cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Editorial-Smart Service Systems, Human-Centered Service Systems, and the Mission of Service Science

In an editorial that appeared in the March issue of Service Science, Alexandra Medina-Borja described potential research opportunities in the area of smart service systems, which focused mainly on automation and decision-support for complex service systems (Medina-Borja 2015). She argued that future service innovation will depend largely on effective understanding and use of data and technology to transform service systems into smart service systems, substituting information for interaction and human capabilities (see also Glushko and Nomorosa 2013), and blurring the boundaries between physical objects and the services that objects can provide (see also Normann 2001), resulting in new markets and disruptive business models (see also Ng 2014). Capturing and using data and technology in service systems to create smart service systems requires sensing human behavior, analyzing data to develop models of human behavior or models of human skill, and applying the models to support or automate the actions of service systems. In a commentary that also appeared in the March issue of Service Science, Steve Kwan, Jim Spohrer and I described some of the outcomes of a workshop we organized last year on a future research agenda for service, which focused mainly on the human-centered-ness of complex service systems (Maglio et al. 2015). We argued that innovation in service does not lie on the same trajectory as innovation in other sectors because service necessarily involves coordinated action among people and technologies, creating human-centered service systems that resist traditional optimization and automation. It was no accident that these two pieces appeared together, as both outlined consistent directions and opportunities for scientific and engineering research in service. I think that, taken together, these two pieces demonstrate the need for interdisciplinarity, for new theories and new methods. Service depends on people, human behavior, human cognition, human emotions, and human needs. Service systems are getting larger and larger, incorporating global enterprises, global industries, and world governments. Data is getting bigger and bigger, capturing both human actions and economic transactions on an almost unimaginable scale. Technology (and computational technology in particular) is getting more and more powerful, for instance, enabling the effective use of data to support and automate service interactions and service operations. In the end, service is about people working together and with technology to create mutual value. The more value created, the better the service. And yet value is a slippery thing, depending on human judgment and a thousand other factors. The fundamental scientific and engineering problems lie at the intersection of people and technology, how to create and operate large-scale service systems that are human-centered and technology-enabled, in which people and technology work as teams to create value for all involved.
Mapping the Nation: History and Cartography in Nineteenth-Century America Susan Schulten. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.

Mapping the Nation: History and Cartography in Nineteenth-Century America Susan Schulten. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.Susan Schulten's Mapping the Nation: History and Cartography in Nineteenth-Century America is a compelling work devoted to exploring the evolution of thought process pertaining to map functionality, the critical role thematic mapping played in the nation's early development, and the advancement of cartography during this time period. In elegant fashion, this book manages to take a subject often targeted at historians and cartographers, and present its content in a manner that scholars and students of various disciplines may find appealing.Upon first glance, the title and cover jacket do an effective job of alluring the reader's curiosity while hinting at the type of information one hopes to encounter in a book about maps. The pages are sufficiently strewed with a rich array of illustrations that include detailed inline citations. Unfortunately, none of the images within the text is in color, which would have been a welcome addition to the sections specifically discussing strategic implementation of color in maps. Despite this omission, the reader is provided online access to high resolution, full color images for all included illustrations via the book's accompanying website.Mapping the Nation begins with a look into when and how Americans began using maps, and includes a detailed assessment of the extent to which Americans relied on maps and geographical knowledge to form a sense of national identity. Schulten argues that the process of garnering appreciation for old maps in early nine tee nth-century America was a particularly arduous task due in large part to most Americans casting them off as an "arcane province of antiquarians" (5). However, in meticulously presenting evidence to defend her claims, Schulten demonstrates that by the persistent efforts of early American educator and cartographic pioneers, the adoption, creation, utilization, and preservation of maps began to finally take hold around the mid-nineteenth century. Of particular importance is her mentioning that during the 1850s Congress ultimately conceded the value of these resources by approving funding efforts to copy maps associated with American history. Schulte n's inclusion of this detail serves as an interesting, if not ironic, backdrop to the rest of the book as she formulates a convincing argument for the considerable information advantages maps would eventually contribute to the nation and its leaders at critical junctures.Schulten argues that the nineteenth-century proliferation of thematic maps, which are maps designed to visually identify specific correlations for the purpose of enhanced information dissemination and analysis, represents a fundamental shift in thinking during this time period. …
The Impact and Statistical Analysis of a Multifaceted Anticoagulation Strategy in Children Supported on ECMO: Performance and Pitfalls

Background:We sought to determine whether the introduction of a new anticoagulation protocol improved the frequency with which target anticoagulation parameters were met in children supported with ...
Stereospecificity of Citrate Synthetase in Relation to Glutamate Biosynthesis by Extracts of Chloropseudomonas ethylicum

The synthesis of citric and glutamic acids by extracts of Chloropseudomonas ethylicum was studied with labeled precursors. When acetyl-coenzyme A-1-14C was used as substrate, only 0.1% of the total radioactivity was found in the C-5 position of citric acid; whereas, with oxalacetate-4-14C as substrate, 100% of the total radioactivity was found in C-5. These results demonstrated that the Chloropseudomonas citrate synthetase had an absolute stereospecificity, identical to that of the pig heart synthetase. The distribution of radioactivity in the glutamic acid synthesized from acetyl-coenzyme A-1-14C was 0% in C-1 and 94.0% in C-5; whereas the glutamic acid formed from oxalacetate-4-14C contained 89.6% in C-1 and 0.5% in C-5. This distribution is entirely consistent with the biosynthesis of glutamic acid from citric acid via aconitase, ds-isocitrate, and l-glutamate dehydrogenases. The presence of l-glutamate dehydrogenase in extracts was demonstrated. The stereospecificity of the citrate synthetase and the pattern of glutamate labeling further establish that the aconitase of Chloropseudomonas is completely stereospecific.
A Probabilistic Particle Control Approach to Optimal, Robust Predictive Control

Autonomous vehicles need to be able to plan trajectories to a specified goal that avoid obstacles, and are robust to the inherent uncertainty in the problem. This uncertainty arises due to uncertain state estimation, disturbances and modeling errors. Previous solutions to the robust path planning problem solved this problem using a finite horizon optimal stochastic control approach. This approach finds the optimal path subject to chance constraints, which ensure that the probability of collision with obstacles is below a given threshold. This approach is limited to problems where all uncertain distributions are Gaussian, and typically result in highly conservative plans. In many cases, however, the Gaussian assumption is invalid; for example in the case of localization, the belief state about a vehicle’s position can consist of highly non-Gaussian, even multimodal, distributions. In this paper we present a novel method for finite horizon stochastic control of dynamic systems subject to chance constraints. The method approximates the distribution of the system state using a finite number of particles. By expressing these particles in terms of the control variables, we are able to approximate the original stochastic control problem as a deterministic one; furthermore the approximation becomes exact as the number of particles tends to infinity. For a general class of chance constrained problems with linear system dynamics, we show that the approximate problem can be solved using efficient Mixed-Integer Linear Programming techniques. We apply the new method to aircraft control in turbulence, and show simulation results that demonstrate the efficacy of the approach.
Diabetes incidence in children of different nationalities: an epidemiological approach to the pathogenesis of diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: Incidence studies of children with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and different ethnic backgrounds are known to provide important insights into the pathogenesis of the disease. For this reason, we compared the incidence rate in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, of children who were not of German descent with that of German children as well as with the reported incidence rates pertaining to the countries of origin of the children who were not of German descent.
Genetics and Gene Expression in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis: Giles F. Filley Lecture

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a disease of unknown etiology that is characterized by the proliferation of abnormal smooth muscle cells (LAM cells) in the lung, which leads to cystic parenchymal destruction and progressive respiratory failure. Recent evidence suggests that the proliferative and invasive nature of LAM cells may be due, in part, to somatic mutations in the TSC2 gene, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of tuberous sclerosis complex. Here, we describe the clinical and molecular characteristics of LAM, as well as the efforts now under way to understand the genetic and biochemical factors that lead to progressive pulmonary destruction and, ultimately, to lung transplantation or death.
Role of pilot instrument proficiency in the safety of helicopter emergency medical services.

Objectives: To determine whether instrument-proficient pilots would more safely manage a flight into unplanned instrument meteorologic conditions (IMC) than would nonproficient pilots. Methods: A controlled experimental study was performed using a full-motion helicopter simulator. Participants were emergency medical services (EMS) pilots with commercial licenses and previous simulator experience who were blinded to the study design and hypothesis. During a simulated EMS mission, cloud ceiling and visibility were decreased until IMC prevailed, and pilot actions were recorded. Data included the altitude at which the aircraft entered IMC, and whether the pilots maintained control of the aircraft, flew within aviation standards (i.e., bank angle, airspeed), and safely landed. Results: Twenty-eight pilots (13 instrument-proficient, 15 nonproficient) participated; they had a median of 6,300 hours of helicopter experience. Two pilots crashed, both from the nonproficient group. The instrument-proficient pilots lost control less often (15% vs 67%, p < 0.05), maintained instrument standards more often (77% vs 40%, p < 0.05), and entered IMC at a higher altitude (689 feet vs 517 feet, p < 0.05) compared with the nonproficient pilots. Instructor comments indicated that the nonproficient pilots made more errors than did the instrument-proficient pilots. Conclusions: Instrument-proficient pilots more safely manage an unexpected encounter with IMC. Helicopter EMS programs should strongly consider maintaining instrument proficiency to enhance safety.
The I-complex in Leishmania tarentolae is an uniquely-structured F1-ATPase

The I-complex in Leishmania tarentolae is an uniquely-structured F1-ATPase Robert E. Nelson a, Inna Aphasizheva b, Arnold M. Falick c, Martina Nebohacova b, Larry Simpson a,b,∗ a Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA b Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 6780 MacDonald Research Laboratories, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA c Howard Hughes Medical Institute Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) on cytokine production and expression of VIP receptors in thymocyte subsets

Abstract Intrathymic T cell precursors undergo a programmed sequence of developmental changes resulting in the production of mature, self-MHC restricted, single positive T lymphocytes which migrate to the periphery. The intrathymic T cell development is controlled by various factors, including cytokines and possibly neuroendocrine hormones. Our previous studies indicate that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) inhibits IL-2 and IL-4 production in thymocytes through different molecular mechanisms. Thymocytes acquire the competence to express IL-2 and IL-2R during thymic development in a maturation-dependent manner. In this study we investigate the effect of VIP on IL-2 production, and the expression of VIP-R1 and VIP-R2 mRNA in different thymocyte subsets in comparison to T cell lines. All thymocyte subsets and T cell lines tested express VIP-R2. In contrast, only single positive, CD4 + 8 − and CD4 − 8 + thymocytes express VIP-R1. VIP inhibits IL-2 production in CD4 + 8 + and single positive CD4 + 8 − and CD4 − 8 + thymocytes and in TH1 cells stimulated through the TCR. No inhibition is observed in CD3 − 4 − 8 − and single positive CD4 + 8 − and CD4 − 8 + thymocytes, or in TH1 cells stimulated by a combination of calcium ionophores and phorbol esters. These findings suggest that VIP inhibits IL-2 production through VIP-R2, and that it interferes with a TCR-connected transduction pathway. We also investigate the expression of VIP mRNA in thymocyte subsets and T cell lines, and conclude that thymocytes as well as antigen-specific T cells may function as VIP sources within the lymphoid organs.
Steady state of homozygosity and Gst for the island model

Abstract We examine homozygosity and G st for a subdivided population governed by the finite island model. Assuming an infinite allele model and strong mutation we show that the steady state distributions of G st and homozygosity have asymptotic expansions in the mutation rate. We use this observation to derive asymptotic expansions for various moments of homozygosity and to derive rigorous formulas for the mean and variance of G st . We show that G st ≈ 1 / ( 1 + 2 Nm ) , similarly to the well known formula of Wright for the infinite island model, and that the variance of G st goes to zero as mutation increases.
To E or Not To E—How Do We Tell?

Clinical disease resulting from atherosclerosis continues to cause extensive mortality and morbidity and uses an exorbitant amount of the financial resources available for health care. Atherosclerosis is a complex, multifactorial, and chronic disease influenced by a wide variety of genetic, environmental, and behavioral activities. However, it is at last widely recognized that among the known risk factors, hypercholesterolemia is one of the most important. Recent clinical trials indicate that for most individuals, and certainly for those at high risk, the lower the plasma cholesterol level, the lower the risk for subsequent development of clinical events. The mechanisms by which elevated levels of lipoproteins, chiefly the apoB containing lipoproteins such as LDL, cause an acceleration of atherogenesis are only incompletely understood. Yet there seems to be an emerging body of evidence to support the contention that the atherogenicity of LDL derives in large part from the fact that it becomes modified in one or more ways. In particular, it is widely held that the oxidative modification of LDL is intimately involved in the atherogenic process.1 Indeed, there is now considerable evidence to support the so-called oxidation hypothesis of atherosclerosis. This hypothesis suggests that oxidation of lipids and lipoproteins, such as LDL, is important, if not obligatory for the atherogenic process. This formulation has not only been of great heuristic value in guiding research into the pathophysiology of lesion development, but if correct, the corollary is that inhibition of such lipid peroxidation should ameliorate or even prevent atherosclerosis and its clinical sequelae.2 Although there is preliminary data to support a connection between enhanced lipid peroxidation and hypercholesterolemia, the lack of techniques sufficiently sensitive to reliably provide an index of lipid peroxidation in vivo has hampered efforts to study this relationship, particularly in humans. The evidence that oxidation of LDL occurs …
Lateral reachable workspace of axially symmetric mobile machining hexapod robots

Mobile machines allow for remote repair and maintenance within constrictive, hazardous, and inaccessible environments. Hexapod robots are a salient solution to mobile machines due to their maneuverability and controllable orientation. One important aspect of mobile machines is the reachable workspace of the currently loaded tooling. Generally, machining operations are restricted to planar motion operating within the lateral plane of the mobile machines. This paper introduces an analytical methodology for finding the lateral reachable workspace of an axially symmetric hexapod robots used as mobile machining systems. The closed-form solution to the lateral reachable workspace of axially symmetric hexapod robots is facilitated by the correlation of the lateral motion of a hexapod robot with an equivalent 2-RPR planar parallel mechanism. Since the solution is closed-form, it has high accuracy and reliability.
Physicians and Implicit Bias: How Doctors May Unwittingly Perpetuate Health Care Disparities

Although the medical profession strives for equal treatment of all patients, disparities in health care are prevalent. Cultural stereotypes may not be consciously endorsed, but their mere existence influences how information about an individual is processed and leads to unintended biases in decision-making, so called “implicit bias”. All of society is susceptible to these biases, including physicians. Research suggests that implicit bias may contribute to health care disparities by shaping physician behavior and producing differences in medical treatment along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender or other characteristics. We review the origins of implicit bias, cite research documenting the existence of implicit bias among physicians, and describe studies that demonstrate implicit bias in clinical decision-making. We then present the bias-reducing strategies of consciously taking patients’ perspectives and intentionally focusing on individual patients’ information apart from their social group. We conclude that the contribution of implicit bias to health care disparities could decrease if all physicians acknowledged their susceptibility to it, and deliberately practiced perspective-taking and individuation when providing patient care. We further conclude that increasing the number of African American/Black physicians could reduce the impact of implicit bias on health care disparities because they exhibit significantly less implicit race bias.
Adverse events appear to unblind clinical trials in irritable bowel syndrome

Background Clinical trial design is challenging in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) due in part to a high placebo effect. We postulated that the mere presence of an adverse event (AE) may unmask patients in clinical trials who are assigned to the active agent, and this may lead to higher reported efficacy. Methods We evaluated therapies receiving at least a Grade 1B from the American College of Gastroenterology Task Force for IBS or which passed recent phase III clinical trials. Therapies with AE data derived from less than 50 patients in each study arm were excluded. Statistically significant excess AE were identified, risk difference was calculated for each AE, and incidence of AE in the treatment arm was reported. We examined the relationship of attributable drug benefit, defined as the reciprocal of number-needed-to-treat found in literature, with various measures of AE incidence. Key Results Attributable drug benefit correlated significantly with average AE risk difference, calculated as treatment arm AE incidence minus placebo arm AE incidence (R2 = 0.70, p = 0.039), and also with highest treatment arm AE incidence (R2 = 0.70, p = 0.038) for each therapy. There were also trends toward correlation with average treatment arm AE incidence (R2 = 0.54, p = 0.096) and highest AE risk difference (R2 = 0.63, p = 0.059) for each therapy. Conclusions & Inferences Our study suggests that higher AE incidence on active therapy is associated with more beneficial patient-reported outcomes in IBS clinical trials. This raises the issue of spontaneous unblinding.
Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

Chromatographic separations with a supercritical fluid as the mobile phase were suggested more than 20 years ago. Availability of commercial hardware makes this technique more widely usable today. Many separations by this method are now carried out with supercritical carbon dioxide as the mobile phase and packed liquid-chromatography columns as the stationary phase. Although carbon dioxide has many practical advantages, including its near-ambient critical temperature and minimal interference with spectrometric detection, the use of other supercritical fluids or addition of modifiers to carbon dioxide may extend the applications of this technique. Some mixtures that are difficult to analyze by other chromatographic methods may be susceptible to separation by supercritical fluid chromatography. Mixtures that have been separated with supercritical carbon dioxide include resin acids with the empirical formula C20H30O2 and ubiquinones from bacterial cell wall extracts of Legionella pneumophila.
Maturation attenuates the effects of cGMP on contraction, [Ca2+]i and Ca2+ sensitivity in ovine basilar arteries

Abstract The present study explores the hypothesis that age-related variations in cerebrovascular responses to vasodilators reflect corresponding age-dependent differences in the mechanisms coupling changes in cytosolic cGMP to vasorelaxation. The experiments focused on cGMP's ability to decrease either [Ca2+]i or myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity, because both effects can contribute to cGMP-induced vasodilation. Use of the cGMP analog 8-pCPT-cGMP minimized problems associated with limited cell permeation or cGMP hydrolysis. In fetal basilars contracted with 10 μM serotonin, the EC30 for 8-pCPT-cGMP-induced relaxation was 6 μM. In fura-2 loaded fetal basilars, pretreatment with 6 μM 8-pCPT-cGMP significantly depressed the sensitivity of [Ca2+]i to 5HT, and also myofilament sensitivity to calcium, but only in fetal arteries. In fetal basilar arteries contracted with 120 mM potassium, the EC30 for 8-pCPT-cGMP-induced relaxation was 25 μM. In fura-2 loaded ovine arteries, pretreatment with 25 μM 8-pCPT-cGMP had no effect on the ability of graded concentrations of potassium to elevate [Ca2+]i but reduced potassium's ability to induce contraction and attenuated myofilament calcium sensitivity; these latter effects were significant only in fetal arteries. In α-toxin permeabilized preparations, 25 μM 8-pCPT-cGMP significantly depressed both basal- and agonist-stimulated myofilament calcium sensitivity, only in fetal but not in adult basilars. Together, these results demonstrate that: (1) sensitivity to cGMP is greater in fetal than adult sheep arteries independent of method of contraction; (2) cGMP can reduce [Ca2+]i but only in agonist-contracted and not in potassium-contracted arteries; (3) and cGMP attenuates myofilament calcium sensitivity regardless of method of contraction. Overall, the data demonstrate that variations in the ability of cGMP to produce vasodilatation reflect age-, artery-, and agonist-dependent differences in the combination of mechanisms mediating responses to cGMP.
Metabolic costs incurred by crayfish (Procambarus acutus) in a trace element-polluted habitat: further evidence of similar responses among diverse taxonomic groups.

Abstract Recent studies of several vertebrates and an invertebrate have shown elevated standard metabolic rate (SMR) following chronic exposure to a mixture of trace elements in a contaminated habitat. In this study, we examined whether another invertebrate, a crayfish ( Procambarus acutus ), also experienced elevated SMR in response to the same contaminants. We compared SMR of individuals inhabiting the contaminated site with SMR of individuals from uncontaminated reference sites. We also examined SMR of individuals collected from the reference areas and exposed in the laboratory for 50 days to sediment and food derived from the contaminated site. Individuals collected from the contaminated site had elevated SMR compared to individuals collected from the unpolluted areas (25.1 vs. 19.2 J g −1 day −1 ). Individuals exposed to contaminated sediment and food in the laboratory experienced elevations in SMR compared to controls after 27 days of exposure (35.2 vs. 29.4 J g −1 day −1 ), but after 50 days of exposure, metabolic rate no longer differed between treatments. Growth of contaminant-exposed individuals was lower than growth of reference animals throughout the laboratory study. Elevated SMR associated with contaminant exposure may reflect energy-demanding mechanisms required to combat deleterious effects of contaminants. Our results support the prediction that increases in energy expenditure in the contaminated habitat would negatively influence production processes, such as growth. Results from this study in conjunction with observations from other species suggest that increased SMR is a common response among several taxa to the mixture of contaminants in the study site.
Industrial considerations of solar furnaces

Abstract A solar furnace for research is compared to other furnaces above 3000°K with oxidizing or reducing environment. Lower quality reflective furnaces and heat traps are discussed for possible power generation. Plastics are considered as a material of construction for reflectors and heat traps.
Horus: a flexible group communication system

The Horus system offers flexible group communication support for distributed applications. It is extensively layered and highly reconfigurable, allowing applications to only pay for services they use, and for groups with different communication needs to coexist in a single system. The approach encourages experimentation with new communication properties and incremental extension of the system, and enables us to support a variety of application-oriented interfaces.
Scheduling High-Level Blocks for Functional Simulation

This paper presents a method for scheduling high-level blocks for functional simulation under the assumptions that circuits may be cyclic (due to element grouping), and that blocks cannot be broken down into simpler elements. The solution presented here may simulate one block many times per clock period. Obtaining a minimal schedule for a cyclic circuit is shown to be NP-complete, and two approximation algorithms are presented, along with empirical data to evaluate their effectiveness.
Beam Diagnostics and Improvements at TAMVEC

Since initial operation of the Texas A&M Variable Energy Cyclotron, several modifications have been made to improve beam quality and operating characteristics. Much of the effort has been in the area of beam diagnostics with several improvements resulting from this work. The following describes a portion of the work done and discusses some of the more important areas of improvement.
Toward Environmentally Sustainable Mobile Computing Through an Economic Framework

Amid the plethora of initiatives and research endeavors targeting the minimization of power and energy consumption of information and communication technologies, what has been largely missing is an effort to reduce the energy consumption and electronic waste generated by the rapidly growing segment of mobile computing and communication devices. Prior work with energy efficiency in mobile devices has primarily focused on the goal of maximizing battery life of these devices and not on the broader concept of environmentally sustainable mobile computing. This paper provides an overview of the concept of environmentally sustainable mobile computing and identifies reduction in manufacturing energy costs and electronic waste generated as two important outcomes that can be achieved by increasing device lifespan. Increased device lifespans, however, are possible only if the underlying market forces support such a paradigm shift. This paper develops an analytical economic framework as it applies to mobile phones by analyzing a market scenario of two firms competing under a differentiated Bertrand duopoly model. The framework and its analysis helps verify intuitions about the reasons that affect a firm's decision to offer an environmentally sustainable choice for consumers and considers the feasibility, possible benefits, and challenges in increasing device lifespan, including technical challenges. The results of this paper also provide guidance on the relative impacts of various factors involved on device lifespan such as user-experience, subsidies, and differences in underlying costs to providers.
Three-dimensional neutronics assessment of dual coolant molten salt blankets with comparison to one-dimensional results

Abstract Detailed three-dimensional (3-D) neutronics calculations have been performed for the dual coolant molten salt blanket designs. The model includes the detailed heterogeneous geometrical arrangement of the inboard (IB) and outboard (OB) blanket sectors. The total tritium breeding ratio (TBR) is ∼1.07. The 1-D calculations tend to overestimate nuclear heating in the blanket by ∼8% resulting in overestimating the plant thermal power. The approximate 1-D calculations overestimate damage and nuclear heating in the first wall (FW) and front zone of the blanket by factors of 1.3–1.7 but result in a steeper radial drop leading to significant underestimation (by up to a factor of 3) of nuclear parameters at the back. The 1-D calculations significantly underestimate radiation damage in the shield and vacuum vessel behind the blanket.
Imaging the drying of surfaces by infrared thermography

Infrared (IR) thermography was used to monitor the drying of water from both smooth and rough surfaces. An analysis using the coefficient of variance (COV) of the temperature shows the point at which surface dryout begins. The dry spots that develop on a surface lead to temperature variations across the surface. The COV reflects these variations and is a sensitive measure of the early stages of dryout. The shape of the COV profile as the surface approaches dryness depends on the roughness of the surface. For rough surfaces such as wood, the COV climbs because differences in heat transfer to the heterogeneous wood surface are accentuated. Changes in the COV are much smaller for polymer films deposited on metal surfaces but are still dependent upon surface roughness.
A Real-Time Digital Control Environment Based on MATLAB, xPC-Target Along With a Magnetic Levitation Device for Neural Network Control Law Implementation and Verification

The objective of this article is to present the development and hardware implementation of a robust control system for a custom made magnetic levitation device. This hardware in the loop (HIL) device was developed for the purpose of real time control experimentation and education. The digital controller requires a C++ complier and MATLAB, Simulink, Real Time Workshop, and xPC Target by MathWorks. The controller itself consists of a classical lead/lag compensator augmented by static (apriori trained) and dynamically trained neural network (NN) controllers. The need for a dynamically trained NN is supported by the effects of nonlinearities and time changing unmodeled dynamics as compared to an apriori trained static NN. The digital controller may be quickly reconfigured to use either NN allowing for quick comparison. The steady state error of each NN control technique will be compared and the effects of unmodeled changes to the HIL will be discussed in support of the superior performance of the dynamic NN.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Structural Integrity Assessment of Independent Type ‘C’ LNG Carriers

The objective of this paper is to present a complete procedure for strength evaluation of independent Type ‘C’ LNG carriers. This strength evaluation procedure includes two main parts, global finite element (FE) analysis mainly for hull structure evaluation and detailed FE analysis for tank and saddle supporting structures. A global FE model with three tanks including hull, tank and saddle supporting structures is used for structural analysis. Static and dynamic loads are applied to the global FE model as design load cases for the total strength assessment (TSA). FE analyses on the three tanks model have been performed and verified by the developed acceptance criteria to evaluate the safety adequacy of yielding, buckling, and fatigue of the hull and supporting structures. Additionally, a detailed FE model for a pressurized tank and its saddle supports is made, which consists of major components including tank shell, ring stiffeners, longitudinal central bulkhead, and saddle supports. An FE stress analysis of the pressurized bi-lobe tank with saddle supports considering the hull deflection effect has been carried out under internal pressure, dynamic loads due to ship motion, and thermal loads. Finally, an FE buckling analysis of the bi-lobe tank has been carried out under external pressure following gas carrier (IGC) code requirements. Meanwhile, acceptance criteria are developed for yielding and buckling strength evaluation of pressurized bi-lobe tanks according to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) Code. An independent Type ‘C’ bi-lobe LNG vessel has been utilized to implement the presented evaluation procedure. Finally, a complete procedure for evaluating the structural strength of cargo tank structures, supporting members and hull structures has been developed for an independent Type ‘C’ LNG carrier.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
What role does race play in adolescent suicidal ideation

Epidemiological data indicate that suicide rates have been decreasing among 15-19-year-olds in the United States; however, rates have been increasing among some minority groups. Research has identified numerous risk factors for adolescent suicide and suicide-related behaviors, but models testing these risk factors within different racial or ethnic groups are scarce. The current study tested a model of adolescent suicide ideation in a sample of 258 high school students, comparing the model fit across two racial groups. The model significantly fit the data for both groups indicating that the relationship between suicide exposure and current suicidal ideation is mediated by reasons for living and level of depressive symptoms. Ways in which the results improve our understanding of risk factors in diverse adolescents are discussed.
The dynamical equations governing a lubricating film consisting of a gas film overlying a liquid film

The dynamical equations governing a two-phase lubricating configuration are derived. It is assumed that a gas film overlies a liquid film, both thin enough that the lubrication approximation may be used. The analysis leads to coupled Reynolds equations governing the pressure and the relative thickness of the two films. The coupling, which is determined by continuity of tangential stress across the gas-liquid interface, is considerably simplified if the shear viscosity of the liquid greatly exceeds that of the gas.
Estimation of convective heat transfer between fluid and particle in continuous flow using a remote temperature sensor

The convective heat transfer coefficient (h fp ) between fluid and particle in continuous tube flow was estimated using a temperature pill, a remote electronic temperature sensor which uses a quartz crystal as the temperature sensing element. The temperature history of a particle (with temperature pill mounted within) was monitored as it moved through a test section. A finite element algorithm was then used to back calculate h fp from the time-temperature data. The value of h fp ranged from 134 W/m 2 K to 669 W/m 2 K (Nu=3.6 to 17.3) over a fluid generalized Reynolds number range (restricted by experimental constraints) from 19 to 196.8. As expected, h fp decreased with increasing carrier medium viscosity and increased with increasing flow rates. Even with several conservative factors at play, the lowest Nusselt number was greater than the 2.0 expected for a spherical particle in a stagnant fluid. Potential applications of the technique include noninvasive measurement of the temperature (and h fp values) of the particles moving within a fluid stream in otherwise inaccessible locations.
Participation of blood vessel cells in human adaptive immune responses

Circulating T cells contact blood vessels either when they extravasate across the walls of microvessels into inflamed tissues or when they enter into the walls of larger vessels in inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. The blood vessel wall is largely composed of three cell types: endothelial cells lining the entire vascular tree; pericytes supporting the endothelium of microvessels; and smooth muscle cells forming the bulk of large vessel walls. Each of these cell types interacts with and alters the behavior of infiltrating T cells in different ways, making these cells active participants in the processes of immune-mediated inflammation. In this review, we compare and contrast what is known about the nature of these interactions in humans.
CCN5 Is a Growth Arrest-Specific Gene That Regulates Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Motility

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) hyperplasia plays an important role in both chronic and acute vascular pathologies. Considerable work has focused on the mechanisms regulating VSMC growth and the search for agents that could suppress VSMC hyperproliferation. One of the several inhibitors studied is the glycosaminoglycan heparin, which inhibits VSMC proliferation and migration both in cell culture and in animal models (Mishra-Gorur K, Delmolino LM, Castellot Jr JJ: Biological functions of heparan sulfate and heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Trends Glycosci Glycotechnol 1998, 10:193–210). To aid our understanding of the anti-proliferative mechanism of action of heparin, we used a subtractive hybridization approach to isolate and characterize a novel growth arrest-specific ( gas ) gene induced in VSMCs exposed to heparin (Delmolino LM, Stearns NA, Castellot Jr JJ: Heparin induces a member of the CCN family which has characteristics of a growth arrest specific gene. Mol Biol Cell 1997, 8:287a and Delmolino LM, Stearns NA, Castellot Jr JJ: COP-1, a member of the CCN family, is a heparin-induced growth arrest specific gene in vascular smooth muscle cells. J Cell Physiol 2001, 188:45–55). This gene is a member of the cysteine-rich 61/connective tissue growth factor/nephroblastoma-overexpressed (CCN) family and has been given the name CCN5 . In this report, we provide functional evidence that CCN5 can inhibit VSMC proliferation, motility, and invasiveness. In contrast, adhesion and apoptosis are unaffected by CCN5 in this cell type. We also significantly extend previous data from our laboratory that suggests CCN5 is a growth arrest-specific ( gas ) gene. Furthermore, we map for the first time the cellular localization of CCN5 protein in cultured VSMCs. We also examine uninjured and balloon-injured rat carotid arteries for CCN5 expression. The results from the in vitro and in vivo localization studies show that CCN5 is temporally and spatially expressed in a manner consistent with a role in regulating proliferation, motility, and invasiveness of VSMCs.
Reinforcement Effects on Three Measures of Children's Interest in Math

The effects of contingent reward on children's interest in an academic activity (math) were investigated in a token economy analog. Three measures of interest were examined using an A-B—a design: (...
RISK AVERSION, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, AND THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATES

THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES THEORETICALLY the determination of the equilibrium difference between expected holding period yields on government debts of different maturities. The weight of recent empirical evidence strongly suggests that these yields vary directly with maturity.' The problem for theory is to explain the existence of this positive differential and to suggest how it would be affected by shifts in relevant exogenous variables. Part I develops the theory in a context of universal risk aversion. The discussion reviews some ground made familiar by the work of Tobin [1958], Arrow [1963], Bierwag and Grove [1965], and Sharpe [1965], but stresses the importance, which has usually been overlooked, of assuming risky investment to be a normal good. This assumption is crucial to the unambiguous specification of individual demand functions and is requisite for sensible market equilibrium conditions. Part II considers nonuniversal risk aversion. Financial intermediaries (FIs), viewed as an institutional manifestation of risk indifferent investors, explicitly enter the model. This extension of the formal model represents a novel departure. Among other things, the analysis shows that, contrary to previous analyses, universal risk aversion is not necessary to explain observed yield differentials, and consequently is not implied by these differentials. FIs reduce these differentials, but, even abstracting from transactions costs, and even if they expand to a competitive equilibrium, they cannot eliminate these differentials. In addition, the analysis shows how government insurance of FI liabilities contributes to the shrinkage of these differentials.
Concentration dependence of the distribution coefficient for macromolecules in porous media

Partitioning of macromolecules between pore and bulk solutions directly affects both equilibrium and transport processes such as exclusion chromatography and movement of solutes through porous media. Because of interactions between macromolecules and the pore wall, the variation of the macromolecule activity with concentration is different inside the pore than in bulk solution. This difference causes a concentration dependence of the distribution coefficient, as reported in experiments involving exclusion chromatography. In order to explain this effect, we develop a model for a concentration-dependent distribution which explicitly accounts for a coupling between pore–macromolecule and macromolecule–macromolecule interactions. Predictions using this model are reported for the case of rigid spherical macromolecules in both cylindrical and slit pores, including both steric (hard sphere–hard wall) and long-range (screened electrostatic) interactions. An important result is the existence of a general correlation between the first order concentration effect and measurable properties of the macromolecule and porous medium.
Dynamic Response of Vertically Loaded Nonlinear Pile Foundations

Nonlinear conditions are implemented in the time domain formulation for the dynamic response of pile foundations previously developed by the writers. Both single and group piles subjected to vertical dynamic load are considered. In the present study, the nonlinear effects in the vertical response are assumed to result from slippage of the pile from the soil. In order to demonstrate the capability of the present formulations and to see the effects of nonlinearity on the dynamic response of pile foundations, pile foundation responses are computed for both harmonic and transient load. Various interesting observations are made based upon the computed results.
Using hyperspectral plant signatures for CO2 leak detection during the 2008 ZERT CO2 sequestration field experiment in Bozeman, Montana

Hyperspectral plant signatures can be used as a short-term, as well as long-term (100-year timescale) monitoring technique to verify that CO2 sequestration fields have not been compromised. An influx of CO2 gas into the soil can stress vegetation, which causes changes in the visible to near-infrared reflectance spectral signature of the vegetation. For 29 days, beginning on July 9, 2008, pure carbon dioxide gas was released through a 100-m long horizontal injection well, at a flow rate of 300 kg day−1. Spectral signatures were recorded almost daily from an unmown patch of plants over the injection with a “FieldSpec Pro” spectrometer by Analytical Spectral Devices, Inc. Measurements were taken both inside and outside of the CO2 leak zone to normalize observations for other environmental factors affecting the plants. Four to five days after the injection began, stress was observed in the spectral signatures of plants within 1 m of the well. After approximately 10 days, moderate to high amounts of stress were measured out to 2.5 m from the well. This spatial distribution corresponded to areas of high CO2 flux from the injection. Airborne hyperspectral imagery, acquired by Resonon, Inc. of Bozeman, MT using their hyperspectral camera, also showed the same pattern of plant stress. Spectral signatures of the plants were also compared to the CO2 concentrations in the soil, which indicated that the lower limit of soil CO2 needed to stress vegetation is between 4 and 8% by volume.
Influence of livestock grazing on the capybara’s trophic niche and forage preferences

Trophic niche parameters and forage preferences of capybaraHydrochaeris hydrochaeris Linnaeus, 1766 were studied at three areas of east-central Argentina: Lower Delta Islands (LDI), only capybara present; Puerto Constanza (PC), capybara and cattle, and Villaguay (VI), capybara, cattle and sheep. Significant correlation was found in the annual botanical composition of capybara faeces at LDI and PC, but no correlation was found between faecal composition at these two areas and those at VI. The narrowest trophic niche corresponded to LDI, while the widest corresponded to VI, with significant differences in the values among the three areas. Capybara consumedCarex riparia, Cynodon dactylon andPanicum grumosum in LDI, andP. milioides in VI in proportion greater than availability. Three and eight food items were consumed less than availability in VI and PC, respectively. The greater the species number and density of livestock animals, the more generalist the behavior of capybara, possibly due to direct interaction in the use of grazing resources. Changes in availability of foraging species may influence the capybara’s preference patterns and the consumption of suboptimal feeding items may indicate a greater pressure on foraging resources in the areas where capybaras share their habitat with livestock.