cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Laminate Mixing in Micro-Scale Fractal-Like Merging Channel Networks

A two-dimensional model was developed to predict concentration profiles resulting from passive, or diffusive, mixing of laminated layers formed in a fractal-like merging flow network. Both uniform and parabolic velocity profiles were considered in the model. Concentration profiles were experimentally acquired near the top surface of the flow network using laser induced fluorescence. The degree of mixing was assessed from concentration profiles at the end of each channel. Although the degree of mixing from the two-dimensional model well predicts the trend of the experimental degree of mixing, the numerical model under predicts the experimental values by approximately 25 percent. This may be due in part to the presence of top and bottom walls in the experimental device. These walls tend to slow the flow in this region, thereby increasing the residence time and improving the mixing. These top and bottom walls are neglected in the two-dimensional model. For the existing flow network, the degree of mixing is provided as a function of Peclet number. The degree of mixing is further investigated by varying the number of branching levels, the width of the initial flow channels, and the total flow length for a fixed Peclet number. A nondimensional parameter is established that serves as a design tool for predicting an optimum number of branching levels for fixed values of the total flow length, initial branch width and channel depth.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Molecular, Genetic, and Cellular Bases for Treating Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) was historically distinguished from gastroesophageal reflux disease on the basis of histology and lack of responsiveness to acid suppressive therapy, but it is now appreciated that esophageal eosinophilia can respond to proton pump inhibitors. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to risk for EoE, particularly early-life events. Disease pathogenesis involves activation of epithelial inflammatory pathways (production of eotaxin-3 [encoded by CCL26 ]), impaired barrier function (mediated by loss of desmoglein-1), increased production and/or activity of transforming growth factor-β, and induction of allergic inflammation by eosinophils and mast cells. Susceptibility has been associated with variants at 5q22 ( TSLP ) and 2p23 ( CAPN14 ), indicating roles for allergic sensitization and esophageal specific protease pathways. We propose that EoE is a unique disease characterized by food hypersensitivity; strong hereditability influenced by early-life exposures and esophageal-specific genetic risk variants; and allergic inflammation and that the disease is remitted by disrupting inflammatory and T-helper type 2 cytokine−mediated responses and through dietary elimination therapy.
The use of cluster analysis in physical data base design

The physical structure and relative placement of information elements within a data base is critical for the efficient design of a computerized information system which is shared by a community of users. Traditionally the selection among alternative structural designs has been handled largely via heuristics. Recent research has shown that a number of significant design problems can be stated mathematically as nonlinear, integer, zero-one programming problems. In concept, therefore, mathematical programming algorithms can be used to determine "optimal" data base designs. In practice, one finds that realistic problems of even modest size are computationally infeasible. This paper presents a means for overcoming this difficulty in the design of data base records. A metric with which to measure the similarity of usage among data items is developed and used by a clustering algorithm to reduce the space of alternative designs to a point where solution is economically feasible.
A STRUCTURAL EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF METROPOLITAN LABOR DEMAND

. This paper uses a large data base to study metropolitan labor demand functions. The data are disaggregated by two-digit SICs in manufacturing for SMS As, and are corrected for changing SMSA boundaries. Labor demand elasticities are estimated for factor and commodity prices, transportation costs, state and local taxes and expenditures, and production-function shifters. Estimates from different years allow one to test Le Chatelier's principle in the context of interregional change.
Lexical Factors and Segmental Accuracy in Second Language Speech Production.

Voice onset time (VOT) was measured in the production of /t/ in the initial position of 60 English words spoken by native English (NE) speakers and native Spanish (NS) speakers who began learning English before or after the age of 21 years. The subjects rated the words for familiarity, age of acquisition, imageability, and relatedness to word(s) in the Spanish lexicon. The subjects in all three groups showed two well-known phonetic effects: They produced longer VOT values in the context of high than nonhigh vowels, and longer VOT in one- than in two-syllable words. As expected, the NS subjects who learned English prior to the age of 21 years judged the English words to be more familiar and more like a Spanish word than did the subjects who began learning English later in life. Also, many but not all of the NS subjects produced /t/ with shorter VOT values than did the NE subjects. However, regression analyses showed that none of the lexical factors mentioned above or the text frequency of the 60 English words examined affected the NS subjects' VOT values. Thus, variation in the accuracy with which NS subjects produce English /t/ must be accounted for by factors other than the lexical status of the words in which /t/ occurs.
Perceptual and Linguistic Processing of Letters and Words By Normal and Disabled Readers.

Response latencies were obtained in word matching and sentence completion tasks from disabled readers, age-matched normal readers, and reading-level matched normal readers. The disabled group was significantly slower than the old normal group on both tasks (p < .001) and did not differ from the young normal group. None of the groups required more time for sentence completion than physical matching, indicating that semantic processing of these sentences was highly automatized. The disabled and younger groups were slower on physically confusable words than dissimilar words; whereas, the older were the same on both types of words, indicating that perceptual and decoding processes are learned by normal readers but are a primary source of deficiency in disabled readers.
Polymorphisms in angiotensin converting enzyme gene are associated with risk of development of and disease severity in scleroderma-related pulmonary arterial hypertension

Background: While 8-12% of patients with scleroderma (SSc) will develop pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), little is known about risk factors for this complication.Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is associated with endothelial dysfunction and may play a role in susceptibility to vascular disease in SSc.We sought to identify polymorphisms in ACE gene that may contribute to risk of PAH in SSc.Methods: A case-control study was performed in 916 patients of European descent.Of 458 SSc patients,103 had right heart catheterization-proven PAH; the remainder did not have significant respiratory disease.Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ACE gene [rs4293, rs3730025, rs4311], previously shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease, were examined.The relative frequency of SNPs and their relationship to presence of PAH and severity of PAH were assessed using Cochran-Armitage trend test with PLINK and linear regression for association between genotype and hemodynamics.Results: A strong association was found between SNP rs3730025 and risk of PAH (P=0.009).Carriers of G allele of rs4293 had increased cardiac index (s=0.458, P=0.005) and decreased pulmonary vascular resistance (s=-0.137, P=0.018).Conclusion: In this SSc cohort, a coding SNP in ACE gene was strongly associated with presence of PAH.Further, presence of SNP rs4293 was associated with preserved cardiac function in SSc-PAH.Given the role of these SNPs in the function of ACE and the relationship between ACE and vascular function, further studies are warranted to investigate the role of these SNPs in the pathogenesis of PAH in SSc.
Craniofacial growth in untreated skeletal Class II subjects: a longitudinal study.

Eighty-five (45 male and 40 female) skeletal Class II untreated subjects with low ( 36 degrees ) mandibular plane angles (MP-SN) were selected from the Bolton-Brush and the Burlington Growth Studies. Cephalograms of each subject at ages 9 and 18 were traced, and 28 parameters were measured. The difference in each parameter from ages 9 to 18 was calculated, and comparisons were made between the groups with low, average, and high angles. Results showed that for children at age 9, the high-angle group showed greater convexity, larger Y-axis and gonial angles, and greater anterior facial height, and the low-angle group had larger SNA and SNB angles, and greater posterior cranial base, mandibular body, ramus height, and posterior facial height. From ages 9 to 18, all the low-, average-, and high-angle groups showed a decrease of convexity (more flattened face) and a mandibular forward rotation (decreased MP-SN). The low-angle group displayed significantly more facial flattening and more mandibular forward rotation than did the high-angle group. Moreover, the mandibular incisors became more retroclined in the low-angle group and more proclined in the high-angle group with age. Comparisons between males and females showed similar skeletal growth patterns in angular measurements. However, a significant sex difference was noted in some linear measurements.
Psychological Consequences of Sexual Victimization Resulting From Force, Incapacitation, or Verbal Coercion

Recently, incapacitated rape has emerged as a distinct type of sexual victimization. However, little is known about its longer-term psychological consequences. Two studies compare the psychological consequences of incapacitated rape to those of forcible rape and verbal coercion. Generally, the traumatic impact of incapacitated rape was intermediate to that of verbal coercion and forcible rape; however, there were domains (e.g., current perceived trauma and emotional impact) in which incapacitated and forcible rape had a similar impact and other domains (e.g., attributions of responsibility) in which incapacitated rape was similar to verbal coercion. This research suggests that sexual assault researchers might benefit from separately examining forcible and incapacitated rape.
Psychophysical Evaluation for Visual Prosthesis

Vision restoration through retinal, optic nerve, and cortical implants is no longer just the stuff of fantasy. The design and development of visual prostheses rapidly move from the engineering phase toward preclinical and clinical trials, yet the benchmarks to determine their efficacy in blind research subjects have received very little attention, and likewise the selection criteria and preparation of early recipients of these devices. This article examines the aspects of vision for which prostheses may be of help, the selection of early prosthesis wearers, and the pre- and postimplant evaluations required to assess safety and efficacy. I concentrate on the functional assessment, and particularly on psychophysical methodology, but also address other measures of safety and efficacy, as well as approaches to vision rehabilitation with visual prostheses. Finally, I speculate what roles the first few generations of visual prostheses may play, and emphasize the importance of using simulations to support the development and rehabilitation process.
In-plane tunable optofluidic microlenses

We introduce two in-plane tunable optofluidic microlens configurations for flexible on-chip light focusing and collimation within a microfluidic device, including (1) an optofluidic cylindrical microlens and (2) a liquid gradient refractive index (L-GRIN) lens.
Flavor SU(3) Symmetry and Factorization in B Decays to Two Charmless Vector Mesons

We first present a model-independent analysis using flavor SU(3) symmetry with SU(3) breaking effects in B decays to two charmless vector mesons $(\mathrm{VV})$ in the final state. In order to bridge the flavor SU(3) symmetry approach and the factorization approach in $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{B}\mathrm{VV}$ decays, we explicitly show how to translate each SU(3) amplitude into a corresponding amplitude in factorization. Various decay modes, including $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{B}{K}^{*}\ensuremath{\varphi}$ which is so far the only $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{B}\mathrm{VV}$ mode having some experimental evidence, are discussed in both the SU(3) symmetry and factorization approaches. Within the generalized factorization approximation, the flavor SU(3) amplitudes and SU(3) breaking effects are numerically estimated as a function of the parameter $\ensuremath{\xi}\ensuremath{\equiv}{1/N}_{c}$ ${(N}_{c}$ denotes the effective number of color).
Differential Host Susceptibility to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, an Emerging Amphibian Pathogen

The amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has received considerable attention due to its role in amphibian population declines worldwide. Although many amphibian species appear to be affected by Bd, there is little information on species-specific differences in susceptibility to this pathogen. We used a comparative experimental approach to examine Bd susceptibility in 6 amphibian species from the United States. We exposed postmetamorphic animals to Bd for 30 days and monitored mortality, feeding rates, and infection levels. In all species tested, Bd-exposed animals had higher rates of mortality than unexposed (control) animals. However, we found differences in mortality rates among species even though the amount of Bd detected on the different species' bodies did not differ. Of the species tested, southern toads (Anaxyrusterrestris)andwoodfrogs(Lithobatessylvaticus)hadthehighestratesofBd-relatedmortality.Within species, we detected lower levels of Bd on individuals that survived longer and found that the relationship between body size and infection levels differed among species. Our results indicate that, even under identical conditions, amphibian species differ in susceptibility to Bd. This study represents a step toward identifying and understanding species variation in disease susceptibility, which can be used to optimize conservation strategies.
A Preliminary Investigation of the Influence of Subjective Norms and Relationship Commitment on Stages of Change in Female Intimate Partner Violence Victims

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a prevalent and serious problem throughout the world, causing devastating mental and physical health problems for victims. Recent research has begun to focus on factors that may influence women's decisions to stay or leave their abusive partners, as interventions for batterers has only resulted in minimal success in reducing IPV. Therefore, this study preliminarily examined the influence of women's perceptions of their social network members' subjective norms and their relationship commitment on stages of change to end an abusive relationship among a community sample of female IPV victims (N = 84). Results showed that subjective norms and women's relationship commitment were associated with women's stages of change. Relationship commitment did not mediate the relation between subjective norms and stages of change. These findings indicate that a number of factors contribute to women's stay/leave decision-making process, and close social network members could be included in interventions designed to keep women safe.
Trps1 activates a network of secreted Wnt inhibitors and transcription factors crucial to vibrissa follicle morphogenesis

Mutations in TRPS1 cause trichorhinophalangeal syndrome types I and III, which are characterized by sparse scalp hair in addition to craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities. Trps1 is a vertebrate transcription factor that contains nine zinc-finger domains, including a GATA-type zinc finger through which it binds DNA. Mice in which the GATA domain of Trps1 has been deleted (Trps1Δgt/Δgt) have a reduced number of pelage follicles and lack vibrissae follicles postnatally. To identify the transcriptional targets of Trps1 in the developing vibrissa follicle, we performed microarray hybridization analysis, comparing expression patterns in the whisker pads of wild-type versus Trps1Δgt/Δgt embryos. We identified a number of transcription factors and Wnt inhibitors among transcripts downregulated in the mutant embryos and several extracellular matrix proteins that were upregulated in the mutant samples, and demonstrated that target gene expression levels were altered in vivo in Trps1Δgt/Δgt vibrissae. Unexpectedly, we discovered that Trps1 can directly bind the promoters of its target genes to activate transcription, expanding upon its established role as a transcriptional repressor. Our findings identify Trps1 as a novel regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway and of early hair follicle progenitors in the developing vibrissa follicle.
A defined peptide that inhibits the formation of the glycoprotein IIb and IIIa complex

Abstract Collagen–platelet interaction plays an important role in hemostasis and pathological thrombosis. The proposed mechanism of the interaction was the activation of platelets→releasing of contents from granules→aggregation. The common end point is the platelets and fibrin aggregates. Platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa (the αIIbβ3 integrin) complexes serve as a receptor for the binding of fibrinogen to form firmed aggregates. Blockading of GP IIb/IIIa has been proposed to prevent platelet aggregation independent of the substance(s) responsible for activating the platelets. The development of various forms of GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor has resulted in the inhibition of platelet aggregation, although studies of αIIbβ3 receptor function and various GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors have demonstrated the potential for these agents to produce effects on other aspects of platelet function as well as having nonplatelet effects. This study investigated platelet inhibition provided by blocking the GP IIb/IIIa complex formation by using a peptide derived from the GP IIIa molecule. The peptide inhibits both types I and III collagen-induced platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. The defined peptide interferes with the formation of the GP IIb/IIIa complex by inhibiting the binding of FITC–PAC-1 onto ADP-, type I collagen-, and type III collagen-activated platelets. However, P-selectin secretion is not affected by the peptide. In addition, the peptide is not interfering with the binding of FITC–PAC-1 to platelets that were preincubated with indomethacin. Results from this study may suggest that the defined peptide is an effective agent to block the interaction of types I and III collagen with platelets.
Active network vision and reality: lessons from a capsule-based system

Although active networks have generated much debate in the research community on the whole there has been little hard evidence to inform this debate. This paper aims to redress the situation by reporting what we have learned by designing, implementing and using the ANTS active network toolkit over the past two years. At this early stage, active networks remain an open research area. However, we believe that we have made substantial progress towards providing a more flexible network layer while at the same time addressing the performance and security concerns raised by the presence of mobile code in the network. In this paper, we argue our progress towards the original vision and the difficulties that we have not yet resolved in three areas that characterize a "pure" active network: the capsule model of programmability; the accessibility of that model to all users; and the applications that can be constructed in practice.
c-sis and oncogene expression: a fundamental approach toward understanding esophageal cancer.

(1994). c-sis and Oncogene Expression: A Fundamental Approach Toward Understanding Esophageal Cancer. Cancer Investigation: Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 266-267.
“Stakes Is High” Culturally Relevant Practitioner Inquiry With African American Students Struggling to Pass Secondary Reading Exit Exams

This article explores practitioner inquiry and culturally relevant pedagogy to create academic success with students facing high school exit examinations in Reading. In Florida, about one-third of ...
Just Do It! Specific Rulemaking on Materiality Guidance in Insider Trading

Insider trading has been in the news on a relatively constant basis in the new millennium. Raj Rajaratnam and associates, Mark Cuban, and Martha Stewart have been among the many subjects of legal actions involving insider trading since the Enron debacle in 2002. Some of these cases have been garden-variety insider trading cases; others have exposed confusing and evolving elements of U.S. insider trading doctrine. Most recently, the STOCK Act — a law providing for an express congressional prohibition on insider trading — has made headlines. Public reporting in connection with both recent legal actions and the introduction and passage of the STOCK Act also has brought to the fore long-debated questions about insider trading doctrine in the United States, including the unsettled nature of the system of regulation. This article urges the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) — or, absent action by the SEC, the federal judiciary — to adopt clarifying guidance on materiality — one unclear area of insider trading law. In support of this agenda, the article brings together and addresses in one place a number of disparate concerns with the issuance of materiality guidance in this context (including, e.g., potential effects of the guidance on SEC enforcement discretion, interactions of the guidance with judicial deference, and determinations of the most appropriate rule maker and the optimal form of rule making for the guidance). The article also offers substantive and procedural details on two examples of materiality guidance that could be issued based on common insider trading fact patterns, updating and expanding suggestions made by the author in an earlier work. These concerns and examples illustrate significant difficulties in fashioning materiality guidance while, at the same time, showing that these difficulties are surmountable.
Is Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery a Safe Option in Extremely High-Risk Morbidly Obese Patients?

Abstract Introduction: Age, superobesity, and cardiopulmonary comorbidities define patients as high risk for bariatric surgery. We evaluated the outcomes following bariatric surgery in extremely high-risk patients. Materials and Methods: Among 3240 patients who underwent laparoscopic bariatric surgery at a single academic center from January 2006 through June 2012, extremely high-risk patients were identified using the following criteria: age ≥65 years, body mass index (BMI) ≥50 kg/m2, and presence of at least two of six cardiopulmonary comorbidities, including hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and history of venous thromboembolism. Perioperative and intermediate-term outcomes were assessed. Results: Forty-four extremely high-risk patients underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (n=23), adjustable gastric banding (n=11), or sleeve gastrectomy (n=10). Patients had a mean age of 67.9±2.7 years, a mean BMI o...
Metabolism of cholesteryl palmitate by rat brain in vitro; formation of cholesterol epoxides and cholestane-3β,5α,6β-triol

Incubation of [4-14C] cholesteryl palmitate with the 12,000 g supernatant fraction of adult rat brain fortified with an NADPH-generating system and β-mercaptoethylamine resulted in formation (2–5%) of more polar metabolites characterized as a mixture of cholesterol-5,6-epoxides. Under extended incubation conditions, cholestane-3β,5α,6β-triol was isolated as the major end product of the incubations. Free [4-14C]cholesterol incubated under similar conditions was not oxidized, whereas oxidation of [4-14C]cholesteryl palmitate appeared to be dependent upon hydrolysis of the ester by the rat brain microsomal subcellular fraction. Elimination of the NADPH-generating system or the addition of EDTA to the incubation mixture inhibited epoxide formation, suggesting that the products are derived from an NADPH-dependent enzymatic lipoperoxidation mechanism. The in vitro conversion of [4-14C] cholesterol-5α,6α-epoxide to cholestane-3β,5α,6β-triol was also demonstrated in rat brain subcellular fractions in the absence of added cofactors.
Avian killer flu pandemic: fact, fear, or fiction.

The Asian bird flu virus (HN51) was first detected in Asia in 2003. Since then it has caused the deaths of millions of chickens, turkeys and other birds and fowl. To date, this virus has caused about 100 human deaths in people who had direct contact with birds or their internal organs. Millions more chicken and turkeys are being slaughtered by the governments of various countries to try to limit the spread of this fatal disease. The virus has now been found in chickens and other birds in Asia, Europe and
Current concepts in autoimmune hepatitis.

Autoimmune hepatitis has a global occurrence, diverse clinical phenotype, and evolving treatment options. The goals of this report are to review the codified diagnostic criteria, spectrum of clinical presentations, proposed pathogenic mechanisms, conventional treatment strategies, and promising interventions. The literature published in English from 1980-2005 was reviewed and an updated current perspective provided. Autoimmune hepatitis affects all ages, may be asymptomatic, frequently has an acute onset, and can present as fulminant hepatitis. Perivenular (zone 3) necrosis is within the histological spectrum. Autoimmune hepatitis can recur or develop de novo after liver transplantation. CD4+ T-helper cells and natural killer T cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis, and molecular mimicry may break self-tolerance. DRB1*0301 and DRB1*0401 are the susceptibility alleles among white North Americans and northern Europeans, whereas diverse alleles of HLA DR4 have been associated with the disease in Japan, mainland China, and Mexico. DRB1*1301 is associated with autoimmune hepatitis in South American children, and it may predispose to an indigenous etiologic agent. Antibodies to soluble liver antigen/liver pancreas may have prognostic importance, and cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil must be assessed by clinical trial before incorporation into management algorithms. Sitespecific interventions are feasible, and they require a confident experimental animal model for evaluation. Variant syndromes lack diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. In conclusion, autoimmune hepatitis must be considered in all patients with acute and chronic liver disease and those with allograft dysfunction after transplantation. New immunosuppressive agents and site-specific interventions promise to improve care.
A Revisionist History Of Accounting: From The Origins Of Private Property To Venice In The Pacioli Era

This treatise takes a fresh (and somewhat contrarian) look at the long history of accounting lead-ing up to the time of Luca Pacioli, who has long been considered the father of accounting. It first examines the centuries immediately preceding the time at which Pacioli recorded the Venetian technique of double-entry bookkeeping, in order to reveal why the model appeared in Italy during the fifteenth century. It also addresses the manner in which Paciolis work misdirected accounting historians efforts as they have sought the origins of accounting. Secondly, this treatise looks at stimuli explaining probable origins of accounting in earliest sedentary human cultures, in order to separate origins of accounting activity from the origins of bookkeeping. It is posited not only that the dawn of the institution of private property was the sole requirement for the existence of accounting activity, but that many of the factors (including writing and formalized mathematical systems) often believed to be necessary prerequisites for accountancy are most likely consequences of, not prerequisites to, the accounting process. This treatise concentrates attention on accounting for privately-owned entities rather than governmental accounting issues, partly because Pacioli himself concentrated on that aspect of accounting, but most importantly because everything said herein regarding fundamentals of accountancy is equally valid, with appropriate modifications, for governmental and nonprofit entities.
Experiences, Burdens, and Support Needs in Siblings of Girls and Women with Anorexia Nervosa: Results from a Qualitative Interview Study

For many years, siblings of women and girls suffering from anorexia have been regarded as “the forgotten kin,” as they have been overlooked by both researchers and clinicians. Therefore, the goal of this explorative study was to investigate siblings’ experiences, burdens, and support needs in a differentiated manner. Siblings (n = 16) of patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis “anorexia nervosa” (F 50.0) took part in a qualitative, in-depth interview study; the data were assessed using content analysis. The results of this study should be especially interesting for clinical social work. Using the findings, a variety of concrete recommendations for psycho-social practice can be made, for example regarding the inclusion of siblings in treatment settings, as well as specific support concepts for siblings of anorexic women and girls in different age groups.
A SYNERGETIC GAIT TRANSITION MODEL FOR HYSTERETIC GAIT TRANSITIONS FROM WALKING TO RUNNING

A model for gait transitions from walking to running is proposed. The model is based on the theory of pattern formation and synergetics. Walking and running are considered as spatiotemporal patterns, while walk-to-run and run-to-walk transitions are regarded as bifurcations. Consequently, the model is cast in the form of coupled amplitude equations as known in the literature on pattern formation. It is shown that the model can reproduce hysteretic gait transitions that have been observed in experimental studies with humans walking on treadmills when locomotion speed is gradually increased and decreased. The control parameter is an appropriately rescaled velocity measure, the so-called Froude number, which is a body-scaled parameter that takes leg length into account. It is shown that the model can reproduce observed gait transitions for individuals and populations. In particular, probabilistic functions describing gait transitions on the population level can be defined that resemble the experimentally determined probabilistic function.
Ultrafast Imaging of Surface Plasmons Propagating on a Gold Surface

We record time-resolved nonlinear photoemission electron microscopy (tr-PEEM) images of propagating surface plasmons (PSPs) launched from a lithographically patterned rectangular trench on a flat gold surface. Our tr-PEEM scheme involves a pair of identical, spatially separated, and interferometrically locked femtosecond laser pulses. Power-dependent PEEM images provide experimental evidence for a sequential coherent nonlinear photoemission process, in which one laser source launches a PSP through a linear interaction, and the second subsequently probes the PSP via two-photon photoemission. The recorded time-resolved movies of a PSP allow us to directly measure various properties of the surface-bound wave packet, including its carrier wavelength (783 nm) and group velocity (0.95c). In addition, tr-PEEM images reveal that the launched PSP may be detected at least 250 μm away from the coupling trench structure.
Strategies for Sensor Data Aggregation in Support of Emergency Response

Sensor networks deployed in support of emergency response applications must provide timely and accurate reports of detected events. Aggregation of sensor data is required to accomplish this in an efficient manner. The aggregation problem is complicated by the fact that the perceived value of the data collected by the sensors deteriorates, often dramatically, over time. Individual sensors must determine whether to report a perceived event immediately or to defer reporting until the confidence has increased after aggregating data with neighboring nodes. However, aggregation takes time and the longer the sensors wait, the lower the value of the aggregated information. Our main contribution is a formal look at various novel aggregation strategies that relate aggregation decisions to the ensuing value of information. Our results suggest natural thresholding strategies for aggregating the information collected by groups of sensors. Our results are applicable to emergency response and other similar homeland security and military application domains where there is a strong need to model not only timely aggregation of data collected by individual actors, but also the dynamics of this aggregation. Extensive simulations have confirmed the accuracy of our theoretical predictions.
Increasing Youth Physical Activity with Activity Calendars

Physical educators often struggle with ways to get their students to be active beyond the school day. One strategy to accomplish this is the use of physical activity calendars (PACs). The purpose of this article is to support the use of PACs and give practical advice for creating effective PACs.
Mechanical characterization of natural biodegradable sandwich materials

Natural biodegradable sandwich materials were fabricated and mechanical characterization was performed under flexural and impact loading conditions. The sandwich structure consists of hardwood as face plates, mushroom foam as a core, and natural glue as an adhesive. Two different hardwood layers were used to investigate the effect of thickness and the stiffness on the flexural and impact properties. Under impact loads, two different projectile velocities were employed to understand their effect on energy absorption of the sandwich materials. It was found that the sandwich made using high stiffness wood panels showed improved flexural properties as well as maximum energy absorption at higher impact velocities. The damage of front and rear sides of impact specimens was analyzed to understand the effect of impact velocity on damage zone. The damage area on the rear side of the specimen decreased significantly with high stiffness wood face plates at lower projectile velocity. The increase is energy absorption...
The Role of the International Community

The various national actions proposed in part II are necessary components of the Global Green New Deal; but they are not sufficient. To overcome the challenges facing developing economies will require additional actions by the international community. International cooperation and policy coordination across countries will also assist the effectiveness of the national actions described in part II. The purpose of part III is to suggest how the international community can facilitate the adoption of a GGND strategy by national governments and enhance the benefits gained from such policies in terms of stimulating economic recovery, generating jobs, reducing poverty and sustaining economic development. Chapter 4, in part II, identifies a number of challenges facing developing countries in implementing the GGND. For example, there is a serious “capital gap” preventing developing economies from implementing the proposed national actions over the next one to two years. Equally constraining is the “skills and technology gap”; most developing economies, with the possible exceptions of Brazil, China, India, Russia and other large emerging market economies, do not have the research and development capacity or the skilled workforce to import and adapt the new skills and technology for many of the proposed investments. Both these gaps can be overcome by increased financing, but during the current global economic crisis new financial flows are in short supply. Potential aid flows from donors are likely to be reduced rather than increased. The crisis has unquestionably reduced private investment flows, especially to more risky investments with longer-term returns.
Single-Ended Infrared-Laser-Absorption Sensing of Gas Properties

This paper presents the design and application of a compact, single-ended laser-absorption sensor for measuring temperature and H2O in high-temperature combustion gases. The sensor employs two fiber-coupled, near-infrared diode lasers and a fiber bundle for pitching the laser light and collecting the light that is backscattered off a native surface. The transmitting and receiving end of the sensor is housed within a 1/8” NPT pipe fitting along with a 6 mm diameter lens to increase the collection efficiency. These attributes enable the sensor to be directly integrated into a sealed, high-temperature environment without windows. The sensor was demonstrated with measurements of temperature and H2O mole fraction in a burner using calibration-free wavelength-modulation-spectroscopy techniques with a measurement bandwidth up to 25 kHz.
Peer-to-Peer Ridesharing with Ride-Back on High-Occupancy-Vehicle Lanes: Toward a Practical Alternative Mode for Daily Commuting:

This paper presents a matching and pricing mechanism for a peer-to-peer ridesharing system that ensures a ride-back for matched riders. This service is thus presented as an alternative to driving alone for daily commuting. The matching algorithm is formulated as a minimum-cost, maximum-flow problem that is exact and quickly solvable on polynomial time. The mechanism modeling is based on the Vickrey–Clarke–Groves (VCG) mechanism that is known to be efficient, incentive compatible, and individually rational. However, VCG runs on a budget deficit in a ridesharing setting. To address this issue, participants were classified into drivers and riders in accordance with a novel multiparameter reserve price that fixes the revenue shortage problem and makes the system financially self-sustainable but in detriment of no longer being efficient. Agents’ utility functions include cost-sharing savings and high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) travel time savings. The parametric study uses origin–destination demand data from the ...
Circadian Clocks and Metabolism: Implications for Microbiome and Aging

The circadian clock directs many aspects of metabolism, to separate in time opposing metabolic pathways and optimize metabolic efficiency. The master circadian clock of the suprachiasmatic nucleus synchronizes to light, while environmental cues such as temperature and feeding, out of phase with the light schedule, may synchronize peripheral clocks. This misalignment of central and peripheral clocks may be involved in the development of disease and the acceleration of aging, possibly in a gender-specific manner. Here we discuss the interplay between the circadian clock and metabolism, the importance of the microbiome, and how they relate to aging.
Infliximab for the treatment of CNS sarcoidosis: A multi-institutional series

Objective: To describe clinical and imaging responses in neurosarcoidosis to infliximab, a monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor–α. Methods: Investigators at 6 US centers retrospectively identified patients with CNS sarcoidosis treated with infliximab, including only patients with definite or probable neurosarcoidosis following rigorous exclusion of other causes. Results: Of 66 patients with CNS sarcoidosis (27 definite, 39 probable) treated with infliximab for a median of 1.5 years, the mean age was 47.5 years at infliximab initiation (SD 11.7, range 24–71 years); 56.1% were female; 62.1% were white, 37.0% African American, and 3% Hispanic. Sarcoidosis was isolated to the CNS in 19.7%. Using infliximab doses ranging from 3 to 7 mg/kg every 4–8 weeks, MRI evidence of a favorable treatment response was observed in 82.1% of patients with imaging follow-up (n = 56), with complete remission of active disease in 51.8% and partial MRI improvement in 30.1%; MRI worsened in 1 patient (1.8%). There was clinical improvement in 77.3% of patients, with complete neurologic recovery in 28.8%, partial improvement in 48.5%, clinical stability in 18.2%, worsening in 3%, and 1 lost to follow-up. In 16 patients in remission when infliximab was discontinued, the disease recurred in 9 (56%), typically in the same neuroanatomic location. Conclusions: Most patients with CNS sarcoidosis treated with infliximab exhibit favorable imaging and clinical treatment responses, including some previously refractory to other immunosuppressive treatments. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with CNS sarcoidosis infliximab is associated with favorable imaging and clinical responses.
Pregnancy, Lactation, and Postweaning Recovery

Abstract Pregnancy and lactation require the mother to supply calcium and other minerals to her offspring, and this demand invokes different physiological adaptations within each period. Intestinal calcium absorption more than doubles during pregnancy, whereas the maternal skeleton is resorbed during lactation to provide much of the calcium content of breast milk. Despite calcitriol being a key regulator of intestinal calcium absorption in the adult, there is evidence from animal models and human studies that the doubling of intestinal calcium absorption during pregnancy may not require vitamin D, calcitriol, or the vitamin D receptor. During lactation, upregulated skeletal resorption results from increased numbers and activity of osteoclasts and from osteocytic osteolysis, again without apparently requiring calcitriol. After weaning, the skeleton rapidly regains its prior mineralization and strength through anabolic actions of osteoblasts and osteocytes, but the extent to which this recovery relies on normal vitamin D physiology remains uncertain.
Eknath Easwaran’s Mantram and Passage Meditation as Applied Indian Psychology: Psycho-Spiritual and Health Effects

We review the life and legacy of Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) from the perspective of modern and Indian Psychology. A Kerala-born professor of English literature, Easwaran in 1959 travelled to the USA where he taught a system of eight spiritual practices known as passage meditation (PM). Its characteristic features include its meditative focus on memorized inspirational passages and using mantram repetition as a primarily “portable” practice throughout the day. The PM method is distinctive in emphasizing the principle, otherwise neglected in the modern psychology of meditation, that “we become what we meditate on”—a principle that possesses a basis in traditional Indian sources that include the Vedas, Puranas, Adi Śaṅkara, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Two major programs of empirical research have evaluated Easwaran’s practices, each publishing multiple randomized controlled trials. We summarize findings from (i) studies of the full PM program, and (ii) studies of the Mantram Repetition Program (MRP), based on three of the eight PM points. Randomized evidence links each program to reduced stress, improved mental health, improved mindfulness, and increases in various spiritual measures. We describe ways that PM/MRP empirical research has reflected Indian Psychology perspectives, and suggest that Easwaran’s legacy enriches Indian Psychology with added value in at least three ways: emphasizing the importance of the choice of meditative focus, offering universally framed support for devotional (bhakti) orientations to spirituality, and supplying tools for improving how spiritual diversity is addressed in modern institutions such as health care, schools, and other organizations.
A model parity study on the model predictive control based sensorless current mode

Solar energy has become the go-to solution due to its abundance, yet it is unlike many other conventional sources of energy because of its stochastic nature. To maximize the energy harvest of such intermittent source, robust controllers ought to be used. Researchers have accordingly resorted to modern control techniques, predominantly optimal control methods like model predictive control (MPC). Such modern techniques have proven to track references faster and more accurately; however, they do that at the expense of raising computational costs. The MPC framework is used to eliminate the current sensor in previous work; hence, cut down on the hardware cost of the converter. This paper discusses parity of such observer model, presents results and comparisons on the estimation error for the developed model, and explores areas of improvement for the overall system.
Interferon-gamma release assay test characteristics depend upon the prevalence of active tuberculosis.

CONTEXTE: Les tests cutanes tuberculiniques (TCT) peuvent etre negatifs en l'absence d'une infection tuberculeuse latente (LTBI) ou en presence d'une tuberculose (TB) active. Le meme phenomene est susceptible de se retrouver pour les tests de liberation de l'interferongamma (IGRA). M E T H O D E S : On a developpe un modele mathematique de la specificite des tests de la LTBI en utilisant la theo-rie de probabilite elementaire. On presente ici ses implications pour le schema d'etude de l'IGRA et pour le recueil et l'analyse des donnees. RESULTATS: Ce modele demontre que la specificite de n'importe quel test de la LTBI est theoriquement influencee par sa sensibilite a l'egard de la TB active et par la distribution des cas de TB, de LTBI et de sujets-controle sains. En outre, la modification des valeurs-seuil pour augmenter la sensibilite a l'egard de la TB active entrainera une diminution de specificite pour la LTBI. Les donnees publiees ont ete utilisees pour demontrer ces resultats inattendus. CONCLUSIONS: Par suite des etats de sante fortement dissemblables associes a un test negatif de la LTBI, la specificite de l'IGRA pour la LTBI et sa sensibilite pour la TB active dependent de la prevalence de la TB et de la LTBI. Il existe un compromis entre la specificite de l'IGRA a l'egard de la LTBI et sa sensibilite a l'egard d'une TB active. Les etudes de l'IGRA sur le terrain exigeront un recueil standardise des symptomes de TB active afin de distinguer les suspects de LTBI des suspects de TB. Des valeurs-seuil differentes seront probablement necessaires pour l'utilisation de l'IGRA chez les suspects de TB et chez les suspects de LTBI.
From Episodes to Sagas: Understanding the News by Identifying Temporally Related Story Sequences.

News interfaces are largely driven by recent information, even if many events are better interpreted in context of previous events. To address this problem, we consider the task of constructing an explicit representation of a “saga”—a longrunning series of related events. We define a timeline as a concrete representation of a “saga” and we propose two unsupervised methods for timeline construction and compare their performance to hand-produced timelines using a tree edit distance measure. Preliminary results using these techniques on a weblog corpus and a supplementary news corpus are presented, showing both promise and challenges.
Three ways to make replication mainstream

Zwaan et al. argue convincingly that replication needs to be more mainstream. Here, I suggest three practices for achieving that goal: Incremental Replications, which are built into each experiment in a series of experiments; Reciprocal Replications, which are reciprocal arrangements of co-replications across labs; and Didactic Replications, which are replications used for training.