular classes in PRBC and compared them to age matched controls. ER and PR were scored using a semi-quantitative H-score like method that take into account both intensity and percentage cellular staining, and the score has a dynamic range of 0-300. An ER and PR score >10 was considered a positive result. An ER/PR score of 200 or higher in a tumor was considered as strongly positive for the hormone receptor. HER2 was considered positive only if 3+ by IHC or unequivocally amplified by FISH. The tumors were classified as luminal A (LUMA), Luminal B (LUMB), Triple Negative (TN), ERBB2, Luminal A-HER2 Hybrid (LAHH), and Luminal B-HER2 Hybrid (LBHH). The immunohistochemical criteria, prevalence of molecular subtypes in PRBC and age matched controls (age less than 40 years) is shown in the table below. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 16.0. Chi-square test was performed to compare the differences in percentages between PRBC and the non-pregnant control group. A p-value Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6012.
Particle transport in laboratory models of bifurcating fractures

Abstract This article provides experimental analysis as well as numerical simulation of flow of liquids and suspensions through laboratory models of basic bifurcating channel geometries. Numerical results of single phase Newtonian and non-Newtonian (power law) fluid flow in 3-dimensional square channels show good agreement with experimental data. The particle-laden experiments are carried out with neutrally buoyant suspension of spherical particles for different inlet solid volume fraction and different D ∥ / D ⊥ where D ∥ is the width of the straight branch and D ⊥ is the width of side branch of the channel for a range of Reynolds numbers, 0 Re D ∥ = D 0 , with D 0 the width of the inlet branch. The focus of the multiphase flow study is on the role of the size ratio of the side channel to the primary or straight channel, and the relative size of the particle to the channel widths. The Reynolds number is defined as Re = ρD 0 U / η , where U is the average velocity at inlet, while ρ and η are density and viscosity of the fluid, respectively.
When I’m 64

When the United States Social Security system was first proposed, President Roosevelt could not imagine the dramatically transformed demographics just a few generations later. In 1935, the United States passed its first legislation offering social security payments to retirees who reach the age of 65. At that time, the life expectancy was only 63 years old. Today, those that reach retirement age are expected to live at least another two decades. And, a girl born today in Japan is likely to live to the next century. If this woman completes a graduate education by the age of 24 and retires at age of 62, she will live almost as long in retirement as she participated in the workforce.
Irrigation, Water Allocation Strategies, and the Hohokam Collapse

ABSTRACTThis paper explores potential structural characteristics and archaeological indicators of two models of water allocation that may have been implemented by Hohokam groups in central Arizona. One model, termed “regulated competition.” presumes the existence of institutionalized regulatory mechanisms. The second model, termed “unregulated competition,” presumes no such mechanism. Unregulated competition better explains the occurrence of (1) high densities of canals and archaeological sites in upstream portions of the Salt River Basin that do not contain prime alluvial bottomland, and (2) nonoptimal canal gradients and changes in canal cross sections that allow water to be diverted rapidly from major drainages. A sequence of collapse among irrigation systems in different drainages is developed using the unregulated competition model of water allocation and earlier arguments concerning variations in stream flow between basins. When extended to their logical conclusions, these data imply that sites in t...
Modeling the Marine Environment

To enhance the visual realism of the marine environment, we have created physics-based animate models of seaweeds, plankton, and water currents.
The effect of growth hormone replacement in patients with hypopituitarism on pituitary tumor recurrence, secondary cancer, and stroke

Growth hormone replacement therapy has benefits for patients with hypopituitarism. The safety profile in regard to tumor recurrence or progression, development of secondary malignancies, or cerebrovascular stroke is still an area of debate. A comprehensive search of multiple databases—MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus was conducted through August 2015. Eligible studies that evaluated long-term adverse events in adult patients with hypopituitarism treated with growth hormone replacement therapy and reported development of pituitary tumor recurrence or progression, secondary malignancies, or cerebrovascular stroke were selected following a predefined protocol. Reviewers, independently and in duplicate, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool relative risks and 95 % confidence intervals. We included 15 studies (published 1995–2015) that reported on 46,148 patients. Compared to non-replacement, growth hormone replacement therapy in adults with hypopituitarism was not associated with statistically significant change in pituitary tumor progression or recurrence (relative risk, 0.77; 95 % confidence interval, 0.53–1.13) or development of secondary malignancy (relative risk, 0.99; 95 % confidence interval, 0.70–1.39). In two retrospective studies, there was higher risk of stroke in patients who did not receive replacement (relative risk, 2.07; 95 % confidence interval, 1.51–2.83). The quality of evidence is low due to study limitations and imprecision. This systematic review and meta-analysis supports the overall safety of growth hormone therapeutic use in adults with hypopituitarism with no clear evidence of increased risk of pituitary tumor recurrence, malignancy, or stroke.
AKT Kinase Addiction in Multiple Myeloma.

Abstract Cancer cells with activating kinase mutations are singularly hypersensitive to drugs that target these kinases, a phenomenon referred to as kinase or oncogene addiction. Although the AKT kinase is not known to be mutated in multiple myeloma (MM), it is frequently hyperactivated due to mutations in upstream signaling proteins. Previous work indicated that MM cells with heightened AKT activity were hypersensitive to drugs targeted to mTOR, a downstream substrate of AKT, suggesting an addiction to this pathway. “Kinase addiction” would theortically render the cell dependent on the kinase for growth. This dependency implies that other cascades of viability and/or proliferation may become downregulated subsequent to kinase activation. To test for AKT kinase addiction in MM we stably transfected the U266 MM cell line that is known to be protected against apoptosis by an autocrine Il-6/IL6R pathway (Caitlett-Falcone et al., Immunity 10, 105–115, 1999) with a constitutively active AKT construct (U266-AKT). AKT-transfected MM cells were protected against fas-induced apoptosis even when the autocrine IL-6 protective pathway was paralyzed by anti-IL6 and anti-IL6 receptor antibodies. However, as expected for an AKT addicted cell line, the U266-AKT cell line was more sensitive to agents that target the PI3/AKT/mTOR pathway, including two AKT inhibitors and the PI3K inhibitors LY294002 and wortmanin in terms of increased level of apoptosis and/or growth inhibition in comparison to the control U266 cell line. This “kinase-addicted” state was associated with down regulation of several components of the autocrine anti-apoptotic pathway of U266 cells. Expression of IL6, the IL6 receptor subunits gp80 and gp130 and STAT3 were all markedly silenced following AKT transfection. This down regulation of the survival pathway was relatively specific as expression of the fas receptor and VEGF receptors were relatively unaffected. The decrease in protein expression was also reflected in the decrease of mRNA for the receptor subunits, suggesting a transcriptional mechanism for down regulation. As expected from the decrease in autocrine IL-6 signaling, AKT-transfected cells also demonstrated a marked inhibition of Jak1 and MAPK 42/44 phosphorylation and enzymatic activity. In summary, over expression of activated AKT results in an AKT-addicted state whereby the MM cell becomes dependent on AKT for survival as other growth-promoting and anti-apoptotic cascades become paralyzed. These data support AKT as an important target for therapeutic intervention of MM and suggest such therapy would be most successful in patients whose MM cells contain the highest amount of activated AKT.
Tolerability and safety of the intake of bovine milk oligosaccharides extracted from cheese whey in healthy human adults.

Mechanistic research suggests a unique evolutionary relationship between complex milk oligosaccharides and cognate bifidobacteria enriched in breast-fed infants. Bovine milk oligosaccharides (BMO) were recently identified as structurally and functionally similar to human milk oligosaccharides. The present single-blind three-way crossover study is the first to determine the safety and tolerability of BMO consumption by healthy human participants (n 12) and its effects on faecal microbiota and microbial metabolism. Participants consumed each supplement (placebo-control; low- and high-BMO doses) for eleven consecutive days, followed by a 2-week washout period prior to initiating the next supplement arm. Low and high BMO doses were consumed as 25 and 35 % of each individual's daily fibre intake, respectively. Safety and tolerability were measured using standardised questionnaires on gut and stomach discomfort and stool consistency. Faecal extracts were profiled for bacterial populations by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bifidobacteria presence was confirmed using quantitative PCR. Urine was analysed for changes in microbial metabolism using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR). Consumption of both the low and high BMO doses was well tolerated and did not change stool consistency from baseline. Multivariate analysis of the NGS results demonstrated no change in faecal microbiota phyla among the placebo-control and BMO supplement groups. In conclusion, BMO supplementation was well tolerated in healthy adults and has the potential to shift faecal microbiota toward beneficial strains as part of a synbiotic treatment with probiotic cultures that selectively metabolise oligosaccharides.
Abstract 254: Cellular Heterogeneity of the Ascending Aorta Relationship to AngII-Induced Medial Hemorrhage

Introduction and Objective: Infusion of angiotensin II (AngII) into mice generates pronounced aneurysms that are localized to the ascending aorta. Following prolonged infusion of AngII, the resulting ascending aneurysms are characterized by pronounced lumen dilation and concentric medial thickening with progressive expansion between elastin layers from the lumen to the adventitia of the aorta. The presence of medial hemorrhage is a common characteristic within 5 days of initiating AngII infusion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the location of medial hemorrhage coincided with overt structural or cellular transition within the aorta. Methods and Results: Eight-week-old, male, C57BL/6 mice were fed a normal laboratory diet and infused with either saline (N=5) or AngII (1,000 ng/kg/min, N=20) subcutaneously using osmotic mini pumps for 5 days. Mice were terminated after 5 days of AngII infusion. Thirty percent (6 out of 20) displayed hemorrhage, visible from the ascending aorta to the aortic arch. Serial sections (10 μm) were acquired through the entire aortic root and ascending aorta. Alpha-actin and reticular fibroblast (ER-TR7) antibodies detected the location of smooth muscle cells (SMC) and fibroblasts, respectively. In both groups, there was a transition within the aortic root in which the media no longer immunostained positively for alpha actin. Conversely, this region immunostained positively for fibroblasts. Hemorrhages occurred distal to the cellular phenotypic changes seen in the aortic root. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the development of AngII-induced medial hemorrhage within the ascending aorta did not correspond to the medial cellular transitions present in the aortic root.
Random Perturbations of a Three-Machine Power System Network

This paper develops an asymptotic method based on averaging and large deviations to study the transient stability of a noisy three-machine power system network. We study the dynamics of these nonlinear oscillators (swing equations) as random perturbations of two-dimensional periodically driven Hamiltonian systems. The phase space for periodically driven nonlinear oscillators consists of many resonance zones. It is well known that, as the strengths of periodic excitation and damping go to zero, the measure of the set of initial conditions which lead to capture in a resonance zone goes to zero. In this paper we study the effect of weak noise on the escape from a resonance zone and obtain the large-deviation rate function for the escape. The primary goal is to show that the behavior of oscillators in the resonance zone can be adequately described by the (slow) evolution of the Hamiltonian, for which simple analytical results can be obtained, and then apply these results to study the transient stability margin of power system with stochastic loads. The classical swing equations of a power system of three interconnected generators with non-zero damping and small noise is considered as a nontrivial example to derive the “exit time” analytically. This work may play an important role in designing and upgrading existing electrical power system networks.
Open source acceleration of wave optics simulations on energy efficient high-performance computing platforms

We compare several modifications to the open-source wave optics package, WavePy, intended to improve execution time. Specifically, we compare the relative performance of the Intel MKL, a CPU based OpenCV distribution, and GPU-based version. Performance is compared between distributions both on the same compute platform and between a fully-featured computing workstation and the NVIDIA Jetson TX1 platform. Comparisons are drawn in terms of both execution time and power consumption. We have found that substituting the Fast Fourier Transform operation from OpenCV provides a marked improvement on all platforms. In addition, we show that embedded platforms offer some possibility for extensive improvement in terms of efficiency compared to a fully featured workstation.
Cognitive Considerations in Auditory User Interfaces: Neuroergonomic Evaluation of Synthetic Speech Comprehension

Automated spoken language interfaces have seen a remarkable proliferation in recent years, integrating with automotive, household, industrial, and mobile platforms to shape the way in which we interact with our devices. While the use of an auxiliary auditory information stream has the potential to decrease interference and prevent disengagement from operation of traditional visual/mechanical interfaces, evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies have suggested that the brain mechanisms underlying the perception and comprehension of synthetic speech may be different from naturally produced speech, resulting in an unnecessary additional cognitive burden.
The Test Collection Database at Education Testing Service

The effort involved in accessing information ranges from quick and easy to elusive and time consuming. [...]
Pattern Formation Via Eigenstructure Assignment: General Theory and Multi-Agent Application

Complex dynamical systems often exhibit formation of a pattern in observed variables in the steady state. An important special case is when the system consists of multiple subsystems (or “agents”) subjected to local interactions to reach consensus or an arbitrary pattern specified by their relative positioning in the state space. This paper formulates a general pattern formation problem as the design of a feedback controller such that selected outputs of a linear plant exponentially converge to $Re^{\Lambda t}\rho _o$ for some vector $\rho _o$ , with prescribed matrices $R$ and $\Lambda$ . We show that the problem reduces equivalently to an eigenstructure assignment problem, and provide a necessary and sufficient condition for existence of a feasible controller as well as a parameterization of all such controllers. This general theory is further specialized to give a complete solution to a heterogeneous multi-agent synchronization problem. Two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed design method: one illustrates the importance of adaptive pattern formation through sensory feedback and another suggests an extension for achieving stable limit cycles by additional nonlinearities.
Effects of Pesticides on the Survival of Rove Beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and Insidious Flower Bug (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) Adults

This study determined the direct, indirect, or both effects of pesticides on the rove beetle, Dalotia coriaria (Kraatz) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae). The pesticides evaluated were Capsicum oleoresin extract, garlic oil, and soybean oil; cyantraniliprole; flupyradifurone; GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1; Isaria fumosorosea; tolfenpyrad; pyrethrins; and spinosad. One experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with rove beetle adults exposed to growing medium applications of cyantraniliprole. The number of live and dead rove beetle adults was determined after 10 d. Four additional experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions. Rove beetle or insidious flower bug adults were individually placed into Petri dishes with filter paper treated with the pesticides. After 24, 48, 72, and 96 h, the number of live and dead adults of both natural enemies was recorded. GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1 (VST-006340LC); tolfenpyrad; Capsicum oleoresin extract, garlic oil, and soybean oil (Captiva); and Isaria fumosorosea were not directly harmful to O. insidiosus (80-100% adult survival). Likewise, the pesticides such as tolfenpyrad, Captiva, and I. fumosoroea were not directly harmful to D. coriaria (80-100% adult survival). D. coriaria was more sensitive to VST-006340LC (40% survival) than O. insidiosus (100% survival), whereas O. insidiosus was more sensitive to flupyradifurone (0% survival) than D. coriaria (80% and 40% survival for both rates tested, respectively). The pesticides pyrethrins, spinosad, flupyradifurone, and combinations of tolfenpyrad and Captiva were directly harmful (<50% adult survival) to both natural enemies. However, none of the pesticides tested affected the ability of O. insidiosus adults to feed on western flower thrips adults.