cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Load Mitigation with Bending/Twist-coupled Blades on Rotors using Modern Control Strategies

The prospect of installing blades that twist as they bend and/or extend on horizontal axis wind turbines provides opportunities for enhanced energy capture and/or load mitigation. Although this coupling could be achieved in either an active or a passive manner, the passive approach is much more attractive owing to its simplicity and economy. As an example, a blade design might employ coupling between bending and twisting, so that as the blade bends owing to the action of the aerodynamic loads, it also twists, modifying the aerodynamic performance in some way. For reducing loads the blades are designed to twist towards feather as they bend. For variable-speed pitch-controlled rotors, dynamic computer simulations with turbulent inflow show that twist coupling substantially decreases fatigue damage over all wind speeds, without reducing average power. Maximum loads also decrease modestly. For constant-speed stall-controlled and variable-speed stall-controlled rotors, significant decreases in fatigue damage are observed at the lower wind speeds and smaller decreases at the higher wind speeds. Maximum loads also decrease slightly. As a general observation, whenever a rotor is operating in the linear aerodynamic range (lower wind speeds for stall control and all wind speeds for pitch control), substantial reductions in fatigue damage are realized. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Naming of Genes

With apologies to T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats,‘The Naming of Cats,’from which this is but a small adaptation.
Analysis of oligodendroglial differentiation using cDNA arrays

We used cDNA arrays to investigate molecular aspects of the differentiation of an immortalized line of oligodendroglial progenitors, and of immunopan-purified primary cultures of oligodendroglial progenitors, to immature oligodendroglia. Developmental regulation of the proteolipid and 2-hydroxyacylsphingosine 1-galactosyltransferase genes was tighter in the primary than in the immortalized cells. Our data suggest that increased expression of genes encoding the following proteins are involved in oligodendroglial differentiation: Fyn, Erk, p85, G-α-12 guanine nucleotide binding, and transducin β-2 signal transduction molecules; glial maturation factor; the proteasomal subunits C8 and C3; the proteasomal targeting molecule polyubiquitin; the cell cycle regulatory proteins Set, protein phosphatase 2A, and nuclear tyrosine phosphatase (PRL-1); and the high-affinity glutamate cotransporter EAAC-1. J. Neurosci. Res. 59:430–435, 2000 © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
CMOS ASIC for MHz silicon BAW gyroscope

The paper reports a CMOS Interface IC designed for electrostatic actuation and read-out a 6 MHz Silicon Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) gyroscope. The supporting electronics for a high quality factor (Q>100,000) BAW gyroscope include: an electro-mechanical drive oscillator loop to excite the gyroscope, a low noise transimpedance front-end that offers gain of 126 dBOmega and 3-dB bandwidth of 26 MHz; and a Coriolis signal demodulator with minimum capacitance resolution of 0.014 aF/radicHz. The interface ASIC, a first for a high frequency BAW gyroscope, is fabricated in a 0.6 mum 2P3M CMOS process, occupies 2.25 mm2 and consumes 10.9 mW. The gyroscope system achieves a noise floor of 0.37deg/radichr/radicHz and rate sensitivity of 205 muW 7 sec.
Power becomes you: The effects of implicit and explicit power on the self

Some power cues are explicit, obvious and salient, while others are implicit, subtle and harder to detect. Drawing from research demonstrating that people assimilate to implicit cues and contrast from explicit ones, we suggest that implicit and explicit power cues have different effects on people. Two laboratory experiments found that when power cues were implicit, people in high power conditions assimilated to stereotypes of power; they had relatively higher independent self construals, and they were more likely to see themselves as autonomous from, rather than connected to, others. The opposite effect emerged when power cues were explicit. These effects were replicated in a third study, where working adults rated their own power at work and the explicitness of power cues in their workplaces. We also found that power and cue explicitness predicted co-worker support, and that this effect was mediated by self construals. These results suggest that the way power is conveyed and expressed can influence important outcomes in organizations.
EFFECT OF SURFACE HETEROGENEITIES ON CONDENSATION ON AN AEROSOL PARTICLE

Abstract Aerosol particles undergo a multitude of interactions with background gases and vapors as a result of their comparatively large surface areas and long residence times in suspension. These interactions, in turn, modify the physical and chemical properties of the particles, including those properties that affect their toxicity. While the importance of these interactions has always been recognized, the subject has assumed even greater importance with the recent recognition of PM-2.5 inhalation related effects. Here, the comparatively larger surface areas of the smaller particles dictate the existence of a quasi-two-dimensional diffusion/adsorption mechanism at the gas–surface boundary. This implies a strong dependence of particle growth rates on the local nature of the often complex and highly variable surface properties of the particles as well as on their morphologies. Both natural and anthropogenic aerosols are equally affected. We develop a mathematical formulation based on the diffusion model approximation which permits the introduction of surface heterogeneities via a surface-dependent jump boundary condition. This boundary condition for the particle surface expresses the diffusant concentration in terms of the product of a surface dependent “jump” function and the normal derivative of the diffusant concentration (i.e. the condensation current). Then, a Green’s function technique is applied to reduce the 3-D problem to a 2-D problem for the particle surface. Here, singularity removal is used to formulate an integro-differential equation which can be solved by numerical techniques. In particular, a numerical formulation based on Gauss–Legendre quadratures of the surface is applied to a spherical particle with an axisymmetric distribution of alternating rings of high and low adsorption. In addition to the global condensation rate on a sphere, local condensation currents at solution sites determined by the nodes of Gauss–Legendre quadratures were calculated. The results demonstrate consistency with a related investigation in which Berg and Purcell calculated the diffusive intake current for a bio-aerosol with a uniform distribution of perfect sink absorption sites sparsely distributed throughout the cell wall (Biophysical J. 20, 193–218, 1977).
Purification of rat liver adenylate kinase isozyme II and comparison with isozyme III

Abstract 1. 1.|Adenylate kinase (ATP:AMP phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.4.3) isozyme II from rat liver was purified 136-fold to a final specific activity of 60 μmoles of ADP produced per min per mg of protein at 25°. This represented a purification to at least 85% homogeneity. Further purification was hampered by the instability of the enzyme. 2. 2.|The final preparation behaved as a single peak in the analytical ultracentrifuge, and gave a single major band and three trace bands on disc gel electrophoresis using sodium dodecul sulfate-urea. 3. 3.|The molecular weight, which was estimated to be 46 000 by Sephadex G-100 chromatography and to be 49 000 by analytical ultracentrifugation was similar to the previously published molecular weight (46 000) of the dimer form of rat liver adenylate kinase isozyme III. 4. 4.|Both isozymes from rat liver can use ATP and dATP as phosphoryl donors. The Km values for ATP was 0.39 mM with isozyme II and 0.43 mM with isozyme III. The Km for dATP was 1.8 mM with isozyme II and 0.83 mM with isozyme III. Both isozymes exhibited about 30 to 35% greater maximal velocity with dATP as a substrate than with ATP. 5. 5.|GTP, dGTP, CTP, UTP, and ITP did not serve as substrates for either isozyme. 6. 6.|Of several nucleoside monophosphates tested with isozyme II, only 5′-AMP served as a phosphoryl acceptor, with a Km value of 0.073 mM. 7. 7.|In the reverse direction (production of ATP), the Km for ADP was 0.3 mM. 8. 8.|Kinetic comparison of isozymes II and III revealed similar substrate specificities, Michaelis constants, inhibition to AMP, stability in acid, and lability in alkali. However, differences were observed in stability in phosphate buffer at 4°, sensitivity to mercurial reagents, and sensitivity to free fatty acids and detergents. 9. 9.|Comparison of physical parameters showed no significant differences between the two isozymes in terms of diffusion coefficients, partial specific volumes, frictional or axial ratios. Whereas isozyme III had the ability to aggregate, isozyme II did not. Also, there were differences in isoelectric points and immunological cross reactivity with antiserum prepared against isozyme III.
Group note taking in mediawiki, a collaborative approach

We present a group note taking project designed to improve student learning. Getting students to actively participate in class can dramatically increase learning outcomes. Traditional lecture methods, where students passively take notes, are not the most effective ways for understanding new material in class. We organized students into groups to record weekly lectures and motivated them through various class based incentives resulting in a living document that captured a semester's worth of class material which helped improve student understanding of the material. We developed the infrastructure to capture these notes using the MediaWiki platform, an easy to use wiki environment. At the University of New Hampshire at Manchester (UNH-M), a commuter college in an urban setting, students tend to be older with their time split between classes and work. For these students, optimally utilizing class time is an important element for success and incorporating active learning methods applied in this work will help develop those skills.
Kinetic Viscoelasticity for the Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Polymeric Systems

Abstract A quantitative description for the dynamic mechanical properties of a reacting system as a function of both the viscoelastic and kinetic intrinsic behavior of the polymeric system was developed in this work. The model was tested experimentally by subjecting plaques of tetraglycidyl-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane partially cured with diaminodiphenyl sulfone to dynamic mechanical measurements at four isothermal temperatures. The kinetic viscoelasticity model was used to analyze the resulting data and to obtain both the characteristic intrinsic kinetic and viscoelastic parameters. The effects of temperature on the model parameters were investigated. Activation energies provided by the model for the curing reaction were found to agree with those obtained experimentally by other techniques. Experimental frequency was found to be an important factor in the kinetic analysis of dynamic mechanical data of curing systems. Finally, the analogy between dielectric relaxation and dynamic mechanical relaxation was...
Integrated cellular and ad hoc relaying systems: iCAR

Integrated cellular and ad hoc relaying systems (iCAR) is a new wireless system architecture based on the integration of cellular and modern ad hoc relaying technologies. It addresses the congestion problem due to unbalanced traffic in a cellular system and provides interoperability for heterogeneous networks. The iCAR system can efficiently balance traffic loads between cells by using ad hoc relaying stations (ARS) to relay traffic from one cell to another dynamically. This not only increases the system's capacity cost effectively, but also reduces the transmission power for mobile hosts and extends system coverage. We compare the performance of the iCAR system with conventional cellular systems in terms of the call blocking/dropping probability, throughput, and signaling overhead via analysis and simulation. Our results show that with a limited number of ARSs and some increase in the signaling overhead (as well as hardware complexity), the call blocking/dropping probability in a congested cell and the overall system can be reduced.
Recruitment patterns and growth of high-elevation pines in response to climatic variability (1883–2013), in the western Great Basin, USA

Over the period 1883–2013, recruitment of subalpine limber pine (Pinus flexilis E. James) and Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey) above the upper tree line, below the lower tr...
Staff Carers' Understanding of End of Life Care

Staff carers in pediatric skilled nursing facilities (PSNF) deal directly with dying residents, and are on the forefront of communication with families. These providers have expressed misunderstandings regarding the meaning of resuscitation status and redirection of care. This descriptive study evaluated perceptions and understanding of end of life issues by the staff in a PSNF who provide care for individuals with severe developmental disabilities and complex medical problems. A 16-item pre-intervention survey was administered to the staff prior to an informational presentation explaining issues related to end of life care. An 8-item post-intervention survey assessed any change in understanding of these issues. A total of 55 persons completed either a pre- or post-intervention survey; 47 staff completed both surveys. While most staff carers were comfortable with providing care for patients with serious illnesses or needing comfort measures (narcotics, oxygen) when they are dying, they are significantly less comfortable with discontinuation of feeds or routine medications at the end of life. Observed was a significant increase in those who indicated it is acceptable to stop feedings for a dying patient in the post-intervention survey, but there no significant difference in understanding of definition of DNR before or after the intervention. Authors note the need to provide more comprehensive information and support to assist staff carers to understand aspects of end of life care in a PSNF setting.
Divisible Load Scheduling: An Approach Using Coalitional Games

Scheduling divisible loads in distributed systems is the subject of divisible load theory (DLT). In this paper we show that coalitional game theory is a natural fit for modeling DLT as the participants in the scheduling algorithm must cooperate in order to execute a job. We devise a coalitional scheduling game in which the job owners and the independent organizations that own processors form coalitions in order to maximize their profits. We examine the payoffs to the participants and show that the core of the proposed coalitional scheduling game is non-empty. Then we examine the "fair sharing" of the payoffs among the participants using the Shapley value. Finally we study by simulation the properties of the proposed coalitional scheduling game considering different distributed systems configurations.
At Risk on the Cusp of Old Age: Living Arrangements and Functional Status Among Black, White and Hispanic Adults

IN middle through early older ages, people live in diverse family structures (Siegel, 1993). A large proportion of adults in their 50s and 60s are “empty nesters,” living only with their spouses. Others live with their children—some with their spouses and children, some with their children only, and some in complex households including their spouses, children, and other relatives. A sizeable minority of persons in this age group lives alone; a smaller minority lives with a cohabiting partner. Finally, a modest but significant number live without spouse or children in complex households. As in other stages of the life course, these patterns differ by race and ethnicity. Single-parent families and multigenerational households are both more common among older Blacks and Hispanics than among older Whites (Himes, Hogan, & Eggebeen, 1996). The various household structures make very different demands on the adults in them and offer very different levels and types of resources. These differences may have implications for the well-being of adults at the threshold of old age. Although most middle-aged adults remain healthy and continue to function at high levels, in late middle age some people begin to experience functional limitations associated with aging (Jette, 1996). Impaired functioning among those living independently—or those on whom others are dependent—points to an increased risk of transition to disability and suggests a potential unmet need for support. In this article, we consider the household as a specific and important context in which functional limitations may create problems for older adults. Using the Health and Retirement Study, we examine the cross-sectional relationship between household structure and levels of physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning for a group of adults poised to become young-old.
Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 using immunomagnetic capture and luciferin-luciferase ATP measurement

Abstract A procedure for rapid assay (about 30 min) of viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 in solutions is described. The bacteria, captured by specific immunomagnetic beads, were lysed by commercially available reagents. The released cellular ATP was determined by the chemiluminescence method using firefly lantern extracts. The ATP content of the E. coli capable of consuming oxygen was influenced by the presence of glucose. The immunomagnetic procedure was applied to determine the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in beef hamburger spiked with the bacteria. After a 6-h enrichment at 37°C, significant ATP luciferin-luciferase bioluminescence was detected from beef hamburger suspensions spiked with less than one CFU/ml of the E. coli . Possible utilization of the developed procedure for practical application is discussed.
A Scalable Parallel Approach for Peptide Identification from Large-Scale Mass Spectrometry Data

Identifying peptides, which are short polymeric chains of amino acid residues in a protein sequence, is of fundamental importance in systems biology research. The most popular approach to identify peptides is through database search. In this approach, an experimental spectrum (``query'') generated from fragments of a target peptide using mass spectrometry is computationally compared with a database of already known protein sequences. The goal is to detect database peptides that are most likely to have generated the target peptide. The exponential growth rates and overwhelming sizes of biomolecular databases make this an ideal application to benefit from parallel computing. However, the present generation of software tools is not expected to scale to the magnitudes and complexities of data that will be generated in the next few years. This is because they are all either serial algorithms or parallel strategies that have been designed over inherently serial methods, thereby requiring high space- and time- requirements. In this paper, we present an efficient parallel approach for peptide identification through database search. Three key factors distinguish our approach from that of existing solutions: i) (space) Given p processors and a database with N residues, we provide the first space-optimal algorithm (O(N/p)) under distributed memory machine model; ii) (time) Our algorithm uses a combination of parallel techniques such as one-sided communication and masking of communication with computation to ensure that the overhead introduced due to parallelism is minimal; and iii) (quality) The run-time savings achieved using parallel processing has allowed us to incorporate highly accurate statistical models that have previously been demonstrated to ensure high quality prediction albeit on smaller scale data. We present the design and evaluation of two different algorithms to implement our approach. Experimental results using 2.65 million microbial proteins show linear scaling up to 128 processors of a Linux commodity cluster, with parallel efficiency at ~50%. We expect that this new approach will be critical to meet the data-intensive and qualitative demands stemming from this important application domain.
The alerting effects of naps in sleep-deprived subjects.

The effect of napping for varying durations after one night of sleep deprivation was examined. Sleep latency tests were used to determine levels of sleepiness/alertness at 2, 4, 6, and 8 hrs following a morning nap of 0, 15, 30, 60, or 120 min duration. Ten normal-sleeping, young adult volunteers spent two consecutive days and the intervening night in the sleep laboratory on each of five weeks. Baseline sleep latencies were recorded the first day, sleep was deprived that night, a nap was taken at 0900 hrs, and sleep latencies were again recorded on the second day. The naps had differential alerting effects related to their duration, but none of the naps returned mean sleep latency for the 8 hrs to its basal levels. Alertness increased with nap duration, reaching its highest level with a 60-min nap; the 120-min nap was no more alerting than the 60-min nap. During the second hour of the 120-min nap, sleep became more fragmented with more shifts to stage 1 sleep or wake. Increased alertness was not strongly related to the sleep stage composition of the naps, the best predictor being minutes of slow wave sleep. Increased alertness was not detected until the second latency test 4 hrs after napping.
Tooth-surface-specific Effects of Xylitol Randomized Trial Results

The Xylitol for Adult Caries Trial was a three-year, double-blind, multi-center, randomized clinical trial that evaluated the effectiveness of xylitol vs. placebo lozenges in the prevention of dental caries in caries-active adults. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to investigate whether xylitol lozenges had a differential effect on cumulative caries increments on different tooth surfaces. Participants (ages 21-80 yrs) with at least one follow-up visit (n = 620) were examined at baseline, 12, 24, and 33 months. Negative binomial and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) for xylitol's differential effect on cumulative caries increments on root and coronal surfaces and, among coronal surfaces, on smooth (buccal and lingual), occlusal, and proximal surfaces. Participants in the xylitol arm developed 40% fewer root caries lesions (0.23 D2FS/year) than those in the placebo arm (0.38 D2FS/year; IRR = 0.60; 95% CI [0.44, 0.81]; p < .001). There was no statistically significant difference between xylitol and control participants in the incidence of smooth-surface caries (p = .100), occlusal-surface caries (p = .408), or proximal-surface caries (p = .159). Among these caries-active adults, xylitol appears to have a caries-preventive effect on root surfaces (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00393055).
Complications of irradiation related to apparent drug potentiation by adriamycin

Abstract Clinical observations were made on 18 patients who were treated with combined irradiation and chemotherapy. A total of 21 irradiation reactions were noted, remarkable for their severity and persistence. Adriamycin (ADM) was the one drug common to all chemotherapeutic regimens. The reactions involved skin, esophagus, heart, lung and oral mucosa. No consistent pattern was established between the type or severity of reaction and the dose of drug or irradiation, nor of the temporal relationship of one to the other. It appears that ADM toxicity may potentiate irradiation reactions and that a “standard” total dose may be equivalent to a dose of irradiation on the order of 1000 rad. Since ADM persists in body tissues for prolonged periods of time, irradiation reactions may occur unexpectedly. All reactions improved, but eventual long-term effects cannot be determined at this time. A plea is made for controlled observations to determine safe schedules for the combination of these agents.
Gender and disorder in early modern Seville

In this exploration of crisis in Counter-Reformation Spain, Mary Elizabeth Perry reveals the significance of gender for social order by portraying the lives of women who lived on the margins of respectability--prostitutes, healers, visionaries, and other deviants who provoked the concern of a growing central government linked closely to the church. Focusing on Seville, the commercial capital of Habsburg Spain, Perry uses rich archival sources to document the economic and spiritual activity of women, and efforts made by civil and church authorities to control this activity, during a period of local economic change and religious turmoil. In analyzing such sources as art and literature from the period, women's writings, Inquisition records, and laws and regulations, Perry finds that social definitions of what it meant to be a woman or a man persisted due to their sanctification by religious ideas and their adaptation into political order. She describes the tension between gender ideals and actual conditions in women's lives, and shows how some women subverted the gender order by using a surprisingly wide variety of intellectual and physical strategies.
A Theoretical Framework for Managing the New Product Development Portfolio: When and How to Use Strategic Buckets

Developing the “right” new products is critical to firm success and is often cited as a key competitive dimension. This paper explores new product development (NPD) portfolio strategy and the balance between incremental and radical innovation. We characterize innovative effort through a normative theoretical framework that addresses a popular practice in NPD portfolio management: the use of strategic buckets. Strategic buckets encourage the division of the overall NPD resource budget into smaller, more focused budgets that are defined by the type of innovative effort (incremental or radical). We show that time commitment determines the balance between incremental and radical innovation. When managers execute this balance, they are often confounded by (i) environmental complexity, defined as the number of unknown interdependencies among technology and market parameters that determine product performance; and (ii) environmental instability, the probability of changes to the underlying performance functions. Although both of these factors confound managers, we find that they have completely opposite effects on the NPD portfolio balance. Environmental complexity shifts the balance toward radical innovation. Conversely, environmental instability shifts the balance toward incremental innovation. Risk considerations and implications for theory and practice are also discussed.
Sensitivity of double-gate and FinFETDevices to process variations

We investigate the manufacturability of 20-nm double-gate and FinFET devices in integrated circuits by projecting process tolerances. Two important factors affecting the sensitivity of device electrical parameters to physical variations were quantitatively considered. The quantum effect was computed using the density gradient method and the sensitivity of threshold voltage to random dopant fluctuation was studied by Monte Carlo simulation. Our results show the 3/spl sigma/ value of V/sub T/ variation caused by discrete impurity fluctuation can be greater than 100%. Thus, engineering the work function of gate materials and maintaining a nearly intrinsic channel is more desirable. Based on a design with an intrinsic channel and ideal gate work function, we analyzed the sensitivity of device electrical parameters to several important physical fluctuations such as the variations in gate length, body thickness, and gate dielectric thickness. We found that quantum effects have great impact on the performance of devices. As a result, the device electrical behavior is sensitive to small variations of body thickness. The effect dominates over the effects produced by other physical fluctuations. To achieve a relative variation of electrical parameters comparable to present practice in industry, we face a challenge of fin width control (less than /spl sim/1 nm 3/spl sigma/ value of variation) for the 20-nm FinFET devices. The constraint of the gate length variation is about 10/spl sim/15%. We estimate a tolerance of 1/spl sim/2 /spl Aring/ 3/spl sigma/ value of oxide thickness variation and up to 30% front-back oxide thickness mismatch.
Generation of Mutant Murine Cytomegalovirus Strains from Overlapping Cosmid and Plasmid Clones

Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is widely used as a model virus system for the study of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) pathogenesis. MCMV and HCMV share an essentially collinear arrangement of genes (7, 31) and similar pathogenesis in their respective hosts (18). Our understanding of MCMV and HCMV biology has been greatly facilitated by the construction of recombinant viruses bearing specific mutations in genes of interest. The most widely used approach to construct recombinant MCMV involves the introduction of viral DNA and a plasmid bearing the target gene adjacent to a selectable marker and/or reporter gene into permissive cells (reviewed in reference 28). Mutant viruses arise by homologous recombination between the viral DNA and homologous sequences flanking the target gene and are isolated by multiple rounds of plaque purification. In addition, CMV genomes have been isolated as infectious bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) and, from these, specific mutants were constructed (2, 4, 27). A recent version of the MCMV BAC regenerates an intermediate virus that can delete its BAC-specific sequences when passaged in vitro, yielding progeny virus that replicates at wild-type levels in vivo (38). The CMV BACs have proven to be useful in the identification of open reading frames (ORFs) necessary for MCMV replication (5). However, the construction of BAC mutants requires challenging genetic manipulations to enable allelic exchange in Escherichia coli (30). Alternatively, sets of overlapping cosmid and plasmid clones have been used in the construction and direct recovery of herpesvirus mutants that do not contain extra genetic material (10, 11, 22, 32, 36, 37). The utility of cosmids and plasmids for the rapid generation of mutant herpesviruses was demonstrated by the isolation of 17 different HCMV UL54 mutants (9). Here we describe the isolation of an infectious set of cosmid clones for MCMV and its development into a system for generating specific MCMV mutants. The utility of this system was demonstrated by the generation of two mutant MCMV strains by replacement of one cosmid with two different series of overlapping subclones. These combinations of cosmids and plasmids generated mutant strains of MCMV without the need for plaque purification.
Nano-scale quantum dot optical transducers by self-assembly

We propose a nano-scale optical transducer for future all-optical quantum circuits. The device is comprised of an array of quantum dot islands between opposing electrodes, fabricated by self-assembly. The device operates under low bias and produces a measurable photocurrent in response to light. Modeling, fabrication, and preliminary experimental results are presented in this paper.
Foreword: Special Issue on Aging and Nursing Homes for The Aging International Journal

I am very pleased to introduce this Special Issue on Aging and Nursing Homes in Europe and North America for The Aging International Journal. This Special Issue has articles covering aging topics from different countries around the world. This Special Issue consists of seven papers that address topics from different perspectives of interest to healthcare policy makers, academic researchers and practitioners. The Special Issue Call for Papers was posted and advertised on a national and international scale. All of the papers for this Special Issue were subjected to blind peer review and the authors revised the manuscripts in accordance with the Guest Editor’s and reviewers’ comments. The Editor would like to thank Dr. Adnan Kisa, President of Zirve University—Turkey for his support and Dr. WilliamWard at University of South Florida, also special thanks to the International Editorial Board of this issue for their service and comments. This issue would never see the light without the support and patience I received from Professor Sue Levkov at the University of South Carolina and Professor Hongtu Chen at Partners HealthCare, in Boston, MA. The completion of this Special Issue would not have been possible without the many hours contributed by all of the anonymous reviewers who dedicated their time and expertise to help make this Special Issue a reality. I trust that the reader will find the papers in this Special Issue to be both interesting and provocative, and that they will motivate further research, case studies and demonstrations in the field of Public Health.
SLIM revisited

SLIM (spectroscopic localization by imaging), a tool for in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy that provides compartmental spectra from relatively few phase-encoded data, is limited by the inhomogeneities within each compartment. It is shown that the SLIM-derived spectra approach the average compartmental spectra as the number of phase encoded data approaches infinity, and the convergent rate of the error for each compartment is proportional to the size of the compartment. Numerical simulation studies are conducted to confirm the convergence property. A detailed discussion of the result is provided. >
Robust grain supply chain design considering post-harvest loss and harvest timing equilibrium

This paper presents a bi-level robust optimization model, where a food company maximizes its profit and minimizes post-harvest loss by optimally deploying grain processing/storage facilities and determining grain purchase price, while a group of spatially distributed non-cooperative farmers determine harvest time, shipment, storage, and market decisions under yield uncertainty and market equilibrium. The non-cooperative behavior of the food company and the farmers is represented by a bi-level Stackelberg leader follower’s game model with mixed-integer decision variables. The proposed model and solution approach are applied to case studies for Illinois and Brazil.
Safeguards performance model for evaluation of potential safeguards strategies applied to pyroprocessing facilities

Abstract Electrochemical reprocessing has been proposed as a spent fuel disposition technique. If implemented on a commercial scale, traditional safeguards approaches used to satisfy IAEA requirements may be insufficient. To aid in testing safeguard strategies, a new tool was developed: the Pyroprocessing Safeguards Performance Model, a MATLAB/Simulink simulation of plant operations capable of calculating inventory differences for a specified balance period as well as sensitivity studies of detection measurements. This paper discusses the development of the model and a measurement uncertainty study performed using the model.
Studies of histidine as a suitable isoelectric buffer for tryptic digestion and isoelectric trapping fractionation followed by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for proteomic analysis.

The use of histidine as a protein digestion buffer followed by isoelectric trapping separations using “membrane separated wells for isoelectric focusing and trapping” (MSWIFT) and mass spectrometry (MS) analysis is described. Tryptic digestion of bovine serum albumin (BSA) performed in histidine buffered solutions yields similar amino acid sequence coverage values to those obtained using ammonium bicarbonate buffer. Time course studies suggest that histidine buffers provide faster migration of peptides from the loading compartment compared to digestions prepared in ammonium bicarbonate due to differences in conductivities of the two buffers. In addition, this sample preparation method and MSWIFT separations have been coupled with capillary electrophoresis (CE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) as an alternative separation approach for proteomic studies. Tryptic peptides of ribosomal proteins in histidine are fractionated using MSWIFT followed by CE–MALDI-MS, whic...
Endoscopic Approaches to Rectal Neoplasia

Flexible endoscopic examination of the rectum and colon is quite common and has advantages over the rigid trans-anal endoscopic examination and resection techniques. Flexible endoscopy allows examination of the entire colon and has become the most common gastroenterology procedure in the world. While there remains developed countries that do not promote routine colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, the technology is readily available in most medical centers. High definition imaging improves detection and visualization of the lesion margins. The majority of polyps can be easily removed during colonoscopy with routine cold or cautery snares. Removal of larger neoplasia previously referred for surgery is possible with advanced endoscopic techniques discussed in this chapter. An important concept in the endoscopic therapy of advanced colorectal neoplasia is recognition of lesion morphology, and important mucosal characteristics are summarized in this chapter.
Phalloplasty in congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Abstract The Allen-Spence technique for phalloplasty, emphasizing corporeal enucleation with preservation of the glans, was done in 11 patients. The surgical details are presented. The cosmetic and functional advantages of the technique are discussed, with particular emphasis on 2 patients who have been sexually active before and after surgery.
Targeted next generation sequencing of endoscopic ultrasound acquired cytology from ampullary and pancreatic adenocarcinoma has the potential to aid patient stratification for optimal therapy selection

// Ferga C. Gleeson 1 , Sarah E. Kerr 2 , Benjamin R. Kipp 2 , Jesse S. Voss 2 , Douglas M. Minot 2 , Zheng Jin Tu 3 , Michael R. Henry 2 , Rondell P. Graham 2 , George Vasmatzis 4 , John C. Cheville 4 , Konstantinos N. Lazaridis 1, 4 , Michael J. Levy 1 1 Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA 3 Division of Biomedical Statics & Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA 4 Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA Correspondence to: Ferga C. Gleeson, email: gleeson.ferga@mayo.edu Keywords: endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, targeted next-generation sequencing, mutation concordance, personalized medicine Received: April 04, 2016 Accepted: April 24, 2016 Published: May 18, 2016 ABSTRACT Background & Aims: Less than 10% of registered drug intervention trials for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) include a biomarker stratification strategy. The ability to identify distinct mutation subsets via endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration (EUS FNA) molecular cytology could greatly aid clinical trial patient stratification and offer predictive markers. We identified chemotherapy treatment naive ampullary adenocarcinoma and PDAC patients who underwent EUS FNA to assess multigene mutational frequency and diversity with a surgical resection concordance assessment, where available. Methods: Following strict cytology smear screening criteria, targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) using a 160 cancer gene panel was performed. Results: Complete sequencing was achieved in 29 patients, whereby 83 pathogenic alterations were identified in 21 genes. Cytology genotyping revealed that the majority of mutations were identified in KRAS (93%), TP53 (72%), SMAD4 (31%), and GNAS (10%). There was 100% concordance for the following pathogenic alterations: KRAS, TP53, SMAD4, KMT2D, NOTCH2, MSH2, RB1, SMARCA4, PPP2R1A, PIK3R1, SCL7A8, ATM, and FANCD2. Absolute multigene mutational concordance was 83%. Incremental cytology smear mutations in GRIN2A, GATA3 and KDM6A were identified despite re-examination of raw sequence reads in the corresponding resection specimens. Conclusions: EUS FNA cytology genotyping using a 160 cancer gene NGS panel revealed a broad spectrum of pathogenic alterations. The fidelity of cytology genotyping to that of paired surgical resection specimens suggests that EUS FNA represents a suitable surrogate and may complement the conventional stratification criteria in decision making for therapies and may guide future biomarker driven therapeutic development.
The Relationship between the Experience of Hypomimia and Social Wellbeing in People with Parkinson's Disease and their Care Partners.

BACKGROUND Though hypomimia, also called facial masking, is experienced by many people with Parkinson's disease (PD), little is known about how the experience of this motor impairment relates to their own and their care partners' (CP) social life and relationship quality. OBJECTIVE To test if the experience of facial masking relates to social wellbeing in people with PD and their CPs. METHOD Forty individuals with PD and their CPs rated PD's difficulty showing facial expression (facial masking), and completed questionnaires about their own social wellbeing and depression. RESULTS PD-reported and CP-reported facial masking of PD were positively correlated with experience of social rejection in both partners, though this relationship was diminished when controlling for depression. CPs' rating of their partner's facial masking was negatively associated with enjoyment interacting with their partner. This relationship remained when controlling for CP and PD depression. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that the experience of facial masking is negatively associated with social wellbeing particularly for the CPs, and especially so for the quality of CPs interpersonal relationship with their partner with PD.
Development of a Diagnostic Decision Tree for Rapidly Progressive Dementia (P5.182)

OBJECTIVE: To develop a diagnostic decision tree for the evaluation of rapidly progressive dementias (RPDS), including convening a consensus panel of national experts. BACKGROUND: The RPDs are a group of heterogeneous disorders including autoimmune encephalopathies and prion diseases that often are not readily diagnosed. Delays in diagnosis may occur in part because of diagnostic complexity or in some cases because of a lack of practice parameters. Diagnostic delay can lead to increased morbidity and mortality, especially for antibody-mediated and other potentially reversible dementias. Standardized decision support tools based on consensus guidelines should enable a broader range of clinicians to identify, evaluate, appropriately treat and/or refer RPD patients. DESIGN/METHODS: RPD was defined as the rapid onset of dementia over a period of less than two years, typically less than six months. A panel of national dementia experts was convened to review elements of the RPD decision tree. MRI parameters, including optimized sequences for prion and autoimmune disorders, were established for 1.5 and 3T scanners for the evaluation of RPD. RESULTS: An algorithm to guide clinical decisions was constructed based on literature review utilizing clinical signs and symptoms, a standardized MRI protocol, laboratory and other testing. Review of the algorithm by an expert consensus panel led to additional modifications, including a delirium assessment. Educational materials were developed by dementia healthcare professionals to guide clinical management. CONCLUSIONS: This algorithm, including a diagnostic decision tree, should facilitate the diagnosis of RPDs. This diagnostic pathway should lessen morbidity and reduce the cost of medical care for patients with RPD by standardizing evaluations and empowering clinicians to aid in the early identification of reversible forms of dementia. Integration into an EMR/IT-based dementia care pathway should further improve the utility of this algorithm. Study supported by an NIH R01 AG031189 grant and support from Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Disclosure: Dr. Gelfand has received personal compensation for activities as a medical-legal consultant. Dr. Fredericks has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rabinowitz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rankin has research support from Quest Diagnostics. Dr. Hess has nothing to disclose. Dr. Paoletti has nothing to disclose. Dr. Higgins has received personal compensation for activities with Quest Diagnostics. Dr. Williams has received personal compensation for activities with Quest Diagnostics as an employee. Dr. Miller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rosen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Geschwind has received personal compensation for activities with Best Doctors, Advanced Medical, Guidepoint Global, Gerson-Lehrman Group, and Quest Diagnostics. Dr. Geschwind has received research support from NIH/NIA, the Tau Consortium, Michael J. H
Response and resilience of Spartina alterniflora to sudden dieback

We measured an array of biophysical and spectral variables to evaluate the response and recovery of Spartina alterniflora to a sudden dieback event in spring and summer 2004 within a low marsh in coastal Virginia, USA. S. alterniflora is a foundation species, whose loss decreases ecosystem services and potentiates ecosystem state change. Long-term records of the potential environmental drivers of dieback such as precipitation and tidal inundation did not evidence any particular anomalies, although Hurricane Isabel in fall 2003 may have been related to dieback. Transects were established across the interface between the dieback area and apparently healthy areas of marsh. Plant condition was classified based on ground cover within transects as dieback, intermediate and healthy. Numerous characteristics of S. alterniflora culms within each condition class were assessed including biomass, morphology and spectral attributes associated with photosynthetic pigments. Plants demonstrated evidence of stress in 2004 and 2005 beyond areas of obvious dieback and resilience at a multi-year scale. Resilience of the plants was evident in recovery of ground cover and biomass largely within 3 y, although a small remnant of dieback persisted for 8 y. Culms surviving within the dieback and areas of intermediate impact had modified morphological traits and spectral response that reflected stress. These morphometric and spectral differences among plant cover condition classes serve as guidelines for monitoring of dieback initiation, effects and subsequent recovery. Although a number of environmental and biotic parameters were assessed relative to causation, the reason for this particular dieback remains largely unknown, however.
Major review: Exfoliation syndrome; advances in disease genetics, molecular biology, and epidemiology

Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is a common age-related disorder that leads to deposition of extracellular fibrillar material throughout the body. The most recognized disease manifestation is exfoliation glaucoma (XFG), which is a common cause of blindness worldwide. Recent developments in XFS genetics, cell biology and epidemiology have greatly improved our understanding of the etiology of this complex inherited disease. This review summarizes current knowledge of XFS pathogenesis, identifies gaps in knowledge, and discusses areas for future research.
Lightweight secure sensing using hardware isolation

This paper develops a new lightweight secure sensing technique using hardware isolation. We focus on protecting the sensor from unauthorized accesses, which can be issued by attackers attempting to compromise the security and privacy of the sensed data. We satisfy the security requirements by employing the hardware isolation feature provided by the secure processor of the target sensor system. In particular, we deploy the sensor in a hardware isolated secure environment, which eliminates the potential vulnerability exposed to unauthorized attackers. We implement the hardware isolation-based secure sensing approach on an Xilinx Zynq-7000 SoC leveraging ARM TrustZone. Our experiments and security analysis on the real hardware prove the effectiveness and low overhead of the proposed approach.