cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unobtrusive gait verification for mobile phones

Continuously and unobtrusively identifying the phone's owner using accelerometer sensing and gait analysis has a great potential to improve user experience on the go. However, a number of challenges, including gait modeling and training data acquisition, must be addressed before unobtrusive gait verification is practical. In this paper, we describe a gait verification system for mobile phone without any assumption of body placement or device orientation. Our system uses a combination of supervised and unsupervised learning techniques to verify the user continuously and automatically learn unseen gait pattern from the user over time. We demonstrate that it is capable of recognizing the user in natural settings. We also investigated an unobtrusive training method that makes it feasible to acquire training data without explicit user annotation.
Exchange Rates and Economic Recovery in the 1930s: An Extension to Lation America

In a study of ten European countries during the 1930s Barry Eichengreen and Jeffrey Sachs show that devaluation benefited the initiating countries and that there can be no presumption that depreciation was beggar-thy-neighbor.' I apply their methodology to ten Latin American countries. Examining the behavior of the Latin American economies is important in several respects: these countries were hit first by and reacted earlier to the effects of the Depression; they were part of the "periphery" and their policies did not directly affect the behavior of the "center"; and their experience during the 1930s led them to select a subsequent inward-oriented path of development, based on import substitution.2 This model of development built upon a particular set of social and economic structures that were seen as shaping the world economic order, notably a center and a periphery with different structures of production. Unlike those of the periphery, the industrialized economies of the center are self-sustained; specifically, the periphery is constrained by an export sector confined to a very small range of goods and offering only limited backward and forward linkages with the rest of the economy.3 This note shows that Latin America reacted in the same way to depreciation as did Europe, and so offers evidence against the argument that Latin American economies were structurally constrained during this period.
From backward THz difference-frequency generation to parametric oscillation

We have observed the backward difference-frequency generation (DFG) in two GaSe crystals in the terahertz (THz) region by mixing two infrared laser beams. For a 47-mm-long crystal, the output wavelength can be tuned in a wide range of 167.6-2060 /spl mu/m (0.146-1.79 THz), whereas the peak output power can be as high as 217 W. The corresponding power conversion efficiency is determined to be about 0.03%. On the basis of these experimental results, our calculations show that peak output intensity can be scaled up to a level which is sufficiently high for exploring novel nonlinear effects in the THz region. Furthermore, we have discussed the possibility of including a cavity for one of the mixing beams to enhance the conversion efficiencies for the backward DFG. After taking into consideration all the important issues, we have shown that the backward parametric oscillation is feasible in the THz region by using a few crystals under the optimum pumping conditions.
Opportunistic control of action in intelligent agents

Given its multiple goals, limited resources, and dynamic environment, an intelligent agent must decide which of many possible actions to execute at each point in time. Planning and reactive models embody two different modes of control. By contrast, a 2D space of control modes is characterized, each of which maximizes the quality of run-time behavior in the corresponding region of a 2D space of control situations. The situation space is defined by dimensions representing the predictability of the agent's task environment and the contrast imposed by its goals. The space of control modes is defined by corresponding dimensions representing the agent's sensitivity to run-time events and its commitment to specific actions prepared in advance. The corners of the mode space are anchored by extreme modes that an agent rarely uses: open-loop plan execution, goal-specific reactivity, dead reckoning, and reflex modes. The large interior is occupied by a space of more practical strategic control modes that modulate the balance of sensitivity and commitment for situations embodying different combinations of predictability and constraint. >
Accessibility and Conformational Coupling in Serotonin Transporter Predicted Internal Domains

The intracellular topology of serotonin transporter (SERT) was examined using mutants containing single cysteine residues in the predicted cytoplasmic domain of the protein. Cysteine residues in each predicted cytoplasmic domain, including the NH2 and COOH termini and the five predicted internal loops, reacted with methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagents only when the plasma membrane was permeabilized with digitonin or in membrane preparations but not in intact cells. The reaction was monitored by inactivation of high-affinity binding activity and by incorporation of biotin groups into the protein. Of the seven endogenous cysteine residues predicted to lie in the cytoplasmic domain, modification of only Cys-357 in the third internal loop (IL3) led to loss of activity. Cys-15 in the NH2 terminus and Cys-622 in the COOH terminus also reacted with MTS reagents. Modification of cysteine residues inserted at positions 137 in IL1, 277 in IL2, and 441 in IL4 also led to inactivation, and at positions 157 in IL1 and 532 in IL5, cysteine was modified without an effect on binding activity. These results are in agreement with the originally proposed topology for SERT and argue against an alternative topology proposed for the closely related GABA and glycine transporters. The reactivity of many of the cytoplasmic cysteine residues studied was influenced by ion and ligand binding, suggesting that the internal domains of SERT participate in conformational changes during neurotransmitter transport.
Considering population and war: a critical and neglected aspect of conflict studies

This study analyses the relationship between war and population. The impact of the growth and decline of population on important types of warfare—great power, small power, civil war as well as terrorism—is illustrated, with the objective in each case to be descriptive of risk. I find that population change has a significant impact on each, with the greatest causal impact on small power conflicts, civil war and upon terrorism. I conclude with some reasons for guarded optimism about the incorporation of population as a component of analysis in the discipline of international studies, and for the potential to devise new solutions to prevent conflict.
Medicare Reimbursement for Physician Services: The Current Status of Local Payment Policy

Keeping up with the technical and academic advances in medicine of the past 2 decades has made studying the US government's physician reimbursement system a low priority for most physicians. However, in the current environment of declining physician reimbursement and increasing frequency of compliance audits by Medicare, it is important for all physicians to have a basic understanding of the Medicare payment process. A major component of the physician payment system occurs at the local level. Through local coverage determinations, state Medicare contractors make more than 90% of all Medicare coverage decisions. Federal law requires Medicare contractors to seek physician input into their coverage decision process through contractor advisory committees, and through these committees, physicians can have significant influence over the coverage decision process. Once local contractors have made their coverage decisions, the covered indications for a procedure or treatment are published for the provider community. At that point, it becomes the responsibility of physicians to know the covered indications for certain services, because contractors will deny claims for services that are not linked to covered indications. This review focuses on the basics of the local Medicare payment process, with emphasis on the development of local coverage decisions by contractors. This understanding will allow physicians to positively influence the local reimbursement process.
Stereo endoscopy as a 3-D measurement tool

Stereoscopic endoscopes restore much of the sense of depth perception lost in minimally invasive surgery techniques. They also open the possibility of anatomical reconstruction from in-vivo video using established computer vision techniques. However, limitations in computational power, as well as imaging constraints due to specularities, color, and movement, make full three-dimensional reconstruction difficult to achieve in real time. We demonstrate that a subset of this reconstruction problem, the ability to take accurate anatomical measurements, can be trivially achieved using current stereo-endoscopes and well-known algorithms. After careful calibration of the camera pair, we track the surgical instruments, which present the strongest features in the operating scene. The three-dimensional positions of the tips of the instruments are automatically calculated in real-time, and the computation of the distance between them allows for accurate measurements of any anatomical region within reach of the instrument tips.
The design of online tests for Computer Science I and their effectiveness

Solving problems on a computer is the focus of Computer Science I. Therefore, it may be move effective to hold tests online than in written form in this course. Yet, online tests are not widely used because of a perceived need for elaborate technological infrastructure and the feasibility of holding a fair fixed-duration online test that is not intimidating to students. In this paper, we present our design of online tests for Computer Science I that does not require elaborate technological infrastructure. We also evaluate the effectiveness of holding tests online in Computer Science I. We found that students like online tests; students tend to do better in online tests than on written tests, and there is a correlation between the number of projects a student completes in the course and the student's grade in online tests.
PROPERTIES OF CHICKEN BREASTS INJECTED WITH LOW METHOXYL PECTIN

Salts and phosphates improve yield, tenderness, and juiciness of marinated poultry products, but alternatives to the use of salts and phosphates are desired to reduce dietary sodium levels. Further, imports of phosphate treated meats are banned in some countries. Hence, alternatives to phosphates are desirable in marination technology. Low methoxyl pectin (LMP) and amidated low methoxyl pectin (LMP-A) in the absence of added salt were evaluated as ingredients to improve yield and quality of marinated poultry. Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) and NaCl and noninjected muscle were used as controls to determine the effect of pectin on quality. STPP/NaCl injected breasts had the highest % net weight increase, greatest tenderness, greatest cook yield, and % moisture content. Pectin injected breasts were intermediate and noninjected controls were lowest for % net weight increase, % cook yield, and % moisture content. Tenderness of pectin injected breasts was not different from noninjected controls. Marination had no effect on psychrotrophic bacterial count.
A pediatric perspective on the unique vulnerability and resilience of the embryo and the child to environmental toxicants: the importance of rigorous research concerning age and agent.

There is realistic concern about the impact of environmental influences on the health of human populations. First, exposure to environmental agents continues despite successes in reducing exposures to known toxicants such as lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and tobacco smoke. Second, there has been increasing concern about the cause of autism and other neurodevelopmental problems and hypotheses that environmental influences may play a role in the prevalence of these and other such childhood and adult conditions as asthma and obesity. Third, many other conditions are directly or indirectly related to environmental influences and are preventable, such as injuries, untoward consequences of alcohol, suicide, drug addiction, and gun-related deaths. There have been numerous publications since the 1970s of symposia, proceedings, monographs, and articles dealing with the increased susceptibility of the embryo, infant, and child to environmental toxicants,1–17 reflecting a greater level of concern about embryonic and childhood exposures. Indeed, great deal of attention has been paid to the vulnerability of the embryo and the fetus to environmental chemicals, drugs, and physical agents. In fact, the publication edited by Miller1 was primarily devoted to exposures to the embryo and the fetus. Because the embryo and the child are growing and their tissues and organs are differentiating, deleterious effects may occur at lower exposures to some chemicals, drugs, and physical agents and produce more severe effects than those seen in adults. In fact, some effects may not occur in adults. Thus, maximal permissible exposures (MPEs) for some environmental chemicals should be lower for the embryo and the child. It is important to note that children and adolescents have better recuperative capacities than adults for many toxic agents, and, similarly, appropriate drug dosages may be lower or higher on a mg/kg or surface area basis in children than in adults to … Reprint requests to (R.L.B.) Rm 308, R/A, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Box 269, Wilmington, DE 19899. E-mail: rbrent{at}nemours.org
Focusing of Heavy Ion Beams on a Fusion Target

A beam line has been designed for transport between a periodic channel and a fusion target in a way intended to minimize effects of non-uniform transverse and longitudinal densities and of momentum spread. Principles used for the design are explained. The beam line is described and its performance as shown by envelope integration and particle simulation is presented.
Characterization of Expression of Glycan Ligands for Siglec-F in Normal Mouse Lungs

Sialic acid–binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec)–F, an inhibitory receptor on mouse eosinophils, preferentially recognizes the glycan ligand 6′-sulfated sialyl Lewis X, but little is known about the requirements for its lung expression. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect and localize the sulfotransferase keratin sulfate galactose 6-O sulfotransferase (KSGal6ST, also known as carbohydrate sulfotransferase 1; gene name, Chst1) that is putatively required for 6′-sulfated Sialyl Lewis X synthesis. RT-PCR detected the greatest constitutive expression of Chst1 in lung, liver, and spleen tissue. Immunohistochemistry localized the expression of KSGal6ST in lung tissue primarily to airway epithelium. Siglec-F–Ig fusion protein selectively bound in a similar pattern, and was unaffected in lung tissue treated with methanol or deficient in Type 2 α2,3 sialyltransferase (St3gal2), but was eliminated by proteinase K or sialidase, and was absent in tissue deficient in the Type 3 α2,3 sialyltransf...
Optical absorption of MgO: Fe

The optical absorption spectra of as-grown, oxidized and reduced MgO: Fe crystals at low temperatures are reported. It is found that reduction at 1500°C converts more than 99% of the iron to Fe2+ revealing optical spectra due to Fe2+ in both cubic and non-cubic sites. Oxidation, however, converts only 60–70% of the iron to Fe3+ and no clear Fe3+ crystal-field spectrum is observed. A cubic Fe2+ band at 4.9 eV exhibits a progression of 13 vibronic sidebands typical of a Jahn-Teller distortion.
Molecular genetics of Bloom's syndrome

Mutation of the Bloom's syndrome (BS) gene, BLM, results in genomic instability. As the first step toward positional cloning of the gene, tight linkage of BLM and FES at 15q26.1 was detected by genotyping affected in families in which the parents are cousins, so-called homozygosity mapping. Linkage disequilibrium between BLM and FES was detected in Ashkenazi Jews with BS, confirming the linkage results and supporting the hypothesis that the increased frequency of the BS mutation in the Ashkenazim is due to founder effect. The mutated BLM gene is inherited identical by descent in BS persons whose parents are cousins or Ashkenazi Jewish ; in persons whose parents do not share a common ancestor, BLM can be mutant at different positions within the gene. In such persons, crossing-over within BLM can occur to form a functionally wild-type gene capable of correcting the mutant phenotype of BS cells. In half the cases in which such somatic intragenic recombination had occurred, reduction to homozygosity was detectable distal to BLM but not proximal to it. We localized the cross-over points in corrected cells to a 250 kb genomic segment and isolated therefrom a 4437 bp cDNA that encodes a 1417 amino acid protein homologous to the RecQ subfamily of DExH box-containing DNA and RNA helicases. The identification of BLM as a putative DNA helicase provides a new and powerful tool to investigate the primary defect in BS and the function of the BLM gene product in maintaining the integrity of the genome.
Cerclage for the prevention of preterm birth in high risk women receiving intramuscular 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate.

Objective: To assess cerclage benefit in women with short cervix also receiving 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P) to prevent recurrent preterm birth (PTB). Methods: Secondary analysis of a multicenter trial of ultrasound-indicated cerclage for shortened cervical length (CL). Women with prior spontaneous PTB at 16–33 6/7 weeks, singleton gestation and CL < 25 mm between 16 and 22 6/7 weeks were counseled on use of 17P and randomized to cerclage or no cerclage. Outcomes of women who received 17P were analyzed by randomization group. Primary outcome was PTB < 35 weeks. Results: 99 women received 17P: 47 cerclage; 52 no cerclage. Rates of PTB < 35 weeks were similar, 30% for cerclage and 38% for no cerclage (aOR 0.64 (0.27–1.52)). In women with CL < 15 mm, PTB < 35 weeks was reduced for the cerclage group (17% vs. 75%, p = 0.02). However, this difference was nullified after controlling for total progesterone doses received (p = 0.40). Conclusions: Cerclage was shown not to offer additional benefit for t...
Conspiracy in international law

▪ Abstract This review examines the function of conspiracy in international law, with particular reference to the jurisprudence of international ad hoc tribunals. It compares and contrasts the function of conspiracy law in the prosecution of international crimes before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg following World War II, where the concept gave rise to a remarkably innovative and highly controversial conspiracy theory that revolved around the concept of “criminal organization,” and the function of conspiracy law in the prosecution of international crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, where the concept has left a mark on a similarly innovative and equally controversial conspiracy theory that revolves around the concept of “joint criminal enterprise.” By tracing the function of conspiracy, this most controversial of U.S. legal transplants, in the international system, the review illuminates the significance of group dynamic...
Defect stabilized periodic amplitude modulations in ferroelectrics

Abstract Theoretical analysis shows that the total free energy of a ferroelectric system with free boundary conditions increases with the number of the inhomogeneous regions, such as domain walls and other modulated structures. However, charged defects could lower the total energy of a ferroelectric system by interacting with charge density fluctuations in inhomogeneous regions. We discuss a special kind of inhomogeneous microstructure in a lanthanum doped lead titanate, the amplitude modulations, which can be stabilized by aliovalent dopants.
Chemical and petrographic constraints on the origin of chondrules and inclusions in carbonaceous chondrites

Bulk chemical compositions of the various petrographic types of chondrules and inclusions in Type 3 carbonaceous chondrites (excluding those affected by metamorphism) have been determined by microprobe defocused-beam analysis. Inclusion compositions follow approximately the theoretical compositional trajectory for equlibrium condensation. Chondrules occurring in the same meteorites have higher silica contents and show only slight overlap with inclusion compositions. Dust fusion is apparently an inadequate mechanism for producing the wide chemical variations observed among chondrules. Impact-melting models require sampling of complex target rocks which are unknown as components of meteorites; this mechanism also demands efficient mechanical processing of chondrules before accretion. A genetic relationship between chondrules and inclusions in carbonaceous chondrites is suggested by the compositional continuum between these objects. A condensation sequence which dips into the liquid stability field at lower temperatures is advocated for the production of both inclusions and chondrules. Textural relationships between intergrown chondrules and inclusions support such a sequence. This model suggests that the assembled components (inclusions and chondrules) of carbonaceous chondrites are related by a common process.
Masculinity and medicalization: Gender and vocabularies of motive in the narrative of a sex offender

This paper explores the tension between vocabularies of motive provided by a serial sex offender in his narrative construction of his nonconsensual sexual activity. Current discourses on the topic ...
Infrastructure Communication Sensitivity Analysis of Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensitivity or importance analysis has been widely used for identifying system weaknesses and supporting system improvement and maintenance activities. Despite the rich literature on the sensitivity analysis of many mission-critical and safety-critical systems, no existing work has been devoted to wireless sensor networks (WSN). In this paper, we first analyze link and node importance with respect to the infrastructure communication reliability of WSN systems. The binary decision diagrams based algorithms are implemented to evaluate and compare three importance measures: structural importance measure, Birnbaum's measure, and criticality importance measure. The effects of node degree, choice of the destination node, data delivery models, as well as mission time on the importance analysis results are investigated through examples. Results from this work can facilitate the design, deployment, and maintenance of reliable WSN for critical applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Perpetuities Refinement: There is an Alternative

This Purpose of this Article is to provide reasons why the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities (USRAP) “wait-and-see” approach should not be used and to offer constructive alternatives to the USRAP. This Article first identifies those areas of agreement between wait-and-see advocates and opponents, including the acknowledged desirability for some rule against perpetuities. The case for wait-and-see is then summarized and the three major wait-and-see methods are described. The Article presents the case against the wait-and-see approach by addressing several underlying, but unfounded, assumptions. The author then makes a case for refining the common law Rule, based in part on a critique of an erroneous decision by the Indiana Supreme Court in 1985. The Article concludes by urging the general rejection of wait-and-see legislation and the specific rejection of the USRAP, asserting that adopting the wait-and-see approach to the common law Rule Against Perpetuities would be tantamount to buying and using “an atomic cannon to kill a gnat.”
Unusual primary syphilis: Presentation of a likely case with a review of the stages of acquired syphilis, its differential diagnoses, management, and current recommendations

Syphilis is an ancient disease that has re-emerged in the last decade. It is prevalent among men who have sex with men and has increased in incidence with certain ethnic groups. It usually presents as primary or secondary syphilis and can progress to tertiary syphilis if not treated. Primary syphilis will classically manifest as a single, painless ulcer with smooth, clean, and raised borders on the genitals or less often on the oral mucosa. Unusual primary syphilis cases have been reported and can be easily misdiagnosed with a resulting delay of treatment. Secondary syphilis is a systemic disease, wherein the treponemes have disseminated to various organ systems, typically presenting with characteristic mucocutaneous lesions. Tertiary syphilis has a higher rate of morbidity and mortality; as such, the aim of this article is to provide the readers with tools to recognize early syphilis and prevent its progression to late stages. In this review, we present a likely case of unusual primary syphilis mimicking herpes progenitalis as well as a compilation of all atypical cases of primary syphilis from 1973 to 2015. We will also review the differential diagnosis, management, and recommendations for each stage of syphilis.
LCN 2015 keynote by Prof. Muriel MÙdard, professor at MIT, USA

As massively distributed storage becomes the norm in cloud networks, they contend with new vulnerabilities imputed by the presence of data in different, possibly untrusted nodes. In this talk, we consider two such types of vulnerabilities. The first one is the risk posed to data stored at nodes that are untrusted. We show that coding alone can be substituted to encryption, with coded portions of data in trusted nodes acting as keys for coded data in untrusted ones. In general, we may interpret keys as representing the size of the list over which an adversary would need to generate guesses in order to recover the plaintext, leading to a natural connection between list decoding and secrecy. Under such a model, we show that algebraic block maximum distance separable (MDS) codes can be constructed so that lists satisfy certain secrecy criteria, which we define to generalize common perfect secrecy and weak secrecy notions. The second type of vulnerability concerns the risk of passwords' being guessed over some nodes storing data, as illustrated by recent cloud attacks. In this domain, the use of guesswork as a metric shows that the dominant effect on vulnerability is not necessarily from a single node, but that it varies in time according to the number of guesses issued. We also introduce the notion of inscrutability, as the growth rate of the average number of probes that an attacker has to make, one at a time, using his best strategy, until he can correctly guess one or more secret strings from multiple randomly chosen strings. Joint work with Ahmad Beirami, Joao Barros, Robert Calderbank, Mark Christiansen, Ken Duffy, Flavio du Pin Calmon, Luisa Lima, Paulo Oliveira, Stefano Tessaro, Mayank Varia, Tiago Vinhoza, Linda Zeger.
Plastic Handcuffs: Employer Provided Educational Benefits for Children

Jim Hamilton, Esq., Bose McKinney & Evans LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana, weighs the relative benefits of employer-provided section 117 scholarships and section 529 qualified tuition plans and decides that employer-provided educational benefits have some disadvantages compared to other employee incentive devices.
The Domestic Politics of International Agreements during the Obama Administration: Presidential Unilateralism and Senate Obstruction

Despite having broad foreign policy priorities that require action on the international agreement front, President Obama has used the Article II treaty far less often than other modern presidents. At the same time, Obama has used executive agreements, the modern alternative to the treaty, at the same rate as his predecessors. Executive agreements provide the president a unilateral tool to skirt the more difficult treaty process. While the option exists, modern presidents have not entirely avoided the Senate by using executive agreements exclusively. Does Obama’s behavior on treaties represent an important change in how presidents finalize their international agreements? Is the change a part of the larger trend in presidential use of unilateral powers? Do the politics surrounding recently stalled treaties represent a new pattern in the domestic politics of treaties? What are the consequences for US foreign policy as the US pursues its major foreign policy priorities? To begin answering these questions, I explore Obama’s record on treaties and executive agreements, comparing his record to his predecessors and situating his record with broader questions regarding US foreign policy and the exercise of the president’s unilateral powers.
Return of Vision and Other Observations in Replanted Amphibian Eyes.

Since Koppanyi1 reported that vision returned in certain vertebrate eyes after replantation and transplantation, conflicting results have been published which show that return of vision as well as other related problems is still unsettled. Technique in operation and handling of the replanted or transplanted eyes has much to do with its subsequent conditions. In such problems it is of value to know the existing conditions in both young and adult animals. We are pursuing the problem with this in mind.Operations on Amblystoma punctatum larvae (19 to 23 mm.) and adult Diemyctylus viridescens are here reported. Chloretone anesthetic was used. The eyes were excised by finely sharpened iredectomy scissors and forceps manipulated under the compound dissecting microscope. Very little hemorrhage was encountered.Return of circulation was first noted within superficial vessels in the iris, in Amblystoma larvae as early as 24 hours after operation, in Diemyctylus as early as the 5th day. Resorption of the eye could us...
Statin non-adherence: clinical consequences and proposed solutions

Large controlled clinical trials have demonstrated reductions with statin therapy in cardiovascular events in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes and stable coronary heart disease and individuals at high risk of a cardiovascular event. In trials of acute coronary syndromes and stable coronary heart disease, high-intensity statin therapy is more effective in the prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events than low-intensity statin therapy. Thus, evidence-based guidelines recommend in-hospital initiation of high-intensity statin therapy for all acute coronary syndrome patients. Clinical trials report high adherence to and low discontinuation of high-intensity statin therapy; however, in clinical practice, high-intensity statins are prescribed to far fewer patients, who often discontinue their statin after the first refill. A coordinated effort among the patient, provider, pharmacist, health system, and insurer is necessary to improve utilization and persistence of prescribed medications. The major cause for statin discontinuations reported by patients is perceived adverse events. Evaluation of potential adverse events requires validated tools to distinguish between statin-associated adverse events versus non-specific complaints. Treatment options for statin-intolerant patients include the use of a different statin, often at a lower dose or frequency. In order to lower LDL cholesterol, lower doses of statins may be combined with ezetimibe or bile acid sequestrants. Newer treatment options for patients with statin-associated muscle symptoms may include proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors.
Broadband ferromagnetic resonance linewidth measurement by a microstripline transmission resonator

The application of microstripline transmission resonators to ferromagnetic resonance linewidth measurements, and the linewidth extraction method based on the resonator resonant frequency dispersion are discussed. A detailed description of the spectrometer and the experimental procedure is presented. The limitations of the method and the origin of various errors that may occur in the measurements are considered. The geometry of the resonator was optimized by numerical methods and the radio-frequency magnetic field structure investigated. A series of magnetic films and bulk samples was measured by the spectrometer under varying circumstances, and results were compared to the ones obtained by conventional methods.
Investigation and Treatment of Insulation Oil Corrosive Sulfur of 500 kV Transformers in Guangdong Power Grid

Considering that the accident potential of insulation breakdown and burnout of transformer coil exists,since the corrosive sulfur in insulating oil,which would react with copper wire during transformer operation,and produce Cu2S;as a result of Cu2S′s conductive characteristic,the insulated paper of wire were penetrated and polluted,comprehensive investigation of 500 kV transformers in Guangdong power grid corporation was carried out and the investigation result shows that corrosive sulfur existed in 29 of 201 transformers,as a proportion of 14.4%.Furthermore,deactivator was added to transformers containing corrosive sulfur and the tracking data of these transformers indicated the feasibility and validity of preventing transformer fault related to corrosive sulfur through adding deactivator.
NASH: Thiazolidinediones for NASH--one pill doesn't fix everything.

Insulin sensitizing agents, such as the thiazolidinediones pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, have been used in clinical trials for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a common form of liver disease that is associated with insulin resistance. The results of these trials have been variable, suggesting that a deeper understanding of other contributing factors to the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is needed to establish whether improving adipose insulin sensitivity might be important.
The Impact of Urban Industrial Development on Patterns of Life

This chapter examines the most recent era of industrial development which is associated with the age of abundant petroleum and petrochemical products. After the Second World War, the petroleum-based economy underwent major commercial expansion. Petroleum has been transformed into many products including biocides. It is used to fuel industrial agriculture and has literally paved the way for modern sprawling cities. Technical prowess has fostered the rapid growth of urban populations. The sprawling modern city plays an important part in modifying the physical and biological characteristics of the Earth’s environment. Many habitats are being obliterated. At present it is estimated that 38.8% of the terrestrial net primary productivity is co-opted or forgone as a direct result of human activity (Vitousek et a?. 1986). The toll on organisms is very high. Of the 1.7 million species known, over 1,000 animals and about 20,000 plants are recognized as at risk of extinction (Wilson 1985). Some environmental changes are detrimental to human social and intellectual development and may thereby exacerbate the disruptive impact of humans on the Earth.
Maritime Security: Protection of Marinas, Ports, Small Watercraft, Yachts, and Ships

In a time when threats against the maritime community have never been greater, Maritime Security: Protection of Marinas, Ports, Small Watercraft, Yachts, and Ships provides a single, comprehensive source of necessary information for understanding and preventing or reducing threats to the maritime community.The book defines what comprises the mariti
Judging IVA Personality Using an Open-Ended Question

Judgments of personality typically employ ratings of Big Five scale items such as “How emotionally stable is this person?” with choices from 1 (least) to 5 (most). Such questions focus raters’ attention on an experimenter’s dimensions of interest. We show that the personality traits provided as a result of open-ended questions such as “What personality does this animated character convey to you?” can differ from those observed when raters are given scale questions. Using IVAs that gesture in ways associated with emotionally stable and unstable people, we showed that participants were more likely to describe the unstable agent as disagreeable and the stable agent as extraverted; emotional stability was not usually mentioned. However, a Big Five inventory showed that these agents differed on agreeableness and emotional stability. An open-ended question method of assessing what personality an IVA conveys can potentially be more informative than using scale-item inventories alone.
Associations Among Behavioral Sleep Disturbance, Family Functioning, and Controller Medication Adherence in Children with Asthma.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the associations among child sleep disturbances, family functioning, and asthma controller medication adherence in school-age children with persistent asthma. METHODS Thirty-four children aged 6 to 11 years and a parent independently reported on asthma control and controller medication adherence. Parents also reported on family functioning (behavior control) and child sleep disturbances (bedtime resistance, daytime sleepiness). Hierarchical linear regression models tested sleep disturbance variables as predictors of family functioning and medication adherence. A mediation model tested behavior control as a mediator between sleep disturbance and medication adherence. RESULTS Seventy-nine percent of the children had well-controlled asthma. Despite a mean of 9.48 hours of child sleep per night, 73% of the children had clinically significant disturbed sleep. Controlling for child age, bedtime resistance accounted for 32% of the variance in family behavior control (F(1,31) = 14.75, p < .01). Behavior control also significantly mediated the relationship between total sleep disturbance and medication adherence, with a standardized indirect effect of β = -.17 (95% confidence interval [CI], -.47 to -.03) for parent-reported adherence and β = -.12 (95% CI, -.36 to -.01) for child-reported adherence. CONCLUSION Child behavioral sleep disturbances significantly predicted family behavior control. Although child sleep disturbances did not significantly predict asthma controller medication adherence, there was a significant indirect effect of sleep disturbance on medication adherence through compromised family behavior control. Developmentally appropriate behavioral sleep interventions may improve family functioning and child asthma controller medication adherence. Family functioning may also be an entry point for intervention to improve medication adherence.
Synthesis of Renewable Thermoset Polymers through Successive Lignin Modification Using Lignin-Derived Phenols

An approach to lignin-based epoxy networks from both organosolv lignin and lignin-derived phenol (dihydroeugenol) are developed using multiple chemical modifications including demethylation, phenolation, and a phenol-formaldehyde reaction. Structures of lignin-incorporated novolac polyphenols and epoxy networks (LINENs) were characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy. Compared to a common synthesis route in which lignin was epoxidized prior to blend with comonomers, LINEN derivatives exhibited improved cross-link density, α-relaxation temperature and storage modulus in a glassy region as obtained from dynamic mechanical analysis, and increased thermal stability measured by thermogravimetric analysis. This study widens the routes of lignin modification. Renewable epoxy networks derived from both lignin and lignin derivatives are economically and ecologically attractive.
Supervised question answering system for technical support

Question answering system tries to find most relevant answer to the user queries based on available knowledge base. Building such a system poses many challenges such as, 1) understanding natural language, 2) knowing the context, 3) finding the best answer, and 4) replying in user understandable format. Our implementation automates the process of categorizing user queries and finding the best answer. We trained the deep neural network model and, in this paper, we provide comparison study for RNN, LSTM and GRU in the technical support domain. We found that GRU has the best recall@1performance.
The dead march: a history of the US Mexican war, by Peter Guardino, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2017, 512 pp., US $39.95 (hardback), ISBN 9780674972346

Catastrophic loss of life and land in the 1846–1848 US–Mexican War reflected the tragedies of Mexican history and the triumphs of US industry. Peter Guardino’s The Dead March presents a comprehensi...
Integrated Single Frequency, High Power Laser Sources Based on Monolithic and Hybrid Coherent Beam Combining

Monolithic and hybrid integration platforms are both important for photonic integrated circuits. It is desirable for the laser sources integrated in both platforms to provide high power and single frequency operation for many emerging applications. However, it is difficult to realize simultaneous high power and single frequency operation by using conventional semiconductor distributed feedback lasers. Integrated coherent beam combining (CBC) is a promising solution to overcome this challenge. In this paper, coherently combined, integrated diode laser systems are experimentally demonstrated through both monolithic and hybrid CBC. For monolithic CBC of broad-area lasers in the InP platform, two single triangular-lattice photonic crystal (PC) Bragg lasers are combined. The measurement results show that the output power of the combined PC Bragg lasers is increased and the single frequency operation is maintained. As for the hybrid CBC, a chipscale coherently combined laser system is experimentally demonstrated in the InP-Si3 N4 platform through the manipulation of optical feedback at different output ports of the coupled laser cavities. Coherent combining of two InP-based reflective semiconductor amplifiers are obtained by use of the cross-coupling provided by an adiabatic 3-dB coupler in silicon nitride, with a combining efficiency of ∼92%.
Quantity judgment and the mass-count distinction across languages: Advances, problems, and future directions for research

We review advances in the experimental study of the mass-count distinction and highlight problems that have emerged. First, we lay out what we see to be the scientific enterprise of studying the syntax and semantics of the mass-count distinction, and the assumptions we believe must be made if additional progress is to occur, especially as the empirical facts continue to grow in number and complexity. Second, we discuss the new landscape of cross-linguistic results that has been created by widespread use of the quantity judgment task, and what these results tell us about the nature of the mass-count distinction. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the mass-count distinction and non-linguistic cognition, and in particular the object-substance distinction.
Architecture of Lung Parenchyma

Two essential tasks of the mammalian lung are to provide a large gas-exchanging surface and to promote both the supply of oxygen-rich air to this surface and the removal of waste gasses from it. The mammalian lung solves the problem of providing ample surface by being, in large part, an open-celled foam, and it accomplishes the supply and removal of gasses by passively changing its volume while under varying tension. Neither solution is the only one available to an organism; the exchanging surfaces of avian lungs are more similar to bundled tubes, and air is propelled through this constant-volume array by the action of peripheral sacs.
Converging the Hole Mobility of Poly(2-N-carbazoylethyl acrylate) with Conjugated Polymers by Tuning Isotacticity

Nonconjugated electroactive polymers (also known as pendant or side-chain electroactive polymers) promise several potential advantages relative to conjugated polymers including enhanced mechanical durability, greater stability and synthesis via living polymerization techniques. However, most previous examples suffer from low charge carrier mobility. Here, using poly(2-N-carbazoylethyl acrylate) (PCzEA) as a model polymer, we investigate the ability of side-chain tacticity to influence hole mobility. Specifically, we investigated polymers with dyad isotacticity (m) ranging from ∼45 to ∼95% synthesized by several methods including free radical polymerization and anionic polymerization. We found that the hole mobility (μh) measured via the space charge limited current (SCLC) technique increased proportionally to the increasing isotacticity from 2.11 × 10–6 cm2 V–1 s–1 (m = 45.5%) to 4.68 × 10–5 cm2 V–1 s–1 (m = 94.7%) in unannealed samples and that mobilities could be boosted as high as 2.74 × 10–4 cm2 V–1 s...
Ligand derivatization of titanium-functionalized polyoxovanadium–alkoxide clusters

Abstract Alkoxylation of heterometal-functionalized polyoxometalates is an important strategy for tailoring the physical and chemical properties of these multimetallic systems. Here, we describe the targeted synthesis of a series of heterometallic tris-alkoxy functionalized clusters [Ti2V4O5(OCH3)11(OCH2)3CR′], where R′ = CH3, C2H5, NO2, and [TiV5O6(OCH3)10(OCH3)3CR′], where R′ = C5H4N. Product isolation reveals design criteria for the self-assembly of heterometallic POV–alkoxide clusters, and adds further diversity to this family of polyoxometalates.
Soils and Hydrologic Processes Drive Wet Meadow Formation and Approaches to Restoration, Western USA

In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered Nez Perce people at a wet meadow that now holds historical significance to both cultures. Over the past two centuries this northern Idaho site, known as Weippe Prairie, was modified by digging of drainage ditches and introduction of exotic plants for livestock forage. From 2013 to 2017 a restoration was implemented that included filling a drainage ditch and planting five native wetland species. Between 2008 and 2018 we analyzed monitoring well data to quantify water levels through time, soil oxidation/reduction stations to measure redox potential, vegetation plots to track community changes, and pits for soil characterization. Seasonal saturation occurred top-down from direct precipitation and sheet flow over fine-grained soil and a low permeability hardpan approximately 60 cm below ground. Resulting hydrologic effects included a mean water level rise of 23 cm and prolonged growing season saturation. Although the restoration appears to be on a desirable trajectory, two years were insufficient for the wet meadow to transition from dominance by exotic pasture grasses to native wetland species. A combination of recurring monitoring, adaptive management, time, and reevaluation of the physical and ecological processes driving wetland function is required to achieve longterm restoration success.
Diagnosis of Intrapancreatic Accessory Spleen by Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Mimicking a Pancreatic Neoplasm: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Accessory spleen (AS) is a benign condition, where ectopic spleen tissue can be found elsewhere in the abdomen and pelvis, with approximately 20% of cases located at or in the tail of the pancreas. When discovered on imaging, it can be mistaken for conditions that do require surgical removal, including neuroendocrine tumor, and so accurate diagnosis of AS can prevent unnecessary surgery. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a commonly performed diagnostic modality that can lead to a confirmatory diagnosis of AS. We present a case of AS diagnosed at our institution by EUS-FNA and review the literature for all reported cases of AS that have been confirmed by EUS-FNA.