cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Statistical characteristics of cloud variability. Part 2: Implication for parameterizations of microphysical and radiative transfer processes in climate models

The effects of subgrid cloud variability on grid-average microphysical rates and radiative fluxes are examined by use of long-term retrieval products at the Tropical West Pacific, Southern Great Plains, and North Slope of Alaska sites of the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program. Four commonly used distribution functions, the truncated Gaussian, Gamma, lognormal, and Weibull distributions, are constrained to have the same mean and standard deviation as observed cloud liquid water content. The probability density functions are then used to upscale relevant physical processes to obtain grid-average process rates. It is found that the truncated Gaussian representation results in up to 30% mean bias in autoconversion rate, whereas the mean bias for the lognormal representation is about 10%. The Gamma and Weibull distribution function performs the best for the grid-average autoconversion rate with the mean relative bias less than 5%. For radiative fluxes, the lognormal and truncated Gaussian representations perform better than the Gamma and Weibull representations. The results show that the optimal choice of subgrid cloud distribution function depends on the nonlinearity of the process of interest, and thus, there is no single distribution function that works best for all parameterizations. Examination of the scale (window size) dependence of the mean bias indicates that the bias in grid-average process rates monotonically increases with increasing window sizes, suggesting the increasing importance of subgrid variability with increasing grid sizes.
DC motor speed control improvement via on-line disturbance computation and compensation

The DC motor disturbance torque can be calculated using the known voltage input to the motor and the measured motor speed response. The cogging torque and friction can be estimated from the calculated disturbance torque. The calculated disturbance torque can be further utilized on-line to eliminate the speed ripples in speed regulation applications. Experiment results demonstrated the effectiveness of this compensation scheme.
Improving bandwidth of communication controllers

Hardware algorithms that aim at increasing data transfer rates and reducing the cost of data transmissions are described. The high speed of these algorithms ensures that data transformation is done on the fly, as data is being transferred from/to communication controllers. A discussion of enhancing communications controllers is presented, and both hardware (the compressor module) and software (the decompression algorithm) of the improved system are discussed. >
Crop rotation and nitrogen fertilization effect on soil CO2 emissions in central Iowa

Abstract Depending upon how soil is managed, it can serve as a source or sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). As the atmospheric CO2 concentration continues to increase, more attention is being focused on the soil as a possible sink for atmospheric CO2. This study was conducted to examine the short-term effects of crop rotation and N fertilization on soil CO2 emissions in Central Iowa. Soil CO2 emissions were measured during the growing seasons of 2003 and 2004 from plots fertilized with three N rates (0, 135, and 270 kg N ha−1) in continuous corn and a corn–soybean rotation in a split-plot design. Soil samples were collected in the spring of 2004 from the 0–15 cm soil depth to determine soil organic C content. Crop residue input was estimated using a harvest index based on the measured crop yield. The results show that increasing N fertilization generally decreased soil CO2 emissions and the continuous corn cropping system had higher soil CO2 emissions than the corn–soybean rotation. Soil CO2 emission rate at the peak time during the growing season and cumulative CO2 under continuous corn increased by 24 and 18%, respectively compared to that from corn–soybean rotation. During this period, the soil fertilized with 270 kg N ha−1 emitted, on average, 23% less CO2 than the soil fertilized with the other two N rates. The greatest difference in CO2 emission rate was observed in 2004; where plots that received 0 N rate had 31% greater CO2 emission rate than plots fertilized with 270 kg N ha−1. The findings of this research indicate that changes in cropping systems can have immediate impact on both rate and cumulative soil CO2 emissions, where continuous corn caused greater soil CO2 emissions than corn soybean rotation.
Champions of the Movement or Fair‐weather Heroes? Individualization and the (A)politics of Local Food

We ask to what degree consumers who act out movement practices (eg local food consumption) may do so without regard for larger environmental and social justice implications, and how focus on individual concerns reflects the partial (but increasing) neoliberalization and depoliticization of the alternative food movement. Coupling narratives from five citizen-consumers with analysis of organizational discourse from a major food movement organization in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, we examine the interplay of individual and collective identity to point to places where modified discourse and movement tactics may produce more fruitful outcomes (eg greater community food security). Ultimately, we argue that individualistic interpretations of alternative food are reinforced by organizational campaigns that shape collective identity, casting “buying local” as a heroic act, thereby re-casting others as anti-heroes. Counteracting individualization with a new politics of possibility should be prioritized, as citizen-consumers will inevitably determine future landscapes of food, environmental sustainability and social justice.
The Use of Animals in Birth Protection Rituals and Possible Uses of Stone Figurines from the Central Sahel

This article will use fresh ethnographic testimony from the Sahel concerning the role of animals as spiritual protectors during births to advance an hypothesis that figurines in several groups of stone sculptures from the southcentral Sahara or the adjacent Sahel may have been used in historic, protohistoric, and even, in the case of one group (IV), prehistoric times as birthing amulets. It will also try to answer questions about the true origins of the deracinated artifacts, which have been sold with vague or even misleading proveniences by dealers in Europe and Africa (Cotter 2012). The purpose of this effort is to give researchers, institutions, and governments a better idea of where illicit excavations might be taking place, so they can refine their efforts to find the sculptures’ sources. Unless this is done with considerable urgency, the sites where the figurines are coming from will almost certainly be thoroughly pillaged, robbing both the sculptures and everything associated with them of their proper place in African history.
Inhibitory contributions to spatiotemporal receptive-field structure and direction selectivity in simple cells of cat area 17.

Inhibitory contributions to spatiotemporal receptive-field structure and direction selectivity in simple cells of cat area 17. Intracortical inhibition contributes to direction selectivity in prima...
The principle and technology of hydrogen peroxide based biosensors

Oxidases can be used with a hydrogen peroxide electrode to construct amperometric biosensors for determination of various analytes, including substrates, cofactors, prosthetic groups, inhibitors, activators, enzyme activities, as well as antigens/antibodies. This chapter reviews the principle and technology of hydrogen peroxide-based biosensors and the techniques for enzyme immobilization. Methods for alleviation of interference by electroactive species are cited with an emphasis on mediator technology. The present state of applications and development trends of this technology are also presented and discussed.
Reduction of Vinyl Halides to Alkenes, and of Aryl Halides and Related Compounds to Arenes

Unlike most reductions of organic compounds, hydrogenolysis of the bond between trigonal carbon and a halogen does not possess many synthetic applications. Who would be interested in converting, for example, laboriously prepared iodobenzene to benzene by replacing iodine by hydrogen? However, the knowledge of reaction conditions for hydrogenolysis of halogen compounds is frequently useful for preventing such a reaction during reductions of other functions in an organic molecule.
Uniform Size Particle Barrier: A Physical Exclusion Device Against Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Workers of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, and the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), were tested for their abilities to penetrate barriers of ground coral particles 5 cm thick. Each barrier was composed of one of 13 particle sizes, ranging from 0.5 to 4.0 mm in diameter. C. formosanus penetrated the least through particles of 1.70-2.36 mm in size, and a wider size range of particles (1.00-2.36 mm) excluded penetration by R. flavipes . When several size ranges were uniformly mixed, the resultant barriers composed of particles in the 1.18-2.80 mm size range effectively prevented penetration by both termite species.
Purified Bacteriophage from Lysogenic Cultures

SummarySerological tests and nitrogen determinations indicate that bacteriophage prepared by repeated washing of lysogenic cultures of B. coli contains little bacterial or other protein. Methods of preparation and concentration of such purified phage are described and some of its properties compared with those of homologous crude broth phage of similar titer and pH.†
Decoupling Transformations for Linear Systems in the Configuration Space

Recent major breakthroughs have been achieved in providing transformations that completely decouple all second order linear time invariant systems directly in the configuration space. A brief review is presented herein.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Research on Energy-gaining Methods of Power Modules at High Voltage

The design of energy-gaining units has attracted more attention in the application of cascaded high voltage power electronic devices.In the high voltage application of thyristors,more attention has been paid to the design of energy-gaining units.For the cascade application of the all-controllable device based powermodules,suchas VSC,the design of the energy-gaining unitis very important.Compared with the thyristor,VSC needs more power for its energy-gaining unit,consequently the design of the unit is more complex.The author introduces several energy-gaining methods of the all-controllable device,offers the schematic diagrams,and analyzes and compares the characters of the semethods.
Message valence, familiarity, sex, and personality effects on the perceptual distortion of height.

The perceptual distortion of height was examined in a group of American male and female college student volunteers (n = 139). A message which announced either good or bad news was delivered by a familiar or unfamiliar person who was either male or female. After hearing the message, the students were asked to estimate the height of the communicator. Additionally, the variables of self-esteem and independence of judgment were measured. Results indicated that familiarity with the message source (p less than .0025) as well as sex of the communicator (p less than .024) were predictors of the perceptual distortion of height, but message valence was not. Neither self-esteem nor independence of judgment was functionally related to the proclivity to distort the heights of the communicators.
Comparison of Aseptic Compounding Errors Before and After Modified Laboratory and Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Objective. To determine whether aseptic compounding errors were reduced at the end of the third professional year after modifying pharmacy practice laboratories and implementing an institutional introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE).Design. An aseptic compounding laboratory, previously occurring during the third-year spring semester, was added to the second-year spring semester. An 80-hour institutional IPPE was also added in the summer between the second and third years. Instructors recorded aseptic compounding errors using a grading checklist for second-year and third-year student assessments. Third-year student aseptic compounding errors were assessed prior to the curricular changes and for 2 subsequent years for students on the Oklahoma City and Tulsa campuses of the University of Oklahoma.Assessment. Both third-year cohorts committed fewer aseptic technique errors than they did during their second years, and the probability was significantly lower for students on the Oklahoma City campus. ...
Sperm motility on postcoital testing correlates with male autoimmunity to sperm.

To assess whether or not immunologic factors in husbands, wives, or both, influence the motility of sperm in the female reproductive tract, hemagglutination and cytotoxicity sperm antibody (Ab) assays and postcoital tests (PCTs) were performed in 293 infertile couples. More couples without male autoimmunity to sperm (64% of 66; P
Theory of Integration

This chapter presents a brief overview of the theory of integration. The proof of the first half of the fundamental theorem of integral calculus does not require a separate proof of the convergence of the sum approximations to the integral. The second half of the fundamental theorem technically requires the proof of the existence of the integral. Furthermore, for any equal size infinitesimal partition, the upper and lower estimate sums are infinitely close. Bizarre examples are possible if weakly approximating pointwise derivatives are employed. Thereafter, there are two different kinds of discontinuity preventing the convergence of the approximating sums for integrals. Isolated infinite discontinuities are easiest to understand. The oscillatory (even bounded) discontinuities are much more difficult to work with. The Riemann integral present the best condition that would allow convergence of the sums. Finally, there are two main kinds of improper integrals: an isolated discontinuity in the integrand and an unbounded interval.
Lower Brainstem and Cranial Nerve Dysfunction

T his chapter addresses disorders causing dysfunction of cranial nerves VII through XII. Many such disorders also disturb ocular motility (see Chapter 15 ). The basis for chapter assignment of a disorder is by the most usual initial clinical feature. For example, the discussion of myasthenia gravis is in Chapter 15 because diplopia is a more common initial complaint than dysphagia.
Final Report MEPV

The MEPV Grand Challenge was focused on exploiting beneficial scaling effects in solar cells, modules, and systems to make solar power the lowest cost source of power available. The project explored new multijunction, microscale solar cell architectures, new micro-optical concentration methods, new hybrid solar collection concepts, and developed a series of prototypes to demonstrate these technologies. In addition, a detailed cost analysis was conducted to determine the costs of the proposed technologies and provide guidance for the system design efforts. Key results included demonstration of InGaP/GaAS cells transferred to active silicon cells to create a three junction cell with efficiency near 30%, the transfer of InGaAs cells to Si with demonstrated high performance of the InGaAs cell behind the Si substrate, the design, manufacture, and experimental demonstration of optics with almost 90% transmission efficiency and 100X and 200X concentration with a relatively large acceptance angle (>+-1.5deg), and the full assembly and demonstration of functional microconcentrator systems. The cost modeling efforts indicated that a module based on the best design resulting from the knowledge and technology develop would approach $1/Wpeak total installed system cost with no subsidies. If achieved in practice, this system would provide the lowest energy cost of any more » grid-tied energy source. « less
Capillary flow behaviour of microcrystalline wax and silicon carbide suspension

Suspensions of ceramic particles in low or high molecular weight polymers are shaped into various three-dimensional parts using various moulding and extrusion technologies. Such bodies are subsequently fired-up and sintered to remove the binder. The utilities of such three-dimensional ceramic bodies depend on the restrictions related to the shapeability of the ceramic suspension, hence to the flow and deformation behaviour of the suspension. In this study, factors affecting the flow and deformation behaviour of a 50% by volume of silicon carbide in a wax binder was investigated. Consistent with the previously observed behaviour of other highly filled materials, the ceramic suspension exhibited viscoplasticity, plug flow and wall slip. Furthermore, flow instabilities associated with the axial migration of the low viscosity binder under the imposed pressure gradient were observed. These results pinpoint to the various difficulties associated with the collection of rheological data and emphasize the relevance of various flow mechanisms, including wall slip and mat formation and filtration based flow instabilities, which would also occur in processing/shaping flows of such ceramic suspensions including extrusion and moulding.
Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) variation in three populations of Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis (Onagraceae), F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming

We investigated genetic variation within and between 3 populations of Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis , a federally listed threatened species, using inter-simple sequence repeats. The data matrix included 24 individuals scored for 88 bands, with 3.4% missing data. Cluster analysis showed that members of the 3 populations are very similar and are intermixed in the phenogram. Principal coordinate analysis indicated that members of the Crow Creek population are different from the Diamond Creek and ""unnamed drainage"" populations. This could be the result of historic differences, current changes in vegetation at the Crow Creek site, or an artifact of limited sampling. In any case, for management purposes it is best to preserve the dwindling population at Crow Creek as well as the thriving populations at the other 2 sites.
Do we have agold standard yet

Coronary angiography can show arterial abnormalities in children who have had an arterial switch operation or Kawasaki disease, but deciding whether these abnormalities are severe enough to cause myocardial ischemia that could be reversed by revascularization is as difficult in children as in adults
Effect of growth regulators and heat on germination of Tokay grape seeds

Immersing seeds of 'Tokay' for 24 hours in water ranging from 27 ° to 54 °C failed to terminate rest. KGA3 terminated rest in 50% of the seeds, ancl morphactin at 100 ppm and ethephon at 5,000 ppm resulted in some enhancement of germination. However, SADH, CCC, and ABA treatments were not effective. KGA3 at 1 ppm caused 33% germination of scarified resting seeds. SADH increased the germination rate of nonresting seeds, but ABA, BOA, CCC, ethyl alcohol, and sulphuric acid clecreased the rate. Der Einflus von Wachstumsregulatoren und Warmebehandlung auf die Keimung von Samen der Rebsorte Tokay Samen der Rebsorte „Tokay", die 24 Stunden in Wasser mit Temperaturen von 27 ° bis 54 °C getaucht worden waren, beendeten die Dormanz nicht. KGA3 hob die Dormanz bei 50% der Samen auf, wahrend Behandlung mit 100 ppm Morphaktin oder mit 5000 ppm Ethephon die Keimung erhohten. Die Anwendung von SADH, CCC und ABA war jedoch wirkungslos. 1 ppm KGA3 verursachte bei angeritzten dormanten Samen eine Keimung von 33%. SADH steigerte die Keimungsrate der nichtruhenden Samen, wahrend ABA, BOA, CCC, Athylalkohol und Schwefelsaure die Keimungsrate herabsetzten.
Multicenter Validation of a Customizable Scoring Tool for Selection of Trainees for a Residency or Fellowship Program. The EAST-IST Study.

Rationale: Few data have been published regarding scoring tools for selection of postgraduate medical trainee candidates that have wide applicability.Objectives: The authors present a novel scoring tool developed to assist postgraduate programs in generating an institution-specific rank list derived from selected elements of the U.S. Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS) application.Methods: The authors developed and validated an ERAS and interview day scoring tool at five pulmonary and critical care fellowship programs: the ERAS Application Scoring Tool–Interview Scoring Tool. This scoring tool was then tested for intrarater correlation versus subjective rankings of ERAS applications. The process for development of the tool was performed at four other institutions, and it was performed alongside and compared with the “traditional” ranking methods at the five programs and compared with the submitted National Residency Match Program rank list.Results: The ERAS Application Scoring Tool correlated h...
EU-Russia Security Relations: Another Kind of Europe

Lilia Arakelyan, in Chapter 4, ‘EU-Russia Security Relations: Another Kind of Europe’, argues that the failure of the Eastern Partnership initiative to implement long-awaited political and economic reforms in its partner states resulted from the fact that the European Union (EU) was more interested in containing Russia in the region rather than enhancing relations and closer integration with the partner countries. As a result, only Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the EU. Moreover, Moscow became increasingly hostile towards the West, presented itself as a defender of traditional values in contrast to ‘decadent’ capitalist culture. It is important to recognize, she argues, that this was a long-term process based on the Russia’s refusal to accept a subsidiary position in a Europe dominated by the Euro-Atlantic states.
Fabrication of highly-nanolaminated metal inductor core by pressing and punching

We present a pressing and punching method for a highly nanolaminate metal-insulator structure as a simple and cost-effective fabrication technique. The proposed nanolaminate metal-insulator structure is suitable for a magnetic core of a solenoid inductor. Cobalt-Nickel-Iron as a soft magnet metal was deposited on a polyethylene film which serves as an insulator. The Cobalt-Nickel-Iron bearing polymer film was folded multiple times and pressed with heat. The pressed sample was then comprised of multiple submicron magnetic metal layers and insulating polymer layers. The sample was cut into pieces by a punching with a predetermined shape and wire-wound for inductor application. Each nanolaminate magnetic layer suppresses the space of the eddy-current while the stacked magnetic layers will provide enough magnetic volume for the performance as an inductor. As a test vehicle, a multilayer structure of submicron Cobalt-Nickel-Iron with polyethylene film as an insulation layer was fabricated and tested. The dimension of the multilayer structure was 4 mm width, 10 mm length, and 3 mm thickness. 3000 layers in a combination of CoNiFe and polyethylene film were formed. A 10-turn with a standard magnet wire was wound to form a solenoid inductor. The test result through an impedance analyzer measurement exhibited an average inductance of 290 nH stably shown up to 100 MHz with peak quality factor of 130 at 95 MHz. The proposed method is a substrate-less process and therefore it is versatile, cost-effective, introducing easing fabrication and reducing processing time while it can achieve thousands of magnetic core layer.
Lessons from Six European Host Countries: Does Cultural Distance Influence Opinions on Immigration?

We begin the presentation of our empirical analysis of the potential influences of cultural differences on public opinion of various facets of globalization. Specifically, we employ the empirical specification and estimation strategy that are presented in Chap. 5 to consider how cultural differences between survey respondents’ countries of residence and both the source countries of their immigrant populations and the host countries of emigrants from their countries of residence may influence responses to a set of four survey questions about immigrants and immigration. Our data set includes responses from individuals in six countries (i.e., France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK).
Hsp90 Plays a Role in Host-Bacterial Interactions: Insight Gained from Acanthamoeba castellanii

The selective pressures they are faced with, both inside and outside their hosts, shape pathogens. Facultative intracellular organisms, including Legionella, Mycobacterium and many other pathogens, encounter amoebal predators in nature and this interaction leads to acquisition of novel genetic material that facilitates their ability to infect both amoebae and higher order species. Understanding these interactions that are continuously occurring in the environment provides an opportunity to obtain greater insight into the mechanisms of pathogenesis, particularly because these relationships are most often between single-celled organisms, making them more amenable to genetic analyses as compared to more complex multi-cellular creatures. We utilized the single celled virulence model for Legionella and Mycobacterium, the environmental amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii, to identify bacterial and host genes required for pathogenesis and susceptibility/resistance to infection, respectively. In this chapter, we will focus on our intriguing observation that decreased expression of Hsp90, a molecular chaperone involved in host cell signaling and protein targeting, increases resistance to host cell infection by pathogenic bacteria.
Implementation of a pharmacy-based immunization program in a supermarket chain.

Abstract Objective To describe procedures for implementing a pharmacy-based immunization program in a supermarket chain. Setting Supermarket chain pharmacy. Practice Description Ukrop's is a local supermarket chain with 27 stores in the greater area of Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg, Virginia, 19 of which have pharmacies. Ukrop's offers enhanced patient care services including immunizations, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, hyperlipidemia monitoring, and smoking cessation. All pharmacies offer adult immunizations and host periodic diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia screening events. Practice Innovation Adult immunization program. Interventions Each pharmacy offered influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations on a walk-up basis during pharmacy hours and during clinics held at least 3 days per week. Immunizations were also offered periodically at off-site locations. Distribution of letters and chart stickers to patients' physicians, and even partnership with a physician to establish the immunization protocol, helped increase awareness of the pharmacy immunization services. This service involved a core group of immunizing pharmacists who developed a policies and procedures manual, distributed the vaccine, and handled additional staffing requirements. Main Outcome Measures Number of adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations administered by pharmacists. Results Between September and December 1998, Ukrop's pharmacists administered 5,137 influenza vaccinations and 613 pneumococcal vaccinations. Between September 1999 and January 2000, Ukrop's pharmacists administered 18,000 influenza vaccinations and 1,200 pneumococcal vaccinations. Conclusion In addition to immunizing thousands of people in its first year, the program served as a successful marketing tool to increase awareness of enhanced pharmacy services in the community and among local physicians. Administration of vaccines increased pharmacists' involvement with and enthusiasm for enhanced patient care services and generated a revenue stream for the pharmacies.
Ethical Issues in Insider Trading: Case Studies

Insider trading has received a bad name in recent decades. The popular press makes it sound like an evil practice where those who engage in it are totally devoid of ethical principles. Yet not all insider trading is illegal and some studies have concluded that certain kinds of insider trading are actually beneficial to the greater investment community. Some scholars in philosophy, law and economics have disputed whether insider trading should be punished at all while others assert that it should be illegal in all cases. Appeals often tend to be based on emotion rather than logic and academic analysis. This paper reviews the literature on insider trading and applies utilitarian ethics and rights theory to some recent case studies of insider trading in an attempt to determine which forms of insider trading are ethically acceptable.
Studies on the interaction of water with microsomal cytochrome P-450.

There are many possible approaches to the study of such complex enzyme systems as the hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidases. Among those which have been actively investigated have been the development of model systems such as Fenton’s reagent, the purification of bacterial systems which are readily solubilized like the camphor demethylase system of P. putida, and the more difficult detergent solubilization of the microsomes followed by partial purification by standard techniques. Although these have proven to be fruitful routes of investigation, since each system appears to have its own idiosyncrasies, it is still important to verify the observed biochemical phenomena in intact microsomes. Over the past several years I, and a number of collaborators, have used a variety of techniques to investigate the kinetic and physico-chemical properties of the microsomal membranes in order to better understand the control mechanisms and chemical processes involved in the mixed-function oxidase reactions.
An Equilibrium Model of Individual and Institutional Trading

We study an overlapping-generations model to endogenize the size and structure of the market for delegated trading. Young investors who are not sure about their abilities choose between trading on their own and delegating trading to financial institutions. Individual investors who delegate trading forfeit the chance to learn about their own ability. In equilibrium, individual and institutional investors coexist. Consistent with empirical evidence, we find that when the entry cost for financial institutions decreases, the average fee decreases, the volume of delegated trading increases, but the average institution quality decreases.
Joint Computation Offloading and Prioritized Scheduling in Mobile Edge Computing

With the rapid development of smart phones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, enormous amounts of data have been generated. These data usually require real-time, intensive computation. Yet, Meeting the required Quality of Service (QoS) remains a challenge due to the tension between resource-limited devices and computation-intensive applications. Mobile-edge computing (MEC) emerges as a promising technique to cope with the stringent requirements of mobile applications. This paper proposes a joint computation offloading and prioritized task scheduling scheme in a MEC system. We investigate an energy-minimizing task offloading strategy in mobile devices, and also develop an effective dynamic priority-based task scheduling algorithm at the edge server. The execution time, execution cost, and bonus score are adopted as performance metrics. We also defined a new performance metric, bonus score, which measures the benefit of finishing a task before its latency requirement deadline, and is a function of its completion time, priority level, and task size. Performance evaluation results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces both task completion time and edge server VM usage cost, and improves QoS in terms of bonus score. Moreover, dynamic prioritized task scheduling is also developed, with results showing that dynamic threshold setting further improves the performance. We believe that this work is significant to the emerging MEC paradigm, and can be applied to other IoT-edge applications in 5G systems.
Developmental precursors of engagement and motivation in fifth grade: Linkages with parent- and teacher-child relationships

Abstract The primary aims of this investigation are to evaluate how children's relationships with parents and teachers in first, third, and fifth grades are associated with engagement and motivation in fifth grade, and to examine the ways that parents and teachers respond to children's school readiness skills and competencies. Using data from a large longitudinal study, the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD-SECCYD, n = 1364), this investigation found support for hypothesized linkages between both early- and concurrent elementary school relationships and fifth-grade engagement and motivational outcomes. Teacher conflict in fifth grade was particularly problematic for both engagement and motivation. Additionally, children's school readiness skills shaped fifth-grade engagement and motivation, through relationships elicited during first and third grade. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.
Cost-effectiveness (CE) of regorafenib dose optimization schedule in metastatic colorectal cancer.

e18367Background: Regorafenib at 160mg daily 21/28 days is a standard therapeutic option in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. However, the cost of treatment and management of its side-eff...
A pH-regulated drug delivery dermal patch for targeting infected regions in chronic wounds

This work presents a low-cost, passive, flexible, polymeric pump for topical drug delivery which uses wound pH as a trigger for localized drug release. Its operation relies on a pH-responsive hydrogel actuator which swells when exposed to the alkaline pH of an infected wound. The pump enables slow release (<0.1 μL min-1) of aqueous anti-bacterial solution for up to 4 hours and sustains against up to 8 kPa of backpressure. Featuring a scalable layer-by-layer fabrication technique to expand the pump into a 2 × 2 array, the device can dispense 50 μl onto a 160 mm2 dermal coverage within 4 hours. Robustness tests show that when integrated within a medical adhesive, the device can be worn around the forearm and can withstand various daily activities (non-intensive) for up to 12 hours. In vitro experiments demonstrate a 58 times decrease of live P. aeruginosa after 24 hours of the pump assisted antibiotics treatment.
Stress-localized durable anti-biofouling surfaces

Growing demands for bio-friendly antifouling surfaces have stimulated the development of new and ever-improving material paradigms. Despite notable progress in bio-friendly coatings, the biofouling problem remains a critical challenge. In addition to biofouling characteristics, mechanically stressed surfaces such as ship hulls, piping systems, and heat exchangers require long-term durability in marine environments. Here, we introduce a new generation of anti-biofouling coatings with superior characteristics and high mechanical, chemical and environmental durability. In these surfaces, we have implemented the new physics of stress localization to minimize the adhesion of bio-species on the coatings. This polymeric material contains dispersed organogels in a high shear modulus matrix. Interfacial cavitation induced at the interface of bio-species and organogel particles leads to stress localization and detachment of bio-species from these surfaces with minimal shear stress. In a comprehensive study, the performance of these surfaces is assessed for both soft and hard biofouling including Ulva, bacteria, diatoms, barnacles and mussels, and is compared with that of state-of-the-art surfaces. These surfaces show Ulva accumulation of less than 1%, minimal bacterial biofilm growth, diatom attachment of 2%, barnacle adhesion of 0.02 MPa and mussel adhesion of 7.5 N. These surfaces promise a new physics-based route to address the biofouling problem and avoid adverse effects of biofouling on the environment and relevant technologies.
ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY, AND THE GEOMETRY OF SYSTEMS

ABSTRACT Environmental and/or ecological psychology postulates that there exist certain geometrico-physical configurations and flow patterns that seem naturally satisfying to humans. According to W. C. Hoffman's geometric psychology, which treats perception in terms of the “geometry of systems”, these fundamental structural elements may be formulated as invariants of appropriate Lie transformation groups acting over the visual field of view. This principle is elucidated and illustrated with applications to art, architecture, and urban planning.
Extended liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry screening method for veterinary drug, pesticide and human pharmaceutical residues in aquaculture fish.

ABSTRACTA liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) screening method was developed previously to analyze for veterinary drug residues commonly found in different types of aq...
“I Just Don’t Really, Like, Connect to It”: How Girls Negotiate LEGO’s Gender-Marketed Toys

LEGO has become a contested site of children’s culture. Once regarded as a toy for all children, LEGO’s rebranding as a “boys’ toy” and, later, the development of a separate line of LEGO toys for girls raised concerns about gender equity and inclusion. Given the brand’s reputation for benefitting children through STEM play, LEGO’s gender segregation and gender-stereotypical marketing practices are laden with cultural significance and meaning. In this chapter, authors Hains and Shewmaker present findings from interviews and play sessions with twenty girls, ages six to eleven. The authors found that girls understand and may adopt the gendered marketing associations of LEGO toys, but when they offered their participants a chance to play with LEGO sets away from the contexts of their often gender-stereotypical packaging, they found that many girls contradicted gender stereotypes by engaging in active, creative play.
"Reactance inversion" at low frequencies in a child undergoing treatment of a cystic fibrosis exacerbation.

Introduction: Impulse oscillometry (IOS) employs high frequency sinusoidal or impulse pressure and flow waveforms to interrogate the mechanical properties of the respiratory system. It has special applications to preschool and younger children who may have difficulty performing the repetitive forced expiratory maneuvers required for spirometry. Case presentation: We present a case illustrating improvements of respiratory system mechanics measured by IOS in a 6-year-old child with cystic fibrosis (CF) who demonstrated clinical and radiological improvement after a course of therapy with hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics, and initiation of a cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) protein corrector/potentiator agent. We also report a new finding: observed lower than expected reactance at low compared to high frequencies ( "reactance inversion" ). Conclusion: Reactance inversion may reflect parallel pathway inhomogeneities in resistance and elastance or intrabreath airway inertance changes in young children with CF. Further study is needed in children with airway obstruction due to asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic lung disease of infancy to demonstrate the prevalence of this finding and whether it is specific to a measurement device. Key words: Cystic fibrosis; Exacerbation; Impulse oscillometry; Reactance; Reactance inversion
The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on meeting needs for family planning: a global scenario by contraceptive methods used

The COVID-19 crisis could leave significant numbers of women and couples without access to essential sexual and reproductive health care. This research note analyses differences in contraceptive method mix across Sustainable Development Goal regions and applies assumed method-specific declines in use (from 0 per cent to 20 per cent) to produce an illustrative scenario of the potential impact of COVID-19 on contraceptive use and on the proportion of the need for family planning satisfied by modern methods. Globally, it had been estimated that 77 per cent of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) would have their need for family planning satisfied with modern contraceptive methods in 2020. However, taking into account the potential impact of COVID-19 on method-specific use, this could fall to 71 per cent, resulting in around 60 million fewer users of modern contraception worldwide in 2020. Overall declines in contraceptive use will depend on the methods used by women and their partners and on the types of disruptions experienced. The analysis concludes with the recommendation that countries should include family planning and reproductive health services in the package of essential services and develop strategies to ensure that women and couples are able to exercise their reproductive rights during the COVID-19 crisis.
The race for readmission reduction: Primary care follow-ups reduce debility readmissions after acute inpatient rehabilitation

Background: In 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began to reduce payments to qualifying hospitals for 30-day readmission rates that were higher than predicted for specific diagnoses. The process was broadened to include skilled nursing facilities in 2018. It is reasonable to expect future expansion will include acute inpatient rehabilitation facilities. A pre-intervention quality improvement project from 2017 identified that patients admitted to an acute inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) for the primary diagnosis of debility were readmitted within 30 days of discharge at a rate of 38%, which was nearly three times higher than the next most readmitted diagnosis. A literature review identified rapid primary care provider (PCP) outpatient follow up as a worthy intervention to reduce readmissions. Objectives: Over a six-month intervention period, we attempted to achieve a reduction in 30-day readmission rates in the debility population of an IRF by scheduling PCP follow-ups within seven business days after discharge. Results: Of those that received the intervention, 7% were readmitted (P=0.018). Of those who did not receive the intervention, 56% were readmitted. Conclusion: The adoption of PCP follow-up within seven business days of discharge may lower the 30-day readmission rate for patients admitted to IRF with a primary diagnosis of debility.
Metadiscourse, materiality and morality in communication skills training with simulated patients

Simulated patients (also known as standardized patients) are commonly employed by institutions of medical education to train medical students and assess their communication skills. This article demonstrates that such patients are not translational devices that enact prima facie standards of communication skills as laid out by the institutions that use them, but rather metadiscursively transform communication practices. This is shown via a case study that closely examines a series of interactions between a simulated patient and a third-year medical student during a practice exam designed for the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Skills. I use discourse analysis to show how communication skills are transformed in three practices: (1) simulated consultations between standardized patients and medical students; (2) spoken evaluations offered by standardized patients after simulated consultations between standardized patients and medical students; and (3) written evaluations offered by standardized patients in assessment forms. In particular, by attending to how a simulated patient makes the act of draping the patient a relevant communication skill, I explicate the material elements and moral implications of clinical communication. Finally, I consider the instructive role simulated patients play in medical education and how their standards build on and often stand in contrast to communication skills techniques. I conclude by making practical suggestions for communication skills training with simulated patients in medical education.
Creative “Garages” for Community and Economic Youth Development:

This chapter examines models of youth-based enterprises in which adolescents take leadership in organizational roles, creative design, and community building. Central to this work is the need for b...
Recurrent spontaneous small bowel perforations with a rare pathology: non-familial visceral myopathy.

Visceral myopathy is a rare, often misdiagnosed disease characterised by abnormalities in the gastrointestinal smooth muscle layer. Its clinical presentation includes pseudo-obstruction, intestinal dysmotility and spontaneous perforation. We report an atypical case of a 51-year-old man with a history of recurrent small bowel perforations who presented with an acute abdomen. A laparotomy was performed with identification of a distal jejunal perforation. A small bowel resection with end-to-end anastomosis was done. Minimal adhesions were seen intraoperatively despite the patient’s multiple prior surgeries. Pathology showed histiocytic inflammation and patchy loss of the muscle layer reflective of visceral myopathy. Genetic testing revealed a variant of uncertain significance in the myosin light chain kinase gene. It is difficult to make a conclusive diagnosis given the patient’s clinical presentation closely mimicking other gastrointestinal disorders. However, it is crucial to consider visceral myopathy in patients with recurrent spontaneous intestinal perforations as a differential diagnosis.
From Natural Oils to Epoxy Resins: A New Paradigm in Renewable Performance Materials

The direct conversion of natural products to useful engineering materials is desirable from both economic and environmental considerations. We describe the synthesis and properties of 100 % oil-based epoxy resins generated from three epoxidized oils. The catalyst, tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (B(C6F5)3) in toluene, allowed for controlled cationic polymerization at a very low concentration. Epoxidized oils (derived from triolein, soybean, and linseed oil) had varying epoxy content, rendering resins of different cross-link density. The polymerization was carried out at room temperature followed by post-curing at elevated temperature to speed up conversion. Epoxy resins were amorphous transparent glasses below glass transitions and hard rubbers above. Despite their high cross-link density, these materials show relatively low Tg’s reflecting the aliphatic nature of fatty acids and the presence of plasticizing “dangling” chains. The structure of the triglyceride starting oils influenced the properties of the resulting materials: the more regular structure of triolein compared to the very heterogeneous structures of soybean and linseed oils seemed to have enhanced some properties of the polymer networks. These epoxy polymers are potentially useful as encapsulating and potting compounds for electronic applications.
Understanding Urban Retail Vacancy

Storefront retail is highly valued because of its contribution to street life, its pedestrian-oriented urban design quality, and its ability to foster social connection. Despite this valuation, in ...
The Evolution of Sovereign Debt Default: From the Thirteenth Century to the Modern Era

A key feature of the full sovereign default record from 1294-2008 is that serial default is far rarer than the much-ballyhooed 1980s experience suggests. The only mass default in Europe’s long record, dating back to 1294, occurs during the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815). The majority of the serial defaults occurred only after 1975, primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and were heavily concentrated in the 1980s. These countries’ multiple defaults, in common with some earlier default waves in Latin America, reflect the experiences of newer nation states. These defaults also occurred in conjunction with the inherent vulnerability of countries on the periphery to events in the much longer-established major financial centers. This was quite distinct from the earlier defaults seen in Europe and largely represent an aberration when taken in context of the overall historical record both before and after.