cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Energy, Greenhouse Gas, and Cost Reductions for Municipal Recycling Systems

Curbside recycling programs can be more cost-effective than landfilling and lead to environmental benefits from the recovery of materials. Significant reductions in energy and emissions are derived from the decrease of energy-intensive production with virgin materials. In many cities, competing priorities can lead to limited consideration given to system optimal collection and processing strategies that can drive down costs and increase revenue while simultaneously reducing system energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We evaluate three alterations to a hypothetical California city’s recycling network to discern the conditions under which the changes constitute system improvements to cost, energy, and emissions. The system initially operates with a collection zoning scheme that does not mitigate the impact of seasonal variations in consumer tonnage. In addition, two collection organizations operate redundantly, collecting recyclables from different customer types on the same street network...
The VirS/VirR Two-Component System Regulates the Anaerobic Cytotoxicity, Intestinal Pathogenicity, and Enterotoxemic Lethality of Clostridium perfringens Type C Isolate CN3685

Clostridium perfringens vegetative cells cause both histotoxic infections (e.g., gas gangrene) and diseases originating in the intestines (e.g., hemorrhagic necrotizing enteritis or lethal enterotoxemia). Despite their medical and veterinary importance, the molecular pathogenicity of C. perfringens vegetative cells causing diseases of intestinal origin remains poorly understood. However, C. perfringens beta toxin (CPB) was recently shown to be important when vegetative cells of C. perfringens type C strain CN3685 induce hemorrhagic necrotizing enteritis and lethal enterotoxemia. Additionally, the VirS/VirR two-component regulatory system was found to control CPB production by CN3685 vegetative cells during aerobic infection of cultured enterocyte-like Caco-2 cells. Using an isogenic virR null mutant, the current study now reports that the VirS/VirR system also regulates CN3685 cytotoxicity during infection of Caco-2 cells under anaerobic conditions, as found in the intestines. More importantly, the virR mutant lost the ability to cause hemorrhagic necrotic enteritis in rabbit small intestinal loops. Western blot analyses demonstrated that the VirS/VirR system mediates necrotizing enteritis, at least in part, by controlling in vivo CPB production. In addition, vegetative cells of the isogenic virR null mutant were, relative to wild-type vegetative cells, strongly attenuated in their lethality in a mouse enterotoxemia model. Collectively, these results identify the first regulator of in vivo pathogenicity for C. perfringens vegetative cells causing disease originating in the complex intestinal environment. Since VirS/VirR also mediates histotoxic infections, this two-component regulatory system now assumes a global role in regulating a spectrum of infections caused by C. perfringens vegetative cells.
Dynamics and Equilibrium in a Structural Model of Commercial Aircraft Ownership

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic equilibrium model of the market for commercial aircraft. Airline choices are modeled as the solution to a discrete time dynamic programming problem, where in each period, each airline chooses one or more of various models of new and used aircraft. In equilibrium aircraft prices are such that no airline would benefit from buying, selling, trading or scrapping aircraft. The parameters of the model are estimated by maximum simulated likelihood using a new dataset that contains all aircraft transactions made in the twenty-year period 1978-1997. The transaction data is merged with a dataset containing aircraft prices. The estimated model is used to show that a 10 percent investment tax credit on the purchase of new aircraft has only a small effect on airline behavior and that the demand for new durable goods is more elastic than previous studies have shown. In addition, forcing the modernization of older aircraft causes U.S. airlines to reduce the number of older aircraft they operate by approximately 4 percent, and it is shown that the new aircraft are the poorest substitute for older aircraft.
The deep peroneal nerve in the foot and ankle: an anatomic study

Injury to the deep peroneal nerve in the foot and ankle may result from trauma, repetitive mechanical irritation, or iatrogenic harm. The nerve is most susceptible to injury along its more distal anatomic course. Dissection of 17 cadaver specimens was undertaken to describe the course of the deep peroneal nerve and quantify its branch patterns. In the distal one third of the leg, the nerve was located superficial to the anterior tibial artery between the tibialis anterior and extensor hallucis longus muscles. Typically, the nerve crossed deep to the extensor hallucis longus tendon to enter the interval between the extensor hallucis longus and extensor digitorum longus at an average distance of 12.5 mm proximal to the ankle. A proximal bifurcation was usually present at an average distance of 12.4 mm distal to the mortise. The lateral terminal branch penetrated the deep surface of the extensor digitorum brevis to provide motor innervation. The medial terminal branch passed over the talonavicular joint capsule, and coursed an average of 2.9 mm lateral to the first tarsometatarsal joint. Within the forefoot, it passed deep to the extensor hallucis brevis tendon, bifurcated in the midmetatarsal region, and then arborized, supplying sensibility to the first toe interspace and the adjacent sides of the first and second toes.
Mammary Gland ECM Remodeling, Stiffness, and Mechanosignaling in Normal Development and Tumor Progression

Cells of the mammary gland are in intimate contact with other cells and with the extracellular matrix (ECM), both of which provide not only a biochemical context, but a mechanical context as well. Cell-mediated contraction allows cells to sense the stiffness of their microenvironment, and respond with appropriate mechanosignaling events that regulate gene expression and differentiation. ECM composition and organization are tightly regulated throughout development of the mammary gland, resulting in corresponding regulation of the mechanical environment and proper tissue architecture. Mechanical regulation is also at play during breast carcinoma progression, as changes in ECM deposition, composition, and organization accompany breast carcinoma. These changes result in stiffer matrices that activate mechanosignaling pathways and thereby induce cell proliferation, facilitate local tumor cell invasion, and promote progression. Thus, understanding the role of forces in the mammary gland is crucial to understanding both normal developmental and pathological processes.
Systems Analysis and Design

The strategic planning of IT for enterprise modeling (discussed in chapter 1) needs to be followed by systems analysis and design. Therefore, some common methods and techniques for information requirements analysis and database and knowledgebase design are discussed in this chapter. It also provides basic background to the information management technology that enterprise integration and modeling utilizes. The particular approach of metadatabase modeling is overviewed at the end of the chapter, and presented in detail in the next two chapters.
On a generalized product for domains

Abstract We introduce a new product operation for domains, called I-product , uniformly covering the cartesian and the smash products. We discuss its order-theoretic properties and give different axiomatizations for it. We also investigate the set of continuous functions from and into the I -product. Finally, we study the lattice of I -strict continuous extensions of operations on sets to the corresponding flat domains. In summary, the I -product preserves most of the well-known properties of the domain products while offering greater flexibility by incorporating strictness constraints into domain constructions.
SCALING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY WEIGHT AND FERMENTATION GUT CAPACITY IN AXIS DEER

The scaling relationship between body weight and fermentation gut capacity presumably impacts dietary patterns of ruminants. Interspecific scaling relationships between body weight and fermentation gut capacity have a slope of 1.0 (isometric scaler) when body weights span � 3 orders of magnitude. Isometric scaling relationships between body weight and fermentation gut capacity also have been suggested to explain dietary patterns within species, but whether scaling relationships are isometric within a single species is unresolved. We determined if the intraspecific scaling relationship between body weight and fermentation gut capacity was isometric for axis deer (Axis axis) and assessed the influence of reproductive status of females on the scaling relationship. We collected 8 adult male and 21 adult female axis deer from January 2004 to April 2005 at a private ranch in Bastrop County, Texas. Capacity of the rumen‐reticulum, cecum, and colon, organs where fermentation occurs, was estimated by calculating wet weight and volume capacity. Forage quality, month that animal was collected, and sex did not influence scaling relationships. Regressions apparently had isometric scalers for fermentation gut capacity but the relationships were not strong, in part because females that were pregnant had smaller fermentative gut capacities than nonreproductive or lactating animals.
An error analysis of radiance and suboptimal retrieval assimilation

One of the outstanding problems in data assimilation has been, and continues to be, how best to utilize satellite data while balancing the trade-off between accuracy and computational cost. A number of weather-prediction centres have recently achieved remarkable success in improving their forecast skill by changing the method in which satellite data are assimilated into the forecast model from the traditional approach of assimilating retrieved products to the direct assimilation of radiances in a variational framework. Although there are. clear theoretical advantages to the direct radiance-assimilation approach, it is not obvious at all to what extent the improvements that have been obtained so far can be attributed to the change in methodology or to various technical aspects of the implementation. The central question we address here is: how much improvement can we expect from assimilating radiances rather than retrievals, all other things being equal? We compare the two approaches in a simplified theoretical framework. Direct radiance analysis is optimal in this idealized context, while the traditional method of assimilating retrievals is suboptimal because it ignores the cross-covariances between background errors and retrieval errors. We show that interactive retrieval analysis (where the same background used for assimilation is also used in the retrieval step) is equivalent to direct assimilation of radiances with suboptimal analysis weights. We illustrate and extend these theoretical arguments with several one-dimensional analysis experiments, where we estimate vertical atmospheric profiles using simulated data from temperature sounding channels of both the High-resolution InfraRed Sounder 2 (HIRS2) and the future Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS). In the case of non-interactive retrievals the results depend very much on the quality of the background information used for the retrieval step. In all cases, the impact of the choice of analysis method is dwarfed by the effect of changing some of the experimental parameters that control the simulated error characteristics of the data and the retrieval background.
A Third Form of Righteousness: The Theme and Contribution of Matthew 6.19–7.12 in the Sermon on the Mount

Although there is agreement that the body of the Sermon on the Mount (SM) contains three parts, there is little consensus regarding the nature of the third part. This passage is compared with different examples of wisdom instruction, each of which offers a unified composition on the moral problem of ‘goods’, broadly conceived as that which confers good standing or status, not only in economic terms but in social and spiritual terms as well. This provides a perspective from which to examine the overall structure of the sermon in the light of certain practices evident in ancient texts for organizing moral discourse.
Microbial Abundance and Activity in a Low-Conductivity Aquifer System in East-Central Texas

aquifer sands (28‐31 m), even though the total organic carbon content was very low. Rates of anaerobic H2, lactate, and formate consumption were also high in aquifer sands, relative to the other strata. The higher microorganism numbers and activities in the aquifer sediments likely reflect the importance of increased electron donor and acceptor transport in higher hydraulic conductivity sands, relative to other strata. The presence of sulfate and near absence of other electron acceptors (O2 ,N O 3 , and Fe 3+ ), absence of methanogens, high numbers of SRB, and relatively high sulfate reduction activity suggest that sulfate reduction is the dominant terminal electron-accepting process in the deep aquifer. In contrast to aerobic Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments, aquifer sediments at 30 m in this east-central Texas aquifer contain greater numbers of anaerobes than aerobes. Low pH and high sulfate contents argue for oxidation of pyrite in or near the shallow aquifer. This pyrite oxidation supplies sulfate to deeper aquifers. Pyrite from the deep aquifer sediments, with the greatest abundance and activity of SRB, is too enriched in 34 S (up to 58‰) to have formed from modern or typical groundwater sulfate. Overall, our results suggest that the resident microbiota are capable of cycling carbon and sulfur in the aquifer, but probably without substantial remineralization of pyrite in the formation.
A “Long Walk to Freedom” and Democracy: Human Rights, Globalization, and Social Injustice

Before I entered the polling station, an irreverent member of the press called out, “Mr. Mandela, who are you voting for?” I laughed. “You know,” I said, I have been agonizing over that choice all morning.” I marked an X in the box next to the letters ANC and then slipped my folded ballot paper into a simple wooden box; I had the first vote of my life. . . . The Images of South Africans going to the polls that day are burned in my memory. Great lines of patient people snaking through the dirt roads and streets of towns and cities; old women had waited half a century to cast their vote saying that they felt like human beings for the first time in their lives; white men and women saying they were proud to live in a free country at last. The mood of the nation during those days of voting was buoyant. The violence and bombings ceased, and it was as if we were a nation reborn. Even the logistical difficulties of the voting, misplaced ballots, pirate voting stations, and rumors of fraud in certain places could not dim the overwhelming victory of democracy and justice. (Mandela 1994, Long Walk to Freedom, p. 618).
Use of geostatistics for accurate mapping of earthquake ground motion

SUMMARY The geostatistical method of kriging is applied for the analysis, estimation and mapping of earthquake ground motion. No modification to this method was required for this new application. Along with kriging, the concept of the semi-variogram is introduced and shown to be important for estimation and mapping. In geostatistical analyses of earthquake ground motion, the ground motion is modelled by a random function. This random function model is shown to be accurate for providing estimates of earthquake ground motion at unsampled locations. Kriging is applied in this paper for the mapping of peak horizontal acceleration recorded during the 1971 San Fernando, and the 1983 Coalinga, California earthquakes. These results are compared to maps predicted using attenuation expressions and differences are analysed. Results demonstrate the utility of kriging for the analysis of earthquake ground motion.
Edge Abrasion of Durable-Press Cotton Fabric During Laundering with Phosphate- and Carbonate-Built Detergents

The edge abrasion of durable-press cotton and the deposit build-up on the cotton and a nylon fabric were determined after repeated launderings with phosphate and carbonate detergents and builders. When soft water was used there were no differences in amount of abrasion or deposit. The use of hard water with carbonate products resulted in accelerated edge abrasion on the cotton, and a heavy calcium deposit on both fabrics was indicated from weight change, spectro photometer analyses, and SEM examination. Fabrics laundered with phosphate products in hard water had less abra sion and deposit than those washed with carbonate detergent or builder, but more than samples laundered in aoft water. Detergents and builders of the same type resulted in similar amounts of fabric deterioration, but detergents formed more deposit than the corresponding builder.
Travoprost--a new prostaglandin analogue for the treatment of glaucoma.

Travoprost, a highly selective and potent analogue of the prostaglandin PGF(2)(alpha), has recently been approved and marketed as a topical ocular hypotensive agent for the treatment of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. Following absorption into the eye, the free acid form of travoprost interacts with the endogenous FP prostanoid receptor to enhance aqueous humor outflow and lower intraocular pressure (IOP). Travoprost is distinguished from other marketed prostaglandin analogues in that it is a full agonist at the prostaglandin receptor. It is also highly selective with little or no affinity for other prostanoid or non-prostanoid receptors in the eye. Travoprost provides robust lowering of IOP with little diurnal fluctuation and results in low target pressures in a large percentage of patients. In controlled clinical trials, travoprost 0.004% o.d. used as monotherapy produced greater IOP reduction than timolol 0.5% b.i.d. and equal or greater reduction than latanoprost 0.005%o.d. Travoprost 0.004% was also shown to be an effective adjunctive agent offering an additional 5 - 7 mmHg IOP reduction in patients inadequately controlled on timolol 0.5%. Subgroup analysis of a large Phase III trial revealed travoprost 0.004% to be significantly more effective at lowering IOP in African American patients by almost 2 mmHg compared to non-African Americans. Moreover, a higher percentage of African American patients responded to travoprost 0.004% and reached lower target pressures than with either latanoprost 0.005% or timolol 0.5%. Travoprost is a very stable compound, maintaining its efficacy following exposure to extremely low and high temperatures, repeated freezing and thawing and exposure to light. Throughout all clinical trials, travoprost was found to be safe and well-tolerated with very few (< 5%) discontinuations due to adverse events. Travoprost 0.004% represents a clinically significant advance for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, offering superior IOP reduction and diurnal control, especially among African American patients, in a safe, well-tolerated, stable formulation.
Sequences Regulating Tropism of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 for Brain Capillary Endothelial Cells Map to a Unique Region on the Viral Genome

Two infectious molecular clones of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, NL4-3 and JR-CSF, differ in their abilities to productively infect human brain capillary endothelial (HBCE) cells. The phenotypes of recombinants between these two molecular strains were examined to identify viral sequences responsible for the difference in HBCE cell tropism between the two parental strains. Our results indicate that HBCE cell tropism maps to a region that encompasses the C1 region of env and includes overlapping reading frames for the accessory genes vpr, vpu, tat, and rev. This region was unique for HBCE cell tropism and did not cosegregate with either macrophage or T-cell line tropism. However, several recombinant clones displayed dual tropism for both HBCE cells and macrophages. These endothelial cell- and macrophage-tropic strains may have a unique pathogenic advantage by entering the brain via HBCE cells and subsequently infecting microglial cells with high efficiency, leading to the induction of human immunodeficiency virus dementia.
Depressive symptomatology after mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury: a comparison of three measures.

Measurement of posttraumatic brain injury depression is problematic. Disagreement exists about the best screening measure, and symptoms of brain injury often overlap those of depression. In an outpatient sample of 75 persons, we compared aspects of Criterion A of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Revision, Text Revision (2000) , with three depression subscales: the Neurobehavioral Functioning (NFI-D), Profile of Moods State (POMS-D), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies (CES-D). Nearly 40% of this outpatient sample had significant levels of depressive symptoms. All measures were internally consistent, reliable, and highly correlated. For persons with mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury, the CES-D was the best screening instrument because of its ease in administration, sensitivity in detecting probable major depressive disorders, its established categories of severity, and its comprehensiveness. Further effort in the establishment of depression severity categories using the NFI-D is needed.
CISK-Barotropic-Baroclinic Instability and the Growth of Monsoon Depressions

Abstract A combined CISK-barotropic-baroclinic instability analysis of the observed monsoon flow has been performed using the quasi-equilibrium assumption for the parameterization of moist convection. Linear perturbation equations for a three-layer quasi-geostrophic model are numerically integrated to get the most unstable mode. A deep cloud model, in which the height of the base of the cloud does not change with time and entrainment occurs for the whole depth of the cloud but detrainment occurs only at the top, is used to parameterize the effects of moist convection. It is found that the maximum growth rate occurs for the smallest scales. The mechanism for scale selection is therefore not clear. The structure and energetics of the computed linear perturbations for a wavelength corresponding to that of the observed monsoon depressions is compared with the observations. The dominant energy transformation for the computed and the observed perturbations is found to be from eddy available potential energy to ...
Values stressed by two social class levels at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

This investigation was designed to analyze the values stressed by speakers at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and to ascertain whether values stressed by members of middle class social status background differ from those stressed by lower class members. Previous investigations (2,3,4) have disclose that class values of his early training become integral parts of the individual's personality and are ever-present guides for what he thinksr what he feels and how he acts. Social class differences operate to maintain barriers against intimate social participation among individuals of different social status backgrounds and make it difficult for them to workr live and commune with one another. American educational institutions, which serve all social class levels, are dominated by teachers of middle class background who stress middle class valuesr attitudes and goals. METHOD
Breeding bird density does not drive vocal individuality

Many species produce individually specific vocalizations and sociality is a hypothesized driver of such individuality. Previous studies of how social variation influenced individuality focused on colonial or non-colonial avian species, and how so- cial group size influenced individuality in sciurid rodents. Since sociality is an important driver of individuality, we expected that bird species that defend nesting territories in higher density neighborhoods should have more individually-distinctive calls than those that defend nesting territories in lower-density neighborhoods. We used Beecher's information statistic to quantify individu- ality, and we examined the relationship between bird density (calculated with point-counts) and vocal individuality on seven spe- cies of passerines. We found non-significant relationships between breeding bird density and vocal individuality whether regres- sions were fitted on species values, or on phylogenetically-independent contrast values. From these results, we infer that while in- dividuality may be explained by social factors, breeding bird density is unlikely to be generally important in driving the evolution of individually-specific vocalizations (Current Zoology 58 (5): 765-772, 2012).
A More Tax-Efficient System for Purchasing and Selling a Subsidiary

In this report, Professors Seago and Schnee demonstrate that adjusting the formula used to tax the gain recognized when a parent sells a subsidiary will eliminate some triple taxation of corporate income. The changes should also result in increased federal revenues.
A thermodynamic approach for selecting operating conditions in the design of reversible solid oxide cell energy systems

Abstract Reversible solid oxide cell (ReSOC) systems are being increasingly considered for electrical energy storage, although much work remains before they can be realized, including cell materials development and system design optimization. These systems store electricity by generating a synthetic fuel in electrolysis mode and subsequently recover electricity by electrochemically oxidizing the stored fuel in fuel cell mode. System thermal management is improved by promoting methane synthesis internal to the ReSOC stack. Within this strategy, the cell-stack operating conditions are highly impactful on system performance and optimizing these parameters to suit both operating modes is critical to achieving high roundtrip efficiency. Preliminary analysis shows the thermoneutral voltage to be a useful parameter for analyzing ReSOC systems and the focus of this study is to quantitatively examine how it is affected by ReSOC operating conditions. The results reveal that the thermoneutral voltage is generally reduced by increased pressure, and reductions in temperature, fuel utilization, and hydrogen-to-carbon ratio. Based on the thermodynamic analysis, many different combinations of these operating conditions are expected to promote efficient energy storage. Pressurized systems can achieve high efficiency at higher temperature and fuel utilization, while non-pressurized systems may require lower stack temperature and suffer from reduced energy density.
The Evolving Nature of the Crime of Genocide

The French prosecutor at Nuremberg described it as a crime so monstrous, so undreamt of in history ... that the term genocide' had to be coined to define it. ... For Lemkin, genocide not only extinguishes the existence of a national group; ultimately it destroys the cultural contributions of that group. ... Critics of the definition of genocide have argued that it is over-inclusive because it goes beyond biological destruction of a cognizable group to include cultural genocide. ... Thus, for a crime of genocide to have been committed, it is necessary that one of the acts listed under [Article II of the Convention] be committed, that the particular act be committed against a specifically targeted group, it being a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. ... Professor George Fletcher argues that genocide is a collective crime and criticizes the focus of international criminal law that has prevailed since Nuremberg, which he says, emphasized the responsibility of individuals for the crime of genocide. ... Instead, it may make it easier for a political leader, like a Milosevic, who conceives the idea and then devises a plan for genocide as a policy for his nation, to avoid maximal responsibility, escape the harshest possible punishment and shift liability onto those individuals down the hierarchy who execute his genocidal plan.
Shear Capacity of CFRP Posttensioned Grouted Transverse Joints under Concentrated Loads

AbstractThe transverse joint between full-depth precast concrete panels in accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is a critical element for satisfactory performance of bridge decks. Live loads on bridge decks are caused by concentrated loads from truck tires. The shear capacity of new female-to-female grouted transverse joints constructed with precast concrete panels under concentrated loads was investigated and compared to experimental results. The experiments were carried out on transverse joints posttensioned with carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods and on non-posttensioned joints. A finite-element model was developed to determine stress transfer of concentrated loads at transverse joints. Two different design distribution widths were investigated based on (1) AASHTO recommendations and (2) finite-element analysis. Four methods were considered for calculating transverse joint capacity: shear friction, strut-and-tie model, principal tension stress, and a beam shear equation under axial compressio...
2-Bromo-5-methyl­pyridine

The title compound, C6H6BrN, has half of a mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit, as it sits on a crystallographic plane of symmetry. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯N inter­actions link the mol­ecules, forming chains along [100]. No π–π inter­actions are observed.
Ultrastructure of the Amoeboid Cell and its Vacuolar System in Protosteliopsis Fimicola

Protosteliopsis fimicola, which has a uninucleate amoeboid trophic stage, is the first nonflagellate protostelid to be studied ultrastructurally. The mitochondria contain tubular cristae, and mitochondrial ribosomes are scattered throughout the matrix. Both microfibers and microtubules are found in the cytoplasm of the amoeboid cell. The endoplasmic reticulum, profiles of which appear short and scattered, is always coated with ribosomes. No centrioles or lipid bodies have been observed. Contractile vacuoles, food (phagocytotic) vacuoles, and pinocytotic vacuoles are distinguishable from each other on the basis of shape, size, membrane structure, and inclusions. The ontogeny of these vacuoles has been followed.
317 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KIDNEY DISEASE AND MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC SPINAL CORD INJURY.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between kidney disease (as determined by creatinine clearance (CrCl) and quantitative proteinuria, both measured from 24-hour urine samples between 1993 and 1998) and mortality in chronic spinal cord injury patients (n = 219). Computerized medical records were reviewed in 2004 (follow-up period of 6-11 years) to determine overall mortality. Patients were placed in one of four groups depending on their level of proteinuria and CrCl. Group A had preserved renal function (proteinuria ≤ 500 mg/day, CrCl ≥ 60 mL/min, n = 127). Group B had significant proteinuria but normal CrCl (proteinuria ≥ 500 mg/day, CrCl ≥ 60 mL/min, n = 45). Group C had no proteinuria but decreased CrCl (proteinuria ≤ 500 mg/day, CrCl ≤ 60 mL/min, n = 18). Group D had both significant proteinuria and decreased CrCl (proteinuria ≥ 500 mg/day, CrCl ≤ 60 mL/min, n = 29). Long-term survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and hazard ratios were calculated. Patients with either significant proteinuria and/or decreased CrCl had significantly reduced survival when compared to those with preserved renal function (mean survival times: Group A, 108 months; Group B, 76 months, p ≤ .0001; Group C, 79 months, p ≤ .0001; Group D, 47 months, p ≤ .0001). There was no difference in survival when comparing Groups B and C (p = .614). However, there appeared to be an additive effect of proteinuria and decreased CrCl on mortality, with Group D having significantly reduced survival compared with Groups B and C (p ≤ .005 and p ≤ .05 respectively). Hazard ratios (HR) also showed an additive effect of proteinuria and decreased CrCl on mortality (as compared to Group A, Group B HR 3.09, Group C HR 3.86, Group D HR 6.99). In conclusion, proteinuria ≥ 500 mg/day and CrCl ≤ 60 mL/min are both associated with increased mortality in the chronic spinal cord injury population. There appears to be an additive effect of proteinuria and decreased CrCl on this association.
Construction of teaching quality assurance mechanism in independent college

The independent colleges as the product of the transitional process of China's higher education from elitism to popularization are relatively new without long history.To survive in the keen competition of higher education it is a must for independent colleges to break the traditional way of doing things,engage in robust reform and innovation,and establish the internal teaching quality assurance mechanism that is people oriented and sustainable.
How Health Management Leaders Evaluate the Interpersonal Skills of U.S. Business and Health Management-Trained Professionals

Abstract A national survey was conducted to determine the current state of senior executive perceptions of recent entrant managers within corporate headquarters, hospital systems, and freestanding hospitals. The survey was constructed based on leadership interpersonal competencies and competency-based career development programs. A total of 676 respondents returned a survey, representing 31 percent of the mailing sample. The goal of the research was to determine the perceptions that senior executives have about the interpersonal skills of recent entrants to the field of health care management and identify best practices for organizational training of such entrants. The research in this study focuses on MBA versus MHA preparation and how senior executives view entry managers from each discipline. While there is no statistically significant difference in how senior executives evaluate REMs with an MBA or MHA, there were interpersonal competencies that REMs from all educational backgrounds needed to develop. Senior executives reported that the MBA graduates needed to enhance their ability to accept constructive criticism, take direction, control their emotions, read other’s emotions, enhance their ability to work with others, handle situations with diplomacy, and build rapport with the management team. Senior executives reported that MHA graduates need to enhance their ability to exercise authority, confront others about mistakes, and improve their understanding of organizational politics. Senior executives also observed the need to require additional training of recent entrant managers in areas of management skills on understanding organizational politics, using a variety of techniques to influence others, handling difficult people or situations using diplomacy, confronting others about their mistakes, and exercising authority.
Phonological substitution errors in L2 ASL sentence processing by hearing M2L2 learners

In the present study we aimed to investigate phonological substitution errors made by hearing second language (M2L2) learners of American Sign Language (ASL) during a sentence translation task. Learners saw sentences in ASL that were signed by either a native signer or a M2L2 learner. Learners were to simply translate the sentence from ASL to English. Learners’ responses were analysed for lexical translation errors that were caused by phonological parameter substitutions. Unlike previous related studies, tracking phonological substitution errors during sentence translation allows for the characterization of uncontrolled and naturalistic perception errors. Results indicated that learners made mostly movement errors followed by handshape and location errors. Learners made more movement errors for sentences signed by the M2L2 learner relative to those by the native signer. Additionally, high proficiency learners made more handshape errors than low proficiency learners. Taken together, this pattern of results...
High-Rank MIMO Precoding for Future LTE-Advanced Pro

We study the precoding for the high-rank MIMO in the LTE-A Pro systems. Unlike the low-rank precoding, layer mapping has a relatively large impact on the performance for high-rank precoding. First, we construct a model on the relationship between layer mapping and precoding. Then we derive the system throughput with the resulting model, so that the performance of the layer mapping and precoding can be evaluated. Further, we operate a sub-space optimization for the codebook-based precoding to maximize the system throughput. Simulation results show that after optimizing layer mapping, high-rank precoding achieves much better performance.
Directionality of terahertz electromagnetic waves from photoconducting antenna arrays

We describe a photoconducting antenna array, a novel optoelectronic device for optically generating and electrically controlling a submillimeter wave. With the optical excitation of a train of properly spared laser pulses, the direction of the emitted submillimeter wave can be electrically steered in free space by varying the static bias voltage on each antenna element of the array.
Virtue Ethics in the Medieval Period

The idea that virtue might be one of the central features of ethics is associated with Aristotle, who devotes half of the Nicomachean Ethics to it, and this work had great influence in the high Middle Ages, especially in the thirteenth century. Yet diverse notions of virtue and of particular virtues were in circulation much earlier via the writings of Cicero and Augustine. In the former’s De Inventione the medievals read:
Heliometric stereo: shape from sun position

In this work, we present a method to uncover shape from webcams "in the wild." We present a variant of photometric stereo which uses the sun as a distant light source, so that lighting direction can be computed from known GPS and timestamps. We propose an iterative, non-linear optimization process that optimizes the error in reproducing all images from an extended time-lapse with an image formation model that accounts for ambient lighting, shadows, changing light color, dense surface normal maps, radiometric calibration, and exposure. Unlike many approaches to uncalibrated outdoor image analysis, this procedure is automatic, and we report quantitative results by comparing extracted surface normals to Google Earth 3D models. We evaluate this procedure on data from a varied set of scenes and emphasize the advantages of including imagery from many months.
Better Than He Knew

I first met Peter Lawler at an Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) summer program for graduate students and recent PhDs in the middle of the past decade. Although I do not remember the exact ye...
The spread of mosquito-borne viruses in modern times: A spatio-temporal analysis of dengue and chikungunya.

Abstract Since the 1970s, mosquito-borne pathogens have spread to previously disease-free areas, as well as causing increased illness in endemic areas. In particular, dengue and chikungunya viruses, transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti and secondarily by Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, represent a threat for up to a third of the world population, and are a growing public health concern. In this study, we assess the spatial and temporal factors related to the occurrences of historic dengue and chikungunya outbreaks in 76 nations focused geographically on the Indian Ocean, with outbreak data from 1959 to 2009. First, we describe the historical spatial and temporal patterns of outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya in the focal nations. Second, we use a boosted regression tree approach to assess the statistical relationships of nations' concurrent outbreak occurrences and annual occurrences with their spatial proximity to prior infections and climatic and socio-economic characteristics. We demonstrate that higher population density and shorter distances among nations with outbreaks are the dominant factors that characterize both dengue and chikungunya outbreaks. In conclusion, our analysis provides crucial insights, which can be applied to improve nations' surveillance and preparedness for future vector-borne disease epidemics.
A CASE AGAINST RECEPTOR OCCUPANCY AS THE SOLE DETERMINANT IN THE OPIATE REGULATION OF ADENYLATE CYCLASE ACTIVITY IN NEUROBLASTOMA CELLS

The coupling efficiency (KD/KI) of the opiate receptor inhibition of the adenylate cyclase activity in neuroblastoma X glioma NG108–15 hybrids was determined. All the opiate alkaloids and opioid peptides tested had different coupling efficiency. Also, the maximal inhibitory level of the opiate agonists were different. These observations disagreed with the occupancy theory as the basis for the opiate receptor action.
The Effect of Hydrocarbon Configuration and Cholesterol on Interactions of Choline Phospholipids with Sulfatide

Mixtures of sphingomyelin and sulfatide or lecithin and sulfatide showed a titration capacity in the acid range that was greater than that of any of these lipids titrated alone. This is explained as the results of the ionic interaction of the sulfate and quaternary amine of neighboring molecules thus making the phosphate of the choline lipid available for titration.
Electroweak corrections to Higgs boson decays to γ γ and W + W - in standard model EFT

Higgs decays to gauge boson pairs are a crucial ingredient in the study of Higgs properties, with the decay $H\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ being particularly sensitive to new physics effects. Assuming all potential new physics occurs at energies far above the weak scale, deviations from standard model predictions can be parametrized in terms of the coefficients of a standard model effective field theory (SMEFT). When experimental limits on the SMEFT coefficients reach an accuracy of a few percent, predictions must be done beyond the lowest order in the SMEFT in order to match theory and experimental accuracy. This paper completes a program of computing the one-loop electroweak SMEFT corrections to $H\ensuremath{\rightarrow}V{V}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, $V={W}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$, $Z$, $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. The calculation of the real contribution to $H\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{W}^{+}{W}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is performed by mapping two-loop amplitudes to the three-body phase space.
Patient self-reported utility of hand surgery online patient education materials.

OBJECTIVE Online patient education materials in orthopaedic surgery are consistently written above the recommended grade level. However, no algorithmic measure of readability has been validated in a medical context. The primary objective of the present study was to determine whether Flesch-Kincaid readability scores correlate with patient self-reported utility of online education materials from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH). METHODS This was a prospective survey study of 35 patients with one of five common upper extremity diagnoses. Study outcomes included self-reported utility, understandability, clarity, novelty and scope of the information of the ASSH online patient education material. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Flesch Reading Ease were calculated for each article and correlated with self-reported utility. RESULTS The majority of patients found the articles useful, understandable and clear. Self-reported utility was not correlated with Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (ρ = 0.017) or Flesch Reading Ease (ρ = -0.020). Patients with high school education or below found the articles less useful and more difficult to understand than those with post-secondary education. CONCLUSIONS Flesch-Kincaid readability scores do not correlate with self-reported utility of ASSH online patient education materials. In the evaluation of these materials, metrics other than algorithmic readability scores should be considered.
The Least Mean Squares (LMS) Algorithm

The method of steepest descent described and developed in the previous chapter forms the mathematical basis for many current adaptive signal processing algorithms. However, steepest descent was developed for iteratively solving the normal equations (2.3.5) for the optimal w N * . For an actual signal processing application, this would be equivalent to requiring that the time series d(n) and x(n) be stationary and, additionally, that their second-order statistics be known. Knowledge of the second-order statistics in (2.3.5) was conveyed by the autocorrelation matrix and cross-correlation vector. However, in practical system implementations, these correlation values can only be estimated from available data, and this is often a source of computational delay, or error, or both. This chapter develops an alternative to the method of steepest descent called the least mean squares (LMS) algorithm, which will then be applied to problems in which the second-order statistics of the signal are unknown. Due to its simplicity, the LMS algorithm is perhaps the most widely used adaptive algorithm in currently implemented systems.
Is It Correct to Correct for Prematurity? Theoretic Analysis of the Bayley-4 Normative Data.

Objective To determine whether correction for prematurity is appropriate for cognitive, language, and motor function at varying degrees of prematurity and at different baseline functional levels. Methods The newly published Bayley-4 normative data on 1700 normal children were used. Raw scores for baseline levels of function (-2 SD, -1 SD, and M) were identified at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months for receptive communication, expressive communication, fine motor, and gross motor scaled scores and cognitive, language, and motor composite scores. Differences between the baseline and uncorrected scores at 4, 3, 2, and 1 months of prematurity were evaluated at each age. Results Using a cutoff of 3 points (1/5 SD), correction is needed for cognitive composite scores at all gestational ages for the first 2 years and in those born 4 months premature at 3 years of age; language and motor composite scores should be corrected to 3 years at all degrees of prematurity. Conclusion Not correcting for prematurity in cognitive, language, and motor function at 3 years and younger places preterm infants at a distinct disadvantage when compared to peers with few exceptions, suggesting that such correction should be routine.
Cost-effectiveness analyses demonstrate that observation is superior to sentinel lymph node biopsy for postmenopausal women with HR + breast cancer and negative axillary ultrasound

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of axillary observation versus sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) after negative axillary ultrasound (AUS). In patients with clinical T1-T2 N0 breast cancer and negative AUS, SLNB is the current standard of care for axillary staging. However, SLNB is costly, invasive, decreasing in importance for medical decision-making, and is not considered therapeutic. Observation alone is currently being evaluated in randomized clinical trials, and is thought to be non-inferior to SLNB for patients with negative AUS. We performed cost-effectiveness analyses of observation versus SLNB after negative AUS in postmenopausal women with clinical T1-T2 N0, HR+/HER2− breast cancer. Costs at the 2016 price level were evaluated from a third-party commercial payer perspective using the MarketScan® Database. We compared cost, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and net monetary benefit (NMB). Multiple sensitivity analyses varying baseline probabilities, costs, utilities, and willingness-to-pay thresholds were performed. Observation was superior to SLNB for patients with N0 and N1 disease, and for the entire patient population (NMB in US$: $655,659 for observation versus $641,778 for SLNB for the entire patient population). In the N0 and N1 groups, observation incurred lower cost and was associated with greater QALYs. SLNB was superior for patients with > 3 positive lymph nodes, representing approximately 5% of the population. Sensitivity analyses consistently demonstrated that observation is the optimal strategy for AUS-negative patients. Considering both cost and effectiveness, observation is superior to SLNB in postmenopausal women with cT1-T2 N0, HR+/HER2− breast cancer and negative AUS.