cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oxidative potential of coarse particulate matter (PM(10-2.5)) and its relation to water solubility and sources of trace elements and metals in the Los Angeles Basin.

In this study, potential sources of water-soluble (WS) and water-insoluble (WI) fractions of metals and trace elements in coarse particulate matter (CPM) (PM10–2.5, 2.5 < dp < 10 μm) were identified and their association with the redox properties of CPM, measured by means of reactive oxygen species (ROS), was explored. CPM was collected during 2012–2013 in Central Los Angeles (LA) and 2013–2014 in Anaheim, CA. Generally, WI components contributed to a larger fraction of CPM ROS activity (as much as 64% and 54% at Central LA and Anaheim, respectively). Two major source factors were identified by principal component analysis for both the WS and WI fractions: vehicular abrasion and re-suspended road dust. Univariate analysis indicated that several species were correlated with CPM ROS activity: in WS fraction, metals such as Mn, Fe, Cd and Zn were associated with WS ROS, while in WI fraction Ti, Fe, Ni, Pb and Cr had the highest correlations with WI ROS activity. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that both vehicular abrasion and re-suspension of road dust were associated with WS ROS activity, while only vehicular abrasion contributed significantly to the WI ROS activity. Moreover, comparison with previous studies indicated that the ROS activity of CPM has increased in the past 5 years in Central LA. We attribute this increase mainly to the elevated levels of re-suspension of road dust caused by the increase in vehicle speed and number of trucks in recent years in this area, reaffirming the growing importance of non-tailpipe traffic emissions on CPM toxicity.
Recovery: Resilience and Growth in the Aftermath of Domestic Violence

This mixed-methods study explored the recovery process and outcomes for 37 women formerly in an abusive intimate partner relationship. Standardized measures of current psychosocial functioning indicated participants were largely asymptomatic for posttraumatic stress disorder and had relatively strong resilience. Qualitative analysis revealed how social and spiritual support was instrumental to participants' recovery, growth, and resilience. Implications for helping professionals include gaining a more comprehensive understanding of recovery from domestic violence. This type of knowledge may contribute to interventions that build on women's strengths and resourcefulness.
Effect of Calcium Channel or β-Blockade on the Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy in African Americans

β-Blockers are known to slow the progression of diabetic nephropathy by lowering arterial pressure. Moreover, in individuals with diabetic nephropathy, antihypertensive agents that provide sustained reductions in proteinuria slow the rate of decline in renal function compared with agents without this antiproteinuric effect. To examine whether differential effects on proteinuria affect the progression of diabetic nephropathy, we conducted a randomized study that compared the effects of a heart rate–lowering calcium channel blocker, sustained-release verapamil, with those of a β-blocker, atenolol, on the progression of diabetic renal disease. The primary end point of the study was a change in creatinine clearance slope. Thirty-four African Americans with the following inclusion criteria were randomized to one of the two groups: serum creatinine greater than 1.4 mg/dL, proteinuria greater than 1500 mg/d, longer than a 5-year history of both non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and exclusion of other renal diseases. Goal blood pressure was less than 140/90 mm Hg. All subjects received loop diuretics as second line agents to help achieve the blood pressure goal. Twenty-four-hour urinary protein and sodium excretions as well as creatinine clearance were measured at 6-month intervals. Blood pressure was measured every 3 months. After a mean follow-up of 54±6 months, the calcium channel blocker group demonstrated both a slower rate of decline in creatinine clearance (−1.7±0.9 versus −3.7±1.4 mL/min per year per 1.73 m2, P <.01) and a greater reduction in proteinuria compared with the atenolol group. Additionally, a greater proportion of the atenolol group had a 50% or more increase in serum creatinine compared with the verapamil group (32±9% versus 16±7%, P <.05). These between-group differences could not be explained by differences in blood pressure control. These data support the concept that antihypertensive agents that persistently maintain reductions in both arterial pressure and proteinuria slow the progression of diabetic renal disease in African Americans to a greater extent than those agents without these effects.
Multi-primitive hierarchical (MPH) stereo analysis

This paper develops and demonstrates a new computational framework for an accurate, robust, and efficient stereo approach. In multi-primitive hierarchical (MPH) computational model, stereo analysis is performed in multiple stages, incorporating multiple primitives, utilizing a hierarchical control strategy. The MPH stereo system consists of three integrated subsystems: region-based analysis module; linear edge segment-based analysis module; and edgel-based stereo analysis module. Results of stereo analysis at higher levels of the hierarchy are used for guidance at the lower levels. The MPH stereo system does not overly rely on one type of primitive and therefore will reliably work on a wide range of scenes. The MPH stereo analysis results in the generation of several disparity maps of multiple abstraction. Disparity maps generated at each level can be fused to obtain an accurate and fine resolution disparity map. The MPH approach also provides the capability to selectively analyze image regions with varying detail. This provides the means for adaptively extracting range information of only sufficient resolution. Thus, a stereo system that utilizes primitives of different abstraction and a multilevel hierarchical computational strategy will be superior to a single-level, single-primitive system. Extensive experimentation is carried out on a wide array of scenes of varying complexity from two application domains to systematically evaluate the validity and performance of the MPH framework. The MPH stereo system is able to analyze images in most cases with 85%/spl sim/100% matching accuracy in under a minute of processing time and yield depth values typically within /spl plusmn/2% of the actual depth. >
Numerical modeling of electrostatic discharge generators

The discharge current and the transient fields of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) generator in the contact mode are numerically simulated using the finite-difference time-domain method. At first the static field is established. Then the conductivity of the relay contact is changed, which initiates the discharge process. The simulated data are used to study the effect of design choices on the current and fields. They are compared to measured field and current data using a multidecade broadband field and current sensors. The model allows accurate prediction of the fields and currents of ESD generators, thus it can be used to evaluate different design choices.
VX Hydrolysis by Human Serum Paraoxonase 1: A Comparison of Experimental and Computational Results

Human Serum paraoxonase 1 (HuPON1) is an enzyme that has been shown to hydrolyze a variety of chemicals including the nerve agent VX. While wildtype HuPON1 does not exhibit sufficient activity against VX to be used as an in vivo countermeasure, it has been suggested that increasing HuPON1's organophosphorous hydrolase activity by one or two orders of magnitude would make the enzyme suitable for this purpose. The binding interaction between HuPON1 and VX has recently been modeled, but the mechanism for VX hydrolysis is still unknown. In this study, we created a transition state model for VX hydrolysis (VXts) in water using quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations, and docked the transition state model to 22 experimentally characterized HuPON1 variants using AutoDock Vina. The HuPON1-VXts complexes were grouped by reaction mechanism using a novel clustering procedure. The average Vina interaction energies for different clusters were compared to the experimentally determined activities of HuPON1 variants to determine which computational procedures best predict how well HuPON1 variants will hydrolyze VX. The analysis showed that only conformations which have the attacking hydroxyl group of VXts coordinated by the sidechain oxygen of D269 have a significant correlation with experimental results. The results from this study can be used for further characterization of how HuPON1 hydrolyzes VX and design of HuPON1 variants with increased activity against VX.
Nonlinear ultrafast dynamics of high temperature YBa2Cu3O7–δ superconductors probed with THz pump / THz probe spectroscopy

High power THz pulses induce near transparency in superconductive YBCO thin films below the critical temperature. THz pump/THz probe measurements reveal a decay of the induced transparency on the time scale of a few picoseconds.
Image recovery from correlations

Many image-recovery problems involve the determination of a real-valued, nonnegative image whose nth-order correlation approximates some measured or specified function. Special cases are image recovery from second-order correlations, or phase retrieval, and image recovery from third-order correlations, or triple-correlation recovery. Examples include astronomical speckle imaging, spectroscopy, imaging correlography, and the measurement of ultrashort laser pulses. We propose an iterative technique for recovering images from measurements of nth-order correlations. This technique is shown to preserve nonnegativity, allow for the inclusion of known support constraints, and produce a sequence of images whose nth-order correlations better approximate the measured data as the iterations proceed.
Pregnancy following partner rape: what we know and what we need to know

Despite more than 30 years of research on violence against women and scores of publications on intimate partner violence during pregnancy and consequences for maternal and infant health, little is known about the incidence and outcomes of pregnancies that follow partner rape. The occurrence and consequences of partner rape and violence during pregnancy are reviewed as well as the one study identified on the characteristics and consequences of pregnancy following partner rape. Literature on unintended pregnancy and violence against women is also reviewed. Directions for future research are explored, including the need for studies that explore women's control of their sexuality within the context of intimate partner relationships, how and when to ask women about partner rape, and how to include males as the solution to ending rape.
THE ROLE OF THE ENDOCRINE GLANDS IN CERTAIN MENSTRUAL DISORDERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PRIMARY DYSMENORRHOEA AND FUNCTIONAL UTERINE BLEEDING

Speaking generally, the importance of the hormone associations of an organ or of a body function varies with the degree of its automaticity. The highly volitional functions, such as the skeletal muscular movements, are under the control of the rapidly acting nerve mechanism, while the auxiliary influence of the endocrine apparatus is relatively slight. With the more primitive vegetative functions the reverse is true, for here the mechanism is usually essentially of the endocrine type, with a greater or less degree of contributory regulating influence on the part of the sympathetic nervous system. Menstruation is a function which may certainly be classed as vegetative, and hence it is not surprising that tne explanation of its mechanism is to be sought chiefly in a study of the functions of certain endocrine glands, and that the cause of menstrual disorders is not infrequently to be found in disorders of these structures. That there is, even in the case of menstruation, some association with the higher cen...
A Lawyer Looks at Civil Disobedience: How Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Reframed the Civil Rights Revolution

This essay reconstructs Lewis F. Powell, Jr.’s thoughts on the civil rights movement by focusing on a series of little-known speeches that he delivered in the 1960s lamenting the practice of civil disobedience endorsed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Convinced that the law had done all it could for blacks, Powell took issue with King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, impugning its invocation of civil disobedience and rejecting its calls for compensatory justice to make up for slavery and Jim Crow. Dismissive of reparations, Powell developed a separate basis for supporting diversity that hinged on distinguishing American pluralism from Soviet totalitarianism. Powell’s reasons for defending diversity are worth recovering today, not least because courts continue to misinterpret his landmark opinion in Regents v. Bakke, confusing the use of diversity in higher education with the compensatory goals of affirmative action, a project that Powell rejected.
Acute Problems and Emergency Surgery: Envenomations: Bites and Stings

The management of animal bites remains a worldwide problem, however the additional problem of envenomation requires urgent and life saving treatment including first aid measures and the potential use of antivenin.
Sensitivity and specificity of on-farm scoring systems and nasal culture to detect bovine respiratory disease complex in preweaned dairy calves

The California (CA) and Wisconsin (WI) clinical scoring systems have been proposed for bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) detection in preweaned dairy calves. The screening sensitivity (SSe), for estimating BRDC prevalence in a cohort of calves, diagnostic sensitivity (DSe), for confirming BRDC in ill calves, and specificity (Sp) were estimated for each of the scoring systems, as well as for nasal swab cultures for aerobic bacteria and mycoplasma species. Thoracic ultrasound and auscultation were used as the reference standard tests interpreted in parallel. A total of 536 calves (221 with BRDC and 315 healthy) were sampled from 5 premises in California. The SSe of 46.8%, DSe of 72.6%, and Sp of 87.4% was determined for the CA system. The SSe of 46.0%, DSe of 71.1%, and Sp of 91.2% was determined for the WI system. For aerobic culture, the SSe was 43.4%, DSe was 52.6%, and Sp was 71.3%; for Mycoplasma spp. culture, the SSe was 57.5%, DSe was 68.9%, and Sp was 59.7%. The screening and diagnostic sensitivities of the scoring systems were not significantly different but the Sp of the WI system was greater by 3.8%. Scoring systems can serve as rapid on-farm tools to determine the burden of BRDC in preweaned dairy calves. However, users may expect the SSe to be less than the DSe when confirming BRDC in an ill calf.
Resource partitioning among three buteo species in the centennial valley, Montana

Birds most commonly partition resources along habitat dimensions, followed by food, then temporal dimensions (Cody 1974, Schoener 1974). Studies in Alberta (Schmutz et al. 1980), Oregon (Cottrell 1981), and Washington (Bechard et al. 1990) reported partitioning of nesting habitat among Red-tailed (Buteo jamaicensis), Ferruginous (B. regalis), and Swainson's Hawks (B. swainsoni) while broad overlap occurred in prey use and nesting chronology. One species was much less common than the other two in each of those studies. In contrast, these closely related hawks coexist in equal abundance in the Centennial Valley, Montana. Do mechanisms that allowed coexistence in previous studies operate in areas where these hawk species are equally abundant? The objective of this study was to determine if and how these hawks partitioned habitat, food, and temporal resources in the Centennial Valley.
Brief paper: Distributed parameter system optimum control design via finite element discretization

The problem of designing an optimum distributed parameter system is considered. Fundamental concepts pertaining to the solution of optimum controls for distributed parameter systems by finite element methods are devised. It is demonstrated that methods can readily be applied to solve problems involving nonlinear Neumann boundary conditions.
PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA-INDUCED HYPERGLYCEMIA LEADING TO MISDIAGNOSIS OF TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS

ABSTRACT Objective: We describe a young patient who had hyperglycemia as a sign of pheochromocytoma. He had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, but insulin was ultimately discontinued. We also examine the impact of metyrosine on glucose levels during the perioperative period of adrenalectomy. Methods: We present a case report with clinical, imaging, and laboratory findings and provide a brief review of the literature. Results: A 31-year-old man presented with uncontrolled hypertension. His urinary metanephrine levels were very high (metanephrine 51,460 μg/24 hours; normetanephrine 17,666 μg/24 hours). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilateral enlarged adrenal glands (left 6.5 × 6.0 × 5.7 cm; right 8.3 × 8.4 × 7.9 cm) and he was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma. In preparation for bilateral adrenalectomy, his blood pressure was controlled with phenoxybenzamine and metyrosine. Glucose levels and exogenous insulin declined with metyrosine therapy. The patient was determined to have multiple endocrine neo...
Racial formation, inequality and the political economy of web traffic

ABSTRACTFew studies attempt to demonstrate whether and how systemic racial inequality might form on the web. I use racial formation theory to conceptualize how race is represented, and systematically reproduced on the web, and how both may reveal forms of racial inequality. Using an original dataset and network graph, I document the architecture of web traffic, and the actual traffic patterns among and between race-based websites. Results demonstrate that web producers create hyperlink networks that steer audiences to websites without respect to racial or nonracial content. However, user navigation reflects a racially segregated traffic pattern; users navigate to racialized versus nonracialized websites (and vice versa) more than what would be expected by chance. These results, along with disparities in website traffic rankings, provide evidence of, and demonstrates how a race-based hierarchy might systematically emerge on the web in ways that exemplify disparate forms of value, influence and power that e...
Empty Names, Semantics, and the A Priori

The second of our two tasks is to find a solution to Russell’s Problem. Russell’s Problem as presented in the Introduction is the problem of empty proper names. To solve the problem we must provide an account, within the direct reference theory, of beliefs and propositions that are expressed by sentences containing nondenoting proper names. While Russell’s Problem is a problem for any theory of names, it seems to represent a particularly difficult problem for the the direct reference theory. On the direct reference theory the primary semantic function of a name is to denote an object and sentences containing names express propositions that involve the object denoted. The problem is: what propositions are expressed by sentences that contain empty or nondenoting names?
The Value of Social Capital: What Are Its Outcomes?

There is evidence that different indicators of social capital relate to a host of health, socioeconomic, behavioral, and other outcomes at both the individual- and community-levels. This chapter discusses the research and evidence linking social capital to a variety of outcomes. It also examines the degree in which social capital contributes to these outcomes, as well as the degree to which the evidence can be generalized in different settings.
Skeletal Impact of Soy Protein and Soy Isoflavones in Humans

Ethnic differences in bone make some groups more susceptible than others to osteoporotic fractures. Elderly Taiwanese and mainland Chinese have a lower hip fracture incidence than Caucasians, leading clinicians to speculate that isoflavone-containing soy protein may be responsible. Researchers have posited that soy protein may lessen bone loss in midlife women, but most recent studies have not substantiated favorable skeletal effects using soy foods, soy protein, or extracted isoflavones. Although published studies do not provide definitive evidence that soy isoflavones can prevent or treat osteoporosis, clinicians can nevertheless recommend soy foods because of their excellent nutrient profile and overall health benefits.
Diabetic Risk Factors Promote Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Misfolding by a Common, Membrane-mediated Mechanism

The current diabetes epidemic is associated with a diverse set of risk factors including obesity and exposure to plastics. Notably, significant elevations of negatively charged amphiphilic molecules are observed in obesity (e.g. free fatty acids and phosphatidic acid) and plastics exposure (monophthalate esters). It remains unclear whether these factors share pathogenic mechanisms and whether links exist with islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) misfolding, a process central to β-cell dysfunction and death. Using a combination of fluorescence, circular dichroism and electron microscopy, we show that phosphatidic acid, oleic acid, and the phthalate metabolite MBzP partition into neutral membranes and enhance IAPP misfolding. The elevation of negative charge density caused by the presence of the risk factor molecules stabilizes a common membrane-bound α-helical intermediate that, in turn, facilitates IAPP misfolding. This shared mechanism points to a critical role for the membrane-bound intermediate in disease pathogenesis, making it a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
Nonlinear Systems: Global Theory

Theorem 3.2.1 guarantees that a solution to the initial value problem exists for what might be an extremely short time.
Tandem Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Primary Progressive or Rapidly Relapsing Hodgkin's Disease.

Abstract High dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ABMT) is the treatment of choice for most patients with recurrent Hodgkin's Disease (HD). Cure rates approach 50% for patients with favorable prognostic features, but ABMT salvages only approximately 20% of patients with very high-risk features. Such patients include those who progress through initial chemotherapy, and those relapsing rapidly after initial chemotherapy. Traditional ablative allogeneic transplantation has not improved the outcome for such high-risk patients, largely because of high transplant-related mortality. Non-myeloablative allogeneic transplantation may have a role for patients with less malignant HD and is currently under study. Tandem autologous transplantation may prove to be superior for such high-risk HD patients, analogous to data seen in multiple myeloma. This study represents a summary of all 15 high-risk HD patients treated with a tandem autologous approach at our institution. Patients were treated from 11/6/02–6/7/05 with a median follow-up of survivors of 8.9 months (range, 0.9–27.8 months). Eligibility into this study included disease progression during initial chemotherapy or relapse within one year of initial chemotherapy. Patients received etoposide plus G-CSF for stem cell mobilization with a minimum of 4 x 106 CD34+ cells/kg collected. The first transplant was with single agent Melphalan (150 mg/m2). After an interval of 4–8 weeks, the second transplant consisted of BCNU, etoposide and cyclophosphamide (CBV). 15 patients have been entered into the study, median age 29 years. 20% had prior radiation therapy; all had failed prior chemotherapy, 14/15 had been treated with ABVD and 1 had Stanford V. 66% had a response (usually partial) to salvage chemotherapy and 33% did not. Median number of days from the 1st transplant to the 2nd transplant was 46 days. Median CD34+ cell dose collected was 18.3 x 106 cells/kg (range, 4.49–29.04). 100% of patients completed the planned treatment. 100-day survival was 100%. To date, 40% have relapsed and 60% are disease free. Of relapsing patients, median time from the 2nd transplant to relapse was 100 days (range, 44–491 days). The overall survival curve is shown below: Download : Download high-res image (63KB) Download : Download full-size image We retrospectively identified 18 comparable high-risk HD patients who had previously received a single autologous transplant at our institution from 1988 to 2003. The relapse rate post ABMT for these patients was 67%. Median time to relapse was 5.8 months (range, 1.5–45.4 months). In conclusion, we believe that tandem autologous transplantation is promising for very high-risk HD patients. Of those patients destined to relapse after tandem transplant, the majority do so within 6 months of therapy. Therefore, a rather short follow-up is still indicative of favorable results, given that the majority of treated patients on this trial are currently alive and disease free.
Roles of the Humoral Response in Coxsackievirus B­ Induced Disease

Antibodies to a coxsackie virus group B (CVB) may be regarded as a footprint record of trespass in an animal by one of these viruses that resulted in subsequent induction of a humoral immune response toward numerous immunogenic viral protein epitopes. These epitopes will be found in virion polypeptides, virion polypeptides in various stages of completion, nonstructural viral proteins required for replication and the latter proteins in stages of synthesis. Linear, conformational and combinatorial viral epitopes will stimulate production of anti-viral protein antibodies of several immunoglobulin classes and IgG subclasses. Natural challenges to humans by the CVB occur most frequently by ingestion from liquids or foods, contact with fingers or fomites, transplacental passage to the fetus and probably by aerosols during replication in the respiratory tract. The major outcomes of most CVB infections of humans are asymptomatic, but there are numerous transient infections that result in illnesses in the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts and skin. Less frequently, CVB cause serious illnesses involving inflammatory responses in the heart, meninges, brain and pancreas that lead to chronic diseases, some of which terminate in death. To delineate parameters of infection involved in protection or in pathology, murine models of CVB-induced human diseases have been studied for nearly four decades. Reviews of studies on basic mechanisms involved in CVB-induced diabetes mellitus (Barrett-Conner 1985; Toniolo et al. 1988; D’alessio 1992) and in CVB3- and CVB2-induced myocarditis (Lerner and Wilson 1973; Woodruff 1980; Lerner 1985, Gauntt 1987; Gauntt et al. 1993a) show the value of these models in increasing our understanding of the contributions of innate resistance mechanisms and both humoral and cell-mediated immune systems to the resolution or continuation of disease.
Targeted enrichment and sequencing of recent endosymbiont-host lateral gene transfers.

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) from microbial symbionts to invertebrate animals is described at an increasing rate, particularly between Wolbachia endosymbionts and their diverse invertebrate hosts. We sought to assess the use of a capture system to cost-effectively sequence such LGT from the host genome. The sequencing depth of Illumina paired end data obtained with a Wolbachia capture system correlated well with that for an Illumina paired end data set used to detect LGT in Wolbachia-depleted B. malayi (p-value: <2e-16). Using a sequencing depth threshold of two or three standard deviations above the mean, 96.9% or 96.7% of positions, respectively, are predicted in the same manner between the two datasets, with 24.7% or 42.5% of the known 49.0 kbp of LGT sequence predicted correctly, respectively. Prior qPCR results for nuwts showed similar correlations for both datasets supporting our conclusion that oligonucleotide-based capture methods can be used to obtain sequences from Wolbachia-host LGT. However, at least 121 positions had a minority of the reads supporting the endosymbiont reference base call using the capture data, illustrating that sequence reads from endosymbiont-host LGTs can confound endosymbiont genome projects, erroneously altering the called consensus genome, a problem that is irrespective to the sequencing technology or platform.
Selective decontamination of the digestive tract in ICU patients

Source Citation Gastinne H, Wolff M, Delatour F, Faurisson F, Chevret S. A controlled trial in intensive care units of selective decontamination of the digestive tract with nonabsorbable antibiotic...
CO2 Earth Storage: Enhanced Geothermal Energy and Water Recovery and Energy Storage

Abstract Mitigating climate change requires a range of measures, including increased use of renewable and low-carbon energy and reducing the CO 2 intensity of fossil energy use. We present an approach designed to address the major deployment barriers to CO 2 capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and utility-scale energy storage needed to maximize use of variable renewable energy and low-carbon baseload power. We use the huge fluid and thermal storage capacity of the earth, together with overpressure driven by CO 2 storage, to harvest, store, and dispatch energy from subsurface (geothermal) and surface (solar, fossil, nuclear) thermal resources, as well as excess energy from electric grids. Permanent storage of CO 2 enables the earth to function as a low-carbon energy-system hub . Stored CO 2 plays three key roles: (1) as a supplemental fluid that creates pressure needed to efficiently recirculate working fluids that store and recover energy, (2) as a working fluid for efficient, low-water-intensity electricity conversion, and (3) as a shock absorber that allows diurnal and seasonal recharge/discharge cycles with minimal pressure oscillations, thereby providing enormous pressure-storage capacity, with reduced risk of induced seismicity or leakage of stored CO 2 . To assure safe storage pressures, a portion of the brine produced from the CO 2 storage reservoir can be diverted to generate water.
A Systematic Study on the Impact of Surfactant Chain Length on Dynamic Interfacial Properties in Porous Media: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery

We propose a new systematic procedure to investigate the effect of hydrophobic and hydrophilic chain lengths of polyoxyethylenated (POE) nonionic surfactants on dynamic interfacial properties in porous media. We study the impact of nonionic surfactant structure on oil recovery through comprehensive experimental measurements of phase behavior, cloud point, dynamic interfacial tension, dynamic contact angle, and spontaneous and forced imbibitions at ambient and reservoir conditions. We identify a surfactant structure that increased the oil production by 22% and 6% compared to tap water and a nonionic surfactant commercially deployed in a major unconventional oil reservoir, respectively. In this work, we observe that factors such as minimum interfacial tension used for surfactant selection are not the only parameters influencing displacements at the pore scale. The results of this study reveal that when a surfactant solution imbibes into the pore space as an invading phase, the surfactant ability to lower th...
Defending the city, defending votes: campaign strategies in urban Ghana*

Rapid urbanisation in African democracies is changing the way that political parties engage with their constituents, shifting relations between hosts and migrants. This article examines the strategies that parties use to maintain and build electoral support in increasingly diverse contexts. Drawing on in-depth interviews and ethnographic research in Accra, Ghana, we find that some urban political parties rely on inclusive forms of mobilisation, promoting images of cosmopolitanism and unity to incorporate a broad grassroots coalition. Yet in nearby constituencies, parties respond to changing demographics through exclusive forms of mobilisation, using narratives of indigeneity and coercion to intimidate voters who ‘do not belong’. Two factors help explain this variation in mobilisation: incumbency advantage and indigene dominance. In contrast to most scholarship on ethnicity and electoral politics in Africa, we find that these varying mobilisation strategies emerge from very local neighbourhood-level logics and motivations.
Rogers-Ramanujan polynomials for modulus 6

In 1967, it was proved that the partitions of n into parts ≢ 0, ±l(mod 6) are equinumerous with partitions wherein the difference between parts is never 1, no part appears more than twice and no l’s appear. Polynomial generating functions related to this theorem have useful and interesting representations involving Gaussian polynomials and q-trinomial coefficients.
Vulnerability-Aware Energy Optimization for Reconfigurable Caches in Multitasking Systems

Cache vulnerability due to soft errors is one of the reliability concerns in embedded systems. Dynamic reconfiguration techniques are widely studied for improving cache energy without considering the implications of cache vulnerability. Maintaining a useful data longer in the cache can be beneficial for energy improvement due to reduction in miss rates, however, longer data retention negatively impacts the vulnerability due to soft errors. This paper studies the tradeoff between energy efficiency improvement and reduction in cache vulnerability during cache reconfiguration. We propose a heuristic approach for both intertask and intratask cache reconfiguration in multitasking systems. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach can significantly improve both vulnerability (25% on average) and energy efficiency (21% on average) for data cache without violating real-time constraints.
Comparison of Low-Pole Axial Flux-Switching and Surface Permanent Magnet Machines

This paper compares low-pole axial flux-switching and surface permanent magnet machines. Two machines both having 6-slot/4-pole configuration are designed at 1 kW, 720 r/min. 2-D and 3-D finite element analysis (FEA) are used for design and comparison. 2-D and 3-D FEA results of AxFSPM machine show 10% of discrepancy in output torque because of saturation of stator tooth. 2-D and 3-D FEA results of AxSPM machine correlate with a negligible discrepancy. Comparison results of the AxFSPM and AxSPM machines show that AxFSPM machine produces higher power and torque density than the AxSPM machine because of less active weight. The AxSPM machine is less saturated than AxFSPM machine.
Pediatric Sports Specialization in Elite Ice Hockey Players.

Background:Pediatric sports specialization, defined as intense year-round training in a single sport as a result of excluding other sports for more than 8 months per year, is common in the United S...
Retrospective review of a venous sparing approach to resection of parasagittal meningiomas.

Abstract Parasagittal meningiomas make up 20–30% of intracranial meningiomas. Their proximity to, and often invasion of, the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) may preclude complete surgical resection. Repair and reconstruction of the SSS in pursuit of Simpson grade I resection is associated with increased morbidity. We retrospectively reviewed 76 parasagittal meningiomas. Our surgical technique emphasized preservation of bridging cortical veins and the SSS. In cases where the SSS was already occluded by tumor, this portion of the sinus and adjacent falx were resected. In cases where the SSS was not occluded by tumor, maximal tumor resection without entering the SSS was performed. The post-op neurologic exam was unchanged or improved in 91% of patients. Only one patient (1%) experienced new persistent neurologic symptoms, which consisted of contralateral numbness. Sixteen patients (21%) experienced tumor recurrence that was deemed appropriate for additional intervention (radiosurgery, re-operation, or re-operation + radiosurgery). Age, sex, location, recurrence, size, presence of edema, degree of sinus involvement, or pathology were not statistically significant predictors of recurrence. Length of follow-up was the only statistically significant predictor of recurrence. A surgical strategy emphasizing preservation of cortical bridging veins and the SSS appears to be safe and effective for the treatment of parasagittal meningiomas. The use of adjuvant therapy for the treatment of residual intrasinusal tumor encountered in this approach may be reserved for cases of tumor progression.
Depressive Symptoms Assessed Near the End of Pregnancy Predict Differential Response to Postpartum Smoking Relapse Prevention Intervention.

Background Depressive symptoms are prevalent during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affect risk for smoking relapse. Whether and how depression affects response to postpartum interventions designed to sustain smoking abstinence is unknown. Purpose We examined end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms as a moderator of response to two postpartum-adapted smoking relapse prevention interventions. Methods Women (N = 300) who quit smoking during pregnancy were randomized to receive either a postpartum intervention focused on psychosocial factors linked to postpartum smoking (Strategies to Avoid Returning to Smoking [STARTS]) or an attention-controlled comparison intervention (SUPPORT). Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at the end of pregnancy. Smoking status was biochemically assessed at the end of pregnancy and at 12, 24, and 52 weeks postpartum. Results End-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms moderated response to postpartum smoking relapse prevention interventions (χ2 = 10.18, p = .001). After controlling for variables previously linked to postpartum smoking relapse, women with clinically significant end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms (20%) were more likely to sustain abstinence through 52 weeks postpartum if they received STARTS. In contrast, women with few end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms were more likely to sustain abstinence through 52 weeks postpartum if they received SUPPORT. Changes in the psychosocial factors addressed in the STARTS intervention did not mediate this moderation effect. Conclusion Assessment of end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms may help determine success following postpartum smoking relapse prevention interventions. Women with elevated end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms benefited from postpartum relapse prevention intervention tailored to their psychosocial needs, while those with few symptoms were more successful in postpartum intervention that used standard behavioral components. Clinical trial registration NCT00757068.
Theorizing Corporate Philanthropic Strategies: How Companies Seek Social Impact and Social Influence

I explore how companies determine which particular social causes and nonprofits will receive their grants. Existing theoretical perspectives predict that companies donate to obtain a variety of fir...
Building Relationships: Using Embedded Plug Load Sensors for Occupant Network Inference

Understanding the underlying structure of building occupant dynamics is crucial to improving the effectiveness and energy efficiency of commercial buildings, as occupants fundamentally drive building design and operation. In current practice, we largely account for occupant behavior in the design and management of buildings through rudimentary schedules of presence or absence. However, the increasing availability of embedded sensors—such as plug load sensors—offers an opportunity not only to monitor occupants’ activity patterns but also to use these patterns to gain insight into the network structure of occupants. In this letter, we present a statistical methodology for inferring this network, which comprises social, spatial, and organizational ties among occupants. We apply our method to a 7-person office environment in Northern California, and we compare the inferred networks to ground truth social, spatial, and organizational networks obtained through validated survey questions. We demonstrate that this approach offers insights into the complex nature of occupant dynamics, which can ultimately serve as inputs into building design strategies that minimize energy consumption and improve occupant well-being.
Predicting Opportunities and Challenges Prior to Transitioning to Digital Pathology: An Interview Envisioning Study with 11 Pathologists:

There is growing interest in implementing whole-slide imaging (WSI) for primary diagnosis. Ten subspecialized pathologists (2-39 years of experience) were interviewed from diverse subspecialty area...
Primary carcinoma of the lung.

SUMMARY 1)Primary carcinoma of the lung has shown a remarkable increase in the last half century, to become perhaps the most frequent visceral carcinoma in the male sex. 2)Apparently some exogenous carcinogenic factor, inherent in our recent culture, must be responsible for this dramatic increase. 3)The possibility of cigarette smoking as one of the factors is briefly discussed. 4)Bronchiogenic carcinoma is no longer, as formerly, a hopeless condition. It is curable by total pneumonectomy if the surgeon gets the patient early enough.
Preventive Environmental Wars

This article argues that there is a just cause for war to prevent the future hazards of anthropogenic climate change even if, because of what is known as the Non-Identity Problem, that cause is not...
Ring-puckering potential energy functions for cyclobutane and related molecules based on refined kinetic energy expansions and theoretical calculations

Abstract With the aid of ab initio calculations, the one-dimensional representations of the ring-puckering vibrations of several four-membered ring molecules have been refined. These one-dimensional models include contributions from MH2 (M = C, Si, Ge) rocking motions and utilize the computed parameter ω which reflects the relative amounts of ring angle bendings. This model leads to much more accurate determinations of the coordinate dependent kinetic energy expressions g 44 (x) which in turn allow much more accurate calculations of the ring-puckering potential energy functions (PEFs) based on experimental data. The resulting experimental PEFs agree remarkably well with the theoretical functions determined from ab initio calculations. For each molecule spectroscopic data were fit very well utilizing the refined kinetic energy functions and two term PEFs. They were fit even better using three term PEFs including x6 terms. The PEFs, barrier heights, and energy minima are presented for each of these molecules and their isotopic species.
Predict Audit Quality Using Machine Learning Algorithms

Audit quality has always been the focus of audit research, especially since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. Much research has been done to measure and predict audit quality, and the existing predictive models commonly use regression. By contrast, this paper uses various supervised learning algorithms to predict audit quality, which is proxied by restatements, the best measure of audit quality that is publicly available (Aobdia, 2015). Using 14,028 firm-year observations from 2008 to 2016 in the United States and ten different supervised learning algorithms, the research mainly shows that Random Forest algorithm can predict audit quality more accurately than logistic regression and that audit-related variables are better than financial variables in predicting audit quality. The results of this paper can provide regulators, investors, and other stakeholders a more effective tool than the traditional logistic regression to assess and predict audit quality, thus better protecting the benefit of the general public and ensuring the healthy functioning of the capital market.
Deep time perspective on rising atmospheric CO2

Abstract The accuracy of CO2 hindcasting using fossil Ginkgo stomatal index is ripe for revision for three reasons: exponential rise in atmospheric CO2 over the past decade, discovery of a Kew herbarium specimen of Ginkgo picked in 1754, and increased sophistication of a pedogenic CO2 paleobarometer as an independent parallel record. Past mass extinctions coincide with revised CO2 spikes of 1500 ppm or more. Increases such as the middle Miocene level of 640 ± 71 ppm expected before the year 2100 resulted in biome shifts, with expansion of tropical forests northward, and of grasslands into deserts. Deep time records from paleosols and from stomatal index reveal that CO2 levels less than 180 ppm and more than 1500 ppm are toxic to the biosphere.
Strain-Dependent Polar Optical Phonon Scattering and Drive Current Optimization in Nanoscale Monolayer MoS 2 FETs

Recently, microelectromechanical system has been used to dynamically strain atomically thin materials including MoS2. While strain can significantly modulate the electronic and phonon structures of monolayer MoS2, its impact on electron transport, especially in the dissipative regime, has not been well explored. In this paper, using a three-dimensional particle-based quantum-corrected Monte Carlo device simulator, the effects of uniaxial and biaxial strain on room-temperature electron transport in a model monolayer molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) based field-effect transistor have been investigated. In the beginning, the simulator has been validated against recently published experimental results. Overall, strain in monolayer MoS2 strongly affects the polar optical phonon modes as well as the electronic bandstructure. Uniaxial strain breaks the degeneracy of E′ Raman mode and results in phonon softening. In this case, our results show that, for both E+ and E− Raman modes, ON current first increases for up to 3.7% of applied strain and then decreases as the strain is increased further. As for biaxial strain, we consider the effects of both tensile and compressive stresses. We find that the application of biaxial tensile strain boosts the ON current for up to 4% of strain. Especially, biaxial tensile strain leads to ~ 15.56% increase in the ON current, which is highest for any type of applied stress.
GRNUlar: Gene Regulatory Network reconstruction using Unrolled algorithm from Single Cell RNA-Sequencing data

Motivation: Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are graphs that specify the interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and their target genes. Understanding these interactions is crucial for studying the mechanisms in cell differentiation, growth and development. Computational methods are needed to infer these networks from measured data. Although the availability of single cell RNA-Sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data provides unprecedented scale and resolution of gene-expression data, the inference of GRNs remains a challenge, mainly due to the complexity of the regulatory relationships and the noise in the data. Results: We propose GRNUlar, a novel deep learning architecture based on the unrolled algorithms idea for GRN inference from scRNA-Seq data. Like some existing methods which use prior information of which genes are TFs, GRNUlar also incorporates this TF information using a sparse multi-task deep learning architecture. We also demonstrate the application of a recently developed unrolled architecture GLAD to recover undirected GRNs in the absence of TF information. These unrolled architectures require supervision to train, for which we leverage the existing synthetic data simulators which generate scRNA-Seq data guided by a GRN. We show that unrolled algorithms outperform the state-of-the-art methods on synthetic data as well as real datasets in both the settings of TF information being absent or available.
Chapter 10 – Icosahedral Carboranes: 1,7-C2B10H12 and 1,12-C2B10H12

The thermal isomerization of 1,2-C2B10H12 (o-carborane) to 1,7-and 1,12-C2B10H12 (m- and p-carborane, respectively) is described, and possible cage rearrangement mechanisms are examined in light of supporting evidence. Reductive cage-opening to form nido-C2B10H102− anions and their subsequent oxidation to generate neutral 1,2-C2B10H12 via “reverse isomerization” is discussed. Methods for introducing substituents on boron and carbon vertexes in m- and p-carborane are outlined, and the chemistry of their B- and C-substituted derivatives is discussed and contrasted with their o-carboranyl analogues.