cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Buried Soils in a Perched Dunefield as Indicators of Late Holocene Lake-Level Change in the Lake Superior Basin

A stratigraphic analysis of buried soils within the Grand Sable Dunes, a dune field perched 90 m above the southern shore of Lake Superior, reveals a history of eolian activity apparently linked with lake-level fluctuations over the last 5500 yr. A relative rise in the water plane of the Nipissing Great Lakes initially destabilized the lakeward bluff face of the Grand Sable plateau between 5400 and 4600 14C yr B.P. This led to the burial of the Sable Creek soil by eolian sediments derived from the bluff face. Subsequent episodes of eolian activity appear to be tied to similar destabilizing events; high lake levels may have initiated at least four and perhaps eleven episodes of dune building as expressed by soil burials within the dunes. Intervening low lake levels probably correlate with soil profile development, which varies from the well-developed Sable Creek Spodosol catena to thin organic layers containing in-place stumps and tree trunks. Paleoecological reconstructions available for the area do not imply enough climatic change to account for the episodic dune activity. Burial of soils by fine-fraction sediments links dune-building episodes with destabilization of the lower lake-facing bluff, which is rich in fines.
Impact of Card Rotation on the Frequency of Rorschach Reflection Responses

In this article, we describe the impact of Rorschach (Exner, 2003) card rotation and orientation preference on reflection responses. We anticipated exposure to sideways-orientated cards would facilitate landscape-type reflections, particularly for cards people find appealing to view sideways. When we examined 4 experimental conditions using an undergraduate sample, results in Experiments 1 (n = 123) and 2 (n = 38) showed that viewing the cards sideways produced a large increase in reflections. In Experiment 3 (n = 69), we examined preferences to view each card in a particular orientation. Cards producing higher rates of landscape reflections in the experimental conditions that encouraged turning were strongly correlated with preferences to view those cards sideways. The results imply reflections are in part a function of stimulus properties from viewing the card in a rotated orientation and not just the personal characteristics of the test taker.
Factors associated with self-reported pain scores among ED patients

Abstract Introduction Pain is a common presenting complaint among emergency department (ED) patients. The verbal numeric pain scale is commonly used in the ED to assess self-reported pain. This study was undertaken to describe and compare pain scores in a variety of painful conditions and identify factors associated with self-reported pain scores. Methods The study was a prospective, observational, descriptive survey study conducted at an urban university hospital ED. Eligible participants included consenting adults 18 years and older, with an acute painful condition, who spoke English, and were not in severe distress. Through a structured interview, collected data included pain score; diagnosis; medical history; previous painful experiences; and demographic information including age, insurance status, and highest level of education completed. Results Among 268 eligible participants, 263 (98%) consented and completed the study protocol. Seventy-one percent of participants were 50 years old or younger; 55%, women; and 68%, white. Fifty-four percent had private insurance, and 81%, high school education or higher. The most common chief complaints were soft tissue injury (33%), abdominal pain (18%), and chest pain (13%). The median self-reported pain score was 7/10 (mean, 6.7; interquartile range, 6-9; range, 0-10). The most common previous painful experiences were childbirth (21%), major trauma (18%), and surgery (14%). Participants cited reasons for self-reported pain scores, including current feeling of pain (62%), comparison to previous pain (31%), and comparison to hypothetical pain (12%). The number of previous ED visits was positively correlated with current pain score (Spearman correlation R = 0.28; P P P = .02), and lower educational status ( P = .01). There was not a statistically significant association between current pain score and sex, race, previous painful experiences, or number of hospital admissions. Conclusion Emergency department patients with acute painful conditions report a wide range of self-reported pain scores. Participants rated pain based on current feeling of pain or comparison to previous or hypothetical pain. Chief complaints with highest pain scores included dental pain and back pain. Factors associated with higher pain scores included younger age, Medicaid insurance, lower educational status, and higher number of previous ED visits.
Social Movements and State Power: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador

Social Movements and State Power: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador. By James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer. Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 2005. 288p. $90.00 cloth, $29.95 paper. Anyone interested in the recent renewal of social movement activity and the rise of ostensibly left or center-left governments in Latin America might be tempted to pick up this book, with its provocative jacket photo and appealing title. Unfortunately, the book cover is nearly the only thing going for this sectarian jeremiad from James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer. If one is looking for serious scholarship, or even solid journalism, neither can be found here. Instead, one finds a poorly organized collage, including descriptions of recent history, critiques of government policies, and tendentious and contradictory evaluations of left strategy. Despite the promise of the title, the authors do not engage the literature on social movements, nor do they contribute much in the way of new analytical perspectives. The class analysis announced in the introduction only emerges occasionally in the subsequent chapters, and even then it is applied mechanically and reductively, yielding an extremely limited capacity to help us understand the character and trajectory of social movements or the nuances of political behavior in diverse contexts. Important cross-national differences in terms of political institutions, ethnic composition, and international constraints are not addressed, much less systematically compared. Furthermore, the book lacks consistent citations of sources, and serious empirical and orthographic errors are sprinkled throughout. Those knowledgeable about the countries in question might be amused by the almost congenital inability to spell correctly the names of politicians, political parties, and labor confederations; those without such knowledge, especially undergraduate students, will only be confused or misinformed.
CREDIT FRICTIONS AND FIRM DYNAMICS

In this paper I develop a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of credit frictions in which the production technology provides a U-shaped average cost curve, enabling endogenous solutions for firm size and quantity. Firms weigh the present value of future net revenues against the opportunity cost of staying in business in their entry or exit decisions. I find that credit frictions increase variable investment costs and result in a larger firm size and a smaller number of firms in the steady state. As the economy deviates from the steady state, however, the presence of credit frictions increases fluctuation in the number of firms, raising market entry during an economic upturn and market exit during a downturn. Also, I find that allowing free entry mitigates some of the effects of credit frictions due to macroeconomic fluctuations. In addition to the homogeneous-firm model, I examine the model when firms have heterogeneous access to credit and find that different credit access gives rise to different firm sizes in the steady state. Firms with easier access to credit become larger than those with less access to credit. Heterogeneous credit access also means that these two types of firms will respond differently to a common technology shock.
The problems solved by Ramanujan in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society

Between 1912 and 1914, eight solutions by Ramanujan to questions posed in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society were published. Since these solutions have not heretofore appeared elsewhere, and since some of these problems evidently motivated certain entries in his notebooks [6], in this paper, we present all eight problems and solutions and provide some commentary on them.
The LXR-Idol axis differentially regulates plasma LDL levels in primates and mice.

SUMMARY The LXR-regulated E3 ubiquitin ligase IDOL controls LDLR receptor stability independent of SREBP and PCSK9, but its relevance to plasma lipid levels is unknown. Here we demonstrate that the effects of the LXR–IDOL axis are both tissue and species specific. In mice, LXR agonist induces Idol transcript levels in peripheral tissues but not in liver, and does not changeplasmaLDLlevels.Accordingly,Idol-deficient mice exhibit elevated LDLR protein levels in peripheral tissues, but not in the liver. By contrast, LXR activation in cynomolgus monkeys induces hepatic IDOL expression, reduces LDLR protein levels, and raises plasma LDL levels. Knockdown of IDOL in monkeys with an antisense oligonucleotide blunts the effect of LXR agonist on LDL levels. These results implicate IDOLas amodulatorof plasmalipid levels in primates and support further investigation into IDOL inhibition as a potential strategy for LDL lowering in humans.
Reduced coupling loss using a tapered-rib adiabatic-following fiber coupler

We have demonstrated a monolithically integratable GaAs-AlGaAs rib waveguide mode expander that requires only epitaxial growth, lithography and conventional etching to fabricate. Our device has demonstrated losses of 2.5 dB and we project has the potential to further reduce the fiber to semiconductor waveguide loss to below 1 dB.
Urodeles Remove Mesoderm from the Superficial Layer by Subduction through a Bilateral Primitive Streak

Urodeles begin gastrulation with much of their presumptive mesoderm in the superficial cell layer, all of which must move into the deep layers during development. We studied the morphogenesis of superficial mesoderm in the urodeles Ambystoma maculatum, Ambystoma mexicanum, and Taricha granulosa. In all three species, somitic, lateral, and ventral mesoderm move into the deep layer during gastrulation, ingressing through a "bilateral primitive streak" just inside the blastopore. The mesodermal epithelium appears to slide under the endodermal epithelium by a mechanism we term "subduction." Subduction removes the large expanse of superficial presumptive somitic and lateral-ventral mesoderm that initially separates the sub-blastoporal endoderm from the notochord, leaving the endoderm bounding the still epithelial notochord along the gastrocoel roof. Subduction may be a common feature of urodele gastrulation, differing in this regard from anurans. Subducting cells constrict their apices and become bottle-shaped as they approach the junction of the mesodermal and endodermal epithelia. Subducting bottle cells endocytose apical membrane and withdraw the tight junctional component cingulin from the contracting circumferential tight junctions. Either in conjunction with or immediately after subducting, the mesodermal cells undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. The mechanism by which epithelial cells release their apical junctions to become mesenchymal, without disrupting the integrity of the epithelium, remains mysterious, but this system should prove useful in understanding this process in a developmental context.
Monotone Comparative Statics for Models of Politics

We elucidate a powerful yet simple method for deriving comparative statics conclusions for a wide variety of models: Monotone Comparative Statics (Milgrom and Shannon 1994). Monotone comparative static methods allow researchers to extract robust, substantive empirical implications from formal models that can be tested using ordinal data and simple nonparametric tests. When these methods apply, they can replace a diverse range of more technically difficult mathematics (facilitating richer, more realistic models), assumptions that are hard to understand or justify substantively (highlighting the political intuitions underlying a model’s results), and a complicated set of methods for extracting implications from models. We present an accessible introduction to the central monotone comparative statics results and a series of practical tools for using these techniques in applied models (with reference to original sources, when relevant). Throughout we demonstrate the techniques with examples drawn from political science.
Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors in Lamb Wave-Based Structural Health Monitoring

Recent advancements in sensors and information technologies have resulted in new methods for structural health monitoring (SHM) of the performance and deterioration of structures. The enabling element is the piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS). This paper presents an introduction to PWAS transducers and their applications in Lamb wave-based SHM. We begin by reviewing the fundamentals of piezoelectric intelligent materials. Then, the mechanism of using PWAS transducers as Lamb wave transmitters and receivers is presented. PWAS interact with the host structure through the shear-lag model. Lamb wave mode tuning can be achieved by judicious combination of PWAS dimensions, frequency value, and Lamb mode characteristics. Finally, use of PWAS Lamb wave SHM for damage detection on plate-like aluminum structures is addressed. Examples of using PWAS phased array scanning, quantitative crack detection with array imaging, and quantitative corrosion detection are given.
College Students Classified as Having Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and the Foreign Language Requirement

: Some students classified as learning disabled (LD) have exhibited problems with learning a foreign language (FL). College students classified as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often assumed by educators and service providers to have problems that impair FL learning. To date, no empirical studies have investigated this assumption. In the two studies reported here, college students classified as LD or as both LD and having ADHD (LD/ADHD) who had either substituted courses for the FL requirement (petition) or had fulfilled the requirement by passing FL courses (nonpetition) were compared in terms of demographic, cognitive, and academic achievement profiles, and FL grades. In the first study, few differences were found in demographic, cognitive, and achievement profiles between petition students classified as LD or LD/ADHD. In the second study, no significant differences in demographic profiles were found among groups classified as petition LD, petition LD/ADHD, nonpetition LD, and nonpetition LD/ADHD. On cognitive and academic achievement measures, the nonpetition LD/ADHD group scored significantly higher than the petition LD group on measures of IQ, reading, math, and scholastic achievement (ACT). The results of both studies appear to be counterintuitive because students with two disabilities (LD and ADHD) were found to exhibit cognitive ability, academic achievement, and FL grades greater than or equal to students with LD alone. Findings suggest that students classified as both LD and ADHD may not necessarily experience serious problems with FL learning.
Dynamic channel resource allocation in frequency hopped wireless communication systems

In a conventional TDMA wireless system, the blocking probability is affected by the worst case interference statistics. Modifying the system to a frequency-hopped CDMA (CDMA-FH) system can change the blocking probability to be determined by average statistics. Hopping patterns can be implemented easily using Latin squares. A system using Latin squares of size n guarantees no users in the same cell share any slots and a user and all users in different cells share only one out of every n slots. Channel coding over hops then suppresses the worst interference. Further improvements may be obtained by allowing users to occupy M out of N slots where M/spl les/N. Centralized and distributed dynamic channel allocation (DCA) algorithms which allow users to have different SIR requirements have been developed to maximize the capacity of the system under a desired blocking probability. >
A Simple New Algorithm for Quadratic Programming with Applications in Statistics

Problems involving estimation and inference under linear inequality constraints arise often in statistical modeling. In this article, we propose an algorithm to solve the quadratic programming problem of minimizing for positive definite Q, where is constrained to be in a closed polyhedral convex cone , and the m × n matrix is not necessarily full row rank. The three-step algorithm is intuitive and easy to code. Code is provided in the R programming language.
Celiac artery aneurysmal erosion into the stomach: an unusual cause of persistent nausea.

A 79-year-old man was referred to our institution for evaluation of a large celiac artery aneurysm that had been found incidentally on computed tomography (CT) scan. The patient underwent a mesenteric angiogram, which confirmed the presence of a large celiac artery aneurysm. Attempts at celiac artery aneurysm embolization were made with multiple covered stents of the hepatic and celiac arteries. A complete exclusion of the aneurysm was unsuccessful. A follow-up aortogram revealed previously placed celiac stents in good position, with a freely patent hepatic artery. However, persistent filling of a large celiac artery aneurysm was noted. Embolization of the aneurysm sac was then performed using multiple coils. One month later, the patient presented to an outside facility for substernal chest pain, abdominal pain, fever, postprandial nausea, and a 10-lb weight loss. Extensive cardiac work-up was unrevealing, and blood cultures were negative. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a 3.5-cm mass with necrosis of the posterior wall of the stomach and evidence of recent bleeding in the stomach at the junction of the body and fundus in the posterior wall (Figure). A CT scan revealed a thrombosed celiac artery aneurysm attached to the posterior wall of the stomach with no evidence of arterial filling after stent-ing/coiling. The aneurysm had increased in size since initial presentation and showed evidence of mass effect, as it was compressing the lesser curvature of the stomach. The patient was taken to the operating room, where a nonpulsatile and noninfected large aneurysm was visualized causing extrinsic compression of the stomach. There was ulceration of the posterior wall of the stomach and destruction of the wall of the aneurysm with exposed luminal thrombus in the focal area where the stomach and aneurysm were intermittently adherent to each other. There was a 2- to 3-cm perforation of the stomach and an exudative fluid collection adhering to the external surface of the stomach. Wedge resection of the area of perforation at the lesser curvature was performed, and a Stamm gastrostomy and feeding jejunostomy were placed. The aneurysm appeared to be in close proximity and/or adherent to the pancreas; therefore, neither repair nor resection of the aneurysm was performed. Pathology of the exudate revealed Peptostreptococcus, and targeted antibiotic therapy was instituted. The patient eventually died due to pulmonary complications. Figure. Retroflexed views of the stomach fundus reveal a celiac artery aneurysm eroding into the stomach.
Online and batch methods for solar radiation forecast under asymmetric cost functions

Abstract In electric power grids, generation must equal load at all times. Since wind and solar power are intermittent, system operators must predict renewable generation and allocate operating reserves to mitigate imbalances. If they overestimate the renewable generation during scheduling, insufficient generation will be available during operation, which can be very costly. However, if they underestimate the renewable generation, usually they will only face the cost of keeping some generation capacity online and idle. Therefore overestimation of renewable generation resources usually presents a more serious problem than underestimation. Many researchers train their solar radiation forecast algorithms using symmetric criteria like RMSE or MAE, and then a bias is applied to the forecast later to reflect the asymmetric cost faced by the system operator – a technique we call indirectly biased forecasting. We investigate solar radiation forecasts using asymmetric cost functions (convex piecewise linear (CPWL) and LinEx) and optimize directly in the forecast training stage. We use linear programming and a gradient descent algorithm to find a directly biased solution and compare it with the best indirectly biased solution. We also modify the LMS algorithm according to the cost functions to create an online forecast method. Simulation results show substantial cost savings using these methods.
Feasibility of a Perfluorocarbon tracer based network to support Monitoring, Verification, and Accounting of Sequestered CO2

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will act as a bridging technology necessary to facilitate a transition from fossil fuels to a sustainable energy based economy. The Department of Energy (DOE) target leak rate for sequestration reservoirs is 1% of total sequestered CO2 over the lifetime of the reservoir. This is 0.001% per year for a 1000 year lifetime of a storage reservoir. Effective detection of CO2 leaks at the surface may require incorporation of a tracer tag into the sequestered CO2. We applied a simple Gaussian Plume model to predict dispersion of a direct leak into the atmosphere and used the results to examine the requirements for designing a perfluorocarbon (PFT) monitoring network and tracer tagging strategy. Careful consideration must be given to the climate implications of using these compounds. The quantity of PFTs needed for tagging sequestered CO2 is too large to be practical for routine monitoring. Tagging at a level that will result in 1.5 times background at a sampler 1 km from a l...
Statistical combination of launch vehicle gust and buffet atmospheric flight loads

During atmospheric flight a launch vehicle and its payload will experience severe structural loads from several different phenomena. Among these are loads due to atmospheric gusts and loads due to buffet, which are generally two significant load contributors. Since these loads can occur simultaneously, an approach is taken so that they are statistically combined with other loads to estimate a total. A critical issue is the proper statistical combination of loads from these two events. This paper will present the results of a study in which load response time histories were combined in a Monte Carlo analysis to establish total vehicle load. These load levels were then used to establish the proper buffet load split, between the mean and dispersed portions, that should be combined with the gust load in a standard loads combination equation. The results of the study support the conclusion that the mean and dispersed buffet loads should be computed from the envelope function of the buffet load time history, which has a non-zero mean.
A nested modelling approach to infrastructure performance characterisation

AbstractReliable and accurate predictions of infrastructure condition can save significant amounts of money for infrastructure management agencies through better planned maintenance and rehabilitation activities. Infrastructure deterioration is a complicated, dynamic and stochastic process affected by various factors such as design, environmental conditions, material properties, structural capacities and some unobserved variables. Previous researchers have explored different types of modelling techniques, ranging from simple deterministic models to sophisticated probabilistic models, to characterise the deterioration process of infrastructure systems; however, these models have limitations in various aspects. Traditional deterministic models are inadequate to capture the uncertainties associated with infrastructure deterioration processes. State-based probabilistic models can only predict conditions at fixed time points. Time-based probabilistic models require frequent observations that, in practice, are ...
Design and Preliminary Evaluation of a Two DOFs Cable-Driven Ankle-Foot Prosthesis with Active Dorsiflexion-Plantarflexion and Inversion-Eversion.

This paper describes the design of an ankle-foot robotic prosthesis controllable in the sagittal and frontal planes. The prosthesis was designed to meet the mechanical characteristics of the human ankle including power, range of motion, and weight. To transfer the power from the motors and gearboxes to the ankle-foot mechanism, a Bowden cable system was used. The Bowden cable allows for optimal placement of the motors and gearboxes in order to improve gait biomechanics such as the metabolic energy cost and gait asymmetry during locomotion. Additionally, it allows flexibility in the customization of the device to amputees with different residual limb sizes. To control the prosthesis, impedance controllers in both sagittal and frontal planes were developed. The impedance controllers used torque feedback from strain gauges installed on the foot. Preliminary evaluation was performed to verify the capability of the prosthesis to track the kinematics of the human ankle in two Degrees of Freedom (DOFs), the mechanical efficiency of the Bowden cable transmission, and the ability of the prosthesis to modulate the impedance of the ankle. Moreover, the system was characterized by describing the relationship between the stiffness of the impedance controllers to the actual stiffness of the ankle. Efficiency estimation showed 85.4% efficiency in the Bowden cable transmission. The prosthesis was capable of properly mimicking human ankle kinematics and changing its mechanical impedance in two DOFs in real time with a range of stiffness sufficient for normal human walking. In Dorsiflexion-Plantarflexion (DP) the stiffness ranged from 0 Nm/rad to 236 Nm/rad and in Inversion-Eversion (IE) the stiffness ranged from 1 Nm/rad to 33 Nm/rad.
Mainstream Newspapers Shall Maintain Their Fine Cultural Quality

One of the problems concerning the cultural development is to ensure the quality of mainstream newspapers,since they are the most influential in the news community,with their large number of widespread readerships.Even today,when there are diversified audio-video products,and network culture is gaining more favor,it is still important for those newspapers to maintain a fine quality in that they play a key role in upgrading quaity of public and national people quality,as they are the fundamental channels of effective and in-depth reading,and reliable sources of information,especially for the elderly.Thus,those practitioners in the newspapers shall do more to promote cultural development.
Tracheobronchial pathogen colonization

Tracheobronchial colonization is mediated by the patients host defence mechanisms, the extent of therapeutic interventions and the virulence of endogenous or exogenous bacteria mainly from the nasopharynx and the stomach. Aspiration from the stomach plays the main role in colonizing the respiratory tract in ventilated patients.
Emergency and Elective Operations for Bleeding Esophageal Varices

The source of hematemesis in adult patients with portal hypertension is often something other than varices. Fashion has decreed that these other sources predominate, based on the frequency with which gastritis is found by endoscopy in patients with portal hypertension who were expected to have had bleeding varices, but estimates of nonvariceal sites of bleeding are likely to have been exaggerated.
A data center virtualization framework towards load balancing and multi-tenancy

Virtualization is an essential step before a bare-metal data center being ready for commercial usage, because it bridges the foreground interface for cloud tenants and the background resource management on underlying infrastructures. A concept at the heart of the foreground is multi-tenancy, which deals with logical isolation of shared virtual computing, storage, and network resources and provides adaptive capability for heterogeneous demands from various tenants. A crucial problem in the background is load balancing, which affects multiple issues including cost, flexibility and availability. In this work, we propose a virtualization framework that considers these two problems simultaneously. Our framework takes advantage of the flourishing application of distribute virtual switch (DVS), and leverages the blooming adoption of OpenFlow protocols. First, the framework accommodates heterogeneous network communication pattern by supporting arbitrary traffic matrices among virtual machines (VMs) in virtual private clouds (VPCs). The only constraint on the network flows is the bandwidth of server's network interface. Second, our framework achieves load balancing using an elaborately designed link establishment algorithm. The algorithm takes the configurations of the bare-metal data center and the dynamic network environments as inputs, and dynamically applies a globally bounded oversubscription on every link. Our framework concentrates on the fat-tree architecture, which is widely used in today's data centers.
Afterword – a short historical sketch of theories about the water circulation on Earth

EARLIEST CONCEPTS: THE ATMOSPHERIC WATER CYCLE For as long as humans have been on Earth, they must have been acutely aware of their dependency on different forms of water in their environment. Water was literally vital for their health and sustenance but it could also be destructive and even lethal in severe weather, floods, and the other hazards they faced in their daily lives. Already in the earliest writings there are indications that among natural peoples in their primal stage it was a common notion that water in nature moves continually between different states in some repetitive, if not cyclical, fashion. Whatever is left of these early writings is not always easy to interpret, mainly because the meanings of even the most elementary concepts have evolved in the meantime. Nor is it always easy to distinguish profane views and naturalistic descriptions from the more sacred narratives and religious interpretations. Nevertheless, a cursory scan of some better known early writings yields several instances of water related imagery even in widely different cultural settings, in which the evidence is fairly clear, and which provide some idea on the thinking of early humans. As early as the eighth century BCE in Greece, the poet Hesiod presented a remarkable description. In a passage with advice to farmers to get dressed warmly and to finish the work in time (Hesiode, 1928; also Hesiod, 1978; vv. 547–553), he wrote the following.
EFFECTS OF BURNOUT ON CHAR OXIDATION RATES

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the effects of a burnout on char-oxidation rates. The chapter describes a study in which the chars used were prepared from Dietz subbituminous B coal with an average particle size of 70 micrometers. They were prepared in a flat flame burner (FFB) in a methane-flame environment, at a high heating rate, at particle temperatures of approximately 1300K, and at various residence times. Some of the FFB char produced at a residence time of 104 ms was further converted by oxidizing it to various extents in a drop tube reactor in the presence of 5% oxygen and at particle temperatures of approximately 1300 K. Most of the devolatilization occured between 20 and 50 ms. The oxidation rates decrease significantly as the preparation residence time increases and appear to be inversely proportional to the devolatilization mass loss.
Rash in a U.S. Marine After Predeployment Vaccinations.

An active duty U.S. marine presents with a rash after receiving routine predeployment vaccinations.
API Virtualization for Platform Openness in Android

We propose a new technique called API virtualization to enable open innovation in mobile platforms. API virtualization allows third-party developers to statically inject custom code that replaces the original implementation of a platform API class. By injecting custom code into a binary of an Android app, the app uses the custom code instead of the original API implementation without requiring any platform modification. This allows open innovation in the mobile platforms.
On the Amplitude Distributions of Bistatic Scattered Fields From Rough Surfaces

Non-Rayleigh distributed radar clutter is widely reported in studies of radar scattering from sea and land surfaces. Existing models of scattered field amplitude distributions have been developed primarily through empirical fits to the statistics of radar backscatter measurements. In contrast, this paper investigates a physics-based approach to determine the amplitude distributions of fields scattered from rough surfaces using Monte Carlo simulations and analytical methods, for both backscattering and bistatic configurations. The rough surface is represented using a “two-scale” model. An individual surface facet contains “small-scale” roughness, for which scattered fields are evaluated using the second-order small slope approximation. Individual surface facets are tilted by the slopes of the “large-scale” roughness in a given observation. The results show that non-Rayleigh amplitude distributions are obtained when tilting is performed, and that the departure from the Rayleigh distribution becomes more significant as the variance of the tilting slope increases. Further analysis shows that this departure results from variations in the mean scattering amplitude from a facet (the texture) as tilting occurs. The distribution of the texture is studied and compared with existing models. Finally, the distribution of the scattered field amplitude is modeled through the compound Gaussian model, first using the distribution of the texture, and then in terms of the probability density function of tilting slopes (which avoids the requirement of the knowledge of the texture distribution). The results from the above two methods are in good agreement and both agree well with the Monte Carlo simulation.
Mechanisms of Liquid Stream Breakup: Vorticity and Time and Length Scales

The 3D, temporal instabilities on a planar liquid jet are studied using DNS with level-set and VoF interface-capturingmethods. The λ2 method has been used to relate the vortex dynamics to the surface dynamics at different stages of the jet breakup. The breakup character depends on the Ohnesorge number (Oh) and gas-to-liquid density ratio. At high Reynolds number (Re) and high Oh, hairpin vortices form on the braid and overlap with the lobe hairpins, thinning the lobes, which then puncture creating holes and bridges. The bridges break, creating ligaments that stretch and break into droplets by capillary action. At low Oh and high Re, lobe stretching and thinning is hindered by high surface tension and splitting of the original Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex, preventing early hole formation. Corru- gations form on the lobe edges, influenced by the split vortices, and stretch to form ligaments. Both mechanisms are present in a transitional region in the We-Re map. At lower Re and not-too-large Weber number (We), lobe stretching occurs but with longer and larger ligaments in this third domain which has a hyperbolic transition to the hole formation domain as We increases. The three domains with differing breakup behaviors each occupy distinct portions of a plot of We based on gas density versus Re based on liquid properties. Characteristic times for the hole formation, as well as the lobe and ligament stretching are different - the former depending on the surface tensionand the latter on liquid viscosity. In the transitional region, both times are of the same order. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/ILASS2017.2017.4616
PRCII, A NEW TYPE OF AVIAN SARCOMA VIRUS

ABSTRACT PRCII, an avian sarcoma virus isolated from a spontaneous myxofibrosarcoma of a chicken is defective for synthesis of infectious progeny virus and codes for a transformation specific protein of 105,000 mol. wt. (p105). This p105 is a fusion protein containing gag sequences and sequences unrelated to any virion protein. The gag re-related domain of p105 encompasses virion proteins p19, p27 and probably p12, but not p15. The nonstructural portion of p105 is distinct from transformation specific proteins of other avian retroviruses (p110 of MC29, p100 of MH2 or p75/p40 of AEV). It appears also unrelated to pp60 src of Rous sarcoma virus and its relatives, and no pp60 src is detectable in PRCII transformed cells. It is concluded that PRCII represents a novel avian sarcoma virus with unique transformation-related genetic information.
Prevascularization of 3D printed bone scaffolds by bioactive hydrogels and cell co-culture

Vascularization is a fundamental prerequisite for large bone construct development and remains one of the main challenges of bone tissue engineering. Our current study presents the combination of 3D printing technique with a hydrogel-based prevascularization strategy to generate prevascularized bone constructs. Human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSC) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were encapsulated within our bioactive hydrogels, and the effects of culture conditions on in vitro vascularization were determined. We further generated composite constructs by forming 3D printed polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite scaffolds coated with cell-laden hydrogels and determined how the co-culture affected vascularization and osteogenesis. It was demonstrated that 3D co-cultured ADMSC-HUVEC generated capillary-like networks within the porous 3D printed scaffold. The co-culture systems promoted in vitro vascularization, but had no significant effects on osteogenesis. The prevascularized constructs were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice to evaluate the in vivo vascularization capacity and the functionality of engineered vessels. The hydrogel systems facilitated microvessel and lumen formation and promoted anastomosis of vascular networks of human origin with host murine vasculature. These findings demonstrate the potential of prevascularized 3D printed scaffolds with anatomical shape for the healing of larger bone defects. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 1788-1798, 2018.
Patient Factors Influencing Decision to Undergo Vasectomy Reversal

AbstractIntroduction:Vasectomy reversal is one of the options for having children following a vasectomy. While previous reports have shown this procedure to be cost-effective, barriers remain preve...
Work in Progress: Topic Modeling for HPC Job State Prediction

As high performance computing approaches the exascale era, progress in automatic computer monitoring becomes increasingly important. Monitoring will no longer to able to rely only on human experts, due to the overwhelming amount of monitoring data, such as system logs, job logs, and temperature reports. Because a human analyst cannot keep up with terabytes of monitoring data per day, we turn to techniques from the statistical machine learning community to assist with analysis of monitoring data. Specifically, we use machine learning techniques predict compute job outcomes using features extracted from system log messages. Our preliminary results show that not only do statistical topics extracted from log messages provide a signal correlated with job outcome, but that the correlation is strong enough that two canonical classification algorithms can achieve very high predictive performance using only topic distributions and basic temporal information as features.
The Development and Initial Validation of an Assessment of Algebraic Thinking for Students in the Elementary Grades

Elementary school students often exhibit a variety of conceptions associated with algebraic thinking that their teachers fail to recognize or understand. It is crucial that elementary school teache...
Innovation and Technological Change, Economics of

Technological innovation is the economic function through which new technologies are introduced into production and consumption. It entails recognizing new technological possibilities, organizing the human and financial resources needed to transform them into useful products and processes, and sustaining the requisite activities. It is important because technological advances have played a key role in facilitating radically improved standards of living. Innovation is said to be endogenous; i.e., it is responsive to changes in demand and supply conditions. A simple model distinguishing demand-pull from technology-push innovations is presented. Innovators are usually unable to capture all of the incremental economic benefits their contributions yield, which can lead to incentive failures characterized as ‘the appropriability problem.’ Innovative activities also entail high risks of technological failure and (especially) the misperception of market demands. To cope with these problems, policies such as the patent system and institutions such as high-technology venture capital markets have evolved.
Heritage and Sustainability in Shunde (China)

In the narrative of the urbanization and globalization of China, much attention is paid to major cities and large-scale infrastructure projects; yet the effects of rapid urban development and the remaking of the physical landscape also can be seen in rural regions and smaller cities, raising questions about the transformation of landscape and building patterns as they are tied to traditional cultures. This case study examines several recent planning and preservation projects in the city of Shunde in the Pearl River Delta that illustrate the tenuous balance between urban growth and heritage, landscape, and preservation, particularly as they are manifested through the discourse of sustainability. It details how people’s sense of loss of the traditional water-based landscape of the region informs both the form and style of contemporary developments and stimulates increasing interest in ecological and heritage tourism directed at local and national audiences. It looks at the dynamic at play between the preservation of traditional buildings and environments and the promotion of the city for future economic development, arguing that heritage and ecology can easily become tropes in the narrative of sustainable growth.
Uterine activity in the multiparous patient

Abstract There were 149 parous patients with normal cervical dilatation patterns studied. The purpose was to quantitate and characterize uterine activity in a group of multiparous patients with normal labor using our present on-line method and to evaluate our method against previous work done on uterine activity. A mean total of 5,299 uterine activity units (UAU) was required to progress from 4 cm. through delivery. In the patients receiving oxytocin 5,907 UAU were required and 4,498 UAU for those not receiving oxytocin. Of the total uterine work from 4 cm. to delivery, 49.4 per cent was required to progress from 4 to 6 cm., 38.7 per cent to progress from 6 to 10 cm., and 11.9 per cent for the second stage. This study establishes in a quantitative way, using on-line methods, the patterns of uterine activity expended by the parous patient in normal labor and can be compared to previous off-line and manual evaluations. These data can be compared with the on-line observations previously made in a primiparous group, and will be fundamental to automated evaluations including definitions of abnormal labor.
Molecular Dynamics and Hybrid Monte Carlo

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is a deterministic procedure to integrate the equations of motion based on the classical mechanics principles (Hamiltonian equations). This method was first proposed by Alder and Wainwright (1959) and has become one of the most widely used research tools for complex physical systems. In a typical MD simulation study, one first sets up the quantitative system (model) of interest under a given condition (e.g., fixed number of particles and constant total energy). Then, successive configurations of the system, as a function of time, are generated by following Newton’s laws of motion. After a period of time for “equilibration,” one can start to collect “data” from this computer experiment — the data consist of a sequence of snapshots that record the positions and velocities of the particles in the system during a period of time. Based on these records, one can estimate “typical characteristics,” which can often be expressed as the time average of a function of the realized configurations, of the simulated physical system.
Chronic p27 Kip1 Induction by Dexamethasone Causes Senescence Phenotype and Permanent Cell Cycle Blockade in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells Over-expressing Glucocorticoid Receptor

Dexamethasone (Dex), co-administered to lung adenocarcinoma patients with pemetrexed chemotherapy, protects against pemetrexed cytotoxicity by inducing reversible G1 arrest, reflected by the effect of Dex on FLT-PET images of patient tumors. However, perioperative Dex treatment increases survival but the mechanism is unknown. In cells with glucocorticoid receptor-α (GR) expression corresponding to higher clinical tumor levels, Dex-induced growth arrest was followed by marked cell expansion, beta-galactosidase expression and Ki67 negativity, despite variable p53 and K-RAS status. Dex induced a transient early surge in p21Cip1. However, a progressive, irreversible loss of clonogenic growth, whose time of onset was dependent on GR level and Dex dose, was independent of p21Cip1and caused by gradual accumulation of p27Kip1 due to transcriptional activation of p27Kip1 by Dex. This effect was independent of canonical pathways of senescence or p27Kip1 regulation. The in vitro observations were reflected by growth suppression and P27Kip1 induction in GR-overexpressing tumor xenografts compared with isogenic low-GR tumors. Extended Dex treatment induces irreversible cell cycle blockade and a senescence phenotype through chronic activation of the p27Kip1 gene in GR overexpressing lung tumor cell populations and hence could improve outcome of surgery/pemetrexed chemotherapy and sensitize tumors to immunotherapy.
Human Problem Solving in 2008

This paper presents a bibliography of more than 200 references related to human problem solving, arranged by subject matter. The references were taken from PsycInfo database. Journal papers, book chapters, books and dissertations are included. The topics include human development, education, neuroscience, research in applied settings, as well as animal studies.
Mechanisms of Silica Fracture in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions

Glassy silicates are substantially weaker when in contact with aqueous electrolyte solutions than in vacuum due to chemical interactions with preexisting cracks. To investigate this silicate weakening phenomenon, classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of silica fracture were performed using the bond-order based, reactive force field ReaxFF. Four different environmental conditions were investigated: vacuum, water, and two salt solutions (1M NaCl, 1M NaOH) that form relatively acidic and basic solutions, respectively. Any aqueous environment weakens the silica, with NaOH additions resulting in the largest decreases in the effective fracture toughness (eKIC) of silica or the loading rate at which the fracture begins to propagate. The basic solution leads to higher surface deprotonation, narrower radius of curvature of the crack tip, and greater weakening of the silica, compared with the more acidic environment. The results from the two different electrolyte solutions correspond to phenomena observed in experiments and provide a unique atomistic insight into how anions alter the chemical-mechanical fracture response of silica.