cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Approaches of Extension Specialists to Teaching Community and Economic Development

A survey of community resource and economic development extension specialists was conducted to reveal where specialists get information and ideas and how they disseminate this information through educational programs and various media. Results indicated that the Journal of the Community Development Society was the most commonly cited source of information and ideas. Almost 40 percent of all specialists published or contributed to newsletters. The most common topics for educational programs included business assistance and entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, budgeting and government services, strategic planning and leadership development. Recommendations included establishing more student intern programs, making extension community development educational materials more available through electronic media and recognition of the Community Development Society as a principal outlet for professional communication between specialists.
Lyase activity of inducible S8-depolymerases from Bacillus palustris.

Abstract A strain of Bacillus palustris, when grown on Type VIII pneumococcal polysaccharide (S8) as sole carbon source, forms an S8-depolymerase. This inducible enzyme specifically degrades S8 and has now been shown to be a lyase or eliminase that catalyses the formation of products containing terminal 4,5-unsaturated glucuronic acid residues with absorption maxima in the ultraviolet. Thus, S8-depolymerase activity is readily measured by following the rate of increase in absorbance of S8 solutions at 230 mμ.
An approximate solution for the standard deterministic epidemic model

Abstract An approximate solution for the course of the standard (general) deterministic epidemic model is obtained by elementary series expansions. The approximation is valid over all times, and appears to hold accurately over a very wide range of population and threshold parameter values. It is shown from the approximation that if the initial fraction of susceptibles and the threshold are kept fixed and the initial fraction of infectives is allowed to vary, the time of occurrence of the maximum number of infectives depends linearly upon the order of magnitude of their initial number.
Single Photon Laser Ionization as an In-Situ Diagnostic for MBE Growth

Single photon laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (SPI-TOFMS) is used to monitor the gaseous fluxes of Ga and As n , during molecular beam epitaxy of GaAs. This noninvasive and real-time probe measures densities, and hence fluxes, of multiple chemical species impinging on or scattered from a substrate during conventional MBE. With single photon ionization at 118 nm (10.5 eV, ninth harmonic of Nd:YAG laser), the photon energy is large enough to ionize the species, but insufficient to both ionize and fragment. The lack of molecular dissociation of As 2 and As 4 greatly simplifies the interpretation of mass spectra. Additionally, the geometry of the single photon ionization TOFMS permits simultaneous film growth monitoring using RHEED. Results will be presented on the probing of scattering and desorption of III-V MBE species during GaAs growth. This technique promises to be a valuable in-situ diagnostic for III-V and II-VI MBE.
Friction coefficients for mechanically damaged bovine articular cartilage

We used a pin-on-disc tribometer to measure the friction coefficient of both pristine and mechanically damaged cartilage samples in the presence of different lubricant solutions. The experimental set up maximizes the lubrication mechanism due to interstitial fluid pressurization. In phosphate buffer solution (PBS), the measured friction coefficient increases with the level of damage. The main result is that when poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) or hyaluronic acid (HA) are dissolved in PBS, or when synovial fluid (SF) is used as lubricant, the friction coefficients measured for damaged cartilage samples are only slightly larger than those obtained for pristine cartilage samples, indicating that the surface damage is in part alleviated by the presence of the various lubricants. Among the lubricants considered, 100 mg/mL of 100,000 Da MW PEO in PBS appears to be as effective as SF. We attempted to discriminate the lubrication mechanism enhanced by the various compounds. The lubricants viscosity was measured at shear rates comparable to those employed in the friction experiments, and a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring was used to study the adsorption of PEO, HA, and SF components on collagen type II adlayers pre-formed on hydroxyapatite. Under the shear rates considered the viscosity of SF is slightly larger than that of PBS, but lower than that of lubricant formulations containing HA or PEO. Neither PEO nor HA showed strong adsorption on collagen adlayers, while evidence of adsorption was found for SF. Combined, these results suggest that synovial fluid is likely to enhance boundary lubrication. It is possible that all three formulations enhance lubrication via the interstitial fluid pressurization mechanism, maximized by the experimental set up adopted in our friction tests. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:1769–1778. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Automated and dynamic application accuracy management and resource provisioning in a cloud environment

The recent emergence of cloud computing is making the vision of utility computing realizable, i.e., computing resources and services from a cloud can be delivered, utilized, and paid for in the same fashion as utilities like water or electricity. This, however, creates new resource provisioning problems. Because of the pay-as-you-go model, resource provisioning should be performed carefully. Resource provisioning can be particularly challenging for adaptive applications, where there can be a tradeoff between the application Quality of Service (QoS), or accuracy, and the resource costs incurred. In this paper, we consider adaptive streaming applications where a user wants to achieve the minimum resource costs while maintaining a specified accuracy goal. We present a dynamic and automated framework which can adapt the adaptive parameters to meet the specific accuracy goal, and then dynamically converge to near-optimal resource allocation. Our solution can handle unexpected changes in the data distribution characteristics and/or rates. We evaluate our approach using two streaming applications and demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework.
An efficient computation of the inverse dynamics of flexible manipulators in the time domain

The problem of controlling the endpoint motion of flexible arms is addressed. A finite-element discretization of the system is carried out to obtain a set of ordinary differential equations that describe the motion of the manipulator. Theoretical and numerical difficulties pertaining to the inverse dynamic problem for flexible arms in the time domain are exposed. A novel time domain algorithm, much more efficient than that in the frequency domain, is presented. It is shown that the algorithm leads to the desired noncausal solution, and it eliminates the instability problems that arise if a direct integration scheme is used. Since the impulse response function can be computed offline, the only online computational burden consists of calculating convolution integrals. These can be integrated in real time. Extensions to the multilink case are discussed. >
Simulating Red Storm: Challenges and Successes in Building a System Simulation

Supercomputers are increasingly complex systems merging conventional microprocessors with system on a chip level designs that provide the network interface and router. At Sandia National Labs, we are developing a simulator to explore the complex interactions that occur at the system level This paper presents an overview of the simulation framework with a focus on the enhancements needed to transform traditional simulation tools into a simulator capable of modeling system level hardware interactions and running native software. Initial validation results demonstrate simulated performance that matches the Cray Red Storm system installed at Sandia. In addition, we include a "what if" study of performance implications on the Red Storm network interface.
International development management through a Southern lens

Development Management (DM) has always been seen through the lens of the Global North. Taking its cue from Brinkerhoff and Brinkerhoff's (2010) study on the state of international DM from a Northern perspective, this article provides a complementary perspective from Lebanon in order to spark a North–South debate on the state of DM in terms of its values and institutional agendas and the role of government. The article concludes with a discussion on some implications for policy and practice in Lebanon and the DM more generally, suggesting that the Southern perspective is cautiously more tolerant of politics in development and that the role of government in development should be that of an active partner and facilitator. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Nutritional Impact of the Dairy Price Support Program.

This paper examines the impact of the dairy price support program and its resultant higher prices on nutritional intake, especially calcium. This assessment is particularly important because calcium is one of the two nutrients whose average intake is below the Recommended Dietary Allowance. A demand system with emphasis on dairy products is estimated, and in conjunction with data on the nutritional content of various foods, impacts on nutritional intake are measured.
Taxpayers' Prepayment Positions and Tax Return Preparation Fees*

Individuals who have their tax returns professionally prepared often overpay estimated income taxes, effectively giving the government an interest-free loan. To understand why tax professionals may place their clients in positive prepayment positions, we draw on mental accounting theory. Mental accounting theory suggests that by placing taxpayers in positive prepayment positions, tax professionals induce a favorable mental representation of tax return preparation fees, perhaps allowing them to collect larger fractions of billable time and costs incurred on taxpayers' behalves. Thus, we hypothesize that tax return preparation fees are higher for taxpayers in positive prepayment positions than for taxpayers in negative prepayment positions. Regression results using tax return data for 68,736 taxpayers provide strong support for this hypothesis. To more fully understand the general nature of the relationship between taxpayers' prepayment positions and tax return preparation fees, we adapt the prospect theory value function to the tax domain and formulate three additional hypotheses. Consistent with theory, regression results indicate that the relation between taxpayers' prepayment positions and tax return preparation fees is (1) positive, (2) stronger for taxpayers who receive refunds that are less than fees than it is for taxpayers who receive refunds that are greater than fees, and (3) stronger for taxpayers in negative prepayment positions than for taxpayers in positive prepayment positions.
Acoustic effect and the polarization of adjacent bits in soliton communication lines

The excitation of radial and torsional-radial acoustic modes by solitons is analyzed depending on light polarization. The theoretical study of the timing jitter and bit error rate caused by the acoustic effect in soliton communication lines for co- and counter-polarized adjacent bits is presented. The influence of guiding filter on the acoustically induced timing jitter is calculated. >
The soy isoflavone genistein decreases adipose deposition in mice.

Adipose tissue is responsive to estrogen and expresses both estrogen receptor and . To test the hypothesis that the estrogenic soy isoflavone genistein can have effects on adipose tissue, juvenile or adult C57/BL6 mice were ovariectomized and given daily injections of vehicle, 17-estradiol (5 g/kgd) or genistein (8 –200 mg/kgd) sc for 21–28 d. To test effects of dietary genistein, 25- to 27-d-old mice were fed diets containing 0 –1500 parts per million (ppm) genistein for 12 d. Mice were killed and fat pads weighed. Parametrial fat pads were used for morphometric and Northern analysis. Genistein injections decreased adipose weight and adipocyte circumference at higher doses; effects in adult and juvenile mice were similar. Genistein decreased lipoprotein lipase mRNA, which may be a critical aspect of its adipose effects. Juveniles fed 500-1500 ppm dietary genistein had dose-responsive decreases in fat pad weights of 37–57%, compared with controls; 300 ppm genistein did not cause decreases. Genistein doses of 300, 500, 1000, and 1500 ppm produced serum genistein concentrations of 1.02 0.14 M, 1.79 0.32 M, 2.55 0.18 M, and 3.81 0.39 M, respectively. These results indicate dietary genistein at 500-1500 ppm produces antilipogenic effects in mice at serum levels that humans are realistically exposed to. (Endocrinology 144: 3315–3320, 2003)
Targeting the tumor niche to treat cancer

Radioimmunotherapy delivers radiation to a target cell using radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies and has been evaluated for the treatment of various cancers. As opposed to traditional external beam radiation therapy that is used for the treatment of localized cancers, radioimmunotherapy is administered by intravenous injection and can be used to treat disseminated cancers. The targeted delivery of the radiation to cancer cells minimizes damage to normal tissues and thereby reduces toxicities. In general, monoclonal antibodies used in radioimmunotherapy target tumor-associated antigens preferentially expressed on the surface of cancer cells. For example, yttrium-90 (90Y)-labeled ibritumomab tiuxetan and iodine-131 (131I)-labeled tositumomab target CD20 on the surface of tumor B cells and have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (1). In PNAS, Janik et al. (2) use radioimmunotherapy to primarily target the stromal cells that are in close proximity to the cancer cells in Hodgkin lymphoma (Fig. 1). Following administration of 90Y-labeled anti-CD25 antibody, 90Y-daclizumab, for up to seven infusions every 6–10 wk, the researchers observed objective clinical responses in 23 of 46 (50%) subjects treated. Fourteen (30%) achieved complete response and nine (20%) achieved partial response in subjects with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma that had been heavily pretreated (2).
Unusual negative charge‐directed fragmentation: collision‐induced dissociation of cyclopentenone oxylipins in negative ion mode

RATIONALE: Oxidized fatty acids, and particularly cyclopentenone oxylipins, are electrophilic metabolites that play diverse physiological roles. Current understanding is limited regarding how ion fragmentation provides essential information about oxylipin structures. In this work, unusual products of the collisional activation of deprotonated cyclopentenone oxylipins were investigated. METHODS: The cyclopentenone oxylipin 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) and its (18)O-labeled forms were ionized using negative-ion mode electrospray ionization, and product ion tandem mass (MS/MS) spectra were generated using collision-induced dissociation (CID). CID-MS/MS spectra were also generated for several cyclopentenone prostaglandins. RESULTS: Upon collisional activation, deprotonated cyclopentenone oxylipins 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) and dinorOPDA form a characteristic and dominant product ion at m/z 165 that is attributed to charge-directed hydride migration to the electrophilic enone ring followed by elimination of neutral C7H10O2 from the carboxyl end. In contrast, pseudo-MS(3) spectra of deprotonated cyclopentenone prostaglandins exhibited a different fragmentation behavior, in that cleavage near C = C bonds is directed by the carbonyl group in the nearby cyclopentenone ring. CONCLUSIONS: Two different routes of fragmentation are proposed for cyclopentenone fatty acids with saturated and unsaturated side chains. We predict that this behavior may facilitate the identification of novel cyclopentenone oxylipins and accelerate discoveries of their biological regulatory functions.
Evidence-based medicine

The field of neonatal–perinatal medicine is littered with examples of therapeutic interventions that were at one time ‘‘known’’ to be beneficial but were later determined to be harmful. A partial list includes diethylstilbesterol, benzyl alcohol, sulfonamides, hexachlorophene, and the unrestricted use of supplemental oxygen. What can we as neonatologists do to prevent this history from repeating itself and to improve the care and outcome of our patients? This issue of the Clinics in Perinatology provides insightful summaries of the challenges facing evidence-based practitioners as well as pragmatic approaches to deal with these challenges. New evidence is accumulating at a phenomenal rate; finding the best evidence among the rest of the medical literature can be a daunting task. However, new and better tools are continually being developed to help practitioners efficiently locate and evaluate the available evidence. The Cochrane Collaboration provides a growing and readily accessible resource to help assure neonatologists that their care is based on detailed, critical, and current reviews of the best available evidence. Unfortunately, there are many clinical questions for which there is no good evidence on which to base practice. There is much to learn when we still cannot answer such basic therapeutic questions as what blood glucose level to maintain, what PaO2 and PaCO2 to achieve, what bilirubin level to treat, when to start and how rapidly to advance feedings, and when to administer blood products, particularly among extremely premature infants. The development of
Methylnaltrexone: Investigation of clinical applications

Morphine and related opioids are widely used medications that are associated with a number of limiting side effects. In the last three decades significant progress has been achieved in our understanding of the mechanisms of action of these opioids; however, these advances have yielded few new approaches to the management of opioid side effects. Methylnaltrexone, the first peripheral opioid antagonist currently under clinical investigation, has the potential to prevent or treat opioid-induced peripherally mediated side effects without interfering with analgesia. This article reviews data obtained from preclinical and clinical studies on methylnaltrexone that focus on the antagonism of opioid-induced constipation. Other potential clinical applications of the compound are also discussed. Drug Dev. Res. 50:133–141, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Mesons with beauty and charm: Spectroscopy

Applying knowledge of the interaction between heavy quarks derived from the study of [ital c[bar c]] and [ital b[bar b]] bound states, we calculate the spectrum of [ital c[bar b]] mesons. We compute transition rates for the electromagnetic and hadronic cascades that lead from excited states to the [sup 1][ital S][sub 0] ground state, and briefly consider the prospects for experimental observation of the spectrum.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ADAPTIVE MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL PROTOCOLS FOR PERVASIVE WIRELESS NETWORKS

As pervasive and high-density wireless networks become increasingly common, it is critical to address the problems of intermittent disconnection, high error rate and collision that cause degradation in the performance of wireless media access control protocols, such as slotted ALOHA Time Division Multiple Access (slotted ALOHA/TDMA) and Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS/CDMA). We propose adaptive techniques for improving performance of media access protocols through awareness of the mobile communication environment. These techniques involve detection of intermittent disconnection, high error rates, and collisions. Upon detection and notification of these conditions by snooping devices, the media access control layer adapts its operation and synchronization accordingly to reduce delay and loss of bandwidth. Results from our simulation studies show that adaptive TDMA improves performance by as much as 12 times over basic TDMA and adaptive CDMA improves by as much as 4 times over basic CDMA in wireless network with high density cells. Overall, adaptive CDMA still performs better than adaptive TDMA by about 4 times.
Two cases of Vici syndrome associated with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) with a review of the literature

Vici syndrome is a rare congenital disorder first described in 1988. To date, 31 cases have been reported in the literature. The characteristic features of this syndrome include: agenesis of the corpus callosum, albinism, cardiomyopathy, variable immunodeficiency, cataracts, and myopathy. We report two Hispanic sisters with genetically confirmed Vici syndrome who both developed Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. To our knowledge, this is an immunologic process that has been previously undescribed within the phenotype of Vici syndrome and should be added to the spectrum of variable immune dysregulation that can be found in these patients.
A Simple Remark On The Order Of ApproximationBy Compactly Supported Radial Basis Functions,And Related Networks

We consider simultaneous approximation of multivariate functions and their derivatives by using Wendland's compactly supported radial basis functions s,k' By applying a greedy algorithm, it is presented that, regardless of dimension, an O(ra~*/ ) order of approximation can be achieved by a linear combination of m translates of s,kA similar result on approximation by neural networks is established by using univariate radial functions as the activation functions of the networks.
The Problem of the International Personality of Individuals

In this article, which presents an outline of the interesting and important problem of individuals as subjects of international law, special attention will be devoted to an original experiment in the field of public international law. This experiment was carried out on behalf of the Principal Allied Powers after the first World War in the territory of Upper Silesia, which is one of the largest coal, steel, zinc, lead and chemical-producing industrial centers in Europe.
Generalized Geometric Control Manifolds of Power Converters in a DC Microgrid

In power electronics-based microgrids, the computational requirements needed to implement an optimized online control strategy can be prohibitive. This paper proposes the derivation of a geometric manifold in the energy-power domain that is based on the a-priori computation of the optimal reactions and trajectories for classes of events in a dc microgrid. The proposed states are the stored energy and power of the dc-dc converter. It is anticipated that calculating a large enough set of dissimilar transient scenarios will also span many scenarios not specifically used to develop the surface. These geometric manifolds will, then, be used as reference surfaces in any type of controller, such as a sliding mode hysteretic controller.
Eggshell Calcium Effects on Egg Quality and Ca Digestibility in First- or Third-Cycle Laying Hens

Abstract Dried eggshell products from two egg breaker plants were compared to various sources (limestone and oyster shell) and combinations of fine- and large-particle calcium in two age groups of laying hens: third-cycle Babcock B300 and first-cycle DeKalb Deltas. Particle size measurements of the two dried eggshell products indicate a size pattern similar to fine- or medium-particle limestone. The amount of large (>4.0 mm) particles found in the eggshell products were minimal, less than 5%. Dried eggshell as the sole calcium source compared to combinations of limestone and oyster shell showed no significant effect on feed intake, egg production, or egg weight in the first-cycle hens. Rate of egg production was decreased in one of the eggshell treatments in the older third-cycle hens without any change in feed consumption or egg weight. Egg specific gravity decreased more in older hens fed the eggshell and fine-particle limestone calcium sources. Egg specific gravity was improved when the diet included large-particle calcium from either limestone or oyster shell. Dietary calcium digestibility was greatest for the fine limestone and ground eggshell treatment groups. Calcium from eggshells is highly available to support egg production in laying hens but should be combined with a large-particle calcium source to support optimal eggshell quality.
Studies of Mexican Species of Ravenelia

1. Cailleux, R. 1972. Mycoflore du compost destine a la culture du champignon de couche. Rev. Mycol. (Paris) 37: 14-35. 2. Cochrane, V. W. 1958. Physiology of fungi. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York. 524 p. 3. Cooney, D. G., and R. Emerson. 1964. Thermophilic fungi. An account of their biology, activities, and classification. W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco. 188 p. 4. Evans, H. C. 1971. Thermophilous fungi of coal spoil tips II. Occurrence, distribution and temperature relationships. Trans. Brit. AMcol. Soc. 57: 255-266.
Indian Women of Early Colonial Quito as Seen Through Their Testaments

By the turn of the seventeenth century a generation of Andean natives, both Inca and aboriginal, had made lifelong homes within the strongholds of the European invaders. As they entered old age they inhabited an urban landscape whose “Indian” sector had become very diverse. In Quito and other colonial cities some of them dwelled in old pre-hispanic settlements whose closeness to new Hispanic centers had turned them into multiethnic “Indian” ghettos. Quito's Anaquito and Machangara are examples. Many others had settled illegally but permanently inside the Spanish nuclear city, so much so that in the 1580s Spaniards remarked on the growth of a “big shanty town” in its midst. Notarial records show, too, that center city streets housed colonies of “Indian” artisans specializing in European arts like iron working, embroidery, and tailoring. Rich enclaves of Inca and aboriginal nobles lived close to Spanish clerics and officials. Specialist traders delegated by native lords, and native entrepreneurs in the Spanish economy, rented permanent workplaces and dwellings downtown. Finally a large contingent, especially of women, lived as servants or concubines in Spanish houses or had usufruct of separate urban houses. In 1600 there were probably more different ways to be an urban Indian than there are today.
Method for Visualizing the Tracheal System of Newly Hatched Insects

The tracheal system, bristles, and gut of some holometabolous insects can be made visible by using aqueous albumin to clear larvae that are newly hatched or near hatching. Adult Indian meal moths, Plodia interpunctella (Hubner), can be cleared to view their cuticle; therefore, the procedure might further taxonomic studies of some adult insects as well as immatures. The procedure is also appropriate for educational purposes, because only nontoxic aqueous albumin and water are required.
Sub-230 nm deep-UV emission from GaN quantum disks in AlN grown by a modified Stranski–Krastanov mode

We report tunable deep-ultraviolet (DUV) emission over the 222–231 nm range from 1–2 monolayer (ML) GaN quantum disks (QDs) grown in an AlN matrix. The linewidth of the emission were as narrow as ~10 nm at 5 K. The disks were grown in modified Stranski–Krastanov (mSK) mode. High resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images confirmed insertion of 1–2 MLs of GaN between 3 nm AlN barriers. The internal quantum efficiency was estimated from low temperature photoluminescence measurements for the disks, and compared with 1 and 2 ML GaN quantum wells/AlN barriers. The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the GaN QDs was found to be ~35% for 222 nm emission, ~200% higher than 1 ML GaN QWs.
Differentially private multi-party computation

We study the problem of multi-party computation under approximate (e,δ) differential privacy. We assume an interactive setting with k parties, each possessing a private bit. Each party wants to compute a function defined on all the parties' bits. Differential privacy ensures that there remains uncertainty in any party's bit even when given the transcript of interactions and all the other parties' bits. This paper is a follow up to our work in [1], where we studied multi-party computation under (e, 0) differential privacy. We generalize the results in [1] and prove that a simple non-interactive randomized response mechanism is optimal. Our optimality result holds for all privacy levels (all values of e and δ), heterogenous privacy levels across parties, all types of functions to be computed, all types of cost metrics, and both average and worst-case (over the inputs) measures of accuracy.
Triclosan adsorption using wastewater biosolids-derived biochar

Organic micropollutants are ubiquitous in the environment and stem from municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges. Adsorption can be used as a tertiary treatment to complement the conventional activated sludge process to remove micropollutants prior to discharge. This research evaluated the performance of wastewater biosolids-derived biochar as an adsorbent to remove triclosan from water. Pre-conditioning of the biochar using hydrochloric acid (HCl) was an essential step for triclosan adsorption. Using acid-conditioned biochar, maximum adsorption of 872 μg triclosan per g biochar was achieved with biochar produced at 800 °C. Biochar produced at higher pyrolysis temperatures tended to have higher triclosan sorption capacity using initial triclosan concentrations of 200 μg L−1 levels. However, pyrolysis temperature had less impact on triclosan sorption at lower, environmentally relevant concentrations. Low solution pH (3) enhanced adsorption and high pH (11) inhibited adsorption. Effective triclosan sorption was observed between pH 5 and 9, with little variation, which is positive for practical applications operated at near-neutral solution pH. In wastewater, acid-treated biochar also effectively sorbed triclosan, albeit at a decreased adsorption capacity and removal rate due to competition from other organic constituents. This study indicated that adsorption may occur mainly due to high surface area, hydrophobicity, and potential interaction between biochar and triclosan functional groups including hydrogen bonding and π-stacking. This work demonstrated that acid-conditioned biosolids-derived biochar could be a suitable sorbent to remove triclosan from wastewater as a final polishing treatment step.
More Practical Matters: Testing, Debugging, DFX, and Quality Management

If you apply everything in this book to a design, chances are it still may not work correctly the first time. And then what about the 1,000,000th time? How can we make sure our designs work and can be mass-produced?
Health Maintenance Organization

HMOs can provide economical outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy that takes advantage of existing nursing and physician staff as well as centralized pharmacy services. Reimbursement problems are nonexistent. Treatment is possible in the home or clinic. In the model presented, the therapeutic program is initiated and supervised by infectious disease specialists.
A system learning of connection with humans by online social networking — A rapport by means of creating usable customer intelligence from social media data: Clustering the social communities

Everything is just turning into online brand. A person or organizations without an account in online social networking sites are under estimated now-a-days. Customer-relationship management is a high cost business going on everywhere. To collect data for their requirements they move on to survey which is old fashioned rather they collect from online sites. The problem here is not Data Mining it is about how it is dealt with. The privacy and security are totally low in OSNS (Online Social Networking Sites). A data without user's interest is transferred; this can only be admitted to a particular level. To ensure secure data mining in OSNS sites a Privacy K mean algorithm is derived along with Check threshold algorithm for basic information transfer alone. Though very concern on OSNS it is seemed many number of people move out of online sites, which is that they just delete their account. It is a great loss for our survey department because they cannot get a proper update for their findings in survey. Hence to prevent this prediction algorithm based on Mini batch optimization k mean clustering has been derived. To satisfy both this condition a survey has been conducted online and from 34,514 respondents a comment has been collected about their interest in sites and why they move out and how they except the security about their data. These algorithm implanted with other codes in OSNS may resolve two problems at a time.
Vertical peer supervision of consultation: A linguistic exploration of relational hierarchy

The language used in consultation supervision by one supervisor-in-training (SIT) and five consultant-in-training (CIT) supervisees during one semester of consultation training in a doctoral-level school psychology program is investigated. Exploratory analyses conducted with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software measured SIT and CIT use of pronouns, and summary variables of Analytical Thinking, Clout, Authenticity, and Emotional Tone. Patterns of language use in sessions and changes in patterns over time suggest a hierarchical supervision dynamic despite supervision being offered by a fellow trainee. Implications for consultation supervision in a vertical training model are offered.
Security-Preparedness of Firms in U.S. Food Supply Chain

The growing interdependence of firms across the globe with seeming rise in the incidence of both intentional and unintentional security events (terrorism, food contamination, etc.), has exposed, and often contributed to, the vulnerabilities of many firms and their supply chain partners. It is increasingly imperative that the firms be prepared to be able to protect and defend themselves against such security threats. With this paper we attempt to understand this preparedness, which we consider an ex ante construct, specifically for the firms in the food industry, and find a way to measure it. The highlights of this paper are (1) the unique dataset on firms in the food supply chain across U.S. detailing their security practices, (2) a novel approach to analyzing this dataset using Latent Trait Analysis that allows us to uncover the underlying strength and weakness of firms in their security practices and (3) analysis with which we are able to relate firms' security practices with firm characteristics, such as market area, supply chain scope and firm size. Our preliminary analyses reveal some interesting results on what firms do and how firm characteristics bring about differences in firms' security preparedness, ex ante. We find four distinct latent factors for explaining different facets of security preparedness, two of which are supply chain collaboration and physical security preparedness. We then also analyze the influence of firm and respondent demographics on each of the dimensions of preparedness. Firm size, supply chain scope, market area and tax status of the firm are some of the variables that emerge as important characteristics that impact security preparedness in supply chains.
Esophageal Atresia and Tracheoesophageal Fistula: The Clinical Spectrum, Diagnosis, and Evaluation

Interruption in the normal development of the esophagus and trachea may result in a wide variety of esophageal malformations. This chapter will review the anatomic and clinical spectrum of this disease including the diagnosis and evaluation.
Corrosion detection for steel with soft coating using in-line fiber Bragg grating sensor

Soft coatings are popularly applied in industry to prevent corrosion for structural steel. However, coatings cannot fully prevent corrosion from happening. In this paper, an inline corrosion monitoring system for steel was extended to steel with soft coating based on fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBGs). Experimental results show that an increase in central wavelength of FBGs can be detected if corrosion occurs under soft coatings. A positive relationship between the status of corrosion and the increase in central wavelength was also observed. This study revealed the potential of FBGs to serve as corrosion assessment technique for steel protected with soft coatings.
The Arrow of Time In a Universe with a Positive Cosmological Constant Λ

There is a mounting evidence that our universe is propelled into an accelerated expansion driven by Dark Energy. The simplest form of Dark Energy is a cosmological constant Λ, which is woven into the fabric of spacetime. For this reason it is often referred to as vacuum energy. It has the “strange” property of maintaining a constant energy density despite the expanding volume of the universe. Universes whose energy ismade of Λ posses an event horizon with and eternally finite constant temperature and entropy, and are known as DeSitter geometries. Since the entropy of DeSitter spaces remains a finite constant, then the meaning of a thermodynamic arrow of time becomes unclear. Here we explore the consequences of a fundamental cosmological constant Λ for our universe. We show that when the gravitational entropy of a pure DeSitter state ultimately dominates over the matter entropy, then the thermodynamic arrow of time in our universe may reverse in scales of order a Hubble time. We find that due to the dynamics of gravity and entanglement with other domain, a finite size system such as a DeSitter patch with horizon size H 0 -1 has a finite lifetime ∆t. This phenomenon arises from the dynamic gravitational instabilities that develop during a DeSitter epoch and turn catastrophic. A reversed arrow of time is in disagreementwith observations. Thus we explore the possibilities that: Nature may not favor a fundamental Λ, or else general relativity may be modified in the infrared regime when Λ dominates the expansion of the Universe.
Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer

In the USA, mass opportunistic screening has resulted in the increased detection of prostate cancer and an increased proportion of patients who are candidates for curative therapy. Screening has also resulted in the increased detection of low-risk cancers that may pose a relatively low threat to survival and quality of life, particularly for patients with limited life expectancy. No treatment has been definitively proven to be superior to another in terms of quantity and quality of life. However, all definitive treatments (radical prostatectomy, EBRT, and brachytherapy) may negatively impact urinary, bowel, and sexual function. As there are substantial trade-offs between in terms of benefits and risks of treatments that are likely sensitive to patient preferences, it is recommended that patients be informed of all potential treatments options with adherence to published guidelines. In general, there is an underutilization of active surveillance, particularly for low-risk patients and those with limited life expectancy. Radical prostatectomy and external-beam radiotherapy with 2–3 years of adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy are the standard options for high-risk disease. The outcomes of patients undergoing definitive local therapy are favorable, particularly in terms of the low risk of clinical disease progression and serious morbidity. Outcomes appear to be sensitive to the expertise and skill of the treating urologist and oncologist.
Best Practices and Barriers to Obesity Prevention in Head Start: Differences Between Director and Teacher Perceptions.

INTRODUCTION Practices and barriers to promoting healthy eating and physical activity at Head Start centers may influence children's energy balance behaviors. We examined differences between directors' and teachers' perspectives on best practices and barriers to promoting healthy eating and physical activity in Head Start centers. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study of directors (n = 23) and teachers (n = 113) at 23 Head Start centers participating in the baseline assessment of the Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration study. Participants completed surveys about practices and barriers to promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Multilevel regression models examined differences between director and teacher responses. RESULTS More than half of directors and teachers reported meeting most best practices related to nutrition and physical activity; few directors or teachers (<25%) reported conducting physical activity for more than 60 minutes a day, and less than 40% of teachers helped children attend to satiety cues. Significantly more directors than teachers reported meeting 2 nutrition-related best practices: "Teachers rarely eat less healthy foods (especially sweets, salty snacks, and sugary drinks) in front of children" and "Teachers talk to children about trying/enjoying new foods" (P < .05). No barrier to healthy eating or physical activity was reported by more than 25% of directors or teachers. Significantly more teachers than directors reported barriers to healthy eating, citing lack of food service staff support, limited time, and insufficient funds (P < .05). CONCLUSION More barriers to healthy eating were reported than were barriers to physical activity indicating that more support may be needed for healthy eating. Differences between responses of directors and teachers may have implications for future assessments of implementation of best practices and barriers to implementation related to nutrition and physical activity in early care and education centers.
Niche Construction, Macroevolution, and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Near East

Cultural macroevolution results from a complex interplay between human socio-ecological action and the transmission of packages of information. Niche construction theory helps us to frame the often complex relationships between human actions and their ecological contexts within an evolutionary context. In this chapter, we offer an approach to cultural macroevolution that combines tenets of niche construction and evolutionary anthropology. We apply the approach to the Epipaleolithic of the Near East in order to address the complex processes of cultural evolution preceding the development of Neolithic farming communities. Results of the study suggest that the Epipaleolithic was characterized by short periods of emergent cultural variation punctuating longer term stability. The short-lived diversification events may have played important roles in developing core elements crystallized later in the Neolithic period.
Racial disparities in the prevalence and control of hypertension among a cohort of HIV-infected patients in the southeastern United States.

BACKGROUND African Americans are disproportionately affected by both HIV and hypertension. Failure to modify risk factors for cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease such as hypertension among HIV-infected patients may attenuate the benefits conferred by combination antiretroviral therapy. In the general population, African Americans with hypertension are less likely to have controlled blood pressure than whites. However, racial differences in blood pressure control among HIV-infected patients are not well studied. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study evaluating racial differences in hypertension prevalence, treatment, and control among 1,664 patients attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham HIV Clinic in 2013. Multivariable analyses were performed to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) as the measure of association between race and hypertension prevalence and control while adjusting for other covariates. RESULTS The mean age of patients was 47 years, 77% were male and 54% African-American. The prevalence of hypertension was higher among African Americans compared with whites (49% vs. 43%; p = 0.02). Among those with hypertension, 91% of African Americans and 93% of whites were treated (p = 0.43). Among those treated, 50% of African Americans versus 60% of whites had controlled blood pressure (systolic blood pressure <140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure <90 mmHg) (p = 0.007). After multivariable adjustment for potential confounders, prevalence of hypertension was higher among African Americans compared to whites (PR 1.25; 95% CI 1.12-1.39) and prevalence of BP control was lower (PR 0.80; 95% CI 0.69-0.93). CONCLUSIONS Despite comparable levels of hypertension treatment, African Americans in our HIV cohort were less likely to achieve blood pressure control. This may place them at increased risk for adverse outcomes that disproportionately impact HIV-infected patients, such as cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, and thus attenuate the benefits conferred by combination antiretroviral therapy.
Chronic sleep curtailment, even without extended (>16-h) wakefulness, degrades human vigilance performance.

Millions of individuals routinely remain awake for more than 18 h daily, which causes performance decrements. It is unknown if these functional impairments are the result of that extended wakefulness or from the associated shortened sleep durations. We therefore examined changes in objective reaction time performance and subjective alertness in a 32-d inpatient protocol in which participants were scheduled to wakefulness durations below 16 h while on a 20-h “day,” with randomization into standard sleep:wake ratio (1:2) or chronic sleep restriction (CSR) ratio (1:3.3) conditions. This protocol allowed determination of the contribution of sleep deficiency independent of extended wakefulness, since individual episodes of wakefulness in the CSR condition were only 15.33 h in duration (less than the usual 16 h of wakefulness in a 24-h day) and sleep episodes were 4.67 h in duration each cycle. We found that chronic short sleep duration, even without extended wakefulness, doubled neurobehavioral reaction time performance and increased lapses of attention fivefold, yet did not uniformly decrease self-reported alertness. Further, these impairments in neurobehavioral performance were worsened during the circadian night and were not recovered during the circadian day, indicating that the deleterious effect from the homeostatic buildup of CSR is expressed even during the circadian promotion of daytime arousal. These findings reveal a fundamental aspect of human biology: Chronic insufficient sleep duration equivalent to 5.6 h of sleep opportunity per 24 h impairs neurobehavioral performance and self-assessment of alertness, even without extended wakefulness.
The great prostate cancer debate.

The article discusses the debate regarding the benefits of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which is a routine blood test that is used to screen for prostate cancer. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, little of no long-term benefits are derived from the test and may do more harm than good. Topics include controversies about PSA tests resulting from flawed screening methods and treatments, side effects of prostate cancer treatment, such as impotence, and the growing body of evidence against PSA screening that suggests screening guidelines need to be updated. INSET: Disappointing Data.