cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiation fields from travelling wave antennas in polar terrain

A travelling wave antenna is located below the surface of homogeneous polar terrain. The physical properties of the medium, which are the relative dielectric constant and the loss factor, influence the phase velocity and attenuation constant of the travelling wave antenna current. Another influence is Debye relaxation phenomena in ice, where phase velocity and attenuation constant depend on frequency and temperature of the ice. These parameters are included in the formulation of the space and ground wave expressions for the travelling wave antenna. Both horizontally and vertically polarized waves are formulated. Elimination of "backfire" radiation is described with the necessary terminating impedance modifications. Results are presented as antenna patterns for the preceding variations. Frequency variations appear at 30 and 300 kHz frequencies where the antennas are one wavelength long. Polarization variations are seen with patterns along and perpendicular to the antenna axis. Influence of the loss factor on a travelling wave antenna is illustrated by comparing the radiation pattern with a similar antenna in a lossless medium. "Backfire" radiation elimination is seen when a matched terminating impedance is replaced by a modified terminating impedance.
Risk Practices Associated with Bacterial Infections among Injection Drug Users in Denver, Colorado

Background: There has been limited research on bacterial infections (e.g., skin and soft tissue abscesses, endocarditis) among injection drug users (IDUs), despite these infections often resulting in serious morbidity and costly medical care. Although high-risk practices that contribute to bacterial infections are not entirely clear, certain injection practices have been found to increase risk in past studies. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to examine rates of bacterial infections among IDUs in Denver, Colorado, and high-risk practices that predict skin infections. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted with 51 active heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine IDUs (over 18 years). Results: Among all participants, 55% reported a lifetime history of at least one skin infection, and 29% reported having an infection in the last year. Those with a skin infection in the last year were significantly more likely to inject intramuscularly (OR = 1.57) and to report greater heroin injection frequency...
Microbubble-Size Dependence of Focused Ultrasound-Induced Blood–Brain Barrier Opening in Mice In Vivo

The therapeutic efficacy of neurological agents is severely limited, because large compounds do not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Focused ultrasound (FUS) sonication in the presence of microbubbles has been shown to temporarily open the BBB, allowing systemically administered agents into the brain. Until now, polydispersed microbubbles (1-10 ?m in diameter) were used, and, therefore, the bubble sizes better suited for inducing the opening remain unknown. Here, the FUS-induced BBB opening dependence on microbubble size is investigated. Bubbles at 1-2 and 4-5 ?m in diameter were separately size-isolated using differential centrifugation before being systemically administered in mice (n = 28). The BBB opening pressure threshold was identified by varying the peak-rarefactional pressure amplitude. BBB opening was determined by fluorescence enhancement due to systemically administered, fluorescent-tagged, 3-kDa dextran. The identified threshold fell between 0.30 and 0.46 MPa in the case of 1-2 ?m bubbles and between 0.15 and 0.30 MPa in the 4-5 ?m case. At every pressure studied, the fluorescence was greater with the 4-5 ?m than with the 1-2 ?m bubbles. At 0.61 MPa, in the 1-2 ?m bubble case, the fluorescence amount and area were greater in the thalamus than in the hippocampus. In conclusion, it was determined that the FUS-induced BBB opening was dependent on both the size distribution in the injected microbubble volume and the brain region targeted.
Semantically modified diffusion limited aggregation for visualizing large-scale networks

Diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) is a model of fractal growth. Computer models can simulate the fast aggregation of millions of particles. We propose a modified version of DLA, called semantically modified DLA (SM-DLA), for visualizing large-scale networks. SM-DLA introduces similarity measures between particles so that instead of attaching to the nearest particle in the aggregation, a new particle is stochastically directed to attach to particles that are similar to it. The results of our initial experiment with a co-citation network using SM-DLA are encouraging, suggesting that the algorithm has the potential as an alternative paradigm for visualizing large-scale networks. Further studies in this direction are recommended.
Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Pain

The neuroanatomy and physiology of pain can be discussed with regard to every level of the nervous system, from peripheral nerve to cerebral cortex. Rudimentary nociception is the physiologic perception of a potentially tissue-damaging stimulus and is the commonplace conception that holds when one claims that “something hurts.” However, as we review here, “something hurting” for an extended period of time will induce changes in the nervous system that may be irreversible. For this reason, many experts believe that all chronic pain is, to some extent, neuropathic. This makes it often impossible to merely remove the thorn from the lion’s paw (treat a defined bodily source) and eliminate chronic pain, as much as patients wish we could. Pain as a subjective, even abstract, experience involving a complex array of emotions may occur independent of any discernable bodily tissue damage, such as the case of fibromyalgia. For this reason, most chronic pain treatments – whether it is medications, cognitive therapies, or interventional procedures – attempt to alter physiological pain processing in the peripheral nerve, spinal cord, or forebrain.
Sex and the Single (Neoliberal) Girl: Perspectives on Being Single Among Socioeconomically Diverse Young Women

Young women’s orientation toward romantic relationships and being single is shaped not only by heteronormative gender expectations but also by their socioeconomic status (SES). The intersection of gender and class is itself situated in the midst of prevailing norms, including those stemming from neoliberal ideology. To learn how these normative conditions affect young women’s perceptions of being single, we analyzed open-ended survey responses from 274 single women in the U.S. who were between the ages of 18 and 22 and who occupied three distinct social locations: affluent undergraduates at a private mid-Atlantic university; low-SES undergraduates across New York State; and low-SES women in Western New York who were not in college. We identified eight themes that captured participants’ feelings about being single and assessed if and how the participants’ perceptions differed by social location. In the Discussion, we reflect on and summarize the thematic patterns found in participants’ responses, with affluent undergraduates seeming to characterize being single as positive and self-enhancing, the low-SES undergraduates seeing it as a strategy for self-advancement, and the low-SES non-students framing it in defensive, self-protective terms. Despite these differences, all participants seemed to draw on common neoliberal tenets. We argue that participants’ predominantly positive perspectives on being single may be at least partially attributed to commercialized feminism and an agency imperative that requires young women to cast all circumstances and conditions in light of individual choice, will, and responsibility.
Two new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from skinks in Florida

Eimeria egregia n. sp. parasitises the gall-bladder of Eumeces egregius onocrepis, the brown red-tailed skink, in the Ocala National Forest, Marion County, Florida. Oocysts are oval, 27.6 × 17.4 µm (25–32 × 16–20), without micropyle, polar body or oocyst residuum. The oocyst length/width ratio is 1.59 (1.42–1.76). Sporocysts are ovoid, 10.3 × 8.3 µm (8.5–12 × 7–9 µm), with a length/width ratio of 1.24 (1.06–1.50,), without a Stieda body, but with a prominent sporocyst residuum. Sporozoites are 10–12 × 2.5–3 µm. The ground skink Scincella lateralis is infected by Eimeria scincellae n. sp. The oocysts are cylindrical, 29.8 × 15.9 µm (28–33 × 14–17), with no micropyle, polar body or oocyst residuum. The oocyst length/width ratio is 1.89 (1.68–2.14). Sporocysts are oval, 10.9 × 8.0 µm (9.5–12 × 7–9), with a length/width ratio of 1.36 (1.18–1.64,), no Stieda body and a prominent sporocyst residuum. Sporozoites are 9–11 × 2–2.5 µm.
Middle Managers’ Role in Implementing Innovative Practices in VA: Lessons Learned from the Field

Background: Middle managers play key roles in hospitals as the bridge between senior executives and frontline staff. Yet relatively little research has focused on their role in implementing new pra...
Molecular simulation of the effects of humidity and of interfacial Si- and B-hydroxyls on the adhesion energy between glass plates.

Abstract Adhesion energies for sub-micron particles cannot be accurately calculated with macro-scale theories, in part because heterogeneities in surface morphology and chemistry play a significant role. Atomistic models have been used previously to quantify adhesion energies in wet environments for pure silica surfaces. To extend such modeling to more complex glass materials, we adopt a more comprehensive amorphous glass potential, and use a simplified approach to define the interaction between the hydroxylated surface and SPC/E water. We compute adhesion energies for pure SiO 2 , and 90 mol% SiO 2 + 10 mol% B 2 O 3 , in dry and humid conditions. We find that the addition of B 2 O 3 reduces adhesion, due to multiple effects which result in reduced hydrogen bonding. At high RH, the water between the plates forms a clear liquid bridge, whereas at the lowest RH, the water connects in chains of hydrogen bonded molecules that form and break during the adhesion process, so that capillary forces do not come into play. We also find that for under-hydroxylated pure SiO 2 surfaces, a transitional state which may be found after heating or during glass formation, adhesion energies are the highest.
Potential Prospects of Future Medicine: Nano Medicine

Nanomedicine is the use of nanotechnologies for the healthcare. It involves repair, construction, observation and regulation of human biological systems at the molecular level, via engineered nano-devices and nanostructures [1]. Nanomedicine is a vast industry with over 200 companies and 38 products globally. A minimum of $3.8 billion is being invested every year in nanotechnology research and development [2]. In 2004, the sales of nanomedicines have reached up to $6.8 billion and in April 2006, the journal ‘Nature Materials’ anticipated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems are being developed universally [3]. This growing nanomedicine industry is expected to have a significant impact on the economy and medical care of the society.
Effect of petroleum feedstock and reaction conditions on the structure of coal-petroleum co-cokes and heat-treated products

Bituminous coal/petroleum co-cokes were produced by coking 4:1 blends of vacuum resid (VR)/coal and decant oil (DO)/coal at temperatures of 465 and 500 °C for reaction times of 12 and 18 h, under autogenous pressure in microautoclave reactors. Co-cokes were calcined at 1420 °C and graphitized at 3000 °C for 24 h. Optical microscopy, surface area measurements, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed oxidation, and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the products. Product yield distribution analysis suggested an increase in co-coke yield as reaction severity index increases, although the increase yield is small at higher index values. It was found that higher reaction temperature (500 °C) or shorter reaction time (12 h) leads to an increase in the amount of mosaic carbon at the expense of textural components necessary for the formation of anisotropic structure, namely, domains and flow domains in the co-coke texture. Characterization of graphitized co-cokes showed that the quality, as expressed b...
Hematological changes influenced by short and long exposure to cold.

SummaryMice were exposed to cold (5°C) for periods of 15 minutes and 5 days and the effect on erythrocyte number, hemoglobin concentration and blood sugar level determined. The only significant change occurred in the blood sugar level during the short period of cold exposure. Statistically this change had a P value of <.001. Possible physiological changes are discussed.
Survey on Current Status of Smoking and Smoking-related Knowledge Among Medical Staff Members of a Hospital in Hunan

Objective To explore the prevalence of smoking behavior and the smoking-related knowledge and attitude in medical professionals. Methods We designed a smoking-related questionnaire according to the smoking-related materials.Cluster sampling method was applied to conduct a survey of smoking on 578 medical professionals of a hospital in Hunan in October,2010. Results The current smoking rate of medical professionals was 19.38%, and the rate of smoking was 33.64% in males and 1.56% in females.There were statistically significant differences in the smoking rates of medical staff members with different gender,age,educational backgrounds and professional titles(P0.05).As for the smoking-related knowledge and attitude,medical professionals knew the common hazards,such as pulmonary diseases easily resulted from smoking and passive smoking;but there were still 22.49% medical professionals knew little about the harmful effects of smoking and passive smoking on other organs.Most of the medical professionals thought that smoking was de rigueur and it could relieve the stress. Conclusions Smoking behavior is a serious problem among male medical workers,especially smoking behavior of staff members of medical institutions,which brings negative effects on the surrounding people.It is necessary to enhance the tobacco control in medical institutions and create tobacco-free environment in hospitals so as to be a role model and play a support role in the tobacco control work.
Refugee protection and resettlement problems

In 2015, more than a million refugees and other migrants entered the European Union. They are just a small part of the world's rapidly burgeoning population of displaced people, which climbed by more than 37% between 2009 and 2015 to reach 59.5 million people. Humanitarian aid to these people has been dramatically insufficient, and many displaced people now lack adequate food, medical care, housing, or transportation. As a geographer, I spent 16 months between 2009 and 2013 conducting participant observation research in camps for displaced people in Georgia (see the photo), where I discovered serious shortfalls in the humanitarian aid system. Increasingly, humanitarian aid is a temporary solution to a permanent problem, a stopgap that not only does not help displaced people resettle but, instead, makes it more difficult for them to move on with their lives.
Question, Explanation, Follow-Up: A Mechanism for Learning From Others?

This study explored differences in caregiver-child interactions following children's information-seeking questions. Naturalistic speech from thirty-seven 4-year-olds and their caregivers was used to explore children's information-seeking questions, the caregiver's response, and children's subsequent follow-up. Half of the families were low-socioeconomic status (SES) and the other half were mid-SES. Although children across socioeconomic groups asked a similar proportion of questions, mid-SES caregivers offered significantly more explanatory responses to causal questions as well as more noncircular explanations than low-SES caregivers. No differences were found in children's follow-up to responses given to fact-based questions; however, after hearing unsatisfactory responses to causal questions, mid-SES children were significantly more likely to provide their own explanation. Such variability in caregiver-child interaction may have implications for subsequent learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Introduction to Revealed Preference Methods

Revealed preference methods draw statistical inferences on values from actual choices people make within markets. Estimation of the values people place on environmental amenities and disamenities proceeds by specifying a theoretical framework and conducting data analyses from purchase decisions (prices paid and quantities purchased) according to this conceptual framework. Four commonly used revealed preference methods are discussed in the next three chapters (Chapter 9, travel cost; Chapter 10, hedonics; Chapter 11, defensive behavior and damage costs).
The Initial Value Problem

It is not easy to see how a uniform or nearly uniform wave train can realistically emerge from some general initial condition or from a realistic forcing unless the initial condition or the forcing is periodic. That turns out not to be the case, and the ideas we have so far developed about group velocity and energy propagation turn out to be invaluable in getting to the heart of the general question of wave signal propagation. Indeed, it is the very dispersive nature of the wave physics (i.e., the dependence of the phase speed on the wave number) that is responsible for the emergence of locally nearly periodic solutions. This can be seen by examining the solution to the general initial value problem. This was first done by Cauchy in 1816. It was also solved at the same time by Poisson. The problem was considered so difficult at that time that the solution was in response to a prize offering of the Paris Academie (French Academy of Sciences). Now it is a classroom exercise.
The Poetics of the Quest in Cervantes’ Don Quixote

Regardless of what might be said about the pre-postmodern postureof the ‘ingenious gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha’ and abouthis ingenious host, Cervantes was very much concerned with bothedification and entertainment and, to a great extent, entertainmentcame first. As a matter of fact, ‘entertainment, Cervantes plainlyimplies, is the first duty of prose fiction’ (Riley, p. 84) and to thatextent, Cervantes was a proponent of the Golden Age dictum:’satisfy an audience’. The Golden Age writers made a distinctionbetween the discretos and the vulgo, a distinction which ‘stood for theaccepted if artificial division between enlightened and discerning,and unenlightened and foolish, readers’ (Riley, p. 108); and though,for Cervantes, the vulgo was the ‘conventional anonymous enemy,to which he rarely refers without dislike and contempt’ (Riley,p. 108), he was, indeed, concerned with satisfying as many readers as possible. Don Quixote was both a work of art and a bestseller, astation which is rarely the occurrence today yet Balbuena asserts:’Who would cook for everybody? If I write for the wise and the discriminating, I shall leave unsatisfied the majority of the public ,which is not included among these. If I write for the crowd and nomore, there is neither pleasure nor profit to be had from what isvery trite and common’ (Cervantes, DQ II, p. 3). ‘Yet "cooking for everybody" was the summit of Cervantes’ literary aspirations, atleast with every novel after the Galatea, and it would be rash to assert positively that it was not the case there also’ (Riley, p. 115). Soon e realizes that regardless of the brilliance of text, the artistry ofthe text, Cervantes wanted, in no small measure, ‘to communicatewith as wide a public as possible without sacrificing his standardsto the lowest tastes of its members’ (Riley, p. 115). In short,the notion of entertaining held an esteemed position for Cervantes,but it was not merely entertainment for an audience thatwas important for Cervantes.
Prospective identification of Helicobacter pylori in routine gastric biopsies without reflex ancillary stains is cost-efficient for our health care system.

Despite the recommendation of expert gastrointestinal pathologists, private and academic centers (including our own) have continued to use ancillary stains for identification of Helicobacter pylori. For a 1-month period, gastric biopsies were prospectively evaluated for H pylori using routine hematoxylin and eosin (HE when suspicious superficial or active inflammation is present without visible organisms, immunohistochemical stains will confirm presence or absence within a day. Discontinuation of up-front ancillary studies is cost-effective without compromising patient care.
The Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycle: Comparison to Other Advanced Power Cycles

This paper consists of three parts. The first part presents a mostly thermodynamic comparison of the supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) cycle to helium Brayton, superheated steam, and supercritic...
Multifractal Analysis & the Dynamics of Effective Field Theories

We show that the flow from the ultraviolet to the infrared sector of any multidimensional nonlinear field theory approaches chaotic dynamics in a universal way. This result stems from several independent routes to aperiodic behavior and implies that the infrared attractor of effective field theories is likely to replicate the geometry of multifractal sets. In particular, we find that the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian is characterized by a single generalized dimension ( D GR = 4), while the Standard Model (SM) Lagrangian is defined by a triplet of generalized dimensions ( D SM = 2, 3 & 4). On the one hand, this finding disfavors any naive field-theoretic unification of SM and General Relativity (GR). On the other, it hints that the continuous spectrum of generalized dimensions lying between D = 2 and D = 4 may naturally account for the existence of non-baryonic Dark Matter.
Characterization of pharyngeal peristaltic pressure variability during volitional swallowing in healthy individuals.

Background Recent technological advances incorporated in high resolution manometry have justifiably heightened interest in manometric evaluation of the pharynx. Despite this interest, from both physiologic and clinical perspective there remain a number of unanswered questions regarding the magnitude of variability of pharyngeal pressure phenomena. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to characterize in healthy individuals the inter-subject and recording-site specific variability of pharyngeal peristaltic pressure phenomena. Methods We studied 32 healthy subjects (age: 21-83 years,20 under 35 years) during dry,5 and 10 mL water swallows ×3. Pharyngeal peristaltic pressures were recorded using a high resolution (HR) manometric system and a catheter assembly with 36 circumferential sensors spaced at 1 cm intervals positioned trans-nasally to traverse the pharynx, UES and proximal esophagus. Key Results Both site-specific pressure data and the Pharyngeal contractile integral (PhCI) showed wide dispersion ranging between values under 50 mm Hg to over 300 mm Hg and 100-600 mm Hg/cm/s,respectively. There was also wide range of dispersion of data for both the standard deviations and the coefficient of variation for all sites (P=.001). The coefficient of variation for PhCI ranged between 0.02 and 0.25 representing data dispersion of 2-25 percent of the mean among subjects (P=.001). Position, age and volume of swallowed fluid did not influence the magnitude of variability. Conclusions Deglutitive Pharyngeal peristalsis generates pressures with significant degree of site-related and inter-subject variability. This variability is not influenced by age, position and volume of swallowed fluid.
Shunt-dependent hydrocephalus: Management style among members of the American society of pediatric neurosurgeons

OBJECTIVE The authors conducted a survey to evaluate differences in the understanding and management of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus among members of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons (ASPN). METHODS Surveys were sent to all 204 active ASPN members in September 2014. One hundred thirty responses were received, representing a 64% response rate. Respondents were asked 13 multiple-choice and free-response questions regarding 4 fundamental problems encountered in shunted-hydrocephalus management: shunt malfunction, chronic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) overdrainage, chronic headaches, and slit ventricle syndrome (SVS). RESULTS Respondents agreed that shunt malfunction occurs most often as the result of ventricular catheter obstruction. Despite contrary evidence in the literature, most respondents (66%) also believed that choroid plexus is the tissue most often found in obstructed proximal catheters. However, free-text responses revealed that the respondents' understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of shunt obstruction was highly variable and included growth, migration, or adherence of choroid plexus, CSF debris, catheter position, inflammatory processes, and CSF overdrainage. Most respondents considered chronic CSF overdrainage to be a rare complication of shunting in their practice and reported wide variation in treatment protocols. Moreover, despite a lack of evidence in the literature, most respondents attributed chronic headaches in shunt patients to medical reasons (for example, migraines, tension). Accordingly, most respondents managed headaches with reassurance and/or referral to pain clinics. Lastly, there were variable opinions on the etiology of slit ventricle syndrome (SVS), which included early shunting, chronic overdrainage, and/or loss of brain compliance. Beyond shunt revision, respondents reported divergent SVS treatment preferences. CONCLUSIONS The survey shows that there is wide variability in the understanding and management of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus and its complications. Such discrepancies appear to be derived partly from inconsistent familiarity with existing literature but especially from a paucity of high-quality publications.
Differences Between Korean and Japanese Processing Overload

We report the results of a pilot questionnaire study which indicates a difference between Japanese and Korean in the processing of twice center-embedded transitive sentences. Babyonyshev and Gibson (1995) claimed that, in Japanese, these structures are significantly more difficult to parse than twice center-embedded intransitives. Our study showed that, in Korean, this difference in processing difficulty does not obtain. We suggest that the difference between Japanese and Korean processing should be attributed to short-term memory effects on repetition of case markers and to differences in the syntax of the two languages with respect to verb movement.
Dissipation-induced photonic-correlation transition in waveguide-QED systems

We study computationally the effects of dissipations on correlated two-photon transport in waveguide--quantum-electrodynamic systems. We show that in the dissipative regime, the two-photon correlation signatures remain prominent even when the two-photon transport can be described by a single-photon picture. Moreover, by varying the dissipation, the photonic correlation can have an induced transition from bunching to antibunching, and vice versa, depending on the input quantum state.
Selling nostalgia: The emotional labor of immigrant Latina food vendors in Los Angeles

The sidewalks of Latino immigrant neighborhoods in Los Angeles are often coded with layers of trans-border informal economic cultural processes that shape and inform the practices of everyday lives...
Hydrologic applications for SMAP and SMOS surface soil moisture retrieval products

Surface soil moisture products generated by recent L-band radiometer missions have significant potential for enhancing hydrologic stream flow prediction. Here, we objectively evaluate this potential using data sets generated by both the ESA SMOS and NASA SMAP satellite missions. Evaluation is based on their ability to improve the representation of both 1) pre-storm antecedent soil moisture conditions and 2) within-storm rainfall accumulation depths. Results demonstrate that SMOS and SMAP surface soil moisture products can significantly improve both key aspects of a hydrologic prediction system.
How supply chain architecture and product architecture impact firm performance: An empirical examination

Abstract In order to enhance performance, manufacturing firms are building various capabilities and utilizing supply chain networks that are geographically dispersed around the globe. This study examines how decisions related to supply chain architecture and product architecture influence organizational competitiveness. Building on the co-specialization perspective, we evaluate the performance implications of product modularity and supply chain agility. While, product modularity constitutes a product configuration related to sourcing and assembling of products, supply chain agility is a supply chain configuration related to velocity (sensing, comprehending, and responding) and visibility (supplier network, internal operations, and external environment). Both the product and supply chain architectural decisions can impact performance, individually and in conjunction with each other. We empirically test the hypothesized relationships using data collected from 103 manufacturing firms. Results show that supply chain agility and product modularity directly enhance responsiveness and enable organizations to reduce cost. Furthermore, supply chain agility partially mediates the relationship between product modularity and both responsiveness and cost reduction. We elaborate on the key contributions of this study for both research and practice, discuss limitations, and also offer various avenues for further research.
The vaporization enthalpy and vapor pressures of liquid adamantane, diamantane and α- and β-cedrene by correlation gas chromatography

Abstract This work examines the use of two different sets of standards to evaluate vaporization enthalpies and liquid vapor pressures of a series of polycyclic hydrocarbons that include adamantane, diamantane, and α and β-cedrene by correlation gas chromatography. Several n-alkanes and a series of cyclic and polycyclic hydrocarbons were selected as standards to independently evaluate the appropriateness of using n-alkanes to evaluate these properties in two branched polycyclic sesquiterpenes. Vapor pressures of two of the polycyclic hydrocarbons examined, 1,3-dimethyladamantane and 1,4-di-t-butylbenzene, are known and the results obtained using n-alkanes as standards were used for comparisons. Standards for evaluation of adamantane and diamantane included these two compounds along with α-pinene, and camphene; a series of n-alkanes were also used in separate experiments for evaluation of the adamantanoids. The n-alkane standards included decane and dodecane through to pentadecane. Vapor pressures for adamantane and diamantane evaluated in this work were combined with literature values for 1,3-dimethyladamantane and 1,4-di-t-butylbenzene at elevated temperatures to also evaluate liquid vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpies for α- and β-cedrene. The results were compared to those evaluated independently using n-alkanes. The results of the experiments are discussed.
Vascular-targeted particle binding efficacy in the presence of rigid red blood cells: Implications for performance in diseased blood

The field of drug delivery has taken an interest in combating numerous blood and heart diseases via the use of injectable vascular-targeted carriers (VTCs). However, VTC technology has encountered limited efficacy due to a variety of challenges associated with the immense complexity of the in vivo blood flow environment, including the hemodynamic interactions of blood cells, which impact their margination and adhesion to the vascular wall. Red blood cell (RBC) physiology, i.e., size, shape, and deformability, drive cellular distribution in blood flow and has been shown to impact VTC margination to the vessel wall significantly. The RBC shape and deformability are known to be altered in certain human diseases, yet little experimental work has been conducted towards understanding the effect of these alterations, specifically RBC rigidity, on VTC dynamics in physiological blood flow. In this work, we investigate the impact of RBCs of varying stiffnesses on the adhesion efficacy of particles of various sizes, moduli, and shapes onto an inflamed endothelial layer in a human vasculature-inspired, in vitro blood flow model. The blood rigid RBC compositions and degrees of RBC stiffness evaluated are analogous to conditions in diseases such as sickle cell disease. We find that particles of different sizes, moduli, and shapes yield drastically different adhesion patterns in blood flow in the presence of rigid RBCs when compared to 100% healthy RBCs. Specifically, up to 50% reduction in the localization and adhesion of non-deformable 2 μm particles to the vessel wall was observed in the presence of rigid RBCs. Interestingly, deformable 2 μm particles showed enhanced vessel wall localization and adhesion, by up to 85%, depending on the rigidity of RBCs evaluated. Ultimately, this work experimentally clarifies the importance of considering RBC rigidity in the intelligent design of particle therapeutics and highlights possible implications for a wide range of diseases relating to RBC deformability.
Motion-Based Post Processing of Deformable Contours.

We present a framework for tracking contours in 2D image sequences by taking into account the motion information and correspondence between contour points. With this framework, The tracking problem can be divided into two steps: i) Contour detection using general internal and external energies in separate frames, and ii) Tracking and refining contours using motion information of the entire image sequence. In addition to the traditional internal and external energies, we introduce two new constraints in the temporal domain which we call temporal internal energy and temporal external energy in the post processing stage. The temporal internal energy smoothes the contours by minimizing the velocity difference between neighboring contour points and the temporal external energy pushes the contour points toward their best location according to their corresponding points in the preceding image. We show the performance of the new constraints with synthetic image sequences and also present the post processing results for medical image sequences.
Engines Turn or Passengers Swim: A Case Study of How ETOPS Improved Both Safety and Economics in Aviation

Under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, no commercial airplane with fewer than three engines may fly a route that at any point exceeds 60 minutes flying time from a suitable airport. The industry calls this “the 60-minute rule.” ETOPS is the exception to that rule. By satisfying stringent ETOPS requirements, an airline may fly two-engine planes on “extended operation” routes exceeding 60 minutes. ETOPS has enormously influenced the aviation industry. This article traces the early history of ETOPS, including its creation and the evolution known as “early ETOPS.” In doing so, it identifies factors contributing to ETOPS’s success. The article then evaluates these factors in light of the nearly unprecedented grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner following two serious battery failures. The author argues that the difficulties of the Boeing 787 warrant the application of ETOPS-like principles to the adoption of novel technology, such as lithium-ion batteries, for aviation.
A 90-102 GHz CMOS based pulsed Fourier transform spectrometer: New approaches for in situ chemical detection and millimeter-wave cavity-based molecular spectroscopy

We present a system level description of a cavity-enhanced millimeter-wave spectrometer that is the first in its class to combine source and detection electronics constructed from architectures commonly deployed in the mobile phone industry and traditional pulsed Fourier transform techniques to realize a compact device capable of sensitive and specific in situ gas detections. The instrument, which has an operational bandwidth of 90-102 GHz, employs several unique components, including a custom-designed pair of millimeter-wave transmitter and heterodyne receiver integrated circuit chips constructed with 65 nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) techniques. These elements are directly mated to a hybrid coupling structure that enables free-space interaction of the electronics with a small gas volume while also acting as a cavity end mirror. Instrument performance for sensing of volatile compounds is highlighted with experimental trials taken in bulk gas flows and seeded molecular beam environments.
A Prospective Analysis of the Contralateral Hip Among Patients With Femoroacetabular Impingement: What Are the Risk Factors for Disease Progression?

Background:The pathophysiology of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) remains to be better understood, including factors affecting symptom development and disease progression.Purpose:(1) To determin...
The Heat Conduction Renaissance

Some of the most exciting recent advancements in heat conduction physics have been motivated, enabled, or achieved by the thermal management community that ITherm serves so effectively. In this paper we highlight the resulting renaissance in basic heat conduction research, which is linked to cooling challenges from power transistors to portables. Examples include phonon transport and scattering in nanotransistors, engineered high-conductivity composites, modulated conductivity through phase transitions, as well as the surprising transport properties of low-dimensional (1D and 2D) nanomaterials. This work benefits strongly from decades of collaboration and leadership from the semiconductor industry.
Preventive Health Care Among Postpartum Women With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Results From the PIANO Registry.

Background Health care maintenance (HCM) is reduced among inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. This study aims to characterize rates of HCM in a closely monitored subpopulation-postpartum women with IBD-and identify predictors of noncompliance. Methods A national prospective pregnancy registry was utilized to collect completion rates of HCM recommendations (cervical cancer screening; osteoporosis screening; pneumococcal, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and influenza vaccines). Completion of a recommendation at least once during follow-up was sufficient, except for influenza vaccine, which was assessed yearly. Patients were classified by drug exposures: immunomodulator (Group A), biologic (Group B), combination therapy (Group AB), and unexposed. Confounders assessed were steroid exposure, IBD flare, IBD care site, primary care provider (PCP) access, marital status, income, education level, and race. Results There were 628 postpartum IBD women with at least 1 year of follow-up. HCM rates were as follows: cervical cancer screening (84%), osteoporosis screening (54%), pneumococcal (50%), hepatitis A (61%), hepatitis B (81%), and influenza (72%) vaccines. The unexposed group demonstrated lower pneumococcal vaccination rates than groups A, B, and AB. Group B demonstrated lower cervical cancer screening rates than the unexposed. PCP access and low education predicted hepatitis vaccine noncompliance. Unmarried status and low income predicted cervical cancer screening noncompliance. Low income predicted influenza vaccine noncompliance. Conclusions Postpartum women have multiple providers, yet they complete HCM at suboptimal rates. Risk factors include biologic exposure, unmarried status, low income, low education, and access to a PCP. Awareness among providers and patients is important and needs to be enhanced.
Heated tobacco products likely appeal to adolescents and young adults

Background Beginning in the 1960s in the USA and globally since 1998, tobacco companies have beenaggressively promoting heated tobacco products (HTP). In 2016, Philip Morris International (PMI) applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorisation to market their IQOS HTP system and flavoured ‘HeatSticks’ in the USA as a modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP). Methods We systematically evaluated the publicly available data PMI submitted to FDA in its MRTP application to determine whether PMI’s IQOS product meets the US Tobacco Control Act’s standard for MRTP claims. We examined whether PMI provided sufficient data showing tobacco users will not initiate with IQOS, that youth will not misperceive the MRTP-related claims being made concerning IQOS, and how youth perceive health risks associated with IQOS. Results PMI’s own studies failed to provide evidence that youth, including non-users and former users, will not find IQOS appealing, will not initiate use of IQOS and will not perceive these products as risk-free. Further, PMI did not refer to independent studies conducted among adolescents which could influence their conclusions. Finally, their studies suffered from design and implementation flaws and cannot be relied on to support the proffered claims. Conclusion PMI’s own data and available evidence from scientific studies conducted independent of the tobacco industry regarding how novel tobacco products are currently being marketed suggest that introduction of IQOS will result in adolescent and young adult non-users initiating tobacco use with IQOS and could also increase poly-use of IQOS along with other tobacco products.
Proceedings of the 2012 workshop on Management of big data systems

Data is growing at an exponential rate and several systems have emerged to store and analyze such large amounts of data. These systems, termed Big data systems are fast evolving Examples include the NoSQL storage systems, Hadoop Map-Reduce, data analytics platforms, search and indexing platforms, and messaging infrastructures. These systems address needs for structured and unstructured data across a wide spectrum of domains such as web, social networks, enterprise, cloud, mobile, sensor networks, multimedia/streaming, cyberphysical and high performance systems, and for multiple application verticals such as biosciences, healthcare, transportation, public sector, energy utilities, oil & gas, and scientific computing. With increasing scale and complexity, managing these big data systems to cope with failures and performance problems is becoming non-trivial. New resource management and scheduling mechanisms are also needed for such systems, and so are mechanisms for tuning and support from platform layers. Several open source and proprietary solutions have been proposed to address these requirements, with extensive contributions from industry and academia. However, there remain substantial challenges, including those that pertain to such systems autonomic and self-management capabilities. The objective of the MBDS workshop is to bring together researchers, practitioners, system administrators, system programmers, and others interested in sharing and presenting their perspectives on the effective management of big data systems. The focus of the workshop is on novel and practical, systems-oriented work. MBDS offers an opportunity for researchers and practitioners from industry, academia, and national labs to showcase the latest advances in this area and to also discuss and identify future directions and challenges in all aspects on autonomic management of big data systems. Papers are solicited on all aspects of big data management. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited, to the following: * Autonomic and self-managing techniques * Application-level resource management and scheduling mechanisms * System tuning/auto-tuning and configuration management * Performance management, fault management, and power management * Scalability challenges * Complexity challenges, as for composite, cross-tier systems with multiple control loops * Unified management of 'data in motion' and 'data at rest' * Dealing with both structured and unstructured data * Monitoring, diagnosis, and automated behaviour detection * System-level principles and support for resource management * Holistic management across hardware and software * Implications of emerging hardware technologies such as non-volatile memory * Domain specific challenges in web, cloud, social networks, mobile, sensor networks, streaming analytics, cyber-physical systems * System building and experience papers for specific industry verticals
Recombinant vector vaccines and within-host evolution

Abstract Many recombinant vector vaccines are capable of replication within the host. They consist of a fully competent vector backbone engineered to express an antigen from a foreign transgene. From the perspective of viral replication, the transgene is not only dispensable but may even be intrinsically detrimental. Thus vaccine revertants that delete the transgene may evolve to dominate the within-host population and in doing so reduce the antigenicity of the vaccine. We apply mathematical and computational models to study this process, including the dynamics of vaccine and revertant growth plus the dynamics of innate and adaptive immunity. Although the selective basis of vaccine evolution is easy to comprehend, the immunological consequences are not. One complication is that, despite possible fitness differences between vaccine and revertant, the opportunity for vaccine evolution is limited by the short period of growth before the viral population is cleared. Even less obvious, revertant per se does not interfere with immunity to vaccine except as the revertant suppresses vaccine abundance; the magnitude of this interference depends on mechanisms and timing of viral suppression. Adaptive immunity targeting the foreign antigen is also a possible basis of vaccine inferiority, but it is not worsened by vaccine evolution. Overall, we find that within-host vaccine evolution can sometimes matter to the adaptive immune response targeting the foreign antigen, but even when it does matter, simple principles of vaccine design and the control of inoculum composition can largely mitigate the effects. Author Summary Recombinant vector vaccines are live replicating viruses that are engineered to carry extra genes derived from a pathogen – and these produce proteins against which we want to generate immunity. These genes may evolve to be lost during the course of replication within an individual, and there is a concern that this can severely limit the vaccine’s efficacy. The dynamics of this process are studied here with mathematical models. The potential for vaccine evolution is somewhat reduced by the short-term growth of the vaccine population before it is suppressed by the immune response. Even when within-host evolution can be a problem, the models show that increasing the vaccine inoculum size or ensuring that the inoculum is mostly pure vaccine can largely avoid the loss of immunity arising from evolution.
Utilizing Existing Commercial Geostationary Earth Orbit Fixed Satellite Services for Low Earth Orbit Satellite Communication Relays with Earth

Abstract There are only a few ways that a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite can communicate with Earth without a ground station network. A LEO satellite can link with other LEO satellites establishin...
Understanding Variation in Estimates of Diversionary Effects of Community College Entrance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis:

Decades of research have estimated the effect of entering a community college on bachelor’s degree attainment. In this study, we examined the influence of methodological choices, including sample r...