cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disbond Thickness Evaluation Employing Multiple-Frequency Near-Field Microwave Measurements

Near-field microwave nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques have shown great potential for disbond detection in multilayer dielectric composite structures. The high detection capability associated with these techniques stems from the fact that near-field microwave signals are sensitive to minute variations in the dielectric properties and geometry of the medium in which they propagate. In the past, the sensitivity of the near-field microwave NDE techniques to the presence and properties of disbonds in multilayer dielectric composites has been investigated extensively. However, a quantitative disbond thickness estimation method has yet to be introduced. In this paper, we propose a maximum-likelihood (ML) disbond thickness evaluation method utilizing multiple independent measurements obtained at different frequencies. We also introduce a statistical lower limit on the thickness resolution based on the mean-squared error in thickness estimation and a given confidence interval. The effectiveness of the proposed ML method is also verified by comparing simulation results with actual measurements.
Metastasis Tumor Antigen 2 (MTA2) Is Involved in Proper Imprinted Expression of H19 and Peg3 During Mouse Preimplantation Development

The epigenetic mechanisms involved in establishing and maintaining genomic imprinting are steadily being unmasked. The nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation (NuRD) complex is implicated in regulating DNA methylation and expression of the maternally expressed H19 gene in preimplantation mouse embryos. To dissect further the function of the NuRD complex in genomic imprinting, we employed an RNA interference (RNAi) strategy to deplete the NuRD complex component Metastasis Tumor Antigen 2 (MTA2). We found that Mta2 is the only zygotically expressed Mta gene prior to the blastocyst stage, and that RNAi-mediated knockdown of Mta2 transcript leads to biallelic H19 expression and loss of DNA methylation in the differentially methylated region in blastocysts. In addition, biallelic expression of the paternally expressed Peg3 gene, but not Snrpn, is also observed in blastocysts following Mta2 knockdown. Loss of MTA2 protein does not result in a decrease in abundance of other NuRD components, including methyl-binding-CpG-binding domain protein 3 (MBD3), histone deacetylases 1 and 2 (HDACs 1 and 2), and chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4 (CHD4). Taken together, our results support a role for MTA2 within the NuRD complex in genomic imprinting.
Spectral Clustering with Mean Shift Preprocessing

Clustering is a fundamental problem in machine learning with numerous important applications in statistical signal processing, pattern recognition, and computer vision, where unsupervised analysis of data classification structures are required. The current state-of-the-art in clustering is widely accepted to be the so-called spectral clustering. Spectral clustering, based on pairwise affinities of samples imposes very large computational requirements. In this paper, we propose a vector quantization preprocessing stage for spectral clustering similar to the classical mean-shift principle for clustering. This preprocessing reduces the dimensionality of the matrix on which spectral techniques will be applied, resulting in significant computational savings
Truncated fractal basin boundaries in three machine power systems

Pendulum systems with decaying sinusoidal input functions are examined. Earlier studies of the system dealt with theoretical predictions of (truncated) fractal deformations in the basin boundaries and also the existence of diffeomorphisms between basins when a single parameter was changed. Here, the authors present simulation evidence that show the unraveling of the truncated fractal basin boundary. A three machine power system, one application area of these pendulum systems, is reduced to a three-body problem, a critical parameter set is identified, and a simulation of a fractally deformed basin is shown. >
The astrochemistry of H3

The reactions of the molecular ion H3+ are pivotal to the chemistry of dense interstellar clouds. Produced by the cosmic-ray ionization of molecular hydrogen, H3 + reacts with a variety of atoms an...
DLOTOS: a LOTOS extension for clock synchronization in distributed systems

The paper introduces a solution to the clock synchronization and timing problem in a distributed system. We present a grammar extension to LOTOS called DLOTOS and give an example of implementing discrete clocks. The resulting extension supports distributed processing and Internet computing.
Localized fluorescent complexation enables rapid monitoring of airborne nanoparticles

We introduce an approach that enables continuous monitoring of airborne nanoparticles by online detection and quantification of the collected species. Our method uniquely combines ultra-high flow rate sampling (up to thousands of liters per minute) with sensitive detection based on localized fluorescent complexation, permitting rapid quantitative measurement of airborne nanoparticle concentration. By coupling these components, we show initial results demonstrating detection of airborne ultrafine Al2O3 nanoparticles at environmental concentrations below 200 μg m−3 in air sampled at 200 L min−1. This capability suggests potential for online monitoring, making it possible to establish dynamic exposure profiles not readily obtainable using current-generation personal sampling instruments. The underlying fluorescent complexation interactions are inherently size and composition dependent, offering potential to straightforwardly obtain continuous detailed characterization.
FIRST YEAR CAMPUS ACQUAINTANCE RAPE EDUCATION Evaluating the Impact of a Mandatory Intervention

The current study was designed to evaluate the impact of First Year Campus Acquaintance Rape Education (FYCARE), a mandatory program for first year undergraduates. First, questionnaires were administered to 48 FYCARE participants assessed immediately following workshop participation, 76 FYCARE participants sampled through the unrelated context of introductory psychology courses, and 67 students sampled through introductory psychology who had not yet attended their scheduled FYCARE workshop. Second, ostensibly unrelated telephone surveys were conducted with 93 students who participated in FYCARE 4 to 6 months earlier and 77 first year students who had not yet attended their scheduled workshop. Results indicated a positive impact of participation on attitudes and judgments of a hypothetical scenario, but only when assessed immediately following workshop participation. In contrast, increases in knowledge were maintained for a period of up to 7 weeks, and phone survey responses revealed an increase in the lev...
Chapter 3 – Programs

Publisher Summary Embedded software must be designed to meet real-time performance, energy, and size constraints. Techniques ranging from new, abstract programming languages to back-end compiler algorithms can be leveraged to attain these goals. Embedded software tools tend to be designed differently from general-purpose compilers. A compiler for arbitrary code is designed to give reasonably good results on a wide variety of programs. In contrast, when embedded software is designed, there are specific targets in the programmer's mind for performance, energy, and so on. This information can be used to optimize the software to precisely meet the goals. Various computer processing units (CPU) architectures are used in embedded systems, requiring programmers to develop a range of compilation methods. Software that hits the memory system must be designed to properly utilize the memory system at all levels of abstraction: buffer management, data scheduling, and data reuse. Accurate worst-case execution time analysis requires both abstract analysis of flow and detailed models of the processor platform. Higher-level programming languages provide abstractions for particular types of computations; the information captured by these languages can be used to analyze and synthesize software.
Growth of Mercenaria mercenaria and Mercenaria mercenaria texana seed clams planted in two Texas bays

Abstract Survival and growth of Mercenaria mercenaria imported from Massachusetts, and M. mercenaria texana, the Texas subspecies, were studied in two Texas bays. Mesh-covered trays were used to limit predation. Survival was high in protected trays; unprotected trays reached 100% mortality within 6 months. In Christmas Bay, M. mercenaria growth averaged 1.8 mm/month. Most growth occurred during the summer months. Periods of no significant growth corresponded to periods when salinities under 20‰ were recorded. In Redfish Bay, growth was significantly different between stations, being fastest at a station located along the Aransas ship channel, where circulation was the highest of all sample sites (2.8 mm/month vs. 0.9–1.5 mm/month in the grass flats of the bay). Significant differences in growth between bays or between sample sites during some seasons were not correlated with either temperature or salinity regimes. Native clams, M. mercenaria texana, grew faster than imported clams in both the field and the laboratory. It is possible that differences in circulation and circulation-related parameters (e.g., food supply and waste flushing rates) account for much of the variation in growth in the bays and that periods of no growth may be determined by limiting salinities, and less frequently, temperature. Measurements made during and after this study suggest that a 2- to 3-year growout period may produce market-size clams.
Evaluation of Human Semenogelin Membrane Strip Test for Species Cross-reactivity in Dogs

Semenogelins are proteins originating in the seminal vesicle and are useful markers for the presumptive identification of human semen. Detection of semenogelin can be done with a commercially available membrane test. In this study, a commercially available membrane test for human semenogelin proteins was used to assess for cross-reactivity in dog bodily fluids to allow for the potential utilization for detection of human semen in dog bodily fluids. The authors analyzed canine semen and other bodily fluids, including urine, saliva, vaginal secretions, fecal material, and blood. They also examined the distribution of human semenogelin I transcripts in the canine testis, prostate, and several bodily fluids by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. No cross-reactivity was observed in the canine bodily fluids tested except for a single rectal swab, which was negative on a second test. Further testing should be done to validate the use of this kit for screening samples from dogs suspected to have been victims of sexual abuse.
“Great transitions, preparing adolescents for a new century”: A commentary on the health component of the concluding report of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development

Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic foundation created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In June 1986 it established the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development to place the challenges of the adolescent years higher on the nations agenda. An operating program of the foundation the Council elected to build on the work of many organizations and individuals to stimulate sustained public attention to the risks and opportunities of the adolescent years and generate public and private support for measures that would facilitate the critical transition to adulthood. Composed of national leaders in education law science health religion business the media youth-serving agencies and government the Council worked within the best tradition of multidisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation. Through task forces and working groups meetings and seminars commissioned reports sponsored studies and the support for publication of a half-dozen major books as well as other activities the Council sought to identify authoritative information about the nature and scope of adolescent problems. It stimulated public discussion that resulted in well-informed action to foster constructive roles for families schools health agencies community organizations and the media in developing competent healthy adolescents. (excerpt)
Chemical Vapor Deposition of Ferroelectric Thin Films

For much of its recent history, advances in integrated circuit (IC) technology have been largely the result of a rapid and steady increase in the on-chip circuit element density. This trend is most apparent in the case of volatile digital memories [e.g., dynamic-random-access memory (DRAM)], where the current memory densities are approaching 1 Gbit. This has lead dramatic strides in circuit functionality, compactness, energy efficiency, and reliability. This course to higher integration densities has been driven by both technological and economic forces. However, the cost of this process has been the dramatic decrease in component dimensions and substantial increase in processing complexity in ultra-large-scale-integration (ULSI) of circuits. The performance specifications of ULSI have begun to challenge the ability of conventional IC materials at a fundamental properties level. Consequently, device manufacturers have been forces to consider the integration of “novel” materials into future-generation ICs [1, 2, 3]. In DRAM, for example, as the allowed cell area for the storage-node capacitor continues to decrease, the required storage charge also decreases but at a proportionally slower rate. A current strategy to overcome this problem is to replace the conventional silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) layered dielectric with a material with significantly higher dielectric permittivity. For this application, the development of thin-film perovskite-structured oxide dielectrics such as (BaxSr1-x)TiO3 (BST) has received considerable attention since these materials typically exhibit dielectric permittivities two orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional ONO dielectrics [1, 2, 3]. By incorporating such high-dielectric-constant materials into storage-node capacitor structures, the capacitor area and the number and complexity of the process step required to form it can be decreased [4]. In addition, simple planar- or bumped-capacitor structures can be used as opposed to the complex. ULSI-scale geometries requisite with ONO dielectrics to provide the required capacitor area (thus capacitance) [5].
Payoffs, Parties, or Policies: “Money Politics” and Electoral Authoritarian Resilience

ABSTRACTA key part of what sustains electoral authoritarianism over the long term is genuine popular support. Dominant parties, particularly in a developmental context (the primary setting for such regimes), and especially where elections are more than minimally meaningful, curry performance legitimacy and loyalty not just through skewed rules and coercion, but through material incentives: “money politics.” If challengers can find a way to de-emphasize support based on material inducements, they stand a chance of securing gains via elections, rather than relying on economic downturns to shrink patronage coffers. Drawing on extensive original ethnographic and survey data from electoral-authoritarian Malaysia, I explore campaign finance and distributions on both sides in the latest, most regime-threatening general election, which was held on May 5, 2013. Evidence suggests that it was by disentangling clientelist networks from the patronage they so often serve to disseminate, allowing a focus on more program...
Improving Performance During Image-Guided Procedures.

Objective Image-guided procedures have become a mainstay of modern health care. This article reviews how human operators process imaging data and use it to plan procedures and make intraprocedural decisions. Methods A series of models from human factors research, communication theory, and organizational learning were applied to the human-machine interface that occupies the center stage during image-guided procedures. Results Together, these models suggest several opportunities for improving performance as follows: 1. Performance will depend not only on the operator's skill but also on the knowledge embedded in the imaging technology, available tools, and existing protocols. 2. Voluntary movements consist of planning and execution phases. Performance subscores should be developed that assess quality and efficiency during each phase. For procedures involving ionizing radiation (fluoroscopy and computed tomography), radiation metrics can be used to assess performance. 3. At a basic level, these procedures consist of advancing a tool to a specific location within a patient and using the tool. Paradigms from mapping and navigation should be applied to image-guided procedures. 4. Recording the content of the imaging system allows one to reconstruct the stimulus/response cycles that occur during image-guided procedures. Conclusions When compared with traditional "open" procedures, the technology used during image-guided procedures places an imaging system and long thin tools between the operator and the patient. Taking a step back and reexamining how information flows through an imaging system and how actions are conveyed through human-machine interfaces suggest that much can be learned from studying system failures. In the same way that flight data recorders revolutionized accident investigations in aviation, much could be learned from recording video data during image-guided procedures.
Fast spin-echo imaging in the evaluation of intradural disease of the spine

PURPOSE Fast spin echo (FSE) images were compared with conventional images in 46 patients with intradural spinal disease to determine their accuracy in the detection and delineation of lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS The images were interpreted by two neuroradiologists, who read individually. A total of 720 blinded readings formed the basis for this evaluation. A gold standard for each patient was selected, based on the blinded readings of the conventional studies. RESULTS In the sagittal plane, the FSE sequences were found to have an accuracy of 93% and 93% for the first reader and 93% and 85% for the second reader. For the axial plane, the corresponding figures were 86% and 82% for the first reader and 64% and 77% for the second reader. These figures compared favorably with conventional sequences. Similar delineation of lesions was noted in 78% of cases. In the remaining cases, there were no significant trends. CONCLUSION Because of these findings, FSE sequences appear as accurate as conventional sequences. In this study, they were capable of supplanting conventional sequences in the evaluation of intradural pathology of the spine in the sagittal plane, although conventional sequences were still preferred in the axial plane.
The effect of certain glycolytic inhibitors on aerobic lactic acid production by human leukocytes in vitro.

Oxamic acid depressed aerobic lactic acid formation by normal, human leukocytes by only 20-25 per cent. Glyceraldehyde increased lactic acid production. Sorbose-1-phosphate was without effect. Iodacetate inhibited markedly, but fluoride depressed only in high concentrations. The significance of these findings regarding the mechanism of aerobic lactic acid formation by mature leukocytes is discussed.
Double minute chromosomes in acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia are associated with micronuclei, MYC or MLL amplification, and complex karyotype.

Double minute chromosomes (dmin) are small, paired chromatin bodies that lack a centromere and represent a form of extrachromosomal gene amplification. Dmin are rare in myeloid neoplasms and are generally associated with a poor prognosis. Most studies of dmin in myeloid neoplasms are case reports or small series. In the current study, we present the clinicopathologic and cytogenetic features of 22 patients with myeloid neoplasms harboring dmin. These neoplasms included acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (n = 18), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (n = 3), and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) (n = 1). The AML cases consisted of AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (n = 13) and therapy-related AML (n = 5). Dmin were detected in initial pre-therapy samples in 14 patients with AML or CMML; they were acquired during the disease course in 8 patients who had AML or MDS. The presence of dmin was associated with micronuclei (18/18; 100%), complex karyotype (17/22; 77.3%), and amplification of MYC (12/16; 75%) or MLL (4/16; 25%). Immunohistochemical staining for MYC performed on bone marrow core biopsy or clot sections revealed increased MYC protein in all 19 cases tested. Except for one patient, most patients failed to respond to risk-adapted chemotherapies. At last follow up, all patients had died of disease after a median of 5 months following dmin detection. In conclusion, dmin in myeloid neoplasms commonly harbor MYC or MLL gene amplification and manifest as micronuclei within leukemic blasts. Dmin are often associated with myelodysplasia or therapy-related disease, and complex karyotypes.
Word Problem Solving, Working Memory and Serious Math Difficulties: Do Cognitive Strategies Really Make a Difference?

A randomized control study investigated the role of strategy instruction on problem-solving solution accuracy in elementary school children with math difficulties MD (N = 162) who varied in working memory capacity (WMC). Comparisons were made of three strategy conditions that combined general (verbal and/or visual heuristics) and specific strategies (materials condition that include a controlled attention component of training), a fourth condition that focused only on specific strategies (materials-only) and an untreated control condition. Three important findings emerged: (1) strategy outcomes were moderated by WMC such that children with high WMC outperformed children with low WMC on all post-test measures, (2) the effectiveness of strategy conditions on post-test targeted (problem solving), near transfer (calculation) and far transfer (operation span, fluid intelligence) measures were significantly improved with specific strategies (material-only) than with the combination of general and specific strategies, and (3) treatment advantages related to the specific strategy condition were related to increasing controlled attention across training sessions relative to the other conditions. Taken together, the results suggest that among children with MD, children with higher WMC outperformed those with lower WMC suggesting that WMC serves as a bottleneck on both targeted and transfer measures.
Rationing Medical Care: Processes for Defining Adequacy

For most people, health care is special because of its importance in preventing pain and suffering, preserving the ability to pursue a normal life plan, providing information and relieving worry, and reflecting a community’s concern for its members. As a result, ensuring access to health care is an important goal for modern societies. Translating this goal into practical policy, however, has proved more difficult than accepting it in principle.
6 – Measuring welding-induced distortion

Publisher Summary This chapter describes that in welding, plastic thermal strain develops near the weld region because of the heating, melting, and cooling of the weldment and the nearby base metals. The plastic strain results in permanent deformation of the welded structure after the welding. That is called welding-induced distortion. The mode of welding-induced distortion could show up as in-plane deformation, such as stretching and out-of-plane deformation such as bending, rotation or buckling. The chapter highlights the techniques used in distortion measurement followed by examples in small-scale local distortion measurement and large-scale global distortion measurement. It also discusses the special consideration in interpretation of welding-induced distortion. It should be emphasized that the experimental results from any measurement of welding distortion are based on a reference coordinate system or a reference plane. The measured data from a welded structure may include both rigid-body motion and the actual deformation of the structure due to welding. On the other hand, the displacement fields from any numerical simulation are often based on specific boundary conditions assigned in the model to eliminate the rigid-body motion. Therefore, special care must be taken when interpreting the welding-induced distortion or comparing the measured data with results from numerical modeling.
Focal Pain Syndromes of the Extremities

Both neuromuscular and musculoskeletal pathologies can result in focal pain in the extremities. Lesions of the brachial and lumbosacral plexus are often considered in patients with extremity pain, but mostly occur in restricted settings such as cancer, trauma, or as idiopathic inflammatory syndromes. Radiculopathies, compression neuropathies, and disorders of the bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons are more common causes of extremity pain. Management of focal pain, including physical and pharmacologic modalities is discussed.
5.25 Metal Carbene Cycloadditions

The chapter discusses recent advances in the construction of ring systems through the use of stable transition metal carbene complexes and emphasizes discoveries from the past 20 years, which have been proven in a diverse set of examples. Two major sections have been included featuring reactions where the carbene complex activates the system for a specific process and the metal is largely untouched during the reaction, followed by a larger section detailing processes that intimately involve the metal center. Extensive discussions of the scope and limits, design features, reaction mechanisms, and uses of the reactions as parts of complex molecule syntheses have been presented.
Yield optimization with energy-delay constraints in low-power digital circuits

As circuit parametric variations aggravate in advanced technology, yield emerges as an important figure-of-merit in circuit design. Based on a 130 nm technology, the yield-energy-delay tradeoffs in low-power circuit optimization are investigated. Using a log-normal statistical model, Monte-Carlo analyses are performed on typical circuit examples, including an inverter chain, NAND gate, and 4-bit adder. While energy reduction can be effectively achieved by tuning supply voltage (V/sub dd/), threshold voltage (V/sub th/), and device width (W), circuit yield degrades during this process. On the other hand, it is observed that performance variability is relatively insensitive to circuit topology and device length (L). Design guidelines for optimizing yield in the presence of parametric variations and energy-delay constraints are proposed.
SE-Sync: a certifiably correct algorithm for synchronization over the special Euclidean group

Many geometric estimation problems naturally take the form of synchronization over the special Euclidean group: estimate the values of a set of unknown poses \(x_{1},\ldots ,x_n \in \text {SE}(d)\) given noisy measurements of a subset of their pairwise relative transforms \(x_{i}^{-1}x_{j}\). Examples of this class include the foundational problems of pose-graph simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) (in robotics) and camera motion estimation (in computer vision), among others. This problem is typically formulated as a nonconvex maximum-likelihood estimation that is computationally hard to solve in general. Nevertheless, in this paper we present an algorithm that is able to effciently recover certifiably globally optimal solutions of the special Euclidean synchronization problem in a non-adversarial noise regime. The crux of our approach is the development of a semidefinite relaxation of the maximum-likelihood estimation whose minimizer provides the exact MLE so long as the magnitude of the noise corrupting the available measurements falls below a certain critical threshold; furthermore, whenever exactness obtains, it is possible to verify this fact a posteriori, thereby certifying the optimality of the recovered estimate. We develop a specialized optimization scheme for solving large-scale instances of this semidefinite relaxation by exploiting its low-rank, geometric, and graph-theoretic structure to reduce it to an equivalent optimization problem on a low-dimensional Riemannian manifold, and then design a Riemannian truncated-Newton trust-region method to solve this reduction effciently. We combine this fast optimization approach with a simple rounding procedure to produce our algorithm, SE-Sync. Experimental evaluation on a variety of simulated and real-world pose-graph SLAM datasets shows that SE-Sync is capable of recovering globally optimal solutions when the available measurements are corrupted by noise up to an order of magnitude greater than that typically encountered in robotics and computer vision applications, and does so more than an order of magnitude faster than the Gauss-Newton-based approach that forms the basis of current state-of-the-art techniques.
Hydrodynamic Interactions and Entanglements of Polymer Solutions in Many-Body Dissipative Particle Dynamics

Using many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD), polymer solutions with concentrations spanning dilute and semidilute regimes are modeled. The parameterization of MDPD interactions for systems with liquid–vapor coexistence is established by mapping to the mean-field Flory–Huggins theory. The characterization of static and dynamic properties of polymer chains is focused on the effects of hydrodynamic interactions and entanglements. The coil–globule transition of polymer chains in dilute solutions is probed by varying solvent quality and measuring the radius of gyration and end-to-end distance. Both static and dynamic scaling relations for polymer chains in poor, theta, and good solvents are in good agreement with the Zimm theory with hydrodynamic interactions considered. Semidilute solutions with polymer volume fractions up to 0.7 exhibit the screening of excluded volume interactions and subsequent shrinking of polymer coils. Furthermore, entanglements become dominant in the semidilute solutions, which inhibit diffusion and relaxation of chains. Quantitative analysis of topology violation confirms that entanglements are correctly captured in the MDPD simulations.
Developing one-dimensional implosions for inertial confinement fusion science

Experiments on the National Ignition Facility show that multi-dimensional effects currently dominate the implosion performance. Low mode implosion symmetry and hydrodynamic instabilities seeded by capsule mounting features appear to be two key limiting factors for implosion performance. One reason these factors have a large impact on the performance of inertial confinement fusion implosions is the high convergence required to achieve high fusion gains. To tackle these problems, a predictable implosion platform is needed meaning experiments must trade-off high gain for performance. LANL has adopted three main approaches to develop a one-dimensional (1D) implosion platform where 1D means measured yield over the 1D clean calculation. A high adiabat, low convergence platform is being developed using beryllium capsules enabling larger case-to-capsule ratios to improve symmetry. The second approach is liquid fuel layers using wetted foam targets. With liquid fuel layers, the implosion convergence can be controlled via the initial vapor pressure set by the target fielding temperature. The last method is double shell targets. For double shells, the smaller inner shell houses the DT fuel and the convergence of this cavity is relatively small compared to hot spot ignition. However, double shell targets have a different set of trade-off versus advantages. Details for each of these approaches are described.
Anticipation and alert system of congestion and accidents in VANET using Big Data analysis for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Vehicular Networks (VN) have a huge potential to increase roadway safety and traffic efficiency. Big Data analysis can be instrumental in realizing this potential and enhancing the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs). We study the causes of road accidents using big real-time accidents data obtained from Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) - District 4. The ultimate goal is to prevent or at least decrease traffic accidents and congestions. Our approach is based on dividing the roadway into segments, based on the infrastructure availability and the secondary accidents factors. We design a real-time Big Data system that receives online streamed data from vehicles on the road in addition to real-time average speed data from vehicles detectors on the road side to (1) Provide accurate Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) using a Linear Regression (LR) model (2) Predict accidents and congestions before they happen using Naive Bayes (NB) and Distributed Random Forest (DRF) classifiers (3) Update ETA if an accident or a congestion takes place by predicting accurate clearance time. To make this system fast, accurate, and reliable we have implemented Lambda Architecture (LA) in our framework because of its speed, scalability, and fault tolerance. Furthermore, we have optimized the efficiency, the speed, and the accuracy of the designed model by securely selecting the most relevant and significant set of features required for the analysis.
Field-Observed Angles of Repose for Stored Grain in the United States

Bulk grain angle of repose (AoR) is a key parameter for inventorying grain, predicting flow characteristics, and designing bins and grain handling systems. The AoR is defined for two cases, piling (dynamic) or emptying (static), and usually varies with grain type. The objective of this study was to measure piling angles of repose for corn, sorghum, barley, soybeans, oats, and hard red winter (HRW) wheat in steel and concrete bins in the United States. Angles were measured in 182 bins and 7 outdoor piles. The piling AoR for corn ranged from 15.7° to 30.2° (median of 20.4° and standard deviation of 3.8°). Sorghum, barley, soybeans, oats, and HRW wheat also exhibited a range of AoR with median values of 24.6°, 21.0°, 23.9°, 25.7°, and 22.2°, respectively. Angles of repose measured for the seven outdoor piles were within the ranges measured for the grain bins. No significant correlation was observed between AoR and moisture content within the narrow range of observed moisture contents, unlike previous literature based on laboratory measurement of grain samples with wider ranges of moisture content. Overall, the average measured piling AoR were lower than typical values cited in MWPS-29, but higher than some laboratory measurements.
Anomalous scattering of conduction electrons in dilute alloys with a moderate concentration of paramagnetic impurities

Abstract The previous treatment in which it was shown for the one-impurity case that a paramagnetic impurity causes a resonance scattering of electrons at the Fermi surface below a critical temperature T c if the exchange interaction is antiferromagnetic, is generalized to the case of finite impurity concentrations. It is found that the magnitude of the parameter Δ, which represents the integrated strength and the width of the resonance scattering, is much reduced for high concentrations, while the temperature T c is independent of the concentration. The rapid increase of the resistivity to its maximum value at T = 0 occurs near the temperature T ∼ Δ, which is of the order T c for low concentrations and is much lower than T c for high concentrations.
Critical success factors for controlling and managing hospital errors

Reducing medical errors is the major issue facing hospitals today. It has been estimated that medical errors can be linked to more than one million injuries and about 98,000 deaths each year, resulting in a total national cost of $37.6 billion. Through ..
Genetic Basis and Genetic Modifiers of β-Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease.

β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease (SCD) are prototypical Mendelian single gene disorders, both caused by mutations affecting the adult β-globin gene. Despite the apparent genetic simplicity, both disorders display a remarkable spectrum of phenotypic severity and share two major genetic modifiers—α-globin genotype and innate ability to produce fetal hemoglobin (HbF, α2γ2).
Signal Construction in Terms of Convolution Integrals

Two arbitrary signals can be convolved together to get a third signal; but a very relevant and pertinent case is when one of the signals contributes to the input and it is also the output! In other words, how can we generate a signal by convolving it (or a variant thereof) with another? We show in the text how this can be done by various means. For example we can generate the signal by convolving it with the delta function. Or we can generate it by convolving its derivative with the unit step function. Or we can generate it by convolving its second derivative with the ramp function. Or even more we can generate it by convolving its third derivative (divided by 2) with the quadratic function; and so on. But why would we want to go to all this trouble? The premise is, if we know the system (circuit) response to any of the generating functions (the impulse, unit step, …) and if we know how to generate our stimulus of those generating functions (which is the topic of this chapter), then we can know the response of the system due to stimulus by using the same convolution steps—not on the stimulus, but on the system response. For each case we do an example showing all the intermediate details, especially graphically. We wrap the chapter by tying the Fourier transform to the convolution integral using the complex exponential and the delta function.
Institutional Strengthening in a Receding Movement: The Trajectory of Piquetero Organizations between 2003 and 2015

This article contributes to the current debate on social movements and popular politics in Latin America by exploring the trajectory of organizations within the unemployed workers movement in Argentina, also known as the piqueteros. Analysts agree that the recent history of this movement is characterized by a pronounced decline due to closing political opportunities. I suggest that a shift in the level of analysis toward organizational dynamics indicates a more complex scenario. While the influence of the movement as a political actor has declined, some piquetero organizations have in some aspects strengthened. I argue that this strengthening took place not despite the post-2003 context, but rather because of it. I advocate for an alternative conceptualization of piquetero groups, emphasizing their immersion in a particular political context and culture rather than their separation from it. I use interviews, participant observation, databases of contentious events, and a diverse literature to sustain my claims. Resumen Este articulo busca contribuir al debate sobre movimientos sociales y politica popular en America Latina, por medio del estudio de las trayectorias de organizaciones en el movimiento de trabajadores desocupados de Argentina, mejor conocido como el movimiento Piquetero. La mayoria de los analistas caracterizan la historia reciente de este movimiento como un marcado declive debido a transformaciones en la estructura de oportunidades politicas. El articulo argumenta que enfocar el analisis hacia el nivel de las dinamicas organizacionales sugiere un escenario mas complejo. Aunque la influencia del movimiento piquetero en general ha decaido, en ciertos aspectos algunas organizaciones se han fortalecido. Este fortalecimiento tuvo lugar debido al contexto politico a partir de 2003 y no a pesar del mismo. Promuevo una conceptualizacion alternativa de las organizaciones piqueteras, enfatizando su inmersion en un contexto y cultura politica particular, en vez de su separacion de las mismas. Mis argumentos estan basados en entrevistas, observacion participante, bases de datos de protestas, y una literatura diversa sobre el movimiento.
Adaptation and Initial Validation of Minimum Data Set (MDS) Mortality Risk Index to MDS Version 3.0.

Objectives To evaluate the predictive validity of an adapted version of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Mortality Risk Index—Revised (MMRI‐R) based on MDS version 3.0 assessment items (MMRI‐v3) and to compare the predictive validity of the MMRI‐v3 with that of a single MDS item indicating limited life expectancy (LLE). Design Retrospective, cross‐sectional study of MDS assessments. Other data sources included the Veterans Affairs (VA) Residential History File and Vital Status File. Setting VA nursing homes (NHs). Participants Veterans aged 65 and older newly admitted to VA NHs between July 1, 2012, and September 30, 2015. Measurements The dependent variable was death within 6 months of admission date. Independent variables included MDS items used to calculate MMRI‐v3 scores (renal failure, chronic heart failure, sex, age, dehydration, cancer, unintentional weight loss, shortness of breath, activity of daily living scale, poor appetite, acute change in mental status) and the MDS item indicating LLE. Results The predictive ability of the MMRI‐v3 for 6‐month mortality (c‐statistic 0.81) is as good as that of the original MMRI‐R (c‐statistic 0.76). Scores generated using the MMRI‐v3 had greater predictive ability than that of the single MDS indicator for LLE (c‐statistic 0.76); using the 2 together resulted in greater predictive ability (c‐statistic 0.86). Conclusion The MMRI‐v3 is a useful tool in research and clinical practice that accurately predicts 6‐month mortality in veterans residing in Veterans Affairs NHs. Identification of residents with LLE has great utility for studying palliative care interventions and may be helpful in guiding allocation of these services in clinical practice. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2353–2359, 2018.
Intra- and Inter-Specific Investigations of Skeletal DNA Methylation and Femur Morphology in Primates

Abstract Objectives Epigenetic mechanisms influence the development and maintenance of complex phenotypes and may also contribute to the evolution of species-specific phenotypes. With respect to skeletal traits, little is known about the gene regulation underlying these hard tissues or how tissue-specific patterns are associated with bone morphology or vary among species. To begin exploring these topics, this study evaluates one epigenetic mechanism, DNA methylation, in skeletal tissues from five nonhuman primate species which display anatomical and locomotor differences representative of their phylogenetic groups. Materials and Methods First, we test whether intra-specific variation in skeletal DNA methylation is associated with intra-specific variation in femur morphology. Second, we identify inter-specific differences in DNA methylation and assess whether these lineage-specific patterns may have contributed to species-specific morphologies. Specifically, we use the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip to identify DNA methylation patterns in femur trabecular bone from baboons (n=28), macaques (n=10), vervets (n=10), chimpanzees (n=4), and marmosets (n=6). Results Significant differentially methylated positions (DMPs) were associated with a subset of morphological variants, but these likely have small biological effects and may be confounded by other variables associated with morphological variation. Conversely, several species-specific DMPs were identified, and these are found in genes enriched for functions associated with complex skeletal traits. Discussion Overall, these findings reveal that while intra-specific epigenetic variation is not readily associated with skeletal morphology differences, some inter-specific epigenetic differences in skeletal tissues exist and may contribute to evolutionarily distinct phenotypes. This work forms a foundation for future explorations of gene regulation and skeletal trait evolution in primates.
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Appropriate Use Criteria for Hip Preservation Surgery: Variables That Drive Appropriateness for Surgery.

OBJECTIVE Determining appropriate candidates for hip preservation surgery is challenging because criteria for judging appropriateness are not defined. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently published a hip preservation surgery appropriateness classification system using the RAND/University of California, Los Angeles approach. This study was undertaken to determin the extent and pattern of contribution of each of the variables used to predict the appropriateness of hip preservation surgery. METHODS An AAOS-appointed multidisciplinary expert panel wrote 270 clinical vignettes incorporating all permutations of 5 indication variables derived from an evidence synthesis. A second independent panel of experts rated the appropriateness of each vignette during multiple Delphi surveys. We used logistic regression to determine the relative contribution of each variable to classification. We also used a classification-tree approach to determine which indication variables, in combination, contributed to the final classification. RESULTS Odds ratios from the regression indicated that patient age and radiographic hip osteoarthritis (OA) evaluation were the main indications of appropriateness classification (e.g., the odds ratio for age 999.99, with age >65 years as the referent group, for "appropriate/may be appropriate" as compared to "rarely appropriate" vignettes). Hip range of motion, risk for negative outcome, and function-limiting pain did not meaningfully contribute to the final classification. CONCLUSION The AAOS appropriateness classification system for hip preservation surgery is driven almost exclusively by age and radiographic hip OA evaluation. Additional research on appropriateness classification for hip preservation surgery is needed to identify important indication variables beyond age and radiographic hip findings.
Advances in the Treatment of Psychotic Depression

Our aim was to update the current understanding of effective treatment strategies for major depression with psychotic features (MDPSY). Most treatment guidelines recommend either the combination of an antidepressant with an antipsychotic or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of an acute episode of MDPSY. The optimal maintenance treatment after a person responds to either the antidepressant/antipsychotic combination or ECT is unclear particularly as it pertains to length of time the patient needs to take the antipsychotic medication. Further investigation into possible uses of ketamine, lithium carbonate, mifepristone, minocycline, and rTMS may produce possible new treatments in the future. Unfortunately, there is no FDA-approved treatment for MDPSY. The combination of an antidepressant and antipsychotic is significantly more effective than either antidepressant monotherapy or antipsychotic monotherapy for the acute treatment of MDPSY.
The Principal and the PEA (Parent Education Association)

With discourse on immigration policies being brought to the forefront in U.S. education, educational leaders need to be more conscious than ever of changing demographics, diversity, and the multili...
Abstract 223: Monocytes/macrophages Are Sensitized to Secondary Oxidative Insult by Cardiovascular Toxic Drugs via the P90rsk-erk5 S496 Phosphorylation Pathway, Aggrandizing Atherosclerotic Plaque Formation

Increased cardiovascular (CV) events in HIV patients and cancer survivors and the fact that combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and chemotherapy induce similar unwanted CV effects are becomin...