cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Planificar en crisis. La transformación de la planificación urbanística en relación con las crisis: la Región Metropolitana de Madrid, 1985-2007

The transformation of urban planning is analysed in the last quarter of the twentieth century in and the first years of the twenty first century in Spain, through its relationship with the successive crises, officially recognized by their economic component. The study of the issue makes it possible to establish three stages of that relationship: the austere urban planning under the influence of crisis of fordist forms of production, the way out of the crisis through the imposition of an urban model based on growth, and the entry into a real estate and financialization crisis by adopting an unsustainable model. By way of example, it is used the case of Metropolitan Region of Madrid, because it is considered paradigmatic, since the region has played a leading role as a laboratory for new forms of governance and planning, while there are specific circumstances, as a new impulse to centralism, that has empowered some politics. As a result, this case is an example of unsustainability of the adopted urban model.
High performance on-demand video transcoding using cloud services

Video streams, either in form of on-demand streaming or live streaming, usually have to be converted (i.e., transcoded) based on the characteristics (e.g., spatial resolution) of clients' devices. Transcoding is a computationally expensive operation, therefore, streaming service providers currently store numerous transcoded versions of the same video to serve different types of client devices. However, recent studies show that accessing video streams have a long tail distribution. That is, there are few popular videos that are frequently accessed while the majority of them are accessed infrequently. The idea we propose in this research is to transcode the infrequently accessed videos in a on-demand (i.e., lazy) manner. Due to the cost of maintaining infrastructure, streaming service providers (e.g., Netflix) are commonly using cloud services. However, the challenge in utilizing cloud services for video transcoding is how to deploy cloud resources in a cost-efficient manner without any major impact on the quality of video streams. To address the challenge, in this research, we present an architecture for on-demand transcoding of video streams. The architecture provides a platform for streaming service providers to utilize cloud resources in a cost-efficient manner and with respect to the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of video streams. In particular, the architecture includes a QoS-aware scheduling component to efficiently map video streams to cloud resources, and a cost-efficient dynamic (i.e., elastic) resource provisioning policy that adapts the resource acquisition with respect to the video streaming QoS requirements.
Integration and Usage of a ROS-Based Whole Body Control Software Framework

ControlIt! is a ROS-based high performance feedback control framework that enables Whole Body Control (WBC) algorithms to be implemented, instantiated, and integrated into ROS applications. It operates above individual joint controllers but below planners and takes a holistic view of the robot to achieve multiple simultaneous objectives. Such capabilities are particularly useful for highly redundant and multi-branched robots like humanoids where the large number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) and intrinsic multi-tasking like reaching for an object while maintaining balance requires advanced feedback control strategies. ControlIt! provides two software abstractions, a compound task and a constraint set, that enables users to configure, use, and integrate whole body controllers. The compound task consists of prioritized tasks with controllers that operate in a relatively low dimensional space compared to the number of joints. The constraint set specifies physical limits of the robot like points of contact with the environment and mechanical couplings between joints. ControlIt! comes with an implementation of the Whole Body Operational Space control (WBOSC) algorithm, one of the original WBC algorithms. Through prioritized null-space projection, WBOSC achieves each tasks’ objectives subjected to limitations from higher priority tasks and the constraint set. Using tasks and constraints, users can make high-DOF multi-branched robots execute sophisticated multi-objective and adaptive behaviors. This chapter presents ControlIt! and provides examples of advanced whole body behaviors it enables.
Beyond Technical Solutions: Understanding the Role of Governance Structures in Internet Routing Security

Internet routing security anomalies often make headlines when they occur (Cowie, 2010, RIPE 2008). But not all networks on the Internet (known technically as Autonomous Systems) experience anomalies, and some experience more than others. While efforts to standardize and deploy secure routing technologies continue and commercial services to help mitigate them are now commonplace, a broader empirically-based contextual understanding of these anomalies does not exist.
Monitoring of Clinical Trials—Are Remote Activities Helpful in Controlling Quality?

The implementation of risk-based monitoring has spawned many forms of remote monitoring activities. This development has the potential to significantly impact how monitoring is accomplished for clinical trials. One question raised is whether remote monitoring activities are helpful or a hindrance to an effective data quality program. A survey was undertaken to assess the utilization and considerations related to remote monitoring activities and its impact on clinical data quality.
StartleCam: a cybernetic wearable camera

StartleCam is a wearable video camera, computer, and sensing system, which enables the camera to be controlled via both conscious and preconscious events involving the wearer. Traditionally, a wearer consciously hits record on the video camera, or runs a computer script to trigger the camera according to some pre-specified frequency. The system described here offers an additional option: images are saved by the system when it detects certain events of supposed interest to the wearer. The implementation described here aims to capture events that are likely to get the user's attention and to be remembered. Attention and memory are highly correlated with what psychologists call arousal level, and the latter is often signaled by skin conductivity changes; consequently, StartleCam monitors the wearer's skin conductivity. StartleCam looks for patterns indicative of a "startle response" in the skin conductivity signal. When this response is detected, a buffer of digital images, recently captured by the wearer's digital camera, is downloaded and optionally transmitted wirelessly to a webserver. This selective storage of digital images creates a "flashbulb" memory archive for the wearable which aims to mimic the wearer. Using a startle detection filter, the StartleCam system has been demonstrated to work on several wearers in both indoor and outdoor ambulatory environments.
Anti-Administration: Redeeming Bureaucracy by Witnessing and Gifting

Weber (1947/1964), in his description of a legal-rational administrative system, represents administrative orthodoxy. “Anti-administration,” in dialectical relationship to administrative orthodoxy, is reasonably construed as “not administrative orthodoxy,” and can legitimately take various forms. Both “charismatic” and “traditional,” Weber’s examples of non-rational administrative authority, are in opposition to orthodoxy, and either can easily assume the anti-administration mantle. Our view of anti-administration best fits Weber’s charismatic category, for “charisma” derives from the early Christian term “gift of grace” (Weber, 1947/1964, p. 328). “Redemption” is the act of recovering a relationship following a fall from grace. This paper suggests reasons for the deficiencies of orthodoxy, then offers witnessing and gifting as an anti-administration strategy for reclaiming a relationship of community among civil servants and citizens. In therapy, the psychologist starts where the patient is; likewise, the bureaucrat seeking to rebuild a relationship with the public must first find common ground with the citizen by charismatic means, which requires the bureaucrat to act anti-administratively, one-on-one.
Constant McMillan Degree and the Continuous Stabilization of Families of Transfer Matrices

This note deals with stabilization of parametric families using transfer matrices which are themselves parameterized in the same manner, a problem which is of some interest in the context of indirect adaptive control. It is shown that constancy of the McMillan degree is a necessary condition for stabilizability with arbitrary convergence rates.
The Complexity of Minor-Ancestral Graph Properties with Forbidden Pairs

Robertson and Seymour (in work starting with [15]) demonstrated that any minor-ancestral graph property can be decided in polynomial time. Lewis and Yannakakis [14] showed that for any nontrivial node-hereditary graph property, the problem of given a graph, finding the size of the largest induced subgraph of the graph that has the property, is NP-hard. In this paper, we completely characterize those minor-ancestral properties for which the problem of deciding if a given graph contains a subgraph with the property that respects a given set of forbidden vertex pairs (i.e., if one vertex from a pair is in the subgraph then the other isn’t) is in P and for which such properties the problem is NP-complete. In particular, we show that if a given minor-ancestral property can be characterized by the containment of one of a finite set of graphs as a subgraph, the corresponding decision problem with forbidden vertex pairs is in P, otherwise its NP-complete. Unfortunately, we further show that the problem of deciding if a minor-ancestral property (presented as a set of characteristic minors) can be so characterized is NP-hard. Finally we observe that a similar characterization holds for the case of finding subgraphs satisfying a set of forbidden edge pairs and that our problems are all fixed parameter tractable.
Technological Innovations on the Horizon

Increasingly, newer generations of students will be technologically savvy and consumer minded regarding how they obtain information. In this chapter, online learning, Audience Response Systems, educational video games, and other new immersive educational technologies are discussed from the perspective of engagement in learning. Online learning is an increasingly popular mode for educational delivery. While online learning has some advantages in terms of flexibility and autonomous learning, which typically support engagement in learning, relative absence of feedback, social cues, and other ways that students typically self-regulate learning can potentially undermine engagement. Research suggests that overall Audience Response Systems (ARSs), or clickers, enhance most students’ interest in the course, understanding, depth of processing, and thereby bolster achievement. There is also some evidence that students are engaged when using them, although it is difficult to conclude that students are engaged in more than a temporal way due to the nature of the available research. Certain video games skillfully employed within a broader curriculum can engage youth significantly more than traditional teaching approaches, as evidenced by Coller and colleague’s quasi-experimental research on a video game approach to mechanical engineering instruction using the experience sampling method. Overall, studies suggested that a video game approach can be effectively implemented into instruction to simulate real-world professional practice and foster optimal engagement. Results also suggested that students who took a game-based approach learned more and developed more competencies than students who took the same course using the traditional approach.
The Physical States of Matter

This chapter explores how matter can have particular physical states. The discussion begins by drawing the lessons of Aristotle’s account of the basic physical elements. Next what Kant has to say about liquids, solids, and gases is considered. Third, the chapter examines how Hegel conceives the states of matter and accounts for density and cohesion.
Reflections on voice: healing grief through voice, storytelling, and song

The following stories are memories of three of the more difficult times in my life. As I reflected on these stories, I recognized a pattern: my artistry and my skills as a voice teacher became my p...
Utility of Graded Exercise Testing in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Setting

In the cardiac rehabilitation setting, a graded exercise test (GXT) might be obtained for risk stratification and prognostication, for diagnostic reasons (e.g., to test for residual ischemia in the setting of recurrent symptoms following an invasive therapeutic cardiovascular procedure), for therapeutic reasons (development of an exercise prescription), or to quantify functional capacity - at baseline or in response to exercise training.
Formaldehyde-Free Method for Incorporating Lignin into Epoxy Thermosets

A series of liquid and curable lignin-containing epoxy prepolymers were prepared for making renewable epoxy thermosets. First, lignin was modified to phenolated lignin (PL) in a solvent-free reaction. PL was subsequently co-oligomerized with salicyl alcohol (SA) in water without the use of formaldehyde to obtain fully bio-based polyphenols (PL-SA). Glycidylation of lignin-based polyphenols yielded exclusively liquid epoxy prepolymers without production of solid co-products. The liquid epoxy prepolymers (with lignin content up to 21 wt %) were curable with amine hardener (diethylenetriamine) to generate homogeneous thermosets, which required no epoxy co-prepolymer. The structural evolution from starting monomers to epoxy thermosets was followed by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Compared to common syntheses in which lignin is glycidylated prior to being blended with epoxy co-prepolymers, the herein reported methodology conferred networks with increased α-relaxation t...
Impact Response of PC/PMMA Composites

Polycarbonate (PC) and polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) are commonly used materials for transparent protection. For increased effectiveness against impact, PC and PMMA are typically sandwiched and bonded in multiple layers of varying thicknesses to create a composite laminate. To develop high fidelity simulation methodologies for impact behavior for this type of laminated construction, panels were fabricated with different layers of PC and PMMA, on which blunt impact experiments were conducted. A high speed digital image correlation (DIC) technique was used to obtain full-field deformation measurements including out-of-plane displacement and surface strain. The experimental results are used to evaluate constitutive models and simulation methods for these various configurations of PC/PMMA composite laminates. In this paper, experimental technique and results are presented.
Fuzzy Probability Theory

This chapter is based on [1]. However, many new results have been added mostly on fuzzy conditional probability (Section 3.3), fuzzy independence (Section 3.4), fuzzy Bayes’ formula (Section 3.5) and the applications in Section 3.6.
Impulse Buying: Design Practices and Consumer Needs

E-commerce sites have an incentive to encourage impulse buying, even when not in the consumer's best interest. This study investigates what features e-commerce sites use to encourage impulse buying and what tools consumers desire to curb their online spending. We present two studies: (1) a systematic content analysis of 200 top e-commerce websites in the U.S. and (2) a survey of online impulse buyers (N=151). From Study 1, we find that e-commerce sites contain multiple features that encourage impulsive buying, including those that lower perceived risks, leverage social influence, and enhance perceived proximity to the product. Conversely, from Study 2 we find that online impulse buyers want tools that (a) encourage deliberation and avoidance, (b) enforce spending limits and postponement, (c) increase checkout effort, (d) make costs more salient, and (e) reduce product desire. These findings inform the design of "friction'' technologies that help users make more deliberative consumer choices.
Early studies on the surface epithelium of mammalian airways

This article traces the beginnings of the various areas of physiological research on airway epithelium. First mentioned in 1600, it was not until 1834 that it was found to be ciliated. Goblet and b...
Inflammation as a Treatment Target after Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Inflammation is widely believed to play a central role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and acute coronary events.1,2 Although treatments with proven benefits for secondary prevention of coro...
Quantitative microbiome profiling in lumenal and tissue samples with broad coverage and dynamic range via a single-step 16S rRNA gene DNA copy quantification and amplicon barcoding

Current methods for detecting, accurately quantifying, and profiling complex microbial communities based on the microbial 16S rRNA marker genes are limited by a number of factors, including inconsistent extraction of microbial nucleic acids, amplification interference from contaminants and host DNA, different coverage of PCR primers utilized for quantification and sequencing, and potentially biases in PCR amplification rates among microbial taxa during amplicon barcoding. Here, we describe a single-step method that enables the quantification of microbial 16S rRNA gene DNA copies with wide dynamic range and broad microbial diversity, and simultaneous amplicon barcoding for quantitative 16S rRNA gene amplicon profiling of microbiota. The method is suitable for a variety of sample types and is robust in samples with low microbial abundance, including samples containing high levels of host mammalian DNA, as is common in human clinical samples. We demonstrate that our modification to the Earth Microbiome Project (EMP) V4 16S rRNA gene primers expands their microbial coverage while dramatically reducing non-specific mammalian mitochondrial DNA amplification, thus achieving wide dynamic range in microbial quantification and broad coverage for capturing high microbial diversity in samples with or without high host DNA background. The approach relies only on broadly available hardware (real-time PCR instruments) and standard reagents utilized for conventional 16S rRNA gene amplicon library preparation both of which make it amenable for immediate and widespread adoption. Simultaneous 16S rRNA gene DNA copy quantification and amplicon barcoding for multiplexed next-generation sequencing from the same analyzed sample, performed in a combined workflow, reduces the amount of sample needed and reduces time and reagent costs. Additionally, we demonstrate that using our modified 16S rRNA gene primers in a digital PCR (dPCR) format enables precise and exact microbial quantification in samples with very high host DNA background levels without the need for quantification standards. Potential future applications of this approach include: (1) quantitative microbiome profiling in human and animal microbiome research; (2) detection of monoinfections and profiling of polymicrobial infections in tissues, stool, and bodily fluids in human and veterinary medicine; (3) environmental sample analyses (e.g., soil and water); and (4) broad-coverage detection of microbial food contamination in products high in mammalian DNA, such as meat products. We predict that utilization of this approach primarily for quantitative microbiome profiling will be invaluable to microbiome studies, which have historically been limited to analysis of relative abundances of microbes.
Characterizing deposits emplaced by cryovolcanic plumes on Europa

Abstract In the absence of direct observations of Europa's particle plumes, deposits left behind during eruptive events would provide the best evidence for recent geological activity, and would serve as indicators of the best places to search for ongoing activity on the icy moon. Here, we model the morphological and spectral signatures of europan plume deposits, utilizing constraints from recent Hubble Space Telescope observations as model inputs. We consider deposits emplaced by plumes that are 1 km to 300 km tall, and find that in the time between the Galileo Mission and the arrival of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, plumes that are
Gender Representation Among Plenary Panel Speakers at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting.

Abstract Objective To examine trends in the representation of women in plenary panels at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting. Methods A review of all plenary sessions from AUA Annual Meetings during 2017-2019 was performed. The number and proportion of invited moderators and panelists by gender were recorded and analyzed by the topic of each plenary session. We performed descriptive analyses and tested temporal trends in gender representation. Results A total of 168 plenary panels were held at the AUA meetings, 62 panels in 2017, 51 panels in 2018, and 55 panels in 2019. Overall, 59% of panels were all-male panels (61% in 2017, 67% in 2018, and 49% in 2019) with exclusively male moderators and panelists. There was no significant change in the proportion of all-male panels during the study period (P = .20). Among the 168 panels, 153 (91%) had a male moderator, and 107 (64%) had only male panelists. Seventy-five unique female speakers accounted for 90 (12%) of the 742 total panel speaking roles. There was significant variation in the proportion of female speakers among 6 plenary topics (P = .03); the overall proportion of all-male panels was highest for sexual medicine sessions (14 of 18 panels, 78%) and lowest for female pelvic medicine sessions (5 of 19 panels, 26%). Conclusion Female representation in plenary panels at recent AUA Annual Meetings did not significantly change, with the majority of panels composed entirely of male speakers. Continued evaluation of these trends may inform efforts to achieve gender equality at national urology meetings.
ALTERED BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY FOLLOWING A SEASON OF COMPETITIVE FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER AND THE EFFECT OF A JUGULAR VEIN COMPRESSION COLLAR: A NETWORK-BASED STATISTICS ANALYSIS:

Background:Cumulative exposure to repetitive sub-concussive head impacts in contact sports may have deleterious effects on brain function, even in the absence of acute symptoms. Moreover, anatomica...
Overlapping international human rights institutions: Introducing the Women’s Rights Recommendations Digital Database (WR2D2):

With the proliferation of the international human rights regime, states confront a dense set of institutional commitments. Our knowledge of the influence of these commitments is limited for two rea...
Euclidean and circum-Euclidean distance matrices: Characterizations and linear preservers

Short proofs are given to various characterizations of the (circum-)Euclidean squared distance matrices. Linear preserver problems related to these matrices are discussed
Exploring Head Start teacher and leader perceptions of the Pre-K Classroom Assessment Scoring System as a part of the Head Start Designation Renewal System

Abstract For Head Start programs, the 2010 enactment of the Head Start Designation Renewal System (HS-DRS) reflects a national trend in rising accountability related to classroom quality for early childhood programs. Under HS-DRS, all Head Start programs are required to meet seven key criteria to qualify for or maintain program funding. One of the seven criteria is to meet identified minimum cut scores on a single, observational measure of classroom quality. Programs that fail to meet the minimum scores for this measure can be required to re-compete for their grants. The result is a high-stakes context where a single-day of observation, by a single observer, in a limited number of classrooms, can determine a program’s funding. Using an ethnographic case study approach, this study explores how seven teachers and two program leaders in a mid-sized, urban Head Start program made sense of this requirement and connected it to their beliefs about children’s needs, learning and development, the complex nature of quality, preschool teaching, and rising accountability in Head Start.
Benefit-Cost Analysis for Utility-Facing Grid Modernization Investments: Trends, Challenges, and Considerations

Author(s): Woolf, Tim; Havumaki, Ben; Bhandari, Divita; Whited, Melissa; Schwartz, Lisa C | Abstract: In recent years, many electric utilities have submitted grid modernization plans for review by state public utility commissions. A central objective of these plans is to demonstrate that grid modernization investments will provide net benefits to customers, be reasonable and be in the public interest. The plans typically include some form of benefit-cost analysis, but the assumptions, methodologies and frameworks vary considerably between utilities. This report: -Describes utility-facing technologies and projects for modernizing distribution systems, including interdependencies of grid components -Highlights benefit-cost considerations related to grid modernization -Summarizes recent trends in benefit-cost analysis for grid modernization based on a review of 21 plans by U.S. electric utilities -Discusses challenges state public utility commissions face in reviewing utility plans and provides options for addressing challenges
The role of total parotidectomy in high-grade parotid malignancy: A multisurgeon retrospective review

Abstract Purpose Determine rates of intra-parotid and neck nodal metastasis, identify risk factors for recurrence, and report outcomes in patients with primary high-grade parotid malignancy who undergo total parotidectomy and neck dissection. Materials & methods Retrospective review of patients undergoing total parotidectomy and neck dissection for high-grade parotid malignancy between 2005 and 2015. The presence and number of parotid lymph nodes, superficial and deep, as well as cervical lymph nodes involved with metastatic disease were assessed. Risk factors associated with metastatic spread to the parotid deep lobe were identified and recurrence rates reported. Results 75 patients with median follow-up time of 47 months. 35 patients (46.7%) had parotid lymph node metastasis. Seven patients (9.3%) had deep lobe nodal metastasis without metastasis to the superficial lobe nodes. Nine patients (12%) had positive intra-parotid nodes without positive cervical nodes. Cervical nodal disease was identified in 49.3% patients (37/75). Local, parotid-bed recurrence rate was 5.3% (4/75). Regional lymph node recurrence rate was also 5.3% (4/75). Rate of distant metastasis was 30.6% (23/75). The overall disease free survival rate for all patients at 2 and 5 years were 71% and 60% respectively. Conclusion Parotid lymph node metastasis occurred at a similar rate to cervical lymph node metastasis (46.7% and 49.3%, respectively). Deep lobe parotid nodal metastasis occurred in nearly a quarter of patients and can occur without superficial parotid nodal metastasis. Rate of recurrence in the parotid bed, which may represent local or regional recurrence, was similar to regional cervical lymph node recurrence. Total parotidectomy and neck dissection should be considered high-grade parotid malignancy regardless of clinical nodal status.
Novel algorithms for automated nmr assignment and protein structure determination

High-throughput structure determination based on solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy plays an important role in structural genomics. Unfortunately, current NMR structure determination is still limited by the lengthy time required to process and analyze the experimental data. A major bottleneck in protein structure determination via NMR is the interpretation of NMR data, including the assignment of chemical shifts and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) restraints from NMR spectra. The development of automated and efficient procedures for analyzing NMR data and assigning experimental restraints will thereby enable high-throughput protein structure determination and advance structural proteomics research. In this dissertation, we present the following novel algorithms for automating NMR assignment and protein structure determination. First, we develop a novel high-resolution structure determination algorithm that starts with a global fold calculated from the exact and analytic solutions to the residual dipolar coupling (RDC) equations. Our high-resolution structure determination protocol has been applied to solve the NMR structures of the FF Domain 2 of human transcription elongation factor CA150 (RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain interacting protein), which have been deposited into the Protein Data Bank. Second, we propose an automated side-chain resonance and NOE assignment algorithm that does not require any explicit through-bond experiment to facilitate side-chain resonance assignment, such as HCCH-TOCSY. Third, we present a Bayesian approach to determine protein side-chain rotamer conformations by integrating the likelihood function derived from unassigned NOE data, with prior information (i.e., empirical molecular mechanics energies) about the protein structures. Fourth, we develop a loop backbone structure determination algorithm that exploits the global orientational restraints from sparse RDCs and computes an ensemble of loop conformations that not only close the gap between two end residues but also satisfy the NMR data restraints. Finally, to facilitate NMR structure determination for large proteins, we develop a novel algorithm for predicting the Hα chemical shifts by exploiting the dependencies between chemical shifts of different backbone atoms and integrating the attainable structural information. All the algorithms developed in this dissertation have been tested on experimental NMR data with collaborators in Dr. Pei Zhou’s and our labs. The promising results demonstrate that our algorithms can be successfully applied to high-quality protein structure determination. Since our algorithms reduce the time required in NMR assignment, it can accelerate the protein structure determination process.
Rapid Impediometric Method to Determine Crustacean Food Freshness

Ensuring the quality of seafood is essential to maintain current markets and to increase consumption by consumers. Processors, retailers, and regulators of seafood products need rapid, reliable tests that indicate prior storage temperature histories of raw seafood materials in order to guarantee quality and safety of their products. Improper storage temperatures are responsible for deterioration of most seafood products 1,2.
An Adaptive Method for Flow Simulation in Three-Dimensional Heterogeneous Discrete Fracture Networks.

Natural fractured media are highly unpredictable because of existing complex structures at the fracture and at the network levels. Fractures are by themselves heterogeneous objects of broadly distributed sizes, shapes and orientations that are interconnected in large correlated networks. With little field data and evidence, numerical modeling can provide important information on the underground transport phenomena. However it must overcome several barriers. Firstly, the complex network structure produces a structure difficult to mesh. Secondly, the absence of a priori homogenization scale, along with the double fracture and network heterogeneity levels, requires the calculation of large but finely resolved fracture networks resulting in very large simulation domains. To tackle these two related issues, we reduce the high complex geometry of the fractures by applying a local transformation that suppresses the cumbersome meshing configurations while keeping the networks fundamental, geological and geometrical characteristics. We show that the flow properties are marginally affected while the problem complexity (i.e., memory capacity and resolution time) can be divided by orders of magnitude. To conclude, the developed method represents an adaptive method of the complex configurations.
Chapter 20. The Inactivation of Cytochrome P-450

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the recent work on agents that irreversibly N-alkylate or otherwise alter the prosthetic heme group of cytochrome P-450, and then outlines the progress in applying this knowledge to the design of isozyme-specific irreversible inhibitors. Three classes of agents are known that specifically inactivate cytochrome P-450 enzymes by catalysis-dependent mechanisms, which are: agents that bind covalently to the protein, agents that quasi-irreversibly coordinate with the heme iron atom, and agents that specifically alkylate or degrade the prosthetic heme group. The inactivation of cytochrome P-450 by enzyme-specific agents can alter the metabolism of concommitantly administered xenobiotics or can upset essential biosynthetic or catabolic pathways if isozymes devoted to the metabolism of endogenous substrates are affected. It is assumed, but still unconfirmed, that vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, and trichloroethylene analogously alkylate the prosthetic heme of cytochrome P-450. The recently confirmed inhibition of cytochrome P-450 by isoniazid and hydralazine does not result from heme alkylation but rather from the formation of a transient complex with an absorption maximum at 449 nm. The complex and its inhibitory effect are dissipated by ferricyanide. The inhibition by isoniazid thus resembles that mediated by 1,1-disubstituted hydrazines that also form reversible cytochrome P-450 complexes absorbing at 449 nm. The demonstration of isozyme selectivity and the availability of structure–activity data have triggered the efforts to construct irreversible inhibitors for biosynthetic cytochrome P-450 isozymes. Two types of mechanism-based inhibitors have been reported for cytochrome P-45O scc , the adrenal enzyme that oxidizes cholesterol to pregnenolone.
Study of production in radiative J/ψ decays

Abstract New results from a multichannel spin-parity analysis, which has been performed in the radiative decay channel J/ψ → γK ∗0 K ∗0 , will be presented. ★
Histological distribution and nature of stainable lipids of the human endometrium

Abstract Histochemical characterization of lipids in the endometrium was carried out for the various stages of the menstrual cycle, in pregnancy, and several abnormal states. The stainable lipid is predominantly neutral fat. Aside from the occasional endometrium in the proliferative state, the presence of lipid is predominantly found in the late secretory phase. Here it is regarded as a primarily regressive phenomenon.
Search through systematic set enumeration

In many problem domains, solutions take the form of unordered sets. We present the Set-Enumerations (SE)tree a vehicle for representing sets and/or enumerating them in a best-first fashion. We demonstrate its usefulness as the basis for a unifying search-based framework for domains where minimal (maximal) elements of a power set are targeted, where minimal (maximal) partial instantiations of a set of variables are sought, or where a composite decision is not dependent on the order in which its primitive component-decisions are taken. Particular instantiations of SE-tree-based algorithms for some AI problem domains are used to demonstrate the general features of the approach. These algorithms are compared theoretically and empirically with current algorithms. Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report No. MSCIS-92-66. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/cis_reports/297 Search Through Systematic Set Enumeration MS-CIS-92-66 LINC LAB 234
Estimation of flow properties using surface deformation and head data: A trajectory‐based approach

[1] A trajectory-based algorithm provides an efficient and robust means to infer flow properties from surface deformation and head data. The algorithm is based upon the concept of an “arrival time” of a drawdown front, which is defined as the time corresponding to the maximum slope of the drawdown curve. The technique involves three steps: the inference of head changes as a function of position and time, the use of the estimated head changes to define arrival times, and the inversion of the arrival times for flow properties. Trajectories, computed from the output of a numerical simulator, are used to relate the drawdown arrival times to flow properties. The inversion algorithm is iterative, requiring one reservoir simulation for each iteration. The method is applied to data from a set of 14 tiltmeters, located at the Raymond Quarry field site in California. Using the technique, I am able to image a high-conductivity channel which extends to the south of the pumping well. The presence of this permeable pathway is supported by an analysis of earlier cross-well transient pressure test data.
Dangers to Democratization: Military Responses to Constitutional Changes of Leadership in Africa

This paper examines the conditions under which African militaries seize power after constitutional changes in executive leadership. I argue that ethnic dynamics play a critical and underappreciated role in provoking military reactivity in such contexts. Elections, and particularly democratization efforts, often bring with them changes in the ethnic identity of the head of state. Where militaries were previously stacked with the co-ethnics of past leaders — in order to secure loyalty — such changes threaten established systems of military patronage and privilege. These “stacked” militaries thus have strong incentives to seek a return to the previous status quo and they often do so by attempting to seize power themselves. A mixed-methods framework is employed in order to evaluate this hypothesis. Cross-national data was collected on all constitutional leadership transitions in Africa, the ethnicity of leaders, and subsequent coup attempts, from the time of decolonization to the present. Where an ethnic change in leadership occurred, both descriptive statistics and regression analysis show a significant increase in the risk of a coup attempt. Indeed, a change in the ethnicity of a country's leader can practically be considered a necessary condition for a coup attempt. These broad, cross-national patterns are further supported by case study evidence drawn from Cameroon, Kenya, Botswana and Malawi. Through the cases I show that where coups occurred in the wake of constitutional changes in leadership, past leaders did indeed stack the military with their co-ethnics and that it was these very factions that later attempted to seize power.
Clinical Trials in Dry Eye in Surgery for Dry Eye

Purpose: To provide an overview of considerations in the design and performance of prospective clinical trials in the evaluation of new pharmaceutical and surgical treatments in dry eye disease (DED). Design: A compilation and interpretation of experiences in the challenges and pitfalls of clinical trial design based on experiences documented in the peerreviewed literature over the last 40 years. Methods: A review of the literature in the design and performance of clinical trials in DED with an interpretative and prognostic outlook. Results: Published results of clinical trials in DED reveal problems in the design of clinical trials which are unique to this disease. These include a discordance between the signs and symptoms of DED, variability in disease course and short-term environmental effects on ocular surface staining. Conclusions: The development of better efficacy endpoints will be necessary to improve the outcomes of clinical trials to evaluate new pharmaceutical and surgical approaches to the management of dry eye. The most promising field is that of biomarkers which serve as surrogates for disease severity. As these markers undergo validation with clinical changes, it is likely that they will assume greater significance in future clinical trial designs.
Using phasor data for visualization and data mining in smart-grid applications

This paper presents a density based clustering (DBSCAN) technique to visualize and analyze the smart-grid data. The technique will aid in detecting bad-data, various fault types, deviation on frequency, voltage or current values for better situational awareness. Synchrophasors (or a PMU) is a sensor placed on a transmission line that tracks voltage, current, phase and frequency of the line. To improve situational awareness of the smart grid monitoring in real-time, the utility must monitor the phasor data measurement delivered by the sensors. Time-stamped synchronized measurements offer tremendous benefit for pre and post-event analysis. The paper uses data from openPDC framework to aid system operators in carrying various predictive analytics, decisions.
Distributed Systems Technology Survey

Abstract : Contents: 1)Introduction; 2) Hardware Technology; 3) Internetworks; 4) Protocols; 5)Heterogenelty; 6) Models of Distributed Programs; 7) Operating System Issues; 8) Programming Language Issues; 9) Remote Procedure Call; 10) Software Tools for Distributed Environments; 11) Security; 12) Distributed File Systems; 13) Fault Tolerance; 14) Conclusion.
Ternary complex formation by vaccinia virus RNA polymerase at an early viral promoter: analysis by native gel electrophoresis.

Abstract We have resolved, by native gel electrophoresis, two intermediates in the transcription of a vaccinia virus early gene by the virus-encoded RNA polymerase. Polymerase holoenzyme containing the vaccinia virus early transcription factor (VETF) forms a complex of VETF bound to the promoter as the first step in a pathway leading to establishment of a committed ternary elongation complex. Formation of the VETF-DNA complex is stimulated by magnesium but is uninfluenced by nucleoside triphosphates. A stable binary complex of RNA polymerase bound to DNA is not detected. Assembly of a gel-stable polymerase-DNA complex depends on conditions permissive for RNA synthesis. Nucleotide omission experiments suggest that at least a tetrameric RNA must be made before a ternary complex is stabilized. RNA analysis indicates that complexes containing nascent transcripts 20 nucleotides long are stable and active. Ternary complex formation requires hydrolyzable ATP. This is consistent with an essential role for the ATPase activity of VETF at a step subsequent to DNA binding, as proposed by Broyles (S. S. Broyles, J. Biol. Chem. 266:15545-15548, 1991). The ternary complex, once formed, is resistant to dissociation by competitor DNA, as well as by salt, Sarkosyl, and heparin. The effects of these inhibitory agents on transcription complex formation suggest that they target different steps in the assembly pathway.
Cell- and Developmental Stage-Specific Dicer1 Ablation in the Lung Epithelium Models Cystic Pleuropulmonary Blastoma

Inherited syndromes provide unique opportunities to identify key regulatory mechanisms governing human disease. We previously identified germline loss-of-function DICER1 mutations in a human syndrome defined by the childhood lung neoplasm pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB), which arises during lung development. DICER1 regulates many biological processes critical in development and disease pathogenesis. Significant challenges in defining the role of DICER1 in human disease are identifying cause–effect relationships and generating manipulatable systems that model the complexity of organ development and disease pathogenesis. Here we report the generation of a murine model for PPB and demonstrate that precise temporal and cell type-specific Dicer1 ablation is necessary and sufficient for the development of cystic lungs that histologically and phenotypically model PPB. Dicer1 ablation in the distal airway epithelium during early stages of lung development resulted in a cystic lung phenotype indistinguishable from PPB, whereas DICER1 function was not required for development of the proximal airway epithelium or during later stages of organogenesis. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that Dicer1 loss results in epithelial cell death, followed by cystic airway dilatation accompanied by epithelial and mesenchymal proliferation. These studies define precise temporal and epithelial cell type-specific DICER1 functions in the developing lung and demonstrate that loss of these DICER1 functions is sufficient for the development of cystic PPB. These results also provide evidence that PPB arise through a novel mechanism of non-cell-autonomous tumour initiation, in which the genetic abnormality initiating the neoplasm does not occur in the cells that ultimately transform, but rather occurs in a benign-appearing epithelial cell component that predisposes underlying mesenchymal cells to malignant transformation. Copyright © 2014 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Real-time American Sign Language Recognition using wrist-worn motion and surface EMG sensors

A Sign Language Recognition (SLR) system enables communication between hearing disabled individuals and those who can hear and speak. With the prevalence of the wearable computers, this technology is becoming an important human computer interface capable of reading hand gestures and inferring user;s intent. In this paper, we propose a real-time American SLR system leveraging fusion of surface electromyography (sEMG) and a wrist-worn inertial sensor at the feature level. A feature selection is provided for 40 most commonly used words and for four subjects. The experimental results show that after feature selection and conditioning, our system achieves 95.94% recognition rate. The results also illustrate the fusion of two modalities perform better than using only the inertial sensor. We observed that only one channel of sEMG (out of four) located on the wrist and under the wrist-watch is sufficient.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Narrative and nationalist desire: early short stories and The River Between

Ngugi began his writing career under the pressures of three powerful cultural institutions in colonial Kenya: the Protestant church, which was the major conduit for modern identities in the colonial sphere; the mission school, which, through its valorization of literacy as the point of entry into the culture of colonialism, promoted new narratives of temporality and identity; and Gikuyu cultural nationalism, which manifested itself in the tradition of independent schools that the novelist attended in his youth. For the young Ngugi, each of these institutions held promises of emancipation from the bonds of class and ethnicity, but also presented unexpected dilemmas. One of the major appeals of Protestantism in Central Kenya, for example, was its equation of morality with bourgeois civility: one was not merely a Christian because one believed in a certain doctrine; rather, conversion was apparent in one's ability to live a modern life, a life manifested in a new monetary economy, mode of dress, set of cultural values, and even architecture. But if Christian conversion was the colonial subject's point of contact with modernity, it also implied a self-swilled dedoublement from a set of cultural values that had been at the foundation of one's communal identity. Conversion implied the negation of a traditional identity in preference for a modern, quasi-European one, and this was not particularly easy for the Gikuyu who, as we saw in the last chapter, were beginning to consolidate their identity in the wake of colonial rule. Ngugi was thus born into a culture that was eager to embrace colonial modernity, but one that had serious doubts about the wisdom of a radical negation of its newly invented collective identity.