cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lead candidates for high-performance organic photovoltaics from high-throughput quantum chemistry – the Harvard Clean Energy Project

The virtual high-throughput screening framework of the Harvard Clean Energy Project allows for the computational assessment of candidate structures for organic electronic materials – in particular photovoltaics – at an unprecedented scale. We report the most promising compounds that have emerged after studying 2.3 million molecular motifs by means of 150 million density functional theory calculations. Our top candidates are analyzed with respect to their structural makeup in order to identify important building blocks and extract design rules for efficient materials. An online database of the results is made available to the community.
Hearing Loss and Cleft Palate: The Perspective of Time

This study examines the hearing status of individuals with clefts of the palate or lip and palate without other major malformations or syndromes. A total of 1,699 audiometric records were reviewed and classified on the basis of race, gender, cleft type, age, and birth year (pre or post 1969). The results indicate that race, age, and date of birth affect the frequency of hearing loss.
A likelihood-based decision feedback system for multi-aspect classification of underwater targets

This paper presents a new method for multiaspect/ping classification of underwater objects using sonar data. This system uses decision feedback to form a likelihood ratio for making a high confidence final decision based not only upon the data of the current ping but also the final decisions made at several previous pings. The system is then applied to an underwater target classification problem. Test results on a buried object scanning sonar (BOSS) database collected for different objects and in different conditions show the promise of the proposed method for multi-aspect underwater target discrimination.
Recent advances in VOCs removal from water by pervaporation.

Pervaporation (PV) is a separation process in which minor components of a liquid mixture are preferentially transported by partial vaporization through a non-porous permselective (selectively permeable) membrane. PV is an emerging technology in environment cleanup operations, especially in the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from industrial wastewaters or contaminated groundwaters. Current state of PV membrane development in VOC removal and improvement in process engineering, and better understanding of the interactions between VOCs and membrane materials are reviewed. Among PV process parameters documented here are process temperature, permeate pressure, feed concentration, and feed flow rate. The effects of these parameters on PV selectivity and permeation flux have been studied extensively and these studies have borne fruit in a better understanding of many aspects of PV processes. The challenge in implementing PV in practical operations lies in the further enhancement of membrane quality for specific VOCs as well as improved management and control of possible adverse hurdles coming from real systems.
Could Standardized Cavernosometry be Helpful in Therapeutic Management of Veno-Occlusive Dysfunction?

AbstractPurpose: Due to the lack of a gold standard for performing cavernosometry, we selected 30 patients with veno-occlusive dysfunction to evaluate the internal relationships of cavernosometric parameters and their reliability for therapeutic decisions.Materials and Methods: Cavernosometry was performed after injection of 20 to 40 microgram of prostaglandin E1. Maintenance flow rates, intracavernous pressure decay following cessation of flow and intracavernous pressure changes after compression maneuvers were the main parameters considered.Results: Cavernosometric results were standardized as grade 1--7 patients with maintenance flow rate less than 20 ml. per minute (mean 18 plus/minus 2.5) and intravernous pressure decay 27.5 plus/minus 15 percent, grade 2--11 with maintenance flow rates significantly lower (p less than 0.001) than grade 1 (mean 37 plus/minus 11 ml. per minute) and intracavernous pressure decay 33 plus/minus 20 percent, and grade 3--12 with only recorded induction flows greater than 7...
Variation in tree mortality and regeneration affect forest carbon recovery following fuel treatments and wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California, USA

Forest fuel treatments have been proposed as tools to stabilize carbon stocks in fire-prone forests in the Western U.S.A. Although fuel treatments such as thinning and burning are known to immediately reduce forest carbon stocks, there are suggestions that these losses may be paid back over the long-term if treatments sufficiently reduce future wildfire severity, or prevent deforestation. Although fire severity and post-fire tree regeneration have been indicated as important influences on long-term carbon dynamics, it remains unclear how natural variability in these processes might affect the ability of fuel treatments to protect forest carbon resources. We surveyed a wildfire where fuel treatments were put in place before fire and estimated the short-term impact of treatment and wildfire on aboveground carbon stocks at our study site. We then used a common vegetation growth simulator in conjunction with sensitivity analysis techniques to assess how predicted timescales of carbon recovery after fire are sensitive to variation in rates of fire-related tree mortality, and post-fire tree regeneration. We found that fuel reduction treatments were successful at ameliorating fire severity at our study site by removing an estimated 36% of aboveground biomass. Treated and untreated stands stored similar amounts of carbon three years after wildfire, but differences in fire severity were such that untreated stands maintained only 7% of aboveground carbon as live trees, versus 51% in treated stands. Over the long-term, our simulations suggest that treated stands in our study area will recover baseline carbon storage 10–35 years more quickly than untreated stands. Our sensitivity analysis found that rates of fire-related tree mortality strongly influence estimates of post-fire carbon recovery. Rates of regeneration were less influential on recovery timing, except when fire severity was high. Our ability to predict the response of forest carbon resources to anthropogenic and natural disturbances requires models that incorporate uncertainty in processes important to long-term forest carbon dynamics. To the extent that fuel treatments are able to ameliorate tree mortality rates or prevent deforestation resulting from wildfire, our results suggest that treatments may be a viable strategy to stabilize existing forest carbon stocks.
Self-rated depressive symptoms in medical inpatients: Age and racial differences.

One thousand and eleven men under age forty (n = 161) or over age sixty-four (n = 850) admitted to medical and neurological services of an acute care hospital were screened for depressive symptoms as part of the Durham VA Mental Health Survey. Thirty-three percent of younger and 22 percent of older men scored 11 or higher on the Geriatric Depression Scale. Self-rated symptoms were most prevalent among younger whites (40%) and least common in older blacks (19%). Other exogenous factors such as being retired or unemployment and prior psychiatric history were also related to depressive symptoms, as were poor functional status, impaired cognitive status, and respiratory illness. Coping resources associated with fewer symptoms were social support and moderate alcohol use. In a subgroup of 443 patients, self-rated symptoms were compared with observer-rated symptoms. Agreement was highest among young Whites and lowest in older Blacks. Other correlates also varied depending on whether self-rated or observer-rated...
Thermal Calibration of Heated Silicon Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers

This paper analyzes the accuracy and stability of calibration methodologies for heated silicon atomic force microscope cantilevers. The calibration techniques include Raman thermometry, comparison of the cantilever electrical characteristics with theory, and isothermal calibration on a hotplate. The various techniques offer tradeoffs between calibration time and calibration accuracy, where the best accuracy possible is with Raman thermometry, which calibrates the heater temperature to within 3-10% of the temperature rise, depending upon the temperature. The temperature calibrations are stable with storage time and cantilever usage, although a 'burn-in' period is usually required to stabilize the cantilever resistance.
Overcoming interference in spatial multiplexing MIMO cellular networks

Multi-antenna transmission and reception (known as MIMO) is widely touted as the key technology for enabling wireless broadband services, whose widespread success will require 10 times higher spectral efficiency than current cellular systems, at 10 times lower cost per bit. Spectrally efficient, inexpensive cellular systems are by definition densely populated and interference-limited. But spatial multiplexing MIMO systems- whose principal merit is a supposed dramatic increase in spectral efficiency- lose much of their effectiveness in high levels of interference. This article overviews several approaches to handling interference in multicell MIMO systems. The discussion is applicable to any multi-antenna cellular network, including 802.16e/WiMAX, 3GPP (HSDPA and 3GPP LTE), and 3GPP2 (lxEVDO). We argue that many of the traditional interference management techniques have limited usefulness (or are even counterproductive) when viewed in concert with MIMO. The problem of interference in MIMO systems is too large in scope to be handled with a single technique: in practice a combination of complementary countermeasures will be needed. We overview emerging system-level interference-reducing strategies based on cooperation, which will be important for overcoming interference in future spatial multiplexing cellular systems.
Visceral Leishmaniosis in a Fenner Fox (Fennecus zerda)

Visceral leishmaniosis presumably due to Leishmonia donovani was found in a fennce fox (Fennecus Zerda) from northern Africa. The parasite was identified by light and electron-microscopic studies o...
Mathematical Model of Viscosity Measurements for Viscoelastic Solids

A methodology is described for determining the viscosity of viscoelastic solids. A three-parameter model consisting of two springs and one dashpot is constructed to represent the viscoelastic material. With this model, the viscosity can be determined from the experimental stress-time curve generated from short-term loading at a constant strain rate, followed by holding the total strain. The feasibility of this model to represent viscoelastic ceramics is also addressed.
True thymic hyperplasia in an infant

True thymic hyperplasia is a very rare entity. We present an instance of idiopathic true massive thymic hyperplasia in a 9-month-old girl with a very large left-sided mediastinal mass noted on diagnostic imaging. Percutaneous biopsy revealed normal thymic tissue. Steroids were administered with no response. Surgery may be required in patients with respiratory distress unresponsive to steroids.
The Logic of Collective Belief

Many political failure arguments implicitly assume that voters are irrational. This article argues that this assumption is both theoretically and empirically plausible: in politics, rationality, li...
AMC Improvements from Robust Estimation

The performance of a cyclostationarity feature based automatic modulation classifier (AMC) is improved by the novel usage of a robust estimate of second order first conjugate cyclostationarity. Using a previously proposed statistical test for identifying cyclostationarity, we show that the distribution of the test statistic at a cycle frequency has larger mean and smaller variance - when it is based on a robust estimate of the second order first conjugate cyclic temporal moment function (CTMF) - than when a classical estimate of the second order first conjugate CTMF is used. The improvements are a 4 dB reduction in SNR requirements, a lower false alarm rate, and reduced sensitivity to receiver bandwidth - when the test uses the robust estimate.
Lagrangian Observations of the Deep Western Boundary Current in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Abstract In this study, the authors analyze the trajectories of 18 RAFOS floats, launched in the deep western boundary current (DWBC) between the Grand Banks and Cape Hatteras to investigate the kinematics and dynamics in the region where the DWBC crosses under the Gulf Stream, near 36°N (the “crossover region”). Floats deployed in the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) maximum associated with upper Labrador Sea Water (depth ∼800 m) illustrate the entrainment process of this water mass into the Gulf Stream. The behavior of the floats (and fluid parcels) in the crossover region is strongly dependent on the meandering of the Gulf Stream. When the stream is close to its mean position, fluid parcels entrained from the upper DWBC travel along the northern edge of the stream. When a meander trough is present downstream of the entrainment location, DWBC fluid parcels cross the Gulf Stream and sometimes are expelled on the south side. This represents a previously unrecognized mechanism for transporting upper Labrador Sea W...
Nitric oxide and neurally mediated regulation of skin blood flow during local heating

The mechanisms underlying the skin blood flow (SkBF) response to local heating are complex and poorly understood. Our goal was to examine the role of axon reflexes and nitric oxide (NO) in the SkBF...
An Introduction to the Isotopic Studies of Ancient Human Remains

Abstract This paper provides an introduction to methods in archaeology that utilize light isotopes for helping to determine diet and heavier isotopes for information on mobility and provenience of specimens. The common isotopic systems of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, strontium, and lead are described in terms of basic principles, specifically with references of human bone and tooth enamel. Isotopic analyses of carbon and nitrogen in collagen for past diet provides information on certain food types (e.g., C4 plants, marine resources, freshwater fish) and trophic level, while the analysis of oxygen, strontium, and lead can provide information on local vs. non-local origins, mobility, and place of origin. Analysis of tooth enamel provides information on childhood contexts, and the analysis of adult bone provides information on the later years of life. This paper is intended to provide the methodological background for the isotopic analysis of human and faunal materials from the Viking colonization of the North ...
Mutt Methods, Minimalism, and Guiding Heuristics for UX Project Management

UX has coalesced from a multiplicity of perspectives and approaches, and is held together by a focus on the user. In order to create the flexibility necessary to accommodate the wide range of projects and perspectives, it is necessary to narrow down the UX team concerns and goals before the project management approach is selected. Rather than depending upon a narrow definition of project management that grows out of an overall work style-whether, Agile, lean, or waterfall-the UX project can usefully benefit from a tailored project management approach that matches the project demands. To narrow down the team focus, the authors propose four heuristics to locate: 1. project scope, 2. project agents, 3. evaluation timing, and 4. evaluation criteria. Once those four questions are answered, the UX team can then better locate what kind of project management approaches and genres will best accomplish the team goals.
Enzymes Controlling the Biosynthesis of Catecholamines

Isotopic studies have confirmed the proposed major pathway for the biogenesis of norepinephrine and epinephrine [1]. The main steps in this pathway are the oxidation of phenylalanine to tyrosine followed by hydroxylation to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, decarboxylation to dopamine, β-hydroxylation of dopamine to norepinephrine and N-methylation of norepinephrine to epinephrine. In addition, some other minor pathways were postulated (Fig. 1). Although evidence for the main pathway was well established a decade ago, only recently, all the enzymes which control the biosynthesis of catecholamines were isolated and their properties characterized. Based on these studies it is now possible to investigate the activities of these enzymes in tumors such as neuroblastoma and pheochromocytoma, and to determine which of those enzymes is responsible for the overproduction of catecholamines.
Inscribing kala pani in Ernest Moutoussamy's A la recherche de l'Inde perdue

This essay examines the trope of indianite in Ernest Moutoussamy's collection of poems A la recherche de l'Inde perdue. These poems focus on the Indian crossing of the black waters of the Atlantic popularly known as kala pani, the trauma of exile and displacement, interrogations of identity in the Caribbean islands, as well as the important presence of women who were an integral, albeit minority, constituency in this migrating labor diaspora. Moutoussamy establishes the primacy of the female voice to show how kala pani women negotiated the oceanic crossings from India to Guadeloupe in literature. These poems highlight the ‘jahaji bahin principle’, an ethos of diasporic sisterhood and subjectivity created by the women. I will also show how the intersections between memory, gender, and the oceanic crossing represent exilic tropes that engender a feminized reading of indianite in Moutoussamy's work.
Periodontal health in breast cancer patients on aromatase inhibitors versus postmenopausal controls: a longitudinal analysis

AIM This study was conducted to determine periodontal changes in postmenopausal breast cancer (BCa) survivors using aromatase inhibitors (AI) as compared to postmenopausal women without BCa. METHODS An 18-month prospective examination of periodontal health in postmenopausal women (29 receiving AI therapy; 29 women without BCa) was conducted at University of Michigan. Comprehensive periodontal examinations including alveolar bone height (ABH) were conducted at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Bisphosphonate, vitamin D, and calcium supplementation were collected via chart review. Linear mixed models were utilized to investigate the relationship between AI and periodontal measures. RESULTS Aromatase inhibitor users had significantly deeper probing depths, more dental plaque and clinical attachment loss as compared to controls at the 6, 12, and 18 month study visits (p < 0.05). ABH loss was seen over time within the AI group. The linear mixed model showed a significant effect of time as well as an interaction between aromatase inhibitor use and calcium supplement status. AI users taking calcium experienced less ABH loss over the study than AI users not taking calcium (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION Aromatase inhibitor therapy has a negative impact on the periodontal health of postmenopausal BCa patients. Calcium supplementation appears to mitigate ABH loss in women on AI.
Effects of Cold Storage on Egg Viability of the Cabbage Looper and Some Aspects of the Biology of the Progeny Survivors

One-week storage at 41°F did not affect the viability Of eggs of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hiibner). After longer storage, viability decreased rapidly with a concomitant increase in death when the head capsule and prothoracic shield were visible within the chorion. Storage at 51±1°F did not affect the viability of 1- or 3-day-old eggs, but viability decreased slightly with 2- day-old eggs. Some 2- and 3-day-old eggs hatched in storage at this temperature. Embryogenesis was not completely suppressed at either 41° or 51°F, and some differential response of eggs of different ages was noted. The effects on subsequent larval development, pupal yields, and weights of the 2 generations following cold storage of the eggs were variable.
The endangered causes and protective strategies for Shorea wantianshuea,a tropical rain forest tree species in Xishuangbanna

The characteristics of Shorea wantianshuea in blooming and seeding,resistance of seed and low seedling rate,depressed growth of seedlings,excessive deforestation and habitat fragmentation result in the difficulty of regeneration and the endangered status.Strengthening the management of nature reserve and construction of legal system,artificial tending-aided during natural forest preserving and secondary forest restoration,pests and diseases control,artificial inoculation on seedlings and the combinative strategy of ex-situ conservation are in favor of the genetic resource protection of S.wantianshuea.
Vertebrate intestine apical membrane mechanisms of organic nutrient transport

This paper presents the current understanding of comparative vertebrate intestine basic mechanisms of brush-border membrane transport. Animals control the uptake of monosaccharides and amino acids ...
More than speed? an empirical study of touchscreens and body awareness on an object manipulation task

Touchscreen interfaces do more than allow users to execute speedy interactions. Three interfaces (touchscreen, mouse-drag, on-screen button) were used in the service of performing an object manipulation task. Results showed that planning time was shortest with touch screens, that touchscreens allowed high action knowledge users to perform the task more efficiently, and that only with touchscreens was the ability to rotate the object the same across all axes of rotation. The concept of closeness is introduced to explain the potential advantages of touchscreen interfaces.
Aplasia cutis congenita--a case study of a family with two siblings with this disorder.

BACKGROUND: Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is a rare dermatologic disorder. The cause is unknown. It is a heterogeneous group of disorders whose common characteristic is focal absence of skin. It is a congenital absence of epidermis. In the majority of cases, this is limited to the scalp, although other areas may also be involved. The lesions are non-inflammatory and well demarcated. These lesions can be circular, linear, oval or stellate and range in size from 0.5 to 10 cm. Treatment has been controversial.
Invulnerability and Medicine’s “Promise” of Immortality: Changing Images of the Human Body during the Growth of Medical Knowledge

Historians in all likelihood would not easily reach a consensus if asked to locate temporally the transition to contemporary medicine, since various criteria could be selected in terms of which contemporary medicine (1900+) might be identified as having come into being (I am, of course, referring neither to “modern” nor to Oriental medicine). In order to avoid this debate, however interesting it may prove to be, and thereby to by-pass this certain challenge from medical historians, I simply confess my bias at the outset: the origin of contemporary medicine is typically and not inappropriately identified by the general public as having its origins in the discovery of new knowledge concerning the cellular and sub-cellular mechanisms that govern organic pathology, i.e., infection in the body, as well as even more recent knowledge of the appropriate use of particular instruments invented, developed, and refined for a wide variety of surgical and other technological interventions, which, it turns out, is virtually synonymous with the emergence of contemporary medical power — having passed through a very extended epoch of “medico-technical powerlessness” [“medisch-technische onmacht”] (Dutch [17], p.2).
Novel methods for multiphase assessment of pulmonary dynamics in long term patient monitoring

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) related mortality and associated impairment of the quality of life, as well as related economic burden and predictive models of the future trends demonstrate that COPD is one of the critical health care issues in the Americas and globally. Therefore, it necessitates improved quantitative diagnostic methods and techniques for long term monitoring of patient’s conditions and active medical intervention, population comparative studies, and related comprehensive documentation of patients’ expanded pulmonary function tests. Presented work encompasses developed techniques for enhanced diagnostic evaluation and documentation of patient’s respiratory dynamics and includes modular spherical representation of respiratory flow, volume, time characteristics with a capability of planar projections, which may include among others currently used standard flow/volume loops. Those spherical and/or planar characteristics can be complemented by associative display and quantitative analysis of auscultatory events characterized in time and/or frequency domains thus going beyond present practice of qualitative description of auscultatory observation which, when described in this traditional form, have limited value in long term monitoring. Independently developed, but with parallel utilization capabilities, non contact image based extraction and evaluation of thoracic and abdominal respiration related movements allow quantitative evaluation of abnormal asynchronies. Portability of this PC based system with USB connectivity and developed software allow enhancement of patient’s pulmonary function and respiratory dynamics evaluation especially in long term monitoring of patients.
[Application of R-based multiple seasonal ARIMA model, in predicting the incidence of hand, foot and mouth disease in Shaanxi province].

Objective To apply the ' auto-regressive integrated moving average product seasonal model' in predicting the number of hand, foot and mouth disease in Shaanxi province. Methods In Shaanxi province, the trend of hand, foot and mouth disease was analyzed and tested, under the use of R software, between January 2009 and June 2015. Multiple seasonal ARIMA model was then fitted under time series to predict the number of hand, foot and mouth disease in 2016 and 2017. Results Seasonal effect was seen in hand, foot and mouth disease in Shaanxi province. A multiple seasonal ARIMA (2,1,0)×(1,1,0)12 was established, with the equation as (1 -B)(1 -B12)Ln (Xt) =. The mean of absolute error and the relative error were 531.535 and 0.114, respectively when compared to the simulated number of patients from Jun to Dec in 2015. Results under the prediction of multiple seasonal ARIMA model showed that the numbers of patients in both 2016 and 2017 were similar to that of 2015 in Shaanxi province. Conclusion Multiple seasonal ARIMA (2,1,0)×(1,1,0)12 model could be used to successfully predict the incidence of hand, foot and mouth disease in Shaanxi province. Key words: Hand foot and mouth disease; Multiple seasonal ARIMA model; Prediction
STATE-PERIODIC ADAPTIVE FRICTION COMPENSATION

Abstract This paper focuses on the adaptive friction compensation, where the friction is considered as a position-dependent disturbance. We consider the case when the desired trajectory is state (e.g., position) periodical which is of course also time periodical. The key idea of our approach is to use one trajectory past information along the state axis to update the current adaptation since the friction is state-periodic. The new method consists of two main steps: Firstly, in the first repetitive trajectory, an adaptive compensator is designed to guarantee the l 2 - stability of the overall system; and secondly, from the second repetitive trajectory and onwards, a state-periodic adaptive compensator is designed based on stored past state-dependent information. Rigorous stability analysis is presented with a simulation example.
Body mass index and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

531 Background: Obesity in breast cancer patients is associated with increased risk of poor outcome. One possible mechanism is that obesity may affect metabolism of chemotherapeutic agents, influen...
Rural Bypass of Critical Access Hospitals in Iowa: Do Visiting Surgical Specialists Make a Difference?

Purpose Rural bypass for elective surgical procedures is a challenge for critical access hospitals, yet there are opportunities for rural hospitals to improve local retention of surgical candidates through alternative approaches to developing surgery lines of business. In this study we examine the effect of visiting surgical specialists on the odds of rural bypass. Methods Discharge data from the 2011 State Inpatient Databases and State Ambulatory Surgery Databases for Iowa were linked to outreach data from the Office of Statewide Clinical Education Programs and Iowa Physician Information System to model the effect of surgeon specialist supply on rural patients’ decision to bypass rural critical access hospitals. Findings Patients in rural communities with a local general surgeon were more likely to be retained in a community than to bypass. Those in communities with visiting general surgeons were more likely to bypass, as were those in communities with visiting urologists and obstetricians. Patients in communities with visiting ophthalmologists and orthopedic surgeons were at higher odds of being retained for their elective surgeries. Conclusion In addition to known patient and local hospital factors that have an influence on bypass behavior among rural patients seeking elective surgery, availability of surgeon specialists also plays an important role in whether patients bypass or not. Visiting ophthalmologists and orthopedic surgeons were associated with less bypass, as was having local general surgeons. Visiting general surgeons, urologists, and obstetricians were associated with greater odds of bypass.
Managing Chronic Kidney Disease and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy with Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine: A Case Study.

This case study details the treatment of a 59-year-old male with Stage 3B chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy of the left limbs using acupuncture and bulk herbs. After 6 weeks of combined acupuncture and herbal treatments, glomerular filtration rate increased significantly from 37 mL/min to 51 mL/min and serum creatinine level decreased from 1.85 mg/dL to 1.41 mg/dL. After a course of 15 acupuncture treatments over 4 months with some appointments in closer proximity, the patient additionally reported increased sensation of his left limbs. Since there are limited treatments for CKD, others with CKD may benefit from acupuncture and herbal treatments. This study offers an approach to managing CKD and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy more effectively using herbs and acupuncture supported by biomedical verification results.
Economic Evaluation of a Patient-Directed Music Intervention for ICU Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilatory Support.

Objectives:Music intervention has been shown to reduce anxiety and sedative exposure among mechanically ventilated patients. Whether music intervention reduces ICU costs is not known. The aim of this study was to examine ICU costs for patients receiving a patient-directed music intervention compared
Pre-coda vowel duration in Nepali

Many previous studies have found that vowels are longer before voiced consonants than voiceless (Chen 1970). Fewer studies have examined vowel duration preceding aspirated vs. unaspirated stops, and results are inconsistent (Maddieson & Grandour 1976, Ohala & Ohala 1992). Durvasala and Luo (2012) find that both voicing and aspiration have a lengthening effect on the preceding vowel in Hindi, and that the voiced aspirated class has the longest preceding vowel duration. In the present study, I measure the duration of vowels preceding word final codas in Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language with the same four-way contrast as Hindi. A phonetic study of final stop realization has not yet been reported in the literature, though Nepali is described as variably neutralizing voiced aspirated to the plain voiced. I present an acoustic analysis of cues in word-final position including voicing, burst, and preceding vowel duration. I find evidence of neutralization of voiced and voiced aspirated stops in terms of aspiration duration, but also find results consistent with Durvasala and Luo (2012), that the voiced aspirated stops have longer preceding vowel than the voiced. The difference in vowel duration between the voiced and voiced aspirated classes suggests incomplete neutralization of voiced aspirated to voiced.Many previous studies have found that vowels are longer before voiced consonants than voiceless (Chen 1970). Fewer studies have examined vowel duration preceding aspirated vs. unaspirated stops, and results are inconsistent (Maddieson & Grandour 1976, Ohala & Ohala 1992). Durvasala and Luo (2012) find that both voicing and aspiration have a lengthening effect on the preceding vowel in Hindi, and that the voiced aspirated class has the longest preceding vowel duration. In the present study, I measure the duration of vowels preceding word final codas in Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language with the same four-way contrast as Hindi. A phonetic study of final stop realization has not yet been reported in the literature, though Nepali is described as variably neutralizing voiced aspirated to the plain voiced. I present an acoustic analysis of cues in word-final position including voicing, burst, and preceding vowel duration. I find evidence of neutralization of voiced and voiced aspirated stops in terms of aspiration...
Abstract 20204: Cost-Effectiveness of Computed Tomography of the Coronary Arteries for Patients with Indeterminate or Positive Stress Tests in the Observation Unit

Objectives: One strategy for excluding coronary artery disease (CAD) among patients presenting with low risk chest pain is observation unit (OU) admission with serial cardiac enzymes and stress testing for cardiac risk stratification. In our OU patient population, only 8% of indeterminate stress tests and 36% of positive stress tests yielded confirmed CAD on catheterization. The aim of this study is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of computed tomography of the coronary arteries (CTCA) in the OU for the evaluation of low-risk chest pain patients with indeterminate or positive stress test results. Methods: We used a multivariate Monte-Carlo model to compare health outcomes and costs between three cardiac risk stratification strategies in a population of patients at low cardiac risk admitted to the OU who subsequently had indeterminate or positive stress tests. The patient population and test characteristics were based on the published literature and a retrospective cohort review of 1194 low risk patients admitted to our OU. Three strategies were compared: (1) CTCA: patients with positive or indeterminate stress tests subsequently underwent CTCA, and only received catheterization if CTCA results were positive (2) standard-of-care: all patients with positive or indeterminate stress tests were admitted for catheterization, and (3) do-nothing: all patients were discharged home after stress testing regardless of outcome. Outcomes measured were cost of care and life expectancy. Results: Both CTCA and standard-of-care strategies were cost effective when compared to the do-nothing strategy. The incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) for standard-of-care vs. CTCA of was $352,651 per year of life gained. This translates to cost savings were $1967 per patient, with a decrease in life expectancy of only 2 days when instituting a CTCA strategy over standard-of-care. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the CTCA strategy was significantly less costly than standard-of-care with no significant decrease in life expectancy. Conclusion: The addition of CTCA following positive or indeterminate stress test to an OU cardiac risk-stratification pathway for low risk chest pain patients achieved significant cost savings with minimal change in life expectancy.
Tips for usability professionals in a down economy

The usability profession is experiencing the current economic downturn just like everyone else. This article offers ten tips for usability professionals trying to weather this economic storm: 1. Be More Efficient with Your Usability Tests 2. Get More Data with Less Work 3. Deepen Your Usability Skills 4. Broaden Your Other Skills 5. Demonstrate Business Value 6. Keep up on Technology 7. Keep Tabs on Competitors 8. Maximize Your Visibility 9. Compare Design Alternatives 10. Don't Re-invent the Wheel Specific suggestions and examples are provided for each tip.
Pre-operative Predictors of Return to High Functional Status after Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement at 2-year Minimum Follow-up:

Objectives:Pre-operative predictors of high functional level at two years following hip arthroscopy are unclear. We hypothesized that smoking status, comorbid disease (hypertension, diabetes, menta...
Open-sector rapid-reactive collision avoidance: Application in aerial robot navigation through outdoor unstructured environments

Abstract A new reactive collision avoidance method for navigation of aerial robots (such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)) in unstructured urban/suburban environments is presented. Small form-factor aerial robots, such as quadcopters, often have limited payload capacity, flight time, processing power, and sensing capabilities. To enhance the capabilities of such vehicles without increasing weight or computing power, a reactive collision avoidance method based on open sectors is described. The method utilizes information from a two-dimensional laser scan of the environment and a short-term memory of past actions and can rapidly circumvent obstacles in outdoor urban/suburban environments. With no map required, the method enables the robot to react quickly and navigate even when the enivornment changes. Furthermore, the low computational requirement of the method allows the robot to quickly react to unknown obstacles that may be poorly represented in the scan, such as trees with branches and leaves. The method is validated in simulation results and through physical experiments on a prototype quadcopter system, where results show the robot flying smoothly around obstacles at a relatively high speed (3 m/s).
Trap Crops: How Far We Are From Using Them in Cereal Crops?

Trap crops are plants grown along with the main crop in order to manipulate insect behavior to manage the insect pests and are used as a cultural management strategy in several crops. Trap crops also provide habitat to natural enemies and can reduce the need for insecticides and hence reduce the development of insecticide resistance. The attractiveness of the trap crop, the timing of planting, and the space it occupies are major factors to consider before selecting and using a trap crop. The addition of semiochemicals and incorporation of ‘stimulo-deterrent diversion’ can increase the efficiency of trap crops. The important insect pests of cereal crops reported to managed by using trap crops include the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), on wheat and the stem borers Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) and Busseola fusca (Fuller) on maize and sorghum. Other insect pests such as soil-dwelling wireworms [Agriotes obscurus L., Limonius californicus (Mannerheim) (Coleoptera: Elateridae)] on potatoes and the aphids Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and Rhopalosiphum padi L. on wheat and the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) on rice are also possible to manage by using trap crops. Cereal crops such as maize and wheat are sometimes themselves used as trap crops, yet there have been only a handful of attempts made to use trap crops in cereal crops. The major limiting factors in using trap crops in cereal crops are environmental conditions, variation in landscape and cultivation practices. Nonetheless, trap crops remain an important tool of integrated pest management, and future studies should work to improve the efficacy, cost efficiency, and availability of alternative trap crops for use in cereal cultivation.
Disparities in insulin resistance between black and white adults in the United States: The role of lifespan stress exposure.

Abstract Background Disparities in insulin resistance between Black and White adults in the United States are well documented, yet relatively little is known about the psychosocial or biological antecedents of these inequities. The current study examined childhood adversity and contemporaneous psychosocial stressors in adulthood as possible mediators of the racial disparity in insulin resistance. Inflammatory and hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis mechanisms implicated in associations between lifespan stress exposure and insulin resistance were also considered. Methods Data were derived from the biomarker component of the Midlife in the United States Study (N = 1170, 20% Black, 56% female, Mean age = 54.7 years, SD = 11.6). A homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. Twelve risk factors relating to household dysfunction, socioeconomic disadvantage, and maltreatment were sum scored to index childhood adversity. Measures of adult stress included socioeconomic adversity, major stressful events, everyday discrimination, and lifetime discrimination. Results Levels of insulin resistance were higher among Black than White adults. Childhood adversity was positively associated with HOMA-IR, and attenuated 18% of the race difference. Measures of adult stress mediated 33% of the association between childhood adversity and HOMA-IR, and accounted for an additional 47% of the race difference. Higher inflammation and lower nocturnal cortisol both played an important role in mediating the association between stress exposure and HOMA-IR. Conclusions Findings are consistent with prior research showing that childhood adversity and adult stress are salient predictors of glucose metabolism, and extend this work by showing that lifespan stress exposures attenuate a significant portion of the Black-White disparity in HOMA-IR. Results also suggest stress effects on insulin resistance through inflammatory and HPA-axis pathways.
SAADI-EC: A Quality-Configurable Approximate Divider for Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is one of the most crucial constraints that dictate performance, lifetime, form factor, and cost in modern computing system design. However, the energy efficiency improvement driven by semiconductor technology scaling is coming to an end with the prediction of the end of Moore’s law in the near future. Approximate computing is a new paradigm to accomplish energy-efficient computing in this twilight of Moore’s law by relaxing exactness requirement of computation results for intrinsically error-resilient applications, such as some machine learning and signal processing. In this paper, we propose an approximate binary divider design that features dynamic configurability of accuracy and energy consumption. Conventional approximate binary dividers lack runtime energy-quality scalability, which is the key to maximizing energy efficiency while meeting the dynamically varying accuracy requirements of the application. Our divider, named Scalable Accuracy Approximate Divider with Error Compensation (SAADI-EC), supports dynamic energy-quality scalability by the incremental approximation of the reciprocal of the divisor using Taylor series expansion. As a result, the speed and energy efficiency of division can be dynamically traded for accuracy by controlling the number of iterations for the approximation. In addition, SAADI-EC corrects the approximation error using simple, yet effective error compensation hardware to greatly improve the accuracy compared to the base implementation, SAADI. For the 8-bit approximation of 32-bit/16-bit division, the average accuracy of SAADI-EC can be adjusted from 94.2% to 99.6% by varying latency and energy $7\times $ . In terms of $\text {energy}\times \text {delay}$ cost, our design costs up to 87% less than other approximate binary dividers for the same accuracy level. We evaluate the accuracy and energy consumption of SAADI-EC for various design parameters and demonstrate its efficacy for low-power signal processing applications including ${k}$ -means color quantization, JPEG image compression, and image division for video sequences.
An Exploration of a Social Media Community: The Case of #AcademicTwitter

Online professional communities on Twitter are increasingly gaining attention among users due to benefits such as knowledge sharing, professional development, and relationship building. Millions of hashtags are used every day in different disciplines (e.g., #educhat) or everyday situations (e.g. #MondayMotivation). Hashtags have led to the creation of conversations about topics (e.g., #highered), serving as a point of connection among different types of users. In the academic world, the hashtag #AcademicTwitter has evolved into an online community of educators, graduate students, organizations, and others engaged in the discussion of topics and issues related to academic life, funny moments, and survival stories. This paper examines participants and communication patterns in the #AcademicTwitter community. Using content analysis and social network analysis techniques, the researchers examined tweets including the #AcademicTwitter hashtag to discover the community’s network properties, roles of the participants, sentiment, and conversational themes. Findings indicated that the conversation was not centered on one topic, instead several micro-communities were found. Top participants in the #AcademicTwitter community were educators, media platforms, and other professionals which centered on conversations related to topics such as accessibility, academic life experiences, and teaching and research support. The study of social media in academic professional settings is still new. Our work contributes to the literature of social networks in academia, helping better understand how users connect and the network that supports the #AcademicTwitter community.
Metamaterial-inspired dual-function loop antenna for wireless power transfer and wireless communications

This paper first presents a metamaterial-inspired dual-function loop antenna for wireless power transfer and wireless communication which operates at 6.78 MHz (AirFuel Alliance standard frequency) and 2.4 GHz. The proposed metamaterial slab with a dimension of 33.6 mm × 33.6 mm is integrated on top of the single-turn loop antenna. The demonstrated metamaterial slab has an enhanced dual-band property for WPT and wireless communications with electromagnetic wave focusing capability. A prototype metamaterial-inspired dual-function loop antenna for simultaneous WPT and wireless communications is designed, fabricated and characterized. It shows a size reduction of 50 % compared to a device consisting of a separate WPT coil and a separate wireless communication antenna, a WPT efficiency improvement of 28.07 % (a factor of 4.19 improvement) at a distance of 100 mm compared with a device without a metamaterial slab, and an antenna gain improvement of 1.89 dB compared with a device without a metamaterial slab.
REAL ID: privacy concerns still a factor, but weakly so

Statewide research conducted to design a campaign to inform Montana residents about the REAL ID Act supported previous claims that some Rocky Mountain residents view the law as an invasion of privacy. Although most Montana residents (60%, n = 194) planned to get their REAL IDs within the first year that it became available, 43% (n = 141) of respondents to a survey of registered voters (n = 325) intended to wait more than one year or never obtain it. Individuals who planned to wait were more likely to report concerns about government collection of personal data, and view the law as an invasion of privacy. However, the relationship is weak. As one of several states that opposed adoption of the Real ID Act in, Montana was characterized in academic and lay media as basing its opposition on concerns about violations of privacy. State officials were so concerned that residents would object to the imposition of the new ID, that REAL ID campaign organizers were directed to only raise awareness, and avoid any efforts at persuasion. Focus groups conducted to assess responses to several campaign strategies indicated an approach that described REAL ID as consistent with traditional Montana values of independence, but did not confront privacy concerns. This paper uses quantitative and qualitative data in an attempt to understand how strong such resistance in Montana actually was.