cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Technical assessment of the CLEERGAS moving grate-based process for energy generation from municipal solid waste

A technical analysis has been completed for a commercial-scale two-stage gasification-combustion system. The CLEERGAS (Covanta Low Emissions Energy Recovery GASification) process consists of partial combustion and gasification of as-received municipal solid waste (MSW) on a moving grate producing syngas followed by full combustion of the generated syngas in an adjoining chamber and boiler. This process has been in operation since 2009 on a modified 330-tonne day(-1) waste-to-energy (WTE) line in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Material balances determined that the syngas composition is 12.8% H2 and 11.4% CO, the heating value of the gas in the gasifier section is 4098 kJ Nm(-3), and an aggregate molecular formula for the waste is C6H14.5O5. The analysis of gas measurements sampled from the Tulsa unit showed that the gasification-combustion mode fully processed the MSW at an excess air input of only 20% as compared to the 80-100% typically found in conventional WTE moving grate plants. Other important attributes of the CLEERGAS gasification-combustion process are that it has operated on a commercial scale for a period of over two years with 93% availability and utilizes a moving grate technology that is currently used in hundreds of WTE plants around the world.
α-Synuclein and LRRK2: Partners in Crime

In this issue of Neuron , Lin et al. report that LRRK2 modulates age-related neurodegeneration caused by overexpression of α-synuclein in the forebrain of transgenic mice. Overexpression of LRRK2 accelerates the progression of α-synuclein-mediated neuropathological changes, whereas deletion of LRRK2 alleviates these alterations. The results reveal an interesting interaction between α-synuclein and LRRK2, two gene products linked to dominantly inherited Parkinson's disease.
An application of spatial deconvolution to a capillary-based high-pressure chamber for fluorescence microscopy imaging

Summary Capillary-based high-pressure chambers for which the wall serves as both the optical window and mechanical support have been reported for fluorescence microscopy imaging. Although capillary chambers are straightforward and economical to construct, the curved capillary wall introduces image aberrations. The significance of these aberrations in imaging sub-cellular-dimension objects has yet to be assessed. Using a capillary chamber that is routinely pressurized to between 20 and 30 MPa, a pressure range suitable for studying a wide variety of cellular processes, we demonstrate sub-cellular-dimension spatial resolution in the imaging of fluorescent micro-spheres. Objectives with a range of numerical apertures (0.5–1.3) and working distances (0.1–7.4 mm) are considered. We show that spatial (or point-spread function, PSF) deconvolution improves image contrast in capillary-based images by comparing deconvolution results with those obtained from slide-mounted controls. Furthermore, similar deconvolution results between a measured PSF and a calculated, flat-geometry PSF indicate that the capillary wall is optically flat on cellular length scales. Results here facilitate the application of contemporary techniques in fluorescence microscopy to high-pressure imaging fields.
Library Skills for Active Learning about Health Problems and Choices

(1997). Library Skills for Active Learning about Health Problems and Choices. Journal of Health Education: Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 109-111.
Proteinases of silkmoth moulting fluid: Physical and catalytic properties

Abstract Proteolytic activity of silkmoth moulting fluid is attributable to two catalytically similar enzymes that appear during the last week of adult development in the pharate adult stage. These proteinases have been partially purified and separated by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The two enzymes are present in approximately equal amounts. Both are weakly acidic, with a mol. wt. of 30,000 and 34,000, respectively. They show maximal stability and optimal enzymatic activity near the mildly alkaline pH characteristic of moulting fluid. Inhibitory effects of diisopropyl fluorophosphate and of high concentrations of Hg2+ suggest the presence of serine and histidine in the active centres, and inactivation by soybean trypsin inhibitor and by benzamidine further suggests some similarities to mammalian trypsin. Tyrosinase rapidly and irreversibly inactivates the proteinases. The enzymes hydrolyse several protein substrates but have a strict esterase specificity, restricted to esters of arginine and lysine, with a marked preference for arginine. The physical and catalytic properties of the enzymes are compared with those of mammalian trypsin and of invertebrate serine proteinases having trypsin-like specificity.
Effects of overlay designs on reliability of flexible pavements

Management of flexible pavements requires timely application of preventive maintenance and rehabilitation actions such as overlays. These actions are an integral part of a design strategy that minimises the use of recourses over the pavement's life-cycle. The objective of this paper is to develop a reliability model for flexible pavements that accounts for the effects of overlay designs. In this paper, the pavement responses are determined by the linear theory of elasticity for the system of pavement layers, while the pavement reliability is represented as a series system of two failure criteria: fatigue cracking and rutting. To illustrate the developed model, a numerical study is presented. Sensitivity and importance measures are computed for the parameters and the random variables included in the limit state functions. The sensitivity measures suggest that the initial asphalt layer thickness and the sub-grade stiffness are the critical predictors of the pavement performance after application of a struct...
3-D Image-Guided Raman Characterization in a Phantom Study

We demonstrate model-based image reconstruction of Raman measurements obtained experimentally. Results show that Raman characterization with accurate localization is possible with anatomical priors. This method has been extended to Raman imaging of dog tibia in-vivo.
Inhibition of compensatory lung growth in endothelial nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice

Pneumonectomy results in rapid compensatory growth of the remaining lung and also leads to increased flow and shear stress, which are known to stimulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Ni...
Evidence for idiotypic sharing between conventional and naturally activated B cells

In the primary immune response to hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL), approximately 50% of the primary anti-HEL antibody-forming cells (AFC) express IdXE, an idiotype absent from the secondary response. Spontaneous IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-AFC in spleen cells from naive A/J mice were analyzed for the occurrence of IdXE by use of two affinity-purified rabbit antisera, R213 and R8, each raised against a different primary IdXE+, anti-HEL mAb. Two ELISA-AFC assay methods were used: direct coating of immunoplates with R213 or development of IgM-producing ELISA-AFC with biotinylated R8. From ages 7 days until 6 months, 10-20% of spontaneous IgM AFC were found to be IdXE+. IdXE+ anti-HEL IgG1 monoclonal antibodies, 2F4 or 3C11 (100 micrograms/ml), completely inhibited binding of biotinylated R8 (0.5 micrograms/ml) to spontaneous IgM-AFC while IdXE-, anti-HEL IgG1, 5E11 and 2C7, showed no significant inhibition. Greater than 90% of IdXE+ spontaneous IgM-AFC were not HEL specific. We conclude that a dominant set of idiotopes found in a conventional antigen-driven immune response can also play a major role in the spontaneously activated B cell repertoire. Our data argue against a bifurcation of the immune system into a compartment of idiotypic network-related cells and an independent set of non-network cells subject to antigenic stimulation.
ECTOPARASITES COLLECTED FROM BOBWHITE QUAIL IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Twenty-one species of ectoparasites representing 19 genera were collected from 481 bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) from nine areas in four southeastern states. Sixteen species, Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, Haemaphysalis chordeilis, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Eutrombicula alfreddugesi alfreddugesi, Neoschoengastia americana, Boydaia colini, Pterolichus sp., Colinophilus wilsoni, Megninia sp., Apionacarus wilsoni, Colinoptes cubanensis, Menacanthus pricei, Colinicola numidiana, Gonoides ortygis and Oxylipeurus clavatus were previously known from bobwhites, whereas five species, Ixodes minor, Neotrombicula whartoni, Dermoglyphus sp., Microlichus sp. and Rivoltasia sp. (near coturnicola) represented new host-parasite associations. Data are presented giving prevalence, geographic location, host age and numbers of quail infested with each species. Significant lesions were not associated with any species.
Use of Lipid Emulsion to Reverse Local Anesthetic–Induced Toxicity

Objective:To evaluate the use of lipid emulsion for reversal of local anesthetic–induced toxicity.Data Sources:Literature was accessed through PubMed and OVID (1966–May 2007) using the search terms lipid emulsion and local anesthetic. Reference lists were consulted to identify additional publications.Study Selection and Data Extraction:All articles published in English were evaluated for inclusion. Publications describing the use of lipid emulsion for reversal of local anesthetic in either humans or animals were included.Data Synthesis:It has been suggested that lipid emulsion (Intralipid) may reverse local anesthetic toxicity by extracting lipophilic local anesthetics from aqueous plasma or tissues or by counteracting local anesthetic inhibition of myocardial fatty acid oxygenation. Studies in rats and dogs have shown that lipid emulsion is effective in resuscitating animals who are asystolic after the administration of intravenous bupivacaine. Three case reports support the use of lipid emulsion to reve...
Biomarker testing for suspected autism spectrum disorder in early childhood: is such testing now feasible?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a genetic malady comprising a cluster of pervasive developmental brain dysfunctions resulting in social, language, cognition and speech deficits. ASD is difficult to diagnose in the neonate where dis tinct anatomical defects are not apparent other than head size and intraocular distance. Hence, clinical diagnoses are delayed to later in childhood (2–4 years), a time when nerve networking and patterning are already being established. Such infants will be deprived of presently available clinical interventions such as neurological examinations, speech, language and trainings, cognitive evaluations and sociological training interactions involving behavior modification. Presently, there are no ASD early childhood testing programs in place despite accounting analyses revealing lifetime costs of US$3.5 million per capita. Since abnormal serum levels of brain neuropeptides have now been linked to ASD in the biomedical literature, is it now feasible to implement pilot studies of early childhood testing for ASD? ASD is a severely disabling inherited condi
Diagnosis and cure of a transverse instability in the NSLS VUV ring

In the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) ring, a beam instability occurred as a function of cavity tuner position, restricting the operating range of the tuner and requiring the cavity to operate at an elevated temperature to compensate. The cavity mode responsible for the instability was diagnosed and subsequently damped with a tuned probe terminated in 50 Omega . The instability was cured, and has not been observed up to the design current of 1-A stored beam. >
WATER LOSS, THERMAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF DRY COOKED POTATO TUBERS

Rates of water loss and temperature profiles and concentric regional moisture contents were determined for 100 g cylindrical potato tuber samples heated at temperatures of 99°C, 143°C and 177°C. Heats of gelatinization for potato tuber were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Structural changes were observed at various cooking times and dryness levels of heated potato tuber. It was found that the rate of moisture loss is controlled by the gelatinization of the starch which seems to occur almost simultaneously throughout the sample for this sample size. Initial water loss was also controlled by the rate at which the temperature rose to 100°C until the falling rate period began. From SEM measurement of the dry surface crust which is formed early during the heating process, it was concluded that the crust is the main thermal resistance to cooking.
Community-based interventions to optimize early childhood development in low resource settings.

Objective: Interventions targeting the early childhood period (0 to 3 years) help to improve neuro-cognitive functioning throughout life. Some of the more low cost, low resource-intensive community practices for this age-group are play, reading, music and tactile stimulation. This research was conducted to summarize the evidence regarding the effectiveness of such strategies on child development, with particular focus on techniques that may be transferable to developing countries and to children at risk of developing secondary impairments.
The Correctional Institution for Juvenile Offenders: An Analysis of Organizational “Character”

types of organizations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the juvenile correctional institution as one type of large-scale social organization.* First of all, institutions for delinquents share with other organizations, such as hospitals, certain attributes usually associated with communities. Secondly, they belong to a class of large-scale social organizations that have multiple goals, and thus have functional problems like these organizations. Thirdly, correctional institutions are of interest because of their critical role in our society's attempt to minimize anti-social behavior. In this paper the major patterns of similarity and dissimilarity between correctional institutions and other types of organizations will be delineated and explained. Further, some of the dimensions along which correctional institutions vary among themselves will be indicated. A "character analysis" of these organizations, as systems of action, may make it possible (a) to summarize and integrate a scattered body of knowledge; (b) to specify areas where research is needed; and (c) to set forth some concepts and dimensions that may be useful in such research.
Endoscopic full-thickness resection with laparoscopic assistance

Endoscopic full-thickness resection of gastrointestinal (GI) tumors has been applied to the management of premalignant, early malignant, and indolent tumors of the GI tract to spare morbidity associated with traditional surgical approaches. Increasingly, a combined laparoscopic-endoscopic approach is being used to treat lesions that are not amenable to endoscopic resection alone. Case reports and small case series have demonstrated utility for lesions such as gastric GI stromal tumors, early gastric carcinomas, small duodenal masses, and colonic polyps or masses. Although promising, further research is necessary to determine the best indications for such an approach, and to compare long-term outcomes to those achieved with more traditional approaches.
Two new techniques for compiled multi-delay logic simulation

The authors describe two techniques for compiled event driven multidelay logic simulation that provide significant performance improvements over interpreted multidelay logic simulation. These two techniques are based on the concept of retargetable branch instructions that can be used to switch segments of code into and out of the instruction stream. The second algorithm, called the shadow technique, has been designed especially for systems with instruction caches. Benchmark experiments showed that these two techniques were up to 15 times faster than the interpreted multidelay simulator, with an average improvement of about five times for the fastest method. >
Delamination Fracture Toughness of Graphite and Aramid Epoxy Composites

The delamination fracture toughness of graphite and aramid-epoxy composite laminates was determined as a function of loading rate for unidirectional and woven reinforcements. In addition, the in-situ fracture toughness of the epoxy matrix was obtained by determining the crack energy release rate during the delamination fracture of thin epoxy films. The fracture surfaces were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that increasing the loading rate and the use of woven reinforcements increase the fracture toughness. A model was used to estimate the relative contributions from the fiber-matrix interface and the matrix to the overall delamination crack energy release rate.
Fibrous dysplasia around the elbow.

First named by Lichtenstein in 1938, fibrous dysplasia is a noninherited, skeletal developmental abnormality that commonly presents in adolescents and young adults. Normal marrow and cancellous bone are replaced and weakened by immature woven bone and a dense fibrotic stroma containing a disorganized matrix of bony trabecular spicules. Fibrous dysplasia accounts approximately for 5% to 7% of benign bone tumors. It may be monostotic, accounting for 70% to 80% of cases, or polyostotic. Fibrous dysplasia frequently occurs in the ribs, femur, tibia, skull, pelvis, spine and shoulder. Within the long bones, the lesions are predominately diaphyseal, with an epiphyseal lesion rarely occurring. Radiographically, they are classically described by their ‘‘ground glass’’ appearance because they are well circumscribed, radiolucent lesions with a hazy quality to them. These lesions compromise the structural integrity of the involved bone and may lead to a bowing deformity in weight-bearing bones, hence the ‘‘shepherds crook’’ deformity describing coxa vara in the femur. Surgical treatment of fibrous dysplasia is palliative, the main goals being to limit pain and deformity and prevent pathologic fracture. Fractures through a lesion often heal without difficulty but are susceptible to repeat fracture because of the dysplastic nature of the bony callus that forms. Indications for surgery include nonunion, progressive deformity, or persistent pain. Surgical options include curettage and bone grafting (either cortical or cancellous), open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), and vascularized bone grafts.
Fabrication and properties of transparent polymethylmethacrylate/cellulose nanocrystals composites

Nano-sized cellulose crystals were fabricated from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) using combined sulfuric acid hydrolysis and high-pressure homogenization techniques. The crystals were then utilized to prepare polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanocomposites by the solution casting method. The cellulose nanocrystals had diameters from about 8 to 10nm and lengths in the range of 60-120 nm. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) results on the freeze-dried crystals revealed a slight increase in the degree of crystallinity after acid treatment. The composite sheets retained good transparency due to the size effect and dispersion of the cellulose nanocrystals. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated retained thermal stability of the composites. The storage modulus of the nanocomposite sheets from dynamic mechanical analysis showed significantly enhanced property in comparison with that of the pure PMMA sheets. The glass transition of the nanocomposites was shifted to lower temperatures with respect to the pure PMMA material.
Contractile force of canine airway smooth muscle during cyclical length changes

Strips of tonically contracted canine tracheal and bronchial airway smooth muscles (AWSM) were studied in vitro to compare dynamic muscle force during stretch-retraction cycles with static isometric muscle force at various length points within the cycling range. At any particular rate, a characteristic force-length loop was obtained by cycling over a given range of lengths. Dynamic muscle force dropped well below static isometric muscle force at lengths short of the peak length at all rates of cycling. When stretch or retraction of the muscle was stopped at any point along either path of the cycle, muscle force rose to approach the isometric force at that length. Dynamic force at the peak length of the cycle remained close to, or slightly greater than, the static isometric force. The results suggest that the velocity of shortening of tonically contracted AWSM is very slow relative to the rates of cycling employed. A slow rate of shortening of AWSM relative to the rate of change in airway caliber during breathing could account for well-known effects of volume history on airway tone.
Fifty Years of Waiting for a Handgun in California: Did it Work?

Does California’s handgun waiting period have any rational basis based on public safety? This paper reviews the existing criminological literature as well as examines the relationship between handgun waiting periods and California murder rates and concludes that there is no evidence to support any claim that handgun waiting periods reduce murder rates, and at least a plausible argument that they increase murder rates.
Early Empirical Research on Civil Justice

The modern empirical legal studies movement has well-known antecedents in the law and society and law and economics traditions of the latter half of the 20th century. Less well known is the body of empirical research on legal phenomena from the period prior to World War II. This paper is a short bibliographic essay surveying the pre-war English-language empirical legal research focused on issues related to civil justice. The essay is arranged around the themes of general studies of civil litigation, auto accident litigation and compensation, divorce, small claims, jurisdiction and procedure, and civil juries. Accompanying the essay is a bibliography of early research articles, books, and reports related to civil justice.
Interlopers in Ethnic Conflicts: Christian-Muslim Violence in Indonesia

When do armed groups choose to engage in or disengage from ethnic conflicts? In this paper, I argue that variation in sources of funding (from donation or taxation) can help to explain the strategic decisions by armed groups to fight or not fight in ethnic conflicts. I also argue that the inability of armed groups to distinguish among multiple opponent groups can allow groups that have an interest in greater violence to trigger spirals of ethnic violence. I develop a formal model to develop the theory and examine case evidence from a Christian-Muslim conflict in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia to determine its plausibility.
Energy-efficiency and transmission strategy selection in cooperative wireless sensor networks

Energy efficiency is one of the most critical concerns for wireless sensor networks. By allowing sensor nodes in close proximity to cooperate in transmission to form a virtual multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, recent progress in wireless MIMO communications can be exploited to boost the system throughput, or equivalently reduce the energy consumption for the same throughput and BER target. However, these cooperative transmission strategies may incur additional energy cost and system overhead. In this paper, assuming that data collectors are equipped with antenna arrays and superior processing capability, energy efficiency of relevant traditional and cooperative transmission strategies: Single-input-multiple-output (SIMO), space-time block coding (STBC), and spatial multiplexing (SM) are studied. Analysis in the wideband regime reveals that, while receive diversity introduces significant improvement in both energy efficiency and spectral efficiency, further improvement due to the transmit diversity of STBC is limited, as opposed to the superiority of the SM scheme especially for non-trivial spectral efficiency. These observations are further confirmed in our analysis of more realistic systems with limited bandwidth, finite constellation sizes, and a target error rate. Based on this analysis, general guidelines are presented for optimal transmission strategy selection in system level and link level, aiming at minimum energy consumption while meeting different requirements. The proposed selection rules, especially those based on system-level metrics, are easy to implement for sensor applications. The framework provided here may also be readily extended to other scenarios or applications.
New and Noteworthy: Your Professional Brand

This column discusses recent publications in the library literature on the topic of professional marketing and promotion in the context of defining and establishing personal brands.
SYNTHESIS OF HYDROXY‐6H‐BENZOFURO(3,2‐C)(1)BENZOPYRAN‐6‐ONES

The Micheal addition of ethyl 2-methoxy-, 2,4-dimethoxy- and 2,5-dimethoxybenzoylacetates with benzoquinone leads to ethyl 2-(rnethoxy or dimethoxy phenyl)-5-hydroxybenzofuran 3-carboxylates. Treatment of the henzofuran derivatives with anhydrous pyridine hydrochloride at 190–195° leads to hydroxy-6H-henzofuro[3,2-c] [1]benzopyran-6-ones.
Control effect of occupational hazards in construction project of producing ammonium paratungstate of a tungsten industry

Objective To identify,analyze occupational hazardous factors in the project of tungsten industry,and evaluate the effect of protective measures.Methods Occupational hygienic investigation was carried out,occupational hazardous factors were detected,the synthetic evaluation was done with the method of checklist.Results The main occupational risk factors were sodium hydroxide,tungsten,sulfuric acid,chlorhydric acid,ammonia,rare-earth dust,noise,high temperature and r rays;the qualified rates of rare-earth dust and poisonous chemicals were 100.0% and that of the noise was 83.3%.Conclusion Control measures on the occupational hazards in the construction project are effective and feasible.
Effects of cisapride on feline colonic smooth muscle function.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of cisapride on feline colonic smooth muscle function. DESIGN In vitro smooth muscle mechanical measurements. ANIMALS Intact colon was obtained from healthy 2- or 3-year-old cats. PROCEDURE Longitudinal smooth muscle strips from proximal and distal portions of feline colon were suspended in physiologic buffer solution (37 C. 100% O2, pH 7.4), attached to isometric force transducers, and stretched to optimal muscle length. Control responses were obtained at each muscle site with acetylcholine (10(-8) to 10(-4) M), cholecystokinin (10(-11) to 10(-7) M), substance P (10(-21) to 10(-7) M), or neurotensin (10(-11) to 10(-7) M). Muscles were then stimulated with cumulative (10(-9) to 10(-6) M) or bolus (10(-6) M) doses of cisapride in the absence or presence of tetrodotoxin (10(-5) M) and atropine (10(-6) M), nifedipine (10(-6) M), or calcium-free buffer solution. RESULTS Cisapride stimulated contractions of longitudinal smooth muscle from proximal and distal portions of feline colon that were similar in magnitude to contractions induced by substance P and neurotensin. Cisapride contractions were only partially inhibited by tetrodotoxin (10(-6) M) and atropine (10(-6) M), suggesting that cisapride responses are only partially dependent on enteric cholinergic nerves. Nifedipine (10(-6)M) inhibited the maximal contraction to cisapride (10(-6) M) by approximately 80%. Removal of extracellular calcium did not inhibit cisapride contractions to a greater extent than did inhibition by nifedipine, indicating that calcium influx through voltage-dependent calcium channels was predominantly responsible for the dependence of the cisapride contraction on extracellular calcium. CONCLUSIONS Cisapride-induced contractions of feline colonic smooth muscle are largely smooth muscle-mediated and dependent on calcium influx, and are only partially dependent on enteric cholinergic nerves. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Cisapride may be useful in the treatment of feline colonic motility disorders.
Layout Decomposition for Other Patterning Techniques

So far we have discussed the conventional process of TPL, called LELELE, which follows the same principle as litho-etch-litho-etch (LELE) type double patterning lithography (DPL). Here each “L” and “E” represents one lithography process and one etch process, respectively. Although LELELE has been widely studied by industry and academia, it still has two major issues. First, even with stitch insertion, there are some native conflicts in LELELE, like four-clique conflict [1]. For example, Fig. 3.1 illustrates a four-clique conflict among features a, b, c, and d. No matter how we assign the colors, there will be at least one conflict. Since this four-clique structure is common in advanced standard cell design, LELELE type TPL suffers from the native conflict problem. Second, compared to LELE type double patterning, there are more serious overlapping problems in LELELE [2].
Design criteria for high-density hollow-beam electron guns

Over the past few years there has been an ever increasing interest in microwave tubes of higher average power capability. At an average power level of roughly 5 to 10 kW (at X-band), even a well -focused, solid electron beam becomes of marginal utility for use in a traveling-wave tube because of the problem of circuit heating due to electron interception. Above this level of power, therefore, we must consider either a multiplicity of solid beams of preferably a large hollow beam. Despite the increased interest in high power, and therefore in hollow beams, there appears to have been relatively little work done on the design of electron guns which are suitable for generating high-density, hollow electron beams, at least in comparison with the effort which has been expended in research and development of guns for solid beams.
Asymptotic mutual information for the binary stochastic block model

We develop an information-theoretic view of the stochastic block model, a popular statistical model for the large-scale structure of complex networks. A graph G from such a model is generated by first assigning vertex labels at random from a finite alphabet, and then connecting vertices with edge probabilities depending on the labels of the endpoints. In the case of the symmetric two-group model, we establish an explicit ‘single-letter’ characterization of the per-vertex mutual information between the vertex labels and the graph, when the graph average degree diverges. The explicit expression of the mutual information is intimately related to estimation-theoretic quantities, and -in particular- reveals a phase transition at the critical point for community detection. Below the critical point the per-vertex mutual information is asymptotically the same as if edges were independent of the vertex labels. Correspondingly, no algorithm can estimate the partition better than random guessing. Conversely, above the threshold, the per-vertex mutual information is strictly smaller than the independent-edges upper bound. In this regime there exists a procedure that estimates the vertex labels better than random guessing.
Reduction of Slag and Refractories by Aluminium in Steel and Inclusion Modification

As Al contents in Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) increase, the possibility exists that Al will reduce CaO and MgO from slag or refractory. Excessive Ca or Mg transfer would form solid inclusions that can cause nozzle clogging. This study documents experimental observations of reduction of CaO and MgO from slag and refractory in steels containing 2, 0.5 and 0.1 wt% Al at 1600°C or 1700°C. Mg transfer was observed in all experiments, while Ca transfer was only noticed under certain conditions and less intense when comparing with Mg transfer. These observations were consistent with considering the rate of reaction to be controlled by Mg and Ca transfer from slag/crucible to liquid steel.
Departure from the hadronic scenario at CERN SPS

A review of results from heavy ion experiments at CERN SPS is presented, with an emphasis on the data from Pb induced interactions. Special focus is put on the most significant surprises: anomalous J/{Psi} suppression, change in the spectral shapes of e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} mass distributions in the vector meson domain, and enhanced strange hadron production. Implications of these findings for understanding collision dynamics and, in particular, their role in the search for the new phase of matter, are discussed.
Becoming a Level 5 Leader

Leaders can be graded along a series of levels. While life tends to occur a continuum, this grading system has great utility in understanding what kinds of leaders you have encountered in your career. Great leaders share characteristics that can give you insights and guidance in how to model your career. Moreover, it should provide inspiration for you in aiming high in your leadership work.
Finding neoepitopes in mouse models of personalized cancer immunotherapy

Background Cancer immunotherapy uses one’s own immune system to fight cancerous cells. As immune system is hard-wired to distinguish self and non-self, cancer immunotherapy is predicted to target cancerous cells specifically, therefore is less toxic than chemotherapy and radiation therapy, two major treatments for cancer. Cancer immunologists have spent decades to search for the specific targets in cancerous cells.
Formation of Charge Carriers in Liquids.

Abstract After presenting a brief historical overview of the classic contributions of Faraday, Arrhenius, Kohlrausch, Bjerrum, Debye, Huckel and Onsager to understanding the conductivity of true electrolytes in aqueous solutions, we present an in-depth review of the 1933 work of Fuoss & Kraus who explored the effect of the solvent on electrolyte dissociation equilibria in either polar or nonpolar media. Their theory predicts that the equilibrium constant for dissociation decays exponentially with the ratio of the Bjerrum length λ B to the ion-pair size a . Fuoss & Kraus experimentally confirmed the dependence on λ B of the solvent, while more recent experiments explored the dependence on a . We also present an in-depth review of the charge-fluctuation theory used to explain the sharp increase in conductivity with added water for water-in-oil microemulsions stabilized by ionic surfactants. Water swells the droplets making a greater fraction of them charged. At least for low-water content, the same exponential dependence on λ B / a is predicted, provided a is chosen as the size of the polar core of the droplet or inverted micelle. Potential electrolytes like alcohols acquire charge by exchanging a proton. The dissociation equilibrium of the resulting ion-pair in mixtures of toluene and alcohol appears to be well modelled by the Fuoss theory. Solutions of inverted micelles are also thought to acquire charge by exchanging a small ion between two net-neutral micelles. Except for the dissociation of true electrolytes, all of the charging scenarios described above can be represented by a two-reaction sequence: 1) the disproportionation of charge between two neutral molecules, inverted micelles or droplets; followed by 2) the dissociation of the “ion”-pair intermediates. (The dissociation of true electrolytes involves only the second.) For each of the above charging theories, the extent of the second reaction decays exponentially with λ B / a .
Bell's theorem still tolls

The famous proof of entanglement by John Bell is half a century old. Robert P Crease recalls the strange story of its origin and history.
The Complexities of State Court Compliance with U.S. Supreme Court Precedent

ABSTRACTThe United States Supreme Court has significant influence over the development of legal policy, yet it must rely on external actors to bring to fruition the desired effect of its decisions. Among the most important such actors are state high courts who are often motivated to issue decisions promoting policies at odds with the U.S. Supreme Court and who have mechanisms to legitimize such decisions. This study builds on existing work on state court compliance with U.S. Supreme Court precedent by introducing a new theoretical framework that accounts for the impact of state-specific precedent vitality, or the degree to which the high court of a specific state has positively treated a U.S. Supreme Court precedent, on state high court compliance. Our analysis of state high court treatment of Miller v. California provides strong evidence for the importance of state-specific vitality as a determinant of state high court compliance.
The Journal of Second Language Pronunciation – Evaluation and directions

This editorial responds to a review of JSLP published in the Journal of the International Phonetic Association and uses that review to explore directions for the future.
Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc., in China: Transferring Knowledge (a) and (B) (Abridged)

This version condenses the two parts of “K&S Industries Inc. in China: Transferring Knowledge (A) and (B)” into a single-use case. Suitable for the MBA, EMBA, GEMBA, and executive education programs, the case presents a manufacturer of semiconductor assembly equipment looking to achieve growth in its wire bonding tools segment—in particular, capillaries and dicing saw blades—through geographic expansion. At the time, it manufactured capillaries in Yokneam, Israel, and blades in Santa Clara, California. While much of the work on outsourcing to China focuses on the low cost and its tradeoffs, this case examines in depth the interaction between human capital and a firm's cost and capabilities.The expansion committee team is charged with designing and opening a new facility in Suzhou, China. Expanding operations to China meant cost savings, and it was where K&S's market had expanded. But it wasn't clear whether it made sense to move the capillary process, the dicing blade manufacturing, or both. And if K&S did move to China, it would keep the Israeli-based factory open but close the American-based. If both were moved, what order would make sense given that one existing factory would be closed down and the other kept open? And once those decisions were made, what exactly would the knowledge transfer look like? Excerpt UVA-OM-1500 Rev. Jul. 10, 2014 KULICKE AND SOFFA INDUSTRIES, INC., IN CHINA: TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE (A) AND (B) (ABRIDGED) Shay Torton, a general manager for Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (K&S), and Ilan Gilboa and Shlomit Drori, from K&S Israel, were members of a committee put together in early 2002 to manage the firm's expansion processes. K&S, a manufacturer of semiconductor assembly equipment, was looking to achieve growth in its wire bonding tools segment—in particular, capillaries and dicing saw blades—through geographic expansion and entry into new markets. At the time, it manufactured capillaries in Yokneam, Israel, and blades in Santa Clara, California. The team, mindful of the substantial expense involved, had been charged with designing and opening a new facility in Suzhou, China. The strategic shifting of manufacturing to more cost-effective areas had been well researched (see Exhibit 1 for an economic comparison of different regions). The city of Suzhou was chosen for several reasons: its proximity to several K&S customers and to Shanghai, relative low cost of living, ability to manufacture six days a week, abundant worker supply, and low labor costs. An 80 km2 industrial park offered a reliable infrastructure, plentiful public transportation, and an easy one-stop government approval service. Much conversation at the senior executive level was about the possibility of transferring both capillary and dicing blade production to Suzhou. . . .
Ion Transport in Cyclopropenium-Based Polymerized Ionic Liquids

Ion transport in polymerized ionic liquids (poly-ILs) occurs via a fundamentally different mechanism than in monomeric ionic liquids, and recently progress has been made toward understanding ion conduction in poly-ILs. To gain insight into the nature of ionic conductivity in ionic polymers, we investigate the physical properties of the trisaminocyclopropenium (TAC) ion, as it is an aromatic carbocation with unique structural and electronic properties. Herein, we characterize the thermal properties, local morphology, and dielectric response of a series of monomeric and polymeric TAC ionic liquids with different counterions. We have found that the extent of a “superionic” mechanism depends on the nature of the ion pair and can result in anomalously high conductivity at the calorimetric Tg. Our results suggest that the molecular volumes of the cationic and anionic species are important parameters that impact ion conductivity in polymerized ionic liquids.
Environmental Risk in Fetal and Neonatal Life and Measured Infant Intelligence

The fetus and neonate may be exposed to a variety of exogenous influences that are potentially damaging to the brain during the time that brain growth and differentiation are most rapid. The major categories of insult are the introduction of neurotoxins into the body, the withholding of essential nutrients, and the disruption of the mechanisms of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. These are environmental to the extent that they are caused or controlled by environmental manipulation. At the level of cell metabolism these environmental influences may not be mutually exclusive and may be interdependent. Brain systems undergoing active organization are most vulnerable to damage from adverse conditions such as malnutrition (McKhann et al.,1973) and anoxia (Sumi et al.,1973), suggesting not only that the effects of an insult may be more intense when it is encountered in early life but also that the specific time of encounter may influence the precise nature of these effects.
Diffusion and Collision in Cytochrome c-Mediated Electron Transport

The Random Collision Model of mitochondrial electron transport (Fig. 1) and the role of diffusion and collision of the redox components of the mitochondrial inner membranes have been recently critically reviewed (Hackenbrock et al., 1986). Assessment of the available, pertinent data reveal that all inner membrane redox components are free diffusants and collide at rates sufficient to limit the maximal (uncoupled) rate of electron transport.
Rethinking Levinas on Heidegger on Death

What are the basic coordinates of the dispute between Heidegger and Levinas over “death” and its phenomenological and ontological significance? In what ways do Heidegger and Levinas disagree about how we become genuinely or fully ourselves? By examining the convergences and divergences of Heidegger’s and Levinas phenomenologies of death, “Rethinking Levinas on Heidegger on Death” suggests that Heidegger and Levinas both understood themselves as struggling to articulate the requisite ethical response to the great traumas of the twentieth century. By comparing their thinking at this level, we can better understand the ways in which Levinas genuinely diverges from Heidegger even while building critically on his thinking.
A New Methodology for the Analysis of Periodic Systems

A new numerical-analytical method for the combined global-localanalysis of nonlinear periodic systems referred to as an ExpandedPoint Mapping (EPM) is presented. This methodology combines thecell to cell mapping and point mapping methods toinvestigate the basins of attraction and stability characteristics ofequilibrium points and periodic solutions of nonlinear periodicsystems. The proposed method is applicable to multi-degrees-of-freedomsystems, multi-parameter systems, and allows analytical studies oflocal stability characteristics of steady state solutions. Inaddition, the EPM approach allows the study of stabilitycharacteristics as function of system parameters to obtain analyticalconditions for bifurcation. In the paper, the theoretical basis forthe EPM method is formulated and a procedure for the analysis ofnonlinear dynamical systems is presented. Analysis of a pendulum witha periodically excited support in the plane is used to illustrate themethod. The results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of theproposed approach in analyzing nonlinear periodic systems.
ULTRASONIC QUANTIFICATION OF SKIN AND MUSCLE HEMODYNAMICS

ABSTRACT A multiple channel ultrasonic dimension gauge capable of noninvasive measurement of dimensional changes due to body fluid shifts is detailed.
Biology of Spine Fusion

Spinal fusion was first reported in the United States in 1911 by Hibbs and Albee for the treatment of scoliosis and tuberculosis (1,2). Since that time, the indications for spinal arthrodesis have continued to increase, and, in the late 1990s, approx 250,000 spinal fusions were performed each year in the United States (3,4). The rate of nonunion after spinal arthrodesis is reported to range from 5% to 35% (5). Better biomechanical control of the fusion environment with instrumentation and the use of autologous bone grafting techniques have failed to eliminate the problem of pseudoarthrosis in spine surgery (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). As spinal surgery enters the new millennium, attention is focused on the biology of spine fusion to further enhance the rate of successful arthrodesis (13).
The evolution of the dicynodont sacrum: constraint and innovation in the synapsid axial column

Constraint is a universal feature of morphological evolution. The vertebral column of synapsids (mammals and their close relatives) is a classic example of this phenotypic restriction, with greatly reduced variation in the number of vertebrae compared with the sauropsid lineage. Synapsids generally possess only three sacral vertebrae, which articulate with the ilium and play a key role in locomotion. Dicynodont anomodonts are the exception to this rule, possessing seven or more sacral vertebrae while reaching a range of body sizes rivaled among synapsids only by therian mammals. Here we explore the evolution of this unusual sacral morphology in dicynodonts by (1) hypothesizing homologies of the additional sacral vertebrae, (2) using ancestral state reconstruction and phylogenetic regressions (e.g., logistic regression, Poisson regression) to track the coevolution of sacral count and body size, and (3) proposing mechanisms by which additional sacral vertebrae were incorporated during dicynodont evolution. We find that sacral vertebral morphology covaries with sacral count in consistent ways across dicynodonts, implying that sacra with a given number of vertebrae are composed of homologous elements. There is a correlation between increased sacral count and larger body size, especially at the shift from four to five sacrals near the origin of Bidentalia. Based on position, morphology, and the consistent number of presacral vertebrae among dicynodonts, we hypothesize that the additional sacrals anterior to the plesiomorphic three are duplications of the first sacral, and that a single caudosacral was incorporated by a shift in the identity of the anteriormost caudal vertebra. Although changes in sacral count appear to be correlated with shifts in body size in dicynodonts, the evolution of general morphological conservativism in the synapsid sacrum remains to be further explored.
Exploring cultural geography field course using story maps

This article explores the use of Story Maps in a cultural geography field course that uses a place-based approach to understand the Delta Blue’s culture. In this study, Story Maps was used to captu...
Multimodal Analgesia Protocol after Head and Neck Surgery: Effect on Opioid Use and Pain Control:

ObjectiveTo assess the effect that implementation of a multimodal analgesic plan has on opioid requirements and pain control in head and neck (H&N) surgery patients.Study DesignProspective cohort.S...