cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Vasyliunas's equivalent conductivity formalism

The coupling of the ionosphere and magnetosphere can be understood by examining the field-aligned currents passing between the two. In his treatment of the shielding of the inner magnetosphere, Vasyliunas [1972] developed a mathematical formalism for representing this coupling by a pseudo Ohm's law. All the effects of the magnetospheric plasma are comprised in an equivalent Hall conductivity that is determined by the assumed ion density distribution. In this paper, an alternate derivation of this formalism is presented in which, unlike the original derivation, the kinematics of the ions do not enter at all. This underscores the importance of a strong assumption upon which the method rests; that is, the ion distribution is assumed to be time stationary. However, there is nothing in the model to insure that the physical drifts of the ions do indeed satisfy that requirement. This places severe restrictions on the proper use of the formalism and implies that its results cannot be assumed to be correct in the absence of extensive a posteriori analysis.
Locomotion response of airborne, ambulatory and aquatic insects to thermal stimulation using piezoceramic microheaters

This paper reports the locomotion response of airborne, ambulatory and aquatic insects to thermal stimulation. A finite element model has been developed to predict the variation of insect‐stimulator interface temperature with input power. Piezothermal stimulators have been fabricated from lead zirconate titanate (PZT) using a batch mode micro ultrasonic machining process. Typical sizes range from 200 μm to 3.2 mm. For PZT stimulators, the temperature and thermal efficiency reach the maximum value around the resonance frequency which is typically in the range of 650 kHz to 47 MHz. Experiments have been conducted on green June beetles (GJBs), Madagascar hissing roaches and green diving beetles (GDBs) in order to show the versatility of the proposed technique. The stimulators have been implanted near the antennae of the GJBs and on either side of the thorax of the Madagascar hissing roaches and GDBs, respectively. In all cases, the insects move away from the direction of the actuated stimulator. The left and right turns are statistically similar. Thermal stimulation achieves an overall success rate of 78.7%, 92.8% and 61.6% in GJBs, roaches and GDBs, respectively. On average, thermal stimulation results in an angle turn of about 13.7 ◦ ‐16.2 ◦ on GJBs, 30 ◦ ‐45 ◦ on the roaches and 30 ◦ ‐50 ◦ on GDBs. The corresponding average input power is 360, 330 and 100 mW for GJBs, roach and GDBs, respectively. Scaling limits of the PZT stimulators for operating these stimulators are also discussed. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
Vitamin D Deficiency in Homebound Elderly Persons

Objective. —To assess the vitamin D status in homebound, community-dwelling elderly persons; sunlight-deprived elderly nursing home residents; and healthy, ambulatory elderly persons. Design. —A cohort analytic study. Participants. —Of 244 subjects at least 65 years old, 116 subjects (85 women and 31 men) had been confined indoors for at least 6 months, either in private dwellings in the community (the Hopkins Elder Housecall Program) or in a teaching nursing home (The Johns Hopkins Geriatrics Center). The 128 control subjects, a healthy ambulatory group, came from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging. All subjects were free of diseases or medications that might interfere with their vitamin D status. Main Outcome Measures. —Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-[OH] 2 D) were measured in all subjects. In a subgroup of 80 subjects, serum levels of intact parathyroid hormone (PTH), ionized calcium, and osteocalcin and intake of vitamin D (through 3-day food records) were assessed. A randomly selected cohort of sunlight-deprived subjects also had serum levels of vitamin D binding protein measured. Results. —In sunlight-deprived subjects overall, the mean 25-OHD level was 30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL) (range, 2 D level was 52 pmol/L (20 pg/mL) (range, 18 to 122 pmol/L [7 to 47 pg/mL]). In the sunlight-deprived subjects, 54% of community dwellers and 38% of nursing home residents had serum levels of 25-OHD below 25 nmol/L (10 ng/mL) (normal range, 25 to 137 nmol/L [10 to 55 ng/mL]). A significant inverse relationship existed between 25-OHD (ie, Log [25-OHD]) and PTH when they were analyzed together ( r =-0.42; R 2 =0.18; P Conclusions. —Despite a relatively high degree of vitamin supplementation in the United States, homebound elderly persons are likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency. ( JAMA . 1995;274:1683-1686)
Compendium of Economic and Trade Indicators by Region, 1960 to 2004

This compilation of data is prepared as a companion to the Bank's research project on distortions to agricultural incentives. Its purpose is to provide comparative basic economic and trade indicators for the countries involved as case studies in that project. The project is global in coverage, and is sub-divided into five groups: Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia's Transition Economies, Latin America and the Caribbean, and high-income countries. The present compendium is divided into seven main sections. The first one includes data on high income countries which are compared with three aggregates for developing countries. Sections two through five focuses indeed specifically on one of the four regional groups and compare data for the case study countries with various aggregates of studied and not studied countries. Due to the very limited data availability several countries have not been included in the compendium. Finally, section six and seven include estimates of trade distortions, and sectoral shares of value added and household expenditures for all the studied countries and several regional aggregates.
Uptake and mutagenicity of AF‐2 in chinese hamster V‐79 spheroids under aerobic and hypoxic conditions

Chinese hamster V-79 cells, when grown in suspension culture as multicell spheroids, display many of the features of organized tissue. AF-2, a known mutagen, was used to examine the influence of some of these factors on mutagenesis. Since AF-2 is fluorescent, FCM quantitation of intracellular drug content was performed after incubation of spheroids under either aerobic or hypoxic conditions. For the same level of toxicity, hypoxic spheroids accumulated twice as much AF-2 as aerobic spheroids, but showed less than half the number of mutants resistant to 6-thioguanine. Using velocity sedimentation techniques, a selective increase in the toxic and mutagenic effects of AF-2 was found for internal vs external cells of the spheroids. However, in mutagenicity experiments using all the cells from spheroids, the response of the external cycling cells predominated over the response of the internal cells. Thus, in addition to the demonstration that cellular environment can modify mutagenesis, these results also suggest that the growth fraction of the target cells can be an important consideration in mutation experiments.
Critical Illness-Related Corticosteroid Insufficiency

The diagnosis of adrenal failure and the indications for corticosteroid therapy in critically ill patients are controversial. This controversy is fueled by the complexity of the issues and the paucity of data from high quality clinical trials. Nevertheless, while the use of high-dose corticosteroids in patients with severe sepsis and ARDS failed to improve outcome and was associated with increased complications, an extended course of stress-dose corticosteroids has been reported to increase the occurrence of ventilator-free days and survival in select groups of ICU patients. These patients typically have an exaggerated proinflammatory response. Until recently the exaggerated proinflammatory response that characterizes critically ill patients with systemic inflammation has focused on suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and adrenal failure. However, experimental and clinical data suggest that glucocorticoid tissue resistance may also play an important role. This complex syndrome is referred to as critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) and is defined as inadequate corticosteroid activity for the severity of the illness of a patient. The paper reviews cortisol physiology, CIRCI, and the role of corticosteroid therapy in critically ill patients.
The relationship between risetime, settling time, bandwidth and Q in certain distributed microwave networks

Abstract Relationships between risetime, settling time, bandwidth and Q are presented for the class of TEM-mode delay line filters whose impulsive response is a train of uniformly spaced, but unequally weighted impulses. Conventional measures of bandwidth for these systems are undefined because the energy spectrum is a periodic function of frequency. It is shown, however, that with careful interpretation one may derive a useful inverse relationship between bandwidth and risetime via a suitably modified autocorrelation function; the relationship is a risetime-bandwidth product equaling a constant derived by an equivalent area measure. It is also shown that a useful estimate of the settling time of a system can be obtained in terms of the moments of the impulse response which weight heavily the contributions of the remote time domain residues. Examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the theory.
A toy story: Association between young children's knowledge of fast food toy premiums and their fast food consumption.

Fast food restaurants spend millions of dollars annually on child-targeted marketing, a substantial portion of which is allocated to toy premiums for kids' meals. The objectives of this study were to describe fast food toy premiums, and examine whether young children's knowledge of fast food toy premiums was associated with their fast food consumption. Parents of 3- to 5-year old children were recruited from pediatric and WIC clinics in Southern New Hampshire, and completed a cross-sectional survey between April 2013-March 2014. Parents reported whether their children usually knew what toys were being offered at fast food restaurants, and whether children had eaten at any of four restaurants that offer toy premiums with kids' meals (McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Wendy's) during the 7 days preceding the survey. Seventy-one percent of eligible parents participated (N = 583); 48.4% did not receive any education beyond high school, and 27.1% of children were non-white. Half (49.7%) the children had eaten at one or more of the four fast food restaurants in the past week; one-third (33.9%) had eaten at McDonald's. The four restaurants released 49 unique toy premiums during the survey period; McDonald's released half of these. Even after controlling for parent fast food consumption and sociodemographics, children were 1.38 (95% CI = 1.04, 1.82) times more likely to have consumed McDonald's if they usually knew what toys were offered by fast food restaurants. We did not detect a relationship between children's toy knowledge and their intake of fast food from the other restaurants. In this community-based sample, young children's knowledge of fast food toys was associated with a greater frequency of eating at McDonald's, providing evidence in support of regulating child-directed marketing of unhealthy foods using toys.
Abstract 2939: Induction of apoptosis in prostate cancer cells by altering cell metabolism

The levels of ceramides, sphingosine and their related metabolites have been reported to play an important role in cell fate by determining the balance between apoptosis and cell survival signaling through what has been called the sphingolipid rheostat. One of sphingosine metabolic product, sphingosine-1-phosphate, has been widely proven to be related with tumor growth, resistance to apoptosis, angiogenesis, metastasis and invasiveness in several tumors. In prostate cancer, sphingosine-1-phosphate levels correlate with risk of progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), PSA levels, Gleason score, positive surgical margins, lymph node extension, metastatic extension and mortality. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) act as pleiotropic transcription factors which serve as major components for cancer progression, upregulation of HIFs are essential for metastasis and tumor growth once hypoxia has ensued. Several relations between HIFs and ceramides/sphingosine metabolism have been reported recently, suggesting that both mechanisms might be somehow interconnected. Despite decades of research inhibitors to HIF have been few and far between. The DNA-intercalating agent doxorubicin was identified one such inhibitor by a mechanism not yet understood. The major mechanism of doxorubicin-mediated apoptosis has been established to be induced by the transcription factor, p53. The p53 cell cycle arrest is usually through p21 which has been shown to have enhanced expression in response to sphingosine kinase 2, one of the enzymes that mediate the conversion of sphingosine to sphingosine-1-phosphate. Several studies associating chemotherapy with different drugs that attempt to modify sphingosine and ceramides metabolism have been published with some remarkable results, although never complete responses. We hypothesize that the incomplete responses may be due to an incomplete blockade of the conversion of ceramides and sphingosine towards their phosphorylated metabolites, sphingosine-1-phosphate and ceramide-1-phospate respectively. Previous work has focused on single agents to enhance chemotherapy. In this work we are interested in studying the combination of different modifiers in the metabolism of ceramides/sphingosine with doxorubicin in order to achieve a total metabolic blockade in an effort to elicit a complete clinical response for prostate cancer. Citation Format: Gonzalo Torga, Steven Mooney, Jelani C. Zarif, Kenneth J. Pienta. Induction of apoptosis in prostate cancer cells by altering cell metabolism. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2939. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2939
Early prediction of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation eligibility for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in adults

Abstract Purpose Appropriately identifying and triaging patients with newly diagnosed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who may progress to severe ARDS is a common clinical challenge without any existing tools for assistance. Materials and methods Using a retrospective cohort, a simple prediction score was developed to improve early identification of ARDS patients who were likely to progress to severe ARDS within 7 days. A broad array of comorbidities and physiologic variables were collected for the 12-hour period starting from intubation for ARDS. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) eligibility was determined based on published criteria from recent ECMO guidelines and clinical trials. Separate data-driven and expert opinion approaches to prediction score creation were completed. Results The study included 767 patients with moderate or severe ARDS who were admitted to the intensive care unit between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2010. In the data-driven approach, incorporating the ARDS index (a novel variable incorporating oxygenation index and estimated dead space), aspiration, and change of Pa o 2/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio into a simple prediction model yielded a c-statistic (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) of 0.71 in the validation cohort. The expert opinion–based prediction score (including oxygenation index, change of Pa o 2/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio, obesity, aspiration, and immunocompromised state) yielded a c-statistic of 0.61 in the validation cohort. Conclusions The data-driven early prediction ECMO eligibility for severe ARDS score uses commonly measured variables of ARDS patients within 12 hours of intubation and could be used to identify those patients who may merit early transfer to an ECMO-capable medical center.
FAP-related desmoid tumors: a series of 44 patients evaluated in a cancer referral center.

Desmoid tumors (DTs), the commonest extra-intestinal manifestation of familial adenomatosis polyposis (FAP), are monoclonal neoplasms demonstrating fibroblastic - myofibroblastic differentiation; they are locally invasive without metastatic capacity. FAP-associated DT natural history knowledge is limited; we examined patient and tumor characteristics for a FAP-DT cohort and evaluated anti-DT therapy molecular target expression levels (immunohistochemical analyses, FAP-DT tissue microarray; TMA). Forty-four patients were classified as intra-abdominal (IA; n=26), abdominal wall (AW)/extra-abdominal (EA; n=12) or concomitant IA/AW (n=6) based on DT primary diagnosis location. Positive family histories were found in 62% of FAP versus 10% of DT patients. Surgery was the mainstay therapy for AW/EW patients, whereas IA DTs received surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, tamoxifen, NSAIDs, and/or imatinib. Eight of 20 completely resected DTs in the IA and AW/EA groups recurred; 12 of 38 patients in these groups (33%) developed secondary lesions elsewhere. Two intestinal mesenteric DT patients died of disease, three from other cancers, 27 are alive with disease and 12 are alive without disease. All evaluable FAP-DT exhibited nuclear β-catenin, 65% were positive for cyclin D1, and 66% expressed nuclear p53. No ERα expression was observed, but ERβ was expressed in 72%. COX2 was expressed in all evaluable FAP-DTs. KIT was rarely found in DTs but both PDGFRs and their ligands were expressed. Comparing biomarker expression (IA vs. EA DTs), only nuclear ER-s staining was significantly higher in EA lesions (p=0.0070); no other markers were site informative. Enhanced knowledge of FAP-DT molecular underpinnings will facilitate development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Familial atypical multiple mole melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome: history, genetics, and heterogeneity

Approximately 5–10 % of cutaneous melanoma occurs in kindreds with a hereditary predisposition. Mutations in the CDKN2A gene are found to occur in approximately 20–40 % of these kindreds. The first historical mention of what is now called the familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome appears to be from 1820, with more reports throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and later years. In 1991, Lynch and Fusaro described an association between familial multiple mole melanoma and pancreatic cancer and work continues to elucidate the syndrome’s genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity. Individuals at risk for familial melanoma need periodic screenings. Unfortunately, adequate screening for pancreatic cancer does not currently exist, but pancreatic cancer’s prominence in the hereditary setting will hopefully act as a stimulus for development of novel screening measures.
Effects of acute alcohol exposure on [11C]acetate uptake in the human brain

2022 Objectives Alcohol intoxication results in marked reductions in brain glucose metabolism, which we hypothesize, reflects the use of acetate as energy source. To test this we conducted two studies that assessed the effects of alcohol intoxication (0.75 g/kg); one on brain glucose metabolism to test which regions were most sensitive and assess if alcohol affected activation responses and one to measure effects on brain uptake of acetate. Methods The effects of alcohol intoxication on brain glucose metabolism were measured in 15 social drinkers using PET and FDG (absolute quantification) both without and with visual/auditory stimulation (video). The effects of alcohol intoxication on acetate brain uptake were measured in 16 social drinkers and 15 alcohol abusers using [11C]acetate (quantifying SUV for the first 20 minutes). Results Alcohol intoxication decreased whole brain glucose metabolism (11.3% ±11); largest decrements in cerebellum (16% ±11) and occipital cortex (15.7% ±11) and smallest in thalamus (6.6% ±16) and striatum (7.8 ±13) but did not affect metabolic increases from stimulation. In contrast [11C]acetate brain uptake increased during intoxication (Controls 14.5% ±11; Abusers 16% ±14); largest increases in cerebellum (17% ±14) and smallest in brainstem (10% ±16), which was confounded by a concomitant increase in [11C]acetate in plasma. Conclusions We show a reduction in brain glucose metabolism during intoxication but no effect on metabolic activation with stimulation. The opposite changes observed of decreases in glucose metabolism and increases in [11C]acetate uptake support the hypothesis that acetate may serve as an alternative energy source during intoxication. Research Support Research supported by NIH’s Intramural Research Program (NIAAA) and by DOE (DE-AC01-76CH00016)
E-Marriage and the Military

Professors Adam Candeub and Mae Kuykendall, in Modernizing Mar-riage, present a groundbreaking argument for “E-marriage” or electronic marriage as an alternative to traditional marriage practice, where both par-ties must be physically present within the state before a marriage becomes official. Under an E-marriage regime, a state would use today’s technology to make its marriage laws accessible to those outside of the state’s physical boundaries. These procedures could preserve some of the traditional ele-ments of a marriage ceremony (e.g. exchanging vows) by allowing couples to marry via videoconference or by creating an Internet virtual presence. The purpose of this essay is to present an argument as to why this kind of E-marriage regime would be particularly beneficial for American service members.
Disinhibition of the Extracellular-Signal-Regulated Kinase Restores the Amplification of Circadian Rhythms by Lithium in Cells From Bipolar Disorder Patients

Abstract Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by depression, mania, and circadian rhythm abnormalities. Lithium, a treatment for BD stabilizes mood and increases circadian rhythm amplitude. However, in fibroblasts grown from BD patients, lithium has weak effects on rhythm amplitude compared to healthy controls. To understand the mechanism by which lithium differentially affects rhythm amplitude in BD cells, we investigated the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and related signaling molecules linked to BD and circadian rhythms. In fibroblasts from BD patients, controls and mice, we assessed the contribution of the ERK pathway to lithium-induced circadian rhythm amplification. Protein analyses revealed low phospho-ERK1/2 (p-ERK) content in fibroblasts from BD patients vs. controls. Pharmacological inhibition of ERK1/2 by PD98059 attenuated the rhythm amplification effect of lithium, while inhibition of two related kinases, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and P38 did not. Knockdown of the transcription factors CREB and EGR-1, downstream effectors of ERK1/2, reduced baseline rhythm amplitude, but did not alter rhythm amplification by lithium. In contrast, ELK-1 knockdown amplified rhythms, an effect that was not increased further by the addition of lithium, suggesting this transcription factor may regulate the effect of lithium on amplitude. Augmentation of ERK1/2 signaling through DUSP 6 knockdown sensitized NIH3T3 cells to rhythm amplification by lithium. In BD fibroblasts, DUSP 6 knockdown reversed the BD rhythm phenotype, restoring the ability of lithium to increase amplitude in these cells. We conclude that the inability of lithium to regulate circadian rhythms in BD may reflect reduced ERK activity, and signaling through ELK-1.
Analysis on the etiological and molecular epidemiological characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Beijing

Objective To understand the etiological and molecular-epiderniological characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Beijing.Methods Stool specimens from sporadic diarrheal patients were collected during April to December,2010.Culture and serotyping were used to detect the Vibrio parahaemolyticus from the 2118 specimens.All the positive strains were tested for drug sensitivity by Kirby-Bauer method.Real-time PCR was used to detect the existence of three virulence genes tlh,tdh and trh.Molecular typing on Vibrio parahaerrolyticus isolates was completed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis(PFGE).Results 114 out of the 2118 specimens were Vibrio parahaemolyticus positive,with the positive rate as 5.38％.114 isolates belonged to 23 serotypes,with the dominant (63.16％)serotype as O3:K6.Strains isolated from clinical manifestation patients were resistant to antibiotics-ampicillin and gentamicin,while with high sensitivity to amoxicillin,ceftriaxone,chloromycetin,imipenem,nalidixic acid and tetracycline.Virulence gene detection was positive to tlh for all the strains,but most to tdh,while only one strain to trh.The positive rate oftdh among O3:K6 strains(98.61％)was higher than that in those non-O3:K6 strains(85.71％)(P=0.0098).114 isolates were discriminated into 54 different PFGE patterns,while 72 O3:K6 strains into 34 patterns without the clustering characteristic.Conclusion Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from diarrheal patients in Beijing were dominated by O3:K6 strains,with stronger virulence.The positive rates of genes tlh and tdh were high.Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains showed high sensitivity to most antibiotics.The prevalent Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains in Beijing had various sources of clones. Key words: Vibrio parahaemolyticus ; Etiology; Molecular typing
Characterization of renin activity in brown adipose tissue

Angiotensin (ANG) II plays a vital role in blood pressure regulation and body fluid homeostasis. Although many peripheral tissues synthesize components of the renin-ANG system, very few synthesize all of the major components involved in the generation ofANG II. This study used interscapular brown adipose tissue (ISBAT) as a model system to evaluate the mechanism of ANG II generation in an extrarenal tissue. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of DNA from ISBAT demonstrated angiotensinogen gene expression; however, renin gene expression was not detected. Renin activity that was not completely derived from the residual blood pool was detected in ISBAT homogenates. Kinetic parameters for renin activity were similar in ISBAT and adrenal gland. Renin activity was partially inhibited by anti-renin antibody and completely inhibited by a specific rat renin inhibitor. Bilateral nephrectomy did not decrease renin activity in ISBAT. Western blot analysis, employing two species-specific renin antibodies, indicated the presence of a variety of isoforms of renin in ISBAT. The presence of renin activity in isolated brown adipocytes demonstrated that the enzyme is localized to adipocytes. The release of immunoreactive ANG peptides from ISBAT slices over 3 h indicated de novo synthesis. These studies support the existence of a local renin-ANG system in ISBAT and suggest involvement of renin in the formation of ANG II.
Urological laparoscopic practice patterns 1 year after formal training

AbstractThe long-term impact of laparoscopic training on urological surgical practice patterns is unclear. We assessed urologist practice patterns 1 year subsequent to a formal training course in urological laparoscopic surgery. Results were compared to findings from an identical study performed 3 months following training.On 5 dates between January and October 1991, a total of 163 urologists participated in a 2-day, university sponsored, laparoscopic surgery training seminar. At 3 months and 1 year following the course, participants were mailed a 20-question survey inquiring as to the interval laparoscopic experience. Multiple questions were designed for later correlation with participant use of laparoscopic surgery. Totals of 105 and 128 course participants (64% and 78.5%) responded to the questionnaire at 3 and 12 months, respectively. No significant differences in 3-month and 12-month demographics were demonstrated with respect to practice setting, practice focus or percentage undergoing additional tr...
Reclaimed Memory: Worker Culture in the Former GDR and Peter Weiss’s The Aesthetics of Resistance

In his three-part novel, Die Asthetik des Widerstands (The Aesthetics of Resistance), published successively in 1975, 1978, and 1981,1 Peter Weiss accomplished for the working class what Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar did for feminist theory in 1979 and what Edward Said did for postcolonial studies in 1994.2 Weiss provided a sweeping reinterpretation of major elements of the Western cultural canon from the point of view of a hitherto marginalized perspective. To read this novel is to experience a re-education; to be receptive to it is to undergo an intellectual transformation. The novel has long enjoyed a prominent place in the German intellectual left.
Extending the Power-Law Hemolysis Model to Complex Flows

Hemolysis (damage to red blood cells) is a long-standing problem in blood contacting devices, and its prediction has been the goal of considerable research. The most popular model relating hemolysis to fluid stresses is the power-law model, which was developed from experiments in pure shear only. In the absence of better data, this model has been extended to more complex flows by replacing the shear stress in the power-law equation with a von Mises-like scalar stress. While the validity of the scalar stress also remains to be confirmed, inconsistencies exist in its application, in particular, two forms that vary by a factor of 2 have been used. This article will clarify the proper extension of the power law to complex flows in a way that maintains correct results in the limit of pure shear.
Evolution of deep-bed filtration of engine exhaust particulates with trapped mass

Size-resolved particle mass and number concentrations were obtained from different operating conditions using a spark-ignition direct-injection engine and a heavy-duty diesel engine. Particle mass ...
Power system state estimation with line measurements

This paper deals with the power flow (PF) and power system state estimation (PSSE) problems, which play a central role in the analysis and operation of electric power networks. The objective is to find the complex voltage at each bus of a network based on a given set of noiseless or noisy measurements. In this paper, it is assumed that at least two groups of measurements are available: (i) nodal voltage magnitudes, and (ii) one active flow per line for a subset of lines covering a spanning tree of the network. The PF feasibility problem is first cast as an optimization problem by adding a suitable quadratic objective function. Then, the semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation technique is used to handle the inherent non-convexity of the PF problem. It is shown that as long as voltage angle differences across the lines of the network are not too large (e.g., less than 90° for lossless networks), the SDP problem finds the correct PF solution. By capitalizing on this result, a penalized convex problem is designed to solve the PSSE problem. In addition to a linear term inherited from the SDP relaxation of the PF problem, a cost based on the weighted least absolute value is incorporated in the objective for fitting noisy measurements. The optimal solution of the penalized convex problem is shown to feature a dominant rank-one component formed by lifting the true state of the system. An upper bound on the estimation error is also derived, which depends on the noise power. It is shown that the estimation error reduces as the number of measurements increases. Numerical results for the 1354-bus European system are reported to corroborate the merits of the proposed convexification framework. The mathematical framework developed in this work can be used to study the PSSE problem with other types of measurements.
Disparities in CRC post-treatment surveillance: An explanation for mortality differences between black and white CRC patients

B53 Introduction: CRC post-treatment surveillance recommendations indicate the need for frequent regular follow-up using colonoscopy to identify clinically significant cancers. A recent Cochrane review indicates that there is an overall survival benefit for intensifying the follow-up of patients after curative surgery for colorectal cancer. Not all patients receive surveillance according to current guidelines, when considering either specified frequency or timing. Several studies indicate that Black patients are less likely to receive post-treatment CRC surveillance compared to white patients, even true among insured participants and especially true among Black elderly patients. We will use a model called the Systems Model of Clinical Preventive Care, to shape the proposed study’s assessments. Methodology: Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a private, not for profit, 547-licensed bed academic medical center with the mission to provide consistently accessible health services to all, making it the largest provider of free care in New England, serving a racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse urban patient population. To identify potential participants, we accessed the data warehouse housed within the clinical data warehouse, merging demographic, clinical, medical, and social data. Results: A total of 938 patients with a colorectal cancer diagnosis were treated over the 10 year study period at BMC. Fifty-two percent of these patients were men and 300 of these patients were African-American. Our preliminary descriptive analyses of African American colorectal cancer patients’ frequency of colonoscopies showed great variation in surveillance. More than half of these patients (58%) did NOT receive a colonoscopy after their diagnosis. Only 17 percent of patients received the recommended follow-up colonoscopy within 12 months of diagnosis. Forty-one percent of patients were followed-up with a colonoscopy, yet these patients’ surveillance occurred delayed, after the recommended 12 months since diagnosis. Analysis include logistic regression using surveillance of any type an surveillance according to guidelines as dependent variables, and the clusters of variables from the Systems Model of Clinical Preventive Care as independent variables. Conclusions: To date, few analyses have provided reasons for differences in surveillance behaviors between Black and White colorectal cancer patients. Once identified, these reasons can be used to design intervention opportunities to reduce disparities and increase surveillance in black patients.
Modeling and Analysis of Energy Consumption for MIMO Systems

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive study and comparison of the energy consumption and bit-rate of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless devices using multilevel quadrature amplitude modulation (MQAM). Both spatial diversity and spatial multiplexing (SM) are examined and compared under the assumption of perfect channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter. The transmit energy is derived under a target probability of error ${p_{eb}}$ at the receiver. The transmit energy and transceiver circuit energy are then utilized to study energy tradeoffs for MIMO diversity and SM. We observe that the amount of energy savings for diversity orders two and three is steeper than that of higher diversity orders. On the other hand, SM provides a linear increase in the overall bit rate along with receiver diversity due to maximum likelihood detection. Using these results, we create a diversity-SM tradeoff for energy consumption vs. bit-rate. Using these results our proposed scheme can save around $ 4 $ dB in energy consumption while achieving the highest bit rate after full SM at ${{p_{eb}}} =10^{-3}$.
Modulation classification of satellite communication signals using cumulants and neural networks

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is investigating cognitive technologies for their future communication architecture. These technologies are expected to reduce the operational complexity of the network, increase science data return, and reduce interference to self and others. In order to increase situational awareness, signal classification algorithms could be applied to identify users and distinguish sources of interference. As a preliminary step, we seek to develop a system with the ability to discern signals typically encountered in satellite communication. Proposed is an automatic modulation classifier which utilizes higher order statistics (cumulants) and an estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio. These features are extracted from baseband symbols and then processed by a neural network for classification. The modulation types considered are phase-shift keying (PSK), amplitude and phase-shift keying (APSK), and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Physical layer properties specific to the Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite - Second Generation (DVB-S2) standard, such as pilots and variable ring ratios, are also considered. This paper will provide simulation results of a candidate modulation classifier, and performance will be evaluated over a range of signal-to-noise ratios, frequency offsets, and nonlinear amplifier distortions.
Thermal tolerance of the invasive red-bellied pacu and the risk of establishment in the United States.

Abstract Indigenous red-bellied pacu, Piaractus brachypomus, populations are in decline due to overfishing. Once ignored by aquaculturists because of their perceived low economic value, renewed aquaculture efforts in Central and South America aim to relieve fishing pressures on natural pacu populations. In the southern United States pacu aquaculture for the aquarium trade has raised concerns that accidental release could lead to establishment of overwintering populations outside captivity—a threat accentuated by the average 6 °C increase in shallow-water temperatures predicted by the end of the century. In the present study, Critical and Chronic Thermal Methodology was used to quantify red-bellied pacu thermal tolerance niche requirements. The data suggest that red-belllied pacu are a thermophilic species capable of tolerating low and high chronic temperatures of 16.5 °C and 35 °C, respectively. Critical thermal minimum and maximum temperatures of fish acclimated near their chronic limits are 10.3 and 44.4 °C. Red-bellied pacu aquaculture in the United States is concentrated in subtropical Florida regions that encourage rapid growth and reproduction, but carry an increased risk of establishing reproducing populations in local freshwater systems. The thermal niche data show that the risk of bioinvasion can be reduced or eliminated by adopting an approach whereby aquaculture potential is integrated with environmental temperature constraints.
Influences of Regional Climate Change on Air Quality Across the Continental U.S. Projected from Downscaling IPCC AR5 Simulations

Projecting climate change scenarios to local scales is important for understanding, mitigating, and adapting to the effects of climate change on society and the environment. Many of the global climate models (GCMs) that are participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) do not fully resolve regional-scale processes and therefore cannot capture regional-scale changes in temperatures and precipitation. We use a regional climate model (RCM) to dynamically downscale the GCM’s large-scale signal to investigate the changes in regional and local extremes of temperature and precipitation that may result from a changing climate. In this paper, we show preliminary results from downscaling the NASA/GISS ModelE IPCC AR5 Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 6.0 scenario. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model as the RCM to downscale decadal time slices (1995–2005 and 2025–2035) and illustrate potential changes in regional climate for the continental U.S. that are projected by ModelE and WRF under RCP6.0. The regional climate change scenario is further processed using the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system to explore influences of regional climate change on air quality.
Youth Involvement in Disaster Management

Can young people perform well when they are involved in disaster preparedness and planning roles? Social norms have often failed to incorporate youth in leadership roles and decision making process even during emergency situations. Sadly, when a disaster strikes in any given community, youth and children are found to represent more than a third of disaster victims, yet their response role in a disaster is generally restricted to that of passive victims. The tremendous contributions that young people can make to disaster management are largely untapped. Involving young people in disaster management can help them learn topics that affect their lives while at the same time gaining hands-on experience designed to equip them become tomorrow better leaders. Any comprehensive disaster management that is designed to incorporate youth in its programs, not only benefits creativity and energy of young people but also in the process strengthens partnerships for resilience. This paper will address current issues affecting disaster management, the role of youth in disaster management, experience and lessons learned from organizations “such as; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; the 2004 Tsunami disaster that impacted the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia; the 2006 Katrina disaster in New Orleans – U.S.A; and Plan International case study in El-Salvador. This paper will recommend youth involvement in their own community disaster management activities such as table-top exercise tailored into identifying risks; designing community emergency plans as well as their own; exercising a plan; setting up early warning systems; and implementing response; mitigation; and risk reduction plans. Conference participant will be challenged to adopt best practices and be encouraged to conduct further research study and platforms designed to foster youth-adult partnerships for resilience.
Economic Theory of Compensation Rule Design for Probabilistic Injuries

An important recent development in the theory of social risk management has been the systematic exploration of the roles of private information and incentives in the design of insurance policies, compensation rules, tort liability standards, and regulatory provisions. Such mechanisms attempt, among other things, to motivate economic agents to allocate their risk avoidance efforts so as to minimize the total social costs of risk bearing. This paper presents a unifying framework, based on this perspective, for designing risk management mechanisms. Namely, the designer must choose a rule that will cause potential injurers and victims to choose “desirable” behavior in strategic equilibrium.
Arson in an urban setting: a multi-event near repeat chain analysis in Flint, Michigan

A growing body of literature has recently begun to examine spatiotemporal nuances of arson. However, criminal justice research has minimally investigated how an arson event might serve as an initiator for a string of arsons. To rectify this gap, the current study conducted a near repeat analysis incorporating multiple-event near repeat chains to identify possible spatiotemporal patterns for arson in Flint, Michigan. Findings underscore that increased risk of repeat arson victimization was most pronounced for residential arsons. Results for near repeat chains indicate an average mean risk of roughly 5 days but for certain chains risk lasted for up to 2 months. Discussion of implications, limitations, and future research are also provided.
Stochastic cost-optimization and risk assessment of in situ chemical oxidation for dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source remediation

This study involved development of a computer program to determine optimal design variables for in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) sites to meet site-wide remediation objectives with minimum life-cycle remediation cost while taking uncertainty in site characterization data and model predictions into consideration. A physically-based ISCO performance model computes field-scale DNAPL dissolution, instantaneous reaction of oxidant with contaminant and with readily oxidizable natural oxidant demand (NOD), second-order kinetic reactions for slowly oxidizable NOD, and time to reach ISCO termination criteria. Remediation cost is computed by coupling the performance model with a cost module. ISCO termination protocols are implemented that allow different treatment subregions (e.g., zones with different estimated contaminant concentrations) to be terminated independently based on statistical criteria related to confidence limits of contaminant concentrations estimated from soil and/or groundwater sampling data. The ISCO model was implemented in the program called Stochastic Cost Optimization Toolkit, which includes modules for additional remediation technologies that can be implemented serially or in parallel coupled with a dissolved plume model to enable design optimization to meet plume-scale cleanup objectives. This study focuses on optimization of ISCO design to meet specified source zone remediation objectives. ISCO design parameters considered for optimization include oxidant concentration and injection rate, frequency and number of soil or groundwater samples, and cleanup criteria for termination of subregion injection. Sensitivity studies and example applications are presented to demonstrate the benefits of proposed stochastic optimization methodology.
Recovering Addicts’ Responses to the Cinematic Portrayal of Drug and Alcohol Addiction:

Marketing researchers are turning increased attention toward major social problems, such as homelessness, compulsive purchasing, and abortion. The authors extend these efforts by establishing some ...
Loving the Ineffable: Epistemic Humility and Interfaith Solidarity

This paper addresses the importance of words and of surrendering words, and so will consider both the philosophical and axiological potential of ineffability, both of which imply epistemic humility. On the one hand, epistemic humility implicates surrendering ill-fitting and limited constructs; this reflects a project of unknowing, a condition for a more authentic knowing, driven less by rigid categories and argument and more by humility and love. On the other hand, epistemic humility—as an observable phenomenon in the world’s religious traditions—has axiological value and thus should be cultivated: it subverts an arrogant knowing which too often is the seed of destructive conflict.
Cost-sharing and financial burden for Medicare patients with newly diagnosed cancer.

6622 Background: Proposals for reducing Medicare spending include measures that increase beneficiary cost-sharing by regulating the extent of supplemental insurance. However, the financial burden o...
Incoherent Perfect Absorption in Lossy Dielectric Media

We theoretically demonstrate perfect absorption of incoherent light in lossy anisotropic half-infinite planar dielectric structures, and uncover this effect in existing (meta)materials.©2019 The Author(s)