cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A superconvergent local discontinuous Galerkin method for nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems

In this paper, we present and analyze a superconvergent and high order accurate local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) method for nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems (BVPs) of the form u ″ = f (t, u), which arise in a wide variety of engineering applications. We prove the L 2 stability of the LDG scheme and optimal L 2 error estimates for the solution and for the auxiliary variable that approximates the first-order derivative. The order of convergence is proved to be p + 1, when piecewise polynomials of degree at most p are used. Our numerical experiments demonstrate optimal rates of convergence. Moreover, we show that the derivatives of the LDG solutions are superconvergent with order p + 1 toward the derivatives of Gausss-Radau projections of the exact solutions. Finally, we prove that the LDG solutions are superconvergent with order p + 3/2 toward Gauss-Radau projections of the exact solutions. Our computational results indicate that the observed numerical superconvergence rate is p + 2. Our proofs are valid for arbitrary regular meshes using piecewise polynomials of degree p ≥ 1 and for the periodic, Dirichlet, and mixed boundary conditions. All proofs are valid under the hypotheses of the existence and uniqueness theorem for BVPs. Several numerical results are presented to validate the theoretical results.
An Identity Quagmire: Ontarian and Victorian Religious Education after 1950

This chapter continues the story of religious education into the 1960s and 1970s, when the consensus support for the strengthened systems of Protestant instruction of the World War II years largely vanished. Religious minorities, civic organizations, and many educators attacked religious education as anti-democratic, discriminatory, and a relic of the past. Yet many churches and several public opinion polls demonstrated continued support for religious education in the 1960s. Ultimately, reform committees were set up in both Ontario and Victoria designed to address the issue. But, for a variety of political and legal reasons, these committees spurred controversy more than consensus, and proved largely ineffective at initiating any lasting reform. By the late 1970s despite official disapproval, religious education remained on the books largely unaltered from the measures passed in the 1940s.
Care Coordination for Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs: National Survey Results:

We analyzed findings from the 2009-2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs to identify associations between families with children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) reporting adequate care coordination (CC) with family-provider relations, shared decision making (SDM), and child outcomes. Eligible subjects were the 98% of families asked about CC, service use, and communication. Bivariate analysis using χ2 tests were performed on binary outcome variables to determine the strength of the associations between CC and independent and dependent variables. Weighted, multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess independent associations of adequate CC with child outcomes and associations of SDM on adequate CC. Among families of CYSHCN asked about CC, 72% reported receiving help with CC. Of these, 55% reported receiving adequate CC. Family report of adequate CC was favorably associated with family-provider relations, child outcomes, and report of provider participation in SDM.
Radio as Public Pedagogy

The revitalization of public democratic life, as articulated in these words by Henry Giroux, speaks to the heart of all efforts linked to forging a public pedagogical practice of adult education. In contrast, it is through both the silencing and dismantling of democratic participatory rights that we are rendered most vulnerable to the destructive impact of neoliberal forces in the world today.
Pioneering Gender Equity in Education: A Love Story

My new wife Myra had been busily washing the floor when she eyed me sleeping peacefully on the couch. As she washed, she marvelled at how I could sleep through the noise, commotion and splashing sounds she was making. Her wonder matured, simmered, and morphed into action; that’s when a pail of less than pristine water forever changed my life.
How to Write and Publish an Empirical Report

In this chapter, we illustrate a stepwise progression through the thought processes and concrete tasks involved in writing an empirical report. These steps cover a range of topics from data presentation to writing mechanics. The chapter ends with a discussion of strategy—how to get one’s report published, manage the peer-review process, and plan the next publications.
Function Spaces and the First Renormalized Functional

Suppose \(\mathcal{M}_0\) is as in the introduction, and the gap condition there are adjacent\(\,\, v_0, w_0\,\, \epsilon \,\,\mathcal{M}_0 \,\,with \,\,v_0 < w_0\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\, \,\,(*)_0\) holds. Our goal is to show there are solutions of (PDE) heteroclinic in x1 from v0 to w0 and 1-periodic in the remaining variables. This requires introducing a class of admissible functions and an appropriate functional on this class whose minima will be the desired solutions of (PDE). As a first attempt, take the class of \(W_{loc}^{1,2}(\mathbb{R} \times {\mathbb{T}^{n-1}})\) functions that are asymptotic to v0 and w0 as x1 \(\rightarrow \pm \infty \) in some reasonableway and $$ minimize \int_{\mathbb{R} \times \mathbb{T}^{n-1}} L(u)dx $$ (2.1) over this class.
Kawase Approach for Dolichoectactic Basilar Artery Macrovascular Decompression in a Patient With Trigeminal Neuralgia: Case Report.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) secondary to a dolichoectatic basilar artery (DBA) is an extremely rare phenomenon. The Kawase approach for macrovascular decompression of this rare pathology been used rarely. CLINICAL PRESENTATION This report describes macrovascular decompression and basilar artery transposition in a 69-yr-old male presenting with progressively worsening left-sided typical TN secondary to a DBA compression. The DBA was successfully decompressed off of the trigeminal nerve via a pterional craniotomy and anterior petrosectomy. The patient had immediate improvement in TN symptoms postoperatively. The patient remained symptom free with nonbothersome facial numbness in the V3 segment at 8-mo postoperative follow-up in clinic. The patient suffered a sixth nerve palsy following surgery, which was later corrected by strabismus surgery. The natural history and epidemiology of TN, results of macrovascular decompression secondary to DBA compression via a traditional suboccipital retrosigmoid approach, and potential advantages of the Kawase approach are also discussed. CONCLUSION The macrovascular decompression strategy succeeded because the compressive force was applied by the DBA to the nerve in a superolateral direction, and the decompressive sling pulled the DBA away from the nerve in an inferomedial direction. The working space and access to the clival dura through the Kawase approach allowed proper corrective pull with a sling.
From City Lights to Starlight

Abruptly though not unexpectedly my father was laid off from his work in 1932 as the Depression of 1929 deepened beyond all hope of an early bounce-back. When Grover was killed, my mother had received a railroad life insurance payment that my parents invested in a 160-acre farm about 45 miles southeast of Wichita near Milan Kansas. I became a farm boy at age 5 for most of two years that will leave an indelible mark on me that I still carry. Difficult economic years for my parents will be truly wonderful years for me, learning about animals, cooking, gardens, home canning, milking, Coleman lanterns, fence mending, and first-grade class in a one-room schoolhouse under the tutelage of my teacher, Mr. Hemburger. He was in charge of an extinct, highly functional, fully decentralized American institution, whose light penetrated well into the twentieth century. A predominantly centralized top-down public education system has replaced that institution, and its decentralized urban multiple room counterpart. For economists, as much a part of the problem as the solution, education is a public good, thought to require government for its efficient production. That proposition would fail as authority gradually passed from teachers and principals to superintendents and the Department of Education.
Proceedings of the forty-second ACM symposium on Theory of computing

The papers in this volume were presented at the 42nd ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC), held June 6-8, 2010 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT). The papers at the Symposium were selected by the program committee from among 279 submissions. The committee's initial discussions were carried out electronically, and final decisions were made in a physical meeting of the committee on the Caltech campus on February 1-2. Following a merge of two papers with similar results and methods, the number of papers in the symposium stands at 78. All submissions received careful consideration, but they were not refereed in a formal sense. In addition, due to the page limit, many accepted papers appear in these Proceedings only in abbreviated form. Authors are encouraged to submit full versions of their papers for publication in journals. The committee selected two papers for a Best Paper Award: "QIP=PSPACE," by Rahul Jain, Zhengfeng Ji, Sarvagya Upadhyay and John Watrous, and "An Improved LP-based Approximation for Steiner Tree," by Jaroslaw Byrka, Fabrizio Grandoni, Thomas Rothvos and Laura Sanita. The committee selected "Augmenting Undirected Node-Connectivity by One" by Laszlo A. Vegh for the Danny Lewin Best Student Paper Award. The committee invited three leading researchers to present tutorials on the day preceding STOC. Ravindran Kannan spoke on "Spectral Methods for Matrices and Tensors," Michel Talagrand spoke on "Are Many Small Sets Explicitly Small?," and Andrea Montanari spoke on "Message Passing Algorithms: a Success Looking for Theoreticians." A paper associated with each tutorial is included in these Proceedings. The 10th Knuth Prize was awarded to David S. Johnson for seminal contributions to the theoretical and experimental analysis of combinatorial algorithms. He presented the Knuth Prize Lecture on the afternoon of June 7.
Picture recognition of food by sloth bears (Melursus ursinus)

Pictures are often used in cognitive research to represent objects and many species have demonstrated the ability to recognize two-dimensional pictures as representations of their three-dimensional counterparts. However, for ursids picture recognition has been reported in only one study of a single 11-year-old female American black bear (Johnson-Ulrich et al. 2016). We tested the picture recognition abilities of an additional species, the sloth bear. After a food preference test by which the bears’ food options were ranked and categorized as high-, mid-, and low-preference items, we tested a sub-adult male and an adult female sloth bear by presenting two pictures of food in each testing trial—a high-preference food and a low-preference food. Both bears met the criterion by choosing the pictures of their preferred foods in at least 80% of the trials in three consecutive testing sessions. We then presented never-before-used pictures of high-preference versus low-preference food items and they again met our criterion.
Drugs that affect blood coagulation, fibrinolysis and hemostasis

Abstract Drugs that affect coagulation are commonly used in contemporary health-care practice. This chapter will focus on the major drugs available that affect the coagulation system either by anticoagulant effects or prothrombotic effects. In addition to the most common adverse effects of bleeding and thrombosis, this chapter will also discuss less common adverse effects in contemporary literature such as nephropathy and major cardiac or cerebral adverse effects. This is a review of current literature published in the field between January 2018 and December 2018.
Studies on Lymphocytes. XVIII. Mechanism of Lymphocytosis Induced by Supernatant Fluids of Bordetella pertussis Cultures

Supernatant fluid from liquid medium cultures of phase I Bordetella pertussis organisms (pertussis supernatant) when given to calves and sheep by intravenous injection produces a marked lymphocytosis. Thoracic duct and splenic vein cannulation was performed in some animals to study the mechanism of production of this lymphocytosis. There was a transient increased mobilization of lymphocytes from the lymphoid organs as seen by the increase in output of lymphocytes from thoracic duct and splenic vein within a few minutes following administration of pertussis supernatant. This was followed by a decrease in the thoracic duct cell output as long as the blood lymphocyte count remained elevated, indicating an inhibition of recirculation of lymphocytes from blood to lymph. There was no evidence of increased new cell production.
A Band-Folding Microwave Photonic Link With Inter-Band Image Rejection

We present a novel continuous-time microwave photonic link that translates eight contiguous folding bandwidths (FBW) to a single intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth, with real-time discrimination of signals that are imaged or folded upon one another. A remote phase modulator imparts the source bandwidth of interest (BOI) onto the optical carrier, and one modulator of a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DPMZM) at the receiver imparts two local oscillator (LO) tones in parallel with the BOI. Third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD) between the LOs generates two more LOs, giving four LOs with eight FBWs downconverting to the IF band. A Hartley-type image rejection scheme discriminates between the upper and lower sideband images around each LO. Analysis shows the effects of different bias combinations or errors upon image rejection. Experimental results show up to at least 35dB of folded image rejection across 4GHz of original spectrum and the system successfully demodulated 64QAM signals, with almost no degradation, in the presence of a folded-image interferer.
Robotics to support aging in place

Abstract Robots are increasingly becoming a part of our everyday lives—from the Roomba vacuum cleaner robot to manufacturing robots to cars that are increasingly automated. One exciting application of robotics is in health care and the home. This application is of increasing importance, as the proportion of older adults in our population increases. There are many older adults in need of help with daily tasks than human caregivers to provide such assistance. Robotics can fill this health-care gap and help older adults to age in place by increasing wellness, providing rehabilitation, and assisting with activities of daily life by compensating for functional age-related declines. There are many tasks that robots could be developed to assist older adults with. Today, there are three main categories of robots that can assist older adults to age in place. There are social companion robots, such as Paro, and tele-operated robots, such as telepresence. Finally, there are (semi-) autonomous assistive robots, such as the Roomba. These robots can assist older adults with a range of daily activities, such as fetching items, helping around the house, providing support in disease management, and facilitating social connectivity. However, for robots to be truly effective in helping older adults age in place, it is important to consider how these machines will fit into older adults' daily lives. To this end, the purpose of this chapter is to (1) provide an overview of the role robotics may play in aging in place; (2) categorize the types of robots that can support aging in place; (3) identify ways in which robots could assist with activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and enhanced activities of daily living (EADLs); and finally (4) discuss adoption and ethical considerations in applying robots to support aging in place.
The Necessity of Intersectionality as a Framework to Explore Queer and Trans Student Retention

Limited research on queer and transgender college student retention has led to a lack of understanding of the institutional structures that support these collegians. Moreover, what scholarship does...
Fourier Analysis of Signal Waveforms in An Ideal Concurrent Dual-Band Class-D Power Amplifier

Recently, a concurrent dual-band class-D power amplifier has been demonstrated to overcome the limitations of reduced efficiency in concurrent dual-band linear power amplifiers. However, the configuration could not be symbolically analyzed like its single-band counterpart due to the complicated nature of dual-band signals. This brief aims to provide a theoretical basis for idealized concurrent dual-band class-D operation. It applies an alternate representation of the sum of two sinusoids which helps the formulation of a technique to analytically extract the complex Fourier series coefficients of the current and voltage waveforms of the power amplifier. Expressions for output power and efficiency are derived, showing a theoretical drain efficiency of 100%. The theoretically obtained results are validated using observations from literature as well as independent Harmonic Balance simulation.
The California Wildfires

Climate change-related wildfires have become a global phenomenon. Some parts of the world have been especially affected, including western Canada, Australia, and Europe. However, the most attention in recent years has been focused on the western United States in general and the state of California in particular. This chapter examines the consequences of major wildfires that have occurred in California in the past decade. Three forms of displacement associated with wildfires are described: temporary evacuations, long-term displacement while damaged or destroyed housing is being repaired or rebuilt, and permanent displacement by residents who were unwilling or unable to rebuild their homes and businesses or who preferred to move to areas that were less vulnerable to wildfires. Variations in these forms of displacement are used to make the argument that climate change is a social justice issue as it is usually the poor, the elderly, and the socially disadvantaged who are most impacted by such events. The chapter will also discuss the effect of loss of property, social networks, and other resources on the mental and behavioral health of displaced residents.
Fabrication of Copper Compliant Iinterconnects on a Printed Circuit Board: An Additive Approach

The need to increase the power density in electronic devices is being limited by the reliability of power devices and its components. To counter this problem, devices will need to have nonconventional designs and features that can help mitigate thermal and mechanical stress concerns, in order to improve failure rates at critical locations within power devices and packages. A major problem plaguing power densification arises from the reliability of the device due to thermomechanical stresses and strains at interfaces that are amplified in harsh environment electronics such as in electric vehicle applications, where temperature extremes are common. One solution to enabling longer interconnect life lies in compliant interconnects, wherein various compliant geometries using photolithography-based approaches to fabricate suspended structures for allowing deflection between chip and substrate. These features reduce stress on the interconnection itself, resulting in improved lifetimes, particularly in solder joints. Yet these structures usually come at a cost of lateral many additional processing steps during interconnect fabrication. In this work, we present an additive approach to fabricate copper-plated compliant interconnects directly on printed circuit boards (PCBs). This approach can accomplish similar thermomechanical stress alleviation to formerly reported methods, but with fewer process steps, and new geometry availability. This work reports the fabrication procedure, process engineering and characterization in addition to the compliance evaluation for a semi-subtractive structure manufacturing process enabled through a novel additive manufacturing methodology.
Practical Estimation of Accuracy in Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Using Impedance Measurements

Power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulation is a technique whereby actual power hardware is interfaced to a virtual surrounding system, simulated in real-time, through PHIL interfaces making use of power amplifiers and/or actuators. While PHIL simulation affords many advantages for flexible testing of power hardware, the accuracy of the experiment can be degraded through the non-ideal aspects of the PHIL interface, including distortion in the frequency domain, delays, and disturbances. This paper presents a practical method to estimate a subset of the closed-loop transfer function accuracy metrics of a PHIL experiment based on impedance measurements from the experiment. The method of assessing the impacts of the PHIL interfaces is demonstrated through application to an experiment in which two simulated systems are coupled through two PHIL interfaces with high bandwidth power amplifiers, enabling comparison of results with those from the ideal system.
Motor Evoked Potential Recordings During Segmented Deep Brain Stimulation-A Feasibility Study.

Background Segmented deep brain stimulation (DBS) leads, which are capable of steering current in the direction of any 1 of 3 segments, can result in a wider therapeutic window by directing current away from unintended structures, particularly, the corticospinal tract (CST). It is unclear whether the use of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) is feasible during DBS surgery via stimulation of individual contacts/segments in order to quantify CST activation thresholds and optimal contacts/segments intraoperatively. Objective To assess the feasibility of using MEP to identify CST thresholds for ring and individual segments of the DBS lead under general anesthesia. Methods MEP testing was performed during pulse generator implantation under general anesthesia on subjects who underwent DBS lead implantation into the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Stimulation of each ring and segmented contacts of the directional DBS lead was performed until CST threshold was reached. Stereotactic coordinates and thresholds for each contact/segment were recorded along with the initially activated muscle group. Results A total of 34 hemispheres were included for analysis. MEP thresholds were recorded from 268 total contacts/segments. For segmented contacts (2 and 3, respectively), the mean highest CST thresholds were 2.33 and 2.62 mA, while the mean lowest CST thresholds were 1.7 and 1.89 mA, suggesting differential thresholds in relation to CST. First dorsal interosseous and abductor pollicis brevis (34% each) were the most commonly activated muscle groups. Conclusion MEP threshold recording from segmented DBS leads is feasible. MEP recordings can identify segments with highest CST thresholds and may identify segment orientation in relation to CST.
DISCONNECTING OPEN SOLAR MAGNETIC FLUX

Disconnection of open magnetic flux by reconnection is requi red to balance the injection of open flux by CMEs and other eruptive events. Making use of recent advances in heliospheric background subtraction, we have imaged many abrupt disconnection events. These events produce dense plasma clouds whose distinctive shape can now be traced from the corona across the inner solar system via heliospheric imaging. The morphology of each initial event is characteristic of magnetic reconnection across a current sheet, and the newly-disconnected flux takes the form of a “U”-shaped lo op that moves outward, accreting coronal and solar wind material. We analyzed one such event on 2008 December 18 as it formed and accelerated at 20 m s −2 to 320 km s −1 , expanding self-similarly until it exited our field of view 1 .2 AU from the Sun. From acceleration and photometric mass estimates we derive the coronal magnetic field strength to be 8 μT , 6R⊙ above the photosphere, and the entrained flux to be 1 .6× 10 11 W b (1.6× 10 19 Mx). We model the feature’s propagation by balancing inferred magnetic tension force against accretion drag. This model is consistent with the feature’s behavior and accepted solar wind parameters. By counting events over a 36 day window, we estimate a global event rate of 1 d −1 and a global solar minimum unsigned flux disconnection rate of 6 ×10 13 W b y −1 (6×10 21 Mx y −1 ) by this mechanism. That rate corresponds to ∼ −0.2 nT y −1 change in the radial heliospheric field at 1 AU, indicating th at the mechanism is important to the heliospheric flux balance.
Prevalence of airway obstruction: A cross-racial comparison

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of airway obstruction visible on lateral cephalometric radiographs among patients of different racial groups who presented to the Eastman Institute for Oral Health (EIOH) for orthodontic records. While many previous studies have confirmed the usefulness of the lateral cephalograms as a screening tool for airway obstruction, none have compared the prevalence and clinical presentation between two different patient groups, and our assumption is that the prevalence would be the same. Methods: Two groups of 56 patients with no history of adenoid/tonsil removal were identified. All patients were from two racial groups, African-American (A) and Caucasian (C), between the ages 9 and 15 years, and an equal number of male and female patients were selected. Lateral cephalometric radiographs were traced using Dolphin Imaging Software and the ImageJ program by NIH Image. Five airway measurements were used: three linear (McNamara's upper pharynx “UP,” and Linder-Aronson and Henrikson's A1 and A2), one ratio (Fujioka's adenoid-nasopharyngeal “A/N” ratio), and one area (Handelman and Osborne's Airway Percentage “Ad area”). Results: The prevalence of any clinical obstruction (enlarged adenoids and tonsils) warranting a referral to an ENT in the A Group was 0.25, and the C Group was 0.27. Two-sample t-test was used to compare the mean value of the two groups with a significance level of 0.05. The only mean airway measurement found to be significantly different between the two groups was Fujioka's A/N ratio. Conclusion: Based on our results, the prevalence of airway obstruction on lateral cephalometric radiographs between Caucasian and African-American patients presenting to EIOH for orthodontic records was not significantly different. Our sample size was small, and we believe that our study would benefit from an increased sample size. Future research could also benefit from looking at prevalence differences of airway obstruction on cone-beam computed tomography.
The impact of multiple products and limited capacity on routine sourcing decisions

We study the influence of limited capacity and multiple products on the optimal sourcing decisions for a manufacturer subject to supply and demand uncertainty. The manufacturer produces two product...
“The world wants us dead”:stigma and the social construction of health in Pose

Through its portrayals of the intersectional identities of race and gender divergence, the FX series Pose illustrates how social structures fail marginalized communities as a disciplinary function ...
Time-domain numerical continuation of periodic orbits for harmonically forced hysteretic nonlinear systems with Iwan joints

Abstract Coulomb sliders are used widely in order to model frictional interfaces. In many applications, the nonlinear Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) of these systems is desired, but it is extremely computationally expensive to use time-domain integration methods to compute the steady-state response. The nonlinear force and stiffness of these devices depends on the position of sliders, and the implicit nature of the slider positions makes these systems hysteretic and therefore non-trivial to address using conventional continuation methods. This paper proposes a novel numerical method, dubbed ”Hysteresis Identification via Reversal Points or (HIRP)” that can compute the steady-state harmonically forced response of frictional nonlinear systems. For this purpose, a quasi-static algorithm is introduced which can evaluate the state of sliders at any time based on the reversal points over a period. This reduces the number of state variables needed in the continuation routine by at least an order of magnitude. The method has been tested by computing the harmonic response of a hysteretic system with multiple Coulomb sliders. The method is evaluated on multi-degree of freedom systems with Iwan joints, demonstrating that the method can be a valuable tool for predicting the nonlinear, steady-state response of hysteretic systems.
Unnatural Narratives and Transgressing the Normative Discourses of Iraqi History: Translating Murtaḍā Gzār’s Al-Sayyid Aṣghar Akbar

AbstractThis article consists of two parts: an annotated translation of “The Theory”—an excerpt from the novel Al-Sayyid Aṣghar Akbar (2012) by Iraqi author Murtaḍā Gzār—preceded by a critical essay that articulates the socio-historical context of the novel and analyzes it in light of recent research in unnatural narratology. The essay highlights the ways in which the novel departs from the mimetic norms of realism that characterize the dominant narratological models in modern Iraqi and Arabic fiction. It argues that through metalepsis, or transgression of intradiegetic time, coupled with the conceptual restructuring of iconic Iraqi places and discourses, the novel defies our standard knowledge of the procession of historical events in late nineteenth- and twentieth-century Iraq. The novel in turn negotiates an entry into liminal discourses that lie on the peripheries of the national narrative of the Baʿth as well as the religious counter-narrative of the Shīʿī opposition as it is traditionally conceived. The novel exposes the discrepancy between two authoritative, normative processes of historicizing, namely, the ‘Rewriting of Iraqi History Project’ and the Najafi ijtihād and taqlīd traditions. By so doing, the novel at once mirrors the immense complexity of Iraq’s modern historiography and accomplishes a skeptical deconstruction of its cultural formations, resulting in a new postcolonial reading of state hegemony, Shīʿism, Najaf, and Iraqi identity.
Physiological and Biochemical Dissection of Mechanisms Underlying Puberty

The last few years have witnessed the emergence of a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the onset of mammalian puberty. At present, several groups utilizing different animal models are actively engaged in studying various aspects of the pubertal process, more noticeably the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH)-gonadotropin component of the reproductive axis.
Gender Data Gaps: Structural Equation Modeling Offers an Alternative to Collecting More Data

Abstract An enhanced commitment to achieving gender equality, women's rights and women's empowerment in the post-2015 development framework is important. Gender data gaps exist because gender biases have inhibited and altered data collection resulting in policy formation that has insufficiently addressed gender issues. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is an effective statistical tool used to estimate correlational relations using limited input data confined to a hypothetical, researcher-specified framework of relationship. This paper highlights the use of SEM to evaluate progress on gender equality and women's empowerment during the period of the first 1,000 days of life (from pregnancy through 2 years of age for infants).
Relationship of the Presence and Copy Number of Plasmids to Exopolysaccharide Production and Symbiotic Effectiveness in Rhizobium fredii USDA 206.

Rhizobium fredii USDA 206 harbors four large plasmids, one of which carries nodulation and nitrogen fixation genes. Previously isolated groups of plasmid-cured derivatives of strain USDA 206 were compared with each other to determine possible plasmid functions. Mutant strain 206CANS was isolated as a nonmucoid (Muc−) derivative of strain 206CA, a mutant that was cured of two plasmids. The Muc− phenotype of 206CANS was only expressed when the strain was grown on certain media, particularly those with polyols as carbon sources. Plasmid pRj206b of strain 206CANS was previously shown to have a higher copy number than the same plasmid in strains USDA 206 and 206CA. When this plasmid was transferred to Muc+ strains, it conferred a nonmucoid phenotype on recipient strains. The symbiotic effectiveness of the wild-type and cured strains was compared. Overall, few differences were shown, but strains 206CA and 206CANS were found to have higher nitrogenase activities than the other strains. Thus, there appeared to be a possible relationship among exopolysaccharide synthesis, plasmid copy number, and symbiotic effectiveness. Images
MATRIX FORMULATION OF CURVED GIRDERS

Exact solutions to the linear static behavior including warping torsion of thin-walled spatial curved beam structures are obtained by the displacement formulation through the use of minimum potential energy. The generalized displacement field functions are represented by the exact solutions of the coupled homogeneous differential equations governing the static behavior, which also permits the evaluation of exact work-equivalent nodal forces due to external loadings. The obtained total torsional moment is separated through an analytical procedure into St. Venant and warping torque. Several examples are presented and comparisons made.
Examination of macrophage cell surface antigen regulation by rIFN-γ and IFN-α/β utilizing digital imaging by a novel laser detection system. Anchored cell analysis station (ACAS) 470

The use of a computer-controlled scanning laser instrument, the ACAS 470, for the analysis of cell-surface antigens on adherent macrophages is described. The association of specific cell surface antigens with macrophage differentiation and the modulation of these markers by environmental signals has long been recognized. However, direct analysis of individual macrophages for cell-surface antigen expression by conventional methods has been fraught with difficulties. Primary macrophage cultures form highly adherent monolayers in vitro. To be analyzed by conventional flow cytometric methods (e.g., FACS analysis of non-adherent lymphoid populations), the adherent macrophages must be detached by enzymatic or mechanical methods which can result in damage to the cell membranes and/or strip off cell surface antigens. Other conventional techniques, e.g., antibody plus complement-mediated cytotoxicity or immunofluorescent microscopy, are semiquantitative at best. Surface antigen analysis using ELISA techniques provides a total population measure of changes in cell surface antigen expression, but fails to provide the number of antigen-positive cells or the density of antigen per cell. The ACAS 470 obviates all of these technical problems and allows for an analysis of individual adherent cells for the density and topography of antigen per cell, as well as expression of an antigen within a population. Using the ACAS 470, we have examined the expression of Ia antigens (class II major histocompatibility antigens) and the Mac-1 antigen (C3bi receptor) on thioglycollate-elicited murine macrophages, basally and after treatment with interferons. In this study, the density and distribution of these antigens per cell, as well as their expression within a population, are reported.
Symmetric positive 4th order tensors & their estimation from diffusion weighted MRI

In Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Image (DW-MRI) processing a 2nd order tensor has been commonly used to approximate the diffusivity function at each lattice point of the DW-MRI data. It is now well known that this 2nd-order approximation fails to approximate complex local tissue structures, such as fibers crossings. In this paper we employ a 4th order symmetric positive semi-definite (PSD) tensor approximation to represent the diffusivity function and present a novel technique to estimate these tensors from the DW-MRI data guaranteeing the PSD property. There have been several published articles in literature on higher order tensor approximations of the diffusivity function but none of them guarantee the positive semi-definite constraint, which is a fundamental constraint since negative values of the diffusivity coefficients are not meaningful. In our methods, we parameterize the 4th order tensors as a sum of squares of quadratic forms by using the so called Gram matrix method from linear algebra and its relation to the Hilbert's theorem on ternary quartics. This parametric representation is then used in a nonlinear-least squares formulation to estimate the PSD tensors of order 4 from the data. We define a metric for the higher-order tensors and employ it for regularization across the lattice. Finally, performance of this model is depicted on synthetic data as well as real DW-MRI from an isolated rat hippocampus.
Role of Airway Smooth Muscle Mechanical Properties in the Regulation of Airway Caliber

The changes in lung volume that occur during normal tidal breathing and with intermittent deep inspirations play an important role in the maintenance of normal low airway responsiveness and in dilating constricted airways. The mechanical responses of airway smooth muscle in response to stretch underlie many of the physiologic effects of lung volume changes on airway caliber and airway responsiveness in vivo in normal humans and experimental animals. These properties have their basis in dynamic cytoskeletal processes that enable the airway smooth muscle cell to modify its shape and the organization of its cytoskeletal and contractile filaments in response to external forces that are imposed upon the airway smooth muscle tissue. Transmembrane integrin proteins sense mechanical forces imposed on airway smooth muscle tissues and transduce mechanical signals to macromolecular protein “adhesion” complexes (adhesomes) associated with the cytoskeletal domain of integrin proteins. Adhesome proteins mediate signals to cytoskeletal effector proteins that regulate cytoskeletal organization resulting in the remodeling of contractile and cytoskeletal filaments and their organization within the cell. Adhesome complexes also mediate signals to the nucleus that regulate changes in the phenotype and function of the airway smooth muscle cell. Mechanical stimuli imposed during breathing must be considered a primary physiologic mechanism for regulating the physiologic and pathophysiologic properties of airway smooth muscle.
The Tensile and Impact Strength of Annealed and Welded 5086 Aluminum Down to 20°K

The aluminum alloy, 5086 (4.0 per cent Mg, nominal), which was developed for structural use and particularly for welded structures, has been found to be one of the strongest as well as one of the most ductile of the aluminum alloys. Because this alloy was expected to exhibit a higher strength but still retain most of its ductility at low temperatures, a program was undertaken which involved the testing of both the parent and welded metals down to 20°K.
Three-dimensional FEM analysis of a hermetic seal ring design

The finite element method is applied to investigate the stress distribution of the seal ring/braze/substrate structures subjected to uniform thermal load in electronic packaging. A three-dimensional investigation is focused on the impact of the seal ring radius on the stress concentration at the corner of a rectangular hermetic package. Nine cases, each with a different seal ring radius, are evaluated in terms of the equivalent stress (Mises) and interfacial stress distributions on the brazing surface at both the seal ring and substrate sides. The investigation has concluded that stress concentration depends mainly on the ratio between the seal ring width, w, and the outer radius, R. An optimized design of the seal ring radius is suggested for the proposed model.
Modeling brittle fracture, slip weakening, and variable friction in geomaterials with an embedded strong discontinuity finite element.

Localized shear deformation plays an important role in a number of geotechnical and geological processes. Slope failures, the formation and propagation of faults, cracking in concrete dams, and shear fractures in subsiding hydrocarbon reservoirs are examples of important effects of shear localization. Traditional engineering analyses of these phenomena, such as limit equilibrium techniques, make certain assumptions on the shape of the failure surface as well as other simplifications. While these methods may be adequate for the applications for which they were designed, it is difficult to extrapolate the results to more general scenarios. An alternative approach is to use a numerical modeling technique, such as the finite element method, to predict localization. While standard finite elements can model a wide variety of loading situations and geometries quite well, for numerical reasons they have difficulty capturing the softening and anisotropic damage that accompanies localization. By introducing an enhancement to the element in the form of a fracture surface at an arbitrary position and orientation in the element, we can regularize the solution, model the weakening response, and track the relative motion of the surfaces. To properly model the slip along these surfaces, the traction-displacement response must be properly captured. This reportmore » focuses on the development of a constitutive model appropriate to localizing geomaterials, and the embedding of this model into the enhanced finite element framework. This modeling covers two distinct phases. The first, usually brief, phase is the weakening response as the material transitions from intact continuum to a body with a cohesionless fractured surface. Once the cohesion has been eliminated, the response along the surface is completely frictional. We have focused on a rate- and state-dependent frictional model that captures stable and unstable slip along the surface. This model is embedded numerically into the element using a generalized trapezoidal formulation. While the focus is on the constitutive model of interest, the framework is also developed for a general surface response. This report summarizes the major research and development accomplishments for the LDRD project titled 'Cohesive Zone Modeling of Failure in Geomaterials: Formulation and Implementation of a Strong Discontinuity Model Incorporating the Effect of Slip Speed on Frictional Resistance'. This project supported a strategic partnership between Sandia National Laboratories and Stanford University by providing funding for the lead author, Craig Foster, during his doctoral research.« less
Quality of health care in the US managed care system: Comparing and highlighting successful states

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the issue of quality of care in the US managed care system and to compare state‐level policies and programs. Specifically, it aims to describe five states which are making the most quality of care improvements.Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the literature to identify states' care quality rankings. Additionally, five state case studies are presented to illustrate various programs approach to quality.Findings – The paper finds that some states are better than others in their strategies to enhance quality of care. California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota and Rhode Island are considered among the best. Thus, their programs are described.Research limitations/implications – From a research perspective the study brings a renewed focus on various methods in which states invest to improve residents' quality of care.Practical implications – From a practical standpoint, since quality of care is an important topic and interesting to all stakeholders in health ca...
TU‐A‐210‐01: HIFU Physics and Delivery

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has developed rapidly in recent years and is used frequently for clinical treatments in Asia and Europe with increasing clinical use and clinical trial activity in the US, making it an important medical technology with which the medical physics community must become familiar. Akin to medical devices that deliver treatments using ionizing radiation, HIFU relies on emitter geometry to non-invasively form a tight focus that can be used to affect diseased tissue while leaving healthy tissue intact. HIFU is unique in that it does not involve the use of ionizing radiation, it causes thermal necrosis in 100% of the treated tissue volume, and it has an immediate treatment effect. However, because it is an application of ultrasound energy, HIFU interacts strongly with tissue interfaces, which makes treatment planning challenging. In order to appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of HIFU as a thermal therapy, it is important to understand the underlying physics of ultrasound tissue interactions. The first lecture in the session will provide an overview of the physics of ultrasound wave propagation; the mechanism for the accumulation of heat in soft-tissue; image-guidance modalities including temperature monitoring; current clinical applications and commercial devices; active clinical trials; alternate mechanisms of action (future of FUS). The second part of the session will compare HIFU to existing ionization radiation techniques. The difficulties in defining a clear concept of absorbed dose for HIFU will be discussed. Some of the technical challenges that HIFU faces will be described, with an emphasis on how the experience of radiation oncology physicists could benefit the field. Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the basic physics and biology of HIFU, including treatment delivery and image guidance techniques. 2. Summarize existing and emerging clinical applications and manufacturers for HIFU. 3. Understand that thermal ablation with HIFU is likely the first of several applications of the technology 4. Learn about some similarities and differences between HIFU and ionizing radiation in terms of physics and biological effects. 5. Learn about some of the technical challenges HIFU faces that might benefit from the experience of radiation oncology physicists including treatment planning improvements, quality assurance procedures, and treatment risk analysis. David Schlesinger receives research support from Elekta Instruments, AB. Matt Eames is an employee of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation which supports research and clinical trials. Dr. Eames conducts research which is supported by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.
Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) select vegetation patches in local-scale responses to foliar nitrogen but not phosphorus in native grassland

Abstract Key elements such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are often limiting relative to the nutritional needs of herbivores that feed on them. While N often limits insect herbivores in natural terrestrial ecosystems, the effect of P is poorly studied in the field, even though compelling hypotheses from the ecological stoichiometry literature predict its importance. We evaluated small-scale spatial distributions of, and herbivory by, grasshoppers among neighboring plots that vary in foliar-N and -P in tallgrass prairie. Grasshopper densities were 67% greater in N-fertilized plots but detected no effect to grasshopper densities from P-fertilizer. Leaf damage to the dominant grass Andropogon gerardii was 32% greater in N-fertilized plots, but no response to foliar-P was detected. Herbivore damage to a common forb, goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis), was not strongly linked by fertilizer treatments, although there was increased leaf damage in N-fertilizer treatments when no P was applied (a significant N × P interaction). Under field conditions at local scales, we conclude that spatially heterogeneous distributions of grasshoppers are primarily affected by foliar-N in host plants with little evidence that P-levels contribute to the spatial patterns.