cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fractional order state equations for the control of viscoelasticallydamped structures

Fractional order state equations are developed to predict the effects of feedback intended to reduce motion in damped structures. The mechanical properties of damping materials are modeled using fractional order time derivatives of stress and strain. These models accurately describe the broadband effects of material damping in the structure's equations of motion. The resulting structural equations of motion are used to derive the fractional order state equations. Substantial differences between the structural and state equations are seen to exist. The mathematical form of the state equations suggests the feedback of fractional order time derivatives of structural displacements to improve control system performance. Several other advantages of the fractional order state formulation are discussed. Nomenclature
Mathematical modeling and experimental studies on ohmic heating of liquid-particle mixtures in a static heater

Understanding of the ohmic heating of liquid-particle mixtures requires preliminary study and model development within a static heater. A mathematical (3D finite element) model was developed for prediction of temperatures of mixtures of liquids and multiple particles within a static heater. Experiments were conducted using cubic potato particles within sodium phosphate solutions, for various particle sizes, orientations, concentrations, and liquid conductivities. the mathematical model was found to yield satisfactory prediction of experimental trends. Critical parameters affecting the relative heating rates of particles and liquid were the conductivities of the two phases, and the volume fraction of each phase. Ohmic heating appears most promising with high-solids concentration mixtures.
Loss-aware network coding for unicast wireless sessions: design, implementation, and performance evaluation

Local network coding is growing in prominence as a technique to facilitate greater capacity utilization in multi-hop wireless networks. A specific objective of such local network coding techniques has been to explicitly minimize the total number of transmissions needed to carry packets across each wireless hop. While such a strategy is certainly useful, we argue that in lossy wireless environments, a better use of local network coding is to provide higher levels of redundancy even at the cost of increasing the number of transmissions required to communicate the same information. In this paper we show that the design space for effective redundancy in local network coding is quite large, which makes optimal formulations of the problem hard to realize in practice. We present a detailed exploration of this design space and propose a suite of algorithms, called CLONE, that can lead to further throughput gains in multi-hop wireless scenarios. Through careful analysis, simulations, and detailed implementation on a real testbed, we show that some of our simplest CLONE algorithms can be efficiently implemented in today's wireless hardware to provide a factor of two improvement in throughput for example scenarios, while other, more effective, CLONE algorithms require additional advances in hardware processing speeds to be deployable in practice.
Migraine and Epilepsy: Review of the Literature

Migraine and epilepsy are disorders that are common, paroxysmal, and chronic. In many ways they are clearly different diseases, yet there are some pathophysiological overlaps, and overlaps in clinical symptomatology, particularly with regard to visual and other sensory disturbances, pain, and alterations of consciousness. Epidemiological studies have revealed that the two diseases are comorbid in a number of individuals. Both are now recognized as originating from electrical disturbances in the brain, although their wider manifestations involve the recruitment of multiple pathogenic mechanisms. An initial excess of neuronal activity in migraine leads to cortical spreading depression and aura, with the subsequent recruitment of the trigeminal nucleus leading to central sensitization and pain. In epilepsy, neuronal overactivity leads to the recruitment of larger populations of neurons firing in a rhythmic manner that constitutes an epileptic seizure. Migraine aura and headaches may act as a trigger for epileptic seizures. Epilepsy is not infrequently accompanied by preictal, ictal, and postictal headaches that often have migrainous features. Genetic links are also apparent between the two disorders, and are particularly evident in the familial hemiplegic migraine syndromes where different mutations can produce either migraine, epilepsy, or both. Also, various medications are found to be effective for both migraine and epilepsy, again pointing to a commonality and overlap between the two disorders.
Effects of selenocystine on lead-exposed Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and PC-12 cells.

Lead is a pervasive environmental toxin that affects multiple organ systems, including the nervous, renal, reproductive, and hematological systems. Even though it is probably the most studied toxic metal, some of the symptoms of lead toxicity still cannot be explained by known molecular mechanisms. Therefore, lead-induced oxidative stress has recently started to gain attention. This in vitro study confirms the existence of oxidative stress due to lead exposure. Administration of lead acetate (PbA) to cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) had a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on colony formation and cell proliferation. This inhibition was eliminated by 5 μM selenocystine (SeCys). In order to evaluate the nature of SeCys's effect, we measured glutathione (GSH), its oxidized form glutathione disulfide (GSSG), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase, and GSH peroxidase (GPx) activities in lead-exposed CHO cells both in the presence and absence of SeCys. Increases in MDA, catalase, and GPx activities were observed in cultures that received only PbA, but supplementation with SeCys returned these measures to pretreatment levels. The ratio of GSH to GSSG increased in lead-exposed cells incubated in SeCys-enhanced media but declined in cultures treated with PbA only. In order to determine whether SeCys also reverses lead-induced neurotoxicity, a neuronal cell line, PC-12 cells, was used. Lead's inhibition on neurite formation was significantly eliminated by SeCys in PC-12 cells. Our results suggest that SeCys can confer protection against lead-induced toxicity in CHO cells and neurotoxicity in PC-12 cells.
Relationships between crystal structures and thermodynamic properties of phenylbutazone solvates

The relationships between the crystal structures and the thermodynamic properties of six phenylbutazone solvates were studied. From the crystal structures the free volume available to the solvent molecules, Vasm, the packing density of the solvent in the solvate channels, Kchan, and the lattice energy of each solvate, Elattice, were calculated and the intermolecular interactions in the solvates were identified. From the measured equilibrium vapor pressure of the solvent above each solvate and above each liquid solvent, the standard free energy, ΔGdes, enthalpy, ΔHdes, and entropy, ΔSdes, of desolvation of each solvate were calculated. Linear correlations between Kchan and ΔSdes, between Elattice and ΔHdes, and between Vasm and both ΔSdes and ΔHdes suggest that similar crystal structures afford smooth monotonic variations in intermolecular interaction energies.
Wintertime Surface Winds over the Greenland Ice Sheet

Abstract Clear-sky, wintertime surface winds over the Greenland Ice Sheet are simulated with a three-dimensional mesoscale numerical model. It is shown that the simulated winds blow from the broad gently sloped interior to the steep coastal margins. This general wind pattern is similar to that found over Antarctica due to the same governing dynamics. The longwave radiational cooling of the sloping ice terrain is the key driving force of this cold airflow. In some coastal areas the downslope winds converge into large fjords, such as Kangerlussuaq and Sermilik. This is consistent with the frequent presence in these areas of warm signatures on cloud-free thermal infrared satellite images that are generated by katabatic winds. The shape of the Greenland Ice Sheet plays an important role in directing the flow of the surface winds. The study demonstrates that the surface wind pattern is only moderately affected by climatological flow around and over the ice sheet. The mass redistribution associated with the kat...
Does More Inequality Lead to More Redistribution? Evidence from Developed and Developing Democracies

Seminal political economy models from Meltzer and Richard, among others, theorize that, under a democratic regime, more inequality should lead to more redistribution. Not only have these models greatly influenced the study of redistribution and voting behavior, but their main theoretical prediction also serves as a key building block for many theories on the effect of inequality on regime transitions, corruption, and conflicts, among other subjects. However, most country-level empirical studies do not find that inequality increases redistribution. This paper identifies some of the key limitations of previous tests, and then retests the effect of inequality on redistribution. The analysis improves upon previous tests by combining three elements: (1) it employs redistribution -- measured as the difference between pre- and post-redistribution inequality -- rather than social spending as its dependent variable; (2) it uses an indicator of inequality before tax and transfers rather than after tax and transfers as its independent variable; and (3) contrary to most previous tests that are restricted to advanced industrial democracies, it covers a sample of nearly 2,000 observations on 88 developed and developing democracies worldwide. The study finds that, as expected by political economy models, inequality is associated with more redistribution.
Basic Concepts of Structural Analysis

This book describes matrix methods for the analysis of framed structures with the aid of a digital computer. Both the flexibility and stiffness methods of structural analysis are covered, but emphasis is placed upon the latter because it is more suitable for computer programming. While these methods are applicable to discretized structures of all types, only framed structures will be discussed. After mastering the analysis of framed structures, the reader will be prepared to study the finite element method for analyzing more elaborate discretized continua (see Chapter 7 and textbooks on finite elements listed in General References).
Clarifying details on a 1930s-era pine-hardwood stand in Arkansas

Abstract Data from recently discovered daily-work logs of US Forest Service (USFS) researcher Russell R. Reynolds enabled me to clarify a study I published a decade ago on a 1930s-vintage unmanaged, second-growth Pinus (pine)—hardwood stand in southeastern Arkansas. Though still too vague to reveal every detail, Reynolds' work logs confirmed a number of assumptions in the original paper and provided me with the background information to herein describe a more precise sampling framework for this 1930s-era study plot.
Reliable video transmission over fading wireless channel using joint source-channel adaptation

This research presents a robust video transmission scheme over fading wireless channels that relies on a coordinated protection effort in handling channel and source variations dynamically. Given the priority of each source packet and the estimated channel condition, an adaptive protection scheme based on joint source-channel criteria is investigated via proactive forward error correction (FEC). A product code is developed based on both the Reed-Solomon (RS) code and rate- compatible punctured convolutional (RCPC) codes. We explore the dynamic programming algorithm in matching the relative priority of source packets to instantaneous channel conditions. To obtain a realistic joint source-channel adaptation scheme, special attention has been paid to the channel status feedback in terms of accuracy and delay, the product code tradeoff, and the involved packetization efficiency. The performance improvement due to adaptation via a dynamic programming solution is demonstrated by simulating the wireless transmission of error resilient ITU-T H.263+ video.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Inequities in Minority Engineer Education

In the light of the purported efforts by educators and university administrators to recruit, admit, finance, and educate American minority engineers, inequities in graduate engineering education continue to exist in the United States. An excuse that is often given to minority persons for the lack of special programs is that funding is not available, which is nevertheless precluded by the entrance requirements. Ironically the same schools are able to provide support for foreign nationals with state and Federal funds. Statistics show that foreign nationals comprise greater than 25% of the graduate enrollment, while American minority engineers make up less than 1% of the total. In the United States of 90,344 graduate and undergraduate engineering students in 104 schools surveyed, 131 students or 0.00145% were Puerto Rican. Puerto Rican faculty representation in the same schools is zero.
Internet-Based Distance Education Materials: Does Writing Style Matter?

How can distance educators format materials so that they maximize usability and optimize learning? Several web-writing characteristics have been identified that address these questions. “Objective” writing, most analogous to educational text, presents information without exaggerations or boasting. “Concise” and “scannable” writing omit superfluous information and support visual scanning by highlighting key features, respectively. “Combined” writing aggregates characteristics from the objective, concise, and scannable styles. Previous research suggests that, in contrast to results from the commercial domain, these writing styles do not influence memory of distance education materials. This discrepancy is possibly due to measurement differences. To address this issue, the present study employed recognition (i.e., multiple-choice) and guided recall (i.e., fill-in-the-blank) tasks in order to assess the efficacy of the writing styles in a distance education context. The results, however, confirmed the earlier...
Optimal groundwater remediation network design using selective membranes

This work deals with the optimal synthesis of groundwater remediation networks for the valorization of anionic pollutants by means of emulsion pertraction technology using hollow fiber modules (HFMs). Superstructures that incorporate all possible design alternatives are proposed. The aim of this work is to obtain a minimum cost groundwater remediation network that allows treatment of groundwater to required levels and, also, a contaminant rich solution that can be used for further processing. The optimization of the superstructure is initially formulated as a nonconvex nonlinear programming (NLP) problem. This rigorous NLP model is simplified using some assumptions to get a simplified model which is globally optimized using a Lagrangean decomposition algorithm. This globally optimal solution is used as an initialization point for optimizing the rigorous NLP problem. Three cases involving different numbers of HFMs are studied to determine a cost optimized network with an optimal number of modules.
Studies with 5-bromouracil in rodents and dogs.

SummaryThe toxicity of 5-bromouracil has been studied in mice, rats and dogs. Single lethal doses in rodents caused death with-in 12 to 24 hours. Somewhat smaller amounts when given repeatedly in d...
rOCT2 is a basolateral potential-driven carrier, not an organic cation/proton exchanger

The driving forces mediating tetraethylammonium (TEA) transport were systematically assessed in Xenopus oocytes and MDCK cells expressing organic cation transporter (OCT) 2 cloned from rat kidney (...
Loansharking in American Cities: Historical Analysis of a Marginal Enterprise

In the recent past, two distinct types of loansharking have flourished in American cities. The first, which developed in the 1870's or 1880's and probably reached its high point from 1900 to World War I, functioned with an appearance of legality. There is no evidence that these loansharks used violence for collection of debts. Rather, their effectiveness often involved persuading the borrower that the loan represented a legal obligation. Much like a modern, legal lending institution, most such lenders operated out of an office; a prospective borrower was investigated to determine whether he had a steady job; and the borrower signed complicated forms before receiving the loan. Commonly, the loan was treated as a "purchase" of the borrower's future salary. In the event that a borrower failed to meet his payments, collection was attempted by threatening to inform the employer of the debt, by harassment of various sorts, or by filing a law suit. Such loansharks, so far as can be determined, had no connection with gambling syndicates or other "organized crime" activities. They were often referred to as salary lenders. The second type of loansharking made little or no pretense of legality. Instead, the understanding between lender and borrower was that, while the borrower would be expected to repay because he had promised to do so, the sanction of violence might ultimately be used. Although such loansharks sometimes used a legal lending institution or some other legitimate business as a front, they more often met their customers in saloons, on streetcorners, in the factory, and at other informal but regular public places. These loansharks often had prior or concurrent careers in bootlegging, gambling, labor racketeering, or other "organized
The Voyager encounter with Uranus

The Voyager 2 spacecraft is targeted for an encounter with Uranus in January, 1986. In addition to a brief description of the 11 scientific investigations and the Uranian encounter geometry, the scientific capabilities of Voyager 2 are discussed for the general areas of the atmosphere, the rings, the satellites, and the magnetosphere.
Chapter 40 – The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The prevalence and increasing incidence of morbid obesity is a major health problem in developed countries, and there is an increased association of morbid obesity with sleep apnea. Bariatric surgery has been proven to be the most effective treatment for morbid obesity, and commonly performed procedures include adjustable gastric banding, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch, and sleeve gastrectomy. With the increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients undergoing bariatric surgery, patients considering bariatric surgery should be evaluated for OSA preoperatively. Many studies have demonstrated a positive impact of bariatric surgery on OSA, with dramatic improvement or complete resolution of such in most cases. Bariatric surgery may potentially be the most effective treatment for OSA in severely obese and middle-aged males. Following bariatric surgery, patients should be closely followed for OSA, and treatment options other than weight loss surgery should be considered for managing OSA in obese individuals.
An Initial Exploration of Spatial Spreading of Cascading Failure in an Electric Power System

Large blackouts typically involve the cascading outage of transmission lines. However, little is known about the overall patterns of cascading outages. This research processes and initially examines observed utility data to explore the spatial spreading of cascading failure. The utility data is combined from two different sources, one year of recorded transmission line outages and a description of the grid connections. This requires extensive work relating different descriptions of the same grid. An initial analysis of the statistics of the spreading is presented, and the potential and implications of a new statistical approach to cascade spreading is assessed.
General Principles of the Hybrid Approach in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Congenital heart disease remains the most common form of birth defect and occurs in ~1 % of all live births. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) occurs in 2–3/10,000 live births in the USA [1]. It was uniformly fatal through the 1970s until the Norwood surgical palliation was proposed in 1980 [2]. When done properly, this operation, and its Sano modification, achieves a tenuous but stable circulation as a first step in palliation for HLHS. Less traumatic neonatal palliation has since been pursued as an alternative to the Norwood operation. Gibbs et al. first described neonatal stenting of the arterial duct combined with pulmonary artery banding and atrial septectomy or septostomy as an alternative palliation for HLHS in 1993 [3]. Since that time hundreds of articles have been published describing variations on technique and outcomes from this so-called hybrid approach to HLHS.
Vascular Cells in Blood Vessel Wall Development and Disease

The vessel wall is composed of distinct cellular layers, yet communication among individual cells within and between layers results in a dynamic and versatile structure. The morphogenesis of the normal vascular wall involves a highly regulated process of cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The use of modern developmental biological and genetic approaches has markedly enriched our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these developmental events. Additionally, the application of similar approaches to study diverse vascular diseases has resulted in paradigm-shifting insights into pathogenesis. Further investigations into the biology of vascular cells in development and disease promise to have major ramifications on therapeutic strategies to combat pathologies of the vasculature.
Locomotor Hand Postures, Carpal Kinematics During Wrist Extension, and Associated Morphology in Anthropoid Primates

The biomechanics of wrist extension (or dorsiflexion) are important for understanding functional adaptation of the primate hand because extension mobility varies with habitual locomotor hand posture and facilitates certain manipulative tasks. Here, intercarpal kinematics are employed to investigate mechanisms underlying wrist extension in a sample of anthropoids representing various arboreal and terrestrial locomotor modes. Carpal kinematics are studied using computed-tomography of cadaveric forelimbs, and these data are combined with a morphometric analysis of biomechanically-informative anatomical features. The results indicate that stiff-wristed knuckle-walking chimpanzees and digitigrade baboons are characterized by low ranges of motion (ROMs) at the radiocarpal and midcarpal complexes. Palmigrade-capable monkeys have high extension ROMs at both the radiocarpus and midcarpus, while palmigrade-capable orangutans achieve wrist extension through moderate radiocarpal ROMs and high midcarpal ROMs. Morphometrics demonstrate that a more projecting dorsal ridge of the distal radius corresponds with low-to-moderate radioscaphoid mobility in the apes, but that baboons resemble palmigrade-capable monkeys in this metric. Thus, the dorsal ridge of the radius alone is not a good indicator of wrist mobility and hand posture. However, the extent of the lunate's articular arc on the dorsum of the capitate head is correlated with midcarpal mobility across taxa. These findings suggest that although a precise relationship between wrist extension ROM and morphology is difficult to define, the presence of a pronounced dorsal ridge combined with an abbreviated dorsal capitate articular arc reflects limited overall dorsiflexion with attendant constraints on the adoption of palmigrade hand postures. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Whole body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) and brain MRI baseline surveillance in TP53 germline mutation carriers: experience from the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Education and Early Detection (LEAD) clinic

Individuals with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) have a significantly increased lifetime cancer risk affecting multiple organ sites. Therefore, novel comprehensive screening approaches are necessary to improve cancer detection and survival in this population. The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic performance of whole body MRI (WB-MRI) and dedicated brain MRI screening as part of a comprehensive screening clinic called Li-Fraumeni Education and Early Detection (LEAD) at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Adult (≥21 year old) and pediatric (<21 year old) patients were referred to the LEAD clinic by healthcare providers or self-referred and screened at 6 month intervals. During the study period, 63 LFS individuals were seen in the LEAD clinic including 49 adults (11 male, 38 female) and 14 children (7 male, 7 female). Fifty-three of 63 potentially eligible individuals underwent baseline WB-MRI (41 adults and 12 children) with primary tumors detected in six patients, tumor recurrence in one patient and cancer metastases in one patient. Thirty-five of 63 patients (24 adults and 11 children) underwent baseline brain MRI with primary brain tumors detected in three individuals, also noted on subsequent WB-MRI scans. Three additional tumors were diagnosed that in retrospect review were missed on the initial scan (false negatives) and one tumor noted, but not followed up clinically, was prospectively found to be malignant. The high incidence of asymptomatic tumors identified in this initial screening (13%), supports the inclusion of WB-MRI and brain MRI in the clinical management of individuals with LFS.
The Diversity Bargain: and other dilemmas of race, admission and meritocracy

The Diversity Bargain is an incisive study of race, merit and inequality in admissions and university life at elite institutions in the United States and Britain. Based on 143 in-depth interviews w...
Tat’iana Dashkova: Telesnost’ – Ideologiia – Kinematograf: Visual’nyi kanon i sovetskaia povsednevnost’

Andrew Chapman´s review of the book Telesnost’ – Ideologiia – Kinematograf: Visual’nyi kanon i sovetskaia povsednevnost’ by Tat’iana Dashkova
Evaluating Mechanical Properties of Environmentally Friendly Leather Substitute (Eco-Leather)

Leather and pleather (plastic leather, mainly polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride PVC) are widely used materials in apparel and footwear products. According to the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA, 2009), in 2008, the US consumption of footwear was 2.2 billion pairs, among which about one third were categorized as leather products and one third as plastic/vinyl products. The chemical processes to convert raw animal hides to leather, especially tanning, cause environmental pollution and human health problems. Chromium salts are used in about 90% of global tanning production (Nair et al., 2012).
Management of Complications of Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty

Upper eyelid blepharoplasty is a commonly performed functional and aesthetic surgical procedure. As such, it is important for the eyelid surgeon to be familiar with the identification and treatment of the spectrum of potential postoperative complications inherent to the procedure. These complications range from annoying suture granulomas to vision-threatening orbital compartment syndrome. Some of these problems may be avoided with appropriate preoperative planning and experienced intraoperative decision making. Other complications are unpredictable, not preventable, and require management in a timely fashion. This chapter introduces the spectrum of postoperative complications related to upper eyelid blepharoplasty and reviews considerations for their prevention and management.
Persistence of Symptoms After Total vs Supracervical Hysterectomy in Women with Histopathological Diagnosis of Adenomyosis.

Abstract Study Objective To compare symptom persistence in women with adenomyosis based on retention or removal of the cervix at the time of hysterectomy. Design Retrospective cohort study and follow-up survey (Canadian Task Force classification xx). Setting Tertiary care academic hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Patients Women (n = 1580) who underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign indications between 2008 and 2012 at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Intervention Retrospective chart review and follow-up survey. Measurements and Main Results Among the 1580 women contacted, 762 (48%) responded to the postoperative symptom resolution survey. Of these 762 women, 623 agreed to participate in the study. Menopausal women or those who had undergone bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were excluded. Adenomyosis was identified on histopathologic evaluation of the uterus in 171 of the remaining 443 women (39%). Compared with women without adenomyosis, those with adenomyosis were older on average (mean age, 46.6 ± 6.8 years vs 45.0 ± 5.5 years; p = .009) and more likely to report that abnormal bleeding and pain led to their hysterectomy (87.7% vs 79.8%; p = .03 and 64.9% vs 51.4%; p = .009, respectively). The rates of total and supracervical hysterectomies were similar in the 2 groups. Following surgery, women with adenomyosis were less likely than those without adenomyosis to report persistent pain (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20–0.93; p = .03). Persistent bleeding was similar in the 2 groups (aOR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.49–1.93; p = .94). Among women with adenomyosis, multivariable logistic regression showed no difference in persistence of symptoms with cervical removal or retention at the time of hysterectomy. Conclusion Compared with women without adenomyosis, those with histopathologically proven adenomyosis were less likely to report persistent pain following hysterectomy. Retention of the cervix does not appear to increase the risk of symptom persistence or postprocedure patient satisfaction.
Pharmacology of Local Anesthetic Adjuvants

This chapter discusses the various adjuvants to local anesthetics, their roles, and their side effects.
SDNMA: A Software-Defined, Dynamic Network Manipulation Application to Enhance BGP Functionality

Software-defined networking (SDN) is reshaping the networking paradigm. The previous studies on SDN show that SDN implementations have advantages over traditional networks. Enhancing the existing SDN functionality to the global network level, this paper examines how utilizing the flexibility and programmability of SDN will benefit both inter-AS and intra-AS Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) functionality. This research proposes a software-defined dynamic network manipulation application (SDNMA) that provides dynamic, real-time, application-based network manipulation when peering with traditional eBGP peers. Our results show that the network-aware application can dynamically manipulate paths in SDN per BGP updates received from neighbors, converge the network if a traditional BGP peering connection is lost, limit the number of iBGP speakers inside the AS, and make application-based traffic engineering decisions based on real-time network information such as throughput, delay, and loss.
History from Below, the History of Everyday Life, and Microhistory

‘People's history’ focuses on the lives of ordinary people, with an eye to their struggles, everyday practices, beliefs, values, and mentalities. Influenced by the Annales School and cultural anthropology, but reacting against traditional social history's emphasis on social structures and serial trends, its practitioners emphasize the importance of individual agency while trying to demonstrate the complexity of lived experience, the fluidity of identity, and the subjective nature of meaning. Important types of ‘people's history’ include ‘history from below,’ Alltagsgeschichte (the ‘history of everyday life’), and ‘microhistory,’ all of which involve a dramatic reduction of historical scale, focusing on a single individual, community, or spectacular event.
A new and unusual species of Hericium (Basidiomycota: Russulales, Hericiaceae) from the Dja Biosphere Reserve, Cameroon

Tropical rainforests form the most species-rich biome on the earth. The Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR) in Cameroon is a biodiverse tropical forest characterized in part by upland monodominant stands of the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) Gilbertiodendron dewevrei and ECM Uapaca spp. scattered along river banks. This mostly primary Guineo-Congolian evergreen forest harbors natural populations of large megafauna and numerous plant and fungal species. Studies have indicated that some ECM fungal groups of the large order Russulales are abundant in certain localities in the tropics, including the DBR. However, currently, other predominantly wood-decaying families of Russulales are poorly represented in Africa. For example, only three records of the saprotrophic genus Hericium (Russulales, Hericiaceae) are known from the African continent. Here, we describe a new species of Hericium recently collected from the DBR. Morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analyses support placement of the Cameroonian collection in Hericium and its recognition as a new species within a larger H. coralloides species complex. The new species, H. bembedjaense, differs from H. coralloides in its smaller basidiospores (2.6–3.0 × 1.7–2.2 μm compared to 3.5–5.0 × 2.8–4.2 μm) and longer basidia (up to 27.0 μm compared to 15.0 μm). It differs from all other described Hericium species in the production of pleurocystidia. This is the first species of Hericiaceae known from sub-Saharan lowland tropical evergreen forests. This study highlights the need to increase fungal sampling in species-rich tropical forests such as those of the Congo Basin.
Evaluation of Cell Type Deconvolution R Packages on Single Cell RNA-seq Data

Annotating cell types is a critical step in single cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq) data analysis. Some deconvolution methods have recently emerged to enable automated cell type identification. However, comprehensive evaluations of these methods are lacking to provide practical guidelines. Moreover, it is not clear whether some deconvolution methods originally designed for analyzing other omics data are adaptable to scRNA-Seq analysis. In this study, we evaluated ten cell-type deconvolution methods publicly available as R packages. Eight of them are popular methods developed specifically for single cell research (Seurat, scmap, SingleR, CHETAH, SingleCellNet, scID, Garnett, SCINA). The other two methods are repurposed from deconvoluting DNA methylation data: Linear Constrained Projection (CP) and Robust Partial Correlations (RPC). We conducted systematic comparisons on a wide variety of public scRNA-seq datasets as well as simulation data. We assessed the accuracy through intra-dataset and inter-dataset predictions, the robustness over practical challenges such as gene filtering and high similarity among cell types, as well as the capabilities on rare and unknown cell-type detection. Overall, methods such as Seurat, SingleR, CP, RPC and SingleCellNet performed well, with Seurat being the best at annotating major cell types. Also, Seurat, SingleR and CP are more robust against down-sampling. However, Seurat does have a major drawback at predicting rare cell populations, and it is suboptimal at differentiating cell types that are highly similar to each other, while SingleR and CP are much better in these aspects.
MicroRNAs in Vascular Eye Diseases

Since the discovery of the first microRNA (miRNA) decades ago, studies of miRNA biology have expanded in many biomedical research fields, including eye research. The critical roles of miRNAs in normal development and diseases have made miRNAs useful biomarkers or molecular targets for potential therapeutics. In the eye, ocular neovascularization (NV) is a leading cause of blindness in multiple vascular eye diseases. Current anti-angiogenic therapies, such as anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment, have their limitations, indicating the need for investigating new targets. Recent studies established the roles of various miRNAs in the regulation of pathological ocular NV, suggesting miRNAs as both biomarkers and therapeutic targets in vascular eye diseases. This review summarizes the biogenesis of miRNAs, and their functions in the normal development and diseases of the eye, with a focus on clinical and experimental retinopathies in both human and animal models. Discovery of novel targets involving miRNAs in vascular eye diseases will provide insights for developing new treatments to counter ocular NV.
ECONOMICS | Meat Business and Public Policy

Policy surrounding the meat production business has proven challenging in recent years as food activism has steadily increased with each passing decade since the 1970s. Animal agriculture must continue to pursue efficiencies to satisfy consumer demand while meeting needs of a growing global population. However, such gains result in a more easily targeted industry bringing increased attention and scrutiny for all participants associated with animal agriculture and meat production. Many policy issues and challenges are relatively uncharted and potentially redefine how the industry carries out business from a strategic perspective. Regulatory reform must consider both cost competitiveness and social implications.
The effects of early diabetes on inner retinal neurons

Diabetic retinopathy is now well understood as a neurovascular disease. Significant deficits early in diabetes are found in the inner retina that consists of bipolar cells that receive inputs from rod and cone photoreceptors, ganglion cells that receive inputs from bipolar cells, and amacrine cells that modulate these connections. These functional deficits can be measured in vivo in diabetic humans and animal models using the electroretinogram (ERG) and behavioral visual testing. Early effects of diabetes on both the human and animal model ERGs are changes to the oscillatory potentials that suggest dysfunctional communication between amacrine cells and bipolar cells as well as ERG measures that suggest ganglion cell dysfunction. These are coupled with changes in contrast sensitivity that suggest inner retinal changes. Mechanistic in vitro neuronal studies have suggested that these inner retinal changes are due to decreased inhibition in the retina, potentially due to decreased gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) release, increased glutamate release, and increased excitation of retinal ganglion cells. Inner retinal deficits in dopamine levels have also been observed that can be reversed to limit inner retinal damage. Inner retinal targets present a promising new avenue for therapies for early-stage diabetic eye disease.
Supporting Children’s Healthy Development During Mealtime in Early Childhood Settings

The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of and relationship between responsive feeding practices used during early childhood education (ECE) mealtimes and high-quality teaching practices and teacher characteristics. We found variation in teachers’ use of responsive feeding practices. Teachers were more often observed using role modeling than supporting eating self-regulation. Programs that implemented family style meal service had a generally higher use of responsive feeding practices. Overall, we found positive associations between high-quality teaching practices and responsive feeding practices. Teachers’ Head Start status was associated with teaching practices and role modeling during mealtime. Teachers’ education and salary were associated with high-quality teaching practices. This study highlights the possible training needs for teachers related to responsive feeding practices and the need to expand classroom quality assessment to incorporate classroom routines. Finally, this study sheds light on the importance of building better interdisciplinary partnerships to support teachers during mealtimes and to improve ECE mealtime practices in order to help promote optimal outcomes for children in all areas of development.
Unscrambling U.S. Egg Supply Chains amid COVID-19

Abstract This article investigates how the shift from food-away-from-home and towards food-at-home at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the U.S. egg industry. We find that the pandemic increased retail and farm-gate prices for table eggs by approximately 141% and 182%, respectively. In contrast, prices for breaking stock eggs—which are primarily used in foodservice and restaurants—fell by 67%. On April 3, 2020, the FDA responded by issuing temporary exemptions from certain food safety standards for breaking stock egg producers seeking to sell into the retail table egg market. We find that this regulatory change rapidly pushed retail, farm-gate, and breaking stock prices towards their long-run pre-pandemic equilibrium dynamics. The pandemic reduced premiums for credence attributes, including cage-free, vegetarian-fed, and organic eggs, by as much as 34%. These premiums did not fully recover following the return to more “normal” price dynamics, possibly signaling that willingness-to-pay for animal welfare and environmental sustainability have fallen as consumers seek to meet basic needs during the pandemic. Finally, in spite of widespread claims of price gouging, we do not find that the pandemic (or the subsequent FDA regulatory changes) had a meaningful impact on the marketing margin for table eggs sold at grocery stores.
Reconstructing 3D City Models by Merging Ground-Based and Airborne Views

In this paper, we present a fast approach to automated generation of textured 3D city models with both high details at ground level, and complete coverage for bird’s-eye view. A close-range facade model is acquired at the ground level by driving a vehicle equipped with laser scanners and a digital camera under normal traffic conditions on public roads; a far-range Digital Surface Map (DSM), containing complementary roof and terrain shape, is created from airborne laser scans, then triangulated, and finally texture mapped with aerial imagery. The facade models are registered with respect to the DSM by using Monte-Carlo-Localization, and then merged with the DSM by removing redundant parts and filling gaps. The developed algorithms are evaluated on a data set acquired in downtown Berkeley.
Grid Forming Energy Router: A Utility Interface for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Storage Grid Integration Applications

With the increasing energy demand and stress on the conventional power grid, focus has shifted towards integrating Renewable Energy Sources (RES), with smart devices into the grid. In order to incorporate smart devices and energy efficient resources, with real-time control of energy supply and demand, Energy Routers (ER) are required. ER is an intelligent ac-dc interface for RES and grid integration, which dynamically manages the energy supply/demand and information exchange within the grid. This paper discusses the architecture and control of Grid Forming (GFM) ER proposed for Solar/Photovoltaic (PV) and Energy Storage (ES) grid integration applications. Proposed GFM control emulates the behavior of a Synchronous Machine (SM) to reduce or even eliminate the frequency deviations and grid instability issues due to low inertia of inverter based RES resulting in efficient and stable RES and grid integration.
Noninterference and Mobile Functions

In this chapter we continue our exploration of secure information flow in multi-user distributed systems. Of particular interest to us are systems in which data and users are classified such that the security class of a datum reflects its confidentiality level and the security class of a user determines which data he is authorized to observe.
Classification and mapping of spontaneous and induced mutations in the histidine operon of Salmonella.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews that over 1500 histidine-requiring mutants of independent origin have been mapped in the histidine operon of S. typhimurium. About 1,000 mutants have been characterized as type of mutation. The type of mutation has been determined for each mutant by the collective results of recombination tests, analysis of the pattern of spontaneous, N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, and acridine half-mustard induced reversion, and the presence of suppressors among revertants. It also discusses that the type of mutation is correlated with polarity in the operon, presence of immunologically detectable cross-reacting protein, complementation, and genetic map position. The spectrum of spontaneously occurring histidine-requiring mutants is compared with those found after treatment of bacteria with a number of widely used mutagens.
Neuroreplacement, growth factor, and small molecule neurotrophic approaches for treating Parkinson's disease.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the present investigative approaches aimed at providing trophic support to dopaminergic neurons. Recent advances in drug delivery technology, gene therapy, and small molecule therapeutics that may stimulate endogenous trophic factors make neurotrophic approaches an especially promising strategy to address the unmet medical needs of this devastating disorder. The chapter presents a brief description of the pathology, associated symptomatology, and the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). It discusses the present therapies and discusses specific, investigative neurotrophic, and neuro-restorative approaches. There has been a large amount of research into the mechanisms of cell death in PD, producing new and refining existing animal models of PD and evaluating methods of providing neuro-repair after nigrostriatal degeneration. Many of the earlier transplantation and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) animal studies have now progressed into the clinical setting with mixed results.
Abstract W MP49: Classifying M1/M2 Monocytes by JAK/STAT Activation After Murine Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background: The immune response following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is an important component of secondary injury that requires further study. Flow cytometry is used to quantify and phenotype recruited leukocytes after murine ICH. Current methods using density gradients have long processing times that reduce the ability to detect phosphorylation states and often yield few neutrophils. Here, we demonstrate the utility of a new method for homogenizing brains and staining for intracellular signaling proteins. This technique results in improved cell recovery and allows us to more precisely classify monocyte polarization states as either M1 pro-inflammatory or M2 anti-inflammatory. Methods: Mouse brains were digested to single-cell suspensions 1-10 days after collagenase ICH. To compare methods, brains were centrifuged on a percoll density gradient or simply homogenized on ice with phosphatase inhibitors. The latter samples were stained extracellularly, fixed with paraformaldehyde, permeabilized in methan...