cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Combustion characteristics of diesel and Jet-A droplets blended with polymeric additive

Abstract Recent experimental research has shown that the addition of long chain polymers to hydrocarbon fuel imparts non-Newtonian characteristics to the fuel which results in suppressed splashing behavior upon spilling over a surface and consequently improves fire safety. In this study, combustion of stationary fuel droplets of Diesel and Jet-A doped with different percentages of a long chain polymer (Polybutadiene) was examined and compared with the normal hydrocarbon behavior. In contrast with hydrocarbon droplets with no polymer addition, several zones of combustion including a slow and steady burning zone, a strong swelling zone and two fast and fairly steady combustion zone were also detected. It was found that combustion of polymer added fuel is controlled by the boiling point of more volatile component, i.e. base fuel. Therefore, initially the base fuel is transported to the droplet surface and evaporates. However, polymer addition turned out to slightly decrease burning rate in this stage. Viscosity was found to be the dominating factor that suppresses diffusion of volatile species to the surface and hence reduces evaporation rate at early stages of combustion. Increasing polymer content also resulted in stronger swelling behaviors as well as reduced burning time for both diesel and jet fuel droplets.
Er:LiNbO3 Guided Wave Optical Amplifiers Pumped at 980nm

The development of Er-doped fiber amplifiers and fiber lasers1,2 has recently spawned interest in LiNbO3-based integrated optic versions of these devices3,4. A variety of guided traveling wave amplifiers and lasers pumped at 1.48 μm, have been demonstrated.5–7 Model calculations and measurements of Er-doped fibers have shown8,9, however, that the 980 nm pump wavelength has a higher efficiency and lower noise figure than 1480 nm due to the absence of pump induced stimulated emission. In model calculations similar to Ref. 4, we recently found that a 980 nm pump should have a higher slope efficiency than a 1480 nm in LiNbO3 waveguides. This Letter reports the experimental results of the optical gain in Er-indiffused Ti:LiNbO3 and ZnO:Mg:LiNbO3 channel waveguides pumped around 980 nm.
Effects of associative reaction time and spaced presentations of stimulus-test items, response-test items, and stimulus-response repetitions on retention in paired associate learning

The present experiment tested the hypothesis that associative reaction time (RT, the time elapsing between the presentation of a verbal unit and the first association produced) is a variable independent of meaningfulness in PAL. This hypothesis was tested by investigating the effects of short-latency and long-latency RT lists matched for meaningfulness with spaced test items of three types (stimulus-test items, response-test items, and stimulus-response repetitions) on a recall retention test. The analysis showed that the test-type factor showed significant differences for the long-latency RT list but not the short-latency RT list. The short-latency RT list showed a significant spacing effect with retention decreasing over spacing, while the long-latency list showed no significant spacing effect. It was concluded that associative reaction time is a factor independent of meaningfulness.
Antenna-Like Tactile Sensor for Thin-Film Piezoelectric Micro-Robots

Terrestrial and other millimeter-scale autonomous micro-robots face significant challenges in surveying their environment, due to small power budgets and payload capacities. One low-power, low-mass form of obstacle detection is tactile sensing of contact with other surfaces. In this-paper, a tactile sensor inspired by insect antennae is described, based on thin-film lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) transduction. Thin-film piezoelectric materials permit actuation and sensing mechanisms to be coupled in very small, compact structures, as well as complement previously developed microrobotic leg mechanisms. Key design parameters for the tactile sensor are introduced and analyzed in terms of sweep frequency and range of motion, and signals from sensor impact are predicted. Experimental results with partially-released prototype actuators show respectable agreement with modeled behavior for dynamic motion, though impact detection is hampered by large feedthrough disturbances. Completed sensors range from 2 to 4 mm in length and are approximately 500 μm in width, with a sweep range of nearly 1 mm demonstrated from a 2 mm long prototype.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Methacrylation Induces Rapid, Temperature-Dependent, Reversible Self-Assembly of Type-I Collagen

Type-I collagen self-assembles into a fibrillar gel at physiological temperature and pH to provide a cell-adhesive, supportive, structural network. As such, it is an attractive, popular scaffold for in vitro evaluations of cellular behavior and for tissue engineering applications. In this study, type-I collagen is modified to introduce methacrylate groups on the free amines of the lysine residues to create collagen methacrylamide (CMA). CMA retains the properties of collagen such as self-assembly, biodegradability, and natural bioactivity but is also photoactive and can be rapidly cross-linked or functionalized with acrylated molecules when irradiated with ultraviolet light in the presence of a photoinitiator. CMA also demonstrates unique temperature-dependent behavior. For natural type-I collagen, the overall structure of the fiber network remains largely static over time scales of a few hours upon heating and cooling at temperatures below its denaturation point. CMA, however, is rapidly thermoreversible and will oscillate between a liquid macromer suspension and a semisolid fibrillar hydrogel when the temperature is modulated between 10 and 37 °C. Using a series of mechanical, scattering, and spectroscopic methods, we demonstrate that structural reversibility is manifest across multiple scales from the protein topology of the triple helix up through the rheological properties of the CMA hydrogel. Electron microscopy imaging of CMA after various stages of heating and cooling shows that the canonical collagen-like D-periodic banding ultrastructure of the fibers is preserved. A rapidly thermoreversible collagen-based hydrogel is expected to have wide utility in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications as a biofunctional, biocompatible material. Thermal reversibility also makes CMA a powerful model for studying the complex process of hierarchical collagen self-assembly.
Establish Early Emergency Warning Intervention Mechanism of County-level Public Health in Rural Areas

To explore the of county-level public health emergencies in rural areas of early warning intervention mechanisms,early in the disposal of the general health events,prevent sudden public health incidents.
Key Issues in Fixed-mobile Convergence

Fixed-mobile Convergence (FMC) is a promising trend in the development of future telecom network, which involves increasingly intensive research and development efforts. Before large-scale applications are started, several key issues need to be resolved. When delivering traditional voice services with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), it is necessary to support QoS in the IP domain, to provide unified access for fixed and mobile services in the traditional circuit-switched (CS) domain, and to complete the mapping between the CS domain and IMS. Meanwhile, the IMS bearer network security should be guaranteed; the traditional operation mode should be changed to a new one that suits convergence.
Anxiety: Easier than Anger

Marty was unusually quiet after we left the neurologist. I wasn’t sure if he understood all the consequences of his diagnosis, dementia of Lewy bodies (DLB). Also I wasn’t sure, if I understood everything either. I had learned about all the dementias in medical school and had regurgitated them all during exams. I hardly ever dealt with these patients in my office or in the hospital. Of course, we had dealt with Marty’s father who in retrospect I realized suffered from DLB as well.
Promising therapies for treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most common etiology for abnormal aminotransferase levels and chronic liver disease. Its growing prevalence is largely linked to the presence of metabolic syndrome, particularly diabetes and insulin resistance. It is estimated that 60–80% of the type 2 diabetic population has NAFLD. NAFLD encompasses a range of conditions ranging from simple steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A subset of patients with hepatic steatosis progress to NASH, while 15–20% of patients with NASH develop cirrhosis. This progression is thought to be multifactorial, and there are currently no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of NASH.Areas covered: We review drugs currently in Phase II and III clinical trials for treatment of NAFLD and NASH, including their mechanisms of action, relationship to the pathophysiology of NASH, and rationale for their development.Expert opinion: The treatment of NASH is complex and necessitates targeti...
An e-textile edge-fed spiral antenna for flexible wearable applications

This paper presents an e-textile embroidered Archimedean spiral antenna using conductive silver thread on polyester fabric for wearable applications. The two-arm spiral antenna has 5 turns with an extension of 180 deg of one arm to enable an edge-feed. The edge-feed enables a planar feed suitable for a wearable planar fabric configuration. The spiral is feed at the edge with coaxial cable. The spiral was designed to cover the wireless bands from 2.4 to 6 GHz. An initial design was done with a high-fidelity computational electromagnetic mode, and then the antenna was fabricated and tested.
Supply Chain Management: Retrospective and Prospective

Traditionally, marketing research and theory has included investigation into transportation and related subjects. This research has evolved much in the last few years. Researchers have begun to focus on a broadening of the transportation field that includes newer concepts such as logistics and supply chain management. In this paper, the evolution of transportation logistics, and supply chain management research over the last 15 years is compared to similar research from the previous 15 years as cataloged by Professor Richard Jones in the premiere issue of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. This paper attempts to chronicle the evolution from transportation to logistics to supply chain management since in the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice was established.
The Burden of Guilt and the Imperative of Reform: Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew Take Up the Challenge of Re-Spiritualizing Christianity in the Anthropocene Age

This article discusses the pro-environmental theology of two contemporary Christian leaders. The first is the current ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. The second is Roman Catholicism's Pope Francis. Both leaders seek to support members of their respective churches who are working to protect the environment, and also to speak globally across cultural and religious lines. Both Bartholomew and Francis believe the crisis of climate change has deep roots in modern culture's anthropocentric ethos, and hence there must be an “apocalypse” or an unveiling of this ethos as a betrayal not only of nature but also of God the Creator. Contrary to some religious environmentalists, therefore, both Bartholomew and Francis are careful to distinguish cosmocentric theology (pantheism and animism) and theocentric cosmology (monotheism centered on the Incarnation of the Trinity in creation). Francis in particular aims for a retrieval of Saint Francis of Assisi's relationship to the natural world as it was expressed by Saint Bonaventure, and later developed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola into a discipline (ascesis) of learning to see all created things as expressions of God's glory. In rivalry with the ascesis of modern capitalism, which could be described as “disciplined avarice in action,” Bartholomew and Francis advocate the classical monastic-Franciscan-Ignatian spiritual ethos of “disciplined contemplation in action.”
Resiliency in Supply Chain Systems: A Triadic Framework Using Family Resilience Model

Although the significance of supply chain resilience has been well explored, there is much to be explained about its formation and composition. Using systems theory and the Family Resilience model, this chapter offers a series of organizational characteristics that combine to form supply chain resilience. These subsets of supply chain resilience are categorized into three. The first, inherent resilience, comes from the strength of resources that are already possessed, are permanent and inseparable from the supply chain itself. The second, anticipative resilience, are ones developed purposefully to face crises and disruptions. These are preparatory resources that come in the form of excess resources, business continuity plans, or insurance policies. The third type is adaptive resilience, which can come in the form of collaborative capabilities, collective decision-making, and leadership that combines care and concern with the ability to make on the spot decisions. The chapter explains how supply chains, as organizational systems, leverage these three sub-sets to face disruptions.
Getting the query right for crisis informatics design issues for web-based analysis environments

Web-based data analysis environments are powerful platforms for exploring large data sets. To ensure that these environments meet the needs of analysts, a human-centered design perspective is needed. Interfaces to these platforms should provide flexible search, support user-generated content, and enable collaboration. We report on our efforts to design and develop a web interface for a custom analytics platform—EPIC Analyze— which provides interactive search over large Twitter data sets collected during crisis events. We performed seven think-aloud sessions with researchers who regularly analyze crisis data sets and compiled their feedback. They identified a need for a "big picture" view of an event, flexible querying capabilities, and user-defined coding schemes. Adding these features allowed EPIC Analyze to meet the needs of these analysts and enable exploratory research on crisis data. In performing this work, we identified an opportunity to migrate the software architecture of EPIC Analyze to one based on microservices. We report on the lessons learned in performing this migration and the impact it had on EPIC Analyze's capabilities. We also reflect on the benefits a microservices approach can have on the design of data-intensive software systems like EPIC Analyze.
Dinâmica hidrossedimentológica de duas sub-bacias hidrográficas localizadas no Estado do Tocantins

Esta pesquisa objetivou analisar a dinâmica hidrossedimentologica de duas sub-bacias hidrograficas localizadas no Estado do Tocantins no periodo compreendido entre setembro de 2009 e agosto de 2010, correspondente a um ano hidrologico no Estado. Por meio de um Sistema de Informacao Geografica (SIG) foram determinadas as caracteristicas morfometricas, os tipos de solo e os usos e ocupacao do solo das sub-bacias. As precipitacoes mensais foram calculadas utilizando o metodo de Thiessen, e os resultados foram submetidos a analise estatistica. Utilizaram-se dados de 21 campanhas de monitoramento hidrossedimentometrico na elaboracao das curvas-chaves de vazao e sedimentos. A producao especifica de sedimentos em suspensao foi classificada como baixa, com valores de 21,94 t · km−2 · ano−1 para a sub-bacia do Rio Manuel Alves Grande, e de 25,05 t · km−2 · ano−1 para a sub-bacia do Rio Manuel Alves Pequeno. A baixa declividade e a adequada cobertura vegetal de ambas as sub-bacias funcionam como defesas naturais, reduzindo assim a propensao a erosoes. A partir da correlacao das precipitacoes, vazoes e descarga solida de cada sub-bacia, pode-se observar que o material solido transportado e diretamente relacionado com a quantidade de precipitacoes, e que sub-bacias com caracteristicas morfometricas diferentes resultam em graus de interferencia diferentes. A precipitacao, a cobertura vegetal, o uso e ocupacao do solo, o tamanho da area de drenagem e a declividade foram caracteristicas decisivas para a baixa producao de sedimentos em suspensao nas sub-bacias.
Functional profiling of microtumors to identify cancer associated fibroblast-derived drug targets

// Shane R. Horman 1 , Jeremy To 1 , John Lamb 2 , Jocelyn H. Zoll 3 , Nicole Leonetti 4, 7 , Buu Tu 5 , Rita Moran 6 , Robbin Newlin 6 , John R. Walker 4 and Anthony P. Orth 1 1 Functional Genomics, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA, USA 2 Informatics, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA, USA 3 Discovery Pharmacology, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA, USA 4 Genetics, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA, USA 5 Genomics Screening Core, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA, USA 6 Histology, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA, USA 7 Present address: Helix, San Diego, CA, USA Correspondence to: Shane R. Horman, email: shorman@gnf.org Keywords: spheroid, 3D, screening, GPR68, CAF Received: July 20, 2017 Accepted: September 29, 2017 Published: October 20, 2017 ABSTRACT Recent advances in chemotherapeutics highlight the importance of molecularly-targeted perturbagens. Although these therapies typically address dysregulated cancer cell proteins, there are increasing therapeutic modalities that take into consideration cancer cell-extrinsic factors. Targeting components of tumor stroma such as vascular or immune cells has been shown to represent an efficacious approach in cancer treatment. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) exemplify an important stromal component that can be exploited in targeted therapeutics, though their employment in drug discovery campaigns has been relatively minimal due to technical logistics in assaying for CAF-tumor interactions. Here we report a 3-dimensional multi-culture tumor:CAF spheroid phenotypic screening platform that can be applied to high-content drug discovery initiatives. Using a functional genomics approach we systematically profiled 1,024 candidate genes for CAF-intrinsic anti-spheroid activity; identifying several CAF genes important for development and maintenance of tumor:CAF co-culture spheroids. Along with previously reported genes such as WNT, we identify CAF-derived targets such as ARAF and COL3A1 upon which the tumor compartment depends for spheroid development. Specifically, we highlight the G-protein-coupled receptor OGR1 as a unique CAF-specific protein that may represent an attractive drug target for treating colorectal cancer. In vivo , murine colon tumor implants in OGR1 knockout mice displayed delayed tumor growth compared to tumors implanted in wild type littermate controls. These findings demonstrate a robust microphysiological screening approach for identifying new CAF targets that may be applied to drug discovery efforts.
Metacognitive Reflection as a Moderator of Attitude Strength Versus Attitude Bolstering: Implications for Attitude Similarity and Attraction:

"Strong" attitudes often have greater impact than "weak" attitudes. However, emerging research suggests that weak (uncertain) attitudes can substantially influence thinking or behavior. We propose metacognitive reflection as a moderator between traditional strength patterns and these emerging attitude bolstering patterns. Across six studies, research participants encountered a target person who agreed or disagreed with participants' attitudes. When focused on evaluating the target, attitudes predicted target evaluations better when the attitude was held with certainty (Study 1A), or after certainty had been primed (Studies 2A and 3; strength effects). However, when engaged in attitudinal social comparison (metacognitive reflection), attitudes better predicted target evaluation when the attitudes were held with doubt (Study 1B), or after doubt had been primed (Studies 2B and 3; bolstering effects). Expected change in certainty served as a mediator of attitude effects in metacognitive reflection but not target-focus conditions when doubt had been primed (Study 4).
Fulbright Program for Foreign Students and the Study of Public Administration

This essay reflects on the author’s experiences in the United States as a doctoral student in public administration on a Fulbright scholarship. The author chronicles his observations of American pu...
New Approaches in Perineal Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s disease is a chronic, unremitting inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology that may affect a person of any age, involve all segments of the alimentary tract, and manifest itself in extra-intestinal sites. The treatment of this ­disease focuses on safely and effectively alleviating associated symptoms using a combination of medical and operative therapy predicated upon the site and nature of the disease involve­ment.
Resident to Student Barriers and Bias

This chapter contains a case study of a gender-nonconforming medical student in the emergency department.
Now Serving Maya Heritage: Culinary Tourism in Yaxunah, Yucatan, Mexico

Despite centuries of colonialism, Yucatec Maya women and men retain a rich body of specialized culinary practices with roots in the pre-Columbian past. Recently this intangible heritage has...
Mereological relations

A ''mereological'' relation is one of ''part-to-whole'' type. This paper proposes a model-theoretic approach to identifying and classifying such relations. Three initial applications of this approach are investigated. In each case, the class of identified relations is found to consist precisely of the partial orders on the underlying set. Further applications are proposed.
Partial Distributional Policy Effects Under Endogeneity

Rothe (Econometrica 80, 2269–2301 2012) introduces a new class of parameters called ‘Partial Distributional Policy Effects’ (PPE) to estimate the impact on the marginal distribution of an outcome variable due to a change in the unconditional distribution of a single covariate. Since the strict exogeneity assumption of all covariates makes this approach less applicable in empirical research, we propose the identification of the PPEs for a continuous endogenous explanatory variable using the control variable approach developed by Imbens and Newey (Econometrica 77, 1481–1512 2009). We also apply this proposed control variable PPE approach to investigate how poverty and black-white racial wage gaps contribute to the steep increase in the incarceration rate of black men over the period 1980-2010. Our control variable PPE estimates suggest that although the fall in the racial wage gap does not explain the changes in the incarceration rate of black men, changes in the poverty rate contribute about one-third of the steep increase in the incarceration rate at the upper-tail of the distribution.
Best-Response Dynamics in Continuous Potential Games: Non-Convergence to Saddle Points

The paper studies properties of best-response (BR) dynamics in potential games with continuous action sets. It is known that BR dynamics converge to the set of Nash equilibria (NE) in potential games. The set of NE in potential games is composed of local maximizers and saddle points of the potential function. The paper studies non-convergence of BR dynamics to saddle points of the potential function. Under relatively mild assumptions it is shown that BR dynamics may only converge to an interior saddle-point from a measure-zero set of initial conditions. This provides a weak stable manifold theorem in this context.
Population genomics of rapid evolution in natural populations: polygenic selection in response to power station thermal effluents.

Examples of rapid evolution are common in nature but difficult to account for with the standard population genetic model of adaptation. Instead, selection from the standing genetic variation permits rapid adaptation via soft sweeps or polygenic adaptation. Empirical evidence of this process in nature is currently limited but accumulating. We provide genome-wide analyses of rapid evolution in Fundulus heteroclitus populations subjected to recently elevated temperatures due to coastal power station thermal effluents using 5449 SNPs across two effluent-affected and four reference populations. Bayesian and multivariate analyses of population genomic structure reveal a substantial portion of genetic variation that is most parsimoniously explained by selection at the site of thermal effluents. An FST outlier approach in conjunction with additional conservative requirements identify significant allele frequency differentiation that exceeds neutral expectations among exposed and closely related reference populations. Genomic variation patterns near these candidate loci reveal that individuals living near thermal effluents have rapidly evolved from the standing genetic variation through small allele frequency changes at many loci in a pattern consistent with polygenic selection on the standing genetic variation. While the ultimate trajectory of selection in these populations is unknown and we survey only a minority of genomic loci, our findings suggest that polygenic models of adaptation may play important roles in large, natural populations experiencing recent selection due to environmental changes that cause broad physiological impacts.
Concern, Control, and Change

This chapter provides an overview of the developmental stages of pre-service teachers, beginning with an examination of the concerns that pre-service teachers often have before entering the field. The chapter documents how these concerns often transition from concerns of the self to concerns of the other over time. By the end of their field experiences, pre-service teachers tend to be less concerned with their own performance and more concerned with the performance of their students. The chapter also explores the ways that pre-service teachers’ senses of control change over the course of their field experiences. When they first enter the classroom, pre-service teachers often feel like they are powerless to affect change. By the later stages of their development, however, they often perceive themselves as having the ability to make positive changes in their classroom.
SnowedOut Atlanta: Examining digital emergence on facebook during a crisis

Individuals in emergencies form spontaneous, emergent groups to respond and recover. With the rise of social media use in crises, academics and professionals must be aware of how groups digitally coordinate emergent response efforts. This paper examines digital emergence through the case of SnowedOut Atlanta, a Facebook group formed during the 2014 ice storms in Atlanta. The posts and actions of the group members are in line with those of traditional emergent groups. For example, group members shared informational, material, and emotional support. The findings also provide implications for practitioners and insight into the communication of such groups. In particular, emergency managers have an opportunity to seek out and partner with these types of groups in future similar events.
Adaptive Immunity: Antigen Recognition by T and B Lymphocytes

The remarkable evolutionary advantage of T and B lymphocytes as a defense mechanism is their ability to specifically recognize millions of different microbes, including some that may not yet even exist. The genes that encode T and B cell receptors and as antibodies that are the soluble form of the B cell receptors, are arranged unlike any other genes in the body. The process of generating the receptors includes somatic recombination of different segments of DNA, the addition or subtraction of nucleotides during the process (junctional diversity), and pairing of different chains of the receptors (combinatorial diversity). The B cell receptor and the corresponding antibody can further diversify by changing their constant domains in a process called isotype switching so that there are five possible isotypes (IgM, IgD, IgG, IgA, and IgE). While the B cell receptor binds a variety of antigens as ligands, the T cell receptor binds to peptides presented on the cell surface by proteins of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), named HLA proteins in humans. One advantage of the MHC system is that CD8 killer T cells can recognize and destroy host cells infected by an intracellular pathogen because peptides from pathogen proteins are brought to the cell surface by HLA proteins as a type of “flag.” In order for a population of diverse individuals to have the potential to survive an epidemic, the HLA proteins are highly polymorphic so that at least some individuals will be able to present peptides from pathogen proteins and mount an effective immune response. Because the process of generating T and B cell receptors is random, it is important to eliminate cells with receptors recognizing self-antigens. This process is called central tolerance.
Effects of atmospheric moisture on the radiation intensity of objects in millimeter-wave band

Abstract The complex weather system in Taiwan often brings precipitation that decreases the accuracy of electromagnetic-wave guided weapons. In order to solve this problem, this paper aims at assisting the weapons to distinguish the difference between targets and background environment at a relatively accurate level. Given the characteristics of thermal radiation (brightness temperature), which is a type of electromagnetic-wave, are able to distinguish the differences between target areas and background atmosphere, the thermal radiation has been detected by using a dual-polarization radiometer in the millimeter-wave band (36.5 GHz) during the period of 98 days from 3rd May to 8th August in 2014. Two remarkable results are found to assist us to improve the accuracy of the weapons. First, the difference of brightness temperatures between the background atmosphere and the targets including tanks, grass and a forest is 100 K. Second, a difference of 15 K caused by diurnal changing is also identified. It is not surprising for us to learn that the brightness temperatures of the targets are gradually approaching to be comparable with the background when the rainfall is increasing. Identifying the targets by the weapons becomes much more difficult given the difference of the brightness temperatures between the targets and the background becomes minor. We also identify that the quantities of rain rate constrain the function of the radiometer. When the rain rate is lower than 20 mm per hour, the radiometer is capable to accurately detect the difference between the targets and the background. However, the higher the rain rate, the lower the accuracy of the radiometer. The radiometer is totally disable to detect any difference when the rain rate is above 58.2 mm per hour.
New Persistent Opioid Use After Aortic and Mitral Valve Surgery in Commercially Insured Patients

Background Deaths from prescription opioid overdose are dramatically increasing. This study evaluates the incidence, risk factors, and cost of new persistent opioid use after aortic valve replacement, mitral valve replacement, and mitral valve repair. Methods Insurance claims from commercially insured patients who underwent aortic valve replacement, mitral valve replacement, mitral valve repair, or aortic valve replacement and mitral valve replacement/repair from 2014 to 2016 were evaluated. New persistent opioid use was defined as opioid-naive patients who filled an opioid prescription in the perioperative period and filled opioid prescriptions between 90 and 180 days postoperatively. Multivariable logistic regression identified risk factors for new persistent opioid use. Quantile regression evaluated the impact of new persistent opioid use on total healthcare payments in the 6 months after discharge. Results Among 3404 opioid-naive patients undergoing aortic valve replacement, mitral valve replacement, or mitral valve repair, 188 (5.5%) had new persistent opioid use. Living in the southern United States (odds ratio, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.35-2.63; P Conclusions New persistent opioid use is a significant and costly complication after aortic and mitral valve surgery in privately insured patients. Variation in regional susceptibility and opioid prescribing suggests that standardization may help prevent this complication.
Tunable plexciton dynamics in electrically biased nanojunctions

Strong coupling between resonantly coordinated plasmonic modes and excitonic states from quantum emitters or analogous two-level systems has led to the realization of pronounced plexciton dynamics. Here, we present and discuss an unconventional approach for this purpose by designing an electrically driven system composed of quantum dots (QDs) trapped in an opening region between two metallic electrodes. By conducting theoretical and numerical investigations, we quantitatively show that under specific bias, radiatively generated plasmons in the device efficiently couple to the excitonic states arisen from quantum emitters in the tunnel. This resulted in pronounced Rabi oscillations and splitting of the classical dipole mode emitted from the tunnel junctions. By computing the local density of states and electroluminescence spectra, we demonstrated the emission of light from the gated system and verified the fundamental parameters of the proposed unique architecture depending on the current flow at the barrier. By taking advantage of the local nature of the excited plasmons and varying the number of QDs in the tunnel, we precisely modeled the plexcitonic coupling and quantified the Rabi splitting of the fundamental resonances around ħΩ ≈ 200 meV. Possessing immense potential to be exploited in devising advanced technologies, we envision that the electrically driven plexciton dynamics brings on-chip ultrafast and ultradense instruments one step closer to reality.
Financial Contributions and Considerations

Grandparents, in general, spend a lot of money on their grandchildren. This is particularly true when the grandchildren have disabilities. Grandparent may pay for everything from ice cream cones and new shoes to speech therapy and wheelchairs. For some families, financial contributions are not needed. The parents are financially secure and grandparents are merely augmenting with gifts or trips or extras. These grandparents are spending relatively little on the younger generations and can easily absorb the expenditures. For a few, financial assistance might be wanted but grandparents attempt to set limits. But for most of the grandparents we interviewed, financial assistance is needed to help cover a multitude of living and medical expenses. Some families rely on SSI, Medicaid, or SNAP and the importance, and the volatility, of those benefits was readily apparent. When benefits are halted, decreased, or refused, families scramble to try to reacquire benefits they desperately need. Some families turn to grandparents to fill in the gaps or wrangle with the government in their stead. Providing financial assistance, particularly for grandparents who have reduced work hours, changed jobs, retired early, or moved to new locations, can be difficult. If they are reducing income as they are increasing expenditures, the financial impacts can be quite worrisome. When household income is relatively low, it can be even more difficult. Those who become custodial guardians often have even fewer resources yet financial responsibilities fall almost entirely on their shoulders. They bear much of the financial burden; they have little choice but to cover expenses. Grandparents in these latter groups, often already short on resources, may face their old age with limited financial security.
The impact of incarceration on coparenting: A review of the literature

Incarceration effects various facets of family structure and the system as a whole. Relationships may suffer immensely due to the consequences of incarceration, particularly the coparenting relatio...
Use of an Innovation Board to Integrate the Front End of Innovation with Formal NDP Processes: A Longitudinal Study

OVERVIEW:Drawing on a twelve-year case study, this article reports on the creation, structure, processes, and results of a major corporation's innovation board. A variety of front-end activities are described to show how the innovation board integrates its front-end activities with formal development processes. This research describes the formation of the innovation board, the “light touch” process developed for front-end projects, and the specialized roles that emerged to conduct early stage innovation. The institution of the board and its evolving practices changed leadership and culture in the organization; the board was reorganized over time to address new challenges. The case study offers a detailed description of the activities and evolution of the board.
Chapter 22. The Structure-Activity Relationships of Adrenergic Compounds that act on Adenyl Cyclase of the Frog Erythrocyte

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the structure-activity relationships of adrenergic compounds that act on adenyl cyclase of the frog erythrocyte. A highly active, catecholamine-sensitive adenyl cyclase was prepared from nucleated frog erythrocytes. Its value as an assay for compounds with adrenergic activity was studied. Erythrocytes from Rana pipiens or Rana catesbiana contained adenyl cyclase activity that could be assayed in intact cells, hemolysates or in partially purified membrane fragments. Adenyl cyclase activity was assayed with radioactive ATP in the presence of either NaF (0.01 M) or catecholamine (or analog), Mg ++ and Tris buffer, pH 8.1. Following termination of the reaction, ZnSO 4 and Ba(OH) 2 were added to precipitate most of the residual radioactive ATP and any ADP and AMP formed during the incubation. Very little activity could be demonstrated in the absence of either catecholamines (or active analogs) or F – . The availability of a cell-free preparation of adenyl cyclase that can be easily prepared, assayed, and stored and that reacts with adrenergic compounds in a manner similar to P-adrenergic receptors in physiologically intact systems, may provide a useful tool for the design and assay of drugs with adrenergic activity and for investigating the chemical interactions between adrenergic amines and receptor molecules.
Pediatric office-based smoking intervention : impact on maternal smoking and relapse

Pediatrics 1995 ;96 :622-628 ; smoking cessation, passive smoking. Objective. To determine the impact of a brief smoking intervention delivered by pediatricians in the context of usual well baby office visits on postnatal maternal smoking and relapse. Setting. Forty-nine private pediatric practices including 128 practitioners. Design. Randomization of pediatric practices into minimal and extended intervention sites with all enrolled mothers of newborns within a practice receiving the same level of intervention. Intervention. Smoking mothers in minimal condition received a hospital packet containing written information about passive smoking and a letter advising them to quit. Those in extended condition received the hospital packet plus oral and written advice at usual well baby visits : 2 weeks, 2, 4, and 6 months. Measurements. Smoking and relapse rates at 6 months postpartum, demographics associated with smoking status, attitudes, and knowledge in regard to passive smoking, and recall surveys of mothers in regard to receiving advice or written materials. Results. Two-thousand nine-hundred-one mothers of newborns were enrolled in the study. Those in the extended condition had higher quit rates (5.9% vs 2.7%, P <.01) and lower relapse rates (45% vs 55%, P <.01) than those in the minimal condition. Mothers' educational status and the presence of a smoking partner in the home were the major demographic variables associated with smoking status at enrollment and at follow-up. Compared with smokers in the minimal condition, those in extended at 6 months postpartum had significantly better attitudes and knowledge regarding passive smoking and allowed less smoking in the home. Mothers attending extended practices reported much higher rates of receiving oral advice and written materials than those in the minimal condition. Conclusions. A brief program can lead to major increases in the willingness of pediatricians to deliver smoking advice. A 1- to 2-minute intervention delivered in the context of usual well baby care can have a positive impact on maternal smoking and especially upon relapse prevention. A recent smoking history should be obtained from all mothers of newborns so that interventions can be aimed at both cessation and relapse prevention.
10 Content-Area Literacy Strategies for Art, Mathematics, Music, and Physical Education

Abstract Content-area literacy involves the use of research-based learning strategies that help students effectively and efficiently gain content knowledge. Its use is fundamental to all content areas, not just to those that rely heavily on printed materials. One of the major goals of content-area instruction is to produce critical thinkers and problem solvers, and content-area literacy is a tool that teachers use to help students achieve this goal. Through this author's teaching experiences, she (Ming) learned about literacy strategies that are useful in art, mathematics, music, and physical education. Thus, in this article, she discusses the importance of using literacy in content-area instruction. Specifically, she talks about how literacy strengthens students’ language arts skills, shares 10 content-area literacy strategies that can be integrated into the four content areas, and provides specific examples of what they would look like in each area.
Nucleotide-free kinesin hydrolyzes ATP with burst kinetics.

Abstract Bovine brain kinesin binds ADP tightly and contains a stoichiometric amount of ADP at its active site when isolated in the presence of free Mg2+ (Hackney, D. D. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 6314-6318). EDTA in excess of Mg2+ weakens ADP binding and nucleotide-free kinesin can be prepared by gel filtration with excess EDTA. On addition of ATP, this nucleotide-free enzyme catalyzes the rapid hydrolysis of a stoichiometric amount of ATP in a burst phase followed by much slower continued ATP hydrolysis limited by the release of ADP from the active site. This burst reaction is evident both by formation of [32P]Pi from [gamma-32P]ATP and by formation of [alpha-32P]ADP from [alpha-32P]ATP. At 1.1 nM kinesin active sites, the observed rate of the burst phase increases linearly with ATP over the 1-20 nM range yielding a bimolecular rate of net ATP binding and hydrolysis of 2.5 microM-1 s-1. The intercept at zero ATP is 0.008 s-1 which equals the ADP release rate at 0.008-0.009 s-1. This predicts a Km for ATP of approximately 3.5 nM and measurements of the dependence on ATP concentration of the steady state rate and amount of bound ADP are consistent with a Km of this magnitude.
Quantum electrodynamic calculation of quantum beats in a spontaneously radiating three level system

The coherence properties of a spontaneously radiating three-level atomic system are investigated in a first principle calculation that utilizes either coherent or incoherent preparation. Quantum beat phenomena are explained for the first time in a manner that reveals the statistical nature of the preparative step as well as a possible radiative correction to the beat frequency.
Planners’ Role in Creating Family-Friendly Communities: Action, Participation and Resistance

A national survey of planners conducted with the American Planning Association in 2008 assesses planners’ attitudes about barriers and opportunities to creating more family-friendly cities. The survey measured the extent to which planners promote the interests of families in zoning, housing, child care, transportation, recreation, urban design. and public participation. Regression analysis shows that communities that have more action on the ground in support of families (e.g., affordable housing, child care, walkable streets) also engage families more in the planning process and include needs of families in site planning and zoning. Action can lead to community resistance, but resistance is lower in cities that have more positive attitudes about families with children. Resistance is higher in communities that are ignorant about how to address family needs, and in communities that specify family-friendly goals in their comprehensive plans. This research suggests the key to real action is family participation and addressing family needs in site planning and zoning.
Nematode gastrulation : Having a BLASTocoel!

During gastrulation of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, individual cells ingress into a solid ball of cells. Gastrulation in a basal nematode, in contrast, has now been found to occur by invagination into a blastocoel, revealing an unanticipated embryological affinity between nematodes and all other triploblastic metazoans.
Maximum likelihood estimation for generalized semi-markov processes

Parametric statistical inference for generalized semi-Markov processes is addressed. This class of processes encompasses a large number of “real-world” discrete-event stochastic systems. Because of its properties (e.g., consistency, asymptotic normality, etc.), maximum likelihood estimation is considered here. Under reasonable conditions on the process, we show that a maximum likelihood estimator exists, and that it converges to the true parameter at ratet−1/2, wheret is the length of the observation period. A related estimator, which is typically easier to compute, is also introduced. We show that the use of this estimator results in no loss of statistical efficiency. It is also shown that the estimation problem does decouple into separate subproblems when the process' transition probabilities and event distributions depend on different parameters.
Role of cyclic-AMP responsive element binding (CREB) proteins in cell proliferation in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma

The role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is poorly understood in the regulation of normal and abnormal hepatic cell growth. In this study, we examined the regulation of intracellular cAMP levels and its effect on nuclear cAMP responsive elements (CREs) in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumorigenic liver cells were cultured from an in vivo model of HCC and the role of cAMP in cell mitogenesis determined. These data demonstrated agents that elevate intracellular cAMP ([cAMP]i) levels caused significant dose-dependent inhibition of serum-stimulated mitogenesis in HCC cells. Cells were next analyzed for transcription factor expression and activity following increased [cAMP]i. These data demonstrated time- and dose-dependent increases in CRE binding protein (pCREB) activity, a maximal response occurring after 10-20 min before returning to basal levels within 60 min. In contrast, increased [cAMP]i levels led to sustained inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) II/IIgamma mRNA and protein induction. To understand these data in relation to the in vivo setting, HCC tumors were analyzed and compared to pair-matched normal liver (NL) samples. These studies demonstrated significantly elevated Gsalpha-protein expression in HCC versus NL in the absence of significant changes in basal cAMP levels. Analysis of total and active CREB demonstrated significantly increased total CREB/pCREB in HCC versus NL. Further analysis of CRE expression demonstrated significantly increased expression of ICER mRNA and protein in HCC versus sham operated (Sh). These data demonstrate cAMP, while capable of stimulating promitogenic CREB activation inhibits cell mitogenesis in HCC possibly via ICER induction.