cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Increasing capacity in massive MIMO cellular networks via small cells

We consider the impact on pilot contamination of reducing cell size in massive MIMO cellular networks. In the limit of a large number of antennas, pilot contamination dictates the capacity limit of such networks. In this work, we examine how capacity of massive MIMO cellular networks changes as a function of cell size. In particular, we introduce the concept of copilot distance and formulate the worst-case capacity of a typical user in the network as a function of this distance. This formulation captures the effect upon capacity of all system parameters such as cell radius, user density and the fraction of time devoted to channel estimation. Based on this formulation, we show how cell size reduction mitigates the pilot contamination and hence increases the capacity of each user as well as the number of supported users. We also provide numerical and simulation results to confirm our analysis.
Chronic neuroleptic treatment increases D-2 but not D-1 receptors in rat striatum

In vitro binding of [3H]cis(Z)-flupentixol (FPT) to rat striatal membranes was evaluated as an assay for D-1 receptors. It was found that under the appropriate assay conditions [3H]FPT bound to a single saturable site which was most abundant in striatum and bound dopaminergic agonists in the potency order that these drugs demonstrate for adenylate cyclase. These data support previous work suggesting that [3H]FPT labels the D-1 receptor. Next, rats received haloperidol or fluphenazine for 54 days and striatal dopamine receptors were assayed 72 h later. The drug treatments increased the density of D-2 receptors as measured by [3H]spiperone binding by 40% and 25% respectively. However, no change was observed in D-1 receptor density. We conclude that effects of chronic neuroleptic treatment that depend upon increased dopamine receptor density are mediated via the D-2 receptor subtype.
A species-specific probe and a PCR assay for the marine bacterium, "Pseudomonas stutzeri" strain "Zobell"

The cloning, sequencing, and analysis of a Pseudomonas stutzeri Zobell 23S rRNA gene is described. Three variable regions were identified, and oligonucleotides homologous to portions of these regions were synthesized. The oligonucleotides were used as probes to screen DNA from various cultured bacteria to identify a species-specific probe. All probes were found to hybridize strongly with P. stutzeri Zobell DNA under stringent conditions and did not hybridize with other Pseudomonas species. One probe showed slight cross-reactivity with DNA from four other bacteria under the hybridization conditions used. Finally, PCR conditions were optimized for detection of P. stutzeri Zobell in mixed culture with a detection limit of 400 cells. The assay detected P. stutzeri Zobell rDNA in coastal seawater samples sampled over a 20-month period. In the future, these probes could be used to quantify the 23S rRNA and rDNA from P. stutzeri Zobell in mixed culture and in environmental samples.
A generalized object model

Since the introduction of Smalltalk, the object-oriented paradigm has become a popular technique for the organization of data and programs. In this paradigm, objects (collections of data and programs) are organized in a class hierarchy. These classes collect similar objects and serve as a repository for methods (programs) shared by those objects. We present a new simple model of objects that allows multi-dimensional inheritance. Objects, in our model, behave like communicating processes in Hoare’s CSP language, but with a different message-passing mechanism. This leads to a simple formal semantics for objects and inheritance.
Wideband frequency modulation of a mode-locked fiber laser

We have demonstrated wideband frequency modulation of the frequency comb lines of a high-repetition-rate fiber laser. With a modulation frequency of only ∼10 kHz, we have generated modulation indices in excess of 250. Although internally modulated, the laser remains stable with 2-kHz linewidths, and thus the 10-kHz modulation sidebands are still clearly resolved even after propagation over several hundred kilometers. This unique characteristic is used for simultaneous measurement of propagation distances to 1-m resolution and velocities of less than 3 mm/s over a distance of greater than 50 km.
Herbicide safeners : Tools for improving the efficacy and selectivity of herbicides

Abstract Safeners (also known as antidotes) are chemical or biological agents that reduce the toxicity of herbicides to crop plants by a physiological or molecular mechanism. Commercialized safeners are mainly chemical compounds that enhance the tolerance of selected grass crops such as maize (Zea mays L.), grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], rice (Oryza sativa L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to chloroacetanilide, thiocarbamate, sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, and aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicides. In practice, safeners are applied either to the crop prior to planting (seed safeners) or to the soil together with the herbicide, formulated as a prepackaged mixture. Safeners act as "bioregulators”; controlling the amount of a given herbicide that reaches its target site in an active form. A safener‐induced enhancement of the metabolic detoxification of herbicides in protected plants is the most apparent mechanism for the action of all commercialized safeners. Herbicide‐detoxifying enzymes such ...
Suicide Prevention in Primary Care: Optimistic Humanism Imagined and Engineered

After being mired for centuries as an object of legal debate, philosophical speculation, and religious scrutiny, suicide emerged as a pressing concern for primary care a few decades ago. Ahmedani et al.1 (this issue) remind us why primary care occupies a central spot in suicide prevention: Nearly 50 % of people who died by suicide made a health care visit within 4 weeks of death. Of the ∼22 % who saw a clinician in the week before dying, most (∼75 %) had no mental health diagnosis. Ahmedani at al. conclude that there is a “dire need to improve screening” for suicide risk. Their emphasis on screening and diagnosis can be viewed as an understandable response to the once common attitude of skeptical humanism: the idea that people have a fundamental need for self-determination, which should not be undermined even if it leads to suicide. Skeptical humanists2 have argued that attempts to diagnose mental disorders could pathologize normative distress and devalue human uniqueness. Ahmedani et al.’s emphasis on screening and diagnosis is a product of the prevailing optimistic biomedicalism. In essence, optimistic biomedicalists believe that programmatic research on brain and cognitive processes eventually will lead nature to yield her secrets, resulting in a cure for the mental disorders that confer suicide risk. In the meantime, in the optimistic biomedicalist view, the focus of clinical efforts should be to increase the uptake of mental health services through screening.1 Skeptical humanism and optimistic biomedicalism can spawn extreme variants, with implications for patient outcomes. Skeptical humanism’s perils—nihilism and abandonment—are well established. The harms of optimistic biomedicalism—medicalization, overtreatment, ignoring patient preferences, and misallocation of resources—were long overlooked, but are increasingly recognized.3 Blatant harms of optimistic biomedicalism in the care of patients at-risk for suicide (e.g., forced hospitalization) generate more fear, but the insidious harms might take a greater toll.4–6 One study showed that patients are reluctant to broach the topic of depression for fear that doctors will automatically prescribe antidepressants, regardless of patient treatment preferences.5 Another showed that when clinicians are pressed for time they use screens merely to convince patients that they are depressed, not to aid diagnosis or explore symptoms.4 Biomedicalism’s exuberant paternalism and skeptical humanism’s nihilism could harm patients by undermining the patient–clinician relationship. Alternative care paradigms are needed.7
An unusual complication of the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap

The development of myocutaneous flaps has been a major advance in reconstructive surgery of the head and neck. The pectoralis major myocutaneous flap has proven to be the most reliable and versatile for use in this area. There have been several reports of its advantages with few complications noted. This article reports two patients who developed osteomyelitis of the rib in the donor area of the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap. The etiology of this potentially serious complication is discussed and the management is outlined.
A model for diffusional cavity growth in superplasticity

There is an enhancement in the diffusional growth of cavities in superplastic materials if the cavity size exceeds the grain size so that vacancies diffuse into the cavity along a number of grain boundary paths. A model for this process is developed, and it is shown that the rate of change of cavity radius with strain due to superplastic diffusion growth is given by drdϵ ∼- 45ΩδDgbd2kT(σe) where r is the cavity radius, e is the total strain, Ω is the atomic volume, δ is the grain boundary width, Dgb is the coefficient for grain boundary diffusion, d is the spatial grain size, k is Boltzmann's constant, T is the absolute temperature, σ is the applied stress and e is the strain rate. Superplastic diffusion growth is therefore independent of the instantaneous cavity radius and inversely proportional to the square of the grain size; in practice, this process becomes important at the lower testing strain rates and when the specimen grain size is typically less than ~5 μm. It is demonstrated that the occurrence of superplastic diffusion growth is capable of providing an explanation for the experimental observations of large rounded cavities in several superplastic materials.
Effectiveness of a USMES In-Service Economic Education Program for Elementary School Teachers

Although there is considerable evidence that efforts to teach economic concepts to elementary school children are increasing, little research is being done at this level. William Walstad's article is, then, one of those rare pieces that reports the results of a controlled study in the elementary grades. In addition, it includes a discussion of research design and statistical techniques, and considers some of the problems one encounters in this type of research (such as problems in parameter estimation). The author measured the effects of a teacher in-service program that provided instruction in economics as applied to the Unified Sciences and Mathematics for Elementary School program. The new Test of Economic Literacy was administered to the teachers, while their pupils took the Test of Elementary Economics. Control groups were also tested. Pupil attitudes toward economics were measured, and it was found that achievement in economics had a direct influence on attitude toward economics. Walstad concludes t...
Adsorption filtration of leukocyte-reduced single donor platelet units.

The effect of adsorption filtration of leukocyte-reduced single donor platelet (SDP) units collected on a CS-3000+ with a TNX chamber was compared to filtration of SDP units prepared via an isoradial chamber. The leukocyte enumeration technique employed a Nageotte chamber and had a nominal lower detection limit of 0.05 leukocytes/microliter (if no cells were seen, the concentration was recorded as 0.01 microliter). Although the prefiltration leukocyte content of the TNX units was unexpectedly low (2.4 +/- 2.8 x 10(4) per unit), filtration reduced the leukocyte content further to no greater than 1.7 +/- 0.07 x 10(3) (p 0.05, compared to filtered TNX units). Thus while significant leukocyte reduction occurred with adsorption filtration of both control and leukocyte-depleted SDP units, comparison of the relative degree of reduction awaits application of more sensitive leukocyte counting techniques. This study documented, however, that additional leukocyte reduction can be obtained by applying adsorption filtration to SDP units with an already low leukocyte content.
A Case Study on Course Sequencing with Multiple Strands Using the Elaboration Theory.

While prior work on the elaboration theory has prescribed the sequencing of instruction based upon one type of content (procedural, conceptual or theoretical), complex subject matter often has two or even three different content orientations that are of great importance in a course. Through analysis of a course that emphasizes the application of theory to practice in physical therapy treatment, we found it is possible to develop an overall course sequence in which content of different orientations (procedural and theoretical) is presented in parallel elaboration sequences. We also found it is possible to simultaneously elaborate two types of theoretical content (descriptive and prescriptive). We propose that the advantage to parallel elaboration of multiple strands of content is that it will ensure both procedural and theoretical content are presented in a simple-to-complex manner, thus facilitating the formation of stable schemata and enhancing recall and transfer of learning.
Transorbital Hypophysectomy in Primates

Radio-frequency thermal hypophysectomy of rhesus monkeys can be achieved using a simple transorbital puncture of the pituitary. Both the superior orbital fissure and the lateral orbital wall are in line with the pituitary; it is thus possible to direct an electrodealong this axis through the fissure into the sella turcica. Using a radial electrode, radio-frequency thermal destruction of the gland can be carried out. This approach also permits pituitary blood sampling and electrical recording. (Endocrinology 85: 949, 1969)
General solutions to a class of unsteady heat conduction problems in a rectangular parallelepiped

Abstract General expressions are presented for the three-dimensional and unsteady heating of a finite solid rectangular parallelepiped under the influence of an arbitrary volume heat source and an arbitrary initial temperature distribution when convective type of time-dependent boundary conditions are prescribed on the six plane surfaces. These expressions given in various forms and not available hitherto, contain the solution of numerous special problems of technological importance. Corresponding general expressions for the rectangle and for the slab are deduced as limiting cases. The particular problem treated recently by Cobble is shown to be a very special case of the results derived here for the parallelepiped.
Negotiating Strategic Arms Control, 1969-1979

In a replication of earlier disarmament studies, a positive correlation of .49 (p < .01) was found between United States and Soviet concessions during the 23 rounds of the Strategic Arms Limitation...
The Cognitive-Miser Response Model: Testing for Intuitive and Deliberate Reasoning

In a number of psychological studies, answers to reasoning vignettes have been shown to result from both intuitive and deliberate response processes. This paper utilizes a psychometric model to separate these two response tendencies. An experimental application shows that the proposed model facilitates the analysis of dual-process item responses and the assessment of individual-difference factors, as well as conditions that favor one response tendency over another one.
Complexity versus difficulty: where should the intelligence be?

Complexity refers to the internal workings of the system, difficulty to the face provided to the user -- the factors that affect ease of use. The history of technology demonstrates that the way to make simpler, less difficult usage often requires more sophisticated, more intelligent, and more complex insides. Do we need intelligent interfaces? I don't think so: The intelligence should be inside, internal to the system. The interface is the visible part of the system, where people need stability, predictability and a coherent system image that they can understand and thereby learn.
Blood and body fluid exposures during clinical training: relation to knowledge of universal precautions.

To investigate the relation between knowledge of universal precautions and rates of exposure to blood and body fluid during clinical training, a cohort of 155 students was surveyed following training in universal precautions and 18 months later. A total of 127 students (82%) participated; 58 (46%) experienced at least one exposure during the first clinical training year. Knowledge of universal precautions was inversely associated with the frequency of mucous membrane exposures (p=.001); an apparent “dose-response” effect was evident (one-way analysis of variance;F=5.2,p=.007). Students are frequently exposed to blood and body fluid during clinical training. Higher levels of retained knowledge about universal precautions are associated with a decreased risk of mucous membrane exposure.
Utopias of participation: design, criticality, and emancipation

From its earliest incarnation in labor movements in Scandinavia in the 1970s, Participatory Design has had an emancipatory politics inscribed in it. As PD is appropriated in other contexts, this emancipatory politics can continue to be foregrounded or, as Bannon & Ehn (2013) worry, it can be diluted into corporate practices of "user-centered design." One way to advance the emancipatory politics in PD is to continue PD's early embrace of utopian thinking. Yet utopianism today has a poor reputation, openly rejected by many activists. In this keynote, I will revisit some of the criticisms of utopianism. Next, I will explore an alternative framing of utopianism---derived from feminism and science fiction studies---that could productively inform PD, both epistemologically and methodologically, in its most openly political design goals. I will present some of the ways I have tied to engage with these ideas through design research projects ranging in scale from critical-participatory studies involving local makers to designing for and about the identities and aspirations of entire urban populations.
An object-oriented model to aid organizational decision making and learning

Existing decision support systems are primarily tailored to address specific decision or business problems because of the special factors that impact these specific decision areas. Rather than develop a new system for another range of problems or decisions, we have developed an object-oriented model that captures the important elements of the decision-making process, so that this information and knowledge can be captured and used over time and across organizational boundaries. Users can build upon past decisions and experiences to aid in current decision processes, thus providing a platform for storing organization-wide knowledge, and enabling organizational learning from individual learning. >
Organization of the Morphogenetic Field in Regenerating Amphibian Limbs

The amphibian limb is an example of a secondary embryonic field that can be reactivated during larval or adult life so that amputated parts are regenerated. Two major questions are: (1) what is the origin of the morphogenetic field of the regeneration blastema, and (2) what is the nature of this field and how does it specify the spatial pattern of blastemal redifferentiation? Evidence is analyzed here which leads to the following propositions: (1) the field is represented in latent form by properties of the mature limb cells, and these properties are activated and inherited by the blastemal cells after amputation and dedifferentiation. At the same time, the inherited field is sensitive to the mature stump tissues and its spatial organization can be altered by a stump pattern alien to the one from which it was derived. (2) The properties of the mesodermal limb tissues represent positional values that are arranged in gradients along the proximal-distal, anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral axes. These properties allow dedifferentiated mesodermal cells to change their positional value to any value between their original one in the limb and the value of any neighboring cell after creation of a discontinuity. The direction of change is always from proximal to distal in the PD axis; it is uncertain as to whether change can take place only centripetally or both centripetally and centrifugally along the AP and DV axes. (3) Epidermal cells have the same positional value everywhere in the limb and act as the distal and circumferential boundaries up to which the mesodermal cells may change their positional values. The proximal boundary is represented by the level-specific properties of the mesodermal cells at the maximum extent of distal to proximal dedifferentiation. Normal regeneration can then be visualized as occurring in the following way. When deletions are made in the limb pattern, cells with widely different positional values are confronted. During regeneration, blastema cells increase in number and continually interact with their neighbors to adjust their positional values within the boundaries until discontinuities are eliminated. The multiple limbs resulting from rearrangement of stump tissue patterns can also be accounted for by using these propositions. It is suggested that positional information is encoded on the cell surface and/or in the extracellular matrix.
Metformin use and improved response to therapy in rectal cancer

Locally advanced rectal cancer is commonly treated with chemoradiation prior to total mesorectal excision (TME). Studies suggest that metformin may be an effective chemopreventive agent in this disease as well as a possible adjunct to current therapy. In this study, we examined the effect of metformin use on pathologic complete response (pCR) rates and outcomes in rectal cancer. The charts of 482 patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma treated from 1996 to 2009 with chemoradiation and TME were reviewed. Median radiation dose was 50.4 Gy (range 19.8–63). Nearly, all patients were treated with concurrent 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy (98%) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (81.3%). Patients were categorized as nondiabetic (422), diabetic not taking metformin (40), or diabetic taking metformin (20). No significant differences between groups were found in clinical tumor classification, nodal classification, tumor distance from the anal verge or circumferential extent, pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen level, or pathologic differentiation. pCR rates were 16.6% for nondiabetics, 7.5% for diabetics not using metformin, and 35% for diabetics taking metformin, with metformin users having significantly higher pCR rates than either nondiabetics (P = 0.03) or diabetics not using metformin (P = 0.007). Metformin use was significantly associated with pCR rate on univariate (P = 0.05) and multivariate (P = 0.01) analyses. Furthermore, patients taking metformin had significantly increased disease-free (P = 0.013) and overall survival (P = 0.008) compared with other diabetic patients. Metformin use is associated with significantly higher pCR rates as well as improved survival. These promising data warrant further prospective study.
Atmospheric carbonyl sulfide (OCS): Techniques for measurement in air and water

Experiments have shown that the oceans release a significant fraction of the yearly global emissions of carbonyl sulfide to the atmosphere. The experimental methods used to obtain, store and analyze air and water samples for OCS measurements are discussed and measurements of the Henry's constant in seawater at temperatures between 0 and 30°C are reported. The results are applied to oceanic flux models, and the global yearly emissions of OCS from oceans to the atmosphere are calculated to be ∼8 × 1011 gm/yr (0.8 Tg yr−1).
Towards fast state estimation using linear programming

Abstract This paper presents a fast and efficient technique for solving the power system state estimation problem using linear programming (LP). It describes a dual formulation of the original problem which reduces its size and improves the solution time significantly. Test results of the proposed estimator using the IEEE 30- and 118-bus standard systems are included.
Knowledge Integration On-The-Fly in Swarm Intelligent Systems

Cultural Algorithms employ a basic set of knowledge sources, each related to knowledge observed in various social species. These knowledge sources are then combined to direct the decisions of the individual agents in solving optimization problems. Here we develop an algorithm based upon an analogy to the marginal value theorem in foraging theory to guide the integration of these different knowledge sources to direct the agent population. Application to real-valued function optimization and an optimization problem in engineering design are used to illustrate the principles.
Synthesis of regioisomeric difluoro- and 8-chloro-9- fluorobenz [g] isoquinoline-5,10-diones and SNAr displacements studies by diamines: bis(aminoalkyl)aminobenz[g] isoquinoline-5,10-diones

Abstract Convenient pathways have been developed for the synthesis of 6,7−, 6,8-, 7,9- and 8,9-difluorobenz[ g ] isoquinoline-5,10-diones and 8-chloro-9-fluorobenz [ g ] isoquinoline-5,10-dione. The crucial step in these synthesis involved the Ni-catalyzed coupling of the difluoro- or chlorofluorobenzylic zinc bromides with ethyl 3-chloroisonicotinate or ethyl 4-chloronicotinate. The reactions of the 6,7- or 8,9-difluoro regioisomers with N,N -dimethylethylenediamine led to quaternary salts which were formed by intramolecular displacements from the initial mono displacement products. These cyclizations could be obviated with the use of 3-dimethylaminopropylamine in the displacements which led to the desired bis (aminoalkyl) amino substitution products. Treatment of 8-chloro-9-fluorobenz [ g ] isoquinoline-5,10-dione with N,N -dimethylethylenediamine led to the regioselective displacement of fluoride. Treatment of this mono substitution product with excess N,N -dimethylethylenediamine led only to the intramolecular cyclization product which was also obtained by reaction of 8,9-difluorobenz[ g ] isoquinoline-9,10-dione with N,N -dimethylethylenediamine. The 6,8- and 7,9-difluoro analogues on treatment with N,N -dimethylethylenediamine or 3-dimethylaminopropylamine led to the expected bis substitution products.
Ionization of helium by a short pulse of radiation: A Fermi molecular-dynamics calculation

We describe the results of our quasiclassical calculations of the ionization probabilities of a helium atom, exposed to a short pulse of linearly polarized laser radiation. The technique known as Fermi molecular dynamics was applied. Of particular interest was our observation of the signature of a new process of double ionization, at relatively low laser irradiances. We interpret this as a signature of the simultaneous double ionization of helium. This new process was found to proceed in competition with sequential double ionization. The simultaneous double ionization of helium, as a distinct process at relatively long wavelengths, has just been discovered experimentally [D. Fittinghoff, P. Bolton, B. Chang, and K. Kulander, Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 2642 (1993)].
A novel targeting signal for proximal clustering of the Kv2.1 K+ channel in hippocampal neurons.

Abstract The discrete localization of ion channels is a critical determinant of neuronal excitability. We show here that the dendritic K + channels Kv2.1 and Kv2.2 were differentially targeted in cultured hippocampal neurons. Kv2.1 was found in high-density clusters on the soma and proximal dendrites, while Kv2.2 was uniformly distributed throughout the soma and dendrites. Chimeras revealed a proximal restriction and clustering domain on the cytoplasmic tail of Kv2.1. Truncations and internal deletions revealed a 26–amino acid targeting signal within which four residues were critical for localization. This signal is not related to other known sequences for neuronal and epithelial membrane protein targeting and represents a novel cytoplasmic signal responsible for proximal restriction and clustering.
High prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and associated left ventricular hypertrophy in pediatric renal transplant recipients.

Wilson AC, Greenbaum LA, Barletta GM, Chand D, Lin J-J, Patel HP, Mitsnefes M. High prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and associated left ventricular hypertrophy in pediatric renal transplant recipients. Pediatr Transplantation 2010: 14: 52–60© 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: The goal of this study was to estimate prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its association with cardiac abnormalities in children with kidney transplant. A multi-center retrospective review of demographic, clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic parameters at time of and at one-yr post-transplant was conducted in 234 pediatric recipients between 2000 and 2006. Eighty-eight patients (37.6%) met criteria for metabolic syndrome. Among 55 overweight patients, 40% had metabolic syndrome. Among 51 obese patients, 74.5% had metabolic syndrome. A total of 181 (71.0%) patients had complete data at both time points: prevalence of metabolic syndrome at time of transplant was 18.8%, compared with 37.0% at one-yr post-transplant (p < 0.0001). Among 147 patients without metabolic syndrome at time of transplant, 41 (27.9%) had developed metabolic syndrome by one-yr post-transplant. A total of patients from four centers had routine echocardiogram at one-yr post-transplant. LVH was significantly more common in those with metabolic syndrome (55%) than in those without (32%) (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2–5.9). In conclusion: metabolic syndrome is common at time of pediatric kidney transplant, and prevalence rises sharply at one-yr post-transplant. The presence of metabolic syndrome is strongly associated with LVH in these patients.
A composite quantile function estimator with applications in bootstrapping

In this note we define a composite quantile function estimator in order to improve the accuracy of the classical bootstrap procedure in small sample setting. The composite quantile function estimator employs a parametric model for modelling the tails of the distribution and uses the simple linear interpolation quantile function estimator to estimate quantiles lying between 1/(n+1) and n/(n+1). The method is easily programmed using standard software packages and has general applicability. It is shown that the composite quantile function estimator improves the bootstrap percentile interval coverage for a variety of statistics and is robust to misspecification of the parametric component. Moreover, it is also shown that the composite quantile function based approach surprisingly outperforms the parametric bootstrap for a variety of small sample situations.
Analysis of water heater standby energy consumption from ELCAP homes

Abstract The Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) routinely prepares forecasts of future energy demands in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Bonneville also implements conservation programs to reduce load demands. Results from the End-Use Load and Consumer Assessment Program (ELCAP), undertaken by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory for Bonneville, indicated that single-family homes with electric space-heating equipment consume more than 4700 kWh/yr to heat water for domestic uses. This energy use amounts to about 23% of the total electricity consumed. Additionally, the peak consumption for water heating coincides with regional system peak demands. Detailed analyses of the water heating end-use data acquired for residential buildings in ELCAP reveal that the average standby load for existing homes is 1200 kWh/yr, while homes built as part of the Residential Standards Demonstration Program averaged 1100 kWh/yr. These figures are consistent with the current figure of 1300 kWh/yr that is being used in the regional energy forecast. We also determined that standby loads for some of the participants were behaviorally driven. The data indicated the occurrence of vacancy setbacks in which the participant appears to lower the thermostat to save energy while the house is vacant. Anecdotal evidence from interviews revealed that this does occur. Reasons for setting back the thermostat ranged from not thinking about using the breaker, to fear that the tank would freeze in cold weather. These types of activities also appear to create the occurrence of dueling thermostats where the upper and lower thermostats, after the vacancy period, are not returned to the same temperature. This leads to additional energy use in an attempt to maintain a uniform temperature in the tank.
Becoming a Hurdler: How Learning Settings Afford Identities

In this article, we present a model for thinking about how learning settings provide resources for the development of the practice-linked identities of participants, drawing on data from a study on an African American high school track and field team. What does it mean to make an identity available in the context of a learning setting? In this article, we draw on current theories in anthropology, psychology, sociology, and sociocultural theory to develop a conceptual frame that might be helpful in addressing these questions. We focus on how individuals are offered (and how they take up) identities in cultural activities. We define three types of identity resources that were made available to student-athletes learning to run track and explore how they took shape in teaching and learning interactions in track. [identity, learning, African American students, culture]
Intergroup fairness biases: Is ours the fairer sex?

These studies were designed to assess ethnocentrism and stereotypes as possible mediators of intergroup fairness biases. In Study 1, subjects wrote fair and unfair behaviors about their own sex (the ingroup) and the opposite sex (the outgroup). More fair and fewer unfair behaviors were written about the ingroup than about the outgroup, supporting the ethnocentric hypothesis. In Study 2, subjects rated the fairness and frequency of random samples of each item type. Half the subjects rated these items as they were originally written, and half rated them with the gender of the actor reversed. Ethnocentrism was evident in ratings of ingroup actors as more fair than outgroup actors when both performed fair behaviors, but this bias was reversed in favor of outgroup actors for ratings of unfair behaviors. In addition, the items written about women were rated more fair than those written about men, and men rated the reversed gender items less fair and less frequent than did women, supporting the influence of gender stereotypes in intergroup fairness biases.
Level and perceived stability of self-esteem prospectively predict depressive symptoms during psychoeducational group treatment.

Objectives. To investigate the combined roles of level and perceived stability of self-esteem in prospectively predicting depression. Design. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured both before and after psychoeducational treatment for depression; level and perceived stability of selfesteem were measured before treatment. Method. Participants were 26 adults (16 female), age range 21-75 years. Results. More stable self-esteem was associated with greater depressive symptomatology at treatment completion, particularly among participants who began treatment with the lowest self-esteem. Effects were specific to symptoms of depression in contrast with anxiety. Conclusion. These results suggest that a stable, well-consolidated negative selfconcept is associated with prolonged depression and a poor response to psychosocial interventions.
Multi-agent deterministic graph mapping via robot rendezvous

In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for deterministically mapping an undirected graph-like world with multiple synchronized agents. The application of this algorithm is the collective mapping of an indoor environment with multiple mobile robots while leveraging an embedded topological decomposition of the environment. Our algorithm relies on a group of agents that all depart from the same initial vertex in the graph and spread out to explore the graph. A centralized tree of graph hypotheses is maintained to consider loop-closure, which is deterministically verified when agents observe each other at a common vertex. To achieve efficient mapping, we introduce an active exploration method in which agents dynamically request rendezvous tasks from other available agents to validate graph hypotheses.
An approximate boundary layer theory for semi-infinite cylinders of arbitrary cross-section

An estimate is given of the distribution of skin frictional force per unit length, and of displacement area, on the outside of a semi-infinite cylinder, of arbitrary cross-section, moving steadily in a direction parallel to its generators. A Pohlhausen method is employed with a velocity distribution chosen to yield zero viscous retarding force on the boundary layer approximations. (The smallness of the fluid acceleration far from the leading edge has been pointed out by Batchelor (1954).) Like the Rayleigh method, this method is expected to yield reasonable results at large distances from the leading edge. However, for a large class of cross-sections, which includes all convex cross-sections and locally concave cross-sections with re-entrant angles greater than ½π, the method yields the expected square root growth of the boundary layer at the leading-edge, with a fairly close approximation to the coefficient, and it is supposed that the skin-frictional force and displacement area are given with reasonable accuracy along the whole length of the cylinder. Results for the elliptic cylinder and the finite flat plate are given in closed form, valid for the whole length of the cylinder, and are expected to be in error by at most 20%. In addition, some estimate is given of the effect of corners on skin frictional force and displacement area.
Complex Febrile Seizures

In the context of a prospective cohort study, we examined the associations between individual complex features of both first (n = 428) and recurrent (n = 240) febrile seizures and factors shown to predict outcome in children with febrile seizures. Thirty-five percent of first and 33% of recurrent febrile seizures had one or more complex features (focal onset, duration > or = 10 min, or multiple seizures during the illness episode). There were strong correlations between focality and prolonged duration for both first and recurrent febrile seizures. A low fever at the time of the seizure was marginally associated with prolonged duration. Most factors associated with either recurrent febrile seizures or subsequent unprovoked seizures were not associated with either the initial seizure being complex or the likelihood that a recurrence would be complex. However, the children with recurrent febrile seizures, complex features tended to repeat. This factor was statistically significant and particularly striking for prolonged duration. Genetic or other constitutional factors may explain why the prolonged feature recurs. Eleven (2.5%) children had three or four risk factors for recurrent febrile seizure that was prolonged. This very small group of children may be candidates for abortive therapy to be administered at the onset of a recurrent seizure.
Estimating pose and illumination direction for frontal face synthesis

Face pose and illumination estimation is an important pre-processing step in many face analysis problems. In this paper, we present a new method to estimate the face pose and illumination direction from one single image. The basic idea is to compare the reconstruction residuals between the input image and a small set of reference images under different poses and illumination directions. Based on the estimated pose and illumination direction, we develop a face synthesis framework to rectify the input image to the frontal view under standard illumination. Experiments show that our estimation method is both fast (less than one second per frame) and accurate (even less than three degrees) and our face synthesis method can generate visually plausible results, in particular for challenging inputs with with large pose changes and poor lighting conditions. The synthesized frontal face views increase the face recognition rate significantly from 1:5% to 62:1%.
PHOTOPRODUCTION OF RHO MESONS FROM COMPLEX NUCLEI AT 9 BeV

We have measured the absolute differential cross section for photo- production of neutral rho mesons from complex nuclei at a photon energy of 8.8 BeV. Using a two-parameter optical model, we have de- duced a value for the total rho-nucleon cross section of (30 f i) mb. Application of the Vector Dominance Model results in a value for the 'rho photon coupling of yi /47r = 1.1 * 0.2.
Elasto-plastic analysis of an internally pressurized thick-walled cylinder using a strain gradient plasticity theory

Abstract An analytical solution for the stress, strain and displacement fields in an internally pressurized thick-walled cylinder of an elastic strain-hardening plastic material in the plane strain state is presented. A strain gradient plasticity theory is used to describe the constitutive behavior of the material undergoing plastic deformations, whereas the generalized Hooke’s law is invoked to represent the material response in the elastic region. The solution gives explicit expressions for the stress, strain and displacement components. The inner radius of the cylinder enters these expressions not only in non-dimensional forms but also with its own dimensional identity, unlike classical plasticity-based solutions. As a result, the current solution can capture the size (strengthening) effect at the micron scale. The classical plasticity-based solution of the same problem is shown to be a special case of the present solution. Numerical results for the maximum effective stress in the cylinder wall are also provided to illustrate applications of the newly derived solution.
Flawed Governance of a Global Society

Internal Conflict and the International Community: Wars without End? By Roderic Alley. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004. 252 pp., $94.95 (ISBN: 0-7546-0976-6). Internal Conflict and the International Community: Wars without End? by Roderic Alley is a most welcome and timely volume. It is welcome because it addresses the failure of prevailing (and contesting) international relations theories to explain the persistence and pervasiveness of domestic wars and the mutually contingent impacts of global forces and local conflicts on each other. The book is timely because the need to explain the expansion of US power and Washington's claimed right to coercively transform regimes to suit its preferences, highlighted by the Iraq invasion, is more urgent now than ever before. And even though the volume does not directly focus on these latter issues, it develops the intellectual preconditions for addressing them as well as a variety of other failings of global governance. Relying on an impressive array of scholarly works and public policy reports, Alley paints a broad conceptual canvass that sweeps across state boundaries and regions, disciplinary demarcations, and competing moral concerns for democracy and human rights. This well-organized and closely reasoned book merits wide circulation and serious engagement. Using case studies as his primary methodological weapons, Alley doggedly details both the shortcoming of contemporary theory and of international efforts to understand or to cope with four significant issues. The first issue is the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Flows of these …
Intelligent cruise control applications: real-time embedded hybrid control software

This article presents the use of a model-based approach for the development of real-time, embedded, hybrid control software. The concepts are illustrated with a scenario involving speed-profile tracking and vehicle following applications for passenger vehicles. The model-based approach was developed in partnership between the University of California at Berkeley, Ford Research Labs, and GM. An ACC and CACC system has been tested in prototype phase, both at highway speeds and in stop-and-go situations. Robotic technologies, such as range, velocity, and acceleration measurements, and their processing and fusion were used as part of the system. In addition, vehicles can present very nonlinear behavior, especially at low speeds, and their control presents a formidable challenge. The problem domain of intelligent cruise-control applications has been described in detail, along with control and software development methodologies. We are currently working on applying the same model-based approach to the development of intelligent cruise-control systems for automated transit buses.
Challenges in Building Coastal Digital Elevation Models

ABSTRACT Eakins, B.W. and Grothe, P.R., 2014. Challenges in building coastal digital elevation models. Digital elevation models (DEMs) support a wide variety of uses, including modeling of surface processes, habitat mapping and conservation planning, coastal change and terrain analysis, and Earth visualization and exploration. These models may, however, contain significant deviations from the surface they are intended to represent, which could reduce their usefulness. Additional complexities arise when integrating bathymetric and topographic data to create coastal DEMs. We identify common challenges in building square-cell, coastal DEMs and present some solutions. These challenges are grouped into six general categories: (1) source data, (2) data processing, (3) model development, (4) model assessment, (5) morphologic change, and (6) model uncertainty. Some DEM best practices to help improve DEM accuracy and utility include: visual inspection of source data in a geographic information system (GIS) environ...
Folding in vivo of bacterial cytoplasmic proteins: Role of GroEL

A general role for chaperonin ring structures in mediating folding of newly translated proteins has been suggested. Here we have directly examined the role of the E. coli chaperonin GroEL in the bacterial cytoplasm by production of temperature-sensitive lethal mutations in this essential gene. After shift to nonpermissive temperature, the rate of general translation in the mutant cells was reduced, but, more specifically, a defined group of cytoplasmic proteins--including citrate synthase, ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and polynucleotide phosphorylase--were translated but failed to reach native form. Similarly, a monomeric test protein, maltose-binding protein, devoid of its signal domain, was translated but failed to fold to its native conformation. We conclude that GroEL indeed is a machine at the distal end of the pathway of transfer of genetic information, assisting a large and specific set of newly translated cytoplasmic proteins to reach their native tertiary structures.
Neuroticism and attitudes toward action in 19 countries.

Although individuals scoring high on Neuroticism tend to avoid taking action when faced with challenges, Neuroticism is also characterized by impulsivity. To explore cognitive biases related to this costly behavior pattern, we tested whether individuals who rated themselves as higher in Neuroticism would evaluate the general concepts of action and inaction as, respectively, more negative and positive. We further investigated whether anxiety and depression would mediate and individualism-collectivism would moderate these relations in a large international sample. Participants (N = 3,827 college students; 69% female) from 19 countries completed surveys measuring Neuroticism, attitudes toward action and inaction, depression, anxiety, and individualism-collectivism. Hierarchical linear models tested the above predictions. Neuroticism negatively correlated with attitudes toward action and positively correlated with attitudes toward inaction. Furthermore, anxiety was primarily responsible for emotionally unstable individuals’ less positive attitudes toward action, and individuals who endorsed more collectivistic than individualistic beliefs showed a stronger negative association between Neuroticism and attitudes toward action. Researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and remediating the negative consequences of Neuroticism should pay greater attention to attitudes toward action and inaction, particularly focusing on their links with anxiety and individualism-collectivism.