cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Response of Ni/Al laminates to laser-driven compression

Ni/Al laminates with bilayer thicknesses in the micrometer (� 5 lm) and nanometer (� 50 nm) range were subjected to exothermic reactions induced by laser-driven compression. The initial shockless compression steepened into shock in the microscaled laminates generating a pressure pulse duration of several tens of nanoseconds, which induced strain rates varying from 10 7 to 10 8 s � 1 . The laser energies applied, 650, 875, and 1305 J, generated peak compression stresses of 30, 75, and 118 GPa, respectively, at the plasma stagnated Al surface. Large differences in flow stresses and bulk compression moduli of Ni and Al introduced shear localization in the Ni/Al interfaces. The nanoscale Ni/Al laminates were fully reacted, producing NiAl with grain sizes less than 500 nm. The NiAl intermetallic phases, B2 (b) phase (fcc) and martensitic phase (bcc), coexist in the NiAl nanograins. It was confirmed that the intermetallic reaction in the Ni/Al microlaminate cannot self-sustain for the short duration, laser-driven compressive loading. The intermetallics NiAl (equiaxed grains) and NiAl3 (dendrites) were identified on the plasma stagnated surface of Ni/Al microlaminates. The distribution of intermetallic phases varied according to the incident laser energies. 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Genome Screen to Detect Linkage to Intracranial Aneurysm Susceptibility Genes The Familial Intracranial Aneurysm (FIA) Study

Background and Purpose— Evidence supports a substantial genetic contribution to the risk of intracranial aneurysm (IA). The purpose of this study was to identify chromosomal regions likely to harbor genes that contribute to the risk of IA. Methods— Multiplex families having at least 2 individuals with “definite” or “probable” IA were ascertained through an international consortium. First-degree relatives of individuals with IA who were at increased risk of an IA because of a history of hypertension or present smoking were offered cerebral magnetic resonance angiography. A genome screen was completed using the Illumina 6K SNP system, and the resulting data from 192 families, containing 1155 genotyped individuals, were analyzed. Narrow and broad disease definitions were used when testing for linkage using multipoint model-independent methods. Ordered subset analysis was performed to test for a gene×smoking (pack-years) interaction. Results— The greatest evidence of linkage was found on chromosomes 4 (LOD=2....
High performance mining of social media data

News and disaster-related applications may benefit from real-time processing of large-volume, up-to-the-minute social media data. Our geo-mining algorithm finds local place references (of street, building, toponym and place abbreviation) in Twitter messages so that those messages can be put on a map. The ability to map is significant because it can present a timely overview of a situation. Our current research demonstrates that our prototype desktop algorithm that geo-locates Twitter messages with an F statistic of .90 accuracy for location identification will be viable on a large scale and in real time, for actual applications. We present methods of managing external resources, threading the algorithm and balancing the data load, that allow us to scale up the application without significantly re-writing the code.
How the Distinction between “Irreversible” and “Permanent” Illuminates Circulatory–Respiratory Death Determination

The distinction between the "permanent" (will not reverse) and "irreversible" (cannot reverse) cessation of functions is critical to understand the meaning of a determination of death using circulatory-respiratory tests. Physicians determining death test only for the permanent cessation of circulation and respiration because they know that irreversible cessation follows rapidly and inevitably once circulation no longer will restore itself spontaneously and will not be restored medically. Although most statutes of death stipulate irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, the accepted medical standard is their permanent cessation because permanence is a perfect surrogate indicator for irreversibility, and using it permits a more timely declaration. Therefore, patients properly declared dead in donation after circulatory death (DCD) protocols satisfy the requirements of death statutes and do not violate the dead donor rule. The acronym DCD should represent organ "donation after circulatory death" to clarify that the death standard is the permanent cessation of circulation, not heartbeat. Heart donation in DCD does not retroactively negate the donor's death determination because circulation has ceased permanently.
SURVIVAL OF CENTENARIANS IN JAPAN

The objective of the study was to explore the survival trends of centenarians in Japan. A cohort of centenarians born between 1881 and 1900 was analysed based on national census data, and the average life expectancy at 100 years of age, risk of death and maximum age were estimated. An analysis of covariance and a Cox regression analysis were performed to explore the factors associated with life expectancy and risk of death. The death rates in centenarians tended to decrease with birth year, and the average life expectancy from the age of 100 slightly increased at a rate of 0.013 years (95% CI: 0.007-0.019) by birth year in men and 0.026 in women. Women had a longer life expectancy than men, with a difference of 0.174 years (95% CI: 0.071-0.277) at birth year 1881 and increasing by 0.013 years per year thereafter. The risk of death in both sexes decreased significantly by birth year over the course of the period analysed, and the risk of death in men was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.14-1.19) times that of women. In women, death rates at every age significantly decreased with birth year over the course of the period analysed until age 104. However, this trend did not hold true for ages 105 and older. The average life expectancy of centenarians at the age of 100 in Japan increased by birth year in the 1881-1900 birth cohort. In addition, Japanese centenarians had the lowest death rates among several countries.
Synthesis of tapered resistive ground plane for a microstrip antenna

Microstrip antennas have been employed in airborne and spacecraft systems because of their low profile and conformal nature. Recently, they are being used for other commercial applications such as GPS. Most of the antenna design schemes assume that the microstrip elements are mounted on an infinitely large ground plane, therefore, the diffraction from the edges of the ground plane is usually neglected. However, there are applications where the effect of the edges can become very significant because these edges distort the far-field pattern and also the phase center of the antenna. Attaching resistive cards to the edges of a scatterer is a well known technique for reducing the edge diffracted fields, and was successfully applied to reduce the echo width of a semi-infinite PEC half plane. In this paper, we introduce simple two dimensional (2-D) E- and H-plane models for the microstrip antenna, and study the effect of attaching resistive strips to both ends of a metal ground plane on the radiation pattern as well as the phase center. Note that in general, the edges have a more significant impact in the E-plane pattern. Our main goal is to find an optimum resistive profile which yields the desired radiation pattern and phase center. A nonlinear optimisation algorithm is used where the cost function, which depends on the desired antenna pattern, is minimised to determine the resistive profile which gives the best results. Different types of resistive profiles (piece-wise constant, linear, exponential, quadratic) have been optimized by using two gradient type non-linear optimization techniques, namely, conjugate gradient and Fletcher-Powell algorithms. Numerical and experimental results for the radiation patterns in the E-plane as well as the H-plane are found to be in good agreement.
Carbon nanostructures for orthopedic medical applications

Carbon nanostructures (including carbon nanofibers, nanostructured diamond, fullerene materials and so forth) possess extraordinary physiochemical, mechanical and electrical properties attractive to bioengineers and medical researchers. In the past decade, numerous developments towards the fabrication and biological studies of carbon nanostructures have provided opportunities to improve orthopedic applications. Therefore, the aim of this article is to provide an up-to-date review on carbon nanostructure advances in orthopedic research. Orthopedic medical device applications of carbon nanotubes/carbon nanofibers and nanostructured diamond (including particulate nanodiamond and nanocrystalline diamond coatings) are emphasized here along with other carbon nanostructures that have promising potential. In addition, widely used fabrication techniques for producing carbon nanostructures in both the laboratory and in industry are briefly introduced. In conclusion, carbon nanostructures have demonstrated tremendous promise for orthopedic medical device applications to date, and although some safety, reliability and durability issues related to the manufacturing and implantation of carbon nanomaterials remain, their future is bright.
Optimal spectrum sensing framework for cognitive radio networks

Spectrum sensing is the key enabling technology for cognitive radio networks. The main objective of spectrum sensing is to provide more spectrum access opportunities to cognitive radio users without interfering with the operations of the licensed network. Hence, recent research has been focused on the interference avoidance problem. Moreover, current radio frequency (RF) front-ends cannot perform sensing and transmission at the same time, which inevitably decreases their transmission opportunities, leading to the so-called sensing efficiency problem. In this paper, in order to solve both the interference avoidance and the spectrum efficiency problem, an optimal spectrum sensing framework is developed. More specifically, first a theoretical framework is developed to optimize the sensing parameters in such a way as to maximize the sensing efficiency subject to interference avoidance constraints. Second, in order to exploit multiple spectrum bands, spectrum selection and scheduling methods are proposed where the best spectrum bands for sensing are selected to maximize the sensing capacity. Finally, an adaptive and cooperative spectrum sensing method is proposed where the sensing parameters are optimized adaptively to the number of cooperating users. Simulation results show that the proposed sensing framework can achieve maximum sensing efficiency and opportunities in multi-user/multi-spectrum environments, satisfying interference constraints.
The Role of Transition Metal Promoters on Sulfated Zirconia Catalysts for Low-Temperature Butane Isomerization

The low temperature isomerization of butane to isobutane was catalyzed by sulfated zirconia promoted with transition metals like Fe, Mn, and Pt. At 323 K, the Fe,Mn-promoted sample exhibited the usual induction period to a highly active state, followed by rapid deactivation. At the same conditions, a Pt-promoted catalyst also showed an induction period but was followed by a period of unusually stable activity, even in the absence of dihydrogen. The mechanism of the isomerization reaction, evaluated by using {sup 13}C-labeled butane over Fe,Mn-promoted at 323 K and unpromoted sulfated zirconia at 473 K, was found to be intermolecular. Because the formation of a C{sub 8} intermediate in a bimolecular pathway most likely involves the reaction of olefins, the effect of adding trans-2-butene to the butane feed was investigated. The increase in isomerization activity that accompanied butene addition was consistent with a mechanism in which butene is protonated by acid sites of the catalyst to initiate a chain reaction that eventually produces isobutane. Since the calculated chain length (moles isobutane formed/moles butene added) was similar for all of the materials studied, the acidities of the catalysts appear to be unaffected by the presence of transition metals. Therefore, the role ofmore » transition metal promoters in sulfated zirconia is to increase the surface concentration of intermediate butenes that subsequently react to form isobutane. Due to the very different stabilities of the promoted catalysts at low temperatures, the authors speculate that the Fe,Mn-promoted sample forms butene non-catalytically whereas the Pt-promoted sample forms butene catalytically. 46 refs., 8 figs., 4 tabs.« less
Cosmological variation of the fine structure constant from an ultralight scalar field: The effects of mass

Cosmological variation of the fine structure constant a due to the evolution of a spatially homogeneous ultralight scalar field (m;H0) during the matter and L dominated eras is analyzed. Agreement of Da/a with the value suggested by recent observations of quasar absorption lines is obtained by adjusting a single parameter, the coupling of the scalar field to matter. Asymptotically a(t) in this model goes to a constant value a ’a 0 in the early radiation and the late L dominated eras. The coupling of the scalar field to ~nonrelativistic! matter drives a slightly away from a in the epochs when the density of matter is important. Simultaneous agreement with the more restrictive bounds on the variation uDa/au from the Oklo natural fission reactor and from meteorite samples can be achieved if the mass of the scalar field is on the order of 0.5‐0.6HL , where HL5V L H0. Depending on the scalar field mass,a may be slightly smaller or larger than a 0 at the times of big bang nucleosynthesis, the emission of the cosmic microwave background, the formation of early solar system meteorites, and the Oklo reactor. The effects on the evolution of a due to nonzero mass for the scalar field are emphasized. An order of magnitude improvement in the laboratory technique could lead to a detection of (a ˙/a) 0.
Outer-membrane vesicles from Gram-negative bacteria: biogenesis and functions

In this Review, Schwechheimer and Kuehn describe recent developments in elucidating the mechanisms of biogenesis and cargo selection of the outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) produced by Gram-negative bacteria. They also discuss the functions of OMVs in bacterial physiology and during pathogenesis. Outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spherical buds of the outer membrane filled with periplasmic content and are commonly produced by Gram-negative bacteria. The production of OMVs allows bacteria to interact with their environment, and OMVs have been found to mediate diverse functions, including promoting pathogenesis, enabling bacterial survival during stress conditions and regulating microbial interactions within bacterial communities. Additionally, because of this functional versatility, researchers have begun to explore OMVs as a platform for bioengineering applications. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in the study of OMVs, focusing on new insights into the mechanisms of biogenesis and the functions of these vesicles.
A Model System for Studying the Effects of Hormones on Lysosomal Polyphosphoinositide Metabolism

Lysosomes, whose functions involve receptor mediated endocytosis, phagosome-lysosome fusion, exocytosis and autophagy, are generally believed to be under the influence of various extracellular stimuli. Rapid morphological changes of lysosomes are observed in response to these stimuli suggesting that a mechanism exists to signal primary lysosomes to participate in subsequent physiological events. Lysosomes from livers of starved rats (DeDuve, 1969) and those from livers perfused with glucagon or cAMP (Ashford and Porter, 1962; Deter and DeDuve, 1967; Mortimore et al., 1978; Saito and Ogawa, 1974) rapidly undergo remarkable structural transformations associated with autophagy. The stimulation of lysosomal membrane rupture under standard homogenization procedures is attributed to increased volume of the resulting autophagolysosomes. In our laboratory (Schroeder et al., 1974), it was observed that liver lysosomes from normal chickens exhibited a significant diurnal variation in fragility, suggesting dietary and hormonal influences on this process. We became interested in the possibility that lysosomal membrane protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation reactions may be under hormonal regulation and might result in altered membrane function.
Lack of Association Between Extracranial Carotid and Vertebral Artery Disease and Stroke After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Abstract Background Carotid artery stenosis is a risk factor for stroke after surgical aortic valve replacement, but it is unknown whether carotid and vertebral artery disease impacts the risk of stroke after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods We reviewed 294 consecutive cases of TAVR at a tertiary care medical centre. Thirty-one patients without preoperative carotid/vertebral duplex ultrasonograms were excluded. Carotid or vertebral artery disease was defined on the basis of >50% stenosis. Outcomes were stroke within 30 days after TAVR, 30-day mortality, and overall survival. Results Fifty-one patients (19%) had at least 50% stenosis of a carotid or vertebral artery. The carotid and vertebral artery disease group had higher rates of coronary artery disease, previous coronary artery bypass surgery, and peripheral artery disease compared with the control group. Transfemoral access was less common in the carotid and vertebral artery disease group (55% vs 77%; P P = 0.11) and overall survival (log-rank test P = 0.84) between the groups. Conclusions The presence or absence of carotid or vertebral artery stenosis was not significantly related to the occurrence of stroke after TAVR. Routine screening for carotid and vertebral artery disease before TAVR does not appear justified.
The dissolution of intact airway responsiveness from breathing fluctuations: what went wrong?

the dynamic pressure fluctuations of breathing do not reduce the responsiveness of an excised, intact human airway. Surprisingly, this is the main result presented by Noble et al. ([10][1]) in this issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology . How could this result stand in the face of piles of
Abstract 219: Marriage May Hold the Key to Lower Readmission Rates

Background: Prior studies have shown that marital status can affect readmission rates. This study sought to determine whether marital status impacts patient outcomes in a population of BRIDGE (a post-discharge transitional cardiac care clinic) patients. Methods: Analysis was conducted for all BRIDGE patients referred from 2008-2013 with valid marital status information (n=1534). The population was divided into two cohorts, married (n=887) and not married (n=647). The unmarried group included those who marked “single” (n=406), “widowed” (n=218), or “other” (n=23). Outcome variables included 30, 60, 90, and 180 day readmission, ED visit, and death rates, and BRIDGE attendance and depression rates. Results: Married patients were significantly less likely to have an ED visit within 90 (20.0% v 23.8%, p=0.011) and 180 (30.1% v 33.5%, p=0.017) days of discharge. Married patients were also significantly less likely to have depression (20.1% v 29.6%, p<0.001) and were more likely to attend BRIDGE (74.0% v 69.6%, p=0.060), though not significantly. Conclusions: Marriage is associated with fewer long-term ED visits and lower rates of depression. These findings raise the question of whether providers should approach care and discharge instructions differently for patients who lack a spouse or other social support. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Anterior spine fusion with Zielke instrumentation for idiopathic scoliosis in adolescents.

SUMMARY Anterior Zielke instrumentation of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis curvatures can provide excellent correction of thoracolumbar and lumbar curvatures, with substantial correction of rotational deformity. This correction allows fewer number of vertebrae to be fused, thereby leaving more normal lumbar motion segments distal to the fusion and decreasing the likelihood of lumbar spondylosis in later life. Anterior spinal surgery introduces a new set of intraoperative challenges that may be unfamiliar to the traditional posterior spine deformity surgeon. A slightly less cosmetically acceptable thoracotomy incision scar and the fact that a postoperative orthosis is required are disadvantages that are outweighed by the fewer number of motion segments that need to be involved in the fusion mass, as well as the superior correction.
A New Species of Megalomma Johansson, 1927 (Polychaeta: Sabellidae: Sabellinae) from Taiwan, with Comments on Sabellid Dorsal Lip Classification

A new species, Megalomma cinctum, is described from the intertidal zone of Hungtou Yu, also known as Orchid Island, located off the southeast coast of Taiwan. The species is most similar to M. coloratum (Chamberlin), M. modestum (Quatrefages), M. quadrioculatum Willey, M. roulei (Gravier), and M. splendidum (Moore), each of which has 1 pair of dorsalmost compound eyes on the radioles, sometimes with additional eyes on the 2nd and 3rd pairs of radioles, and the middorsal margins of the peristomial collar are fused to the lateral margins of the fecal groove, forming dorsolateral pockets. Megalomma cinctum is distinct from these species by the presence of a narrow, white, transverse band on setiger 2, and sometimes also on setiger 3. The number of pairs of radiolar eyes in M. cinctum is much more variable than has been reported in other species, and is strongly correlated with body size. Additional variability in the species is also reported for the number of pairs of radioles, peristomial collar shape, number of thoracic setigers, occurrence of the white transverse bands on setigers 2 and 3, and pigmentation patterns on the crown and thorax. The species is dioecious, but asexual reproduction also occurs by scissiparity. The description of M. cinctum also includes details on the internal construction of the dorsal lip radiolar appendages, necessitating an emendation of the definition of the genus. A brief survey is also presented of dorsal lip internal construction within the Sabellidae, and the implications of those findings for the determination of cladistic relationships among Sabellinae genera are discussed.
Intravascular Large B-Cell Lymphoma Presenting As Thyroid, Adrenal And Mesenteric Nodules

ABSTRACT Objective: Identification of multiple endocrine abnormalities can result from endocrine or nonendocrine malignancies, genetic syndromes, or systemic diseases. Here, we evaluate an unusual presentation of several endocrine pathologies. Methods: We present a female with multiple endocrine abnormalities who was ultimately diagnosed with intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL). We also review the literature on IVLBCL, including presentation, management, treatment, and outcomes. Results: A 52-year-old woman with multinodular goiter presented with an enlarging thyroid nodule. Fine needle aspiration revealed a high-grade neoplasm of unclear etiology. Due to a history of nephrolithiasis, the patient was also evaluated for and found to have probable primary hyperparathyroidism. Magnetic resonance imaging performed for lumbar pain identified an incidental indeterminate 2.7-cm nonfunctioning adrenal nodule. [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) demonst...
Axion in SU(2) L ×SU(2) R ×U(1)

We show that the automatic restoration of strong CP invariance with a global chiral U(1) symmetry in the SU(2)/sub L/ x SU(2)/sub R/ x U(1) model with left-right symmetry requires at least two Higgs multiplets Phi/sub 1/ and Phi/sub 2/, each having quantum numbers (1/2,1/2,0). It turns out that the coupling of the axion to the quarks could be large leading to a large value of its mass without choosing an unnaturally small value for the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the two Higgs multiplets.
Genetic Relations Among Castes in Lower Termites

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on genetic relations among castes in lower termites. Genetic relatedness among members of colonies of lower termites is influenced by the presence of multiple sex chromosomes, the sex of the individuals, the sex-ratio of the colony as a whole, the existence of replacement reproductives, and by the general level of inbreeding in the population. Studies on I. schwarzi show that about half the diploid set of 32 chromosomes behave like sex chromosomes, that the mean male–female sex ratio in natural populations is 1.24, and that the relatively low levels of inbreeding observed in natural populations are accounted for by the presence of replacement reproductives in about 25% of the colonies. Interactions between colony members of the same sex are more frequent or more significant than between individuals of the opposite sex. The evolution of soldier altruism by kin-selection in termites remains a theoretical possibility.
Rastrigin and Eiduk's Methodological Work

This chapter provides an overview of Rastrigin and Eiduk's methodological work. L. A. Rastrigin and Ya. Yu. Eiduk have published several notable papers on methodological issues associated with multi-objective programming. One of their papers presents a categorization of multi-objective programming methods. Their classification scheme distinguishes a priori , a posteriori , and interactive methods, calling them the three basic approaches to multi-objective problems. However, Rastrigin and Eiduk devote their attention almost exclusively to the interactive methods, which they see as falling into six groups. The chapter presents a schematic depiction of the Rastrigin–Eiduk taxonomy. Another aspect of their methodological work focuses on developing an analytical basis for evaluating the effectiveness of multi-objective procedures. In contrast to Larichev's approach, Eiduk (1980) does not consider the ease and reliability of information gathering as the only factor to be used in evaluating interactive multi-objective programming methods. Equally important in Eiduk's view is the often conflicting requirement that at each iteration, the information presented must increase the decision maker's knowledge of the problem to the maximum possible extent.
Evaluation of ADA Environments

This report provides a detailed description of the methodology and examples of its usage. Chapter 1 gives an extended cross-environment analysis of the results of the project. For each of five experiment groups, it compares three APSEs. The chapter provides an overview of the results of all the experiments and is written for the technical manager. Chapter 2 describes in detail the methodology used for evaluating the environments, along with some of the background information and references to previous work in environment evaluation. Chapters 3 through 8 provide detailed descriptions of the six experiment groups. Here one can find the information on particular criteria, questions, and life cycle activities that were tested for each experiment, as well as test scripts, checklists, and resulting data that were collected.
Informing Healthcare Waiting Area Design Using Transparency Attributes: A Comparative Preference Study.

Objective:This study aimed to explore people’s visual preference for waiting areas in general hospital environments designed with transparency attributes that fully integrate nature.Background:Waiting can be a tedious and frustrating experience among people seeking healthcare treatments and negatively affect their perception of the quality of care. Positive distractions and supportive designs have gained increasing attraction to improve people’s waiting experience. Nature, which has shown therapeutic effects according to a growing amount of evidence, could be a distinguished positive distraction in waiting areas. Additionally, the theory of transparency was operationalized to indicate a spatial continuity between the external nature and the built interiors in general healthcare waiting area design.Method:A survey method was adopted in the study. Twenty-one images of general healthcare waiting areas depicting three design typologies were preselected following a strict procedure, including designs with (a) ...
Matrix parametrized shift registers

High speed pseudorandom sequence generators have played roles in an array of applications in communications, cryptography, and computing. At the heart of many of these generators are shift registers of various types. Researchers have studied linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs), feedback with carry shift registers (FCSRs), and various generalizations such as ring FCSRS and algebraic feedback shift registers. The analysis of these sequence generators typically proceeds by defining an algebraic structure on the set of infinite output sequences, based on a choice of uniformizing parameter (e.g., power series for LFSRs, N-adic numbers for FCSRs). In this paper we introduce a new generalization of FCSRs in which the uniformizing parameter $N\in \mathbb {Z}$ is replaced by a square matrix, T, resulting in what we call T-generators. We describe an algebraic structure, the T-adic numbers, and use it to study the periodicity of T-generators.
"Memory loss" in commodity hardware?: predicting DIMM failures with machine learning

Failures of memory modules have been a concern for a long time, as they are costly both in terms of hardware replacement and service disruption. These failures can be preceded by correctable (soft) and then uncorrectable (hard) errors, which accumulate over time. Valuable large scale studies of DIMM errors in the wild [2, 1] analyze in depth hard and soft errors and their correlations with specific sensors. However, little has been reported on how these findings could be used to automatically predict future DIMM failures. We show that by understanding which factors drive such failures, we can build intelligent predictive models with off-the-shelf machine learning techniques to predict DIMM failures ahead of time with high accuracy. Such models not only provide early signs of failures, but also allow administrators to proactively replace DIMMs at risk weeks in advance, thus avoiding "memory loss" of their commodity hardware.
A review of shampoo surfactant technology: consumer benefits, raw materials and recent developments

Surfactants form the core of all shampoo formulations, and contribute to a wide range of different benefits, including cleansing, foaming, rheology control, skin mildness and the deposition of benefit agents to the hair and scalp. The purpose of this review was to assist the design of effective, modern, shampoo surfactant technologies. The mechanisms through which surfactants help deliver their effects are presented, along with the appraisal techniques through which surfactant options can be tested and screened for product development. The steps that should be taken to select the most appropriate blend of surfactants are described, and useful information on the most widely used surfactants is provided. The review concludes with an examination of recent developments in 'greener' surfactants, 'sulphate-free' technologies and structured liquid phases for novel sensory properties and for suspending benefit agents.
Mobile Digital Games as an Educational Tool in K-12 Schools

Games are one of the most elemental and basic of human activities that interest people of all ages. Mobile digital games can be used as a beneficial educational tool to enhance teaching, promote student learning, achievement, growth, and development as well as to cultivate students’ twenty-first century skills. The aim of this chapter is to discuss how educators can use digital gaming as an instructional tool in their classroom, regardless of age level or subject area, and thus transform their students into active participants and increase their student achievement levels. This paper examines core aspects of digital gaming, the benefits of digital gaming as well as its limitations such as the challenge of determining the appropriate technology to align with pedagogy and age level. Suggestions are offered as to how the issues can be addressed and concluded with implications for future study.
Ion Implantation Doping of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets

AbstractControlled doping of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets is needed to enable nuclear diagnostics of implosions. Here, we demonstrate that ion implantation with a custom-designed carousel holder can be used for azimuthally uniform doping of ICF fuel capsules made from a glow discharge polymer (GDP). Particular emphasis is given to the selection of the initial wall thickness of GDP capsules as well as implantation and postimplantation annealing parameters in order to minimize capsule deformation during a postimplantation thermal treatment step. In contrast to GDP, ion-implanted high-density carbon exhibits excellent thermal stability and ~100% implantation efficiency for the entire range of ion doses studied (2 × 1014 to 1 × 1016 cm−2) and for annealing temperatures up to 700°C. Finally, we demonstrate a successful doping of planar Al targets with isotopes of Kr and Xe to doses of ~1017 cm−2.
Earthquake or atomic bomb

At a time when a considerable fraction of the population is adamant in their refusal to apply science to public policy, it is helpful to look back to a similar scenario that played out during the Cold War. In Silencing the Bomb , geophysicist Lynn Sykes tells the story of the efforts of a group of scientists who sought to halt the worldwide testing of nuclear weapons throughout the mid- to late 20th century.
An In-Depth Look at the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

First paragraph:If you ask the average person what they know about the people who labor on farms in the United States, you are likely to find that they have never given it much thought, or that if they have, they answer based on their notions of the agrarian ideal. Maybe, just maybe, you would find that they have some basic sense of the atrocities that most of the over two million farmworkers who harvest our food face. If they heard of these issues recently, they may have learned about them through the campaigns of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Whether through its community organizing efforts on college campuses; its work boycotting of some of the nation’s largest fast food chains; through the documentary Food Chains (Longoria, Schlosser, & Rawal, 2014); or its other educational, outreach, and campaign work, the CIW and its other entities have become a recognized name in farmworker justice. In I Am Not a Tractor! How Florida Farmworkers Took on the Fast Food Giants and Won, Susan L. Marquis details the history of CIW and of its Fair Food Program (FFP), as well as its possibilities for the future. I approached this book as someone who has been working with various farmworker and farmer justice groups for the past decade in my own teaching and research; although I have never worked directly with CIW in these or any other capacities, I was certainly familiar with their work.
Accelerated scale-bridging through adaptive surrogate model evaluation

Abstract Multiscale modeling is a systematic approach for the development of high-fidelity models of complex systems. However, multiscale models are often extremely computationally demanding, which precludes their use for practical applications. In this article, we introduce a computational framework for scale-bridging combined with an algorithm to automatically and adaptively replace at-scale models within a multiscale model hierarchy with surrogate models in order to reduce the computational cost of multiscale simulations. A standalone module is introduced and it is responsible for the on-the-fly construction and evaluation of surrogate models within the framework. Such an approach allows multiscale models to easily incorporate surrogate models with minimal code modifications. We employ the framework to construct a multiscale model of 1,3,5-trinitrohexahydro-s-triazine, in which a continuum finite element macroscale solver acquires equation of state through evaluation of a microscale dissipative particle dynamics model. We utilize the model for the simulation of a Taylor impact experiment and demonstrate that the error in the solution incurred by the dynamic use of surrogate models is controllable. Furthermore, we show that the use of surrogate models leads to a reduction in computational cost of between 1/20 and 1/5000 compared to a simulation evaluated without the surrogate modeling approach. In addition, we present a high-resolution simulation of a Taylor impact experiment, which is intractable without surrogate models. We illustrate how the dynamic nature of surrogate model evaluation in these simulations, while reducing computational cost, also increases load imbalance. Finally, we end with a discussion on how the inherent variability in these simulations may constitute a challenge for the current high performance computer systems given their static nature.
Wavelength Modulated Back-Scatter Interferometry for Universal, On-Column Refractive Index Detection in Picoliter Volumes.

Wavelength-modulated back scatter interferometry (M-BSI) is shown to improve the detection metrics for refractive index (RI) sensing in microseparations. In M-BSI, the output of a tunable diode laser is focused into the detection zone of a separation channel as the excitation wavelength is rapidly modulated. This spatially modulates the observed interference pattern, which is measured in the backscattered direction. Phase-sensitive detection using a split photodiode detector aligned on one fringe of the interference pattern is used to monitor RI changes as analytes are separated. Using sucrose standards, we report a detection limit of 700 μg/L in a 75 μm i.d. capillary at the 3σ level, corresponding to a detection volume of 90 pL. To validate the approach for electrophoretic separations, Na+ and Li+ were separated and detected with M-BSI and indirect-UV absorbance on the same capillary. A 4 mg/L NaCl and LiCl mixture leads to comparable separation efficiencies in the two detection schemes, with better sig...
Nightcap: a home-based sleep monitoring system

In an attempt to offer a home-based adjunct to traditional sleep laboratory methods, we developed a system to monitor sleep, and to predict algorithmically non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep states, using eye and body motility as the only parameters. Eye movement was measured using a strain gauge transducer applied to the eyelid of subjects, while body movement was measured using a piezo-ceramic phono cartridge. Both transducers were mounted on a tennis headband, along with electronics that amplified, filtered, and digitized the signals. Digital pulse signals were input to a portable computer in minute-long epochs, and state-predicting algorithms were run based on this motility data. Four subjects were monitored in the sleep lab with both our headgear and standard polysomnography. Hand-scored sleep records were compared with those predicted by computer algorithms. Algorithm-predicted states agreed with hand-scored ones an average of 85.57% (SEM +/- 1.7%). Mean values for sleep onset and REM latency were within 1.6 and 10.8 min of polysomnographic records, respectively. These results are encouraging, and suggest that this system could provide a comfortable, subject operable, and inexpensive method for the evaluation of sleep at home.
Biologic and biochemic properties of recombinant platelet factor 4 demonstrate identity with the native protein

Platelet factor 4 (PF4) is a 70 amino acid protein released from the alpha-granules of platelets after activation. The exact biologic function of this protein is unknown. We have constructed an expression vector for recombinant PF4 (rPF4) in the T7-based promoter vector pT7-7 to better study the relationship between PF4 structure and function. The protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity by heparin-agarose affinity chromatography and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Purity of protein was confirmed by immunoblot analysis and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which resulted in a single component with a molecular weight of 8,000 daltons. The amino acid composition and sequence of the N-terminal 20 residues showed that rPF4 is identical to PF4 prepared from human platelets (hPF4), except for an N-terminal initiating methionine residue. Immunoblots revealed that rPF4 and hPF4 bound polyclonal anti-hPF4 equally well, while chemotaxis experiments demonstrated similar potencies as neutrophil attractants. Dose-dependent neutrophil chemotactic responses and competitive studies with polyclonal anti-hPF4 antiserum further demonstrate similar chemotactic properties of the two PF4 species. In conclusion, our data show that this recombinant protein and the native protein appears to have similar immunologic, heparin-binding, and chemotactic properties. The chemotactic properties of hPF4 appear to be entirely intrinsic to the protein and not due, in part, to any contaminating protein. Furthermore, our expression vector should prove useful for the construction of recombinant forms of PF4 to investigate structure/function relationships of this biologically important protein.
Integrated graphene-sulfur cathode and separator with plasma enhancement for Li-S batteries

Abstract Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery has been extensively studied due to its high theoretical energy density. Carbon materials have been developed as conductive scaffolds to improve the electrical conductivity of sulfur, and as a coating layer of the separator to restrain the shuttling effect of polysulfide. However, previous designs of the Li-S battery lack a good adhesion between the cathode and the separator, thus motivating further research on design and materials selection to achieve the optimal battery performance. Herein, the free-standing oxygen plasma functionalized three-dimensional graphene-sulfur (O3DG-S)/polypropylene (OPP) separator composite introduces for the first-time, tri-functional structure (TFS) in a Li-S battery: a current collector, cathode material and a part of the separator. The O3DG exhibited a moderate electrical conductivity, with very good mechanical integrity, making it a promising candidate as a flexible current collector, as well as a scaffold for sulfur. The unique surface morphology of O3DG-S treated by oxygen plasma functionalization for promoting a seamless contact with commercial PP separator for a “Janus type” multifunctional separator structure. The TFS showed a capacity of ∼1400 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C with a sulfur loading of ∼70 wt% and a high cyclic performance of Li-S battery.
Growing degree days and cover crop type explain weed biomass in winter cover crops

Cover crops are increasingly being adopted to provide multiple ecosystem services, including weed suppression. Understanding what drives weed biomass in cover crops can help growers make the appropriate management decisions to effectively limit weed pressure. In this paper, we use a unique dataset of 1764 measurements from seven cover crop research experiments in Pennsylvania (USA) to predict, for the first time, weed biomass in winter cover crops in the fall and spring. We assessed the following predictors: cover crop biomass in the fall and spring, fall and spring growing degree days between planting and cover crop termination, cover crop type (grass, brassica, legume monocultures, and mixtures), system management (organic, conventional), and tillage before cover crop seeding (no-till, tillage). We used random forests to develop the predictive models and identify the most important variables explaining weed biomass in cover crops. Growing degree days, cover crop type, and cover crop biomass were the most important predictor variables in both the fall (r2 = 0.65) and spring (r2 = 0.47). In the fall, weed biomass increased as accumulated growing degree days increased, which was mainly related to early planting dates. Fall weed biomass was greater in legume and brassica monocultures compared to grass monocultures and mixtures. Cover crop and weed biomass were positively correlated in the fall, as early planting of cover crops led to high cover crop biomass but also to high weed biomass. In contrast, high spring cover crop biomass suppressed weeds, especially as spring growing degree days increased. Grass and brassica monocultures and mixtures were more weed-suppressive than legumes. This study is the first to be able to predict weed biomass in winter cover crops using a random forest approach. Results show that weed suppression by winter cover crops can be enhanced with optimal cover crop species selection and seeding time.
The Autonomy of Practical Thinking and the Non-Natural Character of Practical Noemata

In this chapter we explain how the system of views developed so far includes a very strong thesis about the autonomy of practical thinking in general and about moral thinking in particular. We also elicit the account, included in that system of views, of the non-natural character of the contents of practical thinking. Although practical noemata are not reducible to propositions, nevertheless there is a very important metaphysical sense in which purely practical noemata do not belong to the ultimate furniture of reality. (Of course, general metaphysics may in its turn establish that propositions or facts do not themselves belong to the ultimate furniture of reality.)
Guilty As Charged: Computational Reliability Threats Posed By Electrostatic Discharge-induced Soft Errors

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) has been shown to cause severe reliability hazards at the physical level, resulting in permanent and transient errors. We present the first analysis of the effects of ESD-induced errors on instruction-level computation. Our data were measured on a microcontroller test chip fabricated for this study, with discharges from a controlled ESD gun. cosmic-ray-induced soft errors have been widely researched, and modeled as single event upsets (SEUs). Our observations across multiple trials on 3 test chips show that in contrast to radiation-induced errors, ESD can cause much more widespread errors than SEUs. In our trials, we observed system hangs and clock glitches which are serious errors. We also observed errors in the following categories: multiple-bit corruptions across multiple registers, multiple-bit corruptions in the same register, and single-bit corruptions across multiple registers. At the instruction level, these errors manifest as system hangs or serious malfunctioning of I/O operations, interrupt operations, and data/program memory. We demonstrate that ESD-induced errors form a significant reliability threat to higher-level functionality, warranting modeling and mitigation techniques.
The Mirror and the Window: Making Implicit Perceptions of Leadership Explicit:

Images of leadership serve as mirrors reflecting assumptions and as windows revealing possibilities. We take a visual and less common methodological approach and highlight particular images by way ...