cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of hydraulic efficiency of disinfection systems based on residence time distribution curves.

Hydraulic efficiency is a vital component in evaluating the disinfection capability of a contact system. Current practice evaluates these systems based upon the theoretical detention time (TDT) and the rising limb of the residence time distribution (RTD) curve. This evaluation methodology is expected because most systems are built based on TDT under a “black-box” approach to disinfection system design. Within recent years, theproliferationofcomputationalfluiddynamics(CFD)hasallowed a more insightful approach to disinfection system design and analysis.ResearchpresentedinthisstudyusingCFDmodelsand physical tracer studies shows that evaluation methods based upon TDT tend to overestimate, severely in some instances, the actual hydraulic efficiency as obtained from the system’s flow and scalar transport dynamics and subsequent RTD curve. The main objective of this study was to analyze an alternative measure of hydraulic efficiency, the ratio t10/t90, where t10 andt90arethetimetakenfor10and90%oftheinputconcentration to be observed at the outlet of a system, respectively, for various disinfection systems, primarily a pipe loop system, pressurized tank system, and baffled tank system, from their respective RTD curves and compare the results to the current evaluation method.
Social Democracy and Economic Liberty

Tomasi’s view of social democracy is shown to mischaracterize it as hostile to private economic liberties, which all real-world social democracies guarantee. The supposed Manichean choice between social and market democracy, seen as requiring contrasting accounts of fairness, results from combining Rawls-style idealization of regime types, the Hayekian presumption that social democracies are advancing along the road to serfdom, and tendentious appeal to scant and unconvincing historical evidence. The proposed constitutional protection of ‘thick,’ market-based economic liberties, as favoring both individual self-authorship and fair equality of opportunity, is defended by Tomasi against high-liberal and social democratic views as compatible with what Rawls’s social justice demands, but as their scope expands in the course of the book this fails to convince. Finally it is argued that the ever-expanding reach of the market across all social life, with feedback effects on the formation of preferences, renders questionable Tomasi’s claims that his account of market fairness is neutral with respect to ways of life and that it specifies conditions under which individuals can live lives that are truly their own.
Driven to Tears: Epilepsy Specialists and the Automobile.

Introduction I like to tell my residents and fellows that one of the benefits of working in the field of epilepsy is that you’re rarely ever wrong: ask four different attending physicians the same question and you’re likely to get four different answers; so whatever you propose to do for a patient, there’s probably someone who will back you up. I could scarcely come up with a better illustration of my aphorism than the results of a recent Quantitative Practical Use-Driven Learning Survey in epilepsy (Q-PULSE) regarding driving. We asked respondents their practice vis-a-vis driving in four different situations: 1) a patient on a monotherapy regimen who is tapering off the sole antiepileptic drug (AED), 2) a patient on a polytherapy regimen who is tapering off one of two AEDs, 3) a patient who is switching from one monotherapy AED to another. and 4) a patient who has psychogenic seizures. Driven to Tears: Epilepsy Specialists and the Automobile
Body fluid expansion is not essential for salt-induced hypertension in SS/Jr rats.

To evaluate the importance of volume in the development of hypertension in inbred Dahl salt-sensitive rats (SS/Jr), we measured the changes in blood pressure (BP) that occurred with oral intake of food (salt) and water in rats whose body weight was permitted to increase versus those in which body weight was maintained constant with a servo-control system. We hypothesized that if volume expansion is essential in the development of hypertension, then BP would not increase if body weight was held constant. We found that oral presentation of chow containing 4% salt to SS/Jr rats caused BP to increase 32.2 ± 2.9 mmHg over 4 days when body weight was controlled at its initial value. Plasma sodium increased from 142.0 to 145.2 meq/l during 4 days of high salt. Neither plasma volume, hematocrit, nor central venous pressure changed significantly on the high-salt diet. In contrast, the inbred Dahl salt-resistant rats (SR/Jr) did not increase their BP during body weight control when given 4% salt. This demonstrates that volume expansion is not an obligatory step in the pressure response to increased salt in SS/Jr rats. Our results obtained with oral presentation of salt, in contrast to intravenous, represent a physiological evaluation of the significance of volume changes in response to dietary salt because no potential regulatory reflexes have been bypassed.
Seasonal Light-Trap Collections of Lepidopterous Cotton Insects in South Texas

Light-trap collections over a 5-year period at 5 locations in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas revealed that 3 species having cotton as their main larval host—pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders); cotton leafworm, Alabama argillacea (Hubner); and tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.) —attained peak abundance of adults in August during most years. This is the period of cotton maturity and stalk destruction in that area. Three other species also found on cotton, but more omnivorous in nature—the bollworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie); cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner); and salt-marsh caterpillar, Estigmene acrea (Drury) —showed peak abundance earlier than the 3 first-mentioned species and had minor peaks of abundance in the spring and fall.
Mechanistic Study of Silver-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Fluorination

The silver-catalyzed fluorination of aliphatic carboxylic acids by Selectfluor in acetone/water provides access to fluorinated compounds under mild and straightforward reaction conditions. Although this reaction provides efficient access to fluorinated alkanes from a pool of starting materials that are ubiquitous in nature, little is known about the details of the reaction mechanism. We report spectroscopic and kinetic studies on the role of the individual reaction components in decarboxylative fluorination. The studies presented herein provide evidence that Ag(II) is the intermediate oxidant in the reaction. In the rate-limiting step of the reaction, Ag(I)-carboxylate is oxidized to Ag(II) by Selectfluor. Substrate inhibition of the process occurs through the formation of a silver-carboxylate. Water is critical for solubilizing reaction components and ligates to Ag(I) under the reaction conditions. The use of donor ligands on Ag(I) provides evidence of oxidation to Ag(II) by Selectfluor. The use of sodium persulfate as an additive in the reaction as well as NFSI as a fluorine source further supports the generation of a Ag(II) intermediate; this data will enable the development of a more efficient set of reaction conditions for the fluorination.
Efficient synthesis of dithienogermole (DTG) derivatives via olefin cross-metathesis.

4,4′-Bis-(4-pentenyl)-dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]germole was synthesized as a functional building block for the efficient preparation of dithienogermole (DTG) derivatives with varying alkyl chain lengths and pendant functionalities in excellent yields. These derivatives were efficiently isolated via olefin cross-metathesis followed by hydrogenation.
Economic Injury Levels of the Egyptian Alfalfa Weevil or the Alfalfa Weevil or the Alfalfa Weevil

Pre-season applications of heptachlor to alfalfa were used to establish gradients of Egyptian alfalfa weevil, Hypera brunneipennis Boheman, or alfalfa weevil, H. postica (Gyllenhal), larval levels. Correlations of larval numbers and 1st cutting hay yields disclosed that every increase of 1 larva/sweep at the larval peak was associated with a yield reduction of 9.1 lb of hay. Economic injury levels calculated indicate when artificial control measures are not economically justified.
Growth and stability of MgO/NiO multilayered films on single crystal NiO(100)

The less than 1% lattice mismatch between MgO and NiO makes them ideal candidates for investigating the growth and stability of multilayered oxide films. Ultra-thin multilayers composed of alternating films of MgO and NiO were deposited onto a stoichiometric NiO(100) single crystal substrate at 250 C by evaporating Mg and Ni in 5 {times} 10{sup {minus}7} Torr of O{sub 2}, respectively. The structure of these multilayers was determined using LEED. Reactivity and chemical composition studies of the MgO/NiO interfaces were carried out using XPS and UPS. The MgO/NiO multilayers grow epitaxially on NiO(100), as evidenced by LEED. XPS and UPS analysis indicates attenuation of the NiO or MgO peaks during growth which is consistent with discrete layering. Chemical analysis also reveals negligible intermixing of the MgO and NiO layers during deposition. Results pertaining to the thermal stability of the multilayers show that UHV annealing above 750 C results in significant diffusion of MgO into the NiO(100) substrate.
Research on superposition method of interaction between soil frost heave and beams on foundation

Based on the ideal of stochastic medium,the ground ridging induced by frost heave submits to normal distribution. Regarding on research background of the crossing engineering in Shanghai stadium,the express of frost heave for multi-freeze pipes is derived by the basic principle of superposition method. Simplifying the non-uniform distribution load as multi-stepped uniform distribution load,displacements and force of interaction between frost heave and beams on foundation are acquired by solving the equation of beams on elastic foundation on freezing soil with the program of MATLAB. Moreover,it is verified by survey. Finally,the conclusion that the frost heave decreases with the increase of the rigidity of beams on foundation and external load,and increases with the increase of the factor of elastic drag and free frost heave,is drawn by analyzing the influential factors of interaction between frost heave and beams on foundation.
Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Causes of Misdiagnosis in Patients with Children IgA Nephropathy

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and causes of misdiagnosis of patients with IgA nephropathy,so as to improve the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy.Methods 85 patients were diagnosed as IgA nephropathy by renal biopsy,the clinical data of them were analyzed retrospectively.Results In 267 patients with primary glomerular diseases,85 cases(31.38%) were IgA nephropathy and 30 cases of them(35.2%)were misdiagnosed as other renal diseases.Conclusion Clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy were mulriple and it was prone to be misdiagnosed.Immunopathology of the kidney biopsy is the best way to be diagnosed definitely and avoid misdiagnosis.
t-Bu3P-Coordinated 2-Phenylaniline-Based Palladacycle Complex/ArBr as Robust Initiators for Controlled Pd(0)/t-Bu3P-Catalyzed Suzuki Cross-Coupling Polymerization of AB-Type Monomers

t-Bu3P-coordinated 2-phenylaniline-based palladacycle complex (1) as the unique source of Pd(0)/t-Bu3P to form efficient initiators with ArBr for controlled Suzuki cross-coupling polymerizations of AB-type monomers was described. The in situ generated initiators were demonstrated to be robust initiator systems for controlled Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization, affording polymers with unprecedentedly narrow PDIs and well-controlled functional end groups. 31P NMR study suggested that the fast and efficient generation of ArPd(t-Bu3P)Br complexes from precatalyst 1 and ArBr might be the reason for better control of polymerization with precatalyst 1/ArBr as initiators. Our study provided a family of unprecedented, highly efficient initiators for controlled Suzuki cross-coupling polymerizations and a direct route to access conjugated polymers with a variety of heterobisfunctional chain end groups.
Intramural barium (barium granuloma) of colon and rectum.

A patient who had chronic ulcerative colitis and a colostomy is described. The defunctionalized segment of large bowel distal to the colostomy contained two separate barium granulomas, one in the colon and one in the rectum. The lesions, which were asymptomatic, although large, possibly resulted from traumatic laceration of the mucosa of the severely contracted large bowel during barium enema.
Sucrose | Dietary sucrose and disease

Sucrose is present naturally in a number of foods and is one of the most common sweeteners added to the human diet. There is concern regarding the high proportion of daily calories derived from simple sugars in the modern diet. Adverse health effects associated with sucrose intake that have been proposed include facilitation of excess caloric intake, excess weight gain, dilutional effects of essential nutrients, and increased risk for dental caries, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Finding and Verifying All Solutions of a System of Nonlinear Equations

Abstract Interval arithmetic is an arithmetic that operates on intervals rather than point values. It can be used to find and verify all solutions of a system of nonlinear equations over a specified region. An algorithm that locates the solutions and verifies their uniqueness is discussed. A number of examples are solved using a new, user friendly interval arithmetic software package.
A resurging boom in new drugs for epilepsy and brain disorders.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide. Despite many advances in epilepsy research, nearly a third of patients with epilepsy have refractory or pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Despite the approval of a dozen antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) over the past decade, there are no agents that halt the development of epilepsy. Thus, newer and better AEDs that can prevent refractory seizures and modify the disease are needed for curing epilepsy.Areas covered: In this article, we highlight the recent advances and emerging trends in new and innovative drugs for epilepsy and seizure disorders. We review in detail top new drugs that are currently in clinical trials or agents that are under development and have novel mechanisms of action.Expert commentary: Among the new agents under clinical investigation, the majority were originally developed for treating other neurological diseases (everolimus, fenfluramine, nalutozan, bumetanide, and...
Peer Comparison of Anti-MRSA Agent Prescription in the Inpatient Setting

Peer comparison has potential as an effective antimicrobial stewardship intervention in the inpatient setting. We report a new metric, days of therapy per 100 service days, for comparing antibiotic utilization. Among 14 prescribers on the primary infectious diseases service during a 6-month period, we identified 1 outlier for each anti-MRSA agent. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:1506–1508
Conscious status is associated with the likelihood of trauma centre care and mortality in patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To assess the relationship between The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification-derived conscious status and mortality rates in trauma centres (TC)...
Quantifying the Effect of Dynamic Boundary Condition Differences Between the Vibration Laboratory and the Field Operating Environment

Vibration qualification testing of components or subassemblies is performed on shaker tables. The uncertainty associated with the boundary condition difference between the field and the shaker table is usually ignored. It will be shown with analytical and hardware demonstrations that component response can be significantly different even if controlled at one accelerometer. The quantification of this uncertainty would be useful for characterizing margin associated with the laboratory boundary condition. Assuming that a rigid body representation of the field base input is known, a method is proposed that uses a modified version of structural modification, to attempt to correct for the difference using a modal characterization of the shaker table. Disappointing results are shown for a first time implementation with actual hardware. However, the experience provides important insights to guide future efforts for the quantification of the response uncertainty due to the boundary condition difference between the field and laboratory.
Stoichiometry and adhesion of N b / A l 2 O 3

We examine the relative stability of both stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric ${\mathrm{N}\mathrm{b}/\mathrm{A}\mathrm{l}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ interfaces and ${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ surfaces. Results of first-principles computations of surface and interfacial atomic relaxations, electron-density distributions, and total energies are presented. We found that while the Al-terminated ${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}(0001)$ surface is stable relative to the O-terminated surface, interface formation with Nb can reverse the stability, depending on the oxygen partial pressure. This interfacial structure is consistent with recent experimental results. Finally, we computed some of the energetics associated with the diffusion of Al into Nb across the ${\mathrm{N}\mathrm{b}/\mathrm{A}\mathrm{l}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ interface. Our results are consistent with Al migration into the Nb at temperatures of the order of ${10}^{3}\mathrm{K},$ as reported experimentally.
Clinical Outcomes Using Magnetic Resonance-Guided Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Patients With Locally Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma.

Abstract Purpose Previous studies have shown that stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR) increases local control for cholangiocarcinoma, but gastrointestinal toxicity resulting from this treatment approach remains a concern. SABR using magnetic resonance–guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) may improve the therapeutic ratio of treatment for cholangiocarcinoma patients given the radiosensitivity of neighboring gastrointestinal organs. Methods Seventeen consecutive patients with unresectable locally advanced cholangiocarcinoma were treated with SABR using MRgRT between May 2015 and August 2017, subsequent to our previously reported series of patients treated using a standard Linac with cone beam computed tomography. Twelve patients presented with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and 5 patients with intrahepatic tumors. MRgRT-based SABR was administered at a median dose of 40 Gy in 5 fractions. Results The median overall survival (OS) was 18.5 months, with a 1-year OS of 76% and 2-year OS of 46.1%. Three of the 17 patients progressed locally, yielding a 1-year local control of 85.6% and a 2-year local control of 73.3%. Although 12 of 17 patients experienced an acute grade 1 toxicity, none experienced acute grade 2 toxicities. One patient had an acute grade 3 duodenal ulcer with perforation (6%), and one patient had a late radiation-related toxicity grade 2 gastritis/colitis. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate diminished toxicity and excellent overall survival and local control. The clinical outcomes and safety profile of SABR delivered with MRgRT suggest that MRgRT is a promising treatment approach for treating cholangiocarcinoma.
The triangle of death of neurons, oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and loss of choline-containing biomolecules, in brains of mice treated with doxorubicin: advanced insights into mechanisms of “chemobrain”

Depending on the published study, from 30 % to 70 % of cancer survivors who had undergone chemotherapy reported cognitive dysfunction, usually manifested as memory impairment, difficulty with reasoning, and problems multi-tasking, consistent with deficits of higher executive functioning. This chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment (CICI), often called “chemobrain” by patients, is a major contributor to decreased quality of life for a large percentage of the more than the current 15 million cancer survivors in the USA. More than 50 % of FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs are associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) as part of their mechanisms of action. Doxorubicin (Dox) is a prototypical ROS generating chemotherapeutic agent used to treat solid tumors and lymphomas as part of multi-drug chemotherapeutic regimens. Dox produces the reactive superoxide radical anion (O2•–) in vivo through quinone to semi-quinone redox cycling. Neither Dox nor its major metabolite crosses the blood brain barrier. We previously reported that intraperitoneal (i.p.) Dox-administration to mice leads to plasma protein damage and elevation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in plasma and brain. We further reported that TNF-α elevation in brain leads to further central nervous system toxicity, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuronal death, and cognitive impairment. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that TNF-α in brain was critical to these deleterious effects that contribute to CICI. We demonstrate that oxidative stress is ameliorated and mitochondrial function assessed by the Seahorse-determined oxygen consumption rate (OCR) is preserved in brain of Dox-treated TNF-α knockout (TNFKO) mice. Further, we show in TNFKO mouse brain protection against Dox-related decreased Cho/Cr ratio determined by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and protection against loss of phospholipase D (PLD) activity. Coupled with findings from our previous studies, these current results provide important insights into the role of TNF-α in CICI.
Convolution Neural Network Application for Road Asset Detection and Classification in LiDAR Point Cloud

Self-driving cars (or autonomous cars) can sense and navigate through an environment without any driver intervention. To achieve this task, they rely on vision sensors working in tandem with accurate algorithms to detect movable and non-movable objects around them. These vision sensors typically include cameras to identify static and non-static objects, Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) to detect the speed of the moving objects using Doppler effect and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to detect the distance to objects. In this paper, we explore a new usage of LiDAR data to classify static objects on the road. We present a pipeline to classify point cloud data grouped in volumetric pixels (voxels). We introduce a novel approach to point cloud data representation for processing within Convolution Neural Networks (CNN). Results show an accuracy exceeding 90% in the detection and classification of road edges, solid and broken lane markings, bike lanes, and lane center lines. Our data pipeline is capable of processing up to 20,000 points per 900ms on a server equipped with 2 Intel Xeon processors 8-core CPU with HyperThreading for a total of 32 threads and 2 NVIDIA Tesla K40 GPUs. Our model outperforms by 2% ResNet applied to camera images for the same road.
Postoperative Decreased Urine Output

A previously healthy 65-year-old female underwent an emergent sigmoid colectomy and proximal colostomy for perforated diverticulitis. At the time of operation, the patient was found to have extensive contamination of the peritoneal cavity with minimal blood loss. She received 2 L of intravenous fluids during the operation. Twelve hours after surgery, the patient is found to have orthostatic hypotension with a blood pressure of 110/60 mmHg (supine), heart rate of 100/min, temperature of 99 °F, and respiratory rate of 14/min. Her mucous membranes appear to be dry and skin turgor is decreased. Her jugular venous distention is flat, and the remainder of her cardiac and respiratory exams are unremarkable. The patient is noted to have only produced 30 cc of concentrated urine in the last 3 h. Postoperative laboratory values demonstrate an increasing BUN of 34 mg/dL and a doubling of her creatinine to 1.5 mg/dL. Hemoglobin and hematocrit are stable at 11 g/dL and 33 %.
Tracking maneuvering spacecraft with filter-through approaches using interacting multiple models

Abstract When spacecraft maneuver unknowingly, traditional orbit determination filters diverge. This paper postulates using Interacting Multiple Models and covariance inflation methods to filter-through unknown maneuvers. This work proposes accurate methods for real-time tracking of a non-cooperative, maneuvering spacecraft and compares the performance to traditional techniques. Results show that a filter-through Interacting Multiple Model orbit determination filter can converge on a post-maneuver orbit in real-time with similar performance to off-line Initial Orbit Determination approaches.
196 SHINGLES AND POSTHERPETIC NEURALGIA EDUCATION IN GRAND COULEE, WASHINGTON.

My RUOP III project was to address the lack of education on shingles, postherpetic neuralgia, and the newly approved shingles vaccine. Incidence of singles in the elderly is high and in Grand Coulee, Washington, there is a large elderly population. Education on shingles is important because patients must receive antiviral therapy within 72 hours. A group of elderly citizens identified shingles as a concern in their community. Patients came in with questions about shingles, postherpetic neuralgia, and the vaccine. The physicians and nurse practitioners asked me to research the vaccine for them. I created a patient educational brochure that included the cause of shingles, who is at risk, signs and symptoms, treatment options, the vaccine, and postherpetic neuralgia. The brochure is to be dispersed at Grand Coulee Community Hospital and Clinic and Indian Health Services in Nespelem. I also educated two physicians and one nurse practitioner on the shingles vaccine. The brochure will make a long-term impact by educating patients on the signs of shingles and encourage patients to see their doctor within 72 hours to receive antiviral therapy. The physicians and nurse practitioner were able to pass on the knowledge of the vaccine to their patients the next day. I conclude that although I did not see many immediate results from my project, it will improve the quality of health care delivered in the long term.
Heart-Thigh Cuff Pulse Wave Velocity: A Novel Nontechnical Measure of Arterial Stiffness.

BACKGROUND Recently, a novel index of arterial stiffness was developed to eliminate the placements of transducers on the carotid and femoral arteries and to make the measurement substantially easier. We evaluated the agreement of this new methodology with the well-established carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). METHODS A total of 50 adults (28 men and 22 women) varying widely in age and blood pressure were studied. Heart-thigh pulse wave velocity (htPWV) and cfPWV were measured and compared. RESULTS Mean values of cfPWV and htPWV were 713 ± 145 and 699 ± 150 cm/s and were not significantly different (P = 0.43). Both cfPWV and htPWV were significantly associated with age (r = 0.80 and 0.58), body mass index (r = 0.44 and 0.31), and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.42 and 0.41). The 2 pulse wave velocity measures demonstrated a strong linear association with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.64 (P < 0.001). This agreement was consistent with the results of the Bland-Altman plot. CONCLUSION The automatic htPWV method, which permits the data acquisition with minimum technical skill, time, and intrusion in an operator-independent fashion, has good potential as a screening device for assessing arterial stiffness in a clinical setting.
Twelve tips for creating a medical education podcast

Podcasts and other asynchronous remote learning pedagogies have become increasingly utilized in undergraduate and graduate medical education. They offer a convenient and accessible form of education for personalized learning and have been developed across multiple disciplines of medicine. This paper discusses the current literature on medical education podcasts, offers practical examples of existing free podcast content, and offers guidance on planning, designing, and executing the creation of a new educational podcast. It discusses best practices for the engagement of learners and logistical considerations for recording and hosting the material. These Twelve Tips hope to empower educators to utilize resources across the world to offer the highest quality opportunities for learners of all levels.
Plenary Session: Presentation of the First Annual Ronald H. Coase Medal to the Honorable Guido Calabresi

Plenary Session: Presentation of the First Annual Ronald H. Coase Medal to the Honorable Guido Calabresi Presiding: John Donohue, President, ALEA Speaker and Medalist: The Honorable Guido Calabresi
Novel Non-Reciprocal Microwave Spin Wave and Magneto-Elastic Wave Devices for On-Chip Signal Processing

The discovery of interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) enables development of novel ultra-compact non-reciprocal devices for microwave signal processing. Such devices are based on control of spin waves and magneto-elastic waves by electric field and addition of ultra-thin layers of heavy metals to the devices. Here we discuss recent advances in the development of such systems, which can be used for implementation of on-chip non-reciprocal microwave devices.
Phase structure of resource allocation games

Abstract We consider a class of games that are generalizations of the minority game, in that the demand and supply of the resource are specified independently. This allows us to study systems in which agents compete for a resource under different demand loads. Among other features, we find, using numerical simulations the existence of a robust phase change with a coexistence region as the demand load is varied, separating regions with nearly balanced supply and demand from regions of scarce or abundant resources. The coexistence region exists when the amount of information used by the agents to make their choices is greater than a critical value which is related to the point at which there is a phase transition in the standard minority game.
Menopause: when hormone replacement therapy is not an option. Part II.

ABSTRACT Although the perimenopausal period is often experienced as a positive life transition, it is frequently accompanied by a variety of distressing physical and emotional sequelae. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been hailed as the first-line treatment for many of these symptoms. A significant number of women, however, are unable to take exogenous hormones because of absolute or relative contraindications to therapy. Other women are unwilling to use this treatment for a variety of reasons, including reluctance to use unnatural exogenous hormones and fear of unknown risks of HRT. This two-part review discusses the physiology of menopause and its related symptoms, as well as the risks and benefits of both oral and non-oral routes of hormone administration. Self-help measures and alternative therapeutic options are recommended for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, which include vasomotor instability, urogenital atrophy, psychologic disturbances, and risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.
Exploring technological management innovations that include artificial intelligence and other innovations in global food production

By the year 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9.8 billion, and 11.2 billion in 2100. Non-declining or levelling world population growth is the most significant hurdle to sustainable agriculture and food security. Today, about 1 billion people are chronically hungry, and this crisis is a result of inefficient food production and distribution system, and undeveloped agricultural land that is leaving room to grow food for the additional 2-3 billion people globally expected by 2050. This research offers to various practitioners, learners, and academicians' data from emergency literature on technological innovations to help overcome agricultural concerns for meeting a process improvement initiative.
Functionalized Polymersomes from a Polyisoprene-Activated Polyacrylamide Precursor

Self-assembled polymer nanoparticles have tremendous potential in biomedical and environmental applications. For all applications, tailored polymer chemistries are critical. In this study, we demon...
Pro-Con Debate: Fibrinogen Concentrate or Cryoprecipitate for Treatment of Acquired Hypofibrinogenemia in Cardiac Surgical Patients

Cryoprecipitate has been the gold standard for treating acquired hypofibrinogenemia in cardiac surgery for nearly 50 years. More recently, fibrinogen concentrate has been used off-label in the United States and is the standard in European countries and Canada to treat the acquired hypofibrinogenemia during cardiac surgery. Fibrinogen concentrate has multiple potential advantages including rapid reconstitution, greater dose predictability, viral inactivation during processing, and reduced transfusion-related adverse events. However, because fibrinogen concentrate lacks the other components contained in the cryoprecipitate, it may not be the "ideal" product for replacing fibrinogen in all cardiac surgical patients, particularly those with longer cardiopulmonary bypass duration. In this Pro-Con commentary article, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using fibrinogen concentrate and cryoprecipitate to treat acquired hypofibrinogenemia in cardiac surgical patients.
Into the Zone: Chris Marker, Frédéric Boyer and the Poetics of Space-Time

Through analysis of works by Chris Marker and Frederic Boyer, this study considers the inextricability of place and time in the constitution of environment. Both authors offer attempts to see envir...
Extracting the Wisdom of Crowds When Information Is Shared

Using the wisdom of crowds—combining many individual judgments to obtain an aggregate estimate—can be an effective technique for improving judgment accuracy. In practice, however, accuracy is limit...
After Greenwashing: Symbolic Corporate Environmentalism and Society

Acknowledgements List of abbreviations 1. Introduction 2. After greenwashing 3. Perspectives on symbolic corporate environmentalism 4. Drivers and consequences of symbolic corporate environmentalism 5. Study 1: symbolic gaps in environmental strategies 6. Study 2: pollution control technology and the production of symbolic capital 7. Study 3: the evolution of measurement and performance standards 8. Measurement and methods 9. Implications and conclusions Notes References Index.
Uncertainty, Reliability, and Foundation Engineering: The 5th Peter Lumb Lecture

Peter Lumb was among the first civil engineers to focus on the role of uncertainty in geotechnical engineering practice and design. His seminal work on this topic illustrated clearly that proper geotechnical design should be based on probabilistic, not deterministic, principles. More than four decades later, our profession is still trying to address this reality. This lecture and paper focus on some of these issues, with particular emphasis on reliability-based design (RBD) of foundations and the calibrations behind RBD that are critical but are largely ‘invisible’. Some key methods of calibration are discussed, including issues ranging from the basic assumptions involved, distributions of key variables, uncertainties in both load and resistance, target reliability, etc. The goal is to assist engineers in understanding the level of sophistication, or lack thereof, in different approaches to calibrations, which then translates into the degree of confidence one can have in a particular calibration or code. ...
A Political Economy Model of Resource Pricing with Evidence from the Fuel Market

The paper suggests that institutional developments may not have monotone effects on economic policy. The paper develops a model and offers evidence from fuel pricing across countries to show that improvements in the rule of law and democracy may initially enable the public to increase its share of the economy's rents mainly through distortionary policies that transfer the rents in-kind and limit the funds that the politicians can divert toward their private interests. In later stages, when politics become competitive and checks and balances grow strong, the public is more assured of receiving the benefits of marginal government funds and demands more efficient policies. The magnitudes of such effects seem substantial and the gains from institutional and policy designs that can mitigate the commitment problems between the public and the politicians can be large. The empirical work generates other insights into the determinants of fuel prices as well. In addition, the perspective developed here offers explanations for other phenomena such as the association between the spread of democracy and the proliferation of distortionary policies in the developing countries over the past several decades.
NORMALIZATION OF HEAD IMPACT TEST DATA TO 24 KM/H

This paper provides a methodology for adjustment of off-speed head impact test data to the required 24.14 km/h for interior head impact. The "Normalization Process" utilizes the Generic Waveform Concept for its basic foundation. Predicted results from FE Head Impact Simulation Model were used to validate the Normalization Process. It is recommended that Normalization should be applied to cases where impact velocities are within plus or minus 0.8 km/h speed difference. In general, Normalizing downspeed (from 24.94 to 24.14 km/h). One must always check for potentially severe "bottom-out" condition by examining the pulse shape for any abrupt peaks in headform deceleration. The Normalizing Process should not be applied to "glancing" impacts in which the impact and rebound vectors are not colinear. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 893297.
Augmentation of sodium butyrate-induced apoptosis by phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase inhibition in the KM20 human colon cancer cell line.

Purpose: We have recently shown that inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol3′-kinase (PI3k) pathway enhances sodium butyrate (NaBT)-mediated differentiation of human colon cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PI3k inhibition can enhance the inhibitory effect of NaBT on an aggressive human colon cancer cell line, KM20. Experimental Design: The KM20 cell line, established from a metastatic colon cancer, was treated in vitro with NaBT, gemcitabine, or 5-fluorouracil either alone or in combination with the PI3k inhibitors wortmannin or LY294002; DNA fragmentation and cell viability were measured. As further indicators of apoptosis, protein was extracted to determine caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. In addition, the effect of NaBT and wortmannin on in vivo KM20 tumor growth was determined. Results: We demonstrate that inhibition of PI3k enhanced NaBT-mediated apoptosis and decreased KM20 cell viability; the nonspecific caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk blocked the induction of apoptosis by the combination treatment. Either wortmannin or LY294002, combined with NaBT, enhanced activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and the subsequent cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Furthermore, inhibition of PI3k increased the sensitivity of KM20 cells to gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil. Wortmannin alone inhibited KM20 xenograft growth in vivo ; the combination of wortmannin and NaBT demonstrated an enhanced effect compared with either agent alone. Conclusions: Our results are the first to show that inhibition of PI3k enhances NaBT-mediated colon cancer cell apoptosis through the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Moreover, these findings suggest that agents that selectively target the PI3k pathway may enhance the effects of standard chemotherapeutic agents and provide novel adjuvant treatment for selected colon cancers.
Genetic algorithms for determining fuzzy measures from data

A synthetic evaluation of a given object in terms of multiple factors that contribute to some feature of the object (quality, performance, etc.) may be regarded as a system with multiple inputs and one output. Traditionally, the output is expressed as the weighted average of the inputs. Unfortunately, this method is severely limited as it cannot capture any inherent relation among the factors involved. This limitation can be overcome by using the Choquet integral or the fuzzy integral with respect to a fuzzy measure that captures the relation among the factors. The crux of this method is to determine the right fuzzy measure. In this paper, we describe an efficient genetic algorithm for constructing a suitable fuzzy measure from relevant input-output data. This algorithm has a broad applicability in various problem areas, such as decision making, cluster analysis, pattern recognition, image and speech processing, and expert systems.
Iterative multiframe superresolution algorithms for atmospheric-turbulence-degraded imagery

The subject of interest is the superresolution of atmospheric-turbulence-degraded, short-exposure imagery, where superresolution refers to the removal of blur caused by a diffraction-limited optical system along with recovery of some object spatial-frequency components outside the optical passband. Photon-limited space object images are of particular interest. Two strategies based on multiple exposures are explored. The first is known as deconvolution from wave-front sensing, where estimates of the optical transfer function (OTF) associated with each exposure are derived from wave-front-sensor data. New multiframe superresolution algorithms are presented that are based on Bayesian maximum a posteriori and maximum-likelihood formulations. The second strategy is known as blind deconvolution, in which the OTF associated with each frame is unknown and must be estimated. A new multiframe blind deconvolution algorithm is presented that is based on a Bayesian maximum-likelihood formulation with strict constraints incorporated by using nonlinear reparameterizations. Quantitative simulation of imaging through atmospheric turbulence and wave-front sensing are used to demonstrate the superresolution performance of the algorithms.
Predicting the type, location and magnitude of geomorphic responses to dam removal: Role of hydrologic and geomorphic constraints

Abstract Using a dam removal on the Ashuelot River in southern New Hampshire, we test how a sudden, spatially non-uniform increase in river slope alters sediment transport dynamics and riparian sediment connectivity. Site conditions were characterized by detailed pre- and post-removal field surveys and high-resolution aerial lidar data, and locations of erosion and deposition were predicted through one-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling. The Homestead Dam was a ~ 200 year old, 4 m high, 50 m wide crib dam that created a 9.5 km long, relatively narrow reservoir. Following removal, an exhumed resistant bed feature of glaciofluvial boulders located 400 m upstream and ~ 2.5 m lower than the crest of the dam imposed a new boundary condition in the drained reservoir, acting as a grade control that maintained a backwater effect upstream. During the 15 months following removal, non-uniform erosion in the former reservoir totaled ~ 60,000 m3 (equivalent to ~ 9.3 cm when averaged across the reservoir). Net deposition of ~ 10,700 m3 was measured downstream of the dam, indicating most sediment from the reservoir was carried more than 8 km downstream beyond the study area. The most pronounced bed erosion occurred where modeled sediment transport increased in the downstream direction, and deposition occurred both within and downstream of the former reservoir where modeled sediment transport decreased in the downstream direction. We thus demonstrate that spatial gradients in sediment transport can be used to predict locations of erosion and deposition on the stream bed. We further observed that bed incision was not a necessary condition for bank erosion in the former reservoir. In this characteristically narrow and shallow reservoir lacking abundant dam-induced sedimentation, the variable resistance of the bed and banks acted as geomorphic constraints. Overall, the response deviated from the common conceptual model of knickpoint erosion and channel widening due to dam removal. With thousands of dams likely to be considered for removal or repair in the coming decades, this study helps to advance predictions of the geomorphic response to dam removal and contributes to a broader understanding of the variability in both style and timing of fluvial responses to disturbances.
Analysis of liquid-to-solid coupling and other performance parameters for microfluidically reconfigurable photonic systems

In this paper, we analytically investigate the coupling of light from liquid-core waveguides to conventional solid-core waveguides and a series of other optical properties of liquid waveguides in order to gauge the practicality of such a system for use in microfluidically reconfigurable photonic systems. A finite element model of the system was constructed and relevant properties such as mode field diameter, attenuation, bending loss, and efficiency of evanescent and end-fire coupling were investigated as a function of the liquid waveguide Peclet number and the relative difference in refractive index. For pure liquid systems we show that the mode field diameter decreases monotonically with increasing Peclet number and that bending losses could be significantly reduced by increasing the Peclet number. More critically, we observed irreversible evanescent coupling, in which the light coupled in the solid waveguide is entrapped within the solid rather than coupled back into the liquid waveguide. This effect was caused by the lengthwise variation in the propagation constant of the liquid core due to downstream diffusion. We demonstrate that coupling efficiencies as high as 84% can be obtained for fluid based end-fire coupling by taking advantage of the tunable mode field diameter. By developing techniques for coupling light between liquid and solid states we hope to be able to overcome the drawbacks of solid waveguide systems (e.g. unchangeable structure and properties) and liquid waveguide systems (e.g. diversion and attenuation) yielding a new paradigm for reconfigurable photonics.
Studies on the effects of intracerebral actinomycin D implants on estrogen-induced receptivity in rats.

Abstract Ovariectomized female rats were injected with estrogen and progesterone and actinomycin D was implanted into different brain areas. Implants of actinomycin D inhibited estrogen-induced lordosis behavior when applied to the preoptic region within 12 hr of estrogen treatment regardless of whether the interval between implantation and testing was 29, 38, or 68 hr. Implants 21 hr after estrogen treatment were ineffective. Attempts to localize the site of action showed that implants into the preoptic region were effective even when the implant cannulae did not pierce the ventricles, that implants into the caudate nucleus were ineffective even if the cannulae pierced the lateral ventricles, and that implants into the third ventricle were highly effective in inhibiting lordosis behavior.
A point-of-care diagnostic prototype for high-throughput, multiplexed single-virus detection

Attention to viral infections has increased after multiple recent outbreaks: the global 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the variant-strain Ebola virus epidemic of 2007, and the West Nile virus epidemic of 2003–2004. Despite advances in antiviral drugs, diagnostics have lagged behind [1] [2]. These outbreaks underline the growing need for early virus discovery through rapid and reliable point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. POC diagnostics are limited to symptomatic patients as they rely on antibody-antigen interactions for detection. Plaque titer and real-time PCR are the standard methods for pre-seroconversion detection of an infection. Currently, these methods are laborious and do not lend well to POC applications. The Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensor (IRIS) is a portable, label-free, and multiplexed method for pre-seroconversion detection of single viral particles.