cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dental changes in hypervitaminosis D

Vitamin D is required for the normal development of teeth and bones. When there is excess vitamin D, systemic and dental changes may occur. This is a case report of a girl who experienced hypercalcemia secondary to excess vitamin D derived from the consumption of milk that was incorrectly fortified. The changes in the permanent dentition to date are enamel hypoplasia and focal pulp calcification. These changes correspond to the timing of the toxemia caused by hypervitaminosis D.
Airway stenting for malignant aerodigestive fistulae: A critical review of the literature and treatment recommendations

The development of trachea- or broncho-esophageal fistulae is a devastating thoracic malignancy complication leading to increased morbidity and mortality due to pneumonia, sepsis, and malnutrition. Due to this high morbidity and mortality, attempts to close or cover the fistula are often undertaken. Multiple modalities have been evaluated and reported to treat malignant aerodigestive fistulae (MAF), although no single approach has become the standard of care. The American College of Chest Physicians recommends palliative stenting for MAF, but this approach may not be effective depending on size, configuration, and position of the fistula. This manuscript will critically evaluate the role of single airway stenting or double airway and esophageal stenting in MAF palliation. We will recommend an approach to consider with regard to the management of these fistulae.
System concepts for transmit arrays of parabolic antennas for deep space uplinks

Phased arrays of parabolic antennas are a potentially lower-cost way to provide uplink transmission to distant spacecraft, compared to the 34-m and 70-m antennas now used by the NASA Deep Space Network. A large transmit array could provide very high EIRP when needed for spacecraft emergencies, such as the equivalent of 1 MW radiated from a 70-m antenna. Cost-effectiveness is realized by dividing the array into smaller arrays to provide routine support to many spacecraft simultaneously. The antennas might be as small as 12-m in diameter, with as many as 100 antennas covering an area of 0.5 km to 1 km in extent. Such arrays present significant technical challenges in phase alignment, which must be maintained at close to 1 mm. The concept requires a very stable system with accurately known antenna phase center locations. The system is first calibrated by transmitting from all antennas, and observing the signals at a target located in the far fields of the individual antennas. The antennas are then pointed to the operational targets, with the signal phases and time delays set to reinforce in the target directions. This requires accurate knowledge of the target directions and calculation of the required phases. The system must be phase-stable for all directions and over the time between calibrations, which is desired to be at least one day. In this paper, a system concept is presented, the major error sources are identified, a rough error budget is established, and key elements of the system are discussed. A calibration method is recommended which uses satellites as radar targets. The performance goal is to achieve a combining loss of less than 0.2 dB in good weather, and of less than 1 dB in all but extremely bad weather
Diagnosis and treatment of finger deformities following injuries to the extensor tendon mechanism

Injuries to the finger extensor apparatus are very common and may produce chronic deformity and loss of function. Diagnosis is contingent on an understanding of the complex anatomy of this region as well as the ability to perform a careful physical examination. Immobilization is usually the most effective treatment of acute problems. Surgery is often necessary for chronic conditions, but the results are much less predictably corrective.
Exciting New Advances in Neuro-Oncology The Avenue to a Cure for Malignant Glioma

Malignant gliomas are the most common and deadly brain tumors. Nevertheless, survival for patients with glioblastoma, the most aggressive glioma, although individually variable, has improved from an average of 10 months to 14 months after diagnosis in the last 5 years due to improvements in the standard of care. Radiotherapy has been of key importance to the treatment of these lesions for decades, and the ability to focus the beam and tailor it to the irregular contours of brain tumors and minimize the dose to nearby critical structures with intensitymodulated or image-guided techniques has improved greatly. Temozolomide, an alkylating agent with simple oral administration and a favorable toxicity profile, is used in conjunction with and after radiotherapy. Newer surgical techniques, such as fluorescence-guided resection and neuroendoscopic approaches, have become important in the management of malignant gliomas. Furthermore, new discoveries are being made in basic and translational research, which are likely to improve this situation further in the next 10 years. These include agents that block 1 or more of the disordered tumor proliferation signaling pathways, and that overcome resistance to already existing treatments. Targeted therapies such as antiangiogenic therapy with antivascular endothelial growth factor antibodies (bevacizumab) are finding their way into clinical practice. Large-scale research efforts are ongoing to provide a comprehensive understanding of all the genetic alterations and gene expression changes underlying glioma formation. These have already refined the classification of glioblastoma into 4 distinct molecular entities that may lead to different treatment regimens. The role of cancer stem-like cells is another area of active investigation. There is definite hope that by 2020, new cocktails of drugs will be available to target the key molecular pathways involved in gliomas and reduce their mortality and morbidity, a positive development for patients, their families, and medical professionals alike. CA Cancer J Clin 2010;60:166-193. © 2010 American Cancer Society, Inc.
A cluster process monitoring tool for intrusion detection: proof-of-concept

Large-scale commodity cluster systems are finding increasing deployment in academic, research, and commercial settings. As a direct result of this popularity, cluster systems are also under increasing security threats. Unfortunately, there have been no corresponding improvements in security tools that specifically address the unique needs of cluster security. The paper describes an ongoing research effort at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications to develop tools for managing cluster security via process monitoring. We describe an extensible architecture and present details of a prototype process monitoring tool focused on intrusion detection.
A least-squares approach to the quantitation of stable isotopes in mass spectrometry

A least-squares method has been adapted for the quantitation of stable isotopes in mass spectrometry. The method uses the normalized spectra of the two isotope species and the observed intensities to calculate the isotope ratio by a series of matrix manipulations; it is applicable to systems with multiple overlapping ions. The method is used to establish the expected sensitivity of measurement of 15N enrichment of an amino acid by a focal plane mass spectrometer equipped with an electro-optical ion detector. Since multiple spectral peaks are used, the relationship between additional spectral information and the reduction in variance in ion-current statistics can be demonstrated. The example suggests a method for optimization of simultaneous ion monitoring, or limited scanning methods, by monitoring the number of ions which would contribute to the reduction of variance of the ion current of the compound of interest.
A facile and versatile methodology for cysteine specific labeling of proteins with octahedral polypyridyl d6 metal complexes

We have synthesized and characterized four octahedral polypyridyl d6 metal complexes bearing the 5,6-epoxy-5,6-dihydro-[1,10]phenanthroline ligand (L1) as cysteine specific labeling reagents. The proposed synthetic pathways allow the preparation of the metal complexes containing Re(I), Ru(II), Os(II) and Ir(III) while preserving the epoxide functionality. The complexes were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, UV–visible and luminescence spectroscopies as well as cyclic voltammetry. As proof of concept, a set of non-native single cysteine P450 BM3 heme domain mutants previously developed in our laboratory was used to study the labeling reaction. We demonstrate that the proposed labels can selectively react, often in high yield, with cysteine residues of the protein via the nucleophilic thiol ring opening of the epoxide moiety. In addition, under basic conditions, subsequent loss of a water molecule led to the aromatization of the phenanthroline ring on the protein-bound label compounds, as observed by mass spectrometry and luminescence measurements.
Hepatitis A and Non‐A, Non‐B Viral Hepatitis in São Paulo, Brazil: Epidemiological, Clinical, and Laboratory Comparisons in Hospitalized Patients

During a 33-month period, 295 patients with acute viral hepatitis were admitted to a state hospital for civil servants and their dependents in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Seventy-nine per cent (232) were HBsAg negative. To define the contribution of non-A, non-B viral hepatitis to hepatitis morbidity in this population, further serological studies were performed in 147 confirmed HBsAg-negative patients. One hundred and twelve (76%) were serologically classified as hepatitis A based on identification of IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus. Thirty patients (20%) without IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus, HBsAg, or anti-HBc were categorized as the non-A, non-B hepatitis group. The remaining five patients had probable hepatitis B (IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus negative, HBsAg negative, anti-HBs negative but anti-HBc positive). These data suggest that all three etiological forms of viral hepatitis are endemic in Sao Paulo. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory features were compared to the hepatitis A and non-A, non-B hepatitis groups. Patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis were significantly older than patients with hepatitis A (mean age +/- S.D.: 30 +/- 22 years vs. 9 +/- 9 years, p less than 0.001). Contact with hepatitis or jaundice was recognized in 26 (23%) of 112 hepatitis A patients and 3 (10%) of 30 non-A, non-B patients, a difference which was not statistically significant. Parenteral exposures were identified in 13 (43%) of 30 patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis and 23 (21%) of the 112 hepatitis A patients. Blood transfusion in the 2 months preceding onset of illness was reported in 5 (17%) of the 30 non-A, non-B patients and in none of the hepatitis A group (p less than 0.001). Although prodromal symptoms and fever were more common in patients with hepatitis A, neither these nor other clinical features appeared to be distinguishing characteristics. Similarly, mean peak SGPT levels, peak SGPT levels of greater than or equal to 1,000 IU/per liter, and the mean duration of SGPT elevations for each group were not significantly different. Mean peak serum bilirubin levels were slightly higher in the non-A, non-B group than in the hepatitis A group (7.6 +/- 8.0 mg per dl vs. 5.1 +/- 2.7, p less than 0.01) and peak bilirubin levels greater than or equal to 10 mg per dl were found in 27% of the non-A, non-B group and 5% of the hepatitis A group (p less than 0.001). Whether the higher bilirubin levels reflect an agent-related phenomenon or an older population of affected patients is uncertain.
Systematic design of Space-Time convolutional codes

Space-Time convolutional code (STCC) is a technique that combines transmit diversity and coding to improve reliability in wireless fading channels. In this paper, we demonstrate a systematic design of M-QAM STCCs utilizing QPSK STCC as component codes for any number of transmit antennas.Moreover, our low complexity decoding algorithm allows the decoding complexity to increase linearly by the number of transmit antennas. Our method uses a group interference cancellation technique also known as combined array processing (CAP) technique. Simulation result demonstrates that the new CAP technique outperforms the CAP de..ned by [1] by 0.8 dB for a frame error rate (FER) of 10-2 and is 1.2 dB away from our new proposed M-QAM STCC design whenM=16.
An Empirical Environmental Sustainability Index Derived Solely from Nighttime Satellite Imagery and Ecosystem Service Valuation

This paper describes a crude yet simple Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) derived solely from the ratio of two classified satellite images with global coverage. An ESI is calculated for each nation of the world by dividing the amount of light energy emitted by that nation as measured by a nighttime satellite image into the total value of that nation's ecosystem services as measured by a land-cover dataset and ecosystem service values estimated by Costanza et. al. (Costanza, d'Arge et al., 1997). The strength of this ESI is its simplicity and global coverage (other ESIs involve hundreds of variables which usually entail many ‘data gaps’). The utility of this ESI is not as ‘the’ measure of environmental sustainability but as ‘a’ measure that can be compared to other ESIs in interesting and informative ways. Measuring environmental sustainability is a difficult challenge that is being undertaken by more and more people and institutions using a wide variety of methods. If independent measures of sustainability do not correspond reasonably well with one another then the practical utility of deriving ESIs will be undermined because the exercise will be perceived as more political than scientific. Two sophisticated ESIs are examined and compared to this simple one: 1) The 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index derived as an initiative of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow Environment Task Force, World Economic Forum, and 2) Ecological Footprints of Nations: How much Nature do they use? How much Nature do they have? developed by Mathis Wackernagel and others as a “Rio + 5” forum study and financed by The Earth Council in Costa Rica. These two indices are a composite of many sub-indices some of which correlate highly; however, the final nationally aggregated figures of the 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index and the comparable Ecological Footprint index do not correlate at all. The Eco-Value/Night Light index described here corresponds strongly with the Ecological Footprint Index and not at all with the Environmental Sustainability Index. Some of the implications of the lack of coherence between these three measures are discussed.
Applications of the Second-Order Achromat Concept [1,2,3] to the Design of Particle Accelerators

A property of the second-order achromat, whereby dipole and sextupole families may be inserted into a lattice for chromatic corrections without introducing second-order geometrical (on momentum) optical distortions, has been incorporated in several new particle accelerator designs. These include the SLC at SLAC, LEP at CERN, the EROS pulse stretcher ring at Saskatoon, the CEBAF ring at SURA, and the MIT ring.
Nutritional Interventions to Alleviate the Negative Consequences of Heat Stress

Energy metabolism is a highly coordinated process, and preferred fuel(s) differ among tissues. The hierarchy of substrate use can be affected by physiological status and environmental factors including high ambient temperature. Unabated heat eventually overwhelms homeothermic mechanisms resulting in heat stress, which compromises animal health, farm animal production, and human performance. Various aspects of heat stress physiology have been extensively studied, yet a clear understanding of the metabolic changes occurring at the cellular, tissue, and whole-body levels in response to an environmental heat load remains ill-defined. For reasons not yet clarified, circulating nonesterified fatty acid levels are reduced during heat stress, even in the presence of elevated stress hormones (epinephrine, glucagon, and cortisol), and heat-stressed animals often have a blunted lipolytic response to catabolic signals. Either directly because of or in coordination with this, animals experiencing environmental hyperthermia exhibit a shift toward carbohydrate use. These metabolic alterations occur coincident with increased circulating basal and stimulated plasma insulin concentrations. Limited data indicate that proper insulin action is necessary to effectively mount a response to heat stress and minimize heat-induced damage. Consistent with this idea, nutritional interventions targeting increased insulin action may improve tolerance and productivity during heat stress. Further research is warranted to uncover the effects of heat on parameters associated with energy metabolism so that more appropriate and effective treatment methodologies can be designed.
Synthesis and Advanced Legal Writing

Legal writing hasn't changed much in the last four years, but the legal world and the legal writing and advocacy book market certainly has. Law schools are responding to massive changes in the legal employment market that call for deeper, more intensive, client-centered, and practice-oriented training in legal writing and advocacy. Law students and legal employers are demanding practice-ready training in lawyering skills. In the new edition of Advanced Legal Writing and Advocacy: Trials, Appeals, and Moot Court, authors Michael D. Murray (Valparaiso) and Christy H. DeSanctis (George Washington) have taken the original text and redesigned it to provide a new focus on modern advocacy that blends rhetoric and storytelling with synthesis and advanced argumentation techniques to make the book a more powerful resource for training practice-ready lawyers. The new chapter - Synthesis and Advanced Legal Writing - links our current research on rule synthesis and explanatory synthesis to the creation of litigation briefs.
Management of pectus chest deformities in female patients.

Abstract Background There is sparse published information regarding surgical management of females with pectus excavatum (PE) or carinatum (PC) deformities. Methods During the past 33 years 104 females with PE, and 21 with PC underwent surgical repair using extensive modifications of the Ravitch technique. Seven had previous right breast implants, 3 had prostheses placed in the PE deformity. Nine PE patients underwent successful pregnancy before repair, but had severe third trimester dyspnea. Results Very good to excellent results were reported by 96% (mean follow-up, 6 years). Increased endurance, decreased dyspnea, reduced chest discomfort, and less tachycardia occurred in all within 6 months. No patients had significant breast asymmetry after repair. Complications included mildly hypertrophic scar (8), transient pleural effusion (3), bar displacement (1), and mild recurrence (3). Conclusions Females with symptomatic PE or PC, can be repaired with low morbidity, mild pain, low cost, and improvement in body image and symptoms. Prostheses are not beneficial in the treatment of physiologic symptoms caused by pectus deformities.
The Process of General Education Reform from a Faculty Perspective: A Grounded Theory Approach

The purpose of this study was to explain the process and implementation of an outcomes-based general education program at a public, doctoral/research-extensive institution from the perspective of faculty. The theory that emerged explains how different causal, intervening, and contextual conditions interact with and affect the phenomenon of general education reform.
Research on Key Problem of Intelligent Test System for Solenoid Valve

An intelligentized, comprehensive and high efficiency test system of solenoid valve for oil medium is designed in this paper, aiming to the disadvantage of current test devices in most solenoid valve factories in China. Serial communication of OPC-SERVER, sequential control of PLC, frequency conversion speed regulation technology and data acquisitions by LabVIEW are all achieved in this system; modeling and simulation on the whole system are built by AMESim and Matlab; fuzzy PID controller is designed on the pressure of system, so intelligent optimization control on system is realized. The old manual test method will be replaced by this system with high precision, automatic test process achieved. Test efficiency of solenoid valve will be improved, and the reliability of test results will be guaranteed.
On Constitution and All-Fusions

Recently, Judith Jarvis Thomson has offered a definition of the constitution relation against the backdrop of a robust ontology of objects she calls all-fusions. Despite finding her reasons to believe in all manner of all-fusions intriguing, in this paper I note an unsatisfactory consequence of her position for constitution-theorists. I argue that an unrestricted commitment to all-fusions should lead the constitution-theorist to reject her definition of the constitution relation, on the grounds that by choosing our all-fusions carefully, we can secure the unpalatable result that two different all-fusions constitute (or are constituted by) the same thing, even though neither one of them constitutes the other.
The sensory profile: a discriminant analysis of children with and without disabilities

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine which factors on the Sensory Profile, a measure of children's responses to commonly occurring sensory experiences, best discriminate among children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and children without disabilities. Method Data for three groups of children 3 to 15 years of age were used: 38 children with autism or PDD, 61 with ADHD, and 1,075 without disabilities. The researchers conducted a discriminate analysis on the three groups, using group membership as the dependent variable and the nine factors of the Sensory Profile as independent variables. Results The analysis yielded two discriminant functions: one that differentiated children with disabilities from children without disabilities and another that differentiated the two groups of children with disabilities from each other. Nearly 90% of the cases were correctly classified with these two functions. Conclusion The Sensory Profile is useful for discriminating certain groups of children with disabilities. Children with disabilities are accurately classified into disability categories with the factors described by previous authors. This suggests that patterns of behavior associated with certain developmental disorders are reflected in populations of children without disabilities. It may be the frequency or intensity of certain behaviors that differentiate the groups.
Transport circulation deduced from SAMS trace species data

Three years of zonally averaged N2O and CH4 data from the SAMS instrument on Nimbus 7 are utilized to investigate the annual and semiannual cycles in long-lived tracer mixing ratios. The annual and semiannual variations are shown to be approximately antisymmetric and symmetric about the equator, respectively. Using the first three components of the annual cycle to estimate the time tendency, the tracer continuity equation is solved diagnostically to obtain the effective transport velocity (i.e., the meridional circulation that can produce the observed seasonal variations in the tracer fields). The resulting circulation is qualitatively in agreement with the diabatic circulations computed by other workers, but with equinoctial subsidence in the equatorial upper stratosphere.
Association between Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition and Structural Features of Belowground Stormwater Treatment Devices

Belowground stormwater treatment devices referred to as Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be persistent sources of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes and in urban environments necessitate routine monitoring and insecticide treatment for control. The design of certain structural features of BMPs may discourage mosquito entry and oviposition, potentially reducing the need for control measures. From August 2007 to November 2008, 29 BMPs were intermittently monitored for the presence of mosquitoes and compared against selected structural features. A bucket ovitrap was developed to estimate entry of oviposition-site-seeking females into BMPs via egg raft counts. The number of egg rafts collected was positively associated with larger diameters and shorter lengths of conveyance pipe from the nearest inlet or outlet and with increasing number of pickholes in BMP manhole covers. In contrast, the number of days pickholes were sealed against adult mosquito entry was negatively associated with eggs rafts. Findings suggest that the design of belowground BMPs and their conveyance systems can influence mosquito oviposition inside these structures. Specific design criteria with the greatest potential to minimize mosquito production and provide safe access for monitoring and control activities are discussed.
Chemistry, astronomy and physics of H3+.

The great developments in the chemistry, astronomy and physics of H3+ since 2006, which have led to this Royal Society Theo Murphy Meeting, are reviewed.
Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults: a Scoping Review

Sedentary behavior is an emerging risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may be particularly relevant to the cardiovascular health of older adults. This scoping review describes the existing literature examining the prevalence of sedentary time in older adults with CVD and the association of sedentary behavior with cardiovascular risk in older adults. We found that older adults with CVD spend >75 % of their waking day sedentary, and that sedentary time is higher among older adults with CVD than among older adults without CVD. High sedentary behavior is consistently associated with worse cardiac lipid profiles and increased cardiac risk scores in older adults; the associations of sedentary behavior with blood pressure, CVD incidence, and CVD-related mortality among older adults are less clear. Future research with larger sample sizes using validated methods to measure sedentary behavior are needed to clarify the association between sedentary behavior and cardiovascular outcomes in older adults.
BIG BLUE II: Mars Aircraft Prototype with Inflatable-Rigidizable Wings

The present paper presents work on developing and flight testing a Mars prototype aircraft using inflatable-rigidizable wings under the NASA Workforce Development program. Undergraduate student teams have developed a test vehicle to determine the feasibility of using inflatable-rigidizable wings in extra-terrestrial missions. The wings are constructed of an outer composite layer impregnated with a UV curable resin and an inner inflatable bladder. The wings are stowed in the fuselage, deploy when inflated, and rigidize with exposure to UV radiation; pressurization is not required after rigidization. Vehicle, wing and avionics designs are discussed and results from low and high altitude test flights are presented. The project culminated in a successful high altitude flight test with deployment and rigidization of the wing under Mars like conditions.
Mass Flow Rate and Isolation Characteristics of Injectors for Use with Self-Pressurizing Oxidizers in Hybrid Rockets

Self-pressurizing rocket propellants are currently gaining popularity in the propulsion community, particularly in hybrid rocket applications. Due to their high vapor pressure, these propellants can be driven out of a storage tank without the need for complicated pressurization systems or turbopumps, greatly minimizing the overall system complexity and mass. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the most commonly used self pressurizing oxidizer in hybrid rockets because it has a vapor pressure of approximately 730 pounds per square inch (5.03 megapascals) at room temperature and is highly storable. However, it can be difficult to model the feed system with these propellants due to the presence of two-phase flow, especially in the injector. An experimental test apparatus was developed in order to study the performance of nitrous oxide injectors over a wide range of operating conditions. Mass flow rate characterization has been performed to determine the effects of injector geometry and propellant sub-cooling (pressurization). It has been shown that rounded and chamfered inlets provide nearly identical mass flow rate improvement in comparison to square edged orifices. A particular emphasis has been placed on identifying the critical flow regime, where the flow rate is independent of backpressure (similar to choking). For a simple orifice style injector, it has been demonstrated that critical flow occurs when the downstream pressure falls sufficiently below the vapor pressure, ensuring bulk vapor formation within the injector element. It has been proposed to leverage the insensitivity of critical mass flow rate to downstream pressure as a means of preventing the occurrence of feed system coupled combustion instabilities in hybrid rockets utilizing nitrous oxide. Additionally, observations indicate that the existence of two-phase flow can attenuate pressure fluctuations traveling upstream through the injector, providing a degree of isolation between the feed line and downstream pressure disturbances. In consideration of safety, carbon dioxide (CO2) has been used as an analog to nitrous oxide in many of these studies. It has been observed experimentally that carbon dioxide serves as a good analog to nitrous oxide in both the single-phase and two-phase flow regimes.
Synthesis and Preliminary Cancer Cell Line Results for the Product of Organotin Dihalides and Alpha-Cyano-4-Hydroxycinnamic Acid

High polymer poly(ester ethers) are rapidly synthesized in good yield employing the interfacial polycondensation reaction system. Infrared spectroscopy shows the formation of new bands derived from the Sn–O and Sn–O(CO) linkages. It also shows that the products exist as alternating Sn–O and Sn–O(CO) linkages. MALDI MS shows formation of ion fragment clusters several units in length. The products show reasonable inhibition of a variety of cancer cell lines including two pancreatic cancer cell lines.
Development of a Conceptual Process for Selective Capture of CO2 from Fuel Gas Streams Using Two TEGO Ionic Liquids as Physical Solvents

Two ionic liquids (ILs), TEGO IL K5 and TEGO IL P51P, were used as physical solvents to develop a conceptual process for CO2 capture from a shifted warm fuel gas stream produced from Pittsburgh no. 8 coal for a 400 MWe power plant. The physical properties of the two ILs and the solubilities of CO2, H2, N2, and H2S in the TEGO IL K5 solvent, as well as those of CO2 and H2 in the TEGO IL P51P solvent, were measured in our laboratories at pressures up to 30 bar and temperatures from 300 to 500 K. The Peng–Robinson equation-of-state (P-R EOS) with Boston–Mathias (BM) α function and standard mixing rules was used in the development of the process, and the solubility data were used to obtain the binary interaction parameters (δij and lij) between the shifted gas constituents and the two ILs. The binary interaction parameters were then correlated as functions of temperature. The conceptual process consists of four identical adiabatic packed-bed absorbers (4.5 m i.d., 27 m height, packed with 0.0254 m plastic Pal...
General principle of generator under excitation limiter settings

In the real power system operation,incorrect function settings for Under Excitation Limiter(UEL) will result in an abnormal operation of the unit even load rejection.The paper analyzes the application objective of the UEL,compares the function characteristics of different types of UEL.The performance requirement of UEL is viewed from two aspects,namely,the static aspect and the dynamic aspect.Corresponding setting principles are proposed as follows:as for the static performance,the limit line is set by conforming to the rules of defining reasonably in the whole scope of active power output,meeting the need of the stator end thermal stabilization and the static stability of the system,adjusting with the changes of terminal voltage,and coordinating with loss of excitation protection;as for the dynamic performance,the structure and parameters of the controller are optimized based on the principles of guaranteeing the stability of the control system,selecting the control structure optimally,preventing seriously weakening the PSS function,and avoiding the unnecessary operation during the transient period.
Study IX of the Basic Communication Course at Two- and Four-Year U.S. Colleges and Universities: A Re-Examination of Our Discipline's "Front Porch".

ABSTRACTThis study gathered longitudinal and descriptive data on the nature of the basic communication course, continuing a tradition dating back to 1968. Now in its ninth iteration, convenience sampling and hard copy distribution of the survey instrument resulted in a total of 188 respondents (21 from two-year schools, 167 from four-year schools). This study reports and discusses data in the following categories: (a) general description of the course; (b) course administration; (c) assessment, standardization, and assignments and grading; (d) course content and pedagogy; and (e) media, technology, and online teaching. General reflections are provided about the results in light of changing landscapes in the U.S. educational system and recent research and other activities of communication scholars related to the basic communication course. Recommendations are offered for future scholarship about the communication discipline's “front porch.”
Research and Application of New Power Supply Mode for 35kV Substation in Rural Grid

The research accomplishments and the application condition of " The pilot project of construction mode optimization for 35kV substation in rural power network " were mainly introduced. The new power supply mode, " Single line and single transformer for 35kV substation, ring power network for 10kV lines", was put forward. This mode adopts single HV inlet line in 35kV substation, which can simplify the design, single line and single transformer, T connection on the line, and improve the power supply reliability of 10kV lines through the ring power network mode of 10kV lines, reduce the power network losses. The new mode also solved the existent problems in traditional mode of power supply, such as the occupied area for substation, capital investment, the daily maintenance of equipment, power supply reliability for users.
A Dendroecological Investigation of an Upland Oak-Dominated Forest within the Grand Prairie Region of Illinois

ABSTRACT We studied an upland forest located within the Grand Prairie region of Illinois and utilized tree-ring analysis to document tree cohort development and radial growth in relation to stand disturbance and climate. The overstory within the Humiston Woods Nature Center (Livingston County, Illinois) study area was dominated by oak (Quercus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), and ash (Fraxinus spp.), while the subordinate crown classes were principally composed of elm (Ulmus spp.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). The study area contained tree cohorts originating during two recruitment periods. Overstory oaks and hickories primarily established between 1865 and 1900. A second tree cohort was associated with a timber harvest occurring in the late 1960s. In contrast to the 1865–1900 recruitment period, trees within the 1965–1980 cohort were primarily ash, elm, sugar maple, and black cherry (Prunus serotina). RWI values were most strongly correlated with Palmer Drought Severity Index, precipitation, and temperat...
Asking Numbers to Speak: Verbal Markers and Stages of Change

Through routine screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, medical providers are able to motivate behavior change. Although established models rely on quantitative measures, doing so requires time and ability to score each. Listening for verbal cues, however, could simplify the process of suggesting HIV screenings. Using mixed methods to identify verbal indicators for readiness to change, this article conducted two phases of study. First using quantitative means of identifying participant’s knowledge of HIV, perceptions of safer sex, and readiness to change safer sex behaviors (N = 487). Interviews were then conducted exploring the possibility of verbal markers for one’s readiness to change (n = 25). Results confirmed the use of verbal markers when discussing perceptions of risk. Identification of verbal markers, at three stages of change, provides new possibilities for medical providers’ such as providing time saving and effective tools when seeking to motivate HIV and STI testing, an...
An optical Ising machine based on multi-core fiber lasers

Many important problems such as the Graph Partition Problem (GPP) and MAX-CUT problems can be formulated as searching problems of a ground state of an Ising system. Therefore, developing an Ising machine that can find efficiently the ground state of Ising system has been attracted great efforts and activities in recent years. An Ising machine that utilizes the effects of Bose-Einstein condensation and measurement-feedback control has been proposed [1]. However quantum coherence between the different Ising sites is difficult to achieve due to the measurement feedback circuit. An Ising machine that based on a system of coupled slave lasers that are driven coherently by a master laser has been proposed [2]. The modeling results for the VCSEL-based system show Ising states in the system can be reached in about a nanosecond. However, the results also show low output power (small number of photons ∼104–105) and the complex system that control couplings between master and slave lasers and among slave lasers could be very challenging to realize experimentally. Recently, an Ising machine based on a system of 4 coherently coupled optical parametric oscillators (OPO) has been demonstrated experimentally for the first time [3]. That achievement although is a significant breakthrough in the field, but it can only describe a limit case of Ising Hamiltonian without Zeeman term. Furthermore, the way of generation of cross couplings among the Ising spins (OPOs) would only provide positive coupling coefficients thus prevent it from describing general applications which can have both negative and positive values of the coefficients.
Does the Body Survive Death? Cultural Variation in Beliefs About Life Everlasting

Mounting evidence suggests that endorsement of psychological continuity and the afterlife increases with age. This developmental change raises questions about the cognitive biases, social representations, and cultural input that may support afterlife beliefs. To what extent is there similarity versus diversity across cultures in how people reason about what happens after death? The objective of this study was to compare beliefs about the continuation of biological and psychological functions after death in Tanna, Vanuatu (a Melanesian archipelago), and the United States (Austin, Texas). Children, adolescents, and adults were primed with a story that contained either natural (non-theistic) or supernatural (theistic) cues. Participants were then asked whether or not different biological and psychological processes continue to function after death. We predicted that across cultures individuals would be more likely to endorse the continuation of psychological processes over biological processes (dualism) and that a theistic prime would increase continuation responses regarding both types of process. Results largely supported predictions; U.S. participants provided more continuation responses for psychological than biological processes following both the theistic and non-theistic primes. Participants in Vanuatu, however, provided more continuation responses for biological than psychological processes following the theistic prime. The data provide evidence for both cultural similarity and variability in afterlife beliefs and demonstrate that individuals use both natural and supernatural explanations to interpret the same events.
Prenatal Allospecific Tolerance Is Characterized By Early Treg Expansion and a Surprisingly Slow Pace for Teff Clonal Deletion

Prenatal transplantation capitalizes on the unique fetal environment, allowing for life-long engraftment of allogeneic stem cells without the need for harsh conditioning regimens. A prerequisite for stable engraftment of allogeneic cells likely requires the negative selection of donor-specific host effector T cells (T eff ) and the support of donor-specific regulatory T cells (T regs ). However, little is known about the interplay between these cell types during development. The purpose of this study was to characterize the dynamic relationship between donor-specific T eff and T regs as they emerge during development. Prenatal allogeneic chimeras were established by in utero transplantation of E14 fetal liver light density cells into age-matched allogeneic fetal recipients (Balb/c to B6 or B6 to Balb/c). In this model, immature T cells from B6 mice expressing TCRv-beta-5, 11, and 12 are negatively selected by mtv-8 superantigen complexed with I-E class MHC II on Balb/c cells. As alpha/beta TCR rearrangement does not occur until E16, this established transplantation model allows for alloantigen to be present from the earliest stages of thymic selection. Kinetic analysis of donor-specific T cell populations was performed in peripheral blood paired with in depth analysis in thymus and spleen in control and chimeric mice. Negative selection of donor-specific T eff cells occurs at an unexpectedly slow pace in Balb/c to B6 prenatal chimeras. Donor-specific CD4 and CD8 T eff are significantly decreased in frequency at 4 weeks of age but do not reach maximal deletion until 12 weeks of age (TCRv-beta-5 data shown in Figure A). Further analysis demonstrated that this slow elimination of donor-specific T eff was paired with an early increase in the frequency of donor-specific T regs at 4 weeks of age (TCRv-beta-5 data shown in Figure B.) This increase in donor-specific T regs likely occurred as a result of peripheral expansion as there was no change in the frequency of donor-specific T regs in the thymus (Figure B) and no change in the frequency of these cells that expressed the markers of thymically derived natural T regs neuropilin-1 or helios (data not shown). In agreement with this hypothesis, donor-specific splenic T regs incorporated BrdU at a higher rate than other T regs in young mice indicating a potential expansion of donor-specific T regs in the periphery (TCRv-beta-5 data shown in Figure C.) Collectively, these data demonstrate that prenatal transplantation is characterized by: 1) a surprisingly slow reduction of donor-specific T eff subsets; 2) an early expansion of donor-specific Tregs. Further studies will explore the role of donor-specific Tregs in controlling early immunity to prenatally encountered antigens. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Large area electrically tunable metasurface lenses

Our tunable optics technology enables dynamic tuning with voltage-resolved precision. We have demonstrated electrically controlled focal length tuning of over 100% with a metasurface lens 2 centimeters in diameter.
Nacre-inspired design of graphene oxide-polydopamine nanocomposites for enhanced mechanical properties and multi-functionalities

Inspired by the hierarchical structure of nacre and the robust adhesive ability of mussel threads, graphene oxide–polydopamine (GO–PDA) nanocomposites are designed and synthesized to achieve enhanced mechanical properties and to provide additional functionalities. Here we report a joint experimental/computational investigation of GO–PDA nanocomposites, proposing a probable chemical reduction mechanism of PDA to convert GO to reduced GO (rGO), which helps increase the electrical conductivity. The most stable chemical connection between PDA and GO is also proposed. Our artificial nacre-like GO–PDA nanocomposites are shown to have higher tensile strength and toughness compared to natural nacre. The pulling tests conducted by molecular dynamics simulations, which are supported by our experiments, reveal that the enhanced mechanical strength of GO–PDA nanocomposites mainly originates from the additional non-covalent interactions provided by PDA. The humidity-driven shrinking mechanism of GO–PDA nanocomposites due to non-uniform stresses on the GO–PDA sheets is also discovered in our simulations and supported by our experiments. The findings in this work can help improve and tune the properties of GO–PDA nanocomposites and might also apply to other 2D materials.
Adaptive Observers for a Class of Infinite Dimensional Systems

Abstract An adaptive observer for an infinite dimensional plant with a structured perturbation is developed to estimate the state of the plant. The class under consideration includes a collocated (passive) feedback with uncertain feedback gain. This observer is based on the nominal part of the plant and the adaptation law for estimating the uncertain gain. The proposed adaptation law developed is based on the Lyapunov stability method. It is proved that the resulting estimator dynamics are stable in the sense that the tracking error converges to zero and the parameter estimate is bounded.
Impact of Non-medical Out-of-pocket Expenses on Families of Children With Cerebral Palsy Following Orthopaedic Surgery.

Abstract Purpose Limited research has been conducted on the non-medical out-of-pocket expenses (NOOPEs) incurred by families of children with chronic health conditions. The study objectives were to: 1) calculate the estimated NOOPEs incurred by families during hospitalization of their child, 2) identify predictors of high NOOPEs, and 3) assess the impact of the child's chronic health condition on the family's finances. Design and Methods Prospective observational study. Parents were included if their child was 3–20 years old, had severe, non-ambulatory cerebral palsy (CP), and scheduled for hip or spine surgery. Parents reported all NOOPEs incurred during their child's hospitalization using the Family Expense Diary. Families completed the subscales of the Impact on Family Scale and the Assessment of Caregivers Experience with Neuromuscular Disease. Descriptive and univariate and multiple hierarchical regression models were used in the analysis. Results Fifty two parents participated. The total NOOPEs ranged from $193.00 to $7192.71 (M = $2001.92) per hospitalization representing an average of 4% of the family's annual earned income. Caregiver age (F = 8.393, p Conclusions and Practice Implications Hospitalization is associated with numerous NOOPEs that create additional financial demands for families caring for a child with severe CP. NOOPEs should be addressed when preparing families for their children's planned hospital admissions, especially those families of CSHCN who experience significant financial impacts secondary to their children's care.
Wisconsin Senate Race: Stunning Upset in the Badger State

No 2016 U.S. Senate reelection victory was more shocking than that of first-term Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R), who defeated former three-term Senator Russell Feingold (D) by 3 percentage points in a rematch. The 2016 race was viewed as Feingold’s to lose since Johnson polled well behind until the contest’s final weeks. When a late surge for Trump materialized, money flooded into Wisconsin to support Johnson, who was well-positioned to ride the wave. Johnson ran a masterful campaign, appeared with Donald Trump, focused on get-out-the-vote efforts, and ended up winning rural, white, male voters by an overwhelming and decisive margin. Feingold, in contrast, strategically embraced Hillary Clinton and thus had few options when her national campaign lost momentum.