cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using MOTER to design PILAC

A pion linear accelerator (PILAC) is being designed as a new experimental facility for the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF). The design goal is a flux of 10/sup 9/ pions per second at an energy of 920 MeV into a spectrometer having a resolution of 200 keV. To meet this design goal, the system will have to accept a large phase space of particles which, in turn, implies that higher-order aberrations will be significant and have to be corrected. The computer program MOTER is being used to investigate the size of the aberrations and their effect on the resolution of the system. To meet this challenge a number of improvements were made to MOTER. This work describes those improvements, shows how MOTER can be used to design the high-resolution channel, and indicates the direction that future developments of this program will take. >
A cadaveric eye model for practicing anterior and posterior segment surgeries.

Abstract Objective: To develop a simple and effective model for practicing anterior and posterior segment surgeries. Design: A Lander wide-field keratoprosthesis was used as an artificial cornea in human cadaver eyes. Results: The keratoprosthesis provided a tight seal which maintained the anterior chamber. Continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis, hydrodissection, and phacoemulsification of the cadaveric lens followed by insertion of a foldable intraocular lens into the capsular bag were performed through a standard three-planed scleral tunnel incision. Pars plana vitrectomy, using the standard three-port approach, was performed. Panretinal photocoagulation was performed using a slit-lamp laser delivery system and a Rodenstock lens. Conclusions: This eye model very closely simulates the tactile behavior of a living eye and may be useful as a realistic practice and teaching platform for a wide variety of anterior and posterior segment surgical procedures, including laser photocoagulation.
Assessment of change in hydration in women during pregnancy and postpartum with bioelectrical impedance vectors

Abstract Objective This study tested the hypothesis that bioelectrical impedance vectors, group and individual, are valid indicators of total body water (TBW) and hydration status in women experiencing fluid gain and loss during and after pregnancy. Methods We measured TBW, assessed with D2O dilution, and resistance (R) and reactance (Xc), determined with 800 μA at 50 kHz and standardized for height (H) and plotted on a bivariate (R-Xc) graph, in 15 women, 21–37 y of age, longitudinally before and during pregnancy and postpartum (PP). Results Body weight (61.9 ± 2.3 to 75.5 ± 2.3 kg) and TBW (31.4 ± 1.1 to 38.2 ± 1.1 L) increased (P Conclusion These findings indicate that impedance vectors provide quantitative evidence of hydration status during pregnancy and that the impedance vector method is useful in monitoring hydration status in pregnancy.
Meeting adjourned: off-line learning interfaces for automatic meeting understanding

Upcoming technologies will automatically identify and extract certain types of general information from meetings, such as topics and the tasks people agree to do. We explore interfaces for presenting this information to users after a meeting is completed, using two post-meeting interfaces that display information from topics and action items respectively. These interfaces also provide an excellent forum for obtaining user feedback about the performance of classification algorithms, allowing the system to learn and improve with time. We describe how we manage the delicate balance of obtaining necessary feedback without overburdening users. We also evaluate the effectiveness of feedback from one interface on improvement of future action item detection.
FACS-style detection for real-time cell viscoelastic cytometry

Cell mechanical properties have been established as a label-free biophysical marker of cell viability and health; however, real-time methods with significant throughput for accurately and non-destructively measuring these properties remain widely unavailable. Without appropriate labels for use with fluorescence activated cell sorters (FACS), easily implemented real-time technology for tracking cell-level mechanical properties remains a current need. Employing modulated optical forces and enabled by a low-dimensional FACS-style detection method introduced here, we present a viscoelasticity cytometer (VC) capable of real-time and continuous measurements. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by tracking the high-frequency cell physical properties of populations of chemically-modified cells at rates of ~ 1 s-1 and explain observations within the context of a simple theoretical model.
Subject Control into Nominals in Romance

This article examines subject control into nominals, i.e. cases where a verb’s subject controls the highest argument of an event noun in complement position. Building upon Jackendoff and Culicover’s (2005) Simpler Syntax framework and their analysis of control, I argue that cases of obligatory control into nominals in Spanish, Catalan and Italian, unlike cases of apparent non-obligatory control, involve a formal control relationship on a par with control into infinitivals and gerunds. Unlike non-obligatory control verbs, verbs that show obligatory subject control into nominals license an event complement linked to the noun predicate, binding its highest argument in Conceptual Structure. The analysis provides a descriptive typology and a formal analysis of each verb class, explaining some puzzling properties of verb + event noun structures. Moreover, the analysis supports Jackendoff and Culicover’s claim that predicates selecting voluntary action complements show obligatory control, but that there are other sources of obligatory control. 1
Treatment of Saline Domestic Wastewater Using RBCs

The treatment of high salinity wastewaters from small island communities by use of rotating biological contactors was evaluated. Domestic wastewaters containing up to full strength seawater were utilized. The effects of salinity, loading rate and disk media composition on organic removal rate were examined. It was shown that RBCs can treat high salinity wastewaters to the same degree as non-saline wastewaters. The resulting effluent organic content was adequate for discharge into either marine or freshwater receiving waters. Mean COD removals of 61% and 64% were achieved using hydraulic loading rates of 0.04 and 0.08 m³/m²⋅d (1.0 and 2.0 gpd/sq ft), respectively. At higher loading rates, up to 0.33 m³/m²⋅d (8.0 gpd/sq ft), organic removal efficiency was reduced. No difference in treatment efficiency was observed using either plastic or Masonite® as the disk media.
Learning for Mobile-Robot Error Recovery (Extended Abstract)

This paper introduces the novel problem of autonomous mobile-robot error recovery, namely the development of algorithms that enable a robot to extricate itself from a previously unseen trapped configuration.
Social Disorganization Reflected in Middle Class Drinking and Dancing Recreational Patterns

the factor index on factor I measures differences in cities with respect to those aspects of maturity which are uncorrelated with the other three factors. These four basic uncorrelated ways in which cities may differ can account for substantially all the relationships between the 15 observed characteristics. Whether the four factors define fundamental variables which would be useful concepts in the theory of urban phenomena is not answered by this one factor analysis. However, if subsequent factor analyses of correlations between large numbers of characteristics (including these 15) were made for the 93 cities of 100,000 or more and these same factors, with or without others, were obtained each time, then it might be empirically affirmed that these are a theoretically useful and invariant set of fundamental factors. If further research were actually carried out, it would in all probability lead to some modifications in the interpretations of the four factors found in this study. In spite of the fact that the invariance of the four factors obtained has not been investigated, factor analysis seems to present iself as a powerful new tool in sociological research. If the sociologist is attempting to get some orderly picture of society, he must, as far as possible, locate the fundamental factors in society from which the other characteristics can be predicted, and factor analysis seems to be a method for moving in that direction. A slight variation of the approach used in this study, and one which might yield more meaningful results, could be made by changing the nature of the data used. Instead of using as variables static measures of the characteristics in which we are interested, we might use measures of the changes which have occurred in the characteristics over a certain period of time and analyze the correlations between these changes. Such an attack seems promising for eventually obtaining factors that would be meaningful in explaining and predicting social change.
Effect of fourth ventricular neuropeptide Y and peptide YY on ingestive and other behaviors

We studied the effect of fourth intracerebroventricular administration of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and peptide YY (PYY) on ingestive and other behaviors in awake nondeprived rats. Injection of NPY or PYY into the fourth ventricle produced a significant dose-related increase in food intake and reduction in the latency to eat. PYY was more potent than NPY in increasing food intake and decreasing latency to eat, suggesting that PYY-preferring receptors sensitive to the orexigenic effects of NPY and PYY exist in the hindbrain. In addition, both peptides increased water intake when food was present but not when food was absent, suggesting that a neural substrate supporting a direct action of NPY and PYY on water intake is not present in the hindbrain. In time sampling of behaviors occurring during a 90-min feeding test, we found that both peptides increased the time spent eating and reduced grooming. In addition PYY, but not NPY, reduced apparent sleep and increased exploratory activity. This suggests that PYY, but not NPY, influences a hindbrain neural substrate involved in sleep and activity.
On the reciprocity of connections in weighted and unweighted networks

ABSTRACTBivariate Bernoulli and bivariate geometric distributions are proposed to model reciprocity in weighted and unweighted networks. Sampling properties of commonly used reciprocity measures are studied, under both presence and absence of reciprocity. Extensions to situations where link parameters depend on outgoing and incoming nodes are investigated. Results are illustrated with a data set, on 50 anesthesia providers at a hospital, that describes the number of times an anesthesia provider starting an operation transfers his/her responsibilities to another anesthesia provider.
The effect of light intensity when onset or termination of illumination is used as reinforcing stimulus

Two experiments were performed to examine the reinforcing effects of onset and termination of non-aversive illumination, made conterminous with lever contacting, as a function of illumination level. Within the 0.18–4.10 millilambert range studied, reinforcing properties of light onset were found to yield a concave-downward function while light termination was not found to alter response rate. Implications of the results for several current theories were discussed and a possible integrating concept, termed “sensory reinforcement” was proposed.
A blind symbol recovery for dual antenna OFDM systems

Blind symbol recovery is attractive in OFDM systems because it saves bandwidth that would otherwise be lost to training sequences or pilot tones. Here, a space-frequency implementation of iterative least square constant modulus algorithm (ILS-CMA) on dual antenna OFDM systems is explored and shown to have modest computational complexity compared to the conventional OFDM symbol recovery scheme using channel estimation and frequency domain equalization. It is shown through computer simulations that the symbol error rate (SER) performance of ILS-CMA is close to or even better than the perfect dual antenna combiner for the cases both with or without a cyclic prefix (CP). Also, a fast convergence behavior (less than 10 iterations) is achieved at 20 dB SNR or above with some modest convergence error value.
Inter- and intra-rater agreement of static posture analysis using a mobile application

[Purpose] To determine the intra- and inter-rater agreement of a mobile application, PostureScreen Mobile® (PSM), that assesses static standing posture. [Subjects and Methods] Three examiners with different levels of experience of assessing posture, one licensed physical therapist and two untrained undergraduate students, performed repeated postural assessments of 10 subjects, fully clothed or minimally clothed, using PSM on two nonconsecutive days. Anterior and right lateral images were captured and seventeen landmarks were identified on them. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for each of 13 postural measures to evaluate inter-rater agreement on the first visit (fully or minimally clothed), as well as intra-rater agreement between the first and second visits (minimally clothed). [Results] Eleven postural measures were ultimately analyzed for inter- and intra-rater agreement. Inter-rater agreement was almost perfect (ICC≥0.81) for four measures and substantial (0.60<ICC≤0.80) for three measures during the fully clothed exam. During the minimally clothed exam, inter-rater agreement was almost perfect for four measures and substantial for four measures. Intra-rater agreement between two minimally clothed exams was almost perfect for two measures and substantial for five measures. [Conclusion] PSM is a widely available, inexpensive postural screening tool that requires little formal training. To maximize inter- and intra-rater agreement, postural screening using this mobile application should be conducted with subjects wearing minimal clothing. Assessing static standing posture via PSM gives repeatable measures for anatomical landmarks that were found to have substantial or almost perfect agreement. Our data also suggest that this technology may also be useful for diagnosing forward head posture.
SYNTAX score may predict the severity of atherosclerosis of the ascending aorta

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the association of the coronary SYNTAX score with the degree of atherosclerosis of the ascending aorta in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: A total of 152 patients (mean age 65 years, 66% male) were analyzed who underwent isolated CABG with both SYNTAX score and the intraoperative 5-point scale grading of the severity of atherosclerosis in the ascending aorta available. The patient were stratified into low, intermediate, and high SYNTAX score groups [≤22 (n=36), 22–33 (n=42), and ≥33 (n=76)]. Results: The mean SYNTAX score was 31±11. Patient demographics and comorbidity were comparable in each group. The prevalence of severe atherosclerosis (Grade ≥III) in the ascending aorta was 17.5% (n=27) in the whole population and was different in each group with higher prevalence in higher score groups (8.3% vs . 9.5% vs . 26.3%, P=0.018). After adjusting for age, sex and other relevant comorbidity, SYNTAX score remained a predictor of severe atherosclerosis [adjusted OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.01–2.62, P=0.046 (per 10 point increase); adjusted OR 5.20, 95% CI 1.15–23.5, P=0.032 (high vs . low score)]. Conclusions: SYNTAX score was associated with the severity of atherosclerosis in the ascending aorta. Patients with high scores have a 5 times higher chance of severe disease compared to patients with low scores and should warrant preoperative and intraoperative comprehensive assessment of the ascending aorta.
Personalized human comfort in indoor building environments under diverse conditioning modes

Abstract In practice, building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are essentially set at nominal levels according to industry guidelines. However, several studies have demonstrated that this conventional practice is unlikely to meet the thermal requirements of occupants in a single or multi-occupancy space due to occupants' diverse preferences, activities and needs. To improve occupants' thermal comfort, this study develops and tests a smartphone application framework which is capable of dynamically determining the optimum room conditioning mode (mechanical conditioning or natural ventilation) and HVAC settings (thermostat setpoint) in single and multi-occupancy spaces. The “personalized” HVAC control framework integrates environment data (obtained from sensors) with human physiological and behavioral data (obtained from wearable devices, polling apps) in a smartphone application we developed for human-building interaction. In the operation phase, occupants' thermal preferences are continuously predicted using the personalized comfort models, developed from the training data through the Random Forest classifier, when determining the optimum HVAC control strategies. Two case studies are conducted to demonstrate the capabilities of the developed framework to improve thermal comfort in single and multi-occupancy spaces.
O cenário da licenciatura nos Estados Unidos: implicações potenciais para a arte-educação no Brasil

Two scholars from the United States that work in art education programs speak to current issues resulting from the recent policies that have had direct impact on undergraduate courses, fieldwork, licensure and teacher retention. The study is informed by one author’s understanding of Brazilian art education through both experiential learning and focused research via comparative studies. The authors provide a contextual framing of the current educational landscape in the states with the intent of informing readers of trends that could have similar negative effects on licensure in Brazil. Finally, the authors will share some strategies they have implemented to respond to these challenges.
No Money, No Honey, No Church: The Deinstitutionalization of Religious Life Among the White Working Class

Purpose – We examine trends in religious attendance by educational group, with an emphasis on the “moderately educated”: individuals with a high school degree but not a four-year college degree. Methodology – We conduct multivariate ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression models using data from the General Social Survey (from 1972 to 2010) and the National Survey of Family Growth (from 1982 to 2008). Findings – We find that religious attendance among moderately educated whites has declined relative to attendance among college-educated whites. Economic characteristics, current and past family characteristics, and attitudes toward premarital sex, each explain part of this differential decline. Implications – Religion is becoming increasingly deinstitutionalized among whites with moderate levels of education, which suggests further social marginalization of this group. Furthermore, trends in the labor force, American family life, and attitudes appear to have salient ramifications for organized religion. Sociologists of religion need to once again attend to social stratification in religious life.
Sex differences in effects of gestational polychlorinated biphenyl exposure on hypothalamic neuroimmune and neuromodulator systems in neonatal rats.

Abstract Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous in the environment and exposure to them is associated with immune, endocrine and neural dysfunction. Effects of PCBs on inflammation and immunity are best described in spleen and blood, with fewer studies on neural tissues. This is an important gap in knowledge, as molecules typically associated with neuroinflammation also serve neuromodulatory roles and interact with hormones in normal brain development. The current study used Sprague-Dawley rats to assess whether gestational PCB exposure altered hypothalamic gene expression and serum cytokine concentration in neonatal animals given an immune challenge. Dams were fed wafers containing a mixture of PCBs at an environmentally relevant dose and composition (20 μg/kg, 1:1:1 Aroclor 1242:1248:1254) or oil vehicle control throughout their pregnancy. One day old male and female offspring were treated with an inflammatory challenge (lipopolysaccharide, LPS, 50 μg/kg, sc) or saline vehicle control approximately 3.5 h prior to tissue collection. Across both basal and activated inflammatory states, PCB exposure caused greater expression of a subset of inflammatory genes in the hypothalamus and lower expression of genes involved in dopamine, serotonin, and opioid systems compared to oil controls. PCB exposure also altered reactions to inflammatory challenge: it reversed the normal decrease in Esr2 hypothalamic expression and induced an abnormal increase in IL-1b and IL-6 serum concentration in response to LPS. Many of these effects were sex specific. Given the potential long-term consequences of neuroimmune disruption, our findings demonstrate the need for further research.
Dual-frequency multipactor susceptibility on a dielectric

This work investigates multipactor discharge on a single dielectric surface with two carrier frequencies of an rf electric field. We use Monte Carlo simulations and analytical calculations to obtain susceptibility diagrams in terms of rf electric field and dc electric field resulting from dielectric charging. It is found that in general the presence of a second carrier frequency of the rf electric field increases the threshold of the magnitude of rf electric field to initiate multipactor. The effects of the relative strength and phase, and the frequency separation of the two carrier frequencies are examined in detail.
Long-term survival and renal function following liver transplantation in patients with and without hepatorenal syndrome--experience in 300 patients.

We have retrospectively reviewed the first 308 patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTX) at our institution to determine the following: 1) To what extent does renal function deteriorate postoperatively? 2) To what extent does renal function recover after OLTX for hepatorenal syndro
Polyphenols-gut microbiota interplay and brain neuromodulation

Increasing evidence suggests that food ingested polyphenols can have beneficial effects in neuronal protection acting against oxidative stress and inflammatory injury. Moreover, polyphenols have been reported to promote cognitive functions. Biotransformation of polyphenols is needed to obtain metabolites active in brain and it occurs through their processing by gut microbiota. Polyphenols metabolites could directly act as neurotransmitters crossing the blood-brain barrier or indirectly by modulating the cerebrovascular system. The microbiota-gut-brain axis is considered a neuroendocrine system that acts bidirectionally and plays an important role in stress responses. The metabolites produced by microbiota metabolism can modulate gut bacterial composition and brain biochemistry acting as neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Gut microbiota composition can be influenced by dietary ingestion of natural bioactive molecules such as probiotics, prebiotics and polyphenol. Microbiota composition can be altered by dietary changes and gastrointestinal dysfunctions are observed in neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, several pieces of evidence support the idea that alterations in gut microbiota and enteric neuroimmune system could contribute to onset and progression of these age-related disorders. The impact of polyphenols on microbiota composition strengthens the idea that maintaining a healthy microbiome by modulating diet is essential for having a healthy brain across the lifespan. Moreover, it is emerging that they could be used as novel therapeutics to prevent brain from neurodegeneration.
An empirical examination of institutions and cross-country incarceration rates

Research converges upon institutional explanations for why some countries incarcerate more prisoners than others. The types of institutions that are particularly important are less well understood. This paper investigates empirically the associations between economic, political and legal institutions and incarceration rates in a large cross-section of countries. Using data from 2001 to 2011, we find that countries with smaller prison populations have civil legal origins and fewer years under communism. Our findings also suggest that economic institutions and other economic factors related to economic performance do not correlate with incarceration rates. Collectively, the results indicate that institutions cannot be considered in isolation, but need to be examined simultaneously, with a focus on historical, political and legal factors.
3D printing functional nano-photonic devices by multi-photon lithography

Multi-photon lithography (MPL) remains among the handful of practical techniques that can be used to fabricate truly three-dimensional (3D) micro- and nanometer-scale structures with few processing steps. Although photopolymers remain the primary material system for MPL, others have been developed for creating functional structures in chalcogenide glasses and polymer-composites. Post-exposure processes have been developed for transforming a structure created by MPL into another material, such as a metal, semiconductor, or oxide glass. MPL has been used to create a wide range of functional nanophotonic devices. The full potential of MPL is apparent in its use to create spatially-variant lattices (SVLs). SVLs are a new class of nanophotonic device that is engineered to direct and control the flow of light in 3D. The devices are based on unit cells that control the propagation of light through the selfcollimation effect. These unit cells are spatially varied in orientation throughout an SVL so that light flows along a prescribed path within the device. The geometry and patterns of the unit cells within the lattice can also be varied to control other key properties, such as phase and polarization. SVLs and their fabrication by MPL opens a new route to 3D integrated photonics, and a myriad of other applications.
Planning for sustained water-electricity resilience over the U.S.: Persistence of current water-electricity operations and long-term transformative plans

Abstract The electricity system relies upon the availability and predictability of water to support hydropower operations and cooling of thermoelectric plants, implying that water plays a fundamental role in power operations and that water-related stresses may have a critical effect on the electricity system. Designing for electricity system resilience to changing societal demands and environmental conditions is a complex and urgent endeavor, one that requires robust diagnosis and an articulation of interdependencies among key system components. Here we consider the argument that water may help to navigate that complexity, revealing thresholds for system change and the transformations that may be required for enduring resilience of the electricity sector. To assess this thesis, we apply a framework for understanding resilient systems following Folke et al. (2010), that is extended in this special issue (Boltz et al., 2019), by which resilience comprises three capabilities: system persistence, adaptability, and transformability. We apply this resilience diagnosis approach to the bulk electricity system of the contiguous United States, with particular attention to water-driven stressors. We provide a qualitative narrative that discusses the spectrum of resilience capabilities (persistence, adaptability, and transformability) of the water-electricity system in the United States over three scales of inter-dependencies: individual power plant, urban and grid scales.
Contrasting Characteristics and Evolution of Southerly Low-Level Jets During Different Boundary-Layer Regimes

Nocturnal low-level jets (LLJs) have been documented at many places around the world, particularly across the Great Plains of the United States. Nocturnal LLJs significantly affect the regional weather and climate, as well as several industrial activities. While the LLJ has been extensively studied, little attention has been paid to the relationship between the evolution of the LLJ, its properties, and the boundary-layer structure. Here, observations collected in northern Oklahoma, USA are used to analyze the characteristics and evolution of the LLJ during conditions of weak and strong turbulence, respectively, coinciding with strongly and weakly stable nocturnal boundary layers. Additionally, the relationship between the LLJ and the temperature profile under these different conditions is examined. Three case studies are used during conditions of weak and strong turbulence, followed by statistics computed from a larger dataset of LLJs. When turbulence is weak, the LLJ is shown to reach peak intensity later near sunrise, while a maximum in the intensity is reached about six hours after sunset in the highly turbulent boundary layer. Furthermore, the LLJ tends to stay constant with height when turbulence is maintained throughout the night, while the LLJ tends to follow isentropic surfaces when vertical mixing is suppressed. When the LLJ follows isentropic surfaces, changes in the wind speed are related to the stability modification.
Iatrogenic Lumbar Arachnoid Cyst Fenestration for Tethered Cord: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

Iatrogenic lumbar arachnoid cysts are a rare occurrence after intradural surgery.1,2 To our knowledge, there is only 1 other previous case reported in the literature contributing to a symptomatic tethered cord.3 We present a surgical video (Video 1) demonstrating the history, preoperative workup, and operative technique for exploration and fenestration of a symptomatic iatrogenic lumbar arachnoid cyst with a tethered cord. The patient is a 57-year-old female with a history of a closed neural tube defect with a lipoma that was resected over 20 years before her evaluation. She was lost to follow-up and did not retain any previous medical documentation. She complained of a 2-month history of progressive bilateral lower extremity weakness, leg pain, and worsening of chronic urinary incontinence. Imaging demonstrated a cystic lesion compressing her conus and cauda equina at the L3-4 level. The risks, benefits, and alternatives were discussed, and the patient elected to proceed with surgery. Intraoperative findings demonstrated a complex multiloculated arachnoid cyst with tethering of the conus. The cysts were dissected from the conus and fenestrated, allowing spontaneous flow of cerebrospinal fluid and conus pulsations. Biopsy of the cyst wall confirmed the diagnosis of arachnoid cyst without neoplastic tissue. Due to the presence of multiple loculations, primary pial closure could not be performed. Thus, a circumferential detethering of the conus was performed to ensure complete decompression of the neural elements. Postoperatively, the patient demonstrated improvement in her bilateral lower extremity pain and weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging was scheduled during routine follow-up at 3 months.
Health Care Resource Utilization in Commercially Insured Patients Undergoing Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion for Degenerative Cervical Pathology

Study Design:Retrospective review of an administrative database.Objectives:The aim of our study was to investigate the distribution of spending for the entire episode of care among nonelderly, comm...
Chapter 2 – Coal Characteristics

Publisher Summary Coal is the dominant solid fuel source worldwide. This chapter discusses coal formation, coalification, and characteristics, with an emphasis on the organic or combustible materials in coal. Coal is a sedimentary rock composed of both organic and inorganic materials. Coal is composed of macerals, discrete minerals, inorganic elements held molecularly by the organic matter, and water and gases contained in submicroscopic pores. Organically, coal consists primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and lesser amounts of sulfur and nitrogen. Inorganically, coal consists of a diverse range of ash-forming compounds distributed throughout the coal. The inorganic constituents can vary in concentration from several percentage points to parts per billion of the coal. This chapter also discusses the relationships between coal structure and behavioral characteristics, and coal resources and reserves, with an emphasis on those located in North America and the United States. It presents coal petrography, traditional methods for analyzing coal, and evaluation of coal properties by nontraditional characterization methods, with an emphasis on how they are applied in industrial applications. Furthermore, it describes traditional coal characterization methods and their application to industry, with some special tests specific to some companies and nontraditional techniques.
Cell Type–Specific Expression Analysis of the Inner Ear: A Technical Report

Objective The cellular diversity of the inner ear has presented a technical challenge in obtaining molecular insight into its development and function. The application of technological advancements in cell type-specific expression enable clinicians and researchers to leap forward from classic genetics to obtaining mechanistic understanding of congenital and acquired hearing loss. This understanding is essential for development of therapeutics to prevent and reverse diseases of the inner ear, including hearing loss. The objective of this study is to describe and compare the available tools for cell type-specific analysis of the ear, as a means to support decision making in study design. Study design Three major approaches for cell type-specific analysis of the ear including fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), ribosomal and RNA pulldown techniques, and single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) are compared and contrasted using both published and original data. Results We demonstrate the strength and weaknesses of these approaches leading to the inevitable conclusion that to maximize the utility of these approaches, it is important to match the experimental approach with the tissue of origin, cell type of interest, and the biological question. Often, a combined approach (eg, cell sorting and scRNA-seq or expression analysis using 2 separate approaches) is required. Finally, new tools for visualization and analysis of complex expression data, such as the gEAR platform (umgear.org), collate cell type-specific gene expression from the ear field and provide unprecedented access to both clinicians and researchers. Level of evidence N/A Laryngoscope, 2020.
Modeling Coherency in Generated Emails by Leveraging Deep Neural Learners.

Advanced machine learning and natural language techniques enable attackers to launch sophisticated and targeted social engineering-based attacks. To counter the active attacker issue, researchers have since resorted to proactive methods of detection. Email masquerading using targeted emails to fool the victim is an advanced attack method. However automatic text generation requires controlling the context and coherency of the generated content, which has been identified as an increasingly difficult problem. The method used leverages a hierarchical deep neural model which uses a learned representation of the sentences in the input document to generate structured written emails. We demonstrate the generation of short and targeted text messages using the deep model. The global coherency of the synthesized text is evaluated using a qualitative study as well as multiple quantitative measures.
Violence Against Civilians During Armed Conflict: Moving Beyond the Macro- and Micro-Level Divide

Early research on wartime violence against civilians highlighted a distinction between macro- and micro-level approaches. Macro-level approaches, grounded in the international relations subfield, f...
Moral Discernment and Doubt in the Human Journey

An ongoing challenge within all approaches to ethical decision making is reducing the degree of doubt about what action is right, good, or at least better in a given situation. The process of moral discernment within Christian thought is no exception; however, different Christian communities tend to understand moral doubt and moral certainty differently, to pursue different ways of allaying doubt, and to expect—and accept—different degrees of moral certainty. Drawing especially from Aristotelian virtue theory, selected teachings from the Eastern Orthodox tradition on humility, and recent discussions of the ‘grace of self-doubt,’ I sketch an account of virtuous moral doubt as a mean between the extremes of excessive and deficient moral doubt. My hope is doing so will help to make space and provide the framework for an ecumenical understanding of doubt’s proper role in moral discernment.
Prospective links between acculturative stress and academic well-being among Latinx adolescents

Abstract Two salient domains of acculturative stress, bicultural stress and English competency pressures, were examined as predictors of academic well-being, including grades, educational expectations, and academic identity over a one-year period using a heterogeneous sample of 329 Latinx youth (MTime1age = 13.67, SD = 0.57; 51% boys). The buffering effects of coping and school belonging were tested along with an exploration of the moderating roles of adolescent gender and nativity. Higher levels of bicultural stress were associated with lower levels of academic well-being over time for girls, whereas English competency pressures had nuanced relations to changes in academic well-being over time that were qualified by gender and nativity. Active coping was a protective factor in links between bicultural stressors and GPA; but, its effect on relations between English competency pressures and academic well-being was more nuanced, only present for foreign-born youth. School belonging did not emerge as a significant protective factor for Latinx youth.
Integrated Online Learning and Adaptive Control in Queueing Systems with Uncertain Payoffs

Many online service platforms have dedicated algorithms to match their available resources to incoming clients to maximize client satisfaction. One of the key challenges is to balance the generatio...
Treatment of glioblastoma with current oHSV variants reveals differences in efficacy and immune cell recruitment.

Oncolytic herpes simplex viruses (oHSVs) have demonstrated efficient lytic replication in human glioblastoma tumors using immunodeficient mouse models, but early-phase clinical trials have reported few complete responses. Potential reasons for the lack of efficacy are limited vector potency and the suppressive glioma tumor microenvironment (TME). Here we compare the oncolytic activity of two HSV-1 vectors, a KOS-strain derivative KG4:T124 and an F-strain derivative rQNestin34.5v.1, in the CT2A and GL261N4 murine syngeneic glioma models. rQNestin34.5v1 generally demonstrated a greater in vivo viral burden compared to KG4:T124. However, both vectors were rapidly cleared from CT2A tumors, while virus remained ensconced in GL261N4 tumors. Immunological evaluation revealed that the two vectors induced similar changes in immune cell recruitment to either tumor type at 2 days after infection. However, at 7 days after infection, the CT2A microenvironment displayed the phenotype of an untreated tumor, while GL261N4 tumors exhibited macrophage and CD4+/CD8+ T cell accumulation. Furthermore, the CT2A model was completely resistant to virus therapy, while in the GL261N4 model rQNestin34.5v1 treatment resulted in enhanced macrophage recruitment, impaired tumor progression, and long-term survival of a few animals. We conclude that prolonged intratumoral viral presence correlates with immune cell recruitment, and both are needed to enhance anti-tumor immunity.
Frontal cortex activity underlying the production of diverse vocal signals during social communication in marmoset monkeys

Vocal communication is essential for social behaviors in humans and many non-human primates. While the frontal cortex has been shown to play a crucial role in human speech production, its role in vocal production in non-human primates has long been questioned. Recent studies have shown activation in single neurons in the monkey frontal cortex during vocal production in relatively isolated environment. However, little is known about how the frontal cortex is engaged in vocal production in ethologically relevant social context, where different types of vocal signals are produced for various communication purposes. Here we studied single neuron activities and local field potentials (LFP) and in the frontal cortex of marmoset monkeys while the animal engaged in vocal exchanges with other conspecifics in a social environment. Marmosets most frequently produced four types of vocalizations with distinct acoustic structures, three of which were typically not produced in isolation. We found that both single neuron activities and LFP were modulated by the production of each of the four call types. Moreover, the neural modulations in the frontal cortex showed distinct patterns for different call types, suggesting a representation of vocal signal features. In addition, we found that theta-band LFP oscillations were phase-locked to the phrases of twitter calls, which indicates the coordination of temporal structures of vocalizations. Our results suggested important functions of the marmoset frontal cortex in supporting the production of diverse vocalizations in vocal communication.
Freeze-Drying of Food Products

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the present practices in freeze-drying and discusses the fundamentals of freeze-drying and the application of freeze-drying to the preservation of foods. Sufficient information is available to permit some conclusions to be drawn as to the advantages and disadvantages of the freeze-drying of foods and to make it possible to obtain some perspective on the outlook for the future. The chapter provides methods and equipment of freeze-drying. The various methods of freezing are classified in two main groups: pre-freezing and evaporative freezing. For pre-freezing of pharmaceutical and biological materials, special methods have been developed that are particularly suitable for liquids to be dried in the final storage containers. The material being dried is held under a vacuum during the entire drying process. Two types of equipment are available for obtaining the vacuum required for freeze-drying: mechanical vacuum pumps and steam jet ejectors. The chapter aims to consider the application of the freeze-drying process to all food commodities or commodity groups insofar as such consideration is warranted by the information available. The amount of discussion afforded to each commodity is based on the projected importance of freeze-drying to the preservation of this commodity or commodity group. The commodity or commodity group is presented in the order of the apparent applicability of freeze-drying to these food commodities. Although discussion in quantitative and definitive terms will necessarily be confined to consideration of specific commodities, attempts have been made to develop the generalities of the application of freeze-drying to foods.
Diffusion characterization using electron beam induced current and time-resolved photoluminescence of InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices

We present the characterization of minority carrier diffusion length and surface recombination velocity, as well as vertical diffusivity and mobility by performing an electron beam induced current measurement in addition to an optical lifetime measurement.
Ah adaptive concurrency control strategy for distributed database systems

Performance of a Concurrency Control Algorithm (CCA) managing a distributed database system will deteriorate considerably when the configuration of the network supporting it will change due to either communication link failures or the communication delays introduced by varying load patterns. To get a good performance in spite of the changing configurations, we propose a scheme that involves breaking down the network into ‘weakly connected’ clusters. The problem to identify the clusters of a network is NP-hard. However, we present a heuristic strategy to identify the clusters of a network that works in polynomial time. Any of the present CCAs can be modified to work on a network that is partitioned into clusters by our scheme that uses (what we term as) multiple controllers. As an example, we present a Centralized Locking Algorithm with Acknowledgment using Multiple Controllers (CLAA/MC). Performance gain achieved using multiple controllers is also discussed.
Inhibition of Aminoglycoside Acetyltransferase Resistance Enzymes by Metal Salts

Aminoglycosides (AGs) are clinically relevant antibiotics used to treat infections caused by both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as Mycobacteria. As with all current antibacterial agents, resistance to AGs is an increasing problem. The most common mechanism of resistance to AGs is the presence of AG-modifying enzymes (AMEs) in bacterial cells, with AG acetyltransferases (AACs) being the most prevalent. Recently, it was discovered that Zn(2+) metal ions displayed an inhibitory effect on the resistance enzyme AAC(6')-Ib in Acinetobacter baumannii and Escherichia coli. In this study, we explore a wide array of metal salts (Mg(2+), Cr(3+), Cr(6+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), and Au(3+) with different counter ions) and their inhibitory effect on a large repertoire of AACs [AAC(2')-Ic, AAC(3)-Ia, AAC(3)-Ib, AAC(3)-IV, AAC(6')-Ib', AAC(6')-Ie, AAC(6')-IId, and Eis]. In addition, we determine the MIC values for amikacin and tobramycin in combination with a zinc pyrithione complex in clinical isolates of various bacterial strains (two strains of A. baumannii, three of Enterobacter cloacae, and four of Klebsiella pneumoniae) and one representative of each species purchased from the American Type Culture Collection.
Application of fiberoptic dye-dilution technic to the assessment of myocardial function: I. Description of technic and results in 100 patients with congenital or acquired heart disease☆

Abstract Indicator-dilution curves were recorded by means of the fiberoptic hemoreflection system in 100 patients. The technic involves left ventricular injection of indocyanine green and central aortic sampling. Stroke volume, ejection fraction, end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes were all derived from the same density curve. Multiple curves were recorded in all instances. There were 19 patients with valvar aortic stenosis, 15 with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis, 15 with aortic regurgitation, 9 with mitral regurgitation and 6 with chronic myocarditis of varying severity. Eight patients had a ventricular septal defect, 9 an atrial septal defect and 6 had valvar pulmonic stenosis. The remainder of the patients had diverse disorders. The results were expressed as milliliters per kilogram of body weight and as milliliters per square meter of body surface area. Since there was close similarity among the data describing the 40 patients with obstructive lesions, their data were collected into a group. Stroke volume was 1.5 ml./kg. body weight, ± 0.42; ejection fraction was 0.577, S.D. ± 0.08; end-diastolic volume 2.7 ml./kg. body weight, S.D. ± 0.76; end-systolic volume was 1.2 ml./kg. body weight, S.D. ± 0.49. These data correspond closely to those of normal subjects reported by other investigators. In contrast, in regurgitant lesions, end-diastolic volume was high, stroke volume normal and ejection fraction depressed, reflecting the severity of the regurgitation. Still lower ejection fractions and higher end-diastolic volumes were found in myocarditis. Conversely, high ejection fraction and high end-diastolic volume with high stroke volume were seen in ventricular septal defects. While a linear correlation between end-diastolic volume and stroke volume existed in the group with obstructive lesions, no such clear relation could be determined in the remaining lesions. The variability in the interrelation of these factors is stressed, as well as the need for their determination in the proper assessment of the total hemodynamic state of the individual lesion.