cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Earlier Alcohol Use Onset Predicts Poorer Neuropsychological Functioning in Young Adults.

Background Neurodevelopment may be shaped by environmental factors such as alcohol intake. Over 20% of U.S. high school students begin drinking before age 14, and those who initiated drinking before age 14 are 4 times more likely to develop psychosocial, psychiatric, and substance use difficulties than those who began drinking after turning 20. Little is known, however, about how the age of alcohol use onset influences brain development. Methods This study prospectively examined the effects of alcohol use onset age on neurocognitive functioning in healthy adolescent drinkers (N = 215). Youth were administered a neuropsychological battery before substance use initiation (M = 13.6 years, SD = 0.8) and on average 6.8 years later (M = 20.2 years, SD = 1.5). Hierarchical linear regressions examined if earlier ages of onset for first and regular (i.e., weekly) alcohol use adversely influenced neurocognition, above and beyond baseline neurocognition, substance use severity, and familial and social environment factors. Results As hypothesized, an earlier age of first drinking onset (AFDO) predicted poorer performance in the domains of psychomotor speed and visual attention (ps<0.05, N = 215) and an earlier age of weekly drinking onset (AWDO) predicted poorer performances on tests of cognitive inhibition and working memory, controlling for baseline neuropsychological performance, drinking duration, and past-year marijuana use (ps<0.05, N = 127). No relationship between AFDO and AWDO was found with verbal learning and memory and visuospatial ability. Conclusions This is the first study to assess the association between age of adolescent drinking onset and neurocognitive performance using a comprehensive test battery. This study suggests that early onset of drinking increases risk for alcohol-related neurocognitive vulnerabilities and that initiation of any or weekly alcohol use at younger ages appears to be a risk factor for poorer subsequent neuropsychological functioning. Findings have important implications for public policies related to the legal drinking age and prevention programming. Further studies are needed to replicate these preliminary findings and better understand mediating processes and moderating conditions.
Abundant-data computing: The N3XT 1,000X

Coming generations of information technology will process unprecedented amounts of loosely-structured data, including streaming video and audio, natural languages, real-time sensor readings, contextual environments, or even brain signals. The computation demands of these abundant-data applications far exceed the capabilities of today's electronics, and cannot be met by isolated improvements in transistor technologies, memories, or integrated circuit (IC) architectures alone. Transformative nanosystems, which leverage the unique properties of emerging nanotechnologies to create new IC architectures, are required to deliver unprecedented performance and energy efficiency. However, emerging nanomaterials and nanodevices face major obstacles such as inherent imperfections and variations. Thus, realizing working circuits, let alone transformative nanosystems, has been infeasible.
Safeguarding the public trust: Teaching organizational dissent in an era of political polarization

ABSTRACTOver recent decades political polarization has transformed the political, ideological, and cultural landscape of the United States. Political polarization has also contributed to increased ...
An extremal problem for non-separable matroids

Let E be a finite set, Open image in new window a matroid on Open image in new window . Open image in new window is non-separable if every pair of elements of E are in a common circuit (minimal member of Open image in new window . The following two theorems are proved: 1. Every nonseparable matroid of rank r and cardinality n must have at least r(n-r) + 1 bases (maximal members of Open image in new window ). There is for each r and n, a unique matroid with precisely this many bases. 2. If Open image in new window is a nonseparable matroid of rank r on n elements containing more than r(n-r) + 1 bases, then Open image in new window must contain at least 2(r−1)(n−r−1) + 1 + r bases if 2r ≤ n and (2r−1)(n−r−1) + 2 bases if 2r≧n.
Nutrient limitation and food webs

Herbivores constituted the highest trophic level in the models of the preceding chapters. Most food webs also contain carnivores that feed on the herbivores, and often second-order carnivores that feed on the first-order carnivores. In principle, chains with any number of trophic levels may exist within ecosystems. Empirical evidence, however, indicates that in nature the number of trophic levels within ecosystems seldom exceeds five or six. In an analysis of 56 ecosystems whose food webs have been characterized in detail, Pimm (1982) showed that the great majority (47) had three or four levels, while only five and two, respectively, had five and six trophic level chains.
Fundamental issues in high temperature superconductor (HTS) materials science and engineering

Abstract: A key factor for enabling high temperature superconductor (HTS) applications is the critical current density (Jc). The basic physics determining Jc is presented, along with basic concepts of the materials science of engineered flux-pinning defects, which provide tools to increase Jc in a superconductor. A history of the development of HTS materials concludes with comparison of processing and performance in three practical materials. Other key properties that enable applications are discussed, including economic considerations. Present status and price/performance trends indicate a wane in importance of BSCCO materials while YBCO-coated conductors seem to be growing in importance. The significant challenges that remain for the technical and commercial success of YBCO are outlined.
Specimen Treatments: Surface Preparation of Metal Compound Materials (Mainly Oxides)

Compared to elemental solids, the surface preparation of compounds containing more than one element is considerably more difficult. For any material it is desirable to achieve surface impurity concentrations below the detection limit of standard analytical techniques. Well-ordered single-crystalline surfaces need to be prepared and are characterized by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and, more recently, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). For compounds, several additional issues must be considered. First, there is the question of surface stoichiometry. The surface composition of a compound material may be very different from the bulk. This can be due to energetic reasons—surfaces enriched with one component are often thermodynamically more stable, and surface segregation is induced by annealing. A variety of other reasons can lead to nonstoichiometry of compound surfaces. One component might be more volatile than the others; for example, annealing causes the loss of oxygen on many metal oxide surfaces(1) and the enrichment of C in SiC.(2) Even if this is not the case, commonly used preparation techniques such as sputtering, and sometimes even polishing, may cause the enrichment of one component at the
The impact of turnover among respiratory care practitioners in a health care system: frequency and associated costs.

BACKGROUND: Retention of respiratory therapists (RTs) is a desired institutional goal that reflects department loyalty and RTs' satisfaction. When RTs leave a department, services are disrupted and new therapists must undergo orientation and training, which requires time and expense. Despite the widely shared goal of minimal turnover, neither the annual rate nor the associated expense of turnover for RTs has been described. STUDY PURPOSE: Determine the rate of RT turnover and the costs related to training new staff members. METHODS: The Cleveland Clinic Health System is composed of 9 participating hospitals, which range from small, community-based institutions to large, tertiary care institutions. To elicit information about annual turnover among RTs throughout the system, we conducted a survey of key personnel in each of the hospitals' respiratory therapy departments. To calculate the costs of training, we reviewed the training schedule for an RT joining the Respiratory Therapy Section at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital. Cost estimates reflect the duration of training by various supervisory RTs, their respective wages (including benefit costs), and educational materials used in training and orientation. RESULTS: Turnover rates ranged from 3% to 18% per year. Five of the 8 institutions from which rates were available reported rates greater than 8% per year. The rate of annual turnover correlated significantly with the ratio of hospital beds to RT staff (Pearson r = 0.784, r 2 = 0.61, p = 0.02). The cost of training an RT at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital totaled $3,447.11. CONCLUSIONS: Turnover among respiratory therapists poses a substantial problem because of its frequency and expense. Greater attention to issues affecting turnover and to enhancing retention of RTs is warranted.
Too Crowded to Be Straight: Insights from Self-Assembly of Heterochiral Tripeptides

In this issue of Chem, Marchesan and co-workers report the self-assembly of a series of homo- and heterochiral tripeptides in water. By investigating their ability to form hydrogels and determining the single-crystal structures, this study offers important insights into correlating molecular structures with the superstructures of the tripeptide assemblies.
Role Strain, Coping, and Marital Satisfaction of Stepparents

The relationship among role strain, coping, and marital satisfaction is examined in a cross-sectional sample of 73 stepparents. New information is discussed pertaining to differential types of role...
Reconsidering batteries in energy harvesting sensing

For the past decade, the status-quo for energy harvesting sensors has been to buffer small amounts of energy in capacitors to intermittently work through a sensing task. While using capacitors for storage offers these systems indefinite lifetime, it comes at a cost - they must tolerate the decreased availability, lower energy utilization, and more complex programming models inherent to a volatile, intermittent design. We argue that many of these problems stem from insufficient energy storage and could be eliminated with the use of batteries. Recent advances in rechargeable battery technology weaken the historical arguments against their use. We believe that using batteries in energy harvesting sensors will push us closer to a class of reliable, general purpose devices that can better serve human-centric sensing applications than their capacitor-based counterparts at the cost of having a finite, but long, lifetime.
Coordinated Robot-Assisted Human Crowd Evacuation

In this paper, we study the coordinated robot-assisted human crowd evacuation problem, and our aim is to optimally deploy robots and choose proper human-robot interactions to evacuate human crowd in an efficient and safe manner. For such a purpose, we propose a stochastic differential equation model to capture the motion of each individual pedestrian in a crowd. Furthermore, we incorporate the impact of the robots on individual pedestrians in the stochastic differential equation model. From the microscopic pedestrian model, we obtain its corresponding Kolmogorov equation to describe the crowd dynamics evolution at the macroscopic level. The robot deployment and command selection issues are then formulated as an optimal control problem, and a two-step hierarchical structure is proposed to solve the optimal control problem. Simulations are given to illustrate our proposed approach and validate the effectiveness of using multiple robots to assist human crowd evacuation process.
Social Studies Needs (New) White People: The Case for Including Allies in the Curriculum

AbstractIn this conceptual article we consider the pedagogical possibilities and pitfalls of incorporating White ally figures in history and social studies curricula. Drawing on the burgeoning scho...
World Health Organization‐defined eosinophilic disorders: 2015 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management

Disease overview: The eosinophilias encompass a broad range of non-hematologic (secondary or reactive) and hematologic (primary, clonal) disorders with potential for end-organ damage. Diagnosis: Hypereosinophilia has generally been defined as a peripheral blood eosinophil count greater than 1,500/mm3 and may be associated with tissue damage. After exclusion of secondary causes of eosinophilia, diagnostic evaluation of primary eosinophilias relies on a combination of morphologic review of the blood and marrow, standard cytogenetics, fluorescent in situ-hybridization, flow immunocytometry, and T-cell clonality assessment to detect histopathologic or clonal evidence for an acute or chronic myeloid or lymphoproliferative disorder. Risk stratification: Disease prognosis relies on identifying the subtype of eosinophilia. After evaluation of secondary causes of eosinophilia, the 2008 World Health Organization establishes a semi-molecular classification scheme of disease subtypes including ‘myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and abnormalities of PDGFRA, PDGFRB, or FGFR1’, chronic eosinophilic leukemia, not otherwise specified, (CEL, NOS), lymphocyte-variant hypereosinophilia, and idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), which is a diagnosis of exclusion. Risk-adapted therapy: The goal of the therapy is to mitigate eosinophil-mediated organ damage. For patients with milder forms of eosinophilia (e.g. < 1,500/mm3) without symptoms or signs of organ involvement, a watch and wait approach with close-follow-up may be undertaken. Identification of rearranged PDGFRA or PDGFRB is critical because of the exquisite responsiveness of these diseases to imatinib. Corticosteroids are first-line therapy for patients with lymphocyte-variant hypereosinophilia and HES. Hydroxyurea and interferon-alpha have demonstrated efficacy as initial treatment and steroid-refractory cases of HES. In addition to hydroxyurea, second line cytotoxic chemotherapy agents and hematopoietic cell transplant have been used for aggressive forms of HES and CEL with outcomes reported for limited numbers of patients. Although clinical trials have been performed with anti IL-5 (mepolizumab) and anti-CD52 (alemtuzumab) antibodies, their therapeutic role in primary eosinophilic diseases and HES has yet to be established. Am. J. Hematol. 90:1077–1089, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Turbulent Transport of Spray Droplets in the Vicinity of Moving Surface Waves

AbstractA common technique for estimating the sea surface generation functions of spray and aerosols is the so-called flux–profile method, where fixed-height concentration measurements are used to ...
Antibiotic and Acid Suppression Medications During Infancy Are Associated with Early Childhood Obesity

Background: Gut microbiota variations have been associated with obesity. The infant gut microbiota is highly influenced by early exposures, which may include acid suppressing medications and antibiotics. The association between early life exposure to microbiota-altering medications and later development of obesity is unclear. The objective of our study was to investigate the association of antibiotic, histamine-2 receptor antagonist (H2RA), and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescriptions during early infancy with a diagnosis of obesity after the age of …
Risk of Herpes Zoster in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treated with Fludarabine or Bendamustine

Abstract Background: Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) are susceptible to infections due to impaired humoral immunity, both as a complication of the disease and treatments received. Herpes zoster (HZ) is painful, vesicular rash due to the reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus that is more common in patients with compromised immunity. Fludarabine is a purine analog that has long been incorporated in chemotherapy regimens for CLL and has been known to cause lymphocyte depletion and increased risk of viral infection and reactivation. Bendamustine is a newer therapy that has been increasingly used for the treatment of CLL. The aim of this study is to explore the rates of herpes zoster infection in patients treated with bendamustine compared to fludarabine using the Veterans Administration Central Cancer Registry (VACCR). Methods: We used the VACCR to identify patients diagnosed with CLL between September 1999 and October 2015. Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) records were used identify patients who received bendamustine or fludarabine as initial treatment of CLL. ICD-9 codes for HZ infection (053) were used to identify potential cases. PBM records were collected for prescriptions of acyclovir or valacyclovir at a dose of 1500mg/day or higher within 30 days of ICD9 code and treatment was verified as appropriate for HZ. Comparisons between groups were performed with independent samples t-test or chi-square as appropriate. Comorbidity was assessed with Charlson (Romano) index and outcomes by the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was used to assess associations between treatment while controlling for age at treatment and comorbidity index. The study was approved the Saint Louis VA Medical Center institutional review board. Results: A cohort of 7155 patients were identified and fludarabine was given as initial therapy in 1084 patients and bendamustine in 460 patients. Comorbidities were higher in patients receiving bendamustine compared to fludarabine, (2.11 vs. 1.63, p Conclusions: In this retrospective analysis of CLL treatments, bendamustine was associated with lower rates of herpes zoster compared to fludarabine, even in older patients with more comorbidities. Download : Download high-res image (112KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure . Disclosures Sanfilippo: Bristol Meyers Squibb: Speakers Bureau. Carson: Seattle Genetics: Honoraria.
Asceticism of the mind: forms of attention and self-transformation in late antique monasticism

The opening words of Inbar Graiver’s Introduction explain both the precision of her title and the scope of her book. “Christian asceticism assumes that it is possible for a human being to acquire s...
Increased Incidence of Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Among Melanoma Patients

ABSTRACT Purpose There is scant evidence for an increased risk for developing RCC among melanoma patients (pts), and evidence for possible risk factors for the association between melanoma and RCC is lacking. We examined the risk of developing both melanoma and RCC, and also the possible risk factors. Methods We searched our institutional tumor registry for pts with a diagnosis of melanoma and RCC. We used summary statistics to describe the population of pts and calculate total person-years at risk for RCC. We computed standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), which is the ratio of the observed to the expected number of pts with RCC among pts with melanoma using the Cohort Analysis for Genetic Epidemiology program. The expected number of pts with RCC was determined from SEER data. The 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the SIRs were determined by assuming a Poisson distribution for the observed number of RCC. SIRs were also calculated for subsets of the data according to race and gender. Results Between 1980 and 2005, we identified 15,482 pts with a diagnosis of melanoma: 59% were male and 94% were white. Among these pts, 114 (0.7%) pts had a diagnosis of RCC either before or after the diagnosis of melanoma. The mean age of RCC presentation was 59.4 years. The total person-years at risk for RCC were 886,506. We observed a significant excess of RCC (SIR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.37-1.95) among our cohort of melanoma pts. This excess of RCC was also significant among white pts (SIR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.36-1.92) and among both genders. None of the 114 pts with a diagnosis of both melanoma and RCC had a concomitant diagnosis of immunocompromised disease nor received chronic immunosuppressive drugs. Only 17% of the pts received radiation or chemotherapy for melanoma. Conclusions There is an increase risk of RCC among melanoma pts. Neither preexisting immunocompromised condition nor the chronic use of immunosuppressants were risk factors for developing both malignancies. Group Observed Expected SIR (95% CI) for development of RCC All (n = 15482) 114 69.53 1.64 (1.37-1.95) Gender M (n = 9072) F (n = 6410) 81 33 54.85 14.67 1.48 (1.19-1.82) 2.25 (1.61-3.08) Ethnicity White (n = 14580) Non-White (n = 902) 109 5 66.37 3.15 1.64 (1.36-1.96) 1.59 (0.70-3.25) Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
UPC++ v1.0 Programmer’s Guide, Revision 2020.10.0

UPC++ is a C++11 library that provides Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) programming. It is designed for writing parallel programs that run efficiently and scale well on distributed-memory parallel computers. The PGAS model is single program, multiple-data (SPMD), with each separate constituent process having access to local memory as it would in C++. However, PGAS also provides access to a global address space, which is allocated in shared segments that are distributed over the processes. UPC++ provides numerous methods for accessing and using global memory. In UPC++, all operations that access remote memory are explicit, which encourages programmers to be aware of the cost of communication and data movement. Moreover, all remote-memory access operations are by default asynchronous, to enable programmers to write code that scales well even on hundreds of thousands of cores.
Towards Learning-based Inverse Subsurface Scattering

Given images of translucent objects, of unknown shape and lighting, we aim to use learning to infer the optical parameters controlling subsurface scattering of light inside the objects. We introduce a new architecture, the inverse transport network (ITN), that aims to improve generalization of an encoder network to unseen scenes, by connecting it with a physically-accurate, differentiable Monte Carlo renderer capable of estimating image derivatives with respect to scattering material parameters. During training, this combination forces the encoder network to predict parameters that not only match groundtruth values, but also reproduce input images. During testing, the encoder network is used alone, without the renderer, to predict material parameters from a single input image. Drawing insights from the physics of radiative transfer, we additionally use material parameterizations that help reduce estimation errors due to ambiguities in the scattering parameter space. Finally, we augment the training loss with pixelwise weight maps that emphasize the parts of the image most informative about the underlying scattering parameters. We demonstrate that this combination allows neural networks to generalize to scenes with completely unseen geometries and illuminations better than traditional networks, with 38.06% reduced parameter error on average.
Freestanding vanadium nitride nanowire membrane as an efficient, carbon-free gas diffusion cathode for Li–CO2 batteries

Abstract A freestanding vanadium nitride nanowire (VN-NW) membrane is employed as a carbon-free gas diffusion cathode (GDC) for high-performance Li–CO2 batteries. Li–CO2 cells built with the VN-NW GDC exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, achieving 100 discharge/charge cycles with an ultralow round-trip overpotential of
Exercise exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

ABSTRACT Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder caused by loss of the protein dystrophin. In humans, DMD has early onset, causes developmental delays, muscle necrosis, loss of ambulation, and early death. Current animal models have been challenged by their inability to model the early onset and severity of the disease. Thus it remains unresolved if increased sarcoplasmic calcium observed in dystrophic muscles follows or leads the mechanical insults caused by the muscle’s disrupted contractile machinery. This knowledge has important applications for patients, as potential physiotherapeutic treatments may either help or exacerbate symptoms, depending on how dystrophic muscles differ from healthy ones. Recently we showed how burrowing dystrophic (dys-1) C. elegans recapitulate many salient phenotypes of DMD, including loss of mobility and muscle necrosis. Here we report dys-1 worms display early pathogenesis, including dysregulated sarcoplasmic calcium, and increased lethality. Sarcoplasmic calcium dysregulation in dys-1 worms precedes overt structural phenotypes (e.g. mitochondrial, and contractile machinery damage) and can be mitigated by silencing calmodulin expression. To learn how dystrophic musculature responds to altered physical activity, we cultivated dys-1 animals in environments requiring high amplitude, or high frequency of muscle exertion during locomotion. We find that several muscular parameters (such as size) improve with increased activity. However, longevity in dystrophic animals was negatively associated with muscular exertion, regardless of the duration of the effort. The high degree of phenotypic conservation between dystrophic worms and humans provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into the etiology of the disease, as well as the initial assessment of potential treatment strategies. SIGNIFICANCE Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a degenerative disease affecting tens of thousands of people in the US alone. Much remains unknown about the disease, including the chain of events that links the loss of dystrophin to muscle death, or the extent to which exercise might be able to protect degenerating muscles. We used the nematode C. elegans to show that sarcoplasmic calcium dysregulation takes place in dystrophic muscles long before other overt signs of damage manifest. When placed in assays that altered muscular activity by increasing either contraction frequency or amplitude, we observed several metrics associated with muscular repair increase. However, no treatment positively affected the life expectancy of dystrophic animals.
Understanding inclusive innovation processes in agricultural systems: A middle-range conceptual model

Abstract Inclusive innovation as a strategy for inclusive development has received increased attention from development policymakers, practitioners, and scholars in recent years. What these processes entail in practical terms, however, remains contested and under-theorized. This paper addresses the scarcity of mid-level analysis and models of inclusive innovation processes within complex systems, which are needed to enable a coherent empirical research agenda and to inform program theory-building, implementation, and evaluation. Looking to smallholder-oriented agricultural systems in the Global South, where the majority of inclusive innovation implementation and research has been located, this paper proposes that it is possible to identify the essential features and causal logic of these processes to create an empirically-derived, middle-range model with cross-context applicability. Drawing on methods from realist evaluation and social inquiry, I conducted a theory-driven, cross-case synthesis of three studies of inclusive innovation processes in agricultural systems, with one case each from South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. I find that despite significant diversity in project designs, facilitation approaches, and local contexts, the three inclusive innovation processes unfolded in strikingly similar ways, and that this modus operandi can be modeled as a middle-range theory of change. In each case, I find that a consistent set of activities and processes changed the local context for the inclusive innovation initiative. These altered contextual factors interacted with ongoing programmatic activities in consistent ways to trigger processes of social learning, social capital strengthening, collective cognition, and consensus formation, which acted as causal mechanisms responsible for producing the intermediate outcomes that led to technical, organizational, and institutional system innovation. The middle-range model enables cross-context insights into how inclusive innovation processes work and what capacities are needed to facilitate them. It can also guide the adaptive management and assessment of these processes, while offering testable hypotheses to guide future empirical work and evaluation.
Conspiracy and Ambition in Russian Politics before the February Revolution of 1917: The Case of Prince Georgii Evgen’evich L’vov

This article uses new and previously known but under-exploited sources to reexamine the significance of pre-revolutionary conspiracies centered around Prince G.E. L’vov for the liberals’ dilemma about the leadership and form of a popular cabinet. The article sheds new light on L’vov’s efforts and motives to organize these plots, challenges his traditional depiction as a ‘soft’ and ineffectual politician, and questions his long-assumed rivalry with the Duma President M.V. Rodzianko for the premiership in a post-Nikolaevan government.
Referential Subject and Object Gaps in Modern Icelandic

This paper investigates the nature of subject and object gaps in coordinate structures in Modern Icelandic. Modern Icelandic is considered to be a semi- pro -drop language, since it generally licenses only generic null subjects; object gaps only occur in the form of topic drop. Nevertheless it has been argued that MI licenses referential subject pro as well as referential object pro in certain (tightly restricted) contexts. This assumption is based on the existence of coordinating constructions that exhibit referential subject and object gaps at the same time. While this paper follows previous proposals in assuming subject pro to be licit in coordinate structures, object argument gaps are assumed to be object-topic drop, which is independetly needed in the grammar of Icelandic. Under the analysis presented here, the previously reported null subject condition on null objects falls out from Icelandic word order facts.
Torsion and Flexure of Curved, Thin-Walled Beams or Tubes

The investigation is concerned with the determination of the stresses and deformation of curved, open and closed cross-sectional, thin-walled beams or tubes taking into account the effects of the warping of the cross section. The solutions for the open and closed cross sections are very similar. The analysis is based solely upon equilibrium, stress-strain, and strain-displacement relations; thus, the concepts of the shear center and the self-equilibrating stress system are not necessary. Also, the slender beam assumption is not made in the analysis. The basic assumption in regard to warping is that the warping be a function of the twist of the beam only, with this function being given by a generalization of the St. Venant theory for uniform torsion. The method is in general intended for solution using a digital computer. The application of the resulting equations is illustrated with example problems.
Generation of compact near-field energy for optical recording

Techniques that can be used to make sub-wavelength diameter optical spots are reviewed, as well as their application to optical recording. Advantages and disadvantages of each technique are listed. Fiber probes, solid immersion lenses, antennae, and combinations are included.
Home Court Advantage Revisited: Interstate Modification of Child Support Orders Under UIFSA and FFCCSOA

Modification of child support orders has long provided a significant impediment to the collection of child support in the interstate context. While model and federal laws, including the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) and the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA), have gone a long way toward solving the problem, a few issues remain. For example, UIFSA and FFCCSOA appear to conflict regarding whether parties seeking to modify child support orders, after the original issuing state has lost continuing exclusive jurisdiction, may do so in their state of residence. Two state supreme courts have reached opposite conclusions as to whether FFCCSOA preempts UIFSA in this regard. The following paper concludes that while FFCCSOA does not so preempt UIFSA, UIFSA should be amended to allow custodial parents to seek modification of child support in their home states in the circumstances mentioned above.
Operations on Vector Fields and Differential Forms

If E → X is a vector bundle, then it is of considerable interest to investigate the special operation derived from the functor “multilinear alternating forms.” Applying it to the tangent bundle, we call the sections of our new bundle differential forms. One can define formally certain relations between functions, vector fields, and differential forms which lie at the foundations of differential and Riemannian geometry. We shall give the basic system surrounding such forms. In order to have at least one application, we discuss the fundamental 2-form, and in the next chapter connect it with Riemannian metrics in order to construct canonically the spray associated with such a metric.
Open Access: What You Need to Know by Walt Crawford

Open Access (OA) publishing continues to be a hot topic of debate within the scholarly community and shows no signs of cooling down after well beyond 20 years of passionate dialogue. Walt Crawford ...
Model equation calculations of the turbulent flow between rotating cylinders and the structure of a turbulent vortex

A system of model equations is given to describe fully developed turbulent flow with significant curvature of the mean flow streamlines. A feature of the equations is the presence of a gyroscopic stability term to allow for the generation or decay of turbulent energy according as rotation and mean vorticity are anti-parallel or parallel.The Reynolds stresses predicted by the model are realizable. The equations are solved and results presented for turbulent flow between concentric rotating cylinders and the isolated turbulent line vortex. Comparison with experiment is generally favorable.
Fast, fully-automated generation of control skeletons for use in animation

This paper describes an algorithm for automatically generating a control skeleton for use in animating a polygonal data model. The algorithm has several steps. First, the figure is voxelized, and a Euclidean distance map is computed for voxels interior to the figure. A path creation algorithm then generates a tree-structured set of voxel paths spanning the object's interior. Simplification of these paths leads to a control skeleton for the object. The voxelization is used again to anchor the vertices of the polygonal model to the skeleton. Afterwards, new joint angles may be specified for the skeleton, and once the skeleton has been updated, vertices of the model can be repositioned accordingly. Unlike previous methods, the algorithm is fully automated, requiring very little user input. Also, it can be applied successfully to a wide variety of objects. Furthermore, the algorithm is fast-it can produce a useful control skeleton for most objects in under two minutes on a low-end PC.
Investigation of the Phase Transition in ZrTiO4 and ZrTiO4-SnO2 Solid Solutions

Continuous phase transitions were found to occur in ZrTiO4 above and below a major discontinuity at 1125°±10°C. The space group of both forms of ZrTiO4 is Pcnb. For specimens quenched from high temperatures, the volume of the unit cell decreases linearly from ∼1450°C to the discontinuity, with the major change occurring in the c axis. The volume decreases considerably at this temperature and continues to decrease with lower-temperature annealing. Substitutional tin in solid solution stabilizes the high-temperature structure type.
Fragility of Bench-Mounted Equipment Considering Uncertain Parameters

This paper presents analytically developed seismic fragility curves for unattached bench-mounted equipment considering representative building, bench, and equipment interface properties. The emphasis of the study is on rigid scientific equipment, which is often placed on the surface of ceramic laboratory benches in science laboratories or other buildings. The paper first addresses the inherent uncertainty in the frictional behavior of the equipment supported on benches (defined by the static and kinetic coefficients of friction, μs and μk , respectively) and then describes the resulting variability of their sliding response when subjected to earthquake motions. Seismic fragility curves are generated for these types of equipment, considering 32 short distance ground motions of different hazard levels, propagated through three different building models. It is observed that although the variation in response is highly sensitive to the uncertainty in μs and μk , this variability does not propagate to the frag...
Deep-tissue imaging of intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy-transfer parameters.

We demonstrate the in vivo reconstruction of all fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) parameters, including the nanometer donor–acceptor distance, in a mouse. The FRET chemical targets cancer cells, and on internalization, the acceptor is released, in lieu of a targeted anticancer drug in chemotherapy. Our method provides a new vehicle for studying disease by imaging FRET parameters in deep tissue.
Statistical description of deformation in excited nuclei and disappearance of shell effects with excitation energy

Abstract The deformation of excited nuclei is studied on the basis of the methods of statistical mechanics. The statistical coupling between a system with many internal degrees of freedom and a one-dimensional or multidimensional harmonic oscillator is considered. The relevance of the phase-space volume is discussed in the semiclassical limit. The conclusions are employed to develop a general theory of nuclear deformation for actual nuclei. Calculations for five nuclei are performed on the basis of the Nilsson diagram and of the BCS Hamiltonian. The potential energies of nuclei as a function of deformation are calculated by means of the Strutinsky procedure. The level densities are also calculated directly from single-particle levels and include pairing and its energy dependence. The deformation probability as a function of excitation energy is derived. The nuclear fluctuations in shape are considered and in particular the disappearance of the ground state deformations with increasing excitation energy is described. The calculations account in a natural way for the washing out of shell effects with excitation energy. Applications of the theory are discussed.
Quantitative methods: not positively positivist:

I IntroductionA chief reason why the past 10 years have notbeen kind to human geographers practicingquantitative geography has been the notionthat quantitative geography must be posi-tivist; more specifically, any practice ofquantitative methods is associated withlogical positivism. In my second report (Poon,2004), I suggested that quantitative methodshave undergone retooling in the field.Nonetheless, it may be argued that suchretooling does not move the Þeld away fromthe monopoly of logical positivism as thecentral way of knowing. In this third report,I pursue the theme that epistemology is amatter of representation and practice: inrecent years, this practice is underscored bymethodological and theoretical pluralism thatdoes not betray logical positivism as its foun-dationalist faith. Further, positivism has cometo be associated with narrow social interests,and the exercise of power from above. Again,this view resects a particular view of posi-tivism. Hence a second theme is to suggestthat the Þeld need not be an ally ofsocial con-servatism that promotes the narrowing ofknowledge representational perspectivesbased on technical Þxes.II Methodological pluralismClassical positivism, as practiced in the 1960s,was rooted in a form of formalism that islargely embedded in a deductivist tradition inthe Popperian sense where the focus is onrefuting falsehoods. Quantitative geographyand formalism were seen to share the samefoundation. In an extreme form, formalismoperates insensitively in an environment ofsocial facts and its monopoly reduces geo-graphic facts to a set of explanations that aresometimes trivial. The hypothetico-deductivemethod, in the spirit of Euclidean geometryand cartesian space, focuses on scientificpractice as a product rather than as a process.Geographic explanations are Opublic objects ofjustiÞcationO that can be veriÞed by an inde-pendent and logical set of criteria (Sebok,1995; Aliseda, 2004: 341). In recent years,however, pressure is mounting within thecommunity to constitute a more encompass-ing logic of inquiry that hesitates to assert inany doctrinal way in a world that is perme-ated with particularity and intersubjectivity.To borrow from McLennan (2002: 493), thisimplies that quantitative geographers are underpressure to Omove closer to realityO, Oemphasizenon-cartesian spaceO, Odo narrativeO.Notwithstanding its appeal, embracing theresexive turn implies a repudiation of anythe-oretical commitment since it is not possible tosay anything outside of oneOs social context.As noted by Bohman (1998), there is no clearway to think about the social organization ofcritical inquiry under resexive methodologies.
Mastery goal structures for a fourth grade science classroom

This study investigates the influence of modeling instruction for a solar engineering design challenge on students' achievement goal orientations. Two classrooms received five weeks of modeling instruction using whiteboarding strategies. Students' goal orientations were measured before and after the learning experience using the goal orientation sub scale of the self-report questionnaire, Patterns of Adaptive Learning (PALS). Preliminary analysis revealed that students' performance approach and avoid goals increased, but saw no improvement in the students' mastery goals. This study provided insight to the possible ways in which modeling instruction may be enhancing negative performance goals within the context of a high-stakes environment. Discussion highlights the importance of motivational supports for creating a classroom environment that supports mastery learning.
Active Regeneration of Diesel Particulate Filter Employing Microwave Heating

Wall-flow diesel particulate filters (DPFs) are considered the most effective devices for the control of diesel particulate emissions. A requirement for the reliable operation of the DPFs, however, is the periodic and/or continuous regeneration of the filters. While microwave heating has been considered a potential active regeneration method for the DPFs, past studies on the technology have identified several technical problems leading to filter failure. The problems are mainly associated with the use of inappropriate filter materials for the microwave system and the generation of local hotspots due to uneven microwave heating, resulting in the physical damage to the filters. The objective of this study was to develop and demonstrate the technology employing a microwave-absorbing filter material coupled with an effective waveguide design for the reliable regeneration of DPFs. In this study, a well-equipped diesel emission control laboratory was established to conduct the experiments. The experimental faci...
Midlatitude Atmosphere–Ocean Interaction during El Niño. Part I: The North Pacific Ocean

Abstract Atmosphere-ocean experiments are experiments are used to investigate the formation of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the North Pacific Ocean during fall and winter of the El Nino year. Experiments in which the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM) surface fields am used to force a mixed-layer ocean model in the North Pacific (no air-sea feedback) are compared to simulations in which the CCM and North Pacific Ocean model are coupled. Anomalies in the atmosphere and the North Pacific Ocean during El Nino are obtained from the difference between simulations with and without prescribed warm SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific. In both the forced and coupled experiments, the anomaly pattern resembles a composite of the actual SST anomaly field during El Nino: warm SSTs develop along the cost of North America and cold SSTs form in the central Pacific. In the coupled simulations, air-sea interaction results in a 25% to 50% reduction in the magnitude of the SST and mixed-layer depth anomalies ...
RbSr ages and initial strontium in basalts from Apollo 15

Internal isochrons have been determined for six basalts returned by the Apollo 15 mission. The rocks represent each of the major sampling stops during Apollo 15. The ranges in age and I are 3.28 ± 0.04to3.44 ± 0.07AE and 0.69923 ± 6to0.69937 ± 4. The range in I is very narrow and appears to represent a rather uniform magma source. A detailed study of the initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr was made on geometrically distinct pieces of 15555. The I value was demonstrated to be well defined to within 3 × 10 −5 and therefore reports of variations in I for this rock are in error. The close similarity in the ages of basalts from both the Apollo 12 and 15 sites indicates that widespread extrusion of basaltic lavas took place at 3.2–3.3 AE. From all of the evidence currently available, the last major episode of mare flows took place at 3.16 ± 0.09AE. No clear demonstration of major extrusions subsequent to this time has yet been found. The onset of mare flooding must have begun prior to 3.7 AE. All the results to date show that subsequent to the formation of the Moon the lunar basalts evolved in a magma reservoir with Rb/Sr ∼ 10 −2 and cannot be derived from a mantle which has a chondritic Rb/Sr.
An in vitro binding assay for angiogenin using placental ribonuclease inhibitor

A convenient in vitro assay for angiogenin has been developed which greatly facilitates its routine detection and quantitation. The assay is based on the capacity of angiogenin to bind placental ribonuclease inhibitor (PRI); it is less tedious and more versatile than existing procedures that measure blood vessel growth or cleavage of rRNA. The test sample is added to a reaction mixture containing a known quantity of PRI, which complexes any angiogenin present in the sample. A slight excess of RNase A, relative to PRI, is then added, and the amount of RNase A which remains unbound is determined by measuring the generation of acid-soluble fragments from yeast RNA. The assay is sensitive to 30 fmol of angiogenin and is linear over a 17-fold concentration range. Use of the binding assay in parallel with a conventional RNase A assay provides a means of detecting angiogenin in chromatographic fractions and differentiating it from RNases. This procedure makes possible the isolation of angiogenin from new sources, such as nonhuman sera. It may also be applicable to other biologically active proteins with sequence homology to RNase A, e.g., eosinophil cationic protein or eosinophil derived neurotoxin.
A stereoselective synthesis of (+)-herboxidiene/GEX1A.

A stereoselective synthesis of (+)-herboxidiene is described. The convergent synthesis utilized a Suzuki cross-coupling reaction to assemble the key segments. The synthesis of the functionalized tetrahydropyran ring utilized an Achmatowicz reaction as the key step. The synthesis of the C10−C19 segment was accomplished using Brown’s crotylboration, asymmetric alkylation, and a stereoselective allylic chlorination reactions.