cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of the Madden–Julian Oscillation on Summertime Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Activity over the Continental United States

Summertime cloud-to-ground lightning strikes are responsible for the majority of wildfire ignitions across vast sections of the seasonally dry western United States. In this study, a strong connection between active phases of the Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO) and regional summertime lightning activity was found across the interior western United States. This intraseasonal mode of lightning activity emanates northward from the desert Southwest across the Great Basin and into the northern Rocky Mountains. The MJO is shown to provide favorable conditions for the northward propagation of widespread lightning activity through the amplification of the upper-level ridge over the western United States and the development of midtropospheric instability. Given the relative predictability of the MJO with long lead times, results allude to the potential for intraseasonal predictability of lightning activity and proactive fire management planning.
Nondestructive subharmonic imaging

Ultrasound contrast agent microbubbles are intravascular agents that can be used to estimate blood perfusion. Blood perfusion may be estimated by destroying the bubbles in a vascular bed and observing the refresh of contrast agents back into the vascular bed. Contrast agents can be readily destroyed by traditional imaging techniques. The design of a nondestructive imaging technique is necessary for the accurate quantification of contrast agent refresh. In this work, subharmonic imaging is investigated as a method for nondestructive imaging with the contrast agent microbubble MP1950 (Mallinckrodt, Inc., St. Louis, MO). Optical observation during insonation, in conjunction with a modified Rayleigh-Plesset (R-P) analysis, provides insight into the mechanisms of and parameters required for subharmonic frequency generation. Subharmonic imaging with a transmission frequency that is the same as the resonant frequency of the bubble is shown to require a minimum pressure of insonation that is greater than the experimentally-observed bubble destruction threshold. Subharmonic imaging with a transmission frequency that is twice the resonant frequency of the bubble produces a subharmonic frequency response while minimizing bubble instability. Optimization is performed using optical experimental analysis and R-P analysis.
Flexion and extension forces generated by wrist-dedicated muscles over the range of motion

An experiment was performed to evaluate the relationships among active range of motion (ROM), gender, wrist position and direction of force exertion in their effects on the magnitude of static force exerted by the wrist-dedicated muscles in wrist flexion and extension. This study employed 60 right-hand-dominant subjects (30 male, 30 female) between 20 and 30 years of age, all reporting no prior wrist injury and good to excellent overall physical condition. The ROM of each subject was used to determine the number of wrist positions evaluated for static maximal voluntary forces generated in wrist flexion and extension while they were instructed to relax their fingers; thus only the six wrist-dedicated muscles were employed in the exertion. The ANOVA procedure showed gender, wrist position, direction of force exertion, and the wrist position interaction with direction to have significant effects upon maximal force exertion. Females averaged 76.3% of the mean male flexion force and 72.4% for extension. On average, extension forces were found to be 83.4% of those generated by flexing the wrist-dedicated muscles.
Can Selective Arterial Clamping With Fluorescence Imaging Preserve Kidney Function During Robotic Partial Nephrectomy

Objective To compare renal functional outcomes in robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) with selective arterial clamping guided by near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging to a matched cohort of patients who underwent RPN without selective arterial clamping and NIRF imaging. Methods From April 2011 to December 2012, NIRF imaging-enhanced RPN with selective clamping was used in 42 cases. Functional outcomes of successful cases were compared with a cohort of patients, matched by tumor size, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), functional kidney status, age, sex, body mass index, and American Society of Anesthesiologists score, who underwent RPN without selective clamping and NIRF imaging. Results In matched-pair analysis, selective clamping with NIRF was associated with superior kidney function at discharge, as demonstrated by postoperative eGFR (78.2 vs 68.5 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ; P = .04), absolute reduction of eGFR (−2.5 vs −14.0 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ; P P P [eGFR] = .07; P [absolute reduction of eGFR] = .10; and P [percent change in eGFR] = .07). In the selective clamping group, a total of 4 perioperative complications occurred in 3 patients, all of which were Clavien grade I-III. Conclusion Use of NIRF imaging was associated with improved short-term renal functional outcomes when compared with RPN without selective arterial clamping and NIRF imaging. With this effect attenuated at later follow-up, randomized prospective studies and long-term assessment of kidney-specific functional outcomes are needed to further assess the benefits of this technology.
Narrow trans-TeV Higgs bosons and H→hh decays: two LHC search paths for a hidden sector Higgs boson

We consider the addition of a condensing singlet scalar field to the Standard Model. Such a scenario may be motivated by any number of theoretical ideas, including the common result in string-inspired model building of singlet scalar fields charged under some hidden sector gauge symmetry. For concreteness, we specify an example model of this type, and consider the relevant constraints on Higgs physics, such as triviality, perturbative unitarity and precision electroweak analysis. We then show that there are two unique features of the phenomenology that present opportunities for discovery at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, it is possible to identify and discover a narrow trans-TeV Higgs boson in this scenario — a mass scale that is well above the scale at which it is meaningful to discuss a SM Higgs boson. Second, the decays of the heavier scalar state into the lighter Higgs bosons can proceed at a high rate and may be the first discovery mode in the Higgs sector.
A BIOCHEMICAL AND CYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY IN THE PHLOEM OF NICOTIAN A TABACUM

A biochemical and cytochemical study has been made of the distribution of ATPase in mature and differentiating phloem cells of Nicotiana tabacum and of the substrate specificity and effects of fixation on enzyme activity. Homogenates of unfixed leaf midveins and midveins fixed in formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde were assayed for enzyme activity by determining the amount of Pi, liberated per milligram of protein from various substrates in a 30 min period at pH 7.2. In fresh homogenates, hydrolysis of ATP was not significantly different from that of ITP, CTP, and UTP. Hydrolysis of GTP was slightly higher than that of ATP. ATP hydrolysis by fresh homogenates was 17% more extensive than that of ADP, 76% more extensive than that of 5'-AMP, and was inhibited by fluoride and p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB). There was little or no hydrolysis of the competitive inhibitors 2'- and 3'-AMP nor with the alternate substrates p-nitrophenylphosphate (PNP) or β-glycerophosphate (β-GP). In homogenates of material fixed in formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde for 1¼ h, ATPase activity was 13% preserved. Hydrolysis of ATP by fixed homogenates was not significantly different from that of ADP, 5'-AMP, ITP, CTP, and GTP. Hydrolysis of UTP was lower. Fluoride and PCMB inhibited fixed ATPase activity. The results of cytochemical localization experiments using a lead phosphate precipitation technique were in agreement with the biochemical results. Similar localization patterns were obtained with the nucleoside triphosphates ATP, CTP, GTP, ITP, and UTP. Activity was also localized with ADP and 5'-AMP but not with the competitive inhibitors 2'- and 3'-AMP, nor with PNP or β-GP. Little or no reaction product was deposited in other controls incubated without substrate or with substrate plus fluoride, PCMB, or N-ethylmaleimide. ATPase activity was demonstrated chiefly at the plasma membrane of mature and differentiating phloem cells and was associated with the P-protein of mature sieve elements. It is suggested that the phloem transport system derives its energy from the demonstrated nucleoside triphosphatase activity.
Photoinduced Electron Transfer Between Pyridine Coated Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots and Single Sheet Graphene

© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Interest in graphene as a two-dimensional quantum-well material for energy applications and nanoelectronics has increased exponentially in the last few years. The recent advances in large-area single-sheet fabrication of pristine graphene have opened unexplored avenues for expanding from nanoto meso-scale applications. The relatively low level of absorptivity and the short lifetimes of excitons of single-sheet graphene suggest that it needs to be coup led with light sensitizers in order to explore its feasibility for photonic applications, such as solar-energy conversion. Red-emitting CdSe quantum dots are employed for photosensitizing single-sheet graphene with areas of several square centimeters. Pyridine coating of the quantum dots not only enhances their adhesion to the graphene surface, but also provides good electronic coup ling between the CdSe and the two-dimensional carbon allotrope. Illumination of the quantum dots led to injection of n-carrier in the graphene phase. Time-resolved spectroscopy reveals three modes of photoinduced electron transfer between the quantum dots and the graphene occurring in the femtosecond and picosecond time-domains. Transient absorption spectra provide evidence for photoinduced hole-shift from the CdSe to the pyridine ligands, thereby polarizing the surface of the quantum dots. That is, photoinduced electrical polarization, which favors the simultaneous electron transfer from the CdSe to the graphene phase. These mechanistic insights into the photoinduced interfacial charge transfer have a promising potential to serve as guidelines for the design and development of composites of graphene and inorganic nanomaterials for solar-energy conversion applications.
How Couples Manage the Household: Work and Power in Cross-National Perspective

Despite many studies on the gendered division of housework, there is little research on how couples divide the work of household management. Relative resource theories of household bargaining inform analyses of who does the housework, but their applicability to household management is unclear, if only because management responsibility may be viewed as unwanted drudgery or as coveted control over family and household. Building on theories of power and exchange, this article examines the relation of relative resources and management responsibility and asks whether the partner who does more housework also does more management. According to 2002 International Social Survey Program data for 31 countries, three fourths of married persons report joint, rather than individual, decision making on children’s upbringing, weekend activities, and major purchases. Supporting a gendered relative resource hypothesis, women, and not men, are more likely to take sole charge of household decision making when their income is...
Reporting and statistically comparing averages of a patient cohort: the glass may really be half empty.

COMMENTARY ON: Nandakumar A, Clark NA, Peehal JP, et al. The increase in dural sac area is maintained at 2 years after X-stop implantation for the treatment of spinal stenosis with no significant alteration in lumbar spine range of movement. Spine J 2010:10:762–768 ( in this issue ).
Hydrovinylation of 1,3-Dienes: A New Protocol, an Asymmetric Variation, and a Potential Solution to the Exocyclic Side Chain Stereochemistry Problem

Cyclic and acyclic 1,3-dienes undergo efficient (substrate/catalyst = 72) heterodimerization with ethylene in the presence of a Ni catalyst prepared from [o-(PhCH2O)]C6H4PPh2, [(allyl)2NiBr]2, and Na+ BAr4- (Ar = 3,5-bis-trifluromethylphenyl), giving 1,2-addition products. Yields up to 99% can be realized for several 1-vinylcycloalkenes and 1-substituted 1,3-butadienes. Phospholanes with suitably placed hemilabile ligating groups and phosphoramidites derived from binaphthol are excellent ligands for an asymmetric variation of this reaction, the latter giving 99% yield and >95% ee's for selected substrates. An example of how an exocyclic chiral center can be used to install other stereo-centers in the ring (e. g., the carbon to which the side chain is attached) is also provided. These discoveries open an expeditious entry into several biologically relevant classes of compounds, especially those carrying tetrahydronaphthalene and related heterocyclic moieties.
Interspecies scaling of the bioaccumulation of lipophilic xenobiotics in fish : An example using trifluralin

A poorly understood factor that may influence differences in the accumulation of a xenobiotic among fishes is interspecies differences in physiology. We have extensively studied the uptake, distribution, and excretion kinetics of the lipophilic herbicide trifluralin (TF) in fish, using a static water exposure system and compartmental toxicokinetic models. We obtained quantitative estimates of physiologically based toxicokinetic parameters such as uptake clearance, apparent volume of distribution, and elimination clearance due to xenobiotic metabolism, in rainbow trout, channel catfish, and bluegill sunfish at two acclimation temperatures. In these and other species (largemouth bass, gizzard shad, fathead minnows, and lake sturgeon), oxygen consumption rate, total lipid content, plasma protein binding, and in vitro biotransformation rates from liver homogenates were determined and examined for their capacities to predict toxicokinetic parameter values. The uptake clearance of TF was predictable based on the oxygen consumption rate, and in vitro TF biotransformation rate was a useful predictor of the in vivo metabolic clearance of TF. Lipid content, however, did not predict the apparent volume of distribution of TF. Values of uptake and metabolism clearance were predicted in largemouth bass, gizzard shad, fathead minnows, and lake sturgeon, using the oxygen consumption and the in vitro TF biotransformation rates. These predicted parameters were then used to successfully simulate the toxicokinetics of TF in these species.
The effects of test environment and cyclic stretching on the failure properties of human patellar tendons

There is a need to document the mechanical properties of patellar tendon allografts used for reconstructive surgery of the damaged anterior cruciate ligament, especially the effects of irradiation sterilization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of in vitro test environment and low-level cyclic stretching prior to failure tests on nonirradiated and irradiated human graft tissues. Bilateral patellar tendons were split and each half processed accordingly. Some graft tissues were stretched cyclically at 2.5 mm deformation before failure. Experiments were performed in a 37 degrees C saline bath or with tissues moistened with a drip of the same. The irradiated grafts relaxed less and generated less slack length in the drip environment than the nonirradiated controls. Cyclic stretching did not alter failure characteristics of either graft tissue. While no significant differences in the tensile responses or failure characteristics were noted for irradiated and nonirradiated grafts in the drip, in the bath environment the nonirradiated tissues had greater strength and modulus. This resulted in there being a significant difference between irradiated and nonirradiated tissue responses in a heated saline bath environment. These experimental results exemplify the need to control in vitro test environments in the evaluation of various sterilization and preservation protocols for soft tissue allografts.
The structure of competence in health professions.

The past decade has seen widespread research on systematic evaluation of the competence of health professionals. Such activity usually has been carried out in accordance with the prevailing psychological paradigms, in which competence is represented as a trait, or as an intrapsychic factor. However, even when competence has been delimited as problem-solving, the research generally iden tified a strong situational influence on performance. In this article are assembled a set of diverse but complementary arguments for dispensing with the conventional representations of professional competence. In their place is pro posed a relational model in which competence in health professions is seen as the aggregated adaptations of practi tioners to the set of special social cir cumstances that obtain within the situational boundaries of their profession. It is argued that a thorough under standing of the content of professional situations is a necessary prerequisite for successful evaluation of professional competenc...
Tracking performance under time delay and asynchronicity in distributed camera systems

Distributed camera systems are typically used to simultaneously track multiple targets. Communication between cameras enables the ability to monitor targets in a complex environment where occlusion happens. Asynchronicity and time delay are among the most important factors that affect tracking error. We provide a feedback law controlling the pan and tilt of each camera to track the centroid of a cluster of point targets in the field of view. Assuming that the estimates for target motion are available only infrequently and asynchronously when occlusion happens, we compute a worst-case lower bound on the frequency for exchanging estimates between cameras. Our results may help camera system designers to determine the response time and tracking ability for distributed camera systems.
Confidence, Evidence, and Disagreement

Should learning we disagree about p lead you to reduce confidence in p? Some who think so want to except beliefs in which you are rationally highly confident. I argue that this is wrong; we should reject accounts that rely on this intuitive thought. I then show that quite the opposite holds: factors that justify low confidence in p also make disagreement about p less significant. I examine two such factors: your antecedent expectations about your peers' opinions and the difficulty of evaluating your evidence. I close by proposing a different way of thinking about disagreement.
Better planning via tasking as a team

Do you find your story estimation sessions taking too much time away from development? Do you have stories that go over their estimates by a significant amount or turn into multiple stories? Then this session is for you. In this session we will look at various methods to improve tasking by better leveraging the team as a whole to strive toward more clearly defined and more granular stories. We will address common pitfalls such as stories that are really epics, overly vague stories as well as how to identify good stories and improve the definition of done for your stories.
Quantitative Analysis of the Development of Experimental Atherosclerosis in the Dog

Atherosclerosis was produced in dogs by feeding them thiouracil and cholesterol. The increments in cholesterol concentration at sites along the length of the aortas of these dogs Avere determined by subtracting from the value for each site the corresponding value obtained from normal dogs. After about 1 month on the experimental regimen the cholesterol increments along the length of the aorta formed a gradient. The increment was greatest in the proximal aorta and progressively less down the length of the aorta. After about 5 months on the regimen, the gradient no longer existed. Instead, the cholesterol increment in the abdominal aorta exceeded that in the thoracic aorta. Albumin is known to enter aortic wall with a gradient of rates that is similar to the gradient of cholesterol increments early in the course of experimental atherosclerosis. The foregoing facts are consistent with the following theory: In the development of atherosclerosis, intact low-density lipoproteins containing cholesterol enter the aortic wall with a gradient of rates. They enter fastest in the proximal aorta and progressively less rapidly down the length of the aorta. However, cholesterol is removed from the abdominal aorta much more slowly than from the thoracic aorta. Thus, the increment in cholesterol concentration in the abdominal aorta eventually exceeds that in the thoracic aorta.
Liberty and Liberticide: The Role of America in Nineteenth-Century British Radicalism

This book examines the duality of America's influence on British radical reformers during the nineteenth century. Turner's intention is to create a balance within the existing scholarship that focu...
Smith v. Van Gorkom, Jurisdictional Competition, and the Role of Random Mutations in the Evolution of Corporate Law

American corporate law has seen numerous changes that may be characterized as random mutations. Some mutations thrived, some died, but they all had a common trait - they were purposeful efforts to somehow improve corporate law. Natural selection through market forces determines whether one legislature's or one court's "improvement" is actually an improvement or a detriment. In American corporate law, the natural selection process is manifest through the Economic Darwinism of jurisdictional competition. For an evolutionary process to work, catalysts - akin to random mutations - must occur and cause changes. In this process, inadequate laws and poor judicial decisions may lead to the discovery of improved corporate law. The Delaware Supreme Court's decision in Smith v. Van Gorkom was just such a random mutation. Van Gorkom was a major and seemingly random change in the corporate law of fiduciary duties. It certainly took corporate law observers and commentators by surprise. And Van Gorkom's reverberations continue to be felt.
Political Mobilization and Incorporation: The Case of Vietnamese-Americans in Orange County, California

In a February 6, 2007 special election to fill the vacated first district seat for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, two Vietnamese-American candidates surprised local political observers by passing the pre-election front-runners and sharing, almost equally, just under half of the total votes cast, guaranteeing the seating of a Vietnamese-American as an Orange County Supervisor. Anecdotal reports claim their success was due to extensive, successful mobilization efforts among Vietnamese-Americans, resulting in election of a coethnic supervisor and, hence, greater political incorporation. A year later the victor, then the incumbent, faced only Vietnamese-American opponents (two) to win reelection. We use registration and vote history data and elite interviews to assess whether mobilization of the Vietnamese-American community occurred. Because the February 2007 election was a special election, mobilization and turnout can be studied independent of the confounding effects of other contests. We find evidence for ethnically-specific mobilization in 2007 and for continuation in 2008 when ethnic solidarity rather than ethnic victory was at stake. However, the evidence suggests that there is little carryover to another contest with no ethnic resonance. Elite interviews demonstrate that the mobilization was elite-led. Surprisingly, we find no evidence that the presumed mechanism -- differential encouragement of absentee ballots -- actually mattered. This work provides evidence for the existence and processes of elite mobilization of a newly incorporated group.
Loss, Degeneration, and Preservation of the Spiral Ganglion Neurons and Their Processes

To maintain normal function, spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) and their associated components require a healthy cochlear microenvironment including numerous molecular and cellular elements. This chapter reviews our current understanding of SGN loss and dysfunction with an emphasis on recent studies of primary degeneration of ganglion neurons and age-related auditory nerve loss and dysfunction. Results from animal models of the SGN degeneration and a discussion of possible approaches that could lead to the preservation of these neurons in vivo are given in this chapter. The complex interactions between SGNs and the cochlear microenvironment are important areas for future exploration to better understand the mechanisms of SGN degeneration and dysfunction.
Control of Neuronal Ryanodine Receptor-Mediated Calcium Signaling by Calsenilin

Calsenilin is a calcium ion (Ca2+)-binding protein involved in regulating the intracellular concentration of Ca2+, a second messenger that controls multiple cellular signaling pathways. The ryanodine receptor (RyR) amplifies Ca2+ signals entering the cytoplasm by releasing Ca2+ from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stores, a process termed calcium-induced calcium release (CICR). Here, we describe a novel mechanism, in which calsenilin controls the activity of neuronal RyRs. We show calsenilin co-localized with RyR2 and 3 in the ER of mouse hippocampal and cortical neurons using immunocytochemistry. The underlying protein-protein interaction between calsenilin and the RyR was determined in mouse central nervous system (CNS) neurons using immunoprecipitation studies. The functional relevance of this interaction was assayed with single-channel electrophysiology. At low physiological Ca2+ concentrations, calsenilin binding to the cytoplasmic face of neuronal RyRs decreased the RyR's open probability, while calsenilin increased the open probability at high physiological Ca2+ concentrations. This novel molecular mechanism was studied further at the cellular level, where faster release kinetics of caffeine-induced Ca2+ release were measured in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells overexpressing calsenilin. The interaction between calsenilin and neuronal RyRs reveals a new regulatory mechanism and possibly a novel pharmacological target for the control of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores.
Potassium conductance in rabbit esophageal epithelium

K+ conductance in apical and basolateral cell membranes of rabbit esophageal epithelial cells was investigated within intact epithelium by impalement with conventional microelectrodes from luminal or serosal sides. Under steady-state conditions, K+ conductance was demonstrated in basolateral, but not apical, membranes by showing 1) membrane depolarization upon exposure to either solutions high in K+ (20-65 mM) or containing Ba2+, tetraethylammonium, or quinine, and 2) a resistance ratio that increased on exposure to high K+ solution and decreased on exposure to Ba2+, quinine, and tetraethylammonium. From exposures to high K+, the apparent K+ transference number and electromotive force generated at the basolateral membrane were calculated and found to be 0.42 +/- 0.01 and -83 +/- 3 mV, respectively. Furthermore, basolateral K+ conductance was shown to be important for maintaining resting net transepithelial Na+ absorption in that high K+ or barium inhibited the transepithelial potential difference and short-circuit current of Ussing-chambered epithelia. We conclude that under steady-state conditions the basolateral, but not apical, membranes of esophageal epithelial cells contain a K(+)-conductive pathway and that this pathway is important for active sodium absorption.
Public Benefits of Undeveloped Lands on Urban Outskirts: Non-Market Valuation Studies and Their Role in Land Use Plans

Over the past three decades, the economics profession has developed methods for estimating the public benefits of green spaces, providing an opportunity to incorporate such information into land-use planning. While federal regulations routinely require such estimates for major regulations, the extent to which they are used in local land use plans is not clear. This paper reviews the literature on public values for lands on urban outskirts, not just to survey their methods or empirical findings, but to evaluate the role they have played - or have the potential to play in actual land use plans. Based on interviews with authors and representatives of funding agencies and local land trusts, it appears that academic work has had a mixed reception in the policy world. Reasons for this include a lack of interest in making academic work accessible to policy makers, emphasizing revealed preference methods which are inconsistent with policy priorities related to nonuse values, and emphasis on benefit-cost analyses. Nevertheless, there are examples of success stories that illustrate how such information can play a vital role in the design of conservation policies.
A noncontact RF-based respiratory sensor: results of a clinical trial.

Abstract Background Respiratory rate (RR) is a critical vital signs monitored in health care setting. Current monitors suffer from sensor-contact failure, inaccurate data, and limited patient mobility. There is a critical need for an accurate and reliable and noncontact system to monitor RR. We developed a contact-free radio frequency (RF)–based system that measures movement using WiFi signal diffraction, which is converted into interpretable data using a Fourier transform. Here, we investigate the system's ability to measure fine movements associated with human respiration. Materials and methods Testing was conducted on subjects using visual cue, fixed-tempo instruction to breath at standard RRs. Blinded instruction-based RRs were compared to RF-acquired data to determine measurement accuracy. The RF-based technology was studied on postoperative ventilator-dependent patients. Blinded ventilator capnographic RR data were collected for each patient and compared to RF-acquired data to determine measurement accuracy. Results Respiratory rate data collected from 10 subjects breathing at a fixed RR (14, 16, 18, or 20) demonstrated 95.5% measurement accuracy between the patient's actual rate and that measured by our RF technology. Ten patients were enrolled into the clinical trial. Blinded ventilator capnographic RR data were compared to RF-based acquired data. The RF-based data showed 88.8% measurement accuracy with ventilator capnography. Conclusions Initial clinical pilot trials with our contact-free RF-based monitoring system demonstrate a high degree of RR measurement accuracy when compared to capnographic data. Based on these results, we believe RF-based systems present a promising noninvasive, inexpensive, and accurate tool for continuous RR monitoring.
Analysis and Design of Women's Protective Ice Hockey Equipment:

Because of the violent nature of ice hockey the sport has traditionally been dominated by men. As a result, all of the existing equipment has been designed for men. Currently, a growing interest by women to play the sport is leading to the formation of women's ice hockey leagues across the country. A design deficiency exists which may make this a very risky sport for women to play. The lack of a particular system of protection for women directed the research toward the design of hockey equipment for women. The solution that was designed was a result of the conclusions drawn during research to attempt to provide ample defense for an emerging, new market of women ice hockey players.
Cooperatives as Innovators in the Argentinean Information Industry

This paper explores the role of cooperatives as innovators and promoters of the information and communications industries in Argentina. We used the open business model literature to help us understand their motivation to innovate and the modus operandi of these organizations in a less developed country. We relied on five case studies from various communities in Argentina. In-depth interviews were conducted with directors of these organizations. We found that cooperatives operate in a similar manner as open businesses, and this has allowed them to respond effectively to their circumstances and engage in innovation inspired by the difficulties they face. Their innovation is driven by their interest in fulfilling the needs of their communities and the regulatory environment, which sometimes has protected them and sometimes challenged them. We recommend cooperatives be given similar rights to resources as those in the private sectors; that they be provided access to the universal services fund, and that they address the concerns about their “anticompetitive behavior” by using the Argentinean anticompetitive law. We think cooperatives should be given credit and support for driving innovation and for having a decisive socio-economic impact in their communities.
Health Care among the Kumiai Indians of Baja California, Mexico: Structural and Social Barriers

In this article, I document the illness and health care problems facing indigenous communities in Baja California, Mexico, by using ethnographic data from research I conducted from 1999 to 2001 with rural, indigenous Kumiai and with their primary health care providers in urban Ensenada. I contend that barriers to care are structural and social, rather than constituted of competing ideas of illness causation and treatment. A history of multiple medical systems and hierarchical social relations work in concert to produce specific patterns of health care problems for indigenous communities. Multiple medical systems in Mexico rarely result in clearly differentiated models of health care, however. Individual health care beliefs and behaviors frequently blend Western allopathic, or biomedical, beliefs and behaviors with those of homeopathy, herbalism, and different spiritual healing traditions. The primary health care problem that faces indigenous communities is that health care, however defined, is frequently unavailable and rarely comprehensive. Nevertheless, most of their health care providers frequently presume that poor indigenous health is largely a result of competing indigenous illness and health care beliefs. Indigenous health and health care problems are largely a result of economic and ethnic marginalization, as the case of Don Ricardo will demonstrate.1 A thin, frail man, fifty-five-year-old Don Ricardo was dying of lung cancer in 1999, when I first spoke with him in his three-room house in an indigenous Kumiai community in northern Baja California. A biomedical physician provided through his employment at the nearby winery had diagnosed his cancer. Don Ricardo was too fatigued to continue his manual labor
Inhibition of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Transgrow Medium Due to Excessive CO 2 Concentrations

Commercially supplied Transgrow medium was found by the authors to have a pH of 6.55 to 6.94, well below the range of 7.2 ± 0.2 recommended for optimal growth of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Since manufacturers may adjust the pH and approve media for distribution before establishment of the proper CO2 atmosphere, consumers should perform pH measurements on any medium used for recovery of N. gonorrhoeae as part of their internal quality control testing.
EBE: a language for specifying the expected behavior of programs during debugging

A generalized iterative array model in which the next state of each finite-state computing element may depend on the signs of its location's coordinates and the current state of the computing element at the array origin (“direct central control”) is shown to be no more powerful for on-line time-bounded operation than the standard model of Cole. Applications include a simple iterative array simulation of multihead Turing machines of the same dimension, a simulation without time loss of a further generalized iterative array model with multiple “array heads” which may be shifted locally in the array or reset instantaneously to each other's locations, and simplified versions of several published iterative array algorithms.
Opening up the blackbox: an interpretable deep neural network-based classifier for cell-type specific enhancer predictions

Background Gene expression is mediated by specialized cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), the most prominent of which are called enhancers. Early experiments indicated that enhancers located far from the gene promoters are often responsible for mediating gene transcription. Knowing their properties, regulatory activity, and genomic targets is crucial to the functional understanding of cellular events, ranging from cellular homeostasis to differentiation. Recent genome-wide investigation of epigenomic marks has indicated that enhancer elements could be enriched for certain epigenomic marks, such as, combinatorial patterns of histone modifications.
Plant-Wide Control of a Continuous Tablet Manufacturing for Quality-By-Design Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Abstract The pharmaceutical industry is strictly regulated, where precise control of the end product quality is necessary to ensure the efficiency of the drug products. In this work, a combined feed-forward/feedback (FF/FB) control system has been developed for a direct compaction continuous tablet manufacturing pilot-plant. The feed-forward controller takes into account the effect of process disturbances and raw material variability proactively while the feedback control system ensures the end product quality consistently. The feed-forward control loop is based on real time monitoring of the powder bulk density while the feedback control loops are based on the powder level of instrumented hopper, drug concentration, tablet weight and hardness. Powder blend density has significant effects on the end product quality of the pharmaceutical tablets and therefore has been selected as the feed-forward variable. The coupled FF/FB control system ensures minimum variability in the final product quality irrespective of process and raw material variations.
1,2-Disubstituted Alkenes as Migratory Insertion Participants in Zn(II)-Promoted Metalloamination/Cyclization of N,N-Dimethylhydrazinoalkenes

Diethylzinc-mediated metalloamination/cyclization of unsaturated N,N-dimethylhydrazines has been extended to the use of 1,2-disubstituted alkenes as N–Zn migratory insertion acceptors. Representative 2-arylethenes and vinylcyclopropanes readily serve as reaction participants in metalloamination/cyclization–allylation cascades.
Post-operative colon and urinary diversions: surgical techniques, anatomy, and imaging findings

This article discusses the commonly encountered operative procedures of the colon and urinary diversions and provides a comprehensive review of indications, contraindications, surgical techniques with emphasis on normal and abnormal multimodality imaging findings.
“The unknown history of the internet” engineering the worldwide WiWiW project

This paper reports on a large-scale project to document the origins of the ARPANET, Packet Radio Net, SATnet, Ethernet, the NSFnet and most recently the Internet. The main objective is to create and collect, source material and preserve it for the future. Traditional oral history interviews are used along with new research methods and tools, such as distributed editing, or “collective memory experiments.”
Prediction of Material Removal Rate in Die-sinking Electrical Discharge Machining

Abstract This paper proposes a semi-empirical model to predict material removal rate in die-sinking electrical discharging machining (EDM). Four different workpiece materials -- high strength steel, high strength low alloy steel, brass, and aluminum -- are utilized in the study. Full factorial experiments using peak current, on-time at two levels are selected for each workpiece material while keeping other parameters the same. The removed volumes are calculated by measuring sectional area of an EDM’ed hole and its dimensions. The developed MRR model includes the EDM cumulative electrical charge for each cycle and melting temperature of workpiece material; it predicts two orders of magnitude closer to experimental data compared to a published model that is based on melting temperature and peak current alone.
Radiation stable, hybrid, chemical vapor infiltration/preceramic polymer joining of silicon carbide components

Abstract This paper reports on a nuclear-grade joining material for bonding of silicon carbide-based components. The joint material is fabricated via a hybrid preceramic polymer, chemical vapor infiltration process. The joint is comprised entirely of β-SiC and results in excellent mechanical and permeability performance. The joint strength, composition, and microstructure have been characterized before and after irradiation to 4.5 dpa at 730 °C in the High Flux Isotope Reactor. The hybrid preceramic polymer-chemical vapor infiltrated joint exhibited complete retention of shear strength and no evidence of microstructural evolution or damage was detected following irradiation.
The 2005 Studies in Art Education Invited Lecture: My Research Life through Studies in Art Education: A Body of Work

This lecture is based on a dozen articles I had published in Studies in Art Education as author and co-author from 1977 to the present as well as several articles that are in-progress. I make an analogy of this body of research to a body of work produced by a practicing artist. I also refer to the intellectual climate in which ideas for my research studies germinated and flourished as expressions of the time in which they originated. What first may appear to be eclecticism is in reality an interweaving of almost 30 years of bringing together the content and methodologies found in these dozen Studies articles.
Abstract 408: Severity of Hypertension does not Correlate with Increased miR-221 and miR-222 Expression

Multiple smooth muscle microRNA (miR) are required for normal regulation of blood pressure. miR-221 and miR-222 promote vascular remodeling through down regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27Kip1. The vasculature of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) exhibits reduced expression of p27Kip1 that promotes vascular remodeling. Internal mammary arteries (IMAs) of diabetic subjects undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting exhibit elevated levels of miR-221 and miR-222. Given the relationship between diabetes and hypertension and the fact that the SHR exhibit low levels of p27Kip1, we hypothesized that increasing severity of hypertension would correlate with an increase in miR-221 and miR-222 in the vasculature that promotes vascular remodeling. Using multivariate linear regression, we evaluated the levels of miR-221 and miR-222 in the IMAs of both diabetic (n=19) and non-diabetic (n=18) subjects with reference to systolic and diastolic blood pressure, number of anti-hypertensive medications, and whether hypertension was controlled. Additionally, we tested whether individual anti-hypertension medication classes correlated with changes in miR-221 and miR-222 levels. When corrected for the presence of diabetes, none of these parameters correlated with a change in miR-221 and miR-222 levels. These data suggest both that miR-221 and miR-222 are not among the smooth muscle miRs involved in the regulation of blood pressure, and that hypertension does not promote vascular remodeling through changes in miR-221 and miR-222.
The Grasses as a Single Genetic System

Recent studies have indicated that many plant genomes have regions of common gene content and genetic map colinearity. This is particularly well documented in the grasses, where colinearity has been demonstrated both for recombinational maps using DNA markers and in the orthologous placement of comparable genes. Colinearity in regions of a centiMorgan or less (i.e., microcolinearity) has not been extensively investigated. Preliminary studies demonstrate that gene content, order and orientation are often conserved in small regions of related genomes, but there are frequent exceptions. Results indicate that grass genome colinearity will be a tremendously valuable tool that allows the synergistic pooling of knowledge and biological materials across a broad range of plant species. From this colinear perspective, genes from any grass species can be used for the improvement and understanding of any other grass. However, further investigations across a wide range of species and genomic locations will be needed to determine the limitations of the approach. In the interim, it is important to carefully investigate (rather than assume) the microcolinearity of the syntenic regions that are being analyzed.
Reliable Silicon Photonic Light Source Using Curved Distributed Feedback Lasers

We propose a curved erbium doped aluminum oxide (Al2O3:Er3+) distributed feedback (DFB) laser for a reliable integrated photonics light source. The curved structure allows a compensation for radially varying film thickness in Al2O3:Er3+ deposition process.
State estimation for deformable objects by point registration and dynamic simulation

To enhance the robotic manipulation of deformable objects, a robust state estimator is proposed to track the object configuration in real time. A Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is constructed to register the object nodes towards the noisy point cloud. To deal with occlusion, the coherent point drift (CPD) regularization is applied on the mixture model, so as to maintain the topological structure from previous sequences of data and to infer the object states in occluded area. The state estimation is further refined by running a dynamic simulation in parallel, which guarantees the estimates to satisfy the object's physical constraints. A series of rope tracking experiments are performed to evaluate the proposed state estimator. It is shown that the object can be tracked robustly with sensor noise, outliers and massive occlusion.
Perameles nasuta (Long-nosed bandicoot)

All chromosomes are morphologically distinguishable.The X chrosome has a secondary construction on the long arm.The sixth autosomal pair is satellited.
Electric Vehicle Demand Response via J1772TM Charging Signal Interruption

This paper showcases a custom-designed charge control board installed into 8 retrofitted, plug-in electric vehicle charge stations owned by ERCOT in Taylor, TX. Results show by interrupting the J1772TM pilot signal, the controlling entity may perform real-time amperage adjustments by varying the duty cycle of the waveform. This allows for greater load control of electric vehicle charging, and allows for demand response features which may contribute ancillary services to the grid. Results show localized control proves much more reliable, and improves response times to variable charging set point adjustments due to decreased network latency. If implemented on a system basis, the newly proposed 5G cellular network may be able to provide utility companies with much greater control of widespread electric vehicle charging as it pertains to challenging grid conditions such as peak demand.
Expenditure decentralization and natural resources

Abstract This paper explores the relationship between natural resource revenues and expenditure decentralization. While the literature suggests that an abundance of natural resources may have deleterious effects on fiscal decentralization and other variables, existing empirical evidence regarding expenditure decentralization is scant and suspect. We find that expenditure decentralization is highly persistent. We take this persistence into account and use four different estimation strategies to examine whether natural resource revenues influence expenditure decentralization. Increases in natural resource rents as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistically significantly and negatively affect expenditure decentralization. A 1% year-on-year increase in natural resource rents reduces estimated expenditure decentralization by approximately 0.1% to 0.3%. This result is robust to an alternative measure of resource dependence. Our findings strongly suggest that increases in resource endowments lead to a centralization of government expenditures.