cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A DISCONTINUOUS FINITE-ELEMENT FORMULATION FOR MULTIDIMENSIONAL RADIATIVE TRANSFER IN ABSORBING, EMITTING, AND SCATTERING MEDIA

This article presents a discontinuous finite-element formulation for the numerical solution of internal thermal radiation problems in multidimensional domains. In contrast with the conventional finite-element formulation, the discontinuous finite element is based on the idea of allowing the discontinuity of field variables across the internal interelement boundaries and thus is particularly useful for the integral-differential equations governing the thermal radiative transfer phenomena in emitting, absorbing, and scattering media. Mathematical formulation and numerical details using the discontinuous finite element method for internal radiation heat transfer calculations are given. Computational procedures are presented. A parallel computing algorithm exploiting the advantages of the localized discontinuous finite-element formulation and space/solid-angle discretization characteristics is presented. The computed results are given and compared with analytical solutions whenever available as reported in re...
Participatory research as disruptive?: a report on a conflict in social science paradigms at a criminal justice agency promoting alternatives to incarceration

This is an ethnographic study of a clash of two paradigms of knowledge in an organization that provides alternatives‐to‐incarceration programs for the criminal justice system in a large city. As a new program evaluator for the organization I used participatory action research to evaluate the programs he was assigned to study. Through an account of how that participatory research was dismissed as valueless, we can see the administrative demand in a dominant strain of criminology for data to appear objective and parsimonious, to rely on experts, and to take the form of aggregate numbers (statistics) used for risk management. Research is used instrumentally to secure continued funding, to enhance surveillance, and to enhance output. Overall, the dominant paradigm objectifies the human subject at the heart of its research, withdrawing credibility from him or her. The participatory research, housed in another paradigm, resists this process of objectification. Its end is social change through a process of consc...
Segmenting Photo Streams in Events Based on Optical Metadata

Traditional methods for event segmentation of photo streams use time and/or content-based information. In this paper, we present event segmentation from a novel perspective. We propose to segment photo streams in events based on the scene brightness of photos by assuming that big scene brightness change implies an event transition of interest. The scene brightness is derived from camera parameters that are automatically set when photos are taken and recorded with each photo as metadata in standard forms like EXIF data. This information is available from metadata and is very inexpensive computationally resulting in fast segmentation. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering method is applied to build the event hierarchy of the photo stream based on the scene brightness difference. The proposed approach has been tested on several photo streams and very promising results have been obtained.
Temporal Regulation of Gene Expression During the Expected Window of Receptivity in the Rhesus Monkey Endometrium

Progesterone has been shown to regulate a number of genes and gene networks in the primate endometrium. This action of progesterone is essential to provide an appropriate milieu for embryo-endometrial communication that can lead to implantation and the successful initiation of pregnancy. A temporal regulation of endometrial genes is most likely required to achieve an appropriate state of receptivity in the primate endometrium. Using simulated menstrual cycles in the rhesus monkey, endometrial tissue was harvested at days that encompass the expected window of receptivity (4-10 days after the estradiol surge) and subsequently converted to cycle day-specific cDNA populations. Using differential display reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, 12 cDNA fragments were isolated and sequenced whose mRNA levels were elevated during this time frame. The temporal expression patterns of these mRNAs were confirmed by semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction. Two of these fragments exhibited high homology to previously characterized human genes: 1) secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, also known as antileukoprotease, an endometrial neutrophil elastase inhibitor with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties; and 2) syncytin, also known as endogenous retrovirus W envelope protein, a highly fusogenic membrane glycoprotein that induces formation of giant syncytia and is believed to be important in decidual and placental development. The temporal regulation of these genes by progesterone supports their likely role in the orchestration of molecular and cellular events that are required to achieve a state of receptivity in the primate endometrium.
Morphometry of the human pulmonary vasculature

Huang, W., R. T. Yen, M. McLaurine, and G. Bledsoe.Morphometry of the human pulmonary vasculature.J. Appl. Physiol. 81(5): 2123–2133, 1996.—The morphometric data on the branching pattern and vascul...
Eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems: Bistability and soil phosphorus

Eutrophication (the overenrichment of aquatic ecosystems with nutrients leading to algal blooms and anoxic events) is a persistent condition of surface waters and a widespread environmental problem. Some lakes have recovered after sources of nutrients were reduced. In others, recycling of phosphorus from sediments enriched by years of high nutrient inputs causes lakes to remain eutrophic even after external inputs of phosphorus are decreased. Slow flux of phosphorus from overfertilized soils may be even more important for maintaining eutrophication of lakes in agricultural regions. This type of eutrophication is not reversible unless there are substantial changes in soil management. Technologies for rapidly reducing phosphorus content of overenriched soils, or reducing erosion rates, are needed to improve water quality.
Late Amazonian glaciation at the dichotomy boundary on Mars: Evidence for glacial thickness maxima and multiple glacial phases

Lineated valley fill (LVF) in fretted valleys at the dichotomy boundary has been interpreted as glacial in origin. Unknown are (1) the original thickness of the glacier ice, (2) the amount of ice-surface lowering, through sublimation and retreat, to its presently observed level, and (3) whether there were multiple periods of glaciation. We address these questions through analysis of an LVF glacial system. The elevation difference between the upper limit of a previous highstand and the current surface of the LVF at the study site is ~920 m. We interpret this difference to be the minimum amount of ice-surface lowering of the glacier system. Consistent with a general lowering of the ice surface are multiple moraines and/or trimlines, and changes in LVF flow patterns, as the ice retreated and decreased in thickness. The superposition of several lobes onto the current surface of the LVF indicates that a phase of alpine glaciation followed the lowering of the valley glacial system. These data suggest that the Late Amazonian glaciation that produced LVF in this region involved significantly larger amounts of ice than previously thought, and that subsequent alpine glaciation followed.
Preliminary results with the use of AlloDerm in chronic otitis media.

Objectives/Hypothesis AlloDerm, an acellular dermal graft, has been used successfully as a material for soft tissue implantation. The authors report their experience with the use of AlloDerm in the reconstruction of the tympanic membrane. Study Design Case review study. Methods Charts were reviewed for all patients who underwent tympanoplasty with and without mastoidectomy between June 1999 and June 2002 in whom AlloDerm was used as a grafting material. There were 24 patients, 17 with simple perforations (8 revisions) and 7 with chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (6 revisions). Success was defined as closure of the tympanic membrane perforation. Results Closure of the perforation using AlloDerm was achieved in 87.5% of the patients (ie, in all but three patients). Another patient developed serous otitis media and required a myringotomy tube in the postoperative period. Conclusions The success rate for AlloDerm in tympanoplasty was similar to that of temporalis fascia in the authors' experience. AlloDerm can provide a suitable grafting material when fascia is not available or when the size of the defect precludes the use of fascia.
Optimizing index for taxonomy keyword search

Query substitution is an important problem in information retrieval. Much work focuses on how to find substitutes for any given query. In this paper, we study how to efficiently process a keyword query whose substitutes are defined by a given taxonomy. This problem is challenging because each term in a query can have a large number of substitutes, and the original query can be rewritten into any of their combinations. We propose to build an additional index (besides inverted index) to efficiently process queries. For a query workload, we formulate an optimization problem which chooses the additional index structure, aiming at minimizing the query evaluation cost, under given index space constraints. We show the NP-hardness of the problem, and propose a pseudo-polynomial time algorithm using dynamic programming, as well as an 1 over 4(1-1/e)-approximation algorithm to solve the problem. Experimental results show that, with only 10% additional index space, our approach can greatly reduce the query evaluation cost.
Investigations on network-wide load balancing for proportional fair scheduling based TDMA cellular systems

The military organizations around the world are increasingly adopting commercial cellular standards for their mission critical communication networks. Most of the cellular standards include support for several new techniques to implement network-wide load balancing to obtain optimum network performance. The goal of this paper is to understand the effect of load balancing on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as throughput and user-perceived delay. We first introduce analytical models to describe sector throughput as a function of the number of active users. We also develop models to study the delay experienced by HTTP traffic sources. Using these models, we quantify the gains achieved from performing load balancing and demonstrate that load balancing achieves significant performance gains in terms of sector capacity and user experience.
Role of nucleon strangeness in supernova explosions

Core-collapse supernovae produce copious amounts of neutrinos, but whether simulations can make the collapsing star actually explode depends critically on the microscopic description of neutrino heating, from interactions with nucleons. This is known to be sensitive to possible strange-quark contributions to the nucleon spin. Recent 3D simulations suggested that a large enough strangeness contribution can successfully produce explosions. This paper examines theoretical and experimental progress over the past decade and concludes that the strangeness contribution is very small. Hence, the search for the elusive mechanism to explain core-collapse supernovae must continue.
Brachial Plexus Palsy and Cortical Dysplasia

Researchers at the Miami Children’s Hospital report 2 infants with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy, ipsilateral leg weakness, and contralateral motor cortical dysplasia.
Computed Optical Interferometric Imaging: Methods, Achievements, and Challenges

Three-dimensional high-resolution optical imaging systems are generally restricted by the tradeoff between resolution and depth-of-field as well as imperfections in the imaging system or sample. Computed optical interferometric imaging is able to overcome these longstanding limitations using methods such as interferometric synthetic aperture microscopy (ISAM) and computational adaptive optics (CAO), which manipulate the complex interferometric data. These techniques correct for limited depth-of-field and optical aberrations without the need for additional hardware. This paper aims to outline these computational methods, making them readily available to the research community. Achievements of the techniques will be highlighted, along with past and present challenges in implementing the techniques. Challenges such as phase instability and determination of the appropriate aberration correction have been largely overcome so that imaging of living tissues using ISAM and CAO is now possible. Computed imaging in optics is becoming a mature technology poised to make a significant impact in medicine and biology.
High Photoreactivity of o-Nitrobenzyl Ligands on Gold

We have studied the photopatterning of a gold surface functionalized with a self-assembled monolayer of an o-nitrobenzyl-based photouncaging ligand bound to the gold surface with a dual thiol anchor. We find that the dose of UV light required to induce the photoreaction on gold is very similar to the dose in an alcohol solution, even though many optical phenomena are strongly suppressed on metal surfaces. We attribute this finding to a combination of the large skin depth in gold at UV wavelengths, the high speed of the photoreaction, and the spatially indirect nature of the lowest excited singlet. Any photoreactive compounds where the quantum efficiency of fluorescence is sufficiently low, preferably no larger than about 10–5 in the case of gold surfaces, will show a similarly high photoreactivity in metal-surface monolayers.
Effects of interface properties on the mechanical behavior of short fiber metal matrix composites

The mechanical behavior of a metal-ceramic composite has been studied by a continuum mechanics treatment utilizing finite element techniques. The objective of the work has been to determine the effects of sliding and debonding at the fiberlmatrix interface on the microscopic stress and strain fields and on the macroscopic stress-strain curve. An axisymmetric unit cell model has been used simulate a composite consisting of stiff elastic ceramic fibers in an elastic-plastic isotropic hardening metal matrix. Quantitative agreement between model and experiment has been achieved for a composite consisting of silicon carbide whiskers in a 2124 aluminum matrix. Analysis of the development of triaxial stresses around the fiber indicates that a large part of the composite strengthening effect can be attributed to the constrained flow of the matrix material between the fibers. Load transfer to the fiber is also an important strengthening mechanism, but its effectiveness decreases as sliding and debonding are allowed to occur at the interface:
A Study of the Metabolism of Chlorophyll in the Squash Bug Anasa Tristis DeGeer

A recent paper by Wigglesworth (1943) has dealt extensively with the metabolism of hemoglobin by certain blood-sucking Hemiptera and other insects. The data presented were of great interest from the standpoint of comparative biochemistry and aroused the writer's curiosity regarding the possible metabolic breakdown of the related pyrrole pigment, chlorophyll, by plant-feeding Hemiptera.
Autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus of late onset.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) of late onset (>50 yrs) was investigated in 40 patients. The most frequent clinical manifestations involved the joints, pleura, and skin, with the kidney and central nervous system being relatively unaffected. The most common laboratory findings were antinuclear antibody and leukopenia. Nine patients (22%) had anti-DNA antibodies. Antibodies against extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) were examined in 14 patients and found to be positive in 5 (36%). Altogether, anti-DNA was present in 58% of cases (P
Methane to methanol conversion induced by thorium oxide through the CH3Th(O)H intermediate in solid argon.

Reactions of ThO molecules and CH4 have been investigated in solid argon near 4 K. The CH3Th(O)H molecule is produced when the sample is exposed to UV irradiation. Identification of this new interm...
Activation of protein kinase activity in pancreatic acini by calcium and cAMP.

Regulation of protein kinase activity by calcium and cAMP was investigated in cytosolic and particulate preparations from isolated mouse pancreatic acini. In cytosol, three protein kinase activities could be distinguished: a calcium-activated kinase activity that was increased by exogenous calmodulin (CaM) and abolished by treatment of cytosol with a phenothiazine-coupled resin, a calcium-activated kinase activity dependent on phosphatidylserine (PS), and cAMP-activated kinase activity. Phosphorylation of a Mr = 92,000 cytosolic protein was greatly increased by both CaM-dependent and cAMP-activated kinases, whereas PS-dependent kinase activity most heavily phosphorylated proteins of Mr = 62,000 and 40,000. In addition, these kinase activities demonstrated differences in specificity for exogenous protein substrates. CaM-and PS-dependent kinases were completely blocked by trifluoperazine; the inhibitor protein of cAMP-activated protein kinase selectively inhibited cAMP-activated kinase activity. Exogenous C...
Real-time assessment of alcohol drinking and drug use in opioid-dependent polydrug users.

We investigated relationships between drinking, other drug use, and drug craving, using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), in a sample of polydrug users who were not heavy drinkers. In a prospective longitudinal cohort study, 114 heroin and cocaine users on methadone-maintenance treatment carried handheld electronic diaries during waking hours and were screened for drug and alcohol use for up to 25 weeks. Individuals who fulfilled the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence were excluded. Participants responded to 2-5 random prompts per day to report on their moods, cravings, and activities and initiated entries when they used or acutely craved heroin or cocaine. Drinking alcohol was assessed in both types of entries. Breath alcohol was measured three times weekly. Participants reported drinking alcohol in 1.6% of random-prompt entries, 3.7% of event-contingent entries when craving cocaine and/or heroin, and 11.6% of event-contingent entries when using cocaine and/or heroin. Alcohol drinking was also associated with higher craving ratings and prestudy alcohol use. More drinking was detected by ambulatory self-report than by in-clinic breath testing. Even though we had screened out heavy drinkers from our sample of polydrug users, drinking was associated with heroin and cocaine craving and actual use. Language: en
Shaker Simulation of Random Vibration with a High Kurtosis Value

This paper presents a vibration test technique for extending the tails of amplitude probability distribution beyond the Gaussian values as is characteristic for vibration of ground vehicles on a rough road or terrain. The method proposed uses the commonly accepted approach of applying pseudorandom excitation in the form of a Fourier expansion. The procedure described in this paper can be implemented by updating currently available digital vibration controllers. The solution for amplitude domain fitting is based on an analytical expression derived for the kurtosis parameter of the polyharmonic process in terms of amplitudes and phase angles for any number of harmonic components. The results of theoretical analysis are embodied in software subjected to verification in computer and experimental tests. Even with additional kurtosis control, the closeness of the generated and desired spectra is the same as for the Gaussian simulation of power spectral density. Hence, this new technique for amplitude domain mat...
Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Like Symptoms Following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: A Possible Donor-Dependent Complication.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Like Symptoms Following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: A Possible Donor-Dependent Complication
Renal Artery Stenosis: Recent Evidence, Evidence Gaps, and Practical Approaches to Diagnosis and Management

Management of renal artery stenosis requires understanding of complex pathophysiology, familiarity with both epidemiology and anatomic characteristics for accurate diagnosis, and appreciation of both evidence and evidence gaps. Approaches, diagnosis, and treatment of renal artery stenosis have changed rapidly over the past few decades. Although renal artery stenosis is a widely accepted cause of secondary hypertension (and complications resulting from consequent target organ damage), the role of renal artery revascularization for patients with symptomatic renal artery stenosis remains controversial. Enthusiasm for renal artery revascularization has been dampened by lack of observed benefit in randomized trials, but the results are not generalizable to all patients or clinical presentations. This article will review the pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and clinical management of renal artery stenosis in adults, focusing on atherosclerosis and fibromuscular dysplasia (the most common etiologies in adults). Review of clinical trials will focus on the most recent studies, including their outcomes, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and limitations.
Mechanical Forces in Cutaneous Wound Healing: Emerging Therapies to Minimize Scar Formation

Significance: Excessive scarring is major clinical and financial burden in the United States. Improved therapies are necessary to reduce scarring, especially in patients affected by hypertrophic and keloid scars. Recent Advances: Advances in our understanding of mechanical forces in the wound environment enable us to target mechanical forces to minimize scar formation. Fetal wounds experience much lower resting stress when compared with adult wounds, and they heal without scars. Therapies that modulate mechanical forces in the wound environment are able to reduce scar size. Critical Issues: Increased mechanical stresses in the wound environment induce hypertrophic scarring via activation of mechanotransduction pathways. Mechanical stimulation modulates integrin, Wingless-type, protein kinase B, and focal adhesion kinase, resulting in cell proliferation and, ultimately, fibrosis. Therefore, the development of therapies that reduce mechanical forces in the wound environment would decrease the risk of developing excessive scars. Future Directions: The development of novel mechanotherapies is necessary to minimize scar formation and advance adult wound healing toward the scarless ideal. Mechanotransduction pathways are potential targets to reduce excessive scar formation, and thus, continued studies on therapies that utilize mechanical offloading and mechanomodulation are needed.
National Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Obese Adults

Introduction Obesity is a major risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly among men. The purpose of this study was to characterize the prevalence of guideline-adherent CRC screening among obese adults using nationally representative data, assess trends in screening strategies, and identify obesity-specific screening barriers. Methods Data from 8,550 respondents aged 50–75 years in the 2010 National Health Interview Survey, representing >70 million adults, were analyzed in 2015 using multivariable logistic regression. Prevalence of guideline-adherent CRC screening, endoscopic versus fecal occult blood test screening, and reasons for non-adherence were compared across BMI categories. Results Obese class III men (BMI ≥40), compared with normal-weight men, were significantly less likely to be adherent to screening guidelines (38.7% vs 55.8%, AOR=0.35, 95% CI=0.17, 0.75); less likely to have used an endoscopic test (36.7% vs 53.0%, AOR=0.37, 95% CI=0.18, 0.79); and had a trend toward lower fecal occult blood test use (4.2% vs 8.9%, AOR=0.42, 95% CI=0.14, 1.27). Among women, odds of guideline adherence and use of different screening modalities were similar across all BMI categories. Reasons for non-adherence differed by gender and BMI; lacking a physician screening recommendation differed significantly among men (29.7% obese class III vs 15.4% non-obese, p =0.04), and pain/embarrassment differed significantly among women (11.6% obese class III vs 2.6% non-obese, p =0.002). Conclusions Despite elevated risk, severely obese men were significantly under-screened for CRC. Addressing the unique screening barriers of obese adults may promote screening uptake and lessen disparities among the vulnerable populations most affected by obesity.
An Economic Welfare Analysis of Shared Spectrum Use: A Case Study of LTE-U/LAA

LTE-U is an interesting case of spectrum sharing in that it is asymmetric, since the wireless service provider can utilize licensed and unlicensed spectrum, while non-subscribers can only utilize unlicensed spectrum. Furthermore, the use of spectrum by one party can impose a cost upon another party and, because the service provider can at times benefit from imposing such a cost, it can have the wrong incentive to access spectrum in the unlicensed band. In addition, unlicensed spectrum may currently be over-consumed in certain situations and, thus, may be inefficiently used. Finally, prices are not fully relied upon to guide the assignment of users to licensed and unlicensed spectrum since the unlicensed band serves as a common pool resource. Together these unique features of the wireless market contribute to the lively debate among interested parties regarding the welfare effects of a wireless service provider’s decision to adopt LTE-U. Using standard economic techniques, this paper presents a set of economic models designed to assess the welfare effects of LTE-U under different economic and technical conditions.
Apolipoprotein L1 Variants and Blood Pressure Traits in African Americans.

Abstract Background African Americans (AA) are disproportionately affected by hypertension-related health disparities. Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) risk variants are associated with kidney disease in hypertensive AAs. Objectives This study assessed the APOL1 risk alleles’ association with blood pressure traits in AAs. Methods The discovery cohort included 5,204 AA participants from Mount Sinai’s BioMe biobank. Replication cohorts included additional BioMe (n = 1,623), Vanderbilt BioVU (n = 1,809), and Northwestern NUgene (n = 567) AA biobank participants. Single nucleotide polymorphisms determining APOL1 G1 and G2 risk alleles were genotyped in BioMe and imputed in BioVU/NUgene participants. APOL1 risk alleles’ association with blood pressure–related traits was tested in the discovery cohort, a meta-analysis of replication cohorts, and a combined meta-analysis under recessive and additive models after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Results There were 14% to 16% of APOL1 variant allele homozygotes (2 copies of G1/G2) across cohorts. APOL1 risk alleles were associated under an additive model with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and age at diagnosis of hypertension, which was 2 to 5 years younger in the APOL1 variant allele homozygotes (Cox proportional hazards analysis, p value for combined meta-analysis [pcom] = 1.9 × 10−5). APOL1 risk alleles were associated with overall SBP (pcom = 7.0 × 10−8) and diastolic blood pressure (pcom = 2.8 × 10−4). After adjustment for all covariates, those in the 20- to 29-year age range showed an increase in SBP of 0.94 ± 0.44 mm Hg (pcom = 0.01) per risk variant copy. APOL1-associated estimated glomerular filtration rate decline was observed starting a decade later in life in the 30- to 39-year age range. Conclusions APOL1 risk alleles are associated with higher SBP and earlier hypertension diagnoses in young AAs; this relationship appears to follow an additive model.
(Higgs)2,3 quantum fields in a finite volume

We consider a Euclidean model of interacting scalar and vector fields in two and three dimensions, and prove a lower bound for vacuum energy in a lattice approximation. The bound is independent of a lattice spacing; it is proved with the help of renormalization transformations in Wilson-Kadanoff form. It extends in principal also to generating functional for Schwinger functions.
Hybrid normed ideal perturbations of n-tuples of operators I

Abstract In hybrid normed ideal perturbations of n -tuples of operators, the normed ideal is allowed to vary with the component operators. We begin extending to this setting the machinery we developed for normed ideal perturbations based on the modulus of quasicentral approximation and an adaptation of our non-commutative generalization of the Weyl–von Neumann theorem. For commuting n -tuples of hermitian operators, the modulus of quasicentral approximation remains essentially the same when C n − is replaced by a hybrid n -tuple C p 1 , … − , … , C p n − , p 1 − 1 + ⋯ + p n − 1 = 1 . The proof involves singular integrals of mixed homogeneity.
The Six-Legged Subject: A Survey of Secondary Science Teachers’ Incorporation of Insects into U.S. Life Science Instruction

To improve students’ understanding and appreciation of insects, entomology education efforts have supported insect incorporation in formal education settings. While several studies have explored student ideas about insects and the incorporation of insects in elementary and middle school classrooms, the topic of how and why insects are incorporated in secondary science classrooms remains relatively unexplored. Using survey research methods, this study addresses the gap in the literature by (1) describing in-service secondary science teachers’ incorporation of insects in science classrooms; (2) identifying factors that support or deter insect incorporation and (3) identifying teachers’ preferred resources to support future entomology education efforts. Findings indicate that our sample of U.S. secondary science teachers commonly incorporate various insects in their classrooms, but that incorporation is infrequent throughout the academic year. Insect-related lesson plans are commonly used and often self-created to meet teachers’ need for standards-aligned curriculum materials. Obstacles to insect incorporation include a perceived lack of alignment of insect education materials to state or national science standards and a lack of time and professional training to teach about insects. Recommendations are provided for entomology and science education organizations to support teachers in overcoming these obstacles.
Biorobotic systems design and development using TCP muscles

Actuators are the most important elements that affect the performance of biorobotic systems design and development. One of the objectives of this project is to design stronger, lighter, 3D printable, functionally graded bone-like structures and bio-inspired musculoskeletal system for the articulation of robots. Another objective is to identify the fundamental science of manufacturing and modeling of the muscle systems. A modular building block is presented consisting of bone-like structures, cartilages and artificial muscles (that are inexpensive and powerful), which can be cascaded to create complex robots. In this paper, we present terrestrial robots as a demonstration of the building blocks for biorobotic systems. We particularly illustrate a humanoid robot developed using soft actuators based on twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) muscles. The integration of TCPs in biorobotic systems has some challenges to overcome such as initial pre-stress, adding multiple actuators in parallel or in antagonistic pair and speed of actuation and other accessories. We will quantify the performance of these robots experimentally. We presented two TCP muscles types, one without heating element and the other one that incorporates a heating element that allows electrical actuation.
Three-dimensional modeling of tsunami forces on coastal communities

Abstract Recent research on tsunami inundation of coastal communities has largely focused on numerical modeling of tsunami runup on two-dimensional (2D) slopes or three-dimensional (3D) topographies with more complex shorelines. The coastal bathymetry that are generally applied are based on bare earth topography. Few studies have simulated overland flow around existing macro-roughness features such as nearshore buildings and bridges. This is often due to both lack of available data and the fact that it can be computationally demanding to incorporate these additional features. A consequence of omitting the built infrastructure from models is that, to predict tsunami forces and corresponding structural demand, extrapolations from overland flow data is necessary, and for densely populated communities these flow predictions may not be appropriate. In this work, a high-resolution 3D computational fluid dynamics approach is used to model tsunami inundation of a 1:50 model-scale, idealized community, representative of the town of Seaside, OR, USA, for which existing experimental data is available. Several buildings were selected, and flow characteristics—water level, velocity, and momentum flux—in the vicinity of these buildings were validated against experimental data. Several computational domains were analyzed and it is shown that local flow characteristics can be captured using subdomains of the community, reducing computational demand. Force predictions using direct integration of predicted pressure were compared with bare earth momentum flux calculations, and the importance of incorporating the constructed environment in force prediction models is discussed. Finally, comparisons with seismic load predictions for a selected building are presented for comparison.
On-Line Digital Computer Applications in Gas Chromatography

Gas chromatography is an analytical technique to achieve quantitative separation of mixtures. It is applicable to any samples which can be vaporized and introduced to the separation process in a gaseous state. A schematic diagram of the chromatographic instrumentation is shown in Fig. 15–1. More detailed discussion of G.C. theory, instrumentation, and procedures are given in refs. E-1 and E-2.
The Phenomenology of Earthquake Occurrence

The seismicity of an active earthquake area, that is its space-time-size earthquake history represents an attractive target for the practitioners of modeling of sequences of fracturing events. One of the principal characteristics of earthquake occurrence is clustering in the 5-dimensional space of time, space and size. Before attacking the problems of modeling, which must perforce invoke the physics of deformation of solids, we first outline the properties of the natural target. This paper is intended to be a primer of statistical earthquake phenomenology. We describe not only the space-and-time-average properties, but also some of the clustering phenomenology.
The rolling ball

Publisher Summary Interactive graphics systems often need techniques that allow the user to rotate graphical objects freely in three-dimensional space, using commonly available two-dimensional input devices such as a mouse. This chapter presents the rolling-ball method for mouse-driven three-dimensional orientation control along with some of its interesting extensions to other scientific visualization problems. The rolling-ball technique exploits a continuous two-dimensional motion to reach any arbitrary three-dimensional orientation. The rolling-ball technique provides an approach to controlling three degrees of rotational freedom in interactive graphics systems with two-dimensional input devices that do not depend on the state, position, or history of the input device. Because of the algorithm's rich group-theoretical origins, a number of related scientific visualization applications naturally present themselves. Becoming fluent with the technique requires some effort on the part of the user. But once mastered, the rolling-ball method provides context-free, exploratory orientation adjustment that strongly supports the feeling of direct manipulation. Moving the input device in small clockwise circles produces a rotation of the spatial part of the coordinate frame in the clockwise direction, which is the opposite of the result for standard O(3) rotations. This effect, known as the Thomas Precession, makes the rolling-ball technique a very natural one for Lorentz transformations.
Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3-Ligand Contributes to the Development and Function of the Subpopulation of CD8α + Plasmacytoid Precursor Dendritic Cells in CD8 + /TCR - Facilitating Cells

Facilitating cells (FC) are a CD8+ TCR- bone marrow subpopulation that enhance engraftment of purified hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and induce antigen-specific CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) in vivo. The major subpopulation in FC resembles plasmacytoid precursor dendritic cells (p-preDC) both phenotypically and functionally. Here, we report that the number of FC was significantly reduced in Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3-ligand-knockout (Flt3-L-KO) mice. Specifically, there was a selective decrease in the B220+ CD11c+ CD11b- p-preDC FC subpopulation. The p-preDC FC subpopulation in FC total is restored after Flt3-L administration to Flt3-L-KO mice. FC from Flt3-L-KO donors exhibit impaired facilitation of allogeneic HSC engraftment in ablatively conditioned mice (B6 → NOD) as well as in mice conditioned with reduced intensity conditioning (B6 → BALB/c). In addition, the number of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg from Flt3-L-KO mice is significantly decreased. This was associated with the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR3+ or CCR5+ on Treg. Treg from the spleen of Flt3-L-KO mice showed impaired facilitation of engraftment of allogeneic HSC compared to wild-type Treg. Flt3-L treatment significantly expanded Treg, and restored their facilitating function. These results suggest that Flt3-L is an important growth factor in the development and homeostasis of p-preDC FC and in the role of FC inducing generation of Treg. Flt3-L provides potent immunoregulatory properties that may be clinically useful to improve tolerance induction and enhance the function of allogeneic cell therapies. Stem Cells 2018;36:1567-1577.
Vibration Analysis of the First Stage of a Multi-stage Coaxial Magnetic Gearbox

This paper describes an analytical model of a single stage of a series- connected multi- stage coaxial magnetic gear (MSMG). This model is a system of spring-mass-dampers which is then used to investigate the vibrational modes and natural frequencies of the system at the rotational speeds observed during operation. This approach includes the bending and shear forces created in the magnetically active area of the gearbox which are generated due to the relative motion of the magnets that in turn produce fluctuating magnetic fields. Understanding these vibrational modes is important for magnetic gearboxes to realize their potential for long duration, low maintenance operation.
On the Correspondence between the Latent Growth Curve and Latent Change Score Models

There has been a great deal of work in the literature on the equivalence between the mixed-effects modeling and structural equation modeling (SEM) frameworks in specifying growth models (Willett & ...
Ambient sound propagation

Ambient sounds arise from a massive superposition of chaotic events distributed over a large area or volume, such as waves breaking on a beach or rain hitting the ground. The directionality and loudness of these sounds as they propagate in complex 3D scenes vary with listener location, providing cues that distinguish indoors from outdoors and reveal portals and occluders. We show that ambient sources can be approximated using an ideal notion of spatio-temporal incoherence and develop a lightweight technique to capture their global propagation effects. Our approach precomputes a single FDTD simulation using a sustained source signal whose phase is randomized over frequency and source extent. It then extracts a spherical harmonic encoding of the resulting steady-state distribution of power over direction and position in the scene using an efficient flux density formulation. The resulting parameter fields are smooth and compressible, requiring only a few MB of memory per extended source. We also present a fast binaural rendering technique that exploits phase incoherence to reduce filtering cost.
On the Portability of CPU-Accelerated Applications via Automated Source-to-Source Translation

Over the past decade, accelerator-based supercomputers have grown from 0% to 42% performance share on the TOP500. Ideally, GPU-accelerated code on such systems should be "write once, run anywhere," regardless of the GPU device (or for that matter, any parallel device, e.g., CPU or FPGA). In practice, however, portability can be significantly more limited due to the sheer volume of code implemented in non-portable languages. For example, the tremendous success of CUDA, as evidenced by the vast cornucopia of CUDA-accelerated applications, makes it infeasible to manually rewrite all these applications to achieve portability. Consequently, we achieve portability by using our automated CUDA-to-OpenCL source-to-source translator called CU2CL. To demonstrate the state of the practice, we use CU2CL to automatically translate three medium-to-large, CUDA-optimized codes to OpenCL, thus enabling the codes to run on other GPU-accelerated systems (as well as CPU- or FPGA-based systems). These automatically translated codes deliver performance portability, including as much as three-fold performance improvement, on a GPU device not supported by CUDA.
From the Editor: Review Articles and Commentaries

Last issue, I discussed the format and content for the two main categories of research manuscripts the JOEH publishes, namely Short Reports and Technical Manuscripts. In this issue, we will focus o...
Minds shaped through relationships: The emerging neurobiology of parenting.

This chapter outlines how primary maternal preoccupation has laid a foundation for a number of neuroimaging studies that have evidenced how the brain is shaped with the onset of parenthood and the importance of individual differences in how that parental brain responds to infant signals. It reviews neurobiological studies of mothers and fathers that have begun to unpack how their minds may be shaped through the emerging relationship with their child and vice versa. Thus the absence of a group difference may reflect in part existing neurobiological changes that have occurred already for the women after their pregnancies and delivery of their biological children. Traditionally, how adults transition to parenthood has been examined with a combination of self-report measures and observations of parenting behaviours. In summary, reduced sensitivity to infant signals may represent an important mechanism that underscores a number of psychopathologies impacting caregiving capacity.
Abstract 267: Impact of Socio-demographic Factors on a 30-day Readmission in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: A significant number of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are readmitted within 30 days of discharge from the hospital (30-Re-admit). This substantially impacts healthcare...
American Indian Researcher Perspectives on Qualitative Inquiry About and Within American Indian Communities

It is presumed that Indigenous researchers are optimally positioned to conduct research about or within their own or other Indigenous communities. However, these researchers may still experience challenges, barriers, and distressing events that are important to identify. Qualitative inquiry may be a particularly vulnerable context for Indigenous researchers given the nature of data collection methods and an emphasis on researcher-participant relationships. This paper details the personal reflections of two American Indian (AI) researchers who carried out qualitative research focused on AI issues and/or communities. The first project examined undergraduate students' opinions of the use of AI imagery in the form of a race-based university mascot. The second was a study of the mental health needs of AI youth and families in an urban community. Several themes characterized both of their experiences and might be generalizable to others working in these contexts: (a) coping with racism and microaggressions; (b) the role and impact of identity politics; (c) community insider/outsider tension; and (d) managing personal distress associated with the research topics and process. These themes are discussed to illuminate ways that Indigenous researchers, engaged in research on Indigenous topics and/or with Indigenous communities, are challenged and affected by their work.
Mediastinal Lymphadenopathy in Children With Histoplasmosis.

Abstract Background Mediastinal lymphadenopathy (ML) in children can arise from malignancy, infection, or rheumatic illness among others, and may be found incidentally on imaging or during workup for a variety of symptoms. Our aim was to describe the clinical presentation and natural history of histoplasmosis in children who present to a tertiary care center with ML in an endemic area of the country. Methods After institutional review board approval, a retrospective study of all children (aged Results Of the 44 patients with ML, 27 had proven histoplasmosis, and 19 had suspected histoplasmosis. The median follow-up by imaging or clinical examination was 6.9 mo (0.3-73.2 mo). Sixteen patients received antifungal therapy with itraconazole, and 15 patients received at least one course of steroids, nearly all for respiratory symptoms; 11 patients (24%) received both. There was no difference in readmission rate (n = 5 versus 2, P = 0.7) or recurrence of symptoms (n = 2 versus 5, P = 0.4) between patients who received an antifungal and those that did not. Receiving steroid therapy was associated with airway narrowing and a higher readmission rate (n =6 versus 2 who were not treated with steroids, P = 0.04), but not with symptom recurrence. Nine lymph node or mass biopsies were performed; however, the pathology only confirmed nonspecific infection in three and was nondiagnostic in the remaining six patients. Twenty-seven patients had at least one confirmatory laboratory test positive for histoplasmosis. Thirty-nine of the 44 patients (84%) with a diagnosis of histoplasmosis (proven or suspected) were asymptomatic by 1-2 mo follow up, with the remainder having intermittent chest pain or reactive airway disease. Conclusions ML because of proven or suspected histoplasmosis is usually a self-limiting disease that can be managed with treatment of the child's symptoms. Antifungals and steroids are of unclear benefit and may not alter the natural course of the disease. Biopsies are rarely diagnostic in the setting of ML, and invasive procedures should be avoided.
Bovine Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein Processing and Assembly

The coronavirus nucleocapsid protein (N) encapsidates the genomic RNA to form a helical nucleocapsid. The requirements for coronavirus nucleocapsid assembly are being studied. Two forms (∼50 kDa and 55 kDa) of the bovine coronavirus (BCV) N protein were detected in infected cells. However, only one form, a 50 kDa species, was detected in extracellular virions. After treatment with calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase (CIAP), the 55 kDa intracellular form increased in mobility to comigrate with the 50 kDa form; whereas, the 50 kDa intracellular species and N from extracellular virions was not sensitive to CIAP treatment. The data indicate that specificity exists with regard to assembly of N into the mature virion. The data suggests that processing of N may take place during assembly of either nucleocapsids or virions and that the processing may be a dephosphorylation event.
Overview of Saito’s Mixed Hodge Modules, and Immediate Applications

In this chapter, we give a brief overview of Morihiko Saito’s theory of mixed Hodge modules, with an emphasis on concrete applications to Hodge-theoretic aspects of intersection homology. Mixed Hodge modules are extensions in the singular context of variations of mixed Hodge structures, and can be regarded, informally, as sheaves of mixed Hodge structures.