cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Data-Driven Modeling of a Commercial Photovoltaic Microinverter

We present a data-driven modeling (DDM) approach for static modeling of commercial photovoltaic (PV) microinverters. The proposed modeling approach handles all possible microinverter operating modes, including burst mode. No prior knowledge of internal components, structure, and control algorithm is assumed in developing the model. The approach is based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). To generate the data used to train the model, a Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL) approach is applied. Instantaneous inputs-outputs data are collected from the terminals of a commercial PV microinverter at time domain. Then, the collected data are converted to the frequency domain using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The ANNs that are the core of the DDM are developed in frequency domain. The outputs of the ANNs are then converted back to time domain for validation and use in system level simulation. The comparison between measured and simulated data validates the performance of the presented approach.
Acoustical characteristics and contributions of bubbles released from melting glacier ice

Glacierized fjords present a unique acoustic environment that is significantly louder than other ice-covered environments, with average sound pressure levels of 120 dB re 1 μPa with a broad peak between 1 and 3 kHz [Pettit et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 42, 2309–2316 (2015)]. The energy within this peak is due to the release of bubbles escaping from pressurized air-filled pores within melting glacier ice. These bubbles form during glacier formation via the compression of successive seasonal snow layers. During ice melt, the pressurized air cavities are released, jetting and squirting from the ice and into the surrounding ocean environment [Lee et al., Proc. Meetings Acoust. 20, 070004 (2014)]. In order to more sufficiently characterize this dynamic physical process, acoustic measurements and high-speed video recordings were made using melting glacier ice samples taken from LeConte Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Samples were melted and recorded in a controlled laboratory apparatus as well as at a range of de...
Identification of circulating protein biomarkers for pancreatic cancer cachexia

Background: Over 80% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) suffer from cachexia, characterized by severe muscle and fat loss. Although various model systems have improved our understanding of cachexia, translating the findings to human cachexia has remained a challenge. In this study, our objectives were to i) identify circulating protein biomarkers using serum for human PDAC cachexia, (ii) identify the ontological functions of the identified biomarkers and (iii) identify new pathways associated with human PDAC cachexia by performing protein co-expression analysis. Methods: Serum from 30 patients with PDAC was collected. Body composition measurements of skeletal muscle index (SMI), skeletal muscle density (SMD), total adipose index (TAI) were obtained from computed tomography scans (CT). Cancer associated weight loss (CAWL), an ordinal classification of history of weight loss and body mass index (BMI) was obtained from medical record. Serum protein profiles and concentrations were generated using SOMAscan, a quantitative aptamer-based assay. Ontological analysis of the proteins correlated with clinical variables (r≥ 0.5 and p
Uncertainties Using Genomic Information for Evidence-Based Decisions

For the first time, technology exists to monitor the biological state of an organism at multiple levels. It is now possible to detect which genes are activated or deactivated when exposed to a chemical compound; to measure how these changes in gene expression cause the concentrations of cell metabolites to increase or decrease; to record whether these changes influence the over-all health of the organism. By integrating all this information, it may be possible not only to explain how a person’s genetic make-up might enhance her susceptibility to disease, but also to anticipate how drug therapy might affect that individual in a particularized manner.
Charcot's foot.

Charcot's foot used to be considered an unusual complication of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. With the current appreciation that approximately 25% of adult diabetics have an appreciable peripheral neuropathy, it is understandable that Charcot's neuro-osteoarthropathy has become recognized as a major problem for clinicians caring for diabetics. Differentiation from acute diabetic foot infection is the first challenge. Once Charcot's foot is identified, treatment generally involves immobilization during the acute inflammatory stage. When deformity develops, the orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon must decide whether accommodative care with a combination of inlay depth shoes, accommodative foot orthoses, and ankle-foot orthoses is adequate. If a plantigrade weight-bearing surface cannot be achieved, surgical stabilization or reconstruction requires rigid stabilization in a poor biomechanical environment using tools that are not designed for structures as small as the foot. The controversies presented to clinicians charged with care of this difficult patient population are as follows: 1. When to allow weight bearing in the acute phase of the disease process. 2. Whether prefabricated devices are as successful as the total contact cast in the acute phase. 3. Early surgical stabilization versus accommodation when deformity first develops. 4. Late reconstruction versus accommodation or amputation in the deformed late stages.
Business Model Innovation in the Digital Economy

A viable business model in the digital economy must follow the fundamental economic principles and be able to capitalize on the disruptive characteristics of the Internet commerce. This chapter presents an analytical method to assist business executive and entrepreneurs in evaluating and building a viable business model in the digital economy. This method is based on the concept of disruptive innovation, economies of scale and scope, and the theories of switching costs and transaction cost economics. It takes into account various cost models from both demandand supply-side perspectives. The chapter contrasts the business transformation process and value creation strategies in the physical and digital economies, and discusses several ecommerce revenue models and pricing issues in the digital economy. This chapter appears in the book, Social and Economic Transformation in the Digital Era, edited by Georgios Doukidis, Nikolaos Mylonopoulos, and Nancy Pouloudi. Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING
Probability III: Continuous Probability

In this chapter we discuss some concepts of the general theory of probability, without restriction to finite or discrete sample spaces. This is in preparation for our discussion of the Black-Scholes derivative pricing model.
Koopman-Based Approach to Nonintrusive Projection-Based Reduced-Order Modeling with Black-Box High-Fidelity Models

This paper presents a methodology that enables projection-based model reduction for black-box high-fidelity models governing nonlinear static parametric systems. The methodology specifically addres...
Penguin Huddling-inspired Energy Sharing and Formation Movement in Multi-robot Systems

Ahstract- Robot survivability in long term autonomous search and rescue, surveillance, monitoring operations to remote locations with minimal to no human supervision is of great importance. In such applications, a convoy of heterogeneous mobile robots in formation traveling from point A to point B on a mission, suffers from its range being constrained by the highest battery using agent. In this paper, an Emperor penguin-huddling inspired gradient based energy sharing and position shuffling scheme is proposed for heterogeneous multi-robot systems on the move, with the purpose of extending the working life of the entire convoy together. Each robot is modeled based on an Emperor penguin with carefully placed inductive coils for energy sharing with neighbors. The multi-robot system is built following the tightly packed hexagonal lattice formation for optimal charge sharing and a position coordination algorithm is proposed to allow all agents an equal opportunity to move to the center in turns which is shown to be the most advantageous position in the convoy. The convergence of the position shuffling algorithm is analyzed to show that the convoy formation is maintained over time. Simulation results validate that convoys, regardless of size, can survive and travel much further together with the proposed Emperor penguin huddling-inspired shuffling and energy sharing methods than individuals relying only on themselves.
A Review of Echocardiography Training for Internal Medicine Residents: Proposed Goals, Methods, and Metrics

Focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) is a useful bedside tool that is often utilized by internal medicine residents. Multiple studies have shown that FCU adds valuable information beyond the history and physical. No formal recommendations exist regarding which physiologic parameters should be included in FCU, how those parameters should be assessed, or how to adequately train residents in its use. This review highlights the available literature on FCU training for medicine residents and provides in-depth analysis of the existing programs. There is significant variability among FCU training of internal medicine residents. A standard FCU training protocol should be considered to incorporate this powerful modality throughout the American Post-Graduate Medical Education System. This review offers recommendations for standard training.
LiSteer: mmWave Beam Acquisition and Steering by Tracking Indicator LEDs on Wireless APs

We present LiSteer, a novel system that steers mmWave beams at mobile devices by repurposing indicator LEDs on wireless Access Points (APs) to passively acquire direction estimates using off-the-shelf light sensors. We demonstrate that LiSteer maintains beam alignment at the narrowest beamwidth level even in case of device mobility, without incurring any training overhead at mobile devices. Our extensive evaluation on a custom dual-band hardware platform comprising highly directional horn antennas as well as practical phased antenna arrays with electronic beam steering shows that LiSteer achieves direction estimates within 2.5 degrees of ground truth on average. Moreover, it achieves beam steering accuracy of more than 97% while in tracking mode, without incurring any client beam training or feedback overhead.
Biphenyl-bridged wrinkled mesoporous silica nanoparticles for radioactive iodine capture

The capture of volatile radioactive iodine-129 is an important process for nuclear fission. Biphenyl-bridged wrinkled mesoporous silica shows similar performance for iodine sequestration to commercial Ag-mordenite and avoids the use of expensive silver. The biphenyl-wrinkled mesoporous silica nanoparticles function as a scaffold for biphenyl groups and also as a fluorescent indicator for the loading of iodine. The nanoparticles have a surface area of 973 m2/g and the biphenyl molecules form an electron charge-transfer complex with iodine. Iodine was loaded into the biphenyl-bridged wrinkled mesoporous silica (BWMS) at 19 ± 0.2 % loading by mass.
Biomechanical Analysis of Medial-Row All-Suture Suture Anchor Fixation for Rotator Cuff Repair in a Pair-Matched Cadaveric Model.

Purpose To compare the biomechanical properties of all-suture suture anchors (ASSAs) with conventional suture anchors (CSAs) for double-row rotator cuff repair (RCR). Methods Fourteen fresh-frozen human cadaveric shoulders were randomized into 2 RCR treatment groups: ASSA and CSA. All constructs received a double-row repair, with the lateral-row implants consisting of two 5.5-mm PEEK (polyether ether ketone) Footprint anchors. Each construct was loaded to a 10-N preload for 2 minutes, followed by cyclic loading from 10 to 160 N at a rate of 100 N/s for 100 cycles. Load-to-failure testing was performed immediately after cyclic loading testing at 1 mm/s from the zero position until failure. Cyclic creep, elongation amplitude, maximum load, stiffness, energy, and failure mode were recorded. Results No significant difference in cyclic creep (P = .117) or elongation amplitude (P = .428) was found between the ASSA and CSA groups during cyclic testing. Three specimens in each group (43% in each) failed by the suture tearing through the tendon. The remaining specimens in each group failed by the anchor pulling out of the humeral head. The mean maximum load was 617.73 ± 177.77 N and 545.13 ± 212.98 N for the ASSA and CSA groups, respectively (P = .339). Maximum elongation before failure was not different between groups (P = .122). Mean energy and stiffness were not statistically different between the ASSA and CSA groups (P = .629 and P = .973, respectively). Conclusions In this cadaveric analysis with a simplified unidirectional experimental setup, failure mechanics and maximum load between the ASSA and CSA constructs were similar, with no difference in energy and stiffness. Although the ASSA group showed slightly larger elongation than the CSA group, these differences may not be clinically relevant. Clinical Relevance This study provides a biomechanical head-to-head comparison of ASSAs and CSAs, indicating that ASSAs may be clinically equivalent to CSAs for use in an RCR.
Toward a Pathway-Driven Clinical-Molecular Framework for Classifying Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Abstract Background The current classification system of neurodevelopmental disorders is based on clinical criteria; however, this method alone fails to incorporate what is now known about genomic similarities and differences between closely related clinical neurodevelopmental disorders. Here we present an alternative clinical molecular classification system of neurodevelopmental disorders based on shared molecular and cellular pathways, using syndromes with autistic features as examples. Methods Using the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database, we identified 83 syndromes that had “autism” as a feature of disease, which in combination were associated with 69 autism disease-causing genes. Using annotation terms generated from the DAVID annotation tool, we grouped each gene and its associated autism syndrome into three biological pathways: ion transport, cellular synaptic function, and transcriptional regulation. Results The majority of the autism syndromes we analyzed (54 of 83) enriched for processes related to transcriptional regulation and were associated with more non-neurologic symptoms and co-morbid psychiatric disease when compared with the other two pathways studied. Disorders with disrupted cellular synaptic function had significantly more motor-related symptoms when compared with the other groups of disorders. Conclusion Our pathway-based classification system identified unique clinical characteristics within each group that may help guide clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. These results suggest that shifting current clinical classification of autism disorders toward molecularly driven, pathway-related diagnostic groups such as this may more precisely guide clinical decision making and may be informative for future clinical trial and drug development approaches.
Recommending what video to watch next: a multitask ranking system

In this paper, we introduce a large scale multi-objective ranking system for recommending what video to watch next on an industrial video sharing platform. The system faces many real-world challenges, including the presence of multiple competing ranking objectives, as well as implicit selection biases in user feedback. To tackle these challenges, we explored a variety of soft-parameter sharing techniques such as Multi-gate Mixture-of-Experts so as to efficiently optimize for multiple ranking objectives. Additionally, we mitigated the selection biases by adopting a Wide & Deep framework. We demonstrated that our proposed techniques can lead to substantial improvements on recommendation quality on one of the world's largest video sharing platforms.
Interseeded annual ryegrass, oilseed radish, and crimson clover tolerance to residual herbicides commonly used in corn

Cover cropping is limited by seasonal constraints following corn harvest in the Upper Midwest of the United States. Grass, clover, and brassica cover crops can be interseeded in corn; however, this is problematic because cover crops must tolerate herbicide applications to manage weeds. The objective of this research was to determine the tolerance of broadcast interseeded annual ryegrass, oilseed radish, and crimson clover to PRE and POST residual herbicide applications in corn. From 2016 to 2018 field trials were conducted in Michigan to determine the tolerance of annual ryegrass, oilseed radish, and crimson clover to 13 PRE and 14 POST (applied to V2 corn) herbicides. Cover crops were interseeded into corn at the V3 and V6 stages. Greenhouse experiments to evaluate these species were also conducted from 2016 to 2018; PRE and POST herbicides were applied at 1×, 0.5×, and 0.25× (0.25× was PRE only) of field-application rates. Based on these results, annual ryegrass can be interseeded into V3 or V6 corn following a PRE application of atrazine, clopyralid, saflufenacil, bicyclopyrone, isoxaflutole, or mesotrione, or a POST application of atrazine, bromoxynil, or mesotrione. Oilseed radish can be interseeded into V3 or V6 corn following a PRE application of clopyralid, atrazine, S-metolachlor, bicyclopyrone, or isoxaflutole or at V6 following application of acetochlor, dimethenamid-P, or mesotrione. Oilseed radish can also be interseeded following POST application of atrazine (571 g ai ha–1), bromoxynil, fluthiacet, acetochlor, mesotrione, dicamba + diflufenzopyr, or dimethenamid-P + topramezone. In greenhouse trials, crimson clover was tolerant to rimsulfuron, saflufenacil, and pyroxasulfone applied PRE. Annual ryegrass and oilseed radish can be interseeded into corn at the V3 and V6 stages, but special attention must be given to cover crop species selection and herbicide label restrictions when following herbicide applications in corn.Nomenclature: acetochlor; atrazine; bicyclopyrone; bromoxynil; clopyralid; dicamba + diflufenzopyr; dimethenamid-P; flumetsulam; fluthiacet; glyphosate; isoxaflutole; mesotrione; rimsulfuron; saflufenacil; S-metolachlor; topramezone; annual ryegrass, Lolium perenne L. spp. multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot; corn, Zea mays L., crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum L.; oilseed radish, Raphanus sativus L.
It's Absolutely Relative: The Effect of Age on the BMI-Mortality Relationship in Postmenopausal Women.

Author(s): Banack, Hailey R; Bea, Jennifer W; Stokes, Andrew; Kroenke, Candyce H; Stefanick, Marcia L; Beresford, Shirley A; Bird, Chloe E; Garcia, Lorena; Wallace, Robert; Wild, Robert A; Caan, Bette; Wactawski-Wende, Jean | Abstract: ObjectiveThe use of relative and absolute effect estimates has important implications for the interpretation of study findings. Likewise, examining additive and multiplicative interaction can lead to differing conclusions about the joint effects of two exposure variables. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between BMI and mortality on the relative and absolute scales and investigate interaction between BMI and age.MethodsData from 68,132 participants in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study were used. The risk ratio and risk difference of BMI on mortality were estimated. A product term was also included to examine interaction between BMI and age on the multiplicative scale, and the relative excess risk of interaction was calculated to measure additive interaction.ResultsResults demonstrated that the mortality risk ratio decreased as women aged, but the mortality risk difference increased as women aged. Evidence of additive and multiplicative interaction between age and BMI was found.ConclusionsIn postmenopausal women, the relative mortality risk associated with high BMI decreased with increasing age, but the absolute risk of high BMI increased with increasing age. This indicates the importance of considering the interaction between age and BMI to understand mortality risk in older women.
Out-of-hospital Respiratory Measures to Identify Patients With Serious Injury: A Systematic Review.

Study objective To systematically identify and summarize out-of-hospital measures of circulatory compromise as diagnostic predictors of serious injury, focusing on measures usable by emergency medical services (EMS) to inform field triage decisions. Methods We searched Ovid MEDLINE® , CINAHL® , and the Cochrane databases from 1996 through August 2017 for published literature on individual circulatory measures in trauma. We reviewed reference lists of included articles for additional relevant citations. Measures of diagnostic accuracy included: sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Indicators of serious injury included: resource need; serious anatomic injury; and mortality. We pooled estimates when data permitted. Results We identified 114 articles, reporting results of 111 studies. Measures included systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), shock index, lactate, base deficit, and heart rate variability. Pooled out-of-hospital sensitivity estimates were: SBP 0.9 37% (95% CI 22 to 56%); and lactate >2.0 mmol/L 74% (95% CI 48 to 90%). Pooled specificity estimates were: SBP 0.9 85% (95% CI 72 to 92%); and lactate >2.0 mmol/L 62% (95% CI 51 to 72%). Pooled AUROCs included: SBP 0.67 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.75); HR 0.67 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.79); shock index 0.72 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.77); and lactate 0.77 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.82). Strength of evidence was low to moderate. Conclusions Out-of-hospital circulatory measures are associated with poor to fair discrimination for identifying trauma patients with serious injuries. Many seriously injured patients have normal circulatory measures (low sensitivity), but when present, the measures are highly specific for identifying patients with serious injuries.
What Drives You? Black and Latinx Youth's Critical Consciousness, Motivations, and Academic and Career Activities.

More research is needed that elucidates the mechanisms by which critical consciousness impacts marginalized youth’s academic and career development. To address this gap, this short-term longitudinal study (i.e., two waves) examined motivations for post-high school plans (i.e., career/personal motivation; humanitarian motivation; encouragement received from important individuals; pressure from parents/family to succeed) as mediators in the relationship between dimension of critical consciousness and academic and career activities. The sample consisted of low-income, Black and Latinx youth (N = 191; Mage = 16, SD = 0.80; 59% female) living in Chicago. The results from structural equation path models show that youth’s beliefs about their ability to engage politically (i.e., sociopolitical efficacy) predict motivations for post-secondary plans (e.g., encouragement; pressure from parents/family), which is subsequently related to engagement in academic and career activities, albeit in different directions. To continue fostering positive youth development, critical consciousness programming will need to integrate how youth understand their role in changing social inequality in relation to their perception of and interactions with parents and mentors.
Potosí: The Silver City That Changed The World

For more than four hundred years, the name Potosi has been synonymous with mineral wealth. Located in what is today Bolivia, but was initially part of Peru, Potosi rapidly developed at the foot of ...
Sex-specific differences in the association between body mass index and brain aging in young adults: Findings from the human connectome project.

Abstract Background This report evaluated sex-specific differences in the association between brain aging and body mass index (BMI) in young adults using the publicly available data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Methods Participants of HCP with available structural imaging and BMI data were included [n = 1112; mean age = 28.80 (SD = 3.70); mean BMI = 26.53 (SD = 5.20); males n = 507, females n = 605]. Predicted brain age was generated using raw T1-weighted MRI scan and a Gaussian Processes regression model. The difference (Δ aging) between brain age predicted by structural imaging and chronological age was computed. A linear regression model was used with Δ aging as the dependent variable, and sex, BMI, and BMI-by-sex interaction as independent variables of interest, and race, ethnicity, income, and education as covariates. Results There was a significant BMI-by-sex interaction for Δ aging (p = 0.041). Higher BMI was associated with greater brain aging in both sexes. However, this association was substantially stronger in males (β = 0.215; SE = 0.050; p Conclusion We found evidence suggesting that higher BMI is associated with greater brain aging in adults. Furthermore, the association between higher BMI and greater brain aging was stronger in males than in females. Future studies are needed to explore the mechanistic pathways that link higher BMI to greater brain aging and whether weight-loss interventions, such as exercise, can reverse higher BMI-associated greater brain aging.
ALK inhibitors for treatment of adult-onset neuroblastoma.

2001Background: Neuroblastoma (NB), a rare malignancy of the sympathetic nervous system, is a tumor of early childhood with > 90% of cases diagnosed before 5 years of age. Adult-onset NB (AON) is e...
Groundwater level assessment and prediction in the Nebraska Sand Hills using LIDAR-derived lake water level

Abstract The spatial variability of groundwater levels is often inferred from sparsely located hydraulic head observations in wells. The spatial correlation structure derived from sparse observations is associated with uncertainties that spread to estimates at unsampled locations. In areas where surface water represents the nearby groundwater level, remote sensing techniques can estimate and increase the number of hydraulic head measurements. This research uses light detection and ranging (LIDAR) to estimate lake surface water level to characterize the groundwater level in the Nebraska Sand Hills (NSH), an area with few observation wells. The LIDAR derived lake groundwater level accuracy was within 40 cm mean square error (MSE) of the nearest observation wells. The lake groundwater level estimates were used to predict the groundwater level at unsampled locations using universal kriging (UK) and kriging with an external drift (KED). The results indicate unbiased estimates of groundwater level in the NSH. UK showed the influence of regional trends in groundwater level while KED revealed the local variation present in the groundwater level. A 10-fold cross-validation demonstrated KED with better mean squared error (ME) [−0.003, 0.007], root mean square error (RMSE) [2.39, 4.46], residual prediction deviation (RPD) [1.32, 0.71] and mean squared deviation ratio (MSDR) [1.01, 1.49] than UK. The research highlights that the lake groundwater level provides an accurate and cost-effective approach to measure and monitor the subtle changes in groundwater level in the NSH. This methodology can be applied to other locations where surface water bodies represent the water level of the unconfined aquifer and the results can aid in groundwater management and modeling.
Electron and hole doping of two-dimensional MoS 2 for enabling heterojunction nanoelectronic devices

In this work, we have performed mechanical exfoliation of MoS 2 from the bulk crystal using blue-tac tape to exfoliate MoS 2 multiple times before transferring them onto the silicon dioxide substrates by viscoelastic stamping. We used the electron beam lithography process to pattern contacts onto the flakes before depositing 10 nm Ti/Au 100 nm contact using electron beam evaporation. We imparted n and p-type doping to the flakes using 1,2 dichloroethane and UV ozone treatment respectively. The n-type doping caused by 1,2, dichloroethane is due to the replacement of chlorine atoms by sulfur vacancies. The p-type doping by UV ozone is due to the solvation of ozone molecules by the water adlayer on MoS2. We have also discussed the impact of dopants and broadband lights as an external stimulus on the electrical behavior of MoS2. We see a difference in the behavior of the broadband lights on the electrical signal when doped via 1,2 dichloroethane compared to UV ozone. We saw significantly higher currents after doping in 1,2 dichloroethane even at low voltages attributed to the n-type doping effect. The broadband lights suppress the electrical response after 1,2 dichloroethane doping. We also saw a reduction in current levels for the lights off measurements after UV ozone doping compared to the doping by chloride molecules attributed to higher defect concentration in UV ozone generating excess charge carrier concentration attributing this effect.
Promissory Capital: State Legitimacy among Women Community Health Workers in India

Despite public sector working conditions that are increasingly precarious, how does the state manage to attract and retain its workers? I draw on 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork with women community health workers in India, called ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), who labor under precarious conditions as “remunerated volunteers” to connect the poor and marginalized to governmental health services. I find that the Indian state is the holder of what I call “promissory capital” for its workers. Women become ASHAs because they believe the role is, or will become, a sarkari naukri (government job). While this has not happened, the state keeps the promise alive through its plurality and potentiality, experienced in the everyday by ASHAs. By plurality, I mean the sense that the state is multivocal with various vertical and horizontal nodes that can be activated for one’s interests. By potentiality, I mean the sense of a state that cares and makes overtures to ASHAs in various forms, fueling the hope that it will eventually give them what they really want, that is, salaried and tenured employment. Together, plurality and potentiality shore up the state’s promissory capital. This highlights the mechanisms through which legitimacy is secured for agents in the state.
Quantitative measurement of multiple avenues of MEK regulation by capillary immunoassay.

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA LB-278 Activation of the MAPK pathway involves a complicated web of MEK phosphorylations. The two MEK isoforms are regulated by at least three other enzymes- PAK, RAF and ERK. Up until now it has been impossible to quantitate and determine the stoichiometry of the various multiply phosphorylated MEK forms. We have developed a new capillary immunoassay which resolves the different MEK variants, and allows measurement of the relative abundance of each form with a single antibody. This measurement of how the multiply phosphorylated forms change gives insight into how the dynamics of pathway feedback and activity change in response to drug treatment. We have shown that signaling upstream of MEK kinase is inhibited by negative feedback in tumor cells in which the pathway is driven by HER kinases. In these cells, MEK1 is phosphorylated at ERK- and PAK-dependent sites (T292, S298), whereas phosphorylation on RAF-dependent sites is undetectable. A selective MEK inhibitor inhibits ERK phosphorylation, relieves the negative feedback, and activates MEK phosphorylation in these cells. Under these conditions, phosphorylation of both kinases on the RAF dependent sites (S217, S222) is markedly induced. Thus, inhibition of MEK/MAPK signaling in these cells abrogates upstream feedback of the pathway and results in a complex change in phosphorylation of MEK due to multiple kinases. The capillary immunoassay allows determination of complex changes in phosphorylation of MEK kinase by PAK, RAF and ERK kinases in response to MEK inhibition. This technique will be useful in mapping pathway network response to targeted drugs in vitro and in vivo.
Molecular Comparison of Isolates from a Recurring Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease Spanning 22 Years

During outbreak investigations molecular analytical methods are necessary to discriminate among clinical isolates and to establish a link with environmental isolates. In addition to monoclonal antibodies used as an initial subtyping method, other methods employed have been pulse-field gel electrophoresis, amplified fragment length polymorphosim (AFLP), arbitrarily primed PCR, multilocus variable-number tandem repeat, and sequence-based typing (SBT). In the present study, the authors used SBT to study the relationships among clinical and environmental isolates of Legionella pneumophila isolated from the same hotel during a 22-year period. Water samples were collected from the hotel and cultured using standard procedures for the recovery of Legionella isolates from environmental sources. To determine the discriminatory power of the SBT procedure, eight isolates that share the same monoclonal antibody (MAb) subtype were included. These isolates represent four enzyme types based on previous studies using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE). All isolates were tested with a panel of MAbs to determine their subtype. Isolates were compared by AFLP. Patient isolates and representative environmental isolates from both outbreaks were analyzed by a sequence-based typing scheme.
Tracking the invisible: a probabilistic approach to field cancerization in head and neck carcinoma

Head and neck cancers often emerge within genetically altered fields of premalignant cells that appear histologically normal but have a high chance of progression to malignancy. Clinical consequences of this so-called field cancerization are multifocal lesions and high recurrence risks after excision of the primary tumor. We develop a spatiotemporal stochastic model of head and neck tumorigenesis, combining evolutionary dynamics at the phenotypic level with a general framework for multi-stage progression to cancer. Based on the model, we derive probabilistic distributions for clinically relevant quantities such as size of the invisible premalignant field at time of cancer diagnosis, and risk of local and distant recurrences. Finally, we discuss how our model can be combined with patient-specific measurements to optimize surgical excision margins and post-operative monitoring.
Serum γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase Activity: A Chemical Determinant of Alcohol Consumption During Adolescence

The drinking habits of 55 adolescents, aged 12 to 22 years, were evaluated in light of the current presumed upsurge in adolescent alcohol use. SGPT, SGOT, and alkaline phosphatase concentrations were essentially normal in all subjects. Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) concentrations were elevated in 12 of 15 adolescents who consumed six or more drinks per day. It is suggested that this test may warrant inclusion among other targeted screening procedures performed in teenage patients suspected of heavy alcohol consumption. Language: en
X-Ray Equipment Design

This article discusses the functional organization of an X-ray system, including delivering a controlled X-ray beam to the patient, positioning the patient relative to the beam, detecting the modulated X-ray beam passing through the patient, and delivering the image to the radiologist. Keywords: X-ray; radiology; signal-to-noise ratio; beam; attenuation
PACPIM: New decision-support model of optimized portfolio analysis for community-based photovoltaic investment

Abstract Inherent in large-scale photovoltaic (PV) investments is volatility that stems from a unique set of spatial factors, such as shading, building orientation, and roof slope, which can significantly affect both the level of risk and the return on investment. In order to systematically assess and manage the volatility, this study seeks to create a quantitative decision-support model: Portfolio Analysis for Community-based PV Investment Model (PACPIM). Focusing on residential PV systems, PACPIM determines optimized portfolios by applying the Mean–Variance Portfolio theory. The model is intended to play an instrumental role in: (1) maximizing the hourly electricity output of PV systems; (2) minimizing the hourly volatility in electricity output; and (3) optimizing the risk-adjusted performance of community-based PV investment. The application and framework of PACPIM were deployed with an actual residential community consisting of 24 houses and their simulated data utilizing PVWatts® for estimating hourly electricity production. Results reveal that the optimized portfolios developed by PACPIM (1) increased annual electricity output of PV systems by 4.6%; (2) reduced the volatility in electricity output by 4.3%; and (3) offered the highest risk-adjusted performance among all possible portfolios based on the Sharpe ratios. This study is expected to effectively assist project owners and investors in systematically assessing their community-based PV projects and in developing optimized investment strategies.
The Case Against Overbooking

The practice of overbooking has grown to become an established and generally accepted standard within many of today's hotels. Given the commonalty of overbooking, hospitality researchers must be called upon to examine the extent of the practice and continually define its scope, nature and existence. There is a case to be made against overbooking. Another look at overbooking should consider customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and profitability as well as a growing number of ethical, marketing and legal considerations to determine whether overbooking remains a justified, viable business practice.
Cost relationships for nonconventional telescope structural configurations

Fast primary mirrors offer the possibility of using endostructure designs rather than the conventional exostructure designs. A parametric analysis indicates that considerable cost savings can be achieved in this manner for large optical telescopes. f/1 endostructures are compared with classical and quasi-classical f/2.75 exostructure telescopes. The multiple mirror telescope configuration is the lowest-cost design for equal aperture area, but when equal light is considered, it is comparable with the segmented monolith design.
Damage detection in concrete and cementitious composites

Traditionally ultrasonic testing is used to estimate the extent of damage in a concrete structure. However Pulse-velocity and amplitude attenuation methods are not very reliable, and are difficult to reveal early damage of concrete. In a previous study, a new active modulation approach, Nonlinear Active Wave Modulation Spectroscopy, was developed and found promising for early detection of damage in concrete. In this procedure, a probe wave is passed through the system in a fashion similar to regular acoustic methods for inspection. Simultaneously, a second, low-frequency modulating wave is applied to the system to effectively change the size and stiffness of flaws microscopically and cyclically, thereby causing the frequency modulation to change cyclically as well. It has been also shown that it is advantageous to apply the Hilbert-Huang transform to decompose nonlinear non-stationary time-domain responses of plain concrete. Such procedure leads to improving the damage detection sensitivity of this modulation method in concrete. In this paper, further investigation on mortar and fiber reinforced concrete will be presented and discussed.
A Prognostic Modeling Approach for Predicting Recurring Maintenance for Shipboard Propulsion Systems

Accurate prognostic models and associated algorithms that are capable of predicting future component failure rates or performance degradation rates for shipboard propulsion systems are critical for optimizing the timing of recurring maintenance actions. As part of the Naval maintenance philosophy on Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), prognostic algorithms are being developed for gas turbine applications that utilize state-of-the-art probabilistic modeling and analysis technologies. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) Code 9334 has continued interest in investigating methods for implementing CBM algorithms to modify gas turbine preventative maintenance in such areas as internal crank wash, fuel nozzles and lube oil filter replacement. This paper will discuss a prognostic modeling approach developed for the LM2500 and Allison 501-K17 gas turbines based on the combination of probabilistic analysis and fouling test results obtained from NSWCCD in Philadelphia. In this application, the prognostic module is used to assess and predict compressor performance degradation rates due to salt deposit ingestion. From this information, the optimum time for on-line waterwashing or crank washing from a cost/benefit standpoint is determined.Copyright © 2001 by ASME
Organ procurement for pulmonary transplantation.

Abstract Selection of suitable donors is critical to the success of clinical pulmonary transplantation. Requirements for lung donors, management before explantation, and methods of preservation were reviewed for the 70 heart-lung, eight double-lung, and two single-lung transplantations performed at the University of Pittsburgh since 1982. Careful observation of trends of hyperoxygenation studies, chest roentgenograms, and Gram stain and culture results of tracheal secretions, as well as findings on bronchoscopy, can help identify which lungs not only have adequate function but are acceptable for transplantation. In spite of the rigid criteria used, 76% of tracheal cultures from donors deemed acceptable grew organisms. The presence of oropharyngeal flora has been shown to correlate with the development of early intrathoradci infections in the recipient. Prophylactic broadspectrum antibiotic treatment of the donor is desirable to treat microbial contamination that could cause focal injury to the donor lung and predispose to infection in the recipient. Acceptance of less than ideal donors is ill-advised even though rejection of such donors conflicts with the current shortage of organs.
Diurnal variation of lung reactivity in normal and myopathic hamsters.

In this study we measured the diurnal variation in lung reactivity in normal and myopathic hamsters. Lung reactivity to an intravenous bolus of 0.7 mg/kg acetylcholine (ACh)was measured as the change in peak airway pressure of anesthetized ventilated animals. In the normal hamsters, lung reactivity was 57% higher during the day (8 a.m., 12 p.m., and 4 p.m.) than during the night (p = 0.01). This increased reactivity was not associated with any changes in baseline pressures. The lung reactivity was correlated to body activity as measured on an electronic activity monitor over seven consecutive days. The hamster, being a nocturnal forager, gradually increased activity at about 6 p.m. and maintained intermittent activity until about 6 a.m. Sleep occurred between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and this was when the lung reactivity was greatest. In the myopathic hamsters, although the magnitude of the response to ACh was about 40% lower than that in normal animals, the lung reactivity during the daytime was still about 46...
A declarative approach to composing web services in dynamic environments

A recent trend in E-business is the deployment of a variety of web services by product and service vendors to facilitate B2B and B2C E-commerce. To utilize these web services effectively, customer's have to (a) locate each of these services from service directories and retrieve brief service descriptions, (b) analyze service features and evaluate their applicability to the task at hand dynamically, and finally (c) invoke these services in a certain sequence to complete an overall business or personal need. Alternatively, intermediaries execute the aforementioned steps manually and provide a composite service for access from a single service platform. Both these approaches are highly tedious (either for the customer or intermediary) and non-scalable due to the volatility and size of the web. The dynamic nature of the availability and features of web services, real-time requirements on service composition and the large number of alternative combinations of service choices to fulfill a service need makes major demands on the service composition process. This paper presents a novel declarative approach to facilitate dynamic and scalable web service composition called Integrated Service Planning and Execution (ISP&E) based on AI planning techniques. Implementation of an architecture for dynamic web service composition and execution based on a domain-independent AI planning framework called Hierarchical Task Network (HTN) planning is described in this paper. Simulated experiments highlight the effectiveness of our proposed approach which interleaves service composition and execution, to cope with dynamic service capabilities and service volatility.
Surgical relocation of the posterior papillary muscle in chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation

Mitral annuloplasty is the preferred surgical treatment for chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation. Although this is usually successful, leaflet restriction by apical displacement of the posterior papillary muscle tip may cause residual mitral regurgitation. Ventricular remodeling surgery is an effective procedure for surgical relocation of the posterior papillary muscle tip in the setting of a severely dilated left ventricle. Direct relocation of the posterior papillary muscle may be useful for patients with a minimally dilated left ventricle or regional left ventricular geometric changes causing mitral regurgitation. Such a surgical procedure is described.
Unsteady Separation Processes at High Reynolds Number and Their Control

Physical situations where a viscous boundary layer breaks down and interacts strongly with an effectively inviscid external flow are common place. For large Reynolds numbers, viscous effects are normally confined to thin boundary layers on all solid surfaces for the majority of any observation time. In most practical situations, exposure of such layers to an adverse pressure gradient is inevitable and in this circumstance, a sequence of events commences near the wall that culminates in an eruption and a strong viscous-inviscid interaction with the external flow. The events leading up to eruption are known as the Van Dommelen–Shen process and the eruption itself is referred to as boundary-layer separation; here the term ‘separation’ denotes the first process of interaction between a hitherto thin boundary layer and the external flow. The event is sufficiently complicated that extraordinary measures are needed to compute its evolution. In most situations, the onset of separation is subtle and hard to detect and thus development of rational control procedures is a challenging task. Here recent calculations of unsteady separation events are discussed for two- and three-dimensional flows. The phenomena involved are generic but leading-edge separation on airfoils and rotorcraft blades is emphasized. Recent studies on various control mechanisms are described, which are found to have the effect of slowing down and/or weakening the separation process. For some control processes, it has proved possible to eliminate separation entirely.