cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A New Fast Simulation Scheme for Long-term Small Disturbance Voltage Stability Analysis

In this paper, a novel numerical scheme is developed for long-term small disturbance voltage stability analysis. The new approach optimally adjusts the load to estimate the maximum allowed load for the system accurately and efficiently. The scheme can be easily integrated with existing methods to solve differential problems, such as the well-known Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (RKF) method, and can also be extended to the whole family of Runge-Kutta methods. With this new method, both the computation efficiency and accuracy of loadability margin estimate are significantly improved. Numerical tests have demonstrated the validity of our new technique and its great potential for industry applications
A robust approach for analyzing a heterogeneous structural ensemble

Intrinsically unstructured proteins (IUP) are widespread in eukaryotes and participate in numerous cellular processes, but a structural explanation of the mechanisms they use to recognize and bind their diverse targets has proved elusive. Transcriptional activator domains are one class of IUP that function by recruiting other factors into basal transcription complexes. Transcriptional activator domains are known to use electrostatic interactions for recognition, but it is unclear how this could be accomplished by a structurally heterogeneous ensemble. To investigate this question, we performed principal component analysis on the atomic contact maps of an experimentally restrained ensemble of the human p53 transcriptional activator domain. This analysis revealed that the ensemble is conspicuously nonrandom and permitted a straightforward identification of persistent structural features and their relative probabilities. It was observed that six predominant long-range contacts are combinatorially arranged in 13 clusters of structures. Potential surfaces of the aligned clusters showed that these contacts uniformly organize the negative charges of the highly acidic p53 transcriptional activator domain on one face of the clusters. This observation provides a structural basis for the recruitment of other factors into basal transcription complexes and further supports the hypothesis that the structural ensembles of IUPs are not random and instead have evolved under selection to maintain specific structural features. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Simulating communication during multiple AUV operations

Communication between multiple autonomous underwater vehicles is challenging and best addressed by considering it as a networking problem. Treating the vehicles as the nodes of an ad hoc network consolidates much of the complexity of the communication system in the network's routing protocol. We discuss the many issues associated with the development of routing protocols and consider some existing protocols. The number and duration of in situ trials necessary during the development, testing, evaluation and refinement of these protocols makes a simulation tool invaluable. The requirements of such a simulator are compared with the capabilities of several existing simulators. We propose the design for a new simulator and discuss its implementation.
The Ideological Determinants of Liberal Economic Reform: The Case of Privatization

OLLOWING the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, one of the first priorities of the reform governments was to transform the system of ownership. The new governments overwhelm- ingly chose to pursue a broad program of sweeping privatization, trans- ferring the bulk of state property to the private sector. Given that most property was controlled and owned by the state and that there was no historical precedent for privatization on an economy-wide scale, policy- makers had to design from scratch a program to transfer the wealth of the state to private hands. With few exceptions, East European priva- tization officials appointed to this task concluded that it would be too slow and unwieldy to rely on the piecemeal sale of enterprises to pri- vate investors, as was typical in West European privatization. More commonly, they developed programs to transfer the ownership of state enterprises to private individuals and groups through mass distribution programs, to be followed by or supplemented with piecemeal sales. As one can imagine, these policymakers and technocrats could de- sign the mass privatization program in ways that held different distri- butional consequences for society, such that some groups would benefit more than others, for example, citizens over foreigners, one former elite group over another, managers over labor, and so on. In the Czech Re- public the government designed a mass privatization program in which there were no special privileges for any particular groups in society. * The author wishes to express her gratitude for the helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts from Andrew Barnes, Thomas Callaghy, Margaret Hanson, Meredith El Nems, Steven Fish, Denise Powers, and Peter Rutland. In addition, the author wishes to acknowledge the Woodrow Wil- son Center and the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies for their generous support. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the institutions or individuals acknowledged above. Responsibility for any errors is assumed entirely by the author.
Adaptable coded excitation for elasticity imaging

Previously, we found that coded excitation significantly lowers decorrelation errors for strain estimation under several conditions, particularly those involving low echo signal-to-noise ratios (eSNR). To expand the utility of coded excitation to a broader range of experimental conditions, we examined two types of phase modulated (PM) codes - optimal and m-sequence - and two types of receive processing - matched filter and inverse filter. Strain imaging quality is evaluated using a displacement SNR (SNR/sub d/), local modulation transfer function (LMTF) and contrast-to-noise ratio for strain (CNR/sub strain/). The performances of optimal and m-sequence codes with matched and inverse filters were compared using simulations and phantom measurements. A combination of optimal codes and inverse filter receivers was found to lower strain image noise significantly without reducing lesion contrast or spatial resolution.
Transfer of College Developmental Reading Students' Textmarking Strategies:

In this study transfer of textmarking strategy use was examined. Four college developmental reading students were asked to use textmarking strategies in their introductory biology course, but not in any other content course in which they were concurrently enrolled. However, at the semester's end, participants produced any textbooks in which they had marked for analysis of spontaneous textmarking. Results revealed that: (a) participants exhibited strong resistance to annotation, had difficulty distinguishing important from trivial information, and organizing and paraphrasing information; (b) participants cited existing knowledge of content material and test expectations as major reasons for textmarking adjustment; (c) participants' statements of textmarking utility were generally consistent with strategy use; and (d) participants gave similar reasons for lack of textmarking transfer. Implications for developmental reading programs based on a strategic learning approach are indicated. Findings support strategy training through direct explanation, including training in specific strategy components and text structure awareness, and integrated strategy instruction in which study strategies instructors are paired with content area specialists.
Isolation and identification of spirochetes obtained from unexposed canals of pulp-involved teeth

Abstract Microscopic examination of specimens obtained from unexposed canals of pulp-involved teeth exhibited the presence of spirochetes in twenty-one specimens out of thirty-eight samples. Subsequent cultivation of this material resulted in the isolation and pure cultivation of ten strains of the small type of treponemes. In addition, four mixed cultures containing small treponemes were obtained in enrichment tubes. Of the ten pure isolates of the small treponemes obtained in this study, two were definite gas producers. B. vincentii and B. buccale were not observed, either microscopically or culturally, in these specimens. In addition to the small treponemes, one strain of Spirillum sputigenum (Selenomonas) was isolated in pure culture and other strains were observed in enrichment tubes in mixed culture.
Generating Uniform Incremental Grids on SO(3) Using the Hopf Fibration

The problem of generating uniform deterministic samples over the rotation group, SO(3), is fundamental to computational biology, chemistry, physics, and numerous branches of computer science. We present the best-known method to date for constructing incremental, deterministic grids on SO(3); it provides: (1) the lowest metric distortion for grid neighbor edges, (2) optimal dispersion-reduction with each additional sample, (3) explicit neighborhood structure, and (4) equivolumetric partition of SO(3) by the grid cells. We also demonstrate the use of the sequence on motion planning problems.
Prayer in primitive religion

The aim of this paper is to examine the several aspects of prayer in primitive, i.e. nonliterate religions. The contention is that prayer does in fact exist among primitive people in their religious practices and that prayer does have a functional aspect in primitive religion. The extent to which a Supreme Being, gods, spirits, religion and prayer exist in preliterate society is, by and large, a matter of definition. With the full appreciation of the pitfalls inherent in any attempt to define religion and prayer, but with the firm conviction that to be understood scientifically religion and prayer must be defined in a broad way, and that each writer has the right to define the terms used in his writing, as long as he remains consistent, the definition of prayer in primitive religion is as follows: Prayer is man's words to God, or gods, or other supernatural beings, as expressed in terms of his entering into a relationship with such Being or beings. Thus it follows that the title of this paper could very well have been: 'Words to the Supernatural in Primitive Society'. Some writers claim that many primitive peoples have no notion what soever of praying to God or the gods or making any type of an appeal to the supernatural. Closer examination, however, nearly always proves that the people do at times call upon the unseen for assistance, or to be present at a feast or to join in a hunting party. Driver (I963) in a report concerning the Chichimecs, a very primitive nomadic band in Mexico, writes: They have little or no interest in religion, no idols, no altars, no sacrifices, no prayers, no fasting, no letting of blood from tongue or ears... In considering this report, one wonders, in view of the 'religious criteria' cited by Driver, whether (i) he has a realistic conception of 'religion', or (2) as is often reported by other ethnographers, the group may have carried out its religious activities in secret, or (3) he only observed his subjects in 'good times' cf. the Baganda. Even such societies as the Tierra Del Fuegians of Chile and Argentina and some Western Pacific Islanders, who compete with each other for the lowest position on the totem pole of cultural achievement, have a form of religion and have prayers as a part of their religion. In fact, religion does appear to be inherent in all cultures.
On loops covered by subloops

Abstract The topic of this paper is the investigation of coverings of a loop by subloops. A loop has a covering by subloops if it is the set-theoretic union of proper subloops. If the set of subloops is finite, the covering is called finite. Coverings of groups by subgroups have been widely investigated and key results are detailed in the introduction. Various analogues for loops of the results for groups are obtained. An example of an infinite loop which is the union of three proper commutative subloops, but has no finite homomorphic images and has a trivial center, shows that the results for loops cannot be as general as for groups, justifying additional assumptions on the loops or the coverings.
Current Management in a Hybrid Fuel Cell Power System: A Model-Predictive Control Approach

The problem of oxygen starvation in fuel cells coupled with air compressor saturation limits, is addressed in this paper. We propose using a hybrid configuration, in which a bank of ultracapacitors supplements the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell during fast current transients. Our objective is to avoid fuel cell oxygen starvation, prevent air compressor surge and choke, and simultaneously match an arbitrary level of current demand. We formulate the distribution of current demand between the fuel cell and the bank of ultracapacitors in a model predictive control framework, which can handle multiple constraints of the hybrid system. Simulation results show that reactant deficit during sudden increase in stack current is reduced from 50% in stand-alone architecture to less than 1% in the hybrid configuration. In addition, the explicit constraint handling capability of the current management scheme prevents compressor surge and choke and maintains the state-of-charge of the ultracapacitor within feasible bounds
A wireless sensor node for condition monitoring powered by a vibration energy harvester

A complete wireless sensor node transceiver with 85.5 µW measured average power consumption is presented. The sensor node implements an asynchronous beacon-detection based duty cycle control architecture to reduce power consumption and avoid the need for timing synchronization between nodes, a common issue in sensor nodes. The transceiver includes a duty-cycle timing control block to minimize power consumption; an LO-less, TDMA-capable, addressable beacon receiver; an FDMA-capable transmitter; and a low-power, universal sensor interface. The proposed sensor node, implemented in 130 nm RF CMOS technology, achieves low power consumption and a high degree of flexibility without requiring calibration or the use of BAW or SAW filters. The sensor node is experimentally demonstrated to operate autonomously from the power provided by a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester with dimensions of 27 × 23 × 6.5 mm3 excited by 4.5 m/s2 acceleration at 40.8 Hz.
Good Ol' Boys, Mean Girls, and Tyrants: A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences and Survival Strategies of Bullied Women Adult Educators.

Bullying in higher education is an increasingly common phenomenon that negatively affects organizational climate, completed work’s quality and quantity, and students’ educational experiences. The p...
Extension of the Castle–Wright Effective Factor Estimator to Sex Linkage and Haplodiploidy

The Castle-Wright effective factor estimator gives a minimum estimate of the number of genes underlying complex traits. Because the Castle-Wright estimator does not rely on genetic markers, it is especially useful in genetically undeveloped species. In this article I describe two extensions of this estimator. The first corrects the estimator in heterogametic (XY) species with a partially sex-linked trait. In this case the traditional estimator underestimates gene number in F2 males and overestimates it in F2 females and backcross females and males. The second extension adapts the Castle-Wright equation to haplodiploid species.
Image sequence compression by iconic indexing

A method that facilitates the rapid retrieval of a given image sequence from a large database is presented. The authors exploit the fact that much of the information stored is redundant. They extend the two-dimensional string methodology to image sequences. This permits queries on the relative positions of objects within video sequences, including changes in position over time. >
Heads or tails: L1 insertion-associated 5' homopolymeric sequences

L1s are one of the most successful autonomous mobile elements in primate genomes. These elements comprise as much as 17% of primate genomes with the majority of insertions occurring via target primed reverse transcription (TPRT). Twin priming, a variant of TPRT, can result in unusual DNA sequence architecture. These insertions appear to be inverted, truncated L1s flanked by target site duplications. We report on loci with sequence architecture consistent with variants of the twin priming mechanism and introduce dual priming, a mechanism that could generate similar sequence characteristics. These insertions take the form of truncated L1s with hallmarks of classical TPRT insertions but having a poly(T) simple repeat at the 5' end of the insertion. We identified loci using computational analyses of the human, chimpanzee, orangutan, rhesus macaque and marmoset genomes. Insertion site characteristics for all putative loci were experimentally verified. The 39 loci that passed our computational and experimental screens probably represent inversion-deletion events which resulted in a 5' inverted poly(A) tail. Based on our observations of these loci and their local sequence properties, we conclude that they most probably represent twin priming events with unusually short non-inverted portions. We postulate that dual priming could, theoretically, produce the same patterns. The resulting homopolymeric stretches associated with these insertion events may promote genomic instability and create potential target sites for future retrotransposition events.
Structure-Function Analysis of 2-Keto-3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galactonononate-9-phosphate Phosphatase Defines Specificity Elements in Type C0 Haloalkanoate Dehalogenase Family Members

The phosphotransferases of the haloalkanoate dehalogenase superfamily (HADSF) act upon a wide range of metabolites in all eukaryotes and prokaryotes and thus constitute a significant force in cell function. The challenge posed for biochemical function assignment of HADSF members is the identification of the structural determinants that target a specific metabolite. The "8KDOP" subfamily of the HADSF is defined by the known structure and catalytic activity of 2-keto-3-deoxy-8-phospho-d-manno-octulosonic acid (KDO-8-P) phosphatase. Homologues of this enzyme have been uniformly annotated as KDO-8-P phosphatase. One such gene, BT1713, from the Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron genome was recently found to encode the enzyme 2-keto-3-deoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-9-phosphonononic acid (KDN-9-P) phosphatase in the biosynthetic pathway of the 9-carbon alpha-keto acid, 2-keto-3-deoxy-d-glycero-d-galactonononic acid (KDN). To find the structural elements that provide substrate-specific interactions and to allow identification of genomic sequence markers, the x-ray crystal structures of BT1713 liganded to the cofactor Mg(2+)and complexed with tungstate or VO(3)(-)/Neu5Ac were determined to 1.1, 1.85, and 1.63 A resolution, respectively. The structures define the active site to be at the subunit interface and, as confirmed by steady-state kinetics and site-directed mutagenesis, reveal Arg-64(*), Lys-67(*), and Glu-56 to be the key residues involved in sugar binding that are essential for BT1713 catalytic function. Bioinformatic analyses of the differentially conserved residues between BT1713 and KDO-8-P phosphatase homologues guided by the knowledge of the structure-based specificity determinants define Glu-56 and Lys-67(*) to be the key residues that can be used in future annotations.
Immobilization of Arthrobacter simplex in a thermally reversible hydrogel: Effect of temperature cycling on steroid conversion

Arthrobacter simplex cells, which convert the steroid hydrocortisone to prednisolone, have been entrapped in a thermally reversible hydrogel. Such hydrogels exhibit a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) wherein the gel shrinks and deswells when it is warmed through its LCST, and then reversibly expands and reswells when it is cooled below the LCST. The immobilized cell-hydrogel system has been thermally cycled between two temperatures, each below the LCST. The upper temperature was selected to be just below the LCST, where the gel deswells but does not collapse, as it does at the LCST. The thermal cycling acts like a “hydraulic pump” which enhances mass transfer of the substrate (hydrocortisone) in and the product (prednisolone) out of the gel, thereby increasing steroid conversion dramatically relative to isothermal operation at either the upper or lower temperature. The increased conversion can also be due in part to reduced product inhibition. Mass transfer resistance and product inhibition are among the most serious problems in immobilized biocatalyst technology and thermal cycling of LCST hydrogels is both a novel and useful approach to minimizing these problems.
Band structure, evanescent states, and transport in spin tunnel junctions

First-principles based electronic structure calculations provide important insight into spin-dependent transport in tunnelling junctions with magnetic electrodes. They have shown that Bloch electrons are qualitatively different from free electrons in determining the tunnelling probability and magnetoresistance of tunnelling junctions, and that tunnelling wavefunctions within the barrier region are usually different from those modelled by a simple barrier potential. Several factors are important in determining the tunnelling current and magnetoresistance of a tunnelling junction. These include the symmetry of the Bloch wavefunctions, the presence or absence of interface resonance states, the nature of the chemical bond between the electrode atoms and the atoms in the barrier layer, and the complex bands (evanescent states) within the barrier layer.
Neutron Radioscopic Measurement of Water Adsorption Coefficients in Aerogels

Abstract In this work, neutron radioscopy was utilized to investigate water vapor uptake by a hydrophilic silica aerogel. Aerogel is an unusual porous material, produced by a sol-gel process that results in a solid material with a unique microstructure composed of nanometer-size particles and pores. Aerogels have an extraordinarily large internal surface area which is accessible via open pores, making them candidates for filters and gas adsorption media. The water vapor deposition was modeled both analytically and computationally, and an estimate for adsorption coefficients for water vapor in aerogel yielded 1.08 × 10-3 ± 2.58 × 10-4 cm2/s. Initial tests to measure water vapor uptake from moist air were very successful. Dry air was bubbled through water and then flowed past an aerogel. The aerogel was shown to uptake the water vapor readily from moist air. After uptake, the aerogel dried out rapidly in dry air. This phenomenon was repeatable, indicating that the aerogel could be reused with little change ...
SOA Contributions to a Quality Software Product

This paper discusses the contributions of software quality assurance (SQA) to the overall software product development effort. It describes the relationship of software quality assurance to project management and the software life cycle. SQA contributions are categorized into eight major software assurance activities. The impact of software quality assurance on the management equation of cost, schedule, and performance is emphasized. This paper responds to a challenge issued during the 1983 RAMS Software Reliability Progress session.
Characterization of Chemotactic Responses and Flagella of Hyphomicrobium Strain W1-1B

Motile swarmer cells of Hyphomicrobium strain W1-1B displayed positive chemotactic responses toward methylamine, dimethylamine, and trimethylamine but did not display significant chemotactic responses towards methanol and arginine. Electron micrographs of negatively stained intact flagellar filaments indicated a novel striated surface pattern. The flagella were composed of two proteins of 39 and 41 kDa. Neither protein was a glycoprotein as determined by Schiff’s staining and by enzyme immunoassay. Protein fingerprints visualized from silver-stained polyacrylamide gels and Western blots of protease-digested samples indicated that the two proteins were similar but not identical. Monoclonal antibodies prepared to the complex flagella of Rhizobium meliloti cross-reacted with the striated flagella of Hyphomicrobium strain W1-1B; however, these antibodies did not cross-react with smooth-surface flagella. These results suggest that complex and striated flagella possess homologous epitope regions.
Outsourcing: A Strategic Partnership

Outsourcing, an established practice in the business world and for selected library functions, is now being used increasingly for routine copy cataloging. When done well, it is a strategic partnership involving the library, materials vendor, bibliographic utility, and local system vendor. All partners contribute to and benefit from the relationship, which leverages the strength of each participant for the benefit of all. The library serves as lead partner, with responsibility for creating the partnership and for ensuring that all parties comply with the terms to which they have agreed. Ongoing evaluation by the library and modification as needed to enhance the effectiveness of the partnership will assure its long term viability.
On the Computation of the Number of Elements in Combinations of Sets

(1967). On the Computation of the Number of Elements in Combinations of Sets. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 74, No. 5, pp. 513-522.
Lack of interaction of hyperpnoea with methacholine and histamine in asthma

1. The thermal precipitants of asthma (exercise and hyperventilation) appear to have a unique pathogenesis that does not alter bronchial responsiveness. In the present work, we tested whether hyperpnoea interacts with other constrictor stimuli.2. To provide data on this issue, we exposed 17 subjects with asthma to isocapnic hyperventilation of frigid air (HV), methacholine (METH) and histamine (HIS) alone and in combination.3. With HV (mean ventilation=55.6+/-7.7 litres/min), METH (2.20+/-0.7 mmol/l) and HIS (10.35+/-5.04 mmol/l) alone, the decrements in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) from baseline were 27.4+/-3.4, 27.4+/-3.8 and 32.4+/-3% respectively (n=9). Giving the agonists simultaneously did not produce additive effects (Delta FEV1 HV+METH=32.8+/-3.6%; HV+HIS=28.7+/-5.1%). None of the individual or combined responses was significantly different from each other. Changing the sequence of the experiments and giving METH at the height of the HV-induced bronchial narrowing, instead of during hyperpnoea, did not alter the findings (n=8). The maximum fall in FEV1 after both bronchoconstrictors in this experiment (Delta FEV1=32.3+/-4.3%) was not significantly different from either alone (HV=22.8+/-1.0%; METH=27.3+/-1.9%). When METH and HIS were administered together, however (n=5), a positive interaction ensued (METH=1.53+/-0.56 mmol/l, Delta FEV1=15.6+/-4.6%; HIS=4.77+/-2.07 mmol/l, Delta FEV1=18. 8+/-3.1%; METH+HIS Delta FEV1=33.4+/-5.2%; P<0.001 compared with the individual effects).4. These results indicate that HV does not interact with stimuli that directly or indirectly modulate airway calibre. It is unclear if this effect represents protection conferred from increased bronchial blood flow or derives from differences in effector mechanisms between the thermal and pharmacological agonists.
Effect of Long-Term Changes in Sympathetic Nervous Activity on the Beta-Adrenergic Receptor-Adenylate Cyclase Complex of Rat Pineal Gland

The effect of sympathetic input on beta -adrenergic receptors and adenylate cyclase activity of rat pineal gland was determined by surgically, chemically, or physiologically reducing the sympathetic input to the gland. Bilaterally decentralizing the superior cervical ganglia of blinded rats increased the density of beta -adrenergic receptors as measured by the binding of [ 3 H]dihydroalprenolol, but did not change the affinity of the receptors for the ligand. The increased density of receptors following ganglionic decentralization was accompanied by an increase in norepinephrine-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity. An increase in the density of pineal gland beta -adrenergic receptors was also observed in rats that were chemically sympathectomized by administration of guanethidine or reserpine. In pineal glands isolated from rats treated with guanethidine as neonates, the accumulation of cyclic AMP in response to norepinephrine was greater than that found in glands from rats treated with 0.9% NaCl solution. Similarly, in pineal glands of rats treated with repeated doses of reserpine, there was an increase in norepinephrinesensitive adenylate cyclase activity as compared with that found in the glands from 0.9% NaCl-treated control animals. Maintaining rats in constant light, which physiologically reduces the sympathetic input to the pineal gland, also caused an increased density of beta -receptors in this gland. These experiments support the hypothesis that the increased responsiveness of catecholamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase seen in adrenergically innervated tissue following reduced sympathetic input is due to an increased density of beta -adrenergic receptors.
The dual complex of \({\overline{M}_{0,n}}\) via phylogenetics

The moduli space \({\overline{M}_{0,n}}\) of stable rational n-pointed curves has divisorial boundary with simple normal crossings. In this brief note I observe that the dual complex is a flag complex; that is, a collection of boundary divisors has nonempty intersection if and only if the pairwise intersections are nonempty. Rather than proving this directly, I translate the statement to a setting in phylogenetics, where it is widely used and multiple explicit proofs have been written. It appears that this result is known by experts but lacks a detailed reference in the literature, except recently for n = 7.
Weak Records of Geometric Distribution

SummaryUpper weak record values from a sequence of independent identically distributed random variables are considered. Several distributional properties of the upper weak records from geometric distribution are presented. Based on these distributional properties some characterizations of the geometric distribution are given.
Laboratory Automation's Bold Steps: Planning the Project and Selecting the Vendor

Healthcare reform has changed the manner of delivery of health services forever. One of the areas of greatest impact has been in clinical laboratory services. While the cost of health care overall ...
Black Women and the Criminal Justice System: The Politics of Processing Sexual Assault Cases

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), 3.7% of reported sexual assault instances are tried in court and only 2% result in a conviction. Despite evidence that most victims of sexual assault are children, multi-racial women, and black women, the majority of cases that are tried are those where the victims were white women. This paper will examine cases where black women are the victims in order to understand why these instances do not result in convictions. Our argument is that socioeconomic factors may make it more difficult for black women to navigate the process. We will explore this by analyzing each phase of the process to identify complexities in the system that may prevent these cases from concluding in court. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the experiences of black women in the criminal justice system and recommend procedural reforms that will result in an increase in reports and convictions.
Urban land cover decreases the occurrence of a wetland endemic mammal and its associated vegetation

Urbanization and other land cover changes have been particularly detrimental to wetlands throughout the planet. One wetland specialist that may be sensitive to land cover changes surrounding wetlands is the round-tailed muskrat (Neofiber alleni; hereafter RTM). The RTM is a wetland obligate rodent that appears to have declined over the last half century and is a species of concern in Florida, where it is a near endemic. To determine if urbanization or other land cover influenced the distribution of RTMs we took a multi-scaled approach to examine the occurrence of RTMs and their associated vegetation in North-Central Florida. We detected RTMs on 19 of 72 sample plots and used a Classification And Regression Tree (CART) to determine that dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) was negatively associated with RTMs and maidencane (Panicum hemitomon) was positively associated with their occurrence on sampling plots. Examining the influence of landscape composition for 2 km surrounding our plots we found that RTM occurrence was negatively related to urban land cover. Further, we found that dogfennel increased and maidencane decreased as urbanization increased in the surrounding landscape. Our research suggests that conservation of RTMs and their associated vegetation should focus on limiting urban sprawl at least within 2 km of wetlands.
Data-at-rest security for spark

Apache Spark enables fast computations and greatly accelerates analytics applications by efficiently utilizing the main memory and caching data for later use. At its core Apache Spark uses data structures called RDDs (Resilient Distributed Datasets) to give a unified view to the distributed data. However, the data represented in the RDDs remain unencrypted which can result in leakage of confidential data produced or processed by applications. Apache Spark persists (unencrypted) RDDs to the disk storage under various circumstances including but not limited to caching, RDD checkpointing and data spill during the data shuffling operations, etc. This lack of security makes Apache Spark unsuitable for processing of sensitive information that should be secured at all times. Moreover, RDDs stored in the main memory are prone to main-memory attacks such as RAM-scrapping. In this paper, we propose and develop solutions to fill-up such security lapses in the current Apache Spark framework. We present three different approaches to incorporate security in the Apache Spark framework. These approaches are designed to limit the exposure of unencrypted data during data processing, caching and data spill to disk. We use combination of cryptographic splitting and encryption to secure data stored and spilled by Apache Spark, both to the disk as well as to the main memory. Our approaches provide strong security by incorporating combination of Information Dispersal Algorithm (IDA) and Shamir's Perfect Secret Sharing (PSS). Extensive experimentation show that with appropriately chosen parameters our security approaches provide high security at a performance penalty between 10%–25%.
"We Keep the Education Goin' at Home All the Time": Family Literacy in Low-Income African American Families of Preschoolers.

ABSTRACTResearchers have examined the impact of family on child literacy among low-income African American families and preschoolers considered to be at risk for not being ready for kindergarten. Quantitative studies identify family-parental variables associated with poorer literacy outcomes, whereas qualitative studies detail family practices that promote child literacy development. Addressing the limitations of social address variables in quantitative research, and the paucity of research on preschoolers in qualitative research, this study examines the home-based literacy practices of 20 low-income, African American families with preschoolers in Head Start transitioning to kindergarten. Using qualitative interviews informed by a resilience framework, we found that home-based literacy activities were carried out within teams of diverse kin who worked together to promote children's school readiness. Family literacy teams expanded the literacy resources available to preschoolers, providing a rich literacy ...
Migrants, healthy worker effect, and mortality trends in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia, have experienced unique demographic changes. The major population growth contributor in these countries is young migrants, which has led to a shift in the population age pyramid. Migrants constitute the vast proportion of GCC countries' population reaching >80% in Qatar and UAE. Using Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 (GBD 2015) and United Nations data, for the GCC countries, we assessed the association between age-standardized mortality and population size trends with linear and polynomial regressions. In 1990-2015, all-cause age-standardized mortality was inversely proportional to national population size (p-values: 0.0001-0.0457). In Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, the highest annual decrease in mortality was observed when the annual population growth was the highest. In Qatar, all-cause age-specific mortality was inversely proportional to age-specific population size. This association was statistically significant among the 5-14 and 15-49 age groups, which have the largest population size. Cause-specific age-standardized mortality was also inversely proportional to population size. This association was statistically significant for half of the GBD 2015-defined causes of death such as "cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases" and "HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis". Remarkably, incoming migrants to Qatar have to be negative for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis. These results show that decline in mortality can be partly attributed to the increase in GCC countries' population suggesting a healthy migrant effect that influences mortality rates. Consequently, benefits of health interventions and healthcare improvement are likely to be exaggerated in such countries hosting a substantial proportion of migrants compared with countries where migration is low. Researchers and policymakers should be cautious to not exclusively attribute decline in mortality within the GCC countries as a result of the positive effects of health interventions or healthcare improvement.
Optical properties of ZnSe diffractive optical elements for spot array generation

The diffractive optical element (DOE) is a revolutionary technology for sophisticated optical systems. It has recently been launched within the optical industry, which is constantly seeking improvements over conventional optics. We have designed and fabricated three types of binary-phase DOE for array generation. The surface relief of a ZnSe substrate was patterned and etched with each intended phase distribution by using photolithography and reactive ion etching (RIE) technologies. The optical properties of anti-reflection coated samples were then examined by measuring the intensity distribution of their converging diffractive beams and the results compared with the calculated beam propagation.
Critical review of 2016 ACC guidelines on therapies for cholesterol lowering with reference to laboratory testing.

Abstract Introduction This review discusses new guidelines that were released in 2016 and 2017 for assessing risk of coronary disease (ASCVD) and treatments and that appear to have replaced the 2013 guidelines which superseded the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel Guidelines (ATP). To put the new guidelines in prospective, I briefly review the history of prior guidelines. The newest guidelines seem to support the idea that elevated LDL cholesterol (C) is a cause of ASCVD. The Review also discusses issues related to these guidelines, especially measurement of LDLC, the importance of nonHDLC and puzzling results that do not seem to support the cause and effect idea. Methods Literature review and critical discussion. Conclusions The 2016 guidelines appear to eliminate most of the flaws in the prior 2013 guidelines that replaced the ATP. They do not seem to rely on randomized control studies alone but the totality of all of the evidence. The new guidelines still fail to identify some persons with characteristics of metabolic syndrome that may be of increased risk for ASCVD although they address some of the problems in treating this group. The guidelines identify LDL cholesterol and nonHDL cholesterol target concentrations that are important for laboratory professionals since they should be defined on reports and are important for consultation.
Ahead of Our Time: Why Head Transplantation Is Ethically Unsupportable

An ethical approach to evaluating the attachment of a donor head and a donor body1 1. In actuality, under current parlance, as Ren and Cenavero note, the procedure is a body transplant onto a head,...
Scalable manufacturing of ultra-strong magnesium nanocomposites

Abstract Magnesium, the lightest structure metal, is suitable for wide range of applications in various industries such as transportation. However, it suffers from moderate mechanical properties such as strength. Strengthening magnesium beyond what conventional strengthening approaches offer is of a significance interest. Incorporation of suitable nanoparticles into magnesium can effectively improve its mechanical properties. However, manufacturing of magnesium with populous dispersed nanoparticles remains as a great challenge. Here we report a novel liquid processing of magnesium nanocomposites with titanium carbide as the nanoscale reinforcement. Nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed in the magnesium, resulting in a significantly improved Vickers hardness of 143.5 ± 11.5HV.
Comparison of Melanocyte Density Counts in Topical Imiquimod-Treated Skin Surrounding Lentigo Maligna vs Control Biopsy Specimens.

This study examines melanocyte density counts in imiquimod-treated lentigo maligna and negative control biopsy specimens to determine if there was a measurable difference in melanocyte density.
The Russo-Japanese War: Outrage and Reaction

In the domestic debate over the use of mines in the Russo-Japanese War, the technology was presented as a challenge to Britain’s position at sea and its maritime cultural identity. The chapter explores how British culture shaped the reaction to the mine, and why it led to the technology rapidly being condemned on legal and moral grounds. The chapter goes on to explore the reaction of British commercial interests to mining in the Russo-Japanese War. This presented a specific view of British maritime rights and seapower, and placed additional pressure on the British government to act to protect these interests against the threat of mines.
Analysis and visualization of enargite and tennantite roasting using Cu-As-S-O system predominance volume diagrams

Abstract The roasting of enargite (Cu3AsS4) in the temperature range 673 K (400 °C) to 900 K (673 °C) has been considered in the light of three-dimensional predominance volume diagrams (PVDs). Condensed phases considered were Cu, Cu3As, Cu2O, Cu2S, CuO, CuS, CuSO4, CuO·CuSO4, Cu3AsO4, Cu3As2O8, Cu3AsS4, Cu6As4S9, and Cu12As4S13. Gases considered were As4, As4O6, AsS, As4S4, O2, S2, SO2, and SO3. There are four line segments associated with each of the nine invariant points while each corner has three. The PVD at 900 K shows the gas composition during vacuum decomposition of tennantite with selected O2 infiltration. Calculations show that increasing the O/Tennantite reacted ratio in the system leads to the formation of Cu3As2O8 at 900 K and CuSO4 at 673 K. Roasting experiments at 673 K showed that enargite transformed into tennantite (Cu12As4S13) in the absence of oxygen; whereas, in the presence of oxygen it transformed into CuSO4 and CuO·CuSO4. Enargite does not appear to transform directly into CuSO4, but follows a path that includes Cu 2 S or CuS . Sulfate formation is favored over oxide at lower roasting temperatures.
Patterns of Velopharyngeal Closure in Patients with Pharyngeal Flaps

In this chapter we will discuss the movements of the velopharyngeal portal during closure or attempted closure in patients with pharyngeal flaps, and describe the appearance of the pharyngeal flap and its effects upon behavior of the velopharyngeal portal.
Behavioral Analysis of Service Delivery Models

Enterprises and IT service providers are increasingly challenged with the goal of improving quality of service while reducing cost of delivery. Effective distribution of complex customer workloads among delivery teams served by diverse personnel under strict service agreements is a serious management challenge. Challenges become more pronounced when organizations adopt ad-hoc measures to reduce operational costs and mandate unscientific transformations. This paper simulates different delivery models in face of complex customer workload, stringent service contracts, and evolving skills, with the goal of scientifically deriving design principles of delivery organizations. Results show while Collaborative models are beneficial for highest priority work, Integrated models works best for volume-intensive work, through up-skilling the population with additional skills. In repetitive work environments where expertise can be gained, these training costs are compensated with higher throughput. This return-on-investment is highest when people have at most two skills. Decoupled models work well for simple workloads and relaxed service contracts.
Tunnel Bone Grafting in Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Objectives:Bone grafting of lytic or malpositioned tunnels may be required in ACL revision reconstructive surgery. Little is known of the characteristics of these patients and the impact of this pr...
Does patient preference for sexual function preservation impact treatment choice in prostate cancer? Analysis of a population-based cohort.

e18093Background: Prostate cancer patients face several treatment options which vary in their impact on sexual function: active surveillance (least), radiotherapy, and radical prostatectomy (most)....
Diabetes mellitus: biological determinants of atherosclerosis and restenosis.

Diabetes mellitus is a potent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Patients with diabetes account for approximately 20% of patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes or for percutaneous coronary intervention. Furthermore, the incidence of diabetes continues to increase world-wide, such that substantial medical resources are allocated for the care of patients with diabetic cardiovascular complications. Although great strides have been made in reducing cardiovascular events in recent years, there has been little improvement in outcomes for patients with diabetes mellitus. This review will focus in the underlying patho-biology and the current status of therapeutic interventional strategies for patients with diabetes mellitus.
The Medium is the Message: Cell Phones and Mediaturgy in Épica de la inmediatez

While the smartphone and social media are widely used to connect users and to provide information, our utter addiction to digital platforms comes with a price, which is open access to our private l...