cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design and analysis of elastic handoff in cognitive cellular networks

Cognitive cellular networks can enable opportunistic network access but their effectiveness relies on adaptive handoff algorithms. However, in cognitive radio networks the usufructuary rights of a secondary user are rescinded due to the unanticipated appearance of a primary user causing potential service disruption. In order to provide uninterrupted service to a cognitive cellular user, we propose elastic handoff as a composite framework of conventional cellular and voluntary spectrum handoffs. As with spectrum handoff, elastic handoff grants secondary users spectrum access while insulating them against the arrival of primary users. On the other hand, it is similar to cellular handoff in providing secondary users service assurance. The setup also offers users multiple network access choices, and affords carriers the means to generate additional revenue by capitalizing on excess capacity. We use a blockchain-based spectrum exchange and smart contracts to implement elastic handoff. Our tests show that user-initiated elastic handoff may reduce call drops by up to half compared to observations from a conventional cellular market, and network-initiated elastic handoff can improve a carrier's revenue maximization prospects.
Cluster-Expansion Model for Complex Quinary Alloys: Application to Alnico Permanent Magnets

Alnico alloy is a very promising candidate for rare-earth-free, high-performance permanent magnets, especially for high-temperature and levitation applications---including motors for electric vehicles. Engineering better magnets, and motors, is stymied by a lack of knowledge of alnico's nanoscale structure. Using advanced simulation methods, this study investigates the dependence of chemical composition and ordering of magnetic and matrix phases of alnico on annealing temperature. A surprising phase forms when the system is annealed at low temperatures, offering a possible route to improving alnico's performance.
Use of Lard, Food Grade Propylene Glycol, and Polysaccharides in Infused Nets to Control Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank; Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) Infestation on Dry Cured Hams

Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) is controlled in the U.S. dry cured ham industry with methyl bromide (MB) fumigation. However, MB fumigation is being phased out of use since it is an ozone depleting substance. The objective of this research was to evaluate ham nets that were infused with lard, propylene glycol (PG) and polysaccharide coating for their efficacy at controlling mite infestations on dry cured ham cubes from hams that were aged for 4 to 6 mo. Results indicated that fewer T. putrescentiae (P 0.05). The net without coating slowed the growth and reproduction of T. putrescentiae since net controls had fewer mites (P < 0.05) than controls without nets. Fungi were not present on ham cubes that were treated with PG-containing nets over 10 wk of storage with a few exceptions. In conclusion, lard and xanthan gum, or carrageenan + propylene glycol alginate treated nets containing the medium concentration of PG effectively inhibited mite reproduction and fungal growth on dry cured ham and could potentially be used in an integrated pest management program to control mites on dry cured hams.
Fatigue fracture of nearly elastic hydrogels

Polyacrylamide hydrogels are highly stretchable and nearly elastic. Their stress-stretch curves exhibit small hysteresis, and change negligibly after many loading cycles. Polyacrylamide is used extensively in applications, and is the primary network for many types of tough hydrogels. Recent experiments have shown that polyacrylamide hydrogels are susceptible to fatigue fracture, but available data are limited. Here we study fatigue fracture of polyacrylamide hydrogels of various water contents. We form polymer networks in all samples under the same conditions, and then obtain hydrogels of 96, 87, 78, and 69 wt% of water by solvent exchange. We measure the crack extension under cyclic loads, and the fracture energy under monotonic loading. For the hydrogels of the four water contents, the fatigue thresholds are 4.3, 8.4, 20.5, and 64.5 J m-2, and the fracture energies are 18.9, 71.2, 289, and 611 J m-2. The measured thresholds agree well with the predictions of the Lake-Thomas model for hydrogels of high water content, but not in the case of low water content. It is hoped that further basic studies will soon follow to aid the development of fatigue-resistant hydrogels.
Endoscopic Stricturotomy Versus Balloon Dilation in the Treatment of Anastomotic Strictures in Crohn's Disease.

Background Current treatment modalities for anastomotic stricture in Crohn's disease (CD) include endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) and surgery. We recently published a case series of inflammatory bowel disease patients treated with the novel endoscopic stricturotomy (ES). The aim of this case-control study was to compare the efficacy and safety of ES versus conventional EBD in the treatment of anastomotic strictures in CD patients. Methods All eligible patients with CD anastomotic stricture who were treated with ES or EBD were included. The primary outcomes were surgery-free survival and post-procedural complications. Results A total of 185 patients were studied, including 21 treated with ES since 2009, and 164 treated with EBD since 1998. The immediate technical success after therapy was achieved in 100% of patients treated with ES and 89.5% of patients with EBD. Symptomatic and endoscopic improvement rates were higher in those treated with ES than EBD. Subsequent surgery was needed in 2 (9.5%) patients with ES and 55 (33.5%) with EBD (P = 0.03), during a median of 0.8 (interquartile range [IQR]:0.1-1.6) year and 4.0 (IQR: 0.8-6.9) years, respectively. Five procedure-associated perforation (1.1% per procedure) occurred in the EBD group and none in the ES group. In contrast, 4 procedure-associated, transfusion-required bleeding (8.8% per procedure) occurred in the ES group and none in the EBD group. Conclusions ES appears to be more effective in treating CD patients with anastomotic stricture than EBD. Although ES may have a lower risk for perforation, the procedure needs to be perfected to reduce its bleeding risk.
The effects of Shilajit supplementation on fatigue-induced decreases in muscular strength and serum hydroxyproline levels

Shilajit is a safe, fluvic mineral complex exudate that is common to Ayurvedic medicine and is composed of fulvic acids, dibenzo-α-pyrones, proteins, and minerals. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 8 weeks of Shilajit supplementation at 250 mg·d− 1 (low dose) and 500 mg·d− 1 (high dose) versus placebo on maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) strength, concentric peak torque, fatigue-induced percent decline in strength, and serum hydroxyproline (HYP). Sixty-three recreationally-active men ( $$ \overline{X} $$ ± SD: 21.2 ± 2.4 yr.; 179.8 ± 6.3 cm; 83.1 ± 12.7 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects were randomly assigned to the high dose, low dose, or placebo group (each group: n = 21). During pre-supplementation testing, the subjects performed 2 pretest MVICs, 2 sets of 50 maximal, bilateral, concentric isokinetic leg extensions at 180°·s− 1 separated by 2-min of rest, and 2 posttest MVICs. Following 8 weeks of supplementation, the subjects repeated the pre-supplementation testing procedures. In addition, the groups were dichotomized at the 50th percentile based on pre-supplementation MVIC and baseline HYP. Mixed model ANOVAs and ANCOVAs were used to statistically analyze the dependent variables for the total groups (n = 21 per group) as well as dichotomized groups. For the upper 50th percentile group, the post-supplementation adjusted mean percent decline in MVIC was significantly less for the high dose group (8.9 ± 2.3%) than the low dose (17.0 ± 2.4%; p = 0.022) and placebo (16.0 ± 2.4%; p = 0.044) groups. There was no significant (p = 0.774) difference, however, between the low dose and placebo groups. In addition, for the upper 50th percentile group, the adjusted mean post-supplementation baseline HYP for the high dose group (1.5 ± 0.3 μg·mL− 1) was significantly less than both the low dose (2.4 ± 0.3 μg·mL− 1; p = 0.034) and placebo (2.4 ± 0.3 μg·mL− 1, p = 0.024) groups. The results of the present study demonstrated that 8 weeks of PrimaVie® Shilajit supplementation at 500 mg·d− 1 promoted the retention of maximal muscular strength following the fatiguing protocol and decreased baseline HYP. Thus, PrimaVie® Shilajit supplementation at 500 mg·d− 1 elicited favorable muscle and connective tissue adaptations.
Fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior in Al – 7075 alloy under in-phase bending-torsion loading

Abstract Fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior were investigated on a tubular specimen of Al 7075 alloy subjected to multiaxial mixed mode bending-torsional loadings. Tests under pure bending and pure torsional loadings were also conducted to segregate the effect of multiaxiality. A single crack nucleated on the plane of maximum shear stress in all the tests, except for pure torsion. For pure bending, crack propagated on the plane of maximum shear stress in a mixed mode condition tracing an inverted S-shaped trajectory; whereas, crack trajectory under combined bending-torsional load consisted of mode I dominant region, transition region, and pure mode II region. Furthermore, analyses of fracture surfaces were conducted to determine the micro-mechanisms governing crack initiation and propagation behavior.
Abstract TP342: Early Erythrolysis in Hematoma After Experimental Hemorrhage

Background: Erythrolysis in the clot after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and the release of hemoglobin causes brain injury but it is unclear when such lysis occurs. The present study examined earl...
HRT for the Primary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease

The incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women increases significantly after the menopause and is a leading cause of death. Hence primary prevention of CHD is of paramount importance. Since loss of ovarian hormones leads to adverse metabolic and vascular changes, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a logical treatment to reverse these changes. Estrogen has beneficial effects on lipids and lipoproteins in lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Triglycerides may be increased or decreased, depending on the route of administration of the estrogen. These effects are dose-dependent and can be modified by the addition of a progestogen. Androgenic, rather than non-androgenic, progestogens have less favourable effects. Estrogens have mainly favourable effects on glucose and insulin metabolism, improving glucose tolerance and reducing insulin resistance. Again these beneficial changes are reduced by the addition of androgenic progestogens. HRT reduces central fat deposition. It has little or no adverse effect on blood pressure, and certain combinations of estrogen and progestogen may actually lower it. The effect of estrogen on haemostasis is to increase coagulation activation when given by the oral, but not the transdermal, route of administration, but this is also dose-dependent. Thus the types of hormones, doses and route of administration can be manipulated in the individual to give the most favourable metabolic cardiovascular risk profile. Estrogen has direct beneficial effects on arteries and arterial function. It is vasodilatory through its effects on nitric oxide (NO) production and on ion channels. It may also have favourable effects on vascular remodelling, but this again is dose-dependent. Observational studies have consistently shown an association between HRT use and reduction in CHD incidence and death. Furthermore, studies have also shown that cessation of HRT is associated with a transient increase in cardiovascular death. Animal studies have shown that intervention with HRT soon after menopause has the most favourable outcome on atheroma development, the so-called timing hypothesis, and human studies have confirmed this. Clinical trials looking at CHD endpoints now provide growing evidence that HRT is effective for the primary prevention of CHD. The type of hormones given, their route of administration and the dose given at initiation, which will depend on the chronological or menopausal age of the patient, are key to determining a beneficial cardiovascular outcome.
School-based services for youth with prior police contact: a randomized controlled trial

We present results from a randomized controlled trial of a school-based intervention that provided services to youth with prior police contact. The youths’ prior police involvement ranged from police contact without an arrest to being placed on probation. The intervention used a wraparound-style approach and a school-based, multisystem team to deliver services to youth. The study took place over 3 years and used a rolling enrollment strategy. Youth (N = 869) were assigned to either an intervention condition or a business-as-usual control condition using a block randomization strategy. Outcomes came from school records and state Department of Juvenile Justice records. Cox regression analyses were used to predict time to first post-enrollment school suspension and juvenile justice system contact from intervention condition. Intervention condition did not predict time to first post-enrollment suspension or juvenile justice system contact. It also did not predict alternative specifications of these outcomes (i.e., in- versus out-of-school suspension and misdemeanor versus felony contact). Subgroup analyses revealed similar null results for youth with varying types of prior police contact, though statistical power was limited. The lack of beneficial intervention effects may stem from challenges in implementing this approach to improving behavior among students with prior police contact. Multisystem school-based interventions for these youth require the cooperation and coordination of multiple staff and stakeholders. Efforts to improve both service implementation and the augmentation of services that youth already receive from schools and the justice system may improve youth outcomes.
Values, acceptance, and belongingess in graduate school: Perspectives from underrepresented minority students

Abstract Background Although the enrollment rate of students who come from racial and ethnic backgrounds traditionally underrepresented (URM) in higher education settings is steadily increasing in United States graduate programs, URM students are still considerably underrepresented. Systemic racial and ethnic discrimination, microaggressions, and low belongingness may negatively impact psychological functioning and interfere with academic success. Objective: This study explored the relationship between racial and ethnic stressors, belongingness, acceptance, and valued living on the psychological functioning of URM graduate students. Method: Participants (N = 436) were URM students pursuing their doctoral degree in the United States who completed the Schedule of Racist Events, Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale, Campus Connectedness Scale, Valued Living Questionnaire, Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales. Results: Racial and ethnic microaggressions and stressors were positively associated with psychological distress and belongingness was negatively associated with psychological distress (r's = .21-0.33). However, three hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that both acceptance of internal experiences and values-based living predicted psychological functioning (depression, anxiety, and stress) over and above the negative effects of racial and ethnic stressors and low perceived belongingness. Conclusions: Although systemic changes are needed to address the inequities that URM graduate students face, helping students to cultivate an accepting stance and live consistently with personal values could buffer against the effects of these stressors on psychological functioning.
Factors associated with depressive symptoms of carepartners of stroke survivors after discharge from rehabilitation therapy.

Background: The long-term consequences of stroke affect both the carepartner (CP) and stroke survivor (SS). Understanding the effects of informal caregiving that may influence the ability of the fa...
Social-economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic on aesthetic centers in Greece.

Background Epidemics are a major cause of health problems in developing countries, preventing the accumulation of human capital and economic growth. On the appearance of the pandemic of the new coronavirus COVID-19 worldwide, this survey was carried out in the 4th week of the occurrence of the cases in Greece. Objectives The investigation was aimed at the social and economic impact caused by this COVID-19 pandemic and the state's decision to suspend the operation of businesses and stores in Greece. Materials and methods One hundred and fifty-eight esthetic centers from various areas of Greece were participated in this study, and the questionnaires were sent electronically to the business owners. Statistical analyzes were conducted using Google Forms and the questionnaires analyzed through PSPP software. Results Based on their answers and the statistical analyzes, it was calculated the reduction of the monthly income for the first month of suspension of the operation of their companies. Additionally, social-related matters were examined as, how they experience this period, psychologically, financially, what problems they believe that they will face, and what changes in their work that could result from the pandemic. Discussion There is no similar study and experience for esthetic centers from a viral pandemic in literature. The suspension of operations provoked serious financial problems and significant psychological burden about what "tomorrow will bring" with returning to "normalcy."
Systematic Covariations and Emerging Asian Equity Markets’ Diversification Benefits to US Equity Investors

Unconditional and conditional correlations have played a central role in portfolio analysis, optimization, and performance measurement. However, recent studies show these two correlation measures a...
Opinion: CASE Act will Harm Researchers and Freedom of Inquiry

The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (CASE Act) was swept into law during the final days of 2020 as a part of the 5,500 page federal spending bill. In theory, the CASE Act aims to provide a venue for individual creators (such as photographers, graphic artists, musicians) to address smaller copyright infringement claims without spending the time and money required to pursue a copyright infringement lawsuit in Federal court. In reality, however, this additional bureaucratic structure created outside of the traditional court system is fraught with problems that will mostly incentivize large, well-resourced rightsholders or overly litigious copyright owners to take advantage of the system. At the same time, it will confuse and harm innocuous users of content, who may not understand the complexities of copyright law, and who do not know whether or how to respond to a notice of infringement via this small claims process. From our perspective, it will chill users who rely on crucial statutory exceptions to copyright, such as fair use, in their research and teaching activities.
Optimizing the Benefits from Schooling: School-Switching Behavior Among Return Migrants in India

This chapter examines school-switching behavior among Indian and first-generation Indian American return migrants in Bangalore, a city in southwest India. It does so by addressing the following question: Why do parents switch their children from one school to another? Through analyzing interviews with return migrant parents from 37 families, I argue that those who switch schools do so because what parents want from their children’s schooling changes as their children age. I suggest that parents make initial schooling decisions designed to ease their children’s transition to attending school in Bangalore. However, as children progress through their schooling parents become more concerned with their educational and professional futures. Thus, as their children advance through their education, parents make schooling decisions designed to give them the skills necessary to navigate future educational and professional opportunities around the globe. This chapter demonstrates how what parents want from their children’s schooling changes as their children age. This change in what they want from their children’s schooling motivates parents to switch them from one school to another.
Spatiotemporal Tracking of SARS-CoV-2 Variants using informative subtype markers and association graphs

Viral subtyping can facilitate visualization and modeling of the geographic distribution and temporal dynamics of disease spread. Understanding the virus’s evolution spatiotemporally can help forensic strategies. We have identified mutation variation within SARS-CoV-2 sequences via an entropy measure followed by frequency analysis. These signatures, Informative Subtype Markers (ISMs), define a compact set of nucleotide sites that characterize the most variable (and thus most informative) positions in the viral genomes sequenced from different individuals. Using these ISMs, we show that we can use them for a variety of downstream analyses, such as comparing countries’ subtype compositions. We present association graphs as a visualization tool to connect different ISMs based on their co-occurrence across different individuals. In particular, we investigate dominant ISMs for different locations, across different factors such as gender and age.
Impedance eduction for uniform and multizone acoustic liners

This paper presents results for five uniform and two multizone liners based on data acquired in the NASA Langley Grazing Flow Impedance Tube. Two methods, Prony and CHE, are used to educe the imped...
Hip-Spine Syndrome

Hip-spine syndrome is a condition that relates the intersection between hip and lumbar spine pathologies that often occur in combination. In some situations, both intrinsic hip and lumbar spine pathologies may be severe and warrant independent evaluation and treatment. In others, one of the two pathologies may predominate with the secondary symptoms compensatory or due to increased stress on the paraspinal or peri-pelvic musculature. Targeted interventions, such as injections, can be useful for discerning the extent to which hip, or spine, pathology is responsible for a patient’s full constellation of symptoms. Nonoperative management is often successful at alleviating symptoms and should be directed to the primary pain generator. In some situations, surgical intervention may be required and can consist of soft tissue hip procedures, joint replacement, and spine surgical interventions, alone or in combination.
Improved Unit Energy Efficiency and Reduced Cost by Innovative Industrial Wastewater Treatment Systems

Activated sludge process is the common industrial wastewater treatment scheme. However, intensive aeration requirements made it impossible for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to be energy- positive. The current study designed energy positive industrial wastewater treatment trains by using innovative technologies such as micro-sieving, up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB), and partial nitrification/Anammox (PN/A). Excel-based models were developed to compare the innovative treatment systems and the activated sludge system based on unit energy, cost and environmental indicators. Results showed that the innovative systems could save unit energy and cost by 67–85% and 59–85%, respectively. Innovative technologies increase the average unit energy production for meat processing, tannery, and textile wastewater treatment up to 1.71, 1.63, and 1.58 kWh/kg BODremoved. Furthermore, the high energy recovery reduces the overall global warming potential of these systems. Electrical self-sufficiency in industrial wastewater treatment could be obtained by using innovative technologies, which present great potential for future designs of industrial wastewater treatment.
Origin of Regular Satellites

The regular satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are generally believed to have accreted within cooling circumplanetary nebulae. Small silicate bodies are lost into the planet by gas drag before ice can condense. Larger silicate protosatellites survive by exerting tidal torques on the gas, clearing low-density “tunnels” around their orbits. The nebula is thus divided into series of gas rings depleted in silicates. Cooling eventually allows ice condensation, yielding another generation of icy bodies. Collisional accretion of these objects accounts for stochastic density variations of Saturn’s inner satellites. High dynamic pressure may have prevented accretion in the inner part of the Jovian nebula; J5 may be an ablated remnant of a larger body.
Optimal control switching of thyristor controlled braking resistor for stability augmentation

In this paper, the thyristor controlled system dynamic braking resistor and the nonlinear optimal control theory are approached simultaneously within a hierarchical framework. This creates a multiple local feedback controllers that can be realistically implemented using only local measurements and whose performance is consistent with respect to changes in network configuration, loading and power transfer conditions. Following a major disturbance, the rotor angle and rotor speed of each generator unit are determined and the firing angle of the thyristor switch associated with the braking resistor is calculated by the local controllers. By controlling the firing-angle of the thyristor, braking resistor controls the accelerating power in each generator and thus enhances the stability margins and damping oscillations. Since the local controllers rely only on information particular to their own subsystem, interconnection effects and the nonlinearities introduced by them, are accounted for by a supervisory controller. The proposed control strategy was tested on the IEEE Western States Coordinating Council (WSCC) test system. Results show that the method is capable of bringing the system under control when starting with inherently unstable conditions, even when the severity of the disturbances is increased.
N,N′-Bis(9H-fluoren-9-ylidene)benzene-1,2-diamine

The title compound, C32H20N2, was synthesized by the p-toluene­sulfonic acid-assisted Schiff base reaction between 9-fluorenone and o-phenyl­enediamine. The mol­ecule crystallizes in a centrosymmetric space group and is located on a twofold rotation axis. The two fluoren-9-yl­idene moieties adopt a trans configuration as substituents on the linking benzene ring, making the entire mol­ecule chiral.
The Impact of Divided Government on the Supreme Court Appointment Process: An Assessment of Judicial Extremism, 1946‐2009

Using the data from the Supreme Court Database, we test the hypothesis that Supreme Court justices appointed under conditions of divided party government behave more moderately in decision making than justices appointed under unified government. We create a dependent variable that provides term-by-term measures of judicial extremism for 31 justices from 1946 through 2009. For the independent variables, we expand the conception of divided government not only by using a dichotomous measure of split party control but also by considering the president's approval rating and ideological distance to the filibuster pivot. We use our variables to create time series regression models for civil rights/liberties cases and economic cases. In both models, we find strong support for our hypothesis and observe the statistical significance of several control variables. Ultimately, our regression models may prove useful for explaining and predicting the behavior of Supreme Court justices relative to a variety of confirmation conditions. Usando datos de la Supreme Court Database, ponemos a prueba la hipotesis que los ministros de la Suprema Corte elegidos en condiciones de gobiernos sin mayoria partidista tienden a efectuar decisiones mas moderadas que los ministros elegidos bajo gobiernos unificados. Creamos una variable dependiente que proporciona una medida de extremismo judicial en cada periodo para 31 ministros desde 1946 hasta 2009. Para las variables independientes, expandimos la nocion de gobierno dividido no solo usando una nocion dicotomica de control sin mayoria partidista, tambien consideramos el indice de popularidad del presidente en turno y la distancia ideologica para un pivote filibustero. Usamos nuestras variables para crear un modelo de regresion de series temporales para casos de libertades/derechos civiles y otro para casos economicos. En ambos modelos, encontramos un gran sustento a nuestra hipotesis y observamos relevancia estadistica para muchas variables de control. De tal manera, nuestros modelos de regresion pueden ser utiles para explicar y predecir el comportamiento de los ministros de la Corte de Justicia con relacion a una variedad de condiciones.
Treatment of Chronic HCV With Sofosbuvir and Simeprevir in Patients With Cirrhosis and Contraindications to Interferon and/or Ribavirin

Treatment of Chronic HCV With Sofosbuvir and Simeprevir in Patients With Cirrhosis and Contraindications to Interferon and/or Ribavirin
Abort Capabilities of Rocket-Powered Single-Stage Launch Vehicles

Application of advanced technologies to future launch vehicle designs would allow the introduction of a rocket-powered, single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launch system early in the next century. A fully reusable SSTO vehicle would be quite desirable from an operational standpoint; hence, this paper utilizes a vehicle design that incorporates the enabling technology advances in structure, propulsion, and subsystems that are essential. This paper examines the abort capabilities of an advanced SSTO launch vehicle that has five main engines. In the event of a single or dual main engine shutdown, it was determined when the vehicle could execute return-tolaunch-site, abort-to-orbit, or down-range abort maneuvers. Throughout each abort maneuver, vehicle loads are kept within nominal ascent and entry design values.
Molecular Dynamics and Kinetics of Monosaccharides in Solution. A Broadband Ultrasonic Relaxation Study

Between 100 kHz and 2 GHz ultrasonic absorption spectra have been measured for aqueous solutions of d-galactose, d-mannose, d-glucose, d-arabinose, d-ribose, d-lyxose, and d-xylose, as well as of t...
Quantitative Study of Ureaplasma Urealyticum in Tracheal Aspirates Of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Newborns By Competitive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 1480

Quantitative Study of Ureaplasma Urealyticum in Tracheal Aspirates Of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Newborns By Competitive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 1480
Evolution and Free Will: A Defense of Darwinian Non–naturalism

In his recent book The Natural Selection of Autonomy, Bruce Waller defends a view that he calls “natural autonomy.” This view holds that human beings possess a kind of autonomy that we share with nonhuman animals, a capacity to explore alternative courses of action, but an autonomy that cannot support moral responsibility. He also argues that this natural autonomy can provide support for the ethical principle of noninterference. I argue that to support the ethical principle of noninterference Waller needs either a libertarian or a compatibilist theory of autonomy. I then go on to argue that, contra Waller, the libertarian view is both compatible with Darwinism and able to make sense of how autonomous acts belong to the agents who perform them. Thus, I conclude that the libertarian position is a live option for Darwinians. If however, naturalism is taken to include a deterministic view of the universe (at least at the nonquantum level), as is often the case, then my article takes some strides in defending “Darwinian non–naturalism.”
Uniform low defect density molecular beam epitaxial HgCdTe

This paper describes recent advances in MBE HgCdTe technology. A new 3 inch production molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system, Riber Model 32P, was installed at Rockwell in 1994. The growth technology developed over the years at Rockwell using the Riber 2300 R&D system was transferred to the 32P system in less than six months. This short period of technology transfer attests to our understanding of the MBE HgCdTe growth dynamics and the key growth parameters. Device quality material is being grown routinely in this new system. Further advances have been made to achieve better growth control. One of the biggest challenges in the growth of MBE HgCdTe is the day-to-day control of the substrate surface temperature at nucleation and during growth. This paper describes techniques that have led to growth temperature reproducibility within + - 1°C, and a variation in temperature during substrate rotation within 0.5°C. The rotation of the substrate during growth has improved the uniformity of the grown layers. The measured uniformity data on composition for a typical 3 cm × 3 cm MBE HgCdTe/CdZnTe shows the average and standard deviation values of 0.229 and 0.0006, respectively. Similarly, the average and standard deviation for the layer thickness are 7.5 and 0.06 µm, respectively. P-on-n LWIR test structure photodiodes fabricated using material grown by the new system and using rotation during growth have resulted in high-performance (R0)A, quantum efficiency) devices at 77 and 40K. In addition, 128 × 28 focal plane arrays with excellent performance and operability have been demonstrated.
RECENT COMMON ANCESTORS OF ALL PRESENT-DAY INDIVIDUALS

Previous study of the time to a common ancestor of all present-day individuals has focused on models in which each individual has just one parent in the previous generation. For example, ‘mitochondrial Eve’ is the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) when ancestry is defined only through maternal lines. In the standard Wright-Fisher model with population size n, the expected number of generations to the MRCA is about 2n, and the standard deviation of this time is also of order n. Here we study a two-parent analog of the Wright-Fisher model that defines ancestry using both parents. In this model, if the population size n is large, the number of generations, 𝒯 n , back to a MRCA has a distribution that is concentrated around lgn (where lg denotes base-2 logarithm), in the sense that the ratio 𝒯 n (lgn) converges in probability to 1 as n→∞. Also, continuing to trace back further into the past, at about 1.77 lgn generations before the present, all partial ancestry of the current population ends, in the following sense: with high probability for large n, in each generation at least 1.77lgn generations before the present, all individuals who have any descendants among the present-day individuals are actually ancestors of all present-day individuals.
Experimental Investigation of Springback Variation in Forming of High Strength Steels

The use of high strength steels (HSSs) in automotive body structures is a prominent method of reducing vehicle weight as an alternative to use of aluminum and magnesium alloys. However, parts made of HSSs demonstrate more springback than parts made of mild steels do. Moreover, variations in the incoming material, friction, and other process conditions cause variations in the springback characteristics, which prevent the practical applicability of the springback prediction and compensation techniques. Consequently, it leads to amplified variations and quality issues during assembly of the stamped components. The objective of this study is to investigate and gain an understanding of the variation of springback in the forming of HSSs. Two sets of experiments were conducted to analyze the influence of the material property (dual-phase steels from different suppliers), lubrication, and blank holder pressure on the springback variation. The experimental results showed that the variation in the incoming blank material is the most important factor. In summary, the thicker the blank is, the less the springback variation. On the other hand, blanks without a coating show less springback variation. The application of lubricant helps us to reduce springback variation, although it actually increases the springback itself. The more uniform the friction condition, the less the springback variation. The influence of blank holder pressure on the springback variation is not distinguishable from the system-level noise in our experiment.
Structural representation and reasoning in a hybrid cognitive architecture

Psychologically and neurobiologically plausible models of knowledge often must make a difficult choice between distributed and localist representation. Distributed representation can be flexible and hold up well to noisy data, but localist models allow for structured knowledge to be represented unambiguously and reasoned over in rigorous, transparent fashion. We present a way of representing knowledge within the hybrid cognitive architecture CLARION. Our system allows both structured knowledge and distributed knowledge to synergistically coexist while remaining within the limits defined by CLARION'S dual-process framework. After showing how our system can allow more complex knowledge structures to arise, we describe algorithms that use such structures to model many types of reasoning, including: analogical reasoning, deductive reasoning, moral reasoning, and more. We place the structural knowledge afforded CLARION within a formal hierarchy of expressivity for such knowledge, and discuss implications of this work.
The use of macrolide antibiotic substances in the treatment of asthma

Abstract It has been found that the use of triacetyloleandomycin and erythromycin estolate in many corticosteroid-dependent asthmatic subjects enables the physician to decrease the corticosteroid dose significantly without concomitant deterioration in airway function. Infection could not be detected with any greater certainty in patients who responded to the macrolide than in those who did not, with the use of such criteria as the results of culture of the sputum for bacteria and mycoplasma (pleuropneumonia-like organisms: PPLO) as well as the results of standard procedures for the determination of infection in any patient. Lymphopenia, eosinopenia, neutrophilia, and a more marked Cushingoid appearance were noted while patients were on average doses of these antibiotics and were not noted when antibiotics which did not have the same beneficial effects on airway function were prescribed.
Annellophores in Torula Jeanselmei

In a preliminary report of fungi isolated from pulp samples collected in New York State (12), 40 cultures of an imperfect fungus were assigned to Margarinomyces heteromorpha (Nannf.) Mangenot. My isolates are identical to Mangenot's culture isolated from wood in France (8). This species, under the original name Trichosporium heteromorphum Nannf., was reported abundant in wood pulp in several paper mills in Sweden (10). However, a study of slides of the paratype of T. heteromorphum, made after the publication of the preliminary report, revealed that T. heteromorphum Nannf., with numerous "sclerotial bodies" and M. heteromorpha (Nannf.) Mangenot, lacking these structures, represent two distinct species. Furthermore, phialides bearing collarettes were found in the slides of the paratype of T. heteromor? phum which was consequently redescribed and transferred to Phialophora by Wang (13). While studying M. heteromorpha sensu Mangenot, I found it to be identical to Phialophora jeanselmei (Langeron) Emmons. The latter fungus, transferred from Torula by Emmons, is the etiologic agent of a rare human disease known as mycetoma (5, 7). In my preliminary report of the fungi in pulp samples (12), the name M. heteromorpha was used because the collarettes typical of the genus Phialophora were not observed in any cultures studied. Apparently, the earlier, valid name for the fungus reported by Mangenot and myself as M. hetero? morpha is P. jeanselmei. In his paper on the "black yeasts," W. B. Cooke (4) has already considered M. heteromorpha (Nannf.) Mangenot sensu Mangenot as synonym of P. jeanselmei. This paper adds hitherto unrecorded details of the sporogenous cells of P. jeanselmei and offers a reason for using the original name Torula jeanselmei Langeron.
Collaborative operating system and compiler power management for real-time applications

Managing energy consumption has become vitally important to battery-operated portable and embedded systems. Dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) reduces the processor's dynamic power consumption quadratically at the expense of linearly decreasing the performance. When reducing energy with DVS for real-time systems, one must consider the performance penalty to ensure that deadlines can be met. In this paper, we introduce a novel collaborative approach between the compiler and the operating system (OS) to reduce energy consumption. We use the compiler to annotate an application's source code with path-dependent information called power-management hints (PMHs). This fine-grained information captures the temporal behavior of the application, which varies by executing different paths. During program execution, the OS periodically changes the processor's frequency and voltage based on the temporal information provided by the PMHs. These speed adaptation points are called power-management points (PMPs). We evaluate our scheme using three embedded applications: a video decoder, automatic target recognition, and a sub-band tuner. Our scheme shows an energy reduction of up to 57p over no power-management and up to 32p over a static power-management scheme. We compare our scheme to other schemes that solely utilize PMPs for power-management and show experimentally that our scheme achieves more energy savings. We also analyze the advantages and disadvantages of our approach relative to another compiler-directed scheme.
Novel copolymerizations of methyl vinylidene cyanide with electron-rich vinyl monomers

At 28° the spontaneous reactions of methylvinylidene cyanide (MVCN) with p-methoxystyrene, p-trimethylsiloxystyrene, styrene, isobutyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether and trimethylsilyl vinyl ether yielded alternating copolymers of potential interest as new piezoelectric materials. MVCN copolymerized with vinyl acetate in low yield using radical initiator and ZnCl2. Attempted homopolymerizations of MVCN with various initiators gave only low molecular weight oligomers, particularly trimers.
Effects of early parent touch on preterm infants' heart rates and arterial oxygen saturation levels.

A descriptive exploratory design was used in this study to evaluate the effects of early parent touch on the heart rates and arterial oxygen (O2) saturation levels of 36 preterm infants The infants were between 27–33 weeks gestahonal age at birth, and were free of congenital defects Infants were videotaped during parent visits on up to three separate occasions during the first month of life Parents were encouraged to interact with their infants as they usually would, and data on the infants’ heart rates and O2 saturation levels were recorded every 6 seconds on a portable computer that was interfaced with the infants’ monitors Mean O2 saturation levels were significantly lower during parent touch than during baseline periods on 45% of the visits, and significantly higher during parent touch periods on 19% of the visits O2 saturation variability was greater during periods of parent touch, and there were more abnormal O2 saturation values during parent touch than during baseline periods Mean heart rates during parent touch were significantly lower compared to baseline on 17% of the visits, and were higher during parent touch on 43% of the visits There were no overall differences in mean heart rates between baseline, parent touch and post-visit classifications, although heart rate variability was greater during periods of parent touch The results indicate that preterm infants’ responses to early parent touch are variable, and suggest that blanket policies that limit parent touch during the early weeks of life may not be appropriate It may be more appropriate to teach parents to modify the types and amounts of touch they provide based on the infants’ physiologic and behavioural cues
Origin of tektites

THE Moon as a source of tektites is accepted by Varsavsky1 on the basis of calculations which indicated to him the probability that ejecta from meteorite impacts on the Moon could reach the Earth. All other evidence to the contrary was either ignored or misinterpreted. In Nature recently, O'Keefe2 and Gold joined Varsavsky in support of such an origin.
A Continuous Multichannel Automatic Curve Reader

Details of construction and characteristics of performance for a multichannel analog curve reader are described. This system is intended primarily for automatic transcription of bioelectric-data recordings such as electroencephalograms, and employs the principle of phase-modulated analog sampling. It utilizes electro-encephalographs, polygraphs, or similar devices through which the original recordings are rerun for transcription; the usual ink-writing pens of these devices are replaced by self-contained photoelectric scanning pens. The system is versatile in its operation, permitting either the slow-speed exact duplication of ink-written traces or similar data, or high-speed transcriptions (within the limits of the sampling theorem) for computer analysis, either directly, or via the intermediary of magnetic-tape recordings. The number of channels is optional and readily expandable; an 8-channel system has been constructed.
Fire behavior of shear angle connections in a restrained steel frame

Abstract Experimental results of double angle connections with thermally-induced loading are presented in this paper. Two beam assemblies were tested inside a furnace by simulating typical building fire conditions. These beams were connected to a restrained steel frame outside of the furnace with double angle connections. The test variables included fire scenario, load level and composite action arising from beam-slab effect. Data generated from the fire tests indicate that double angle connection exhibit inherent rotational rigidity in spite of being designed as simple shear connections and are capable of transferring thermally-induced moments. Despite undergoing permanent deformations, no failure occurred in the tested assembly, thus illustrating the ductile behavior of the double angle connections.
Convergent validity of executive organization measures on cancellation.

Cancellation tests have traditionally been used to measure visuospatial neglect. Recently, such tests have also been viewed as potential measures of executive function. Mark and colleagues (2004; Disorganized search on cancellation is not a consequence of neglect. Neurology, 63, 78–84) developed three objective measures of organization based on reconstructing target-marking pathways from one form of a cancellation test: mean inter-target distance, path intersection rate, and a quantification of overall path uniformity (i.e., predominantly radial versus horizontal cancellation progress) that they termed “best r”. However, the validity of these measures with respect to a subjective judgment of organization was not assessed. In the present study, 50 observers rated the overall organization of 50 reconstructed pathways from stroke patients and non-brain-injured adults to allow evaluating the convergent validity of the three proposed executive organization measures. Inter-target distance (r = .86), intersectio...