cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of nonlinear amplifiers and narrowband interference in MIMO-OFDM with application to 802.11n WLAN

One of the disadvantages that are associated with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is high peak to average power ratio (PAPR). In most cases, this high peak signal often forces practical amplifiers to operate in the nonlinear region and causes additional degradation to the system's performance. Since the frequency bandwidth is a scarce resource, it is inevitable that a wireless communication system would have to operate in an environment that is prone to interference. Therefore, it is important to understand how an OFDM system performs in such situations. In this paper, we analyze the joint effect of nonlinear distortion produced by high power amplifiers (HPAs) and narrowband interference (NBI) on the performance of a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) OFDM system in Rayleigh fading channels. We then extend the analytical model to be in compliance with the IEEE 802.11n standard for the purpose of simulation. The theoretical results are verified with the simulation.
Homoplasy and Developmental Constraint: A Model and an Example from Plants1

Much attention has been paid to the role of developmental information in estimating phylogenetic relationships and, more recently, to the use of phylogenies in understanding the evolution of development. At the moment, however, we lack a sufficiently general theory connecting phylogenetic patterns of character evolution to properties of developmental systems. Here we outline a simple model relating homoplasy to the rate of character change and the number of evolvable states, both of which may reflect developmental constraints. Given a particular rate of character change, the fewer the evolvable states the more homoplasy is expected, and vice versa. The repeated evolution of a limited number of forms of bilateral flower symmetry may reflect constraints imposed by overall flower orientation and underlying mechanisms of differentiation.
An online system shows promise for the early detection of osteoporosis in Asian women

Commentary on : Chang SF, Hong CM, Yang RS. The performance of an online osteoporosis detection system a sensitivity and specificity analysis. J Clin Nurs 2014;23:1803–9.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Osteoporosis implications with regard to fragility fracture have been well established, causing a high cost to society and imparting significant morbidity to the patient. This study was conducted in Taiwan where the prevalence of osteoporosis in adults older than 35 years has been estimated at approximately 11%, with the female population having a nearly three times higher prevalence (14.9%) compared to … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BClin%2BNurs%26rft.volume%253D23%26rft.spage%253D1803%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1111%252Fjocn.12209%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23876185%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1111/jocn.12209&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=23876185&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febnurs%2F18%2F4%2F114.atom
Review of non-isolated bi-directional DC-DC converters for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle charge station application at municipal parking decks

There is a growing interest on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV's) due to energy security and green house gas emission issues, as well as the low electricity fuel cost. As battery capacity and all-electric range of PHEV's are improved, and potentially some PHEV's or EV's need fast charging, there is increased demand to build high power off-board charging infrastructures. A charge station architecture for municipal parking decks has been proposed, which has a DC microgrid to interface with multiple DC-DC chargers, distributed renewable power generations and energy storage, and provides functionalities of normal and rapid charging, grid support such as reactive and real power injection (including V2G), current harmonic filtering and load balance. Several non-isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters suited for charge station applications have been reviewed and compared, as the major focus of this paper. Half bridge converter is a good candidate but it is difficult to maintain high efficiency in wide battery pack voltage range. A variable frequency pulse width modulation (VFPWM) scheme is proposed to mitigate this issue. Finally three-level bi-directional DC-DC converter is suggested to be employed in this application. A 10kW prototype verifies that 95.1–97.9% full load efficiency can be achieved in charging mode with 180–360V battery pack voltage. In addition, the inductor size is only one third of the half bridge counterpart, which is a great advantage for high power converters.
Pleiotropy Analysis of Quantitative Traits at Gene Level by Multivariate Functional Linear Models

In genetics, pleiotropy describes the genetic effect of a single gene on multiple phenotypic traits. A common approach is to analyze the phenotypic traits separately using univariate analyses and combine the test results through multiple comparisons. This approach may lead to low power. Multivariate functional linear models are developed to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates for a unified analysis. Three types of approximate F-distribution tests based on Pillai-Bartlett trace, Hotelling-Lawley trace, and Wilks's Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants in one genetic region. The approximate F-distribution tests provide much more significant results than those of F-tests of univariate analysis and optimal sequence kernel association test (SKAT-O). Extensive simulations were performed to evaluate the false positive rates and power performance of the proposed models and tests. We show that the approximate F-distribution tests control the type I error rates very well. Overall, simultaneous analysis of multiple traits can increase power performance compared to an individual test of each trait. The proposed methods were applied to analyze (1) four lipid traits in eight European cohorts, and (2) three biochemical traits in the Trinity Students Study. The approximate F-distribution tests provide much more significant results than those of F-tests of univariate analysis and SKAT-O for the three biochemical traits. The approximate F-distribution tests of the proposed functional linear models are more sensitive than those of the traditional multivariate linear models that in turn are more sensitive than SKAT-O in the univariate case. The analysis of the four lipid traits and the three biochemical traits detects more association than SKAT-O in the univariate case.
Contributions of Four Cortex Lytic Enzymes to Germination of Bacillus anthracis Spores

Bacterial spores remain dormant and highly resistant to environmental stress until they germinate. Completion of germination requires the degradation of spore cortex peptidoglycan by germination-specific lytic enzymes (GSLEs). Bacillus anthracis has four GSLEs: CwlJ1, CwlJ2, SleB, and SleL. In this study, the cooperative action of all four GSLEs in vivo was investigated by combining in-frame deletion mutations to generate all possible double, triple, and quadruple GSLE mutant strains. Analyses of mutant strains during spore germination and outgrowth combined observations of optical density loss, colony-producing ability, and quantitative identification of spore cortex fragments. The lytic transglycosylase SleB alone can facilitate enough digestion to allow full spore viability and generates a variety of small and large cortex fragments. CwlJ1 is also sufficient to allow completion of nutrient-triggered germination independently and is a major factor in Ca2+-dipicolinic acid (DPA)-triggered germination, but its enzymatic activity remains unidentified because its products are large and not readily released from the spore9s integuments. CwlJ2 contributes the least to overall cortex digestion but plays a subsidiary role in Ca2+-DPA-induced germination. SleL is an N-acetylglucosaminidase that plays the major role in hydrolyzing the large products of other GSLEs into small, rapidly released muropeptides. As the roles of these enzymes in cortex degradation become clearer, they will be targets for methods to stimulate premature germination of B. anthracis spores, greatly simplifying decontamination measures.
Neuroendocrine and cardiovascular reactivity to stress in mid-aged and older women: long-term temporal consistency of individual differences.

We report long-term temporal consistency of stress-related neuroendocrine and cardiovascular variables in mid-aged and older women who performed mental math and speech stress tasks two times approximately 1 year apart. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, ACTH, cortisol, cardiac preejection period (PEP), respiratory sinus arrhythmia, heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and respiration rate were measured at baseline, after or during stressors, and 30 min posttask. Although there were exceptions, year-to-year Spearman coefficients showed mostly moderate to high consistency (rs approximately equal to .5-.8) for baseline, stressor, and posttask values. For reactivity, HR and PEP were most consistent (rs approximately equal to .65); consistency for other variables was moderate to low (rs approximately equal to .1-.4). Means of most variables changed from year to year. Results support the use of baseline, stressor, and posttask values in longitudinal studies.
The social behavior of Leptothorax allardycei (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): time budgets and the evolution of worker reproduction

Summary. The use of time by workers of the ant Leptothorax allardycei (Mann) is examined. Theoretical predictions are developed concerning the maximal lowering in colony reproductive output that is consistent with the evolution of worker production. Measurements are made of the effect of aggression on colony efficiency. Analysis of time budgets indicate that a typical ant spends a large fraction (0.55) of its time quiescent and another large fraction of time (0.32) involved in undifferentiated activity. Dominance activity and brood care together make up about 11% of the total time. The amount of time spent on dominance activity is negatively related to the amount of time spent on brood care, but positively related to the amount of time that an ant is active. The amount of time that an ant has available for brood care which is actually spent on brood care declines with the amount of time spent on dominance activity. The amount of time that a worker spends feeding liquid food to larvae is a function of hierarchy rank; alpha spends the most time, beta less and gamma still less. The spread of the trait of worker reproduction is examined theoretically, with particular regard to the associated costs to colony reproduction. Worker reproduction can spread through a population, under a variety of formulations, provided the cost to colony reproduction is less than some critical value in the neighborhood of 0.17-0.22 of the total colony output. The cost of worker reproduction in L. allardycei is estimated in two ways: as a time cost and as a reduction in the total number of brood tended per unit time. The two estimates of cost are 0.15 and 0.13 respectively. The reproductive options of the worker caste and the division of reproductive labor vary considerably between species. Reproduction by workers yields fitness differences between workers and results in competition among workers with the result that colony efficiency is affected.
On the seasonality of flooding across the continental United States

Abstract This study examines the seasonality of flooding across the continental United States using circular statistics. Analyses are based on 7506 USGS stream gage stations with a record of least 30 years of annual maximum instantaneous peak discharge. Overall, there is a very strong seasonality in flooding across the United States, reflecting differences in flood generating mechanisms. Most of the flood events along the western and eastern United States tend to occur during the October–March period and are associated with extratropical cyclones. The average seasonality of flood events shifts to April–May in regions where snowmelt is the dominant flood agent, and later in the spring–summer across the central United States. The strength of the seasonal cycle also varies considerably, with the weakest seasonality in the Appalachian Mountains and the strongest in the northern Great Plains. The seasonal distribution of flooding is described in terms of circular uniform, reflective symmetric and asymmetric distributions. There are marked differences in the shape of the distribution across the continental United States, with the majority of the stations exhibiting a reflective symmetric distribution. Finally, nonstationarities in the seasonality of flooding are examined. Analyses are performed to detect changes over time, and to examine changes that are due to urbanization and regulation. Overall, there is not a strong signal of temporal changes. The strongest impact of urbanization and regulation is on the strength of the seasonal cycle, with indications that the signal weakens (i.e., the seasonal distribution becomes wider) under the effects of regulation.
Photographic tone reproduction for digital images

A classic photographic task is the mapping of the potentially high dynamic range of real world luminances to the low dynamic range of the photographic print. This tone reproduction problem is also faced by computer graphics practitioners who map digital images to a low dynamic range print or screen. The work presented in this paper leverages the time-tested techniques of photographic practice to develop a new tone reproduction operator. In particular, we use and extend the techniques developed by Ansel Adams to deal with digital images. The resulting algorithm is simple and produces good results for a wide variety of images.
Fine Structure of Pilobolus: Surface and Wall Structure

The surface and wall structure of two species of Pilobolus was studied with both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The surface of the sporangium is covered with crystals of two distinc...
Tunneling Studies of VN Thin Films

Vanadium nitride is a superconductor with the B1 crystal structure and a transition temperature of 8.8 K. The superconductivity of the refractory compounds with the B1 structure is of interest for a number of reasons. Niobium nitride is one of the earliest-known high transition temperature superconductors1 and currently is under intensive study as a possible candidate for use in electronic applications. Molybdenum nitride has been predicted2 to be a superconductor with higher Tc than NbN if its B1 crystal structure can be stabilized. Calculations3 of Tc for vanadium nitride predict a value of 32K. The fact that its Tc is much lower is explained to be the result of spin fluctuations.
[Genetic variation of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase of influenza B viruses isolated in Ningbo during 2010-2012].

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of influenza B viruses and explore the genetic evolution characteristics of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of local isolated strains in Ningbo,Southeast China,during 2010 to 2012.Methods Respiratory specimens from 3440 cases of patients with influenza-like illness(ILI) during 2010 to 2012 were collected in for virus isolation.And the 628 sera samples were collected in 2010 from the healthy community population to detect the HI antibody level against the local isolated virus.For phylogenetic analysis,the fragments of HA and NA genes were amplified and sequenced from strains isolated in different years.The association between evolution of HA and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed.Results A total of 109 strains of influenza B virus were isolated,including 102 (93.6％) Victoria-lineage strains and 7 (6.4％) Yamagata-lineage strains.Positive rates of HI antibody against Victoria-lineage strains and Yamagata-lineage strains were 51.1％ (321) and 47.8％ (300),respectively (x2 =1.405,P ＞ 0.05) among the 628 sera samples.The phylogenetic analysis showed that all HA fragments of isolated strains clustered the same branch with Malaysia/2506/2004 while the NA genes formed different branches.Compared with Brisbane/60/2008 strain,there were 1 to 5 Amino acid mutations in HA domain,and more mutations were detected in NA domain,ranged from 6 to 16 sites.The genetic evolution of NA in Victoria-lineage strains were faster compared with HA.Conclusion The genetic evolution rates of NA genes were faster than that of HA genes in the local circulated Victoria-lineage viruses during 2010 to 2012;The comprehensive analysis of HA and NA fragments were more reliable and sensitive on surveillance of genetic evolution of influenza B viruses. Key words: Influenza B virus ; Hemagglutinins ; Neuraminidase; Genes ; Mutation
Mapping Melodrama: Global Theatrical Circuits, Parsi Theater, and the Rise of the Social:

This essay documents the transnational circulation of Victorian domestic melodrama and its adaptation to Indian theatrical practice, through the example of The Colleen Bawn, one of Dion Boucicault’...
Adaptation to pregnancy and motherhood among subfecund and fecund primiparous women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of infertility treatment on women's ability to adapt to pregnancy and motherhood. METHODS: Fecund (n = 261) and subfecund (n = 103) primiparous women receiving obstetrical care in southeastern Michigan participated in this descriptive, correlational, prospective study. The subjects completed Lederman's Pre-Natal Self-Evaluation questionnaire during the third trimester of pregnancy and Lederman's Postpartum Self-Evaluation questionnaire during the first postpartum appointment. FINDINGS: Mean scores showed that the two groups of women were not significantly different with either adaptation to pregnancy or motherhood. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Although subfecund women may experience stress in order to achieve a pregnancy, there do not appear to be any latent effects of this stress on their ability to adapt to pregnancy or motherhood.
Databases, everyone!: customizable animations with self-assessment: tutorial presentation

Databases are a tool used in many disciplines for the storage and retrieval of information. It is therefore reasonable to include a course or some modules on database principles in settings other than the typical upper-division offering to computer science majors. This tutorial will cover pedagogy that supports the integration of two animations that use a dynamic presentation to introduce students of many majors, not necessarily only technical ones, to relational database concepts (http://databasesmanymajors.faculty.asu.edu).
The Lamin B receptor is essential for cholesterol synthesis and perturbed by disease-causing mutations.

Lamin B receptor (LBR) is a polytopic membrane protein residing in the inner nuclear membrane in association with the nuclear lamina. We demonstrate that human LBR is essential for cholesterol synthesis. LBR mutant derivatives implicated in Greenberg skeletal dysplasia or Pelger-Huet anomaly fail to rescue the cholesterol auxotrophy of a LBR-deficient human cell line, consistent with a loss-of-function mechanism for these congenital disorders. These disease-causing variants fall into two classes: point mutations in the sterol reductase domain perturb enzymatic activity by reducing the affinity for the essential cofactor NADPH, while LBR truncations render the mutant protein metabolically unstable, leading to its rapid degradation at the inner nuclear membrane. Thus, metabolically unstable LBR variants may serve as long-sought-after model substrates enabling previously impossible investigations of poorly understood protein turnover mechanisms at the inner nuclear membrane of higher eukaryotes.
The crime of innocence and the depths of sorriness: Notes on apologies and reparations in the United States:

In this article, I reflect on apologies and reparations as these themes relate to “sorriness,” a vernacular discourse which attributes blame for social problems onto African Americans. Drawing on an anthropological case study of White tobacco growers in North Carolina, I show how talk of sorriness reflects an emphasis on personal responsibility that is widespread in American culture and helps to legitimize punitive public policies and constrain efforts to address an astonishing wealth gap. Extending a critical analysis of how aspects of American culture impede apologies and reparations to specifically examine a dynamic of racialization that colors meanings and models of citizenship and status in tobacco country, I assess a textual economy of how saying “sorry” does something other than apologize and connect an intensive case study to a critique of how a broad culture of whiteness has a hard time with apologies and reparations. This article addresses the construction of American “innocence” on multiple lev...
Research on bottleneck-delay in internet based on IP united mapping

End-to-End delay is an important performance metric to evaluate the performance of many Internet multimedia applications such as, Voice Over IP (VOIP), online gaming, cloud computing etc. Especially, the delays at some bottleneck-links of a path account for a large proportion of the End-to-End delay. To accurately identify the delays at bottleneck-links is a fundamental approach to study the delay feature of Internet, and is beneficial to the design of some efficient distributed algorithms. In this paper, we utilize real measured probing data to conduct a statistical analysis of the relationship between one-way delay and bottleneck-delay, and demonstrate that bottleneck-delay appears in 70 % of the paths in Internet. In order to further study the features of bottleneck-delay, we propose an IP united mapping scheme which combines the IP centralized mapping with the IP geographic mapping. Experiment results show that two ends of a bottleneck-link are usually located in the same country, and the links with a large number of entrances (in-degrees) and few number of exits (out-degrees) or the average shallower links are prone to leading to bottleneck-delays. Based on the structural properties of the bottleneck-links, we also give a deep discussion about the factors of bottleneck-delays at last, which demonstrates queuing delay is a key factor of bottleneck-delay.
Neonatal maternal separation increases susceptibility to experimental colitis and acute stress exposure in male mice

Experiencing early life stress can result in maladjusted stress response via dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and serves as a risk factor for developing chronic pelvic pain disorders. We investigated whether neonatal maternal separation (NMS) would increase susceptibility to experimental colitis or exposure to acute or chronic stress. Male mice underwent NMS from postnatal day 1-21 and as adults were assessed for open field behavior, hindpaw sensitivity, and visceromotor response (VMR) to colorectal distension (CRD). VMR was also measured before and after treatment with intracolonic trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) or exposure to acute or chronic water avoidance stress (WAS). Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, proinflammatory gene and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor expression were measured in distal colon. Baseline VMR was not affected by NMS, but undergoing CRD increased anxiety-like behaviors and mechanical hindpaw sensitivity of NMS mice. Treatment with TNBS dose-dependently decreased body weight and survival only in NMS mice. Following TNBS treatment, IL-6 and artemin mRNA levels were decreased in the distal colon of NMS mice, despite increased MPO activity. A single WAS exposure increased VMR during CRD in NMS mice and increased IL-6 mRNA and CRF2 protein levels in the distal colon of naive mice, whereas CRF2 protein levels were heightened in NMS colon both at baseline and post-WAS exposure. Taken together, these results suggest that NMS in mice disrupts inflammatory- and stress-induced gene expression in the colon, potentially contributing towards an exaggerated response to specific stressors later in life.
The Tragic Mulatto and Passing

The tragic mulatto is among the most recognizable figures in American literature. Its first appears in the late 1830s and continues to be found in twenty-first-century fiction. Passing is an element in many tragic mulatto narratives and becomes focal in the twentieth century. The standard narratives developed around the tragic mulatto expose and interrogate the social and cultural mores of the American South and the legacies of slavery, but some of its historical and discursive roots lie in eighteenth-century Orientalism and the Caribbean. Although many character elements and plot points have remained in play from the nineteenth century to the present, the narrative arc has changed to reflect shifting values and popular preoccupations.
Biochemical Marker for Menkes Disease

Plasma and CSF levels of catechols in 10 patients with Menkes disease, ranging in age from 9 days to 27 months, were compared with control groups and patients with congenital absence of dopamine-B-hydroxylase (DBH) at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
The development of a robotic walk-assist device for rehabilitation in patients with lower extremity paralysis

For people who struggle to walk due to muscle weakness or partial paralysis of the lower limbs, walk-assist devices can help to regain mobility by improving muscle mass and function lost due to disuse. A walk-assist motorized knee joint was built by students at the University of Hartford to be used as a rehabilitative device for repetitive knee extension and flexion. The prototype is composed of a custom-built knee-ankle-foot orthotic with upright supports, mounted around the knee joint. A posterior-mounted electrical actuator contracts and extends when activated by the patient's own electromyography (EMG) signals, collected through sensors within the device. The degree of flexion and extension are controlled by output from an optical encoder, which measures knee joint angle during therapy. EMG activation thresholds varied among subjects (n=4), which requires on-site adjustability to the gain and/or coding to resolve for patient-specific differences in threshold activation. The actuator requires 24 volts of power to drive the device at the desired 25% gait speed (1.20 km/hr) with an error of 2.82+/−0.2° (n=3). The optical encoder had 4.1% error when detecting simulated joint angles between 30° and 120° (n=3). Functional testing of the walk-assist device in the Human Performance Laboratory revealed it can accurately control a desired 30° squatting motion to 28.9°+/−0.9 at a rate of 5.1°/sec, or approximately 27% normal speed. However, there were differences in center of pressure (mm), where a normal squatting motion showed 18% deviation from center of pressure, while the device-driven squat resulted in 65% deviation. This device is an effective and inexpensive solution for physical therapy in patients with lower limb paralysis who aim to regain muscle and improve gait.
Active resistance to democratic diffusion

Abstract Recent research on the international diffusion of democracy has focused on demonstrating how diffusion can change regime outcomes. Although there is still debate within the field of democratization over how important democratic diffusion is relative to domestic factors, autocratic leaders believe that democratic diffusion can be a threat to their rule. It is clear that some countries, such as North Korea, prevent diffusion by severely restricting interactions with foreigners and forbidding access to external sources of information. The more intriguing question is how the states that have economic, diplomatic, and social linkages with democratic states prevent democratic diffusion. In other words, what methods do globally-engaged, autocratic governments use to limit exposure to and reduce receptivity to democratic diffusion? In addition to using coercion and economic patronage, autocratic states utilize two non-material mechanisms to prevent democratic diffusion: 1) restricting exposure to democratic ideas and 2) developing alternative narratives about democracy to reduce local receptivity to democratic diffusion. Sophisticated autocratic leaders can limit receptivity to democratic diffusion if they convince citizens that those ideas are “foreign,” will cause “chaos,” or if they believe they already have their own form of democracy. I explore these methods of establishing firewalls to prevent diffusion by examining the cases of China and Kazakhstan, two countries where a high level of economic linkage coincides with a successful continuation of autocratic rule, despite the global spread of democratic norms. China has developed extensive methods to restrict access to foreign ideas about democracy while Kazakhstan has mainly focused on developing an alternative narrative about democracy. This article contributes to the literature on authoritarian persistence and democratic diffusion by investigating the internal methods autocratic leaders adopt to ensure that democratic diffusion does not threaten their rule.
Glyphexts (Glyphs + Text = Effect) as Information Divide: Screen Reader Impact on Interpreting Sentimentality in Online Social Media Review Posts

Subjective information in the form of online social media (OSM) opinion posts increasingly functions as useful information in times of uncertainty. Sentimentality frequently expressed in OSM posts includes emotions such as excitement, disbelief, and rhetoric such as expressions of sarcasm. Sentimentality is conveyed through glyphs expressed in isolation (?) or (!), success repetition (????), (!!!!!), or (?!), and non-standard punctuation such as the interrobang (s). Application of a nascent lens, the Cognitive Authority Framework-Quality Information Source (CAF-QIS), has revealed that glyphs are commonly and frequently applied in OSM. Accessibility software employed by those with visual challenges allows for filtering of extra-character content in documents, including web content such as OSM. Some screen readers exclude conveyance of glyphs entirely. Through open-ended survey responses and first-hand interview accounts with visually-challenged users active on OSM opinion sites, this project seeks to uncover deeper understanding of how they determine trustworthiness of opinions and better opportunities to access emotionally informed subjective content. The concept of glyphicality provides a lens to interpret sentimentality within the specialized social media domain.
Affect in Intimate Relationships: The Developmental Course of Marriage

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the role of emotion expression and experience within the context of intimate relationships in adulthood and old age. It focuses on the marital relationship because in Western cultures it is the closest and most enduring relationship most adults experience. Over 95% of people in America marry at some point in their lives, and after 20 years more than half of these marriages are still intact; in cases of divorce, remarriage within two to three years is typical. Marriage also serves as a rite of passage that signals entry into adulthood and marks the beginning of a developmental path on which other emotionally charged life events, such as parenthood and widowhood, are likely to follow. Thus, the marital relationship serves as a principal context for emotional experiences and life events. The chapter also discusses that relationships characterized by heavy emotional investment have broad implications for individual's mental and physical health. It characterizes the emotional exchanges between husbands and wives at different points in the life cycle at a microscopic level. Finally, the chapter offers presents a theoretical framework within which to consider the developmental course of emotional experience during the second half of life.
The Madness of Insult in Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado

It is the Fool from the Tarot and the selection of this dress really shows how brilliant Poe is. His dress is exactly like that worn by Fortunato as he strides negligently across a rocky landscape without appearing to pay any attention to the lynx-like animal that falls upon him from behind with savage fury. That the carelessness and folly of the man are not due to the natural and passing heedlessness of youth is shown by his slight beard. The card symbolizes the folly and degradation of man which being subject to no rules of reason or logic, will eventually be subject to unhappiness or destruction both of which are explored in the essay.
Fourth Colorado Mathematical Olympiad: April 17, 1987

In early fall 1986 I received a surprising call from Ms. Bailey Barash, an anchorwoman at CNN, whom I saw daily on my TV screen. A CNN news team was to come to Colorado Springs and cover an important international gathering at the Broadmoor Hotel. A CNN education crew wanted to come along and cover the Olympiad, if it were to be “served” in November. I did not feel we could make such a move, even for CNN. On CNN’s request, I reminded them in March about their interest in covering the Olympiad, but, of course, without a major political event in the neighborhood they were interested in the Olympiad, but not too interested.
Changes in humeral retrotorsion and the development of little league shoulder: A case study.

Abstract Objective To present the case of a 15 year-old baseball player with Little League Shoulder (LLS) and describe how developmental changes in the angle of humeral retrotorsion (HRT) may contribute to the underlying pathology of this condition. Design Case report. Setting Two years earlier, the patient had participated in a healthy player screening program at which time measurements of height, weight, shoulder motion, and HRT were obtained. These same measures were obtained during the initial evaluation after injury. Between measurements, the patient grew more than 12 cm in height and demonstrated a large shift in proximal humeral torsional alignment with a change of 13° and 19° of HRT in the dominant and non-dominant sides respectively. Participant 15 year-old male (1.88 m, 79.8 kg), right hand dominant baseball pitcher and 3rd baseman diagnosed with right LLS. Conclusion The pathoanatomical factors contributing to LLS are not well understood. The degree of HRT is a developmental characteristic that changes over the course of physiological maturation. The large changes in HRT seen in this case, may implicate rapid changes in HRT angle create a window of increased susceptibility to physeal damage, and contribute to the development of LLS.
Stochastic Hybrid Inclusions Applied to Global Almost Sure Optimization on Manifolds

This paper presents a class of stochastic dynamical systems designed to solve non-convex optimization problems on smooth manifolds. In order to guarantee convergence with probability one to the set of global minimizers of the cost function, the proposed dynamics combine continuous-time flows, characterized by a differential equation, and discrete-time jumps, characterized by a stochastic difference inclusion. By using the framework of stochastic hybrid inclusions, we provide a detailed stability characterization of the dynamics, as well as a simple extension to address learning problems in games defined on manifolds. Our results are illustrated by a numerical example in the setting of a weighted non-cooperative potential game defined on the torus.
Foot Alignment in Symptomatic National Basketball Association Players Using Weightbearing Cone Beam Computed Tomography.

Background:Weightbearing cone beam computed tomography (WB CBCT) allows detailed 3-dimensional imaging of the foot and ankle in a weightbearing state and provides improved accuracy and reliability ...
Thermodynamic theory and experimental validation of a multiphase isochoric freezing process.

Freezing of the aqueous solutions that comprise biological materials, such as isotonic physiological saline, results in the formation of ice crystals and the generation of a hypertonic solution, both of which prove deleterious to biological matter. The field of modern cryopreservation, or preservation of biological matter at sub-freezing temperatures, emerged from the 1948 discovery that certain chemical additives such as glycerol, known as cryoprotectants, can protect cells from freeze-related damage by depressing the freezing point of water in solution. This gave rise to a slew of important medical applications, from the preservation of sperm and blood cells to the recent preservation of an entire liver, and current cryopreservation protocols thus rely heavily on the use of additive cryoprotectants. However, high concentrations of cryoprotectants themselves prove toxic to cells, and thus there is an ongoing effort to minimize cryoprotectant usage whilst maintaining protection from ice-related damage. Herein we conceive from first principles a new, purely thermodynamic method to eliminate ice formation and hypertonicity during the freezing of a physiological solution: multiphase isochoric freezing. We develop a comprehensive thermodynamic model to predict the equilibrium behaviors of multiphase isochoric systems of arbitrary composition and validate these concepts experimentally in a simple device with no moving parts, providing a baseline from which to design tailored cryopreservation protocols using the multiphase isochoric technique.
Trust and happiness in the history of European political thought

This is a timely volume. A recent Pew report from the Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Survey found that ‘few worldwide have a lot of trust in their government’, and in much of Europe and the New World...
Hate Gets Under The Skin- Cohesive Identity and Stopping the Murders in Mesopotamia

It is very important to study Iraq and eastern Syria, since these regions are always in turmoil and often in the news. These regions together make up ancient Mesopotamia. I have found very strong correlations between the borders of ancient state formations and modern-day geo-cultural divides. In this article, I suggest that we take these long-term patterns seriously when deciding what to do with eastern Syria and Iraq. We should not dismiss the idea of making internal or external borders more in keeping with divisions of the land based upon identity politics in modern-day Mesopotamia. Also, this paper makes us all aware of easily-forgotten groups, like the Syriac Christians on northern Iraq and eastern Syria, who are often conveniently left off of mainstream news broadcasts. In sum, the Ur III bala taxation system correlates very strongly with the modern Shia/non-Shia divide within modern Mesopotamia.
Coculturing of Mosquito-Microbiome Bacteria Promotes Heme Degradation in Elizabethkingia anophelis.

Anopheles mosquito microbiomes are intriguing ecological niches. Within the gut, microbes adapt to oxidative stress due to heme and iron after blood meals. Although metagenomic sequencing has illuminated spatial and temporal fluxes of microbiome populations, limited data exist on microbial growth dynamics. Here, we analyze growth interactions between a dominant microbiome species, Elizabethkingia anophelis, and other Anopheles-associated bacteria. We find E. anophelis inhibits a Pseudomonas sp. via an antimicrobial-independent mechanism and observe biliverdins, heme degradation products, upregulated in cocultures. Purification and characterization of E. anophelis HemS demonstrates heme degradation, and we observe hemS expression is upregulated when cocultured with Pseudomonas sp. This study reveals a competitive microbial interaction between mosquito-associated bacteria and characterizes the stimulation of heme degradation in E. anophelis when grown with Pseudomonas sp.
Small scale test to measure the strength of adhesives at elevated temperatures for use in evaluating adhesives for cross-laminated timber (CLT)

Cross laminated timber (CLT) is becoming widely available in North America. The product standard for North American CLT, PRG-320, has strict requirements on adhesive performance under fire scenarios. To become an adhesive certified under PRG-320, a full sized CLT compartment must be built and tested without a second flashover occurring caused by delamination. Currently, only three adhesive formulations are PRG-320 certified. This large scale test is expensive to run and only yields “pass-fail” results. In this paper we present small-scale adhesive tests performed at the Forest Products Laboratory. The tests examine a single lap shear joint. The samples are tested at elevated temperatures in a universal testing machine with an environmental chamber built around the grips. The strains are measured using digital image correlation. Tests were conducted in two different manners. In the first test, thermal equilibrium was achieved and the sample was loaded to failure. In the second test, a constant load was applied and a thermal ramp was applied until failure occurs and the temperature at failure was recorded. Importantly, the tests were compared against control samples of solid wood (no adhesive) so that adhesive strength could be normalized to that of solid wood. It is hoped that this small-scale test can aid in the understanding of CLT adhesive performance and be used to screen adhesives prior to investment in large scale adhesive qualification tests.
Effects of Music Therapy During Total Knee Arthroplasty Under Spinal Anesthesia: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Purpose Music therapy is an effective non-pharmacologic intervention that is cost-effective, easy to implement, and customize. It has been shown to significantly alleviate anxiety and improve patient satisfaction. In this study, we aimed to compare music therapy to a control (no music) group with respect to sedation requirements, anxiety levels, and patient satisfaction for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia. Methods In this randomized controlled study, we compared the effect of music therapy in patients ≥ 18 years old. Patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty were screened for the study to rule out any contraindications for spinal anesthesia. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio for either the "music" or "control" group. Both groups were compared for sedation requirements, preoperative and postoperative anxiety levels, and patient satisfaction. Results Subjects in the music group had a statistically significant lower than average State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-State baseline score as compared to the control group (music group 31.00 (standard deviation (SD) 1.44), control group 38.04 (SD 2.35); p = 0.01). Postoperative STAI-State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-State scores for the music group were lower for the music group than the control group (music group 28.34 (SD 1.64), control group 32.21 (SD 1.56), p= 0.09). STAI-Trait scores were similar pre-operatively, but significantly less post-operatively in the music group (28.14 SD 1.0) as compared to the control group (34.71 SD 2.31); p = 0.01. Propofol dose per kilogram per surgical minute was similar between the two groups (music group 0.05, control group 0.06; p= 0.264). Patient satisfaction scores with their perioperative experience were higher in the music group (p= 0.009). Conclusions Music therapy may be offered as an alternative to traditional anxiolytics intra-operatively. However further studies are warranted to evaluate whether or not music therapy can decrease sedation and anxiolytic medications during surgery. The type and mode of delivery of music also need to be studied to better understand the impact of music therapy. Clinical trial registry: Clinicaltrials.gov # NCT03569397.
Systemic review and network meta-analysis: Prophylactic antibiotic therapy for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Systemic review and network meta-analysis: Prophylactic antibiotic therapy for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
Use of a warm handoff interprofessional simulation to model asynchronous and patient-centered teamwork

Abstract An interprofessional education simulation in an outpatient clinic setting was utilized to allow pharmacy and social work students to practice the warm handoff communication technique. This event included 157 pharmacy and social work students. The primary objective of this encounter was for the learner to better understand the role of the partnering profession and demonstrate an appropriate warm handoff. The simulation included pre-event didactic education, performance of a warm handoff, and faculty-led debriefing. A novel warm handoff evaluation checklist was created to evaluate the performance of the students using the warm handoff communication technique. Students successfully initiated the warm handoff and demonstrated patient engagement by asking permission and using introductions. However, students did not perform as well with the more complex skills of communicating the patient's background, situation, and assessment to their colleagues. Students were asked to complete an anonymous, pre- and post-questionnaire to assess the impact and value of the interprofessional simulation and the likelihood that they would refer a patient to the partnering profession in the future. The post-questionnaire was evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively using a content analysis of the open-ended questions. The quantitative analysis showed that students valued the simulation and the opportunity to practice and would use the skills gained in the future. The results also revealed an increased likelihood that students would refer patients to the partnering profession post-simulation. The content analysis of the open-ended question asking the learners what they thought was valuable about the simulation demonstrated that students value communicating with another healthcare team member with the patient in the room, learning about the role of other healthcare professionals, and practicing the warm handoff communication tool. Overall, this simulation was shown to be an effective activity to promote interprofessional care between pharmacy and social work students and to practice a warm handoff that promotes integrated patient care in outpatient healthcare settings.
Conclusion and Future Development

This chapter summarizes the major contributions of this book (the categorization of and advancement of business communication theory), discusses why these contributions matter, and presents important future aspirations for moving forward. These aspirations include the significance of improving work experiences and outcomes, breaking down the theoretical silos of disciplines, improving methodology, and avoiding ethnocentrism. We also advocate for building and adapting flexible business communication theories which reflect a dynamic workplace, clarifying constructs, and offering utility. We conclude by acknowledging limitations, and with our vision of a stakeholder inclusive conversation about an ongoing journey.
Eros in the Hamsunian Male Figure: Fantasy Women in Knut Hamsun’s 1890s Literature

Using a psychoanalytic perspective, I explore Knut Hamsun’s novels, Sult (1890), Mysterier (1892), Pan (1894), and Victoria (1898) and focus on the power that the women in fantasy have over the different male protagonists, whom I term the Hamsunian male. Within each fantasy, the women either dominate or exert supernatural power over the Hamsunian male. By undertaking such an investigation, I examine how the desired women in fantasy differ from the main female characters, in so far as they portray the Hamsunian male’s desire that ranges from intense eroticism to fear and death. While my focus on the female characters in the Hamsunian male differs from the discussions concerning the main female characters, I note that such women comment on the depiction of the masculine gender in Hamsun’s work. Furthermore, the discussion shows the power of women in fantasy, thus questioning whether they should continue to be disregarded as only superficially feminine.