cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic event detection using wavelet analysis

This paper presents a method to detect dynamic events in electric power networks by analyzing the frequency signals with Haar wavelet. The estimated post-event damping is used to determine the end of these events, and to separate overlapping events. This method has been implemented and tested on archived field data with good results. It can potentially be implemented in phasor measurement units for dynamic event recording and wide area stability control.
Hypercorrection and grammar change

Pfaff (I973, 1975) reports on 8i low- and middle-income first-grade Black children who produced multiple instances of linguistic variables by answering questions about a set of pictures and telling the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. No models were given of the linguistic variables under investigation, which included a number of third person singular present-tense verb forms: -s inflection of regular verbs, auxiliary and main verb be, auxiliary and main verb have, auxiliary do and possessive marking on nouns. Standard marking of all of these linguistic variables has been shown by previous studies of free conversation to be variably lacking in Black English (Labov, Cohen, Robins & Lewis 1968; Fasold 1972). In addition to the widely reported standard and nonstandard realizations, the results included the structural hypercorrections shown in Table I. While the number of actual occurrences of the hypercorrect forms was small (a total of TABLE i. Hypercorrect, nonstandard and standard forms used by Black first-grade children
Animal Models, Prophylaxis, and Therapeutics for Arenavirus Infections

Arenaviruses are enveloped, bipartite negative single-stranded RNA viruses that can cause a wide spectrum of disease in humans and experimental animals including hemorrhagic fever. The majority of these viruses are rodent-borne and the arenavirus family can be divided into two groups: the Lassa-Lymphocytic choriomeningitis serocomplex and the Tacaribe serocomplex. Arenavirus-induced disease may include characteristic symptoms ranging from fever, malaise, body aches, petechiae, dehydration, hemorrhage, organ failure, shock, and in severe cases death. Currently, there are few prophylactic and therapeutic treatments available for arenavirus-induced symptoms. Supportive care and ribavirin remain the predominant strategies for treating most of the arenavirus-induced diseases. Therefore, efficacy testing of novel therapeutic and prophylactic strategies in relevant animal models is necessary. Because of the potential for person-to-person spread, the ability to cause lethal or debilitating disease in humans, limited treatment options, and potential as a bio-weapon, the development of prophylactics and therapeutics is essential. This article reviews the current arenavirus animal models and prophylactic and therapeutic strategies under development to treat arenavirus infection.
Musical countertransference experiences of music therapists: A phenomenological study

Abstract This study investigated the experience of musical countertransference, defined as a musical reply in response to feelings, thoughts, images, and physical reactions evoked by the client. Eight psychodynamically oriented music therapists of various psychodynamic orientations were interviewed using a phenomenological, qualitative approach. The purpose of the research was to investigate factors within the experience including: (a) non-verbal communication; (b) signals; (c) discerning reactions; and (d) response to awareness and utilization of musical countertransference. Treatment value and definition were also explored. The researcher conducted telephone interviews, 45–60 min in length. A phenomenological data analysis followed, extracting themes. All music therapists described the phenomenon as an unconscious musical communication between the therapist and the client that becomes conscious overtime. Common signals included a strong urge to respond and tension. In most cases, the description of music played in session paralleled the relationship. The study examined differences in the experience with various diagnoses, as well as classically trained musicians. Themes with musicians included use of music as defense and competency issues, while the experience was found to be similar across diagnoses. Every participant acknowledged a positive treatment value to musical countertransference and described the phenomenon as useful to understanding his/her clients.
The Behavioral Ecology of Libellula luctuosa (Burmeister) (Odonata: Libellulidae): III. Male Density, OSR, and Male and Female Mating Behavior

In a pond dragonfly, Libellula luctuosa, the number of males at the mating site increased linearly during mating seasons. The number of fertilizable females in the population did not increase. An increasingly male biased operational sex ratio (OSR) therefore correlated with the increasing density of males. I predicted that this would cause increased male-male competition and alter female mate choice. Competition for territories influenced mating success in L. luctuosa. Two different mating strategies were adopted by males of L. luctuosa: some flew and defended lengths of shoreline (territorial males), and some perched and avoided male-male interactions (satellite males). Satellite males increased later in the season when all territories were occupied. However, no satellite ever switched to the territorial strategy and no territorial male ever became a satellite. At high male density, two males occasionally defended the same territory. The occupation of territories was nonrandom. The probability of any male mating depended on the time of year. Territory owners did most of the mating; satellite males rarely mated. Postmating guarding of females by males depended on the number of conspecific males present. Mating success of males was also influenced by female mating behavior, and female mating behavior was influenced by the number of males present. Females visited several males prior to mating. When fewer males were present females were more likely to reject male mating attempts. The length of copulation did not change during the mating season. At high male density, females spent less time ovipositing immediately after mating. Postcopulatory mate guarding by males increased the length of time the female spent ovipositing. These behavioral patterns may represent different strategies of mate choice, precopulatory mate choice at low male density and postcopulatory mate choice at high male density.
Interference techniques in digital holography

Interference techniques in digital holography are discussed and experimental results from each technique are presented. Numerical reconstruction algorithms for digital holography are reviewed. The angular spectrum method is seen to be particularly advantageous, with the ability to remove noise and unwanted holographic terms. The dual wavelength optical unwrapping technique offers an unambiguous method of removing 2π phase discontinuity. Application of wavelength-scanning digital interference holography is used to obtain tomographic images with synthesized short coherence length.
Evidence for reticulospinal contributions to coordinated finger movements in humans

The reticulospinal tract was recently shown to have synaptic connections to the intrinsic muscles of the fingers in nonhuman primates, indicating it may contribute to hand function long thought to ...
Qualitative and quantitative study of wound healing processes in the coelenterate, Plexaurella fusifera: spatial, temporal, and environmental (light attenuation) influences.

Following injury, the Caribbean soft coral, Plexaurella fusifera, forms an epithelial front containing amoebocytes and zooxanthellae, a photosynthetic endosymbiont. Amoebocytes may be responsible for extruding the connective mesogleal fibers necessary for regeneration of tissue and zooxanthellae may provide the energy for repair. This study examined the effects of time, space, and environment (light attenuation) on wound healing in this coral species and quantitatively confirmed the increase of amoebocyte concentrations in the injured area. A wound was made on coral branchlets by removing D4.5 mm of coenenchyme. At assigned times after injury, samples were collected for gross morphological and histological evaluation, in which amoebocytes and zooxanthellae concentrations were quantified within 0.009 mm 3 of tissue. Overall amoebocyte numbers within uninjured and wounded tissue were similar. However, when numbers of amoebocytes per area of injured tissue were calculated and compared to those of uninjured tissue, 82.4% more amoebocytes occurred at distances 0‐0.5 mm from the wound edge, while areas of tissue G2 mm from the wound edge were occupied by fewer amoebocytes. Overall increases in concentrations of zooxanthellae also occurred within wounded coral, but no apparent temporal, spatial, or light-related pattern was detected. Therefore, this study supports the conjecture that amoebocyte accumulation at a wound site is an effect of cells migrating from uninjured tissue adjacent to the wounded edge. In addition, this movement occurs regardless of light attenuation. Light, which in this study was confined to ranges between 70 and 545 m Es 21 m 22 , did not significantly affect the wound healing process in regard to either closure or cellular concentrations. r 1999 Academic Press
SPRINT: What Remains Unanswered and Where Do We Go From Here?

The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) main results were recently published and presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.1 These data provide insight into the important question of the most appropriate treatment goal for systolic blood pressure (BP). The results of this study will have a large and lasting impact on the management of patients with hypertension. The study answers a critical question, but important questions remain. The large over-riding question remaining from the SPRINT trial is this: How generalizable are the results? The J-curve relationship between systolic BP and risk is present in every individual and every group.2 What has been uncertain is where the inflection point on the J curve is and how the J curve relationship is impacted by chronic hypertension, age, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and atherosclerotic disease leading to stroke and heart disease. The SPRINT has answered some of these questions, but some remain unanswered. Perhaps, the most important question coming from the SPRINT involves a group of patients not included in the trial: patients with diabetes mellitus. A few years earlier, the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study3 was done to determine the appropriate goal systolic BP for patients with diabetes mellitus. ACCORD did not demonstrate a benefit for a systolic BP goal of 120 versus 140 mm Hg. On the basis of those results, most current guidelines call for lowering BP to the range of 135 to 140 mm Hg in diabetic patients.4,5 If the interpretation of the ACCORD results is correct, is the reason for lower BP goals leading to better results in SPRINT …
The Inhibition of the Motility of Human Spermatozoa by Various Pharmacologic Agents

The inhibition of the motility of human spermatozoa by various pharmacologic agents was investigated. Semen specimens obtained from normal donors were pooled for use in the study. Binding studies with 1-anilinonapthelene 8-sulfonic acid (ANS) were carried out in an Aminco instrument using excitatory light. The pharmacologic agents used were propranolol sotalol chlorpromazine lidocaine diphenhydramine atropine scopolamine benztropine mesylate phentolamine dibenamine and phenoxybenzamine. All the compounds tested inhibited sperm motility although some did so only at high concentrations. Generally 5-10 times more of those compounds with a single benzene residue such as lidocaine atropine scopolamine and sotalol were required to abolish motility than was needed when drugs with 2 adjacent phenyl groups such as diphenyhydramine propanolol and phentrolamine were used. The inhibitory potency of many of the drugs could be reduced by adenylic acid. The mode of action of these potent spermicides appear to involve disruption of the organization and function of the sperm membrane.
Change Detection in Overhead Imagery Using Neural Networks

Identifying interesting changes from a sequence of overhead imagery—as opposed to clutter, lighting/seasonal changes, etc.—has been a problem for some time. Recent advances in data mining have greatly increased the size of datasets that can be attacked with pattern discovery methods. This paper presents a technique for using predictive modeling to identify unusual changes in images. Neural networks are trained to predict “before” and “after” pixel values for a sequence of images. These networks are then used to predict expected values for the same images used in training. Substantial differences between the expected and actual values represent an unusual change. Results are presented on both multispectral and panchromatic imagery.
Heater-Voltage Compensation for Alternating-Current Amplifiers

By the use of a direct-current feedback network which minimizes variations in plate current, the output of a radiofrequency amplifier can be made to be independent of heater-voltage fluctuations. Under- or over-compensation may be obtained by choice of circuit components to meet individual requirements. The design procedure for this network is indicated, and the experimental results for a compensated 30-mc broad-band intermediate-frequency amplifler are shown.
Neutron-Proton Polarization Measurements at 14.2 MeV

The magnitude of the polarization observed in neutron-proton scattering for En < 20 MeV is known to be less than a few percent and has been difficult to measure accurately. The usual experimental arrangement used to obtain n-p polarization data involves organic scintillators as scatterers; consequently, the systematic accuracy depends on the amount of multiple scattering from carbon and hydrogen in the scatterer. Although n-12C scattering yields large polarization in the relevant energy region1), the background polarization has been either assumed to be zero or, in one instance at 23.1 MeV2), demonstrated to be small by measurements with two scatteres of different size.
Differences among implanted pulse generator waveforms cause variations in the neural response to deep brain stimulation.

Objective Two different Medtronic implantable pulse generator (IPG) models are currently used in clinical applications of deep brain stimulation (DBS): Soletra and Kinetra. The goal of this study was to evaluate and compare the stimulation waveforms produced by each IPG model.
Limit equilibrium analysis of translational failure of landfills under different leachate buildup conditions

Excessive leachate levels in landfills can be a major triggering mechanism for translational failure. The scope of this paper is to present the development of the calculation methods for limit equilibrium analysis of translational failure of landfills and the effects of parametric variation on the factor of safety (FS) of landfills under different leachate buildup conditions. During the development of the calculation methods, 4 leachate buildup conditions are considered. The FS for an interface with high friction angle and low apparent cohesion generally drops much more quickly when leachate levels are increased than that for an interface under inverse conditions. The critical interface of a multilayer liner system with the lowest FS for the entire waste mass can shift from one to another with changes in the leachate levels. The different interfaces of a multilayer liner will have different FS-values under different leachate buildup conditions.
Hippocampal theta activity and facilitated locomotor stepping produced by GABA injections in the midbrain raphe region

Inactivation of neurons in the midbrain raphe region produces increases in locomotor activity, and it appears that they function to suppress locomotion. Inactivation of neurons there also produces hippocampal slow wave (theta) activity and it appears that they also function to inhibit rhythmic activity in the hippocampus. We determined whether the degree of association between the two effects was consistent with the operation of a single mechanism. Stimulation electrodes were implanted into locomotor sites of the hypothalamus of 34 urethane-anesthetized rats. Hindlimb stepping was elicited by 5.12-s trains of perifornical electrical stimulation presented once per minute. Hippocampal theta activity was recorded across the CA1 layer of the dorsal hippocampus. GABA injections were used to locate raphe sites at which neuronal inactivation influenced stepping and hippocampal activity. A glass pipette (80-microm tip) was inserted into the midbrain, and injections of GABA (50-100 mg/0.1-0.2 microl) were made in 70 sites in the midbrain. Injections at 34 sites facilitated stimulation-elicited stepping, and at 17 sites, they also produced intertrial stepping. Facilitating injections, but not ineffective or suppressive injections, increased the mean peak frequency of hippocampal activity, and increased power in the 4-5 Hz band during the period that preceded the stimulation trains, but did not change the 5-6 Hz activity produced during the stimulation trains. Priming locomotor stimulation which also facilitated stepping produced generally similar increases in pre-stimulation peak frequency and 4-Hz power. The magnitudes of the increases in stepping and 4-Hz power were uncorrelated. The increase in 4-Hz power appeared earlier than the increase in stepping in 18 of 34 cases, and later in 11 cases; no increases in 4-Hz power were apparent in five cases. The results indicate that pre-locomotor 4-Hz hippocampal activity in the urethane-anesthetized rat is loosely coupled with facilitated locomotor initiation. Neurons in the midbrain raphe region appear to suppress both processes, but the low degree of association between the magnitudes and onset times of increases in stepping and hippocampal 4-Hz power indicate the operation of multiple mechanisms.
To Be or Not to Be (Stressed): The Critical Role of a Psychologically Healthy Workplace in Effective Stress Management

This article explains how key practices pertaining to the psychologically healthy workplace can be used to develop a comprehensive approach to stress management in contemporary organizations. Specifically, we demonstrate the ways in which employee involvement, recognition, work-life balance, health and safety, and growth and development practices can be used to assist in the reduction of work stress and the proactive management of strain. Although many organizations strive to establish a positive environment conducive to work and well-being, identifying where to begin can often seem like a daunting task. Currently, many stress management efforts emphasize individual-level interventions that are simply implemented alongside existing organizational practices. We propose that a broader perspective allows for a better understanding of the stress process, resulting in the ability to consider a wider range of changes to organizational processes. Combining knowledge regarding psychologically healthy workplace practices, stress management intervention levels and the personal resource allocation framework, we present a comprehensive framework for approaching workplace stress management, which can be tailored to the unique needs of various organizations, departments and employees. By adopting this broader perspective, we believe organizations can more strategically address employee stress, resulting in more effective stress management and a profound impact on stress-related outcomes.
Diffusion in stably stratified turbulence

We examine results of direct numerical simulations (DNS) of homogeneous turbulence in the presence of stable stratification. We focus on the effects of stratification on eddy diffusion, and the distribution of pairs of particles released in the flow. DNS results are presented over a range of stratification, and at Reynolds numbers compatible with aliased free spectral results for a resolution of 128 mesh points. We compare results for particle dispersion to simple analytic theories such as that proposed by Csanady (1964) and Pearson et al. (1983) by adapting the basic Langevin model to decaying turbulence at low Reynolds numbers. Stable stratification is found to arrest both single particle displacements and pair separation in the direction of stratification, but it leaves these quantities nearly unaltered in the transverse direction. With respect to the dynamics of stratified flows, we find that regions of strong viscous dissipation are intermittently spaced, and are associated with large horizontal vorticity, consistent with recent experimental results by Fincham et al. (1994).
Multiple instance and context dependent learning in hyperspectral data

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a powerful tool for various remote sensing tasks including agricultural modeling and landmine/ unexploded ordnance clearance. Although the application of standard supervised learning techniques to HSI data has previously been explored, several aspects of hyperspectral data collection and ground truth labeling make some of the assumptions underlying standard machine learning techniques invalid. For example, HSI is highly dependent upon local environmental conditions, and pixel-by-pixel labels for HSI data are often not available. As a result, data from hyperspectral sensing under various scenarios is not typically i.i.d., and correct data labels must be inferred from training data while learning decision boundaries. In this work we explore two possible solutions to these problems: context-dependent learning for overcoming variations between collections, and multiple instance learning for simultaneously inferring local target labels and global target decision boundaries. Results are compared to standard logistic discriminant classification approaches.
A 0.4V∼1V 0.2A/mm 2 70% efficient 500MHz fully integrated digitally controlled 3-level buck voltage regulator with on-die high density MIM capacitor in 22nm tri-gate CMOS

Monolithic integration of Voltage Regulators (VR) is challenging given the inherent lack of scalability of inductor. Circuit techniques to reduce inductor size are attractive to increase power density and scalability. This paper presents a 70∼72% efficient, 500MHz digitally controlled 3-level Buck VR with a fully on-die spiral inductor implemented on 22nm Tri-Gate CMOS with MIM capacitors. The advantages of the 3-level converter for wide range Dynamic Voltage & Frequency Scaling (DVFS) over traditional solutions like linear regulators & Buck VRs are demonstrated.
Acetabular dysplasia following closed reduction of developmental dislocation of the hip.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of acetabular dysplasia following closed reduction of developmental dislocation of the hip, particularly as it relates to the age at reduction and the presence of the ossific nucleus. Thirty-five children with unilateral developmental dislocation of the hip underwent closed reduction. Medical records were reviewed for gender, side, age at reduction, use of Pavlik harness, prereduction traction, presence/absence of the ossific nucleus, and whether adductor longus tenotomy was performed. Acetabular index was measured. The mean age at reduction was 10 months. The mean length of follow-up was 91 months. Following closed reduction, the incidence of acetabular dysplasia was 69% (24 hips). No statistically significant relationship between acetabular dysplasia and age at reduction or presence of the ossific nucleus was demonstrated.
Defining Government’s Role in Innovation

Innovation has long been recognized for providing benefits to society far beyond those that accrue to any particular participant in the private sector, and for being an important contributor to economic growth.1 Unfortunately, in the absence of governmental intervention, private-sector participants will only consider their own particular benefits when choosing the appropriate level of commitment to the innovation process. This results in what economists call “market failure.”
When the Fundamentals are Trumped: The 2008 Wall Street Meltdown Election and Election Forecasting

An implicit assumption of many presidential election forecasting models is that the political fundamentals in place before the campaign are “played out” in the course of the campaign, that election results are largely unaffected by major unanticipated events during the campaign. In effect, the history of normal elections provides the basis for forecasting the next normal election. This has been generally a safe assumption. Though there have been numerous unexpected and major politically charged events in modern American political history, none had occurred during the period between when forecasts are made and Election Day - at least until 2008. In 2008, the assumption was violated. In mid-September of 2008, after the conventions and after most forecasts were made, the nation’s financial system collapsed. The Wall Street Meltdown and its devastating economic consequences were unexpected by the parties, the public, the economic forecasters, and the election forecasters. Many election forecasts, however, were fairly accurate in predicting a solid popular vote margin for Democrat Barack Obama. The reason for this accuracy, in the face of the unexpected meltdown, was that many of the models made a compensating second error by specifying retrospective evaluations to have the same consequences in open seat races as they have when incumbents are running. Moving forward, it is important both to address the specification issue and to treat the 2008 election as a case in which the fundamental assumption of forecasting models was violated.
High Fidelity Aero-Optical Analysis

High-order compact di erence methods utilizing implicit Large Eddy Simulation (ILES) and hybrid Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)/ILES are utilized to compute compressible shear layers and ow over a conformal turret in order to examine aero-optical aberrations. The optics are computed with both a high-order parabolic beam solver and traditional aero-optics. The e ect of aperture size on the OPDrms is investigated. In the ILES simulation of forced shear layers, it is seen that tip and tilt dominate in the ow structures across all apertures. When the ow is corrected for tip/tilt, the apparent OPD can change dramatically and may give misleading results in terms of structure identi cation. The results also demonstrate how di erent density ows can give very similar looking OPD values. The hybrid RANS/ILES turret results also show how aperture sizes can a ect the OPDrms. The current calculations do not appear to agree with the tip/tilt corrected rootmean-square of the experiments. However, uncorrected wavefronts do show similar trends to the experimental results. This may point to potential limitations of hybrid approaches due to the lack of large scale structures in the area where RANS is active.
Capacitance-Voltage Characterization of Solar Cells with CdS in CdTe Matrix

Solar cells fabricated from a sputtering target with 5% cadmium sulfide (CdS) intermixed cadmium telluride (CdTe) material was studied using Capacitance-Voltage (CV) profiling. The average efficiency of a set of these novel solar cells under one sun illumination was observed to be 7.56%. In contrast with standard sputtered CdS/CdTe cells, the junction capacitance of the mixed compound device was observed to show minimal change in the entire reverse bias range. The element mapping of the film using Bright Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (BF-STEM) was used to determine the distribution of S, Te, Cd, O, and Cl in CdTe film. From these observations, it is believed that the morphology and composition of the film resulted in a built-in potential which was sufficient to completely deplete the film.
Proton Cross-Sections from Heavy-Ion Data in Deep-Submicron Technologies

This paper reports on the calculation of proton SEU cross section from heavy-ion data using a number of different models. Model accuracy is checked using data on proton and heavy-ion cross sections from the published literature. The closed-form models developed with earlier semiconductor devices typically overestimated the proton cross section, and the difference increased with smaller feature sizes. The results emphasize that low LET heavy-ion data is crucial in determining the proton upset cross section.
Concurrent Aircraft Design and Trip Assignment Under Uncertainty: Fractional Operations

The phrase “System of Systems” (SoS) describes a large system of multiple systems – each capable of independent operation – that have been brought together to provide capabilities beyond those of each individual constituent system. Formulating and solving an SoS design problem has become increasingly important in the aerospace and defense industries as customers have begun to ask contractors for broad capabilities and solutions rather than for specific individual systems. Part of an SoS design problem is determining the appropriate mix of both existing and yet-to-be-designed systems. While determining an appropriate mix of existing systems falls into the category of resource allocation, including features of a yet-to-be-designed system complicates the problem by requiring the allocation of a variable resource. This paper focuses on the representation and solution of the concurrent aircraft design and trip assignment problem of a Fractional Management Company as a system-ofsystems problem considering uncertain operations where demand varies from day to day. The work described here introduces an approach to design aircraft that directly and positively affect s not only aircraft design but also costs related to its operations and allocation. This is a departure from past representations that consider the solution to allocation problems and the solution to aircraft design problems separately. Simultaneously considering the aircraft design and trip assignment problem can take advantage of interactions between these two problems that are intangible if they are considered independently but can result in improved performance for the operator when considered simultaneously.
An Evolving Genetic Architecture Interacts with Hill-Robertson Interference to Determine the Benefit of Sex

Sex is ubiquitous in the natural world, but the nature of its benefits remains controversial. Previous studies have suggested that a major advantage of sex is its ability to eliminate interference between selection on linked mutations, a phenomenon known as Hill-Robertson interference. However, those studies may have missed both important advantages and important disadvantages of sexual reproduction because they did not allow the distributions of mutational effects and interactions (i.e., the genetic architecture) to evolve. Here we investigate how Hill-Robertson interference interacts with an evolving genetic architecture to affect the evolutionary origin and maintenance of sex by simulating evolution in populations of artificial gene networks. We observed a long-term advantage of sex-equilibrium mean fitness of sexual populations exceeded that of asexual populations-that did not depend on population size. We also observed a short-term advantage of sex-sexual modifier mutations readily invaded asexual populations-that increased with population size, as was observed in previous studies. We show that the long- and short-term advantages of sex were both determined by differences between sexual and asexual populations in the evolutionary dynamics of two properties of the genetic architecture: the deleterious mutation rate ([Formula: see text]) and recombination load ([Formula: see text]). These differences resulted from a combination of selection to minimize [Formula: see text] which is experienced only by sexuals, and Hill-Robertson interference experienced primarily by asexuals. In contrast to the previous studies, in which Hill-Robertson interference had only a direct impact on the fitness advantages of sex, the impact of Hill-Robertson interference in our simulations was mediated additionally by an indirect impact on the efficiency with which selection acted to reduce [Formula: see text].
Does Acellular Dermal Matrix Thickness Affect Complication Rate in Tissue Expander Based Breast Reconstruction

Background. While the benefits of using acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) in breast reconstruction are well described, their use has been associated with additional complications. The purpose of this study was to determine if ADM thickness affects complications in breast reconstruction. Methods. A retrospective chart review was performed including all tissue expander based breast reconstructions with AlloDerm (LifeCell, Branchburg, NJ) over 4 years. We evaluated preoperative characteristics and assessed postoperative complications including seroma, hematoma, infection, skin necrosis, and need for reintervention. We reviewed ADM thickness and time to Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain removal. Results. Fifty-five patients underwent 77 ADM-associated tissue expander based breast reconstructions, with average age of 48.1 years and average BMI of 25.9. Average ADM thickness was 1.21 mm. We found higher complication rates in the thick ADM group. Significant associations were found between smokers and skin necrosis () and seroma and prolonged JP drainage (); radiated reconstructed breasts were more likely to suffer infections (), and elevated BMI is a significant predictor for increased infection rate (). Conclusion. We found a trend toward increased complication rates with thicker ADMs. In the future, larger prospective studies evaluating thickness may provide more information.
Indigenous Ecuadorian Mobility Strategies in the Clandestine Migration Journey

ABSTRACTBased on testimonials of migration journeys of indigenous Canaris from southern highland Ecuador, this paper examines strategies of mobility and social networking employed by migrants and facilitators in the human smuggling market. Following a series of economic crises in the late 1990s, Ecuadorian transnational migration increased significantly, with a 55.5 percent increase to the United States between 2000 and 2008, and staggering 12,150 percent increase to Spain between 1998 and 2005. This article focuses on the growth of a regional migration industry in the southern highland region, and pays special attention to the roles of indigenous Canari migrants and migration merchants. The guiding questions are: how does indigeneity figure in mobility strategies; in what ways is indigenous identity strategically employed in the migration journey; and how might indigenous migration merchants contribute to the expansion of migration? As migration routes become increasingly dangerous, migrants and human sm...
Myocardial oxidative stress and toxicity induced by acute ethanol exposure in mice

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy has been known for a long time, but there is little mechanistic insight into this important clinical problem. The present study was undertaken using a mouse model to test the hypothesis that alcohol exposure induces cardiac injury through induction of oxidative stress. Adult female Friend Virius B-type (FVB) mice were treated with ethanol by gavage at a dose of 5 g/kg. Six hours after the treatment, ethanol-induced myocardial injury was observed, as indicated by a significant increase in serum creatine phosphokinase activity, a common biomarker of myocardial injury, and myocardial ultrastructural alterations, predominantly mitochondrial swelling and cristae disarray and reduction in numbers. The myocardial injury was associated with a significant increase in the myocardial lipid peroxidation, determined by measuring thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and a significant increase in protein oxidation as measured by a protein carbonyl content assay. Acute alcohol exposure decreased glutathione (GSH) content in the heart, more so in the mitochondria than in the cytosol. These alcohol-induced myocardial injuries and oxidative stresses were all significantly inhibited by supplementation with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) prior to alcohol exposure. However, NAC did not affect the rise in blood alcohol concentrations following alcohol exposure. This study thus demonstrates that acute alcohol administration causes myocardial injury through, at least in part, the induction of oxidative stress. A rapid decrease in mitochondrial GSH content may be partially responsible for the observed mitochondrial damage.
On the characterization of a class of fisher-consistent loss functions and its application to boosting

Accurate classification of categorical outcomes is essential in a wide range of applications. Due to computational issues with minimizing the empirical 0/1 loss, Fisher consistent losses have been proposed as viable proxies. However, even with smooth losses, direct minimization remains a daunting task. To approximate such a minimizer, various boosting algorithms have been suggested. For example, with exponential loss, the AdaBoost algorithm (Freund and Schapire, 1995) is widely used for two-class problems and has been extended to the multi-class setting (Zhu et al., 2009). Alternative loss functions, such as the logistic and the hinge losses, and their corresponding boosting algorithms have also been proposed (Zou et al., 2008; Wang, 2012). In this paper we demonstrate that a broad class of losses, including non-convex functions, achieve Fisher consistency, and in addition can be used for explicit estimation of the conditional class probabilities. Furthermore, we provide a generic boosting algorithm that is not loss-specific. Extensive simulation results suggest that the proposed boosting algorithms could outperform existing methods with properly chosen losses and bags of weak learners.
Resource potential of gas hydrates: recent contributions from international research and development projects

Abstract It is generally accepted that the amount of gas in the world9s gas hydrate accumulations exceeds the volume of known conventional gas resources. Researchers have long speculated that gas hydrates could eventually be a commercial producible energy resource yet technical and economic hurdles have historically made gas hydrate development a distant goal rather than a near-term possibility. This view began to change in recent years with the realization that this unconventional resource could possibly be developed with existing conventional oil and gas production technology. The most significant development has been gas hydrate production testing conducted at the Mallik site in Canada9s Mackenzie Delta. The Mallik Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program has yielded the first modern, fully integrated field study and production test of a natural gas hydrate accumulation. More recently, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. with the US Department of Energy and the US Geological Survey have successfully cored, logged and tested a gas hydrate accumulation on the North Slope of Alaska known as the Mount Elbert Prospect. The Mallik project along with the Mount Elbert effort has for the first time allowed the rational assessment of the production response of a gas hydrate accumulation. In addition to the gas hydrate production tests in Canada and the USA, marine gas hydrate research drilling, coring and logging expeditions launched by the national gas hydrate programmes in Japan, India, China and South Korea have also contributed significantly to our understanding of how gas hydrates occur in nature and have provided a much deeper appreciation of the geological controls on the occurrence of gas hydrates. With an increasing number of highly successful gas hydrate field studies, significant progress has been made in addressing some of the key issues on the formation, occurrence and stability of gas hydrates in nature.
Humor promotes learning

what if there was a free magic pill that could reduce your students'stress, anxiety, and tension while increasing their self-esteem, alertness, creativity, learning, and memory? Would you prescribe it? Finding a treatment that is free and without side effects and helps to improve learning and memory
#BlackLivesMatter and Feminist Pedagogy: Teaching a Movement Unfolding

What are the stakes of teaching #BlackLivesMatter simultaneously in New Hampshire and in the national media? We draw upon our experiences leading two iterations of a #BlackLivesMatter course at Dartmouth College to consider the feminist pedagogical origins of “experiential learning,” the intersectional dynamics of enacting a teaching collective, and working in dialogue with the movement itself.
Vascular Emergencies in Oncologic Surgery

A vascular problem that occurs in an oncology patient complicates an already often difficult situation. Such a problem can be an unexpected intraoperative emergency, or be manifest as a complication arising from cancer biology or therapy needed to treat it. Such a problem can be a harbinger of a more advanced malignant process, or, by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, make recovery more difficult. A recognition of the spectrum of vascular complications in oncologic surgery allows the clinician to anticipate possible vascular emergencies and facilitates early recognition and intervention in these situations. The surgical oncologist and vascular surgeon may be called upon to work in concert in the care of cancer patients in multiple different settings, and both should be aware of the fundamental principles of the opposing field.
Ground heat flux: An analytical review of 6 models evaluated at 88 sites and globally

Uncertainty in ground heat flux (G) means that evaluation of the other terms in the surface energy balance (e.g., latent and sensible heat fluxes (LE and H)) remains problematic. Algorithms that calculate LE and H require available energy, the difference between net radiation, RNET, and G. There are a wide range of approaches to model G for large-scale applications, with a subsequent wide range of estimates and accuracies. We provide the largest review of these methods to date (N = 6), evaluating modeled G against measured G from 88 FLUXNET sites. The instantaneous midday variability in G is best captured by models forced with net radiation, while models forced by temperature show the least error at both instantaneous and daily time scales. We produce global decadal data sets of G to illustrate regional and seasonal sensitivities, as well as uncertainty. Global model mean midmorning instantaneous G is highest during September, October, and November at 63.42 (±16.84) Wm−2, while over December, January, and February G is lowest at 53.86 (±18.09) Wm−2 but shows greater intermodel uncertainty. Results from this work have the potential to improve evapotranspiration estimates and guide appropriate G model selection and development for various land uses.
Development of palladium-resin composites for catalytic hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorophenol

Abstract Polymeric resins have been widely used for the removal of halogenated compounds, however, the sustainability of resin adsorption is compromised by frequent resin regeneration and further treatment/disposal of concentrated brine. Palladium (Pd)-based catalytic hydrogenation is promising to treat various classes of contaminants, including halogenated compounds, and the development of Pd-polymeric resin composites is advantageous because the composites can convert halogenated compounds to less toxic chemicals in situ and mitigate challenges associated with resin regeneration. In this work, three neutral resins (MN200, MN100, and XAD4) and two anion exchange resins (IRA910 and IRA96) were used as Pd supports to evaluate 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) hydrodechlorination reactivity. Similar 4-CP adsorption and reduction kinetics were observed, i.e., adsorption and reduction were both faster at acidic pHs for the neutral resins but faster at basic pHs for the anionic resins. The developed Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model based on surface reaction as the rate determining step also suggested an enhancing effect of adsorption on the catalytic reactivity. When adsorption was constant, the reactivity of the catalysts increased with increasing solution pH. This is because higher pH mitigates the adverse impacts of the dehalogenation products (i.e., H + and Cl − ) on the catalytic reaction. The inhibition effect of Cl − was more pronounced on IRA910 than on MN200. IRA910 with anion exchange functional groups facilitates Cl − adsorption and promotes the production of PdCl 3 − and PdCl 4 2− species, which are inactive for catalytic reduction. The accumulation of phenol, the dominant product in 4-CP reduction, on resin resulted in catalytic activity loss over eight cycles when 4-CP was repeatedly spiked into the same reactor; the catalytic activity was largely restored after resin regeneration.
Supracrustal Rocks, Polymetamorphism, and Evolution of the SW Greenland Archean Gneiss Complex

The gneiss complex of southern West Greenland contains the world’s oldest well characterized rocks, the ~3800 Ma Isua Supracrustal Sequence of metavolcanic amphibolite, and chemical and clastic metasediment, for which there is no known basement. Stratigraphic relationships suggest a broad similarity to upper portions of some Archean greenstone belts, whereas geochemical characteristics of clastic sediments may record progressive unroofing of a volcanic source terrain. The Isua rocks underwent amphibolite-grade metamorphism (T~550°C, P~5 Kb) before ~3600 Ma, following emplacement of ~3700 Ma Amitsoq orthogneiss.
Comparison of satisfaction and success of traditional and online students in an introductory computer literacy course in a small liberal arts university

The purpose of this research study was to compare the satisfaction and success of two student groups: a traditional face-to-face (f2f) computer programming class and an online computer programming class. In spring, 2010, two sections of an introductory general education computer course were taught: one as a traditional lab class and the other totally online. The only difference between the two classes was the pedagogical delivery. Using t-tests, the results showed no significant difference in the satisfaction level of the two groups, but a significant difference in the grades-online students scored significantly lower than students in the traditional classes.
Therapeutic Applications of Extracellular Vesicles: Perspectives from Newborn Medicine

With the advancements in antenatal steroid therapies and surfactant replacement, current clinical practices in neonatal intensive care units allow the survival of infants at very low gestational age. Despite these advances, there continues to be significant morbidity associated with extreme preterm birth that includes both short-term and long-term cardiorespiratory impairment. With no effective single therapy in preventing or treating developmental lung injuries, the need for new tools to treat and reduce risk of complications associated with extreme preterm birth is urgent. Stem cell-based therapies, in particular therapies utilizing mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells (MSCs), have shown promise in a number of animal models of lung pathologies relevant to neonatology. Recent studies in this field have consolidated the concept that the therapeutic mechanism of MSC action is paracrine, and this led to wide acceptance of the concept that the delivery of the MSC secretome rather than live cells may provide an alternative therapeutic approach for many complex diseases. Here, we summarize the significance and application of cell-free based therapies in preclinical models of neonatal lung injury. We emphasize the development of extracellular vesicle (EV)-based therapeutics and focus on the challenges that remain to be addressed before their application to clinical practice.