cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gaussian beam characterization for laser beam propagation through translucent, multi-layer medium with random indices of refraction

In this paper, a new model for characterizing short-range, free-space optical channels for the weakturbulence scenario is proposed. The turbulence is attributed to fluctuations in the index of refraction. The proposed model assumes a multi-layer optical propagation medium where each layer may be divided into a large number of sub-layers. Furthermore, each sub-layer is assumed to possess an index of refraction that is random with an unknown probability density function (pdf) unique to that sub-layer. Further, it is assumed that the propagation losses, such as scattering and absorption, are negligible. That is, the losses are limited to the geometric loss. Using the ABCD matrix for the proposed channel, the statistical properties of a Gaussian beam, such as beam waist and radius of curvature, are studied. It is shown that for large propagation distances, the above parameters assume Gaussian characteristics.
Asymmetric Thin Samarium Doped Cerium Oxide–Carbonate Dual-Phase Membrane for Carbon Dioxide Separation

Samarium doped ceria (SDC)–carbonate dual-phase membranes are permselective to carbon dioxide. This paper reports a method to prepare thin SDC–carbonate membranes on an adequate base support to improve CO2 permeance of the membranes. It was found that macroporous support made of a physical mixture of SDC and 40 vol % bismuth–yttrium–samarium oxide (BYS) has the desired pore structure, ionic conductivity, carbonate nonwettability, and mechanical compatibility with the thin SDC–carbonate membrane layer. Asymmetric porous supports consisting of a thin, porous SDC top layer on an SDC–BYS base were prepared by the copressing method. The porous SDC top layer was filled with molten carbonate by the direct infiltration method. The final membranes consist of a 150 μm, hermetic SDC–carbonate layer on the macroporos SDC–BYS base support. The thin SDC–carbonate dual-phase membrane offers significantly improved CO2 permeance as compared to thick SDC–carbonate membranes. Both membrane thickness and the structure of the...
Iconic Fishermen and the Fates of New England Fisheries Regulations, 1883–1912

AbstractOne distinct feature of recent marine environmental history is its more considered treatment of natural agency. In our rush to explore the power of ecosystems over human actions, however, t...
Communities on the Move: Pedestrian-Oriented Zoning as a Facilitator of Adult Active Travel to Work in the United States.

Background: Communities across the United States have been reforming their zoning codes to create pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods with increased street connectivity, mixed-use and higher density, open space, transportation infrastructure, and a traditional neighborhood structure. Zoning code reforms include new urbanist zoning such as the SmartCode, form-based codes, transects, transportation and pedestrian-oriented developments, and traditional neighborhood developments. Purpose: To examine the relationship of zoning code reforms and more active living-oriented zoning provisions with adult active travel to work via walking, biking, or by using public transit. Methods: Zoning codes effective as of 2010 were compiled for 3,914 municipal-level jurisdictions located in 471 counties and 2 consolidated cities in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and that collectively covered 72.9% of the U.S. population. Zoning codes were evaluated for the presence of code reform zoning and nine pedestrian-oriented zoning provisions (1=yes): sidewalks, crosswalks, bike-pedestrian connectivity, street connectivity, bike lanes, bike parking, bike-pedestrian trails/paths, mixed use development, and other walkability/pedestrian-orientation. A zoning scale reflected the number of provisions addressed (out of 10). Five continuous outcome measures were constructed using 2010-2014 American Community Survey municipal-level 5-year estimates to assess the percentage of workers: walking, biking, walking or biking, or taking public transit to work OR engaged in any active travel to work. Regression models controlled for municipal-level socioeconomic characteristics and a GIS-constructed walkability scale and were clustered on county with robust standard errors. Results: Adjusted models indicated that several pedestrian-oriented zoning provisions were statistically associated (p<.05 or lower) with increased rates of walking, biking, or engaging in any active travel (walking, biking, or any active travel) to work: code reform zoning, bike parking (street furniture), bike lanes, bike-pedestrian trails/paths, other walkability, mixed use zoning, and a higher score on the zoning scale. Public transit use was associated with code reform zoning and a number of zoning measures in Southern jurisdictions but not in non-Southern jurisdictions. Conclusion: As jurisdictions revisit their zoning and land use policies, they may want to evaluate the pedestrian-orientation of their zoning codes so that they can plan for pedestrian improvements that will help to encourage active travel to work.
Development and Application Status of Coal Gasification Technology with Entrained Bed in China

Coal gasification technology is the key technology of coal-fired combined cycle,coal chemical industry,comprehensive utilization system and zero emission system.At present,overseas gasification technologies have entered into China market and have some outstanding achievement.China self-owned gasification technologies also rapidly develop,and coal-slurry gasification technology as the representative of China self-owned gasification technologies has achieved advanced world levels.The paper introduces the typical coal gasification technology with entrained bed in China from four aspects,including technology development,technique flow,technology characteristic and index,and application status in engineering,and also compares them with overseas gasification technologies.
Recommendation on the Researching Medical Equipment EMC Testing Lab

Based on the specificity of the large medical equipment EMC testing,Discuss the pattern of the management of the medical equipment EMC testing lab,make some recommendation on the researching medical equipment EMC testing lab,to guarantee the extension of the EMC certification of the medical equipment,and make sure the safety of the medical equipment.
NOVA regulates Dcc alternative splicing during neuronal migration and axon guidance in the spinal cord

The first step of producing a protein involves the DNA of a gene being copied to form a molecule of RNA. This RNA molecule can often be processed to create several different “messenger” RNAs (mRNAs), each of which are used to produce a different protein by a process known as alternative splicing. A class of proteins that bind to RNA molecules controls alternative splicing. These “splicing factors” ensure that the right protein variant is produced at the right time and in the right place to carry out the appropriate activity. Many genes that play important roles in the nervous system have been reported to undergo alternative splicing to generate different protein variants. However, it is unclear whether alternative splicing is important for controlling how the nervous system develops, during which time the neurons connect to the cells that they will communicate with. Forming these connections involves part of the neuron, called the axon, growing along a precise path through the nervous system to reach its destination. If alternative splicing is important for this process, it is also important to ask: which splicing factors are relevant and which genes do these splicing factors regulate? Through genetic and molecular studies using mouse embryos, Leggere et al. found that the NOVA family of splicing factors are essential for the development of the nervous system. In particular, the NOVA splicing factors control the alternative splicing of a gene called Dcc. This gene produces proteins that play a number of roles, including helping axons to grow and guiding the axons to the correct location in the developing nervous system. A related study by Saito et al. showed that two forms of NOVA splicing factors – called NOVA1 and NOVA2 – have different roles in the nervous system, and describes the role of NOVA2 in more detail. Leggere et al. will now carry out additional studies to determine the unique role of each protein variant produced from the Dcc gene. Future research will also investigate how NOVA proteins help generate these variants at the right time and in the right place.
AChRs Are Essential for the Targeting of Rapsyn to the Postsynaptic Membrane of NMJs in Living Mice

Rapsyn, a 43 kDa scaffold protein, is required for the clustering of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) at synaptic sites between mammalian motor neurons and muscle cells. However, the mechanism by which rapsyn is inserted and retained at postsynaptic sites at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) in vivo remains largely unknown. We found that neither the N-terminal myristoylation nor the cysteine-rich RING H2 domain of rapsyn is required for its stable association with the postsynaptic membrane of NMJs. When N-myristoylation-defective rapsyn-EGFP mutant (G2A) and RING-H2 domain truncated rapsyn-EGFP were electroporated into sternomastoid muscles, a strong rapsyn fluorescent signal was observed selectively at synapses, similar to WT rapsyn-EGFP. The targeting of rapsyn-EGFP (WT and mutants) is independent of synaptic activity because they were inserted at denervated NMJs. However, when the coiled-coil domain (the AChR-binding domain of rapsyn) is deleted, rapsyn fails to associate with AChRs at NMJs of living mice. In cultured myoblasts (in which AChRs are absent), myristoylated WT rapsyn mostly localizes to lysosomes and is not associated with the plasma membrane. However, in the presence of AChR subunits, rapsyn molecules were targeted to the cell surface and formed aggregates with AChRs. The targeting of AChRs to the cell membrane, in contrast, does not require rapsyn because expressed AChRs are visible on the cell membranes of rapsyn-deficient myoblasts. These results provide evidence for an active role of AChRs in the targeting of rapsyn to the NMJ in vivo. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Rapsyn is required for the clustering of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) at postsynaptic sites. However, the mechanism by which rapsyn is targeted to synaptic sites at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction remains unclear. In this study, we showed that the coiled-coil domain of rapsyn is required for its targeting to the cell surface via its interaction with AChRs. In contrast, the targeting of AChRs to the cell membrane does not require rapsyn. These results indicate that AChRs play a critical role in the insertion and/or association of rapsyn with the plasma membrane of synaptic sites.
Examples of Using the Policy Continuum

This chapter discusses how the business, system, and implementation views can be coordinated using the DEN-ng (Directory Enabled Networks new generation) information model. It discusses the difference between the DEN-ng and Shared Information and Data (SID) information models. DEN-ng focuses on modeling network elements and services; in contrast, the TMF SID is proceeding at a slower, but more generic, pace. It concentrates on building out a comprehensive business view of all of the main managed objects that are needed to manage an environment. DEN-ng promotes the use of policy management and process management to holistically work together to control the behavior of a managed environment. Policy management is used to define the particular state of a managed object and whether it should remain in that state or transition to a new state; process management represents the mechanisms that can be used to accomplish the goal set by policy.
The onset of rheumatoid arthritis following trauma

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is known to have many predisposing factors. Objective We studied individuals whose RA was initiated by physical injuries. Patients and methods Sixty patients (43 females), previously well, developed RA following trauma. No other known environmental or familial influences were present. Fourteen sustained a fracture; of the 46 who did not, 36 sustained multiple injuries that in part involved the axial skeleton. Subsequent unremitting daily pain, stiffness, limited motion, pain on motion, and/or swelling in the injured areas were mandatory for inclusion. Results Nine months after injuries (span: 2 weeks-36 months), more obvious signs of inflammation (IM) appeared in multiple other joints that were previously not affected by the original trauma. In those with laboratory tests done prior to the spread of IM (30/60), 22 (73%) were normal until an average 8 months after the spread of IM. Of the entire cohort of 60, only 23% had a positive rheumatoid factor, but 43% had a positive antinuclear antibody. Conclusion It seems apparent that any severe trauma to a joint may precipitate an ongoing localized chronic inflammatory disorder for an indefinite period of time, which may then lead to the spread of IM to multiple other joints. The initiation of RA following trauma warrants consideration as a legitimate entity.
Learning in and about rural places: Connections and tensions between students’ everyday experiences and environmental quality issues in their community

Guided by sociocultural perspectives on the importance of place as a resource for learning, we investigated 14- and 15-year old students’ understandings of their community and water quality during a school-based watershed unit. Methods included a theory-driven thematic analysis of field notes and video transcripts from four biology classrooms, a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 67 pairs of matched pre- and post-intervention mindmaps, and a content analysis of 73 student reflections. As they learned about water quality, learners recognized the relevance of the watershed’s health to the health of their community. Students acknowledged the impacts of local economically driven activities (e.g., natural gas wells, application of agrichemicals) and leisure activities (e.g., boating, fishing) on the watershed’s environmental health. As students learned in and about their watershed, they experienced both connections and tensions between their everyday experiences and the environmental problems in their community. The students suggested individual sustainability actions needed to address water quality issues; however, the students struggled to understand how to act collectively. Implications of rural experiences as assets to future environmental sciences learning are discussed as well as the implications of educational experiences that do not include an advocacy component when students uncover environmental health issues. We suggest further consideration is needed on how to help young people develop action-oriented science knowledge, not just inert knowledge of environmental problems, during place-based education units.
Cognitive skills and leadership performance: The nine critical skills.

Abstract Over the years, a growing body of evidence indicates that certain cognitive skills are a critical determinant of leader performance. In the present effort we show that application of these skills is typically founded in case-based knowledge. Subsequently, we identify nine key skills people in leadership positions employ when working with case-based knowledge to address leadership problems: 1) problem definition, 2) cause/goal analysis, 3) constraint analysis, 4) planning, 5) forecasting, 6) creative thinking, 7) idea evaluation, 8) wisdom, and 9) sensemaking/visioning. Individual and situational contingencies shaping effective application of these thinking skills is discussed. In addition, the implications of findings bearing on leader thinking skills for leader assessment and leader development are considered.
The PAR-1-Stimulated Platelet Subpopulation That Binds Factor Xa Also Expresses Matrixmetalloproteinase and Calpain Activities Resulting in Population-Specific GP1bα Shedding and Platelet Vesiculation.

We previously showed that only a subpopulation of platelets responds to stimulation by strong agonists with exposure of coagulation factor binding sites. The subpopulation of SFLLRN-amide or collagen-stimulated platelets that bound coagulation factor Xa showed 50% decreased surface glycoprotein 1bα (GP1bα) and 60% reduced forward scatter relative to unstimulated platelets. While collagen-stimulated Xa-negative platelets lost no GP1b/IX/V surface density, the PAR-1-stimulated Xa-negative population lost 25% of both GP1bα and GPIX surface density signifying decreased GP1b/IX/V complex following PAR-1 stimulation. The PAR-1-stimulated Xa-positive platelets showed a discrepancy between the surface densities of GPIX and GP1bα that suggested a procoagulant subpopulation-specific shedding of GP1bα. While Xa-positive PAR-1-stimulated platelets pretreated with 10μM GM6001, a nonspecific inhibitor of matrixmetalloproteinases, recovered 30% of the lost surface GP1bα, bringing the GP1bα /GPIX ratio to ~1, collagen-stimulated loss of GP1bα on Xa-positive platelets was little affected by GM6001 pretreatment, and GP1bα on Xa-negative platelets was unaffected by GM6001 pretreatment. While inhibition of calpains by pretreatment of platelets with 100μM calpeptin had little effect on agonist-stimulated GP1bα shedding, calpeptin pretreatment resulted in 50% decreased loss of GP1bα/GPIX from PAR-1-stimulated Xa-negative platelets, in a 35–45% loss of the Xa-positive subpopulation resulting from PAR-1 stimulation, in 25% increased forward scatter from all agonist-induced Xa-positive populations, and in a 40–50% decrease in positive events occurring outside the defined platelet region. On the contrary, GM6001 inhibition of GP1bα shedding had no effect on either the size of the Xa-positive subpopulation, on the density of binding sites or on forward scatter. Platelet vesiculation would produce smaller platelets with decreased forward scatter, and microparticles. Calpain, previously implicated in platelet vesiculation, appears to mediate specific vesiculation of Xa-positive platelets. In summary, PAR-1 agonists and collagen recruit a platelet subpopulation to undergo specific membrane changes exposing binding sites for coagulation enzymes factors IXa and Xa. This procoagulant subpopulation recruited by PAR-1 signaling is also notable for specific matrixmetalloprotease activities leading to procoagulant population-specific GP1bα shedding. Calpain activity mediates membrane vesiculation of procoagulant platelets resulting from both collagen- and PAR-1-stimulation leading to smaller procoagulant platelets and to platelet microparticles.
Insurance Transitions and Changes in Physician and Emergency Department Utilization: An Observational Study

Background Shopping for health insurance is encouraged as a way to find the most affordable coverage that best meets an enrollee’s needs. However, the extent to which individuals switch insurance and subsequent changes in health care utilization that might arise, particularly new physician visits, are not well understood.
Proteomics Analysis of Circulating Serum Exosomes

Proteomics characterization of biofluids, such as urine and plasma, has been explored for the discovery of predictive, prognostic, and mechanistic biomarkers of diseases and tissue injury. Here we describe comprehensive characterization of protein cargos from cell-derived secreted vesicles (extracellular vesicles or exosome) for biomarker discovery using the mass spectrometry-based technology.
Decontamination Measures to Prevent Mechanical Transmission of Viroids

Viroids may be transmitted via seed, propagules, or by mechanical inoculation. An increasing number of viroid outbreaks in recent years are likely to have been due to intensive “hands-on” activities, e.g., in greenhouse tomato production. Although most viroids are resistant to heat treatment, they are quite sensitive to diverse chemical treatments. The most effective disinfectants for virtually all tested viroids are 10%–20% household bleach (0.5%–1% sodium hypochlorite active ingredient), a mixture of 2% formaldehyde plus 2% sodium hydroxide, or 2% Virkon S. Milk is also useful and could serve as an alternative. Despite such promising results in chemical disinfection, an effective viroid disease management would likely require an integrated approach: quarantine and seed certification, application of best hygiene practices including the use of effective disinfectants, scouting and removing diseased plants, greenhouse decontamination, and crop rotation to nonhost plants.
Characterization of microfluidic operations underlying an electrowetting heat pipe

The heat transport capacity of heat pipes is limited by the capillary pressure generated in the wick that pumps the condensate. The current authors recently proposed a novel heat pipe architecture, in which the wick is replaced by electrowetting (EW)-based pumping in the adiabatic section. An electrowetting heat pipe (EHP) overcomes the capillary limit in heat pipes and can enable compact, ultralow power consumption heat pipes, to transport kiloWatt heat loads over long distances. This work studies the microfluidic operations that are the basis of the EHP. Experiments are conducted to estimate the maximum channel gap which sustains reliable EW pumping. This is an important consideration, since the heat transport capacity scales linearly with the channel gap. Experiments are also conducted to estimate the maximum channel gap at which EW voltages can split droplets. This is important to ensure EHP operability in the event of droplet merging. Experiments are also conducted to demonstrate EW-induced droplet generation from an open-air reservoir. This mimics the interface between the condenser and adiabatic sections. All these experiments are conducted on devices manufactured by a novel and scalable manufacturing technique. The results suggest that planar EHPs (water-based) with a 10 cm by 4 mm cross section can transport 1.6 kW over 1 meter long distances, with a thermal resistance of 0.01 K/W.
Teacher-Mentor: a personal reflection on Lee Roloff

I have known Lee Roloff for 40 years. He is still with me in richly textured memories, in thoughts, in video recordings of lectures at the C.G. Jung Institutes in Chicago and Seattle, and in conver...
The Future of Contextual Fear Learning for PTSD Research: A Methodological Review of Neuroimaging Studies.

There has been a great deal of recent interest in human models of contextual fear learning, particularly due to the use of such paradigms for investigating neural mechanisms related to the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the construct of “context” in fear conditioning research is broad, and the operational definitions and methods used to investigate contextual fear learning in humans are wide ranging and lack specificity, making it difficult to interpret findings about neural activity. Here we will review neuroimaging studies of contextual fear acquisition in humans. We will discuss the methodology associated with four broad categories of how contextual fear learning is manipulated in imaging studies (colored backgrounds, static picture backgrounds, virtual reality, and configural stimuli) and highlight findings for the primary neural circuitry involved in each paradigm. Additionally, we will offer methodological recommendations for human studies of contextual fear acquisition, including using stimuli that distinguish configural learning from discrete cue associations and clarifying how context is experimentally operationalized.
Implementation of a Regional Perinatal Data Repository from Clinical and Billing Records

Objectives To describe the implementation of the first phase of a regional perinatal data repository and to provide a roadmap for others to navigate technical, privacy, and data governance concerns in implementing similar resources. Methods Our implementation integrated regional physician billing records with maternal and infant electronic health records from an academic delivery hospital. These records, representing births during 2013–2015, constituted a data core supporting linkage to additional ancillary data sets. Measures obtained from pediatric follow-up, urgent care, emergency, and inpatient encounters were linked at the individual level as were measures obtained by home visitors during pre- and postnatal encounters. Residential addresses were geocoded supporting linkage to area-level measures. Results Integrated data contained regional billing records for 69,290 newborns representing approximately 81% of all regional live births and nearly 95% of live births in the region’s most populous county. Billing records linked to 7293 infant delivery hospital records and 7107 corresponding maternal hospital records. Manual review demonstrated 100% validity of matches among audited records. Additionally, 2430 home visiting records were linked to the data core as were pediatric primary care, urgent care, emergency department, and inpatient visits representing 42,541 children. More than 99% of the newborn billing records were geocoded and assigned a census tract identifier. Conclusions for Practice Our approach to methodological and regulatory challenges affords opportunities for expansion of systems to integrate electronic health records originating from additional medical centers as well as individual- and area-level linkage to additional data sets relevant to perinatal health.
Predictors and Outcomes of Mealtime Emotional Climate in Families With Preschoolers.

Objective Mealtime emotional climate (MEC) is related to parent feeding and mental health, and possibly to child food consumption. However, MEC has been inconsistently assessed with a variety of coding schemes and self-report instruments, and has not been examined longitudinally. This study aims to characterize MEC systematically using an observational, count-based coding scheme; identify whether parent feeding or mental health predict MEC; and examine whether MEC predicts child food consumption and weight. Methods A subsample of parents (n = 74) recruited from a larger study completed questionnaires when children were about 37 months, participated in a home visit to videotape a mealtime when children were about 41 months, and completed questionnaires again when children were about 51 months old. Maternal and child positive and negative emotions were coded from videotaped mealtimes. Observational data were submitted to cluster analyses, to identify dyads with similar emotion expression patterns, or MEC. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of MEC, and Analysis of Covariance was used to examine differences between MEC groups. Results Dyads were characterized as either Positive Expressers (high positive, low negative emotion) or All Expressers (similar positive and negative emotion). Increased food involvement feeding practices were related to decreased likelihood of being an All Expresser. Positive Expressers reported that their children ate more healthy food, compared with All Expressers. Conclusions Observed MEC is driven by maternal emotion, and may predict child food consumption. Food involvement may promote positive MEC. Improving MEC may increase child consumption of healthy foods.
Theoretical and experimental studies of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) beating signal in phantoms and mice brains

Brain simulation techniques have demonstrated undisputable therapeutic effects on neural diseases. Invasive stimulation techniques like deep brain stimulation (DBS) and noninvasive techniques like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been approved by FDA as treatments for many drug resist neural disorders and diseases. Developing noninvasive, deep, and targeted brain stimulation techniques is currently one of the important tasks in brain researches. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternative current stimulation (tACS) techniques have the advantages of low cost and portability. However, neither of them can produce targeted stimulation due to lacking of electrical field focusing mechanism. Recently, Grossman et al. reported using the down beating signals of two tACS signals to accomplish focused stimulation. By sending two sine waves running at slightly different high frequencies (~2kHz), they demonstrated that they can modulate a “localized” neuron group at the difference frequency of the two sine waves and at the same time avoid excitation of neurons at other locations. As a result, equivalent focusing effect was accomplished by such beating mechanism. In this work, we show neither theoretically nor experimentally the beating mechanism can produce “focusing effect” and the beating signal spread globally across the full brain. The localized modulation effect likely happened right at the electrode contact sites when the electrode contact area is small and the current is concentrated. We conclude that to accomplish noninvasive and focused stimulation at current stage the only available tool is the focused TMS system we recently demonstrated.
Three Dimensional Nucleation

The realization that phase changes, i.e. condensation of a vapor to its liquid or solid phase, boiling of a liquid, melting of a solid does not necessarily occur at equilibrium was published as early as 1724 by G. FAHRENHEIT.1 J. T. LOWITZ in 1785 showed that acetic acid crystals are selective nuclei for the crystalization of acetic acid.1 But it was not until 1926, when a paper by VOLMER and WEBER2 was published, that a predictive equation for the rate of nucleation became available. Advances quickly followed. FARKAS,3 based on a suggestion by SZILLARD, provided a kinetic scheme for calculating the unknown constant. BECKER and DORING4 used this scheme but obtained the backward rate (this terminology will be explained later) from the Kelvin equation. ZELDOVICH suggested a continuum version. Many others have also made significant contributions. A very good review of much of the early history can be found in Volmer’s book. While this book is in some places difficult to read it is nevertheless highly recommended. Other sources are the three volume set edited by ZETTLEMOYER6,7,8 and the book by ABRAHAM.9
On the parallel complexity of some constraint satisfaction problems

Constraint satisfaction networks have been shown to be a very useful tool for knowledge representation in Artificial Intelligence applications. These networks often utilize local constraint propagation techniques to achieve global consistency (consistent labelling in vision). Such methods have been used extensively in the context of image understanding and interpretation, as well as planning, natural language analysis and commonsense reasoning. In this paper we study the parallel complexity of discrete relaxation, one of the most commonly used constraint satisfaction techniques. Since the constraint propagation procedures such as discrete relaxation appear to operate locally, it has been previously believed that the relaxation approach for achieving global consistency has a natural parallel solution. Our analysis suggests that a parallel solution is unlikely to improve by much the known sequential solutions. Specifically, we prove that the problem solved by discrete relaxation is log-space complete for P (the class of polynomial time deterministic sequential algorithms). Intuitively, this implies that discrete relaxation is inherently sequential and it is unlikely that we can solve the polynomial time version of the consistent labelling problem in logarithmic time by using only a polynomial number of processors. Some practical implications of our result are discussed.
The Theory and Application of SMART Electron Scattering Matrices

SMART (simulation of many accumulative Rutherford trajectories) scattering theory is based on a scattering matrix designed to eliminate angular and possible energy discretization errors. This is done without resorting to negative matrix elements. In effect, the true scattering law is replaced by one with fewer collisions but larger deflections per collision. The two scattering laws are equivalent, at least in space-independent calculations. To the extent that this equivalence holds true for space-dependent problems, the major numerical obstacle to electron transport modeling is removed. SMART scattering theory has been used in one-dimensional streaming ray and two-dimensional S/sub N/ codes in lieu of Fokker-Planck or extended transport correction techniques, and in a one-dimensional discrete angle Monte Carlo code in place of the condensed history approach. Excellent results have been obtained.
Bladder urinary oxygen tension is correlated with urinary microbiota composition.

Presence of microbial communities (microbiota) in an organ system depends on environmental factors, such as oxygen availability. We describe a novel technique to measure bladder urine oxygen tension (BUOT) in ambulatory women and use that technique to compare BUOT values to female urinary microbiota and participant urinary signs and symptoms. Ambulatory female urogynecology patients presenting for clinical care who were willing to undergo transurethral catheterization underwent BUOT determination with a non-invasive flow-through oxygen sensor. To detect urinary microbiota in the bladder, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on catheterized urine. Multivariate statistical analyses were performed to examine potential correlations among BUOT, urinary microbiota compositions and clinical variables. Significant variation in BUOT existed between individuals (range: 0.47–51.5 mmHg; median: 23.1 ± 13.5). Microbiota compositions were associated with BUOT (p = 0.03). BUOT was significantly lower in urines that were nitrite negative on dipstick analysis (p = 0.0001) and in participants who answered yes to having urinary leakage on the validated Urinary Distress Inventory (p = 0.01). BUOTs can be measured in ambulatory women. For urogynecology patients, a wide range of values exist. BUOT may be associated with the presence of urinary microbiota and resultant signs and symptoms.
Is the Brief Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale Valid and Reliable for African American Adolescents?.

ABSTRACTBackground: Health promotion/education strive to promote healthful conditions that improve quality of life based on the perceptions of those whose lives are affected Though health promotion...
Upstream Irrigation Impact on Columbia River Flows

Analyses of long time Columbia River flows at The Dalles to demonstrate magnitude of peak reductions and low flow increases due to upstream irrigation; irrigation regulations may account for up to 12% increase in low flows through irrigation of 8 1/2 million acres upstream by year 2010.
The importance of round-robin validation when assessing machine-learning-based vertical extrapolation of wind speeds

Abstract. The extrapolation of wind speeds measured at a meteorological mast to wind turbine rotor heights is a key component in a bankable wind farm energy assessment and a significant source of uncertainty. Industry-standard methods for extrapolation include the power-law and logarithmic profiles. The emergence of machine-learning applications in wind energy has led to several studies demonstrating substantial improvements in vertical extrapolation accuracy in machine-learning methods over these conventional power-law and logarithmic profile methods. In all cases, these studies assess relative model performance at a measurement site where, critically, the machine-learning algorithm requires knowledge of the rotor-height wind speeds in order to train the model. This prior knowledge provides fundamental advantages to the site-specific machine-learning model over the power-law and log profiles, which, by contrast, are not highly tuned to rotor-height measurements but rather can generalize to any site. Furthermore, there is no practical benefit in applying a machine-learning model at a site where winds at the heights relevant for wind energy production are known; rather, its performance at nearby locations (i.e., across a wind farm site) without rotor-height measurements is of most practical interest. To more fairly and practically compare machine-learning-based extrapolation to standard approaches, we implemented a round-robin extrapolation model comparison, in which a random-forest machine-learning model is trained and evaluated at different sites and then compared against the power-law and logarithmic profiles. We consider 20 months of lidar and sonic anemometer data collected at four sites between 50 and 100 km apart in the central United States. We find that the random forest outperforms the standard extrapolation approaches, especially when incorporating surface measurements as inputs to include the influence of atmospheric stability. When compared at a single site (the traditional comparison approach), the machine-learning improvement in mean absolute error was 28 % and 23 % over the power-law and logarithmic profiles, respectively. Using the round-robin approach proposed here, this improvement drops to 20 % and 14 %, respectively. These latter values better represent practical model performance, and we conclude that round-robin validation should be the standard for machine-learning-based wind speed extrapolation methods.
Existentialism against colonialism: Sartre, fanon, and the place of lived experience

The global impact of Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth extends far beyond academia and it has served as a Bible to numerous anti-colonial movements. One thinks especially of its importance to the Black Panther Party in the United States and the Black Consciousness movement in South Africa. Indeed, there is still today no shortage of passionate readers of The Wretched of the Earth in South Africa up to and including proponents of the Rhodes Must Fall Movement (see, for example, Sayles 2010; Ramuga 1986; and More 2017). The question therefore in the context of the present volume on the reception of existentialism is only the extent to which it can be seen as an existentialist text. I have argued elsewhere that The Wretched of the Earth must be read in conjunction with Jean-Paul Sartre’s Critique of Dialectical Reason (Bernasconi 2010). Fanon himself left this in no doubt. When he arranged for a third-party to approach Sartre to ask him to write an Introduction to The Wretched of the Earth, he asked that Sartre be told: “each time I sit down at my desk, I think of him” (quoted by Cohen-Solal 1987, p. 431). Nevertheless, the tendency in recent literature has been to try to separate the late Fanon from Sartre which, by implication, might separate him from existentialism.
CHAPTER 6 – VERTEBRATE FAUNA

Publisher Summary The two patterns observable in the faunal materials from Greenwich Cove are the dominance throughout the prehistoric sequence of mammalian remains and the apparent expansion of the subsistence base, beginning with the Middle Woodland occupation. Regardless of the effects of postdepositional forces, however, most of the sustenance of the prehistoric inhabitants of Greenwich Cove came from terrestrial species even though they lived on the shore. Though the archeological record of subsistence is visually dominated by the remains of coastal resources in the form of shell, creatures of the land and air were of equal, if not greater, dietary importance. An archeological faunal diversity applies only to the assemblage from Greenwich Cove. Bone assemblages have been recovered at other well-dated, multi-component sites on Narragansett Bay, but these collections are too small and fragmentary to provide insights into the issues raised by the analysis of the Greenwich Cove materials.
Bilateral Vestibular Schwannomas in a Patient with Ring Chromosome 22: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Introduction Ring chromosome 22 (r[22]) can lead to the development of intracranial tumors such as meningiomas, neurofibromas, and schwannomas similar to neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2). Case presentation An 18-year-old female with r(22) and a history of global development delay and cognitive impairment presented with sudden hearing loss. MRI revealed bilateral vestibular schwannomas. Given documented audiologic decline in the patient's hearing, the larger tumor was treated with CyberKnife fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery, and the smaller tumor is being monitored. Conclusion This case provides further evidence that patients with r(22) can develop clinical features of NF2, including the development of bilateral vestibular schwannomas, and should be monitored for hearing disturbances starting in puberty as a warning sign for these tumors.
Impact of Hurricane Michael (2018) on local vertical total electron content

Abstract An analysis of vertical total electron content (TEC) estimates from the MIT Madrigal database is performed for the regions surrounding the eye of Hurricane Michael (2018). Absolute and detrended TEC values show a noticeable increase during the tropical cyclone (TC) relative to fluctuations at the same locations prior to the storm. Direct comparisons of TEC perturbation magnitudes to the number of lightning flashes in 1 ° × 1 ° latitude-longitude boxes surrounding the eye of Hurricane Michael for each 5 min period of 10 October 2018 showed no visible trends. A similar comparison of the vertical TEC fluctuations with respect to the rainfall rates showed a positive correlation as the rainfall rate increased from light to moderate. However, a decrease in TEC perturbations were observed for the most intense rainfall rates. Additionally, ionosonde measurements in the Gulf of Mexico Region reveal an increased production of waves with periods less than 90 min after TC formation. These results indicate that the measured TEC fluctuations are most likely caused by atmospheric gravity waves produced by Hurricane Michael, which supports previous research.
Intra-species transcriptional profiling reveals key regulators of Candida albicans pathogenic traits

The human commensal and opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans displays extensive genetic and phenotypic variation across clinical isolates. Here, we performed RNA sequencing on 21 well-characterized isolates to examine how genetic variation contributes to gene expression differences, and to link these differences to phenotypic traits. C. albicans adapts primarily through clonal evolution and yet hierarchical clustering of gene expression profiles in this set of isolates did not reproduce their phylogenetic relationship. Strikingly, strain-specific gene expression was prevalent in some strain backgrounds. Association of gene expression with phenotypic data by differential analysis, linear correlation, and assembly of gene networks connected both previously characterized and novel genes with 23 C. albicans traits. Construction of de novo gene modules produced a gene atlas incorporating 67% of C. albicans genes and revealed correlations between expression modules and important phenotypes such as systemic virulence. Furthermore, targeted investigation of two modules that have novel roles in growth and filamentation supported our bioinformatic predictions. Together, these studies reveal widespread transcriptional variation across C. albicans isolates and identify genetic and epigenetic links to phenotypic variation based on co-expression network analysis. ImportanceInfectious fungal species are often treated uniformly despite clear evidence of genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity being widespread across strains. Identifying the genetic basis for this phenotypic diversity is extremely challenging because of the tens or hundreds of thousands of variants that may distinguish two strains. Here we use transcriptional profiling to determine differences in gene expression that can be linked to phenotypic variation among a set of 21 Candida albicans isolates. Analysis of this transcriptional dataset uncovered clear tends in gene expression characteristics for this species and new genes and pathways that associated with variation in pathogenic processes. Direct investigation confirmed functional predictions for a number of new regulators associated with growth and filamentation, demonstrating the utility of these approaches in linking genes to important phenotypes.
Longitudinal surveillance of schistosomiasis in hilly regions of Sichuan Province from 2015 to 2019

OBJECTIVE To investigate the changes in the endemic situation of schistosomiasis in national surveillance sites of Sichuan Province, so as to provide the scientific evidence for formulating the schistosomiasis elimination strategy. METHODS From 2015 to 2019, 63 national schistosomiasis surveillance sites were assigned in Sichuan Province, in which Schistosoma japonicum infections were monitored in humans, livestock, wild feces and snails. The monitoring data were descriptively analyzed. RESULTS A total of 94 119 person-time local residents were serologically screened for S. japonicum infections in 63 national surveillance sites of Sichuan Province from 2015 to 2019, with sero-prevalence rates ranging from 1.28% to 3.11%, and the sero-positives were predominantly detected in local residents at ages of over 50 years and in farmers. A total of 94 119 person-time mobile populations were serologically screened for S. japonicum infections in the national surveillance sites during the 5-year period, with sero-prevalence of 1.10% to 1.59%. There were no egg-positives identified in either local residents or mobile populations. Among the 6 126 herd-time livestock detected, no egg-positives were identified, and no S. japonicum infection was detected in the 205 wild feces. Snail survey was performed covering an area of 8 484.08 hm2, and 724.80 hm2 snail habitats were identified, including 2.43 hm2 emerging snail habitats and 63.00 hm2 re-emerging snail habitats. The mean occurrence of frames with snails was 6.87% to 19.63%, and the mean density of living snails was 0.18 to 0.62 snails/0.1 m2 in the national surveillance sites of Sichuan Province from 2015 to 2019; however, no S. japonicum infection was detected in snails. CONCLUSIONS The endemic situation of schistosomiasis has reduced to the lowest level in Sichuan Province; however, there is a rise in snail habitats, and there is still a risk of schistosomiasis resurgence. Further improvements of the surveillance system for schistosomiasis are required to achieve the goal of schistosomiasis elimination in Sichuan Province as soon as possible.
Reliance on Intuitions

How should we discover the truth about language? The received view among Linguistic Pragmatists, indeed among philosophers of language generally, is that we should proceed by consulting intuitions about language. I argue that this is a mistake and constitutes the First Methodological Flaw of Linguistic Pragmatism. Why is it thought to be appropriate to consult intuitions? (1) A seemingly popular answer is that these intuitions are a priori. I argue that, even if we suppose that there is some a priori knowledge, we should not suppose that we have it of meanings. (2) Stich has suggested that philosophers might be guided by linguistics in answering the question: competent speakers of a language derive their semantic intuitions, like syntactic ones, from linguistic rules of the language embodied in their minds. I argue that this “voice of competence” view of our linguistic intuitions is mistaken. Instead, I urge that intuitions are empirical theory-laden central-processor responses to phenomena differing from other such responses only in being immediate and fairly unreflective. This being so, we should prefer the intuitions of the more expert philosophers to those of the folk. More importantly, we should seek direct, less theory-laden, evidence by studying what the intuitions are about, the linguistic reality itself.