cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diagnostics, Theragnostics, and the Personal Health Server Fundamental Milestones in Technology With Revolutionary Changes in Diabetic Foot and Wound Care to Come

Over the past generation, significant advances in care have led to reductions in amputation worldwide. However, it may be argued that the most potent advances in healing have been in organization of care. Technologies are now emerging that may allow further enhancements of organization and integration of care while also bringing in much needed bedside, chairside, and in-home diagnostics to identify key points in healing and potential early warning signs for recurrence. This article reviews what are believed to be 6 key areas of change over the next generation. These include portability, durability, automation, intelligence, ubiquity, and afford-ability, all yielding specific advances in wound diagnostics. The authors believe that devices will be organized into personal health servers in cloud-synchronized devices already existing in the home (eg, a scale), the clinic, and on (or in) the patient.
Bummed Out Now, Feeling Sick Later: Weekday versus Weekend Negative Affect and Physical Symptom Reports in High School Freshmen

Abstract Purpose This study examined adolescent negative affect (NA) in daily life on school days and weekend days during the spring and associations with physical symptoms during the following summer. Methods Using experience sampling methodology (ESM), participants provided electronic diary (eDiary) reports of NA on weekdays (Thursday and Friday) and weekend days during their 9 th grade year. In telephone interviews during the winter and summer months they reported physical symptoms. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between weekday NA, weekend NA, and their interaction and four constellations of physical symptoms reported in summer (pain, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and immune symptoms). Results Findings indicated that weekend NA was associated with later reports of pain, respiratory, and immune symptoms. For gastrointestinal symptoms only adolescents who reported low NA on both weekend and school days reported fewer gastric symptoms than other adolescents. Conclusions Mapping the predictors and correlates of weekend NA may be important not only for understanding teenage mood patterns but also for enhancing the interpretation of physical symptom reporting by adolescents
Characterization parameters and modelling of high frequency nonlinear devices require new calibration techniques

The fast growing telecommunication market is suffering from the lack of good characterization and modelling tools for high frequency nonlinear devices and systems. This paper argues that accurate broadband measurements of incident and reflected waves or voltage and currents at the device ports are the essential foundation for any solution to high frequency nonlinear problems. To establish these measurement techniques in industry, there is a need for an additional calibration standard to make the measurements traceable.
The response of Hyssopus pallidus to hosts previously parasitised by Ascogaster quadridentata: heterospecific discrimination and host quality

Summary 1. Two basic tenets of competition among parasitoids, that taxonomically distinct parasitoids are unable to discriminate against hosts that have previously been attacked by a competitor and that previous parasitism reduces the quality of a host, were tested by monitoring the oviposition response of Hyssopus pallidus, a gregarious ectoparasitoid, to healthy codling moth larvae and codling moth larvae that had previously been parasitised by a solitary endoparasitoid, Ascogaster quadridentata. 2. Hyssopus pallidus accepted both categories of host larva for oviposition when its competitor was constrained as a first-instar larva by the diapause development of its host, but discriminated against previously parasitised host larvae when its competitor was present as a larger larva in a non-diapausing host. 3. Hyssopus pallidus distinguished between the two categories of host larva by allocating twice as many eggs to host larvae previously parasitised by A. quadridentata, a response that was not influenced by previous oviposition experience. 4. The larger clutch sizes allocated to previously parasitised host larvae produced twice as many female progeny, each of a typical size, such that the total biomass was twice that produced from the smaller clutches laid on healthy host larvae. Possible confounding influences of host age and diapause are discounted. 5. These results demonstrate that interspecific discrimination does occur in H. pallidus and that host quality can be improved through previous parasitism by an endoparasitoid. Although interspecific discrimination appears rare among insect parasitoids, it may have been overlooked among ectoparasitoids and requires examination of the fitness consequences of interspecific interactions to clarify its adaptive significance.
Comparative STEREO-LID (Spatio-TEmporally REsolved Optical Laser-Induced Damage) studies of critical defect distributions in IBS, ALD, and electron-beam coated dielectric films

The laser damage behavior of high quality coatings under nanosecond pulse illumination is controlled by statistically distributed defects, whose physical nature and defect mechanisms are still largely unknown. Defect densities are often retrieved by modeling the fluence dependence of the damage probability measured by traditional damage test (TDT) methods, based on ‘damage’ or ‘no damage’ observations. STEREO-LID (Spatio-TEmporally REsolved Optical LaserInduced Damage) allows the determination of the damage fluence (and intensity) in a single test by identifying the initiation of damage both temporally and spatially. The advantages of this test method over the TDT are discussed. In particular, its ability to retrieve detailed defect distribution functions is demonstrated by comparison of results from HfO2 films prepared by ion-assisted electron beam evaporation, ion-beam sputtering, and atomic layer deposition.
New discoveries in schizophrenia genetics reveal neurobiological pathways: A review of recent findings

Schizophrenia research has undergone a recent transformation. By leveraging large sample sizes, genome-wide association studies of common genetic variants have approximately tripled the number of candidate genetic loci. Rare variant studies have identified copy number variants that are schizophrenia risk loci. Among these, the 3q29 microdeletion is now known to be the single largest schizophrenia risk factor. Next-generation sequencing studies are increasingly used for rare variant association testing, and have already facilitated identification of large effect alleles. Collectively, recent findings implicate voltage-gated calcium channel and cytoskeletal pathways in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility of imminent breakthroughs in the molecular understanding of schizophrenia.
Mapping the CgrA regulon of Rhodospirillum centenum reveals a hierarchal network controlling Gram-negative cyst development

Several Gram-negative species undergo development leading to the formation of metabolically dormant desiccation resistant cysts. Recent analysis of cyst development has revealed that ~20 % of the Rhodospirillum centenum transcriptome undergo temporal changes in expression as cells transition from vegetative to cyst forms. It has also been established that one trigger for cyst formation is the synthesis of the signaling nucleotide 3‘, 5‘- cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) that is sensed by a homolog of the catabolite repressor protein called CgrA. CgrA in the presence of cGMP initiate a cascade of gene expression leading to the development of cysts. In this study, we have used RNA-seq and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-Seq) techniques to define the CgrA-cGMP regulon. Our results indicate that disruption of CgrA leads to altered expression of 258 genes, 131 of which have been previously reported to be involved in cyst development. ChIP-seq analysis combined with transcriptome data also demonstrates that CgrA directly regulates the expression of numerous sigma factors and transcription factors several of which are known to be involved in cyst cell development. This analysis reveals the presence of CgrA binding sites upstream of many developmentally regulated genes including many transcription factors and signal transduction components. CgrA thus functions as master controller of the cyst development by initiating a hierarchal cascade of downstream transcription factors that induces temporal expression of encystment genes.
The Short Term Origins of World War I

Over the course of the beginning of the 20th century, it seems that the short terms origins of the First World War were caused by the mutual fear which existed between the opposing blocks of Europe. On the one hand, Austria-Hungary and Germany seem to have isolated themselves by French antagonism because of the Franco-Prussian War and British antagonism because of the Naval Race and Russia because of the conflicting spheres of influence in the Balkans between Russia and Austria-Hungary. As time went by, the Western powers became more intent on war rather than loosing face. After the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, Russia was determined to no be humiliated again while France was supplying money to Russia for the building of a railway. Germany and Austria-Hungary therefore felt threatened as they realized they were encircled by hostile powers and that they would be forced to fight a war on two fronts. This incited Germany to opt for an increase in army expenditures in 1912 when the second Moroccan Crisis demonstrated the solidity of the Triple Entente. Germany army expansion subsequently triggered the army expansion of the other nations. By 1914, Germany believed that war was inevitable and that a preventive war was necessary to weaken Germany’s enemies into accepting Germany’s place as a world power. Therefore, when the Archduke was assassinated, the nations of Europe were not reluctant to go to war.
As It Were Face to Face: A Reading of Geoffrey Hartman’s “Via Naturaliter Negativa”

Taking as its point of departure an analysis of the tri-partite dialectical structure of the “Via Naturaliter Negativa” chapter of Wordsworth’s Poetry, this essay then seeks to show how the dialectical pattern is shadowed by another pattern of development, the two-stage Pauline scheme of figure and fulfillment. If within the dialectical scheme, the rising up of the Imagination in Book VI (“VIb”) functions as a negative moment of pure self-consciousness, within the typological scheme, it is a figure whose terms are fulfilled or actualized in VIc (the Ravine of Gondo passage) or alternatively with Snowdon; in both cases, however, it is a question of reinscribing VIb within a progressive movement. At the same time, Hartman’s emphasis on the divergence between VIb’s position in the compositional sequence and the narrative sequence isolates the Imagination passage neither as a moment of absolute self-consciousness nor as a pre-figuration but rather as Wordsworth’s coming “face to face” with his own text. (Edit...
Selecting Picture Books Featuring Characters with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for Teachers.

ABSTRACTWe read 48 children's books featuring characters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to determine which books would be appropriate for use during read-alouds in early childhood classrooms. We conducted a search on Amazon for children's books on ASD published after 2010 and identified 50 books that met the following criteria: (a) the book was a picture book for young children, (b) the main character had ASD, (c) the book was not a skill-building book for children with ASD, and (d) the book received more positive than negative reviews from readers on Amazon. We evaluated books for visual and literary content and accurate portrayal of ASD characteristics. We then showed books to special education professionals, general-education teachers, and education professors for their input. Through this review process, nine books were identified as appropriate for read-alouds in early childhood classrooms. We also contacted authors of select books to gather information on their experience with ASD. Overall, we ...
Antigenic Fractions Specific for Histoplasma capsulatum in the Complement Fixation Reaction

SummaryA method was described for the isolation of antigens from the supernates of H. capsulatum yeast phase cultures by precipitation with zinc and alcohol accompanied by removal of protein by the water-chloroform method. Antigens prepared by this method fixed complement only with sera from rabbits infected with H. capsulatum. The antigens reacted with serum from both early and late bleedings of Histoplasma-infected rabbits, but failed to react with serum from animals with B. dermatitidis, C. immitls, S. schenckii, and C. albicans.
Control of a Model Secondary Flow Targeting Convective Instabilities

This paper investigates the presence of convective instabilities in a large streamwise vortex interacting with a solid wall. This flow is considered to be a model for a generic secondary flow that would develop in a variety of engineering applications including a wingbody junction or a compressor tip flow. This study presents spatial linear stability computations on a vortex wall interaction showing the effects of Reynolds number, relative free-stream velocity strength, and the no-slip wall boundary condition on the Crow instability, extending previous results by the same authors. Comparisons are made with the spatial form of the solution of Crow’s theory to highlight features particular to the spatial analysis. Specifically, the range of unstable frequencies and the effects of the base flow development on amplitude growth. The second portion of the paper presents preliminary experimental data on the forcing of a similar flow using a subwoofer. Stereo-PIV data of the vortex response shows increased displacement at frequencies near that predicted by Crow’s theory.
Gastric inhibitory polypeptide, insulin, and glucose changes produced by growth hormone, prednisolone, glucagon, insulin, fasting, or diazoxide.

SummaryBecause of the strong augmen-tary action of gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) on insulin secretion, we studied in foxhounds the effect on GIP secretion of several factors known to affect insulin secretion and plasma glucose. Growth hormone infusion decreased plasma GIP, yet increased insulin; no change in plasma glucose was found. Growth hormone inhibited oral glucose-induced increments in plasma GIP and glucose. Prednisolone did not affect levels of GIP or insulin, whether given alone or preceding oral glucose. Diazoxide decreased glucose-induced GIP and insulin secretion, but increased plasma glucose. Fasting for 112 hr decreased GIP but did not decrease the glucose-induced GIP rise. Infusion of glucagon or insulin in amounts sufficient to produce high physiologic or pharmacologic plasma levels did not change GIP concentration, nor did they alter GIP rises with glucose. In conclusion, GIP was not inhibited by insulin or glucagon but was decreased by growth hormone, fasting, or diazoxide. Where...
The Mayfly Subimago: a Possible Explanation

Adult insects reproduce and disperse. Indeed, adulthood is recognized by the possession of functional genitalia and, in pterygotes, of wings. These adult structures are attained simultaneously, at ecdysis, in all living pterygotes except the mayflies. In the mayflies functional wings occur first, in a subimago that can fly but cannot mate; after the subimaginal molt the genitalia are functional. There seems no adaptive basis for this double molt to maturity, and I suggest there may indeed be none.
A Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus of the Buck Moth Caterpillar ( Hemileuca maia ) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

A nuclear polyhedrosis virus discovered in a colony of Hemileuca maia (Drury) at Louisiana State University was infective for larvae collected from the field. The Virus is singly embedded and infects the epidermis, fat body, and tracheal matrix. Infected larvae exhibited classical virus symptoms. Polyhedra were found within and subtending the scoli.
Improving anti-bullying laws and policies to protect youth from weight-based victimization: parental support for action.

BACKGROUND: Weight-based bullying is a prevalent problem among youth with overweight and obesity, but remains neglected in existing policy-level strategies to address youth bullying. Parental support is an influential catalyst motivating political will for policy decisions affecting youth, but has received limited research attention. OBJECTIVES: To assess levels of, and predictors of, parental support for school-based policies and state/federal legal measures to address weight-based bullying in 2014 and 2015. METHODS: Identical online questionnaires were completed by two independent national samples of parents in 2014 and 2015 (N = 1804). RESULTS: Parental support for all policy actions was high (at least 81%) and significantly increased from 2014 to 2015 for legal measures that would a) require state anti-bullying laws to add protections against weight-based bullying, and b) enact a federal anti-bullying law that includes weight-based bullying. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can inform policy discourse about remedies for youth bullying, and suggest that parental support for improved legal protections against weight-based bullying is present, consistent, and strong.© 2016 World Obesity. Pediatric Obesity. Language: en
Effective Population Size

The concept of the effective population size is increasingly being used in several areas of science. However the concept is quite complex and not in general well understood. There are at least four versions of an effective population size, and sometimes different values arise from the different concepts. Further, the formula for an effective population size generally used depends on an unrealistic evolutionary model. Details of these matters are given in this article, with a cautionary note about the use of the concept. The concept of the effective population size is central to an examination of the effect of random changes in gene frequencies (random genetic drift), as discussed in this article.
The Effects of Polydopamine Coated Cu Nanoparticles on the Tribological Properties of Polydopamine/PTFE Coatings

Abstract The effects of using polydopamine (PDA) coated Cu nanoparticles (PDA-Cu) as a filler in the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) topcoat of a PDA/PTFE dual-layer coating are investigated, where the PDA is used as an adhesive basecoat. Tribological tests show that the addition of PDA-Cu in PTFE increases the wear life of PDA/PTFE by a factor of two, approximately three orders of magnitude greater than that of pure PTFE without a PDA basecoat. This increase in wear life is achieved without compromising the low coefficient of friction characteristic of pure PTFE. Scratch tests show that the PDA-Cu filler improves adhesion between the PTFE and the PDA, preventing large scale delamination and also increases the toughness of the coating, preventing ruptures at lower loads.
Low-Frequency Common-Mode Voltage Control for Systems Interconnected With Power Converters

In this paper, an active common-mode (CM) duty cycle injection method is proposed to control the dc and low-frequency CM voltage in grounded systems interconnected by power converters. Specifically, a 380-V dc nanogrid and a single-phase ac distribution system interfaced with a transformerless ac–dc converter is considered. In such architecture, the ac and dc CM quantities are coupled through the ground; while the high-frequency noise is filtered by passive components, the dc and low-frequency CM voltage need be controlled to generate symmetric dc-bus voltages and effectively mitigate the ground leakage current. Using a two-stage bidirectional ac–dc converter as an example, the operating range of the proposed method is identified under different ac and dc voltages and alternative grounding schemes. Further, a CM equivalent circuit is derived and experimentally validated, and used to design the controller of the proposed control system. Experiments with resistive and constant power loads in rectification and regeneration modes are used to validate the performance and stability of the control method. As a result, the dc-bus voltages are rendered symmetric with respect to ground, and the leakage current is suppressed. Finally, the control method is generalized to three-phase ac–dc converters for larger power systems.
Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With Metastatic Cancer Receiving Specific Critical Care Therapies

Background In-hospital mortality is high for critically ill patients with metastatic cancer. To help patients, families, and clinicians make an informed decision about invasive medical treatments, we examined predictors of in-hospital mortality among patients with metastatic cancer who received critical care therapies (CCTs). Patients and methods We used the 2010 California Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project: State Inpatient Databases to identify admissions of patients with metastatic cancer (age ≥18 years) who received CCTs, including invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), tracheostomy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube, acute use of dialysis, and total parenteral nutrition (TPN). We first described the characteristics and outcomes of patients who received any CCTs. We then used multivariable logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations (to account for clustering within hospitals) to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality among patients who received any CCTs. Results For 2010, we identified 99,085 admissions among patients with metastatic cancer. Of these, 9,348 (9.4%) received any CCT during hospitalization; 50% received IMV, 15% PEG tube, 8% tracheostomy, 40% TPN, and 8% acute dialysis. Inpatient mortality was 30%. Of patients who received any CCT and survived to discharge, 27% were discharged to a skilled nursing facility. Compared with patients who died, costs of care were $3,019 higher for admissions in which patients survived the hospitalization. Predictors of in-hospital mortality included non-white race (vs whites), lack of insurance (vs Medicare), unscheduled admissions, principal diagnosis of infections (vs cancer-related), greater burden of comorbidities, end-stage renal disease, liver disease and lung cancer (vs other cancers). Conclusions Although more studies are needed to better understand risks and benefits of specific treatments in the setting of specific cancer types, these data will help to inform decision-making for patients with metastatic cancer who become critically ill.
The effects of automatic speech recognition quality on human transcription latency

Transcription makes speech accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people. This conversion of speech to text is still done manually by humans, despite high cost, because the quality of automated speech recognition (ASR) is still too low in real-world settings. Manual conversion can require more than 5 times the original audio time, which also introduces significant latency. Giving transcriptionists ASR output as a starting point seems like a reasonable approach to making humans more efficient and thereby reducing this cost, but the effectiveness of this approach is clearly related to the quality of the speech recognition output. At high error rates, fixing inaccurate speech recognition output may take longer than producing the transcription from scratch, and transcriptionists may not realize when transcription output is too inaccurate to be useful. In this paper, we empirically explore how the latency of transcriptions created by participants recruited on Amazon Mechanical Turk vary based on the accuracy of speech recognition output. We present results from 2 studies which indicate that starting with the ASR output is worse unless it is sufficiently accurate (Word Error Rate of under 30%).
Disease Transmission in Water

Disease transmission through water can occur through drinking water contaminated with microorganisms causing disease, through inhalation of aerosols of water at swimming pools, or through air-conditioners, or finally through contact in swimming pools. Diseases transmitted through drinking water include bacterial diseases (cholera, dysentery, typhoid, gastrointestinal disorders by E. coli, Yersinia, and Campylobacter), viruses (hepatitis A and E), and protozoan and helminth parasites (Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Entamoeba). Inhalation of aerosols can lead to Legionnaires’ disease and tuberculosis, while persons with open wounds can contact infections by Aeromonas and non-tubercular mycobacteria.
Potent Inhibition of Human Cytomegalovirus by Modulation of Cellular SNARE Syntaxin 5.

Formation of the cytoplasmic viral assembly compartment (cVAC) is an important step for efficient human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) assembly. To do this, the virus must alter and repurpose the normal cellular balance of membrane and protein flux, a process that is not well understood. Although a recent screen identified three viral proteins essential for cVAC formation, less is known about the contribution of cellular factors. We show that HCMV infection increases the protein level of a cellular trafficking factor, syntaxin 5 (STX5), a member of the syntaxin family of SNARE proteins. STX5 is recruited to the cVAC in infected cells and is required for the efficient production of infectious virions. We find that STX5 is important for normal cVAC morphology and the proper localization of viral proteins. A previously identified inhibitor of trafficking, Retro94, causes the mislocalization of STX5, an altered cVAC morphology, and dispersal of viral proteins. The presence of Retro94 results in severely impaired production of infectious virions, with a decrease as great as 5 logs. We show that this inhibition is conserved among different strains of HCMV and the various cell types that support infection, as well as for murine CMV. Thus, our data identify a key cellular trafficking factor important for supporting HCMV infection. IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection causes severe disease and mortality in immunocompromised individuals, including organ transplant and AIDS patients. In addition, infection of a developing fetus may result in lifelong complications such as deafness and learning disabilities. Understanding in detail the processes involved in HCMV replication is important for developing novel treatments. One of these essential processes, assembly of infectious virions, takes places in the cytoplasmic viral assembly compartment. We identify a cellular protein, syntaxin 5, important for generating this compartment, and show that it is required for the efficient production of infectious virions. We also show that a small molecule that disrupts this protein also significantly reduces the amount of infectious virions that are generated. Thus, by pinpointing a cellular protein that is important in the replication cycle of HCMV, we identified a novel target that can be pursued for therapeutic intervention.
Aerospace Applications of Composites

While the use of composites in aerospace presently constitutes a relatively small percentage of total composite use, composite materials find some of their most sophisticated and glamorous applications in this industry. It may now be said that composites are a production reality as a substitute material, within the next 10 years, new aircraft structures will be at least 40% composites.
Factors Associated With and Prognostic Implications of Cardiac Troponin Elevation in Decompensated Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: Findings From the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Program.

Importance Elevated levels of cardiac troponins are associated with adverse clinical outcomes among patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction. However, the clinical significance of troponin elevation in the setting of decompensated HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is not well established. Objective To determine the clinical predictors of troponin elevation and its association with in-hospital and long-term outcomes among patients with decompensated HFpEF. Design, Setting, and Participants Observational analysis of Get With The Guidelines–HF registry participants who were admitted for decompensated HFpEF (ejection fraction ≥50%) from January 2009 through December 2014 and who had quantitative or categorical (elevated vs normal based on institution’s reference laboratory) measures of troponin level (troponin T or troponin I, as available). Main Outcomes and Measures In-hospital outcomes (mortality, length of stay, and discharge destination) and postdischarge outcomes (30-day mortality, 30-day readmission rate, 1-year mortality). Results We included 34 233 patients with HFpEF from 224 sites with measured troponin levels (33.4% men; median age, 79 years): 78.6% (n = 26 896) with troponin I and 21.4% (n = 7319) with troponin T measurements. Among these, 22.6% (n = 7732) had elevation in troponin levels. In adjusted analysis, higher serum creatinine level, black race, older age, and ischemic heart disease were associated with troponin elevation. Elevated troponin was associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 2.19; 95% CI, 1.88-2.56), greater length of stay (length of stay >4 days OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.29-1.47), and lower likelihood of discharge to home (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.61-0.71) independent of other clinical predictors and measured confounders. Presence of elevated troponin I levels was also significantly associated with increased risk of 30-day mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.59; 95% CI, 1.42-1.80), 30-day all-cause readmission (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01-1.25), and 1-year mortality HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.26-1.45). Conclusions and Relevance Troponin elevation among patients with acutely decompensated HFpEF is associated with worse in-hospital and postdischarge outcomes, independent of other predictive variables. Future studies are needed to determine if measurement of troponin levels among patients with decompensated HFpEF may be useful for risk stratification.
Development of a Digital Standard to Specify Surface Requirements of Cast Metal Surfaces

Communication of specifications between a customer and a manufacturer is important for meeting form, fit, and functional requirements of any part. Current standards for the requirements of cast metal surfaces use qualitative methods, including comparator plates and images of surfaces, to specify the surface quality allowing ample room for variation in interpretation of the standard. The length scale of existing contact surface measurements is too small for most casting surfaces. This paper covered a proposed digital standard for specifying cast metal surfaces. The proposed digital standard used point cloud data of a cast surface, likely attained using a non-contact capture method, in order to identify roughness properties and anomalies caused by the casting process. Unlike current qualitative methods, this standard does not specify the potential causes of surface issues, such as porosity or inclusions. This standard was developed in order to reduce measurement variation and eliminate confusion between the customer and manufacturer. Assigning quantitative criterion to the surface allows the customer to specify exactly what is needed as opposed to limiting them to a subjective comparator or image to base their requirements. Additionally, this quantitative method could be used to verify visual inspection results among the inspectors within a production facility to reduce their measurement error and improve productivity.
Effective Turning Motion Control of Internally Actuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

This paper presents a novel roll mechanism and an efficient control strategy for internally actuated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The developed control algorithms are tested on Michigan Tech’s custom research glider, ROUGHIE (Research Oriented Underwater Glider for Hands-on Investigative Engineering), in a controlled environment. The ROUGHIE’s design parameters and operational constraints were driven by its requirement to be man portable, expandable, and maneuverable in shallow water. As an underwater glider, the ROUGHIE is underactuated with direct control of only depth, pitch, and roll. A switching control method is implemented on the ROUGHIE to improve its maneuverability, enabling smooth transitions between different motion patterns. This approach uses multiple feedforward-feedback controllers. Different aspects of the roll mechanism and the effectiveness of the controller on turning motion are discussed based on experimental results. The results illustrate that the ROUGHIE is capable of achieving tight turns with a radius of 2.4 meters in less than 3 meters of water, or one order of magnitude improvement on existing internally actuated platforms. The developed roll mechanism is not specific to underwater gliders and is applicable to all AUVs, especially at lower speeds and in shallower water when external rudder is less effective in maneuvering the vehicle.
Student Off-Task Electronic Multitasking Predictors: Scale Development and Validation

In an attempt to better understand factors contributing to students’ off-task electronic multitasking behavior in class, the research included two studies that developed a scale of students’ off-task electronic multitasking predictors (the SOTEMP scale), and explored relationships between the scale and various classroom communication processes and outcomes. The first study inductively developed initial typologies for the SOTEMP scale, refined the scale item pool, and explored the dimensions of the scale. Subsequently, the second study validated the scale through a confirmatory factor analysis and by assessing different concurrently existing communication processes as well as students’ perceived learning outcomes. Four factors were found: Lack of Class Relating, Technology Dependence, Class Easiness, and Overwhelmed feeling. Reliability and validity were established for the scale. Results indicated the SOTEMP scale was positively related to students’ cognitive absorption, and negatively related to students’ perception of their affective learning. However, the SOTEMP scale was not related to students’ perceived cognitive learning. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Top 10 hands-on cybersecurity exercises

As security becomes a more important part of the computer science curriculum, instructors may need some guidance in choosing which exercises to include in their classes, whether these are security classes or not. Students learn best when they have hands-on experience. This paper describes approximately 20 examples of laboratory exercises which we used in undergraduate classes at two liberal arts colleges. Students evaluated them in a survey at the end of each class. We present the results of that survey and the features of those exercises with strengths and weaknesses from the instructors' perspectives.
On the Solvability of Inclusions with Multivalued Compact Perturbations of Bi-Mappings

This paper is about the solvability of the inclusion $$A(u,u) + F(u) \ni L , $$ where X is a reflexive Banach space, L ∈ X∗, A is maximal monotone in one argument and continuous in the other argument in certain sense, and F is a multivalued perturbing term, which is compact in certain sense. We are interested in appropriate conditions on A and F such that this inclusion has solutions within a closed and convex set. We also prove that under such conditions the mapping u ↦ A (u, u) + F(u) is in fact generalized pseudomonotone in the sense of Browder and Hess (J. Funct. Anal. 11, 251–294, 1972).
The United States vs. Big Soda: The Taste of Change

Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist who specializes in childhood obesity once said, “Sugar is celebratory. Sugar is something that we used to enjoy. It is evident that now, it basically has coated our tongues. It’s turned into a diet staple, and it’s killing us.”1 In the past decade the prevalence of sugar in American processed food and diet has become a growing domestic concern. It is evident that now more than ever, sugar has found its way into almost every food and drink consumed by Americans, “The United States leads the world in consumption of sweeteners and is number 3 in the world in consuming sugary drinks.”2 Sugar alters the original taste of food and drink- it disguises itself using different names embedded in products such as high fructose corn syrup, maltose, and cane crystals in addition to artificial sweeteners like Aspartame, Neotame, and Sucralose.3 The media has focused attention on this topic as the health effects of sugar consumption have become more apparent. Sugar has become the target in recent legislation measures nationwide. Taxing sugar related beverages is now legal in large United States cities such as Philadelphia (PA) and Berkeley (CA). These taxes are intended to turn Americans off from sugary beverages in order to help reduce obesity, diabetes, rotten teeth, and other health related conditions that result from an influx in sugar consumption. Further research into this topic shows that the soda tax remains a controversial topic nationwide. The paper will focus on how the creation and implementation of a soda tax differs from the west and east coast based on the desired use for the revenue. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Numerical differentiation of noisy, nonsmooth, multidimensional data

We consider the problem of differentiating a multivariable function specified by noisy data. Following previous work for the single-variable case, we regularize the differentiation process, by formulating it as an inverse problem with an integration operator as the forward model. Total-variation regularization avoids the noise amplification of finite-difference methods, while allowing for discontinuous solutions. Unlike the single-variable case, we use an alternating directions, method of multipliers algorithm to provide greater efficiency for large problems. We apply the method to synthetic data and to synthetic-aperture radar satellite imagery.
Megatrends in Shared Waters in 2030 and Beyond

Looking to 2030 and beyond, the future of shared waters is likely to have parallels with the present, but there is also likely to be expected and unexpected changes within shared water systems and their management. This paper identifies several trends—climate change, new technologies, and information availability and control—that will present both threats and opportunities to shared waters. Climate change may place unique stresses on shared waters by precipitating sudden, unpredictable changes in the hydrologic system that may exceed the institutional capacity to mitigate negative impacts of these changes. New technologies will provide ever-improving tools to view water as a flexible resource and aid in management, decision-making, and negotiation surrounding shared waters. Information availability and control raises questions about transparency and inclusion, and digital-physical security open shared water systems and associated infrastructure to vulnerabilities that may shift rapidly. The institutions governing shared waters will need to adapt to the threats and opportunities offered by these and other future trends. To aid in this effort, several shifts may be necessary in the understanding of shared waters—how shared waters are conceptualised, how inequities are embedded in management, and how shared water actors are broadening in scope. These shifts may support the development of adaptive and flexible institutions and enable them to anticipate and respond to uncertainties facing shared water systems in the future.
Calorie changes in chain restaurant menu items: implications for obesity and evaluations of menu labeling.

Background Supply-side reductions to the calories in chain restaurants are a possible benefit of upcoming menu labeling requirements. Purpose To describe trends in calories available in large U.S. restaurants. Methods Data were obtained from the MenuStat project, a census of menu items in 66 of the 100 largest U.S. restaurant chains, for 2012 and 2013 (N=19,417 items). Generalized linear models were used to calculate (1) the mean change in calories from 2012 to 2013, among items on the menu in both years; and (2) the difference in mean calories, comparing newly introduced items to those on the menu in 2012 only (overall and between core versus non-core items). Data were analyzed in 2014. Results Mean calories among items on menus in both 2012 and 2013 did not change. Large restaurant chains in the U.S. have recently had overall declines in calories in newly introduced menu items (–56 calories, 12% decline). These declines were concentrated mainly in new main course items (–67 calories, 10% decline). New beverage (–26 calories, 8% decline) and children's (–46 calories, 20% decline) items also had fewer mean calories. Among chain restaurants with a specific focus (e.g., burgers), average calories in new menu items not core to the business declined more than calories in core menu items. Conclusions Large chain restaurants significantly reduced the number of calories in newly introduced menu items. Supply-side changes to the calories in chain restaurants may have a significant impact on obesity prevention.
Antibiotic resistance in Rhizobium japonicum: implications for safety and interpretation of NIF transfer from Rhizobium.

Within the last two years, a number of reports of P-plasmid mediated transfer of genes into and from several Rhizobium species have been published. All of the experiments involved RP-mediated transfer among various enteric bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Rhizobium species. Two assumptions seem to be generally made by the investigators doing this work: 1. That Rhizobium is intrinsically harmless and contains no genetic information, that when introduced into a human pathogen, could decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy. 2. That the antibiotic resistance shown by Rhizobium cells carrying RP4 or its derivatives is the consequence of expression of RP4-coded functions.
Gastroparesis in Older Adults

The true prevalence of gastroparesis in the general population is not clear. Vague symptoms of nausea and abdominal distension correlate poorly with gastric emptying. The proximal part of the stomach (body and fundus) is mainly concerned with storage function, while the antrum functions as a grinder. The interstitial cells of Cajal, the pacemaker cells coordinate the fed pattern that leads to gastric emptying. The functions are well preserved in healthy aging. Etiological factors for delayed gastric emptying include effects of diseases and drugs; common causes include diabetes mellitus, Parkinson’s disease, hypothyroidism, chronic renal failure, and gastric cancer. Clinical presentation is nonspecific, with nausea, vomiting, and bloating. Diagnosis involves history, examination, endoscopy, and scintigraphy. Management is unsatisfactory, but includes lifestyle modification, pharmacotherapy, and gastric electrical stimulation.
Closed-Form Approach for Epistemic Uncertainty Propagation in Analytic Models

System dependability or performance is often studied using stochastic models. These models capture the natural uncertainty in the system being studied, known as aleatory uncertainty. Randomness in events of interest like times to failure/recovery of components, ability to detect failures, ability to perform recovery action, inter-arrival time, service time, etc., are taken into account in the models, by means of their distributions. The models are usually solved at fixed parameter values. However, the model input parameter values have uncertainty associated with them as they are derived either from a finite number of observations (from lifetime determining experiments or field data) or are based upon expert guesses. This uncertainty in model input parameter values, known as epistemic uncertainty, is not normally taken into account by the stochastic aleatory model.
Precrastination: The fierce urgency of now

Procrastination is a familiar and widely discussed proclivity: postponing tasks that can be done earlier. Precrastination is a lesser known and explored tendency: completing tasks quickly just to get them done sooner. Recent research suggests that precrastination may represent an important penchant that can be observed in both people and animals. This paper reviews evidence concerned with precrastination and connects that evidence with a long history of interest in anticipatory learning, distance reception, and brain evolution. Discussion unfolds to encompass several related topics including impulsivity, planning, and self-control. Precrastination may be a new term in the psychological lexicon, but it may be a predisposition with an extended evolutionary history. Placing precrastination within the general rubric of anticipatory action may yield important insights into both adaptive and maladaptive behavior.
Saltwater Intrusion Modifies Microbial Community Structure and Decreases Denitrification in Tidal Freshwater Marshes

Environmental changes can alter the interactions between biotic and abiotic ecosystem components in tidal wetlands and therefore impact important ecosystem functions. The objective of this study was to determine how saltwater intrusion affects wetland nutrient biogeochemistry, with a specific focus on the soil microbial communities and physicochemical parameters that control nitrate removal. Our work took place in a tidal freshwater marsh in South Carolina, USA, where a 3.5-year saltwater intrusion experiment increased porewater salinities from freshwater to oligohaline levels. We measured rates of denitrification, soil oxygen demand, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and used molecular genetic techniques to assess the abundance and community structure of soil microbes. In soils exposed to elevated salinities, rates of denitrification were reduced by about 70% due to changes in the soil physicochemical environment (higher salinity, higher carbon:nitrogen ratio) and shifts in the community composition of denitrifiers. Saltwater intrusion also affected the microbial community responsible for DNRA, increasing the abundance of genes associated with this process and shifting microbial community composition. Though rates of DNRA were below detection, the microbial community response may be a precursor to increased rates of DNRA with continued saltwater intrusion. Overall, saltwater intrusion reduces the ability of tidal freshwater marshes to convert reactive nitrogen to dinitrogen gas and therefore negatively affects their water quality functions. Continued study of the interrelationships between biotic communities, the abiotic environment, and biogeochemical transformations will lead to a better understanding of how the progressive replacement of tidal freshwater marshes with brackish analogues will affect the overall functioning of the coastal landscape.
Low-dispersion low-loss dielectric gratings for efficient ultrafast laser pulse compression at high average powers

Abstract All-dielectric gratings are ideal for high average power laser pulse compressors due to their low loss and high diffraction efficiencies. However, they have not been utilized in petawatt-class lasers with pulse durations below 100 fs due to a variety of challenges. We present a resonance-free design for low-dispersion (1480 lines/mm) diffraction gratings made of dielectric materials resistant to femtosecond laser damage (SiO 2 /HfO 2 ). A 14 cm diameter sample was fabricated resulting in a mean diffraction efficiency of 99.1% at λ = 810 nm with high spatial uniformity using equipment which can produce gratings up to 1 m diagonal. The implementation of these gratings in the compression of 30 fs pulses in an out-of-plane geometry can result in compressor efficiencies approaching 95%. The measured laser absorption is 500× lower than current ultrafast petawatt-class compressor gratings enabling a substantial increase in average power handling capabilities of these laser systems.