cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A New Technique for Evaluating Disassembly and Maintenance Using an Example of Underground Escalator

Few products are designed for disassembly or easy dismantling. As manufacturers recognize their responsibility for products at the end of their operational lives, the dismantling of products has emerged as a serious consideration in manufacturing. Disassembly is generally achieved by taking apart individual components or subassemblies of a large product. In situations involving integrated design principles, certain assembly procedures or joining techniques can make the disassembly of a product and separation of components into useful and non-useful groups very difficult. Designers are becoming steadily aware of the problem, and are employing techniques that allow them to design with greater responsibility - Design for Disassembly (DFD) is such techniques. In the case of a durable good with a long life cycle or a product with parts subject to wear, maintainability/serviceability may be more important than initial product acquisition cost, and the product must be designed for easy maintenance. The DFD principles identify the ease with which products can be fabricated, maintained, serviced, and recycled.This paper examines a special case of evaluation of escalator housing using DFD method. Escalator system plays an important role in transporting passengers safely between underground and station platforms. However, due to the complex working conditions such as uneven load, extreme weather etc. of the escalator system, maintenance is constantly needed and unexpected failure and repair also happens frequently. The escalators used in train subway/metro stations are exposed to some extreme operating conditions such as extreme weather/temperature, uneven loads and shock etc. that can greatly shorten their life span. The increase to labor and maintenance cost impedes the escalator’s ability to efficiently serve its riders and affects its overall stability. The failure and repair of the escalator systems take a significant amount of labor and cost, in addition to customer dissatisfactions. This paper examines and identifies different types of failure modes and defects that occur in the major components of escalator drive systems, such as the motor and its drive chain system, handrail and its drive system, bearings/lubrication systems that are in adjunct with the bearing shaft assembly. The normal maintenance and repair of these sub systems is time consuming. For evaluating the design of the in the escalator, a new approach involving Rating Chart is used. This paper examines various existing DFD techniques and compares them with the Rating Chart method to evaluate DFD efficiency. The paper concludes by showing the robustness of the new DFD methodology in an environment where the products are exposed to extreme working conditions.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
INFERIOR AND POSTERIOR: UTILIZATION OF 3D PRINT AND COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN TO SPATIALLY MAP OPTIMAL TRANSSEPTAL CROSSING POINT FOR LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE OCCLUSION WITH THE WATCHMAN DEVICE

Traditional left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion with the Watchman device utilizes 2D transesophageal guidance. There is little data available on optimal location for transseptal crossing for successful LAA occlusion. This study sought to investigate if 3D print (3DP) and computer aided design (CAD
Uptake of ascorbic acid by pancreatic acinar cells is negatively impacted by chronic alcohol exposure

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AA) is indispensable for normal metabolism of all mammalian cells including pancreatic acinar cells (PACs). PACs obtain AA from their surroundings via transport across the cell membrane. Chronic alcohol exposure negatively affects body AA homeostasis; it also inhibits uptake of other micronutrients into PACs, but its effect on AA uptake is not clear. We examined this issue using both in vitro (266-6 cells) and in vivo (mice) models of chronic alcohol exposure. First, we determined the relative expression of the AA transporters 1 and 2 [i.e., sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-1 (SVCT-1) and SVCT-2] in mouse and human PACs and found SVCT-2 to be the predominant transporter. Chronic exposure of 266-6 cells to alcohol significantly inhibited AA uptake and caused a marked reduction in SVCT-2 expression at the protein, mRNA, and heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) levels. Similarly, chronic alcohol feeding of mice significantly inhibited AA uptake and caused a marked reduction in level of expression of the SVCT-2 protein, mRNA, and hnRNA. These findings suggest possible involvement of transcriptional mechanism(s) in mediating chronic alcohol effect on AA uptake by PACs. We also observed significant epigenetic changes (histone modifications) in the Slc23a2 gene (reduction in H3K4me3 level and an increase in H3K27me3 level) in the alcohol-exposed 266-6 cells. These findings show that chronic alcohol exposure inhibits PAC AA uptake and that the effect is mediated, in part, at the level of transcription of the Slc23a2 gene and may involve epigenetic mechanism(s).
PCB Escape Routing and Layer Minimization for Digital Microfluidic Biochips

This paper introduces a multiterminal escape routing algorithm for the design of printed circuit boards (PCBs) that control digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs). The new algorithm extends a negotiated congestion-based single-terminal escape router that has been shown to be superior to previous methods. It relaxes the pin assignment to allow pin groups to be broken up when doing so can reduce the number of PCB layers. Experimental results indicate that the improved method can reduce both the number of PCB layers and average wirelength compared to existing DMFB escape routers.
Development of genodynamic metrics for exploring the biophysics of DNA polymorphisms

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent an important type of dynamic sites within the human genome. These common variants often locally correlate within more complex multi-SNP haploblocks that are maintained throughout generations in a stable population. Information encoded in the structure of SNPs and SNP haploblock variation can be characterized through a normalized information content metric. Genodynamics is being developed as the analogous “thermodynamics” characterizing the state variables for genomic populations that are stable under stochastic environmental stresses. Since living systems have not been found to develop in the absence of environmental influences, this paper describes the analogous genomic free energy metrics in a given environment. SNP haploblocks were constructed by Haploview v4.2 for five chromosomes from phase III HapMap data, and the genomic state variables for each chromosome were calculated. An in silico analysis was performed on SNP haploblocks with the lowest genomic energy measures. Highly favorable genomic energy measures were found to correlate with highly conserved SNP haploblocks. Moreover, the most conserved haploblocks were associated with an evolutionarily conserved regulatory element and domain. Key words: Information theory, entropy, genomic variation, biological information, genodynamics.
Application of Multi-wavelet in Vibration Signal Denoising

As engine is a complex system of mechanical power,in order to determine the status of its fault diagnosis by the vibration signal,vibration signal must be pre-processed by denoising.Traditional wavelet denoising generally select a single wavelet,due to multiwavelet has orthogonality,compact support,high-order vanishing moments and symmetry at the same time,which has more advantages than a single wavelet.This paper by using GHM multiwavelet in signal denoising,discussed two kinds of preprocessing methods.Compared with db4 single wavelet,the result shows that multiwavelet is better in soft threshold denoising.Finally multiwavelet was used in aircraft engine vibration signal denoising and achieved good result.It provides a viable method of signal processing for the engine condition monitoring and fault diagnosis.
A convergent procedure for partially-reachable states

Partially-functional broadside tests attempt to maintain close-to-functional operation conditions by using scan-in states that are referred to as partially-reachable. An earlier procedure starts from the fully-unspecified state, and uses fully-specified primary input vectors to compute partially-specified states that are partially-reachable. The procedure is divergent in that the number of states it considers increases with every iteration. This paper describes a new, convergent procedure that starts from a subset of reachable states, and uses the fully-unspecified primary input vector to compute partially-reachable states. The procedure typically converges without any additional constraints. By starting from reachable states, the convergent procedure captures functional constraints that cannot be obtained by the divergent procedure starting from the fully-unspecified state. Experimental results for benchmark circuits demonstrate the implications on the generation of partially-functional broadside tests.
Mechanisms of platelet activation and inhibition

Mechanisms of stimulus-response coupling in platelets are as complex and varied as the compounds that elicit the responses. The complexities are compounded by feedback mechanisms from substances released or synthesized by platelets as well as by "cross-talk" between signal transduction pathways. Examples of cross-talk include the ability of epinephrine to inhibit platelet adenylate cyclase through a G protein-mediated mechanism while causing platelet aggregation by some other mechanism and the ability of cAMP to inhibit thrombin-stimulated diacylglycerol formation. Despite the complexities, certain common threads are beginning to emerge, such as the involvement of G proteins in transducing many receptor-mediated processes, the involvement of relatively few second messenger pathways and the role of calcium in many of events leading to platelet responses, and the common involvement of protein kinases in carrying out second messenger function. The latter offers a useful assay for the effect of many agonists because they lead to the phosphorylation of specific proteins that can readily be detected by radioautography. Indeed, the emphasis has shifted in the past 10 years from relatively crude measurements of platelet function such as aggregation to precise, quantifiable measurement of processes such as protein phosphorylation and calcium release, which are indicators of the fundamental mechanisms involved in platelet function and thus serve as assays of these processes. On the other hand, there are other pathways and regulators yet to be discovered, notably regarding the action of epinephrine and the regulation of phospholipase A2. In addition, certain receptors remain elusive, including those for ADP and eicosanoids. The mechanisms of action of thrombin and cathepsin G, which involve their proteolytic activities, also remain an enigma. The combination of new insights into second messenger function and the techniques of molecular biology will allow many of these problems to be resolved, providing new approaches to therapy of thromboembolic disorders.
Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy

Most patients with primary hyperparathyroidism are afflicted with a single parathyroid adenoma. Advances in parathyroid imaging localization and parathyroid hormone testing have allowed for the use of a focused approach in many patients with parathyroid adenomas. In this article, we describe the indications, preoperative considerations, and technique for minimally invasive parathyroidectomy.
Observatory bibliographies: a vital resource in operating an observatory

The Chandra Data Archive (CDA) maintains an extensive observatory bibliography. By linking the published articles with the individual datasets analyzed in the paper, we have the opportunity to join the bibliographic metadata (including keywords, subjects, objects, data references from other observatories, etc.) with the meta- data associated with the observational datasets. This rich body of information is ripe for far more sophisticated data mining than the two repositories (publications and data) would afford individually. Throughout the course of the mission the CDA has investigated numerous questions regarding the impact of specific types of Chandra programs such as the relative science impact of GTO, GO, and DDT programs or observing, archive, and theory programs. Most recently the Chandra bibliography was used to assess the impact of programs based on the size of the program to examine whether the dividing line between standard and large projects should be changed and whether another round of X-ray Visionary Programs should be offered. Traditionally we have grouped observations by proposal when assessing the impact of programs. For this investigation we aggregated observations by pointing and instrument configuration such that objects observed multiple times in the mission were considered single observing programs. This change in perspective has given us new ideas for assessing the science impact of Chandra and for presenting data to our users. In this paper we present the methodologies used in the recent study, some of its results, and most importantly some unexpected insights into assessing the science impact of an observatory.
Reflection without Rules: The Economic Turn

Life is both acquisition of information, i.e., a cognitive process, and economic enterprise (one is almost tempted to call it commercial). An increase in knowledge about the outside world produces economic advantages; these then exert the selection pressure which causes the mechanisms that acquire and store information to develop further. [Lorenz 1977, p. 28] The central concern of that branch of philosophy known as epistemology or the theory of knowledge should be the growth of knowledge. This means that the theory of knowledge is a branch of economics. [Bartley 1990, p. 89] The production of knowledge is an economic activity, an industry, if you like. Economists have analyzed agriculture, mining, iron and steel production, … and the production of all sorts of goods and services, but they have neglected to analyze the production of knowledge. This is surprising because there are a good many reasons why an economic analysis of the production of knowledge seems to be particularly interesting and promising of new insights. [Machlup 1962, p. 9] [T]he attempt to constitute a thriving “economics of science” … is not calculated to win friends and converts to the project, nor will it achieve its intended effect of recommending economic analysis to the denizens of science studies, but will rather simply confirm … pre-existing prejudices about economists being incorrigibly imperialistically aggressive, preternaturally surly, hopelessly tin-eared when it comes to listening to the actors, lumpenly lead-footed when trespassing on other disciplines, and woefully ignorant. [Mirowski 1996a, pp. 72–3]
Alzheimer’s Then and Now

Alzheimer’s disease has probably existed since mammals roamed the earth although it was not recognized as a disease until 1907. In that year, Alois Alzheimer, a German neuropathologist, published his landmark paper describing a mentally ill patient whose brain after death showed strange deposits later described as senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These microbodies are now known to be the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease although they are also found in other dementing disorders such as vascular dementia and dementia pugilistica, also known as “punch-drunk syndrome,” so-called because it was first discovered in boxers who had sustained repeated blows to the head.
Myths about engineers maintaining professional technical competence

A serious challenge facing organisations and technical professionals today is keeping abreast with dynamic technological change. Many myths seem to exist as to how professional engineers are coping with this phenomenon, and the support rendered to them by their companies. Some of the myths about combatting technical obsolescence were explored through a survey of R&D engineers in a variety of high–technology companies in the USA. The analysis dispels these myths and highlights the dilemma faced by engineers in maintaining their technical competence. The paper concludes with some suggestions for addressing the issue of technical career obsolescence.
Academic Scepticism and Pyrrhonian Scepticism in Hume’s Dialogues

This paper examines the role of Pyrrhonian and Academic scepticism in Hume’s Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. At issue is whether the entire project of natural theology can be dismissed on general sceptical grounds even prior to any detailed examination of its arguments. The paper seeks to characterize the kind of scepticism employed by Philo and to assess its implications for natural theology by identifying two general sceptical arguments advanced by Philo. The first involves the “reasonable” sceptic’s unwillingness to engage in “abstruse” and “remote” inquiries. Convinced of the irrefutability of Pyrrhonian arguments against the reliability of sense perception and reason, the sceptic will confine his philosophical activities to the natural and moral sciences. Cleanthes, however, offers a cogent and even compelling response to this sceptical consideration. By pledging to pursue natural theology using the same empirical data and reasoning patterns of the natural sciences, he effectively presents reasonable sceptics such as Philo with a dilemma. Even in the Enquiry Hume does not hold that mitigated scepticism of itself is a philosophically sufficient response to natural theology. The second main sceptical argument involves a kind of scepticism with regard to reason that has no clear equivalent in the Enquiry. This argument is more ambitious in that it attempts to show that unlike the beliefs of ordinary life, belief in the conclusions of natural theology does not survive confrontation with Pyrrhonian arguments. Once again Cleanthes is able to meet this general sceptical challenge.
Three-dimensional shape measurement with modal phase measuring deflectometry

Phase Measuring Deflectometry (PMD) is a powerful tool to measure the three-dimensional shape for freeform specular surfaces. In this work, a model based method is applied to PMD, called as Modal Phase Measuring Deflectometry (MPMD). The surface height and slopes are represented in mathematical models and updated by optimizing the model coefficients, in order to minimize the discrepancy between the reprojection in ray tracing and the actual measurement. The pose of the screen relative to the camera is pre-calibrated and then optimized together with the surface shape coefficients. Moreover, the correspondence residuals because of the discrepancies between the modal estimation and practical acquisition are analyzed. Slope residuals are calculated from these discrepancies. Zonal integration methods which are good at dealing with local variations are used to reconstruct the height residual for compensation. Simulations and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.
Crustal structure across the eastern North American margin from ambient noise tomography

Passive tectonic margins, like the eastern North American margin (ENAM), represent the meeting of oceanic and continental material where no active deformation is occurring. The recent ENAM Community Seismic Experiment provides an opportunity to examine the crustal structure across the ENAM owing to the simultaneous deployment of offshore and onshore seismic instrumentation. Using Rayleigh wave phase and group velocities derived from ambient noise data, we invert for shear velocity across the ENAM. We observe a region of transitional crustal thicknesses that connects the oceanic and continental crusts. Associated with the transitional crust is a localized positive gravitational anomaly. Farther east, the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA) is located at the intersection of the transitional and oceanic crusts. We propose underplating of dense magmatic material along the bottom of the transitional crust is responsible for the gravitational anomaly and that the ECMA demarks the location of initial oceanic crustal formation.
Multimodal Interfaces for Inclusive Learning

In this paper, we propose that the artificial intelligence in education (AIED) community lead the charge in leveraging multimodal interfaces, in conjunction with artificial intelligence, to advance learning interfaces and experiences that are more inclusive. Recent years has seen the development of various multimodal technologies for capturing voice, gesture and gaze-based input modalities, as well as various forms of auditory and haptic feedback. These modalities could be powerful tools for developing inclusive learning interfaces. To ground this idea, we present a set of examples for how this work can be transformative in democratizing access to technology, while also democratizing designing and building technology. Additionally, our examples reinforce how designing for inclusive learning can result in improved learning interfaces for the general population.
Background levels of DNA damage in the population.

In addition to the dangers of man-made mutagenic substances, there exist a variety of naturally-occurring agents and processes than can cause DNA damage in man. These include exogenous agents, such as sunlight and dietary mutagens, as well as endogenous agents, such as reactive oxygen species which are formed within the cell via normal metabolism. These processes can lead to at least six major types of DNA damage: base loss, base deamination, base alkylation, base dimerization, base oxidation, and single-strand breakage. Based upon in vitro measurements in cell-free model systems or cultured cells, estimates of the rates of production of these lesions have been made for the average human cell: about 26,000 base losses per day, primarily purines lost because of spontaneous hydrolysis of the glycosyl bond; about 350 cytosine deaminations per day; tens of thousands of base alkylations per day, primarily methylations of guanine caused by S-adenosylmethionine; up to 50,000 pyrimidine dimerizations per day, dependent upon exposure to sunlight; and about 100,000 single-strand breaks per day. Based upon measurements of DNA oxidation products in human urine, we estimate that the total rate of formation of all oxidative DNA damage products in man is on the order of a few thousand events per cell per day. In addition, base mispairing can take place in the absence of DNA damage because of tautomeric shifts, base ionization, or base rotation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A partition-based first-order probabilistic logic to represent interactive beliefs

Being able to compactly represent large state spaces is crucial in solving a vast majority of practical stochastic planning problems. This requirement is even more stringent in the context of multi-agent systems, in which the world to be modeled also includes the mental state of other agents. This leads to a hierarchy of beliefs that results in a continuous, unbounded set of possible interactive states, as in the case of Interactive POMDPs. In this paper, we describe a novel representation for interactive belief hierarchies that combines first-order logic and probability. The semantics of this new formalism is based on recursively partitioning the belief space at each level of the hierarchy; in particular, the partitions of the belief simplex at one level constitute the vertices of the simplex at the next higher level. Since in general a set of probabilistic statements only partially specifies a probability distribution over the space of interest, we adopt the maximum entropy principle in order to convert it to a full specification.
Distinct Gene Expression Profiles Define Anaplastic Grade in Retinoblastoma

Morbidity and mortality associated with retinoblastoma have decreased drastically in recent decades, in large part owing to better prediction of high-risk disease and appropriate treatment stratification. High-risk histopathologic features and severe anaplasia both predict the need for more aggressive treatment; however, not all centers are able to assess tumor samples easily for the degree of anaplasia. Instead, identification of genetic signatures that are able to distinguish among anaplastic grades and thus predict high- versus low-risk retinoblastoma would facilitate appropriate risk stratification in a wider patient population. A better understanding of genes dysregulated in anaplasia also would yield valuable insights into pathways underlying the development of more severe retinoblastoma. Here, we present the histopathologic and gene expression analysis of 28 retinoblastoma cases using microarray analysis. Tumors of differing anaplastic grade show clear differential gene expression, with significant dysregulation of unique genes and pathways in severe anaplasia. Photoreceptor and nucleoporin expression in particular are identified as highly dysregulated in severe anaplasia and suggest particular cellular processes contributing to the development of increased retinoblastoma severity. A limited set of highly differentially expressed genes also are able to predict severe anaplasia accurately in our data set. Together, these data contribute to the understanding of the development of anaplasia and facilitate the identification of genetic markers of high-risk retinoblastoma.
Increasing contribution of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to hepatocellular carcinoma incidence and mortality in U.S. Medicare

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has one of the fastest growing rates of cancer-related incidence and mortality in the United States (U.S.) (1-3). From 2009 to 2013, the average annual percent change (AAPC) for liver cancer incidence became the highest among other reported cancers for both males (+2.9%) and females (+3.8%) (1). In addition, cancer-related mortality rates for liver cancer are the highest among solid malignancies from 2010 to 2014 for males (+2.6%) and females (+3.0%) (1). Morbidity and mortality from HCC are expected to increase, predominantly driven by an increasing prevalence of HCV-associated cirrhosis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (2).
Spatial-Spectral Coexistence: Dual Approach to Search Radar Transmission Synthesis Using a Spatial Mask

The crowded wireless spectrum environment is prompting consideration of novel sharing techniques. In search radars, wide beamwidth is desired from the phased array transmitter to allow target presence in any direction to be accurately detected. Furthermore, the radial distance to the target can be most precisely detected when a wide-bandwidth waveform is used. In the case of spectral coexistence, however, multiple wireless devices may surround the search radar at nearby operating frequencies. We demonstrate the concept of providing a spatial mask for the azimuth transmission beam pattern, derived from the positions and sensitivities of nearby wireless receivers, to maximize the array transmission beamwidth while ensuring coexistence with the wireless receivers. Rather than enforce the coexistence constraints on the bandwidth of the waveform through a spectral mask, this paper demonstrates a dual, alternative option of masking the array transmission pattern. This approach will be useful in allowing next-generation radar coexistence with wireless communications, as well as utilizing the directional capabilities of fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems to provide an additional degree of freedom in ensuring coexistence.
A universal enveloping for L_\infty-algebras

For any $L_\infty$-algebra $L$ we construct an $A_\infty$-algebra structure on the symmetric coalgebra $Sym^*_c(L)$ and prove that this structure satisfies properties generalizing those of the usual universal enveloping algebra. These properties follow from an invariant contracting homotopy one the cobar construction of an exterior coalgebra and its relation to combinatorics of permutahedra and semistandard Young tableaux.
Impacts of Switched-Diode Capacitor Stages on the Flying Capacitor Multievel Flyback Converter

The flying capacitor multilevel flyback converter (FCMFC) is designed with multiple output flying capacitors (FC) to establish high gain while maintaining high system efficiency. This is primarily done through stress distribution among switching stages and also leads to a smaller magnetic requirement. The converter is explored in the N-FC generalized case to derive the CCM/DCM boundary, how the FC widens the available duty cycle range for boosting the input voltages, and how the FC can achieve comparable efficiencies to a flyback design while exhibiting significantly lower switch stress and reduced inductor size. A 40V to 400V conversion study is presented to show the significant decrease in stress experienced by transistor switches. The added N stages lower the required duty cycle for the same gain which opens up the range of boosting capability. The added stages do not drastically affect overall device efficiency.
Pre-clinical tumor models of primary brain tumors: Challenges and opportunities

Primary brain tumors are a heterogeneous group of malignancies that originate in cells of the central nervous system. A variety of models tractable for preclinical studies have been developed to recapitulate human brain tumors, allowing us to understand the underlying pathobiology and explore potential treatments. However, many promising therapeutic strategies identified using preclinical models have shown limited efficacy or failed at the clinical trial stage. The inability to develop therapeutic strategies that significantly improve survival rates in patients highlight the compelling need to revisit the design of currently available animal models and explore the use of new models that allow us to bridge the gap between promising preclinical findings and clinical translation. In this review, we discuss current strategies used to model glioblastoma, the most malignant brain tumor in adults and highlight the shortcomings of specific models that must be circumvented for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies.
Surviving the white space: perspectives on how middle-class Black men navigate cultural racism

Due to widespread, deeply entrenched racial residential segregation, public spaces in the United States are often overwhelmingly white. Middle-class Black Americans frequently work, live and recrea...
Red-Emitting, Acene-Doped Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles that Respond Ratiometrically to Photogenerated 1O2.

Fluorophores that respond to external stimuli on demand have numerous applications in imaging and chemical or biological sensing. In this paper, we describe conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) ...
Remote Delivery of Field Experiences in Soil Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on students and educators around the world, calling for a major shift in the delivery of educational lessons to implement remote learning opportunities in place of in-person classes. The shift to remote learning practices was particularly difficult for courses, such as pedology, that rely heavily on place-based or active learning strategies. In this study, the authors investigate student response to remote delivery of field experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in an upper division pedology course that is typically taught in-person and outdoors. Five field practicums were delivered remotely throughout the semester, for which students were provided with a take-home field kit, soils from four profiles, and access to online resources needed to complete each assignment. Student perceptions on the efficacy of, value of, and engagement with remote delivery were assessed via pre- and post-surveys. Survey responses suggest that students' level of experience improved over the course of the semester and perceptions on the efficacy of, value of, and engagement with remote learning showed positive improvement. Although the majority of students were grateful for these alternative experiences, responses also expressed that remote delivery options are not favored over in-person field experiences. Remote delivery of field experiences also presents a potential solution to the limits in accessibility inherent to field-based courses.
“Between Two Communities So Diverse”: Confrontation and Collaboration in Cuba, 1898–1902

ABSTRACTIn 1898, the United States government took possession of Cuba. Rather than annexation, the William McKinley Administration chose to create a new nation-state. Cuba’s fate therefore was unlike that of the Philippines, waiting until after the Second World War for independence. It leads to a question: when it came to Cuba, why the choice of creating a nation rather than annexation? The short answer is that the Cubans would have resisted annexation by force. The longer—and more interesting—answer is that annexation became unnecessary: Over time, Cuba’s nationalist elite proved willing to co-operate with American interests, and McKinley’s Administration left Cuba in nationalist hands, provided those hands were bound by the Platt Amendment. Historians have argued that Cuban nationalists co-operated because of coercion. Whilst true, Cuba’s nationalists also saw value in a relationship with the United States. Therefore, Cuba’s new leaders resisted American demands in ways not only to preserve the good opi...
Understanding the Value of Energy Storage for Power System Reliability and Resilience Applications

The need for energy storage in the electrical grid has grown in recent years in response to a reduced reliance on fossil fuel baseload power, added intermittent renewable investment, and expanded adoption of distributed energy resources. While the methods and models for valuing storage use cases have advanced significantly in recent years, the value of enhanced resilience remains an open research question. The findings of the recent research indicate that energy storage provides significant value to the grid, with median benefit values for specific use cases ranging from under $10/kW-year for voltage support to roughly $100/kW-year for capacity and frequency regulation services. While the value of lost load is used widely to estimate the benefits of mitigating short-duration outages, reaching as high as $719/kilowatt-year, there is no consensus when it comes to monetizing the value of improving grid resilience. This paper presents a use case taxonomy for energy storage and uses the taxonomy to conduct a meta-analysis of an extensive set of energy storage valuation studies. It reviews several approaches for monetizing reliability and resiliency services and presents a proposed approach for valuing resiliency for energy storage investments.
INTRODUCCIÓN. CIENCIAS E IMÁGENES EN AMÉRICA (SIGLOS XVI-XVIII)

La imagen cientifica es un vehiculo de saberes y practicas y, a su vez, un lugar de construccion de conocimiento. En ella participan y se entrecruzan una gama de actores, agendas e instrumentos. Personas con intereses y objetivos a menudo en conflicto: pepenadores de objetos, coleccionistas, pintores, grabadores, dibujantes, estudiosos, editores, lectores, fabricantes de instrumentos, censores institucionales. Estos actores construyen sentidos que van mas alla de las intenciones dispuestas sobre paginas manuscritas o impresas: la imagen cientifica conlleva procesos de lectura y recreacion de convenciones graficas, textos y materialidades que rebasan intenciones predispuestas. Aunque a menudo se presentan instrumentos, animales, plantas, minerales, astros, de forma aislada, como si estuvieran fijados en el tiempo y extraidos de su contexto, aquello que se plasma es el resultado de un proceso de interpretacion, apropiacion, recreacion y representacion que conlleva multiples interacciones sociales y negociaciones epistemicas.
Effects of indulgent food snacking, with and without exercise training, on body weight, fat mass, and cardiometabolic risk markers in overweight and obese men.

We hypothesized that exercise training would prevent gains in body weight and body fat, and worsening of cardiometabolic risk markers, during a 4-week period of indulgent food snacking in overweight/obese men. Twenty-eight physically inactive men (ages 19-47 yr) with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 consumed 48 donuts (2/day, 6 days/week; ~14,500 kcal total) for 4 weeks while maintaining habitual diet. Men were randomly assigned to control (n = 9), moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT; n = 9), or high-intensity interval training (HIIT; n = 10). Exercise training occurred 4 days/week, ~250 kcal/session. Controls did not increase body weight, body fat, or visceral abdominal fat. This was partially explained by a decrease in self-reported habitual energy (-239 kcal/day, p = 0.05) and carbohydrate (-47 g/day; p = 0.02) intake. Large inter-individual variability in changes in body weight, fat, and fat-free mass was evident in all groups. Fasting blood pressure, and blood concentrations of glucose, insulin, and lipids were unchanged in all groups. Glucose incremental area under the curve during an oral glucose tolerance test was reduced by 25.6% in control (p = 0.001) and 32.8% in MICT (p = 0.01) groups. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was not changed in any group. VO2max increased (p ≤ 0.001) in MICT (9.2%) and HIIT (12.1%) groups. We conclude that in physically inactive men with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 , consuming ~14,500 kcal as donuts over 4 weeks did not adversely affect body weight and body fat, or several markers of cardiometabolic risk. Consumption of the donuts may have prevented the expected improvement in FMD with HIIT.
Racial Identity Clusters and Their Relation to Postpartum Maternal Functioning in Black Women

Racial identity, which is the degree that individuals define themselves regarding their racial group membership, may influence the mental well-being of Black adults. To gain an understanding of the role Black racial identity may have on postpartum mental health, the researchers performed a secondary data analysis to examine the relationship between six Black racial identity clusters (Low Race Salience, Assimilated and Miseducated, Self-Hating, Anti-white, Multiculturalist, and Conflicted) and postpartum maternal functioning in Black women living in Georgia. Black women completed Cross’s Racial Identity Scale, the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning, and demographic questionnaires online via Qualtrics®. A total sample of 116 self-identified Black postpartum women were included in the analysis. Women ranged in age from 18 to 41 years (M = 29.5 ± 5.3) and their infants were 1 to 12 months old (M = 5.6 ± 3.5). The majority of women were married/cohabitating with their partner (71%), had a college degree (53%), and employed (69%). It was determined through Kruskal Wallis test, χ2(5) = 20.108, p < 0.05, that the women belonging to the Assimilated and Miseducated cluster had higher levels of maternal functioning when compared to the women in the Self-Hating and Anti-white clusters. This study is novel in its exploration of the relationship between Black racial identities and postpartum maternal functioning. Findings support the need for further research with larger sample and cluster sizes to determine the relationship between racial identity and maternal functioning.
Fast volume rendering with embedded geometric primitives

A general solution is presented to the problem of direct scalar volume rendering with embedded geometric primitives. The method developed places almost no restrictions on the structure of the volume mesh. At the same time geometric primitives may be defined without regard to the volume structure. The volume can be drawn with distinct semi-transparent regions of constant density or with a density that is data-dependent. Geometric objects embedded in the volume may be drawn using different colors and different levels of transparency. The illumination is based on a varying density emitter model, with optional use of external light sources to facilitate perception of the shape of both geometric surfaces and opaque volume regions.
The Clash of Economic Ideas: From Pleasant Deficit Spending to Unpleasant Sovereign Debt Crisis

In November 2010, the economist George S. Tavlas of the Bank of Greece rose to speak at a monetary policy conference being held in Washington, D.C. He began his presentation by remarking dryly: “It’s a pleasure to be in the United States again, which more than ever feels like being at home.” He paused. As they got the joke, members of the audience laughed– a bit nervously. To make sure that nobody missed his meaning, Tavlas continued: “It’s not often that I get to travel to a country that has fiscal deficits that remind me of those of Greece.” SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISES HIT GREECE AND IRELAND A sovereign debt crisis hit Greece in fall 2009. With its current budget deficit running above 13 percent of GDP and its accumulated debt rising to 113 percent of GDP, Greek government bonds fell to “junk bond” status. In April 2010 the market yield on two-year Greek government bonds rose above 12 percent, reflecting the market’s perception of a high probability of default. At such high borrowing rates, Greek taxpayers faced a debt trap . When a government rolls over its debt at interest rates above the economy’s growth rate, the debt compounds faster than GDP merely from debt service, making the debt-to-GDP ratio grow ever higher, the default premium in the interest rate on borrowings rise ever higher, and debt service consume ever more of GDP. Unless budget deficits are trimmed until the deficit as a percentage of GDP no longer exceeds the GDP growth rate, or large gifts arrive from outside, repayment in full becomes impossible.
History of Islam in German Thought: From Leibniz to Nietzsche

Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Leibniz, Historicism and the Plague of Islam. 2. Kant, Islam and the Preservation of Boundaries. 3. Herder's Arab Fantasies. 4. Keeping the Turks out of Islam: Goethe's Ottoman Plan. 5. Friedrich Schlegel and the Emptying of Islam. 6. Hegel and the Disappearance of Islam. 7. Marx the Moor. 8. Nietzsche's Peace with Islam. Conclusion. References. Index.
Segmentation and aggregation: an approach to figure-ground phenomena

Abstract We describe a new approach to low-level vision in which the task of image segmentation is to distinguish meaningful relationships between image elements from a background distribution of random alignments. Unlike most previous approaches, which start from idealized models of what we wish to detect in the world, this approach is not based on prior world knowledge and uses measurements which can be computed directly from the input signal. Groupings of image elements are formed over a wide range of sizes and classes while attempting to make use of all available statistical information at each level of the grouping hierarchy, resulting in far more sensitive discrimination than is possible from just local measurements. This paper explores the range of grouping capabilities and discriminations exhibited by the human visual system and discusses the application of the meaningfulness measure to each of them.
Convective Heat Transfer in a High Aspect Ratio Minichannel Heated on One Side

Experimental results are presented for single-phase heat transfer in a narrow rectangular minichannel heated on one side. The aspect ratio and gap thickness of the test channel were 29:1 and 1.96 mm, respectively. Friction pressure drop and Nusselt numbers are reported for the transition and fully turbulent flow regimes, with Prandtl numbers ranging from 2.2 to 5.4. Turbulent friction pressure drop for the high aspect ratio channel is well-correlated by the Blasius solution when a modified Reynolds number, based upon a laminar equivalent diameter, is utilized. The critical Reynolds number for the channel falls between 3500 and 4000, with Nusselt numbers in the transition regime being reasonably predicted by Gnielinski's correlation. The dependence of the heat transfer coefficient on the Prandtl number is larger than that predicted by circular tube correlations, and is likely a result of the asymmetric heating. The problem of asymmetric heating condition is approached theoretically using a boundary layer analysis with a two-region wall layer model, similar to that originally proposed by Prandtl. The analysis clarifies the influence of asymmetric heating on the Nusselt number and correctly predicts the experimentally observed trend with Prandtl number. Furthermore, a semi-analytic correlation is derived from the analysis that accountsmore » for the effect of aspect ratio and asymmetric heating, and is shown to predict the experimental results of this study with a mean absolute error (MAE) of less than 5% for 4000 < Re < 70,000.« less
No regional gray matter atrophy differences between pediatric- and adult-onset relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate differences in region-specific gray matter (GM) damage between adults with pediatric-onset (PO) multiple sclerosis (MS) and adult-onset (AO) MS. METHODS Twenty-four relapsing-remitting (RR) adults with POMS (mean age = 35 years, mean disease duration = 18.4 years) were compared to 23 age-matched (AOA, mean age = 33.9 years, mean disease duration = 2.4 years) and 24 disease-duration matched (AOD, mean age = 45.9 years, mean disease duration = 18.5 years) RRMS adults who developed MS after the age of 18. Three-dimensional-T1-weighted images were acquired on a 1.5 T MRI. Image analysis was conducted using voxel-based morphometry (Statistical Parametric Mapping 8). RESULTS There were no regional GM atrophy differences between POMS and AODMS groups. No regional GM atrophy differences were found between POMS and AOAMS patients when disease duration was included as a covariate. CONCLUSIONS Regional GM differences were not found between POMS adults and MS controls matched for age or disease duration. Although of limited sample size, these findings suggest that there are no regional GM atrophy differences between RR POMS and AOMS.
Virus‐induced Tumourigenesis

Some of the deadliest and most frequent malignant tumours worldwide are caused by microbes. It has been estimated that viruses contribute to approximately 15–20% of all malignancies in humans. Tumour viruses are not only a global health problem, they have also been instrumental for seminal discoveries in fundamental cancer research and helped to shape the current concepts of multistep tumourigenesis and malignant progression. This article will summarize the basic principles of viral oncogenesis followed by examples of known and emerging human tumour viruses. Key concepts: Oncogenic viruses are a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Oncogenic viruses have evolved to target key regulatory pathways of infected host cells through different mechanisms including insertional mutagenesis, gene piracy and specialized viral proteins, which target host cellular proteins (oncoproteins). The most common host cell signalling pathways targeted by tumour viruses are the retinoblastoma (pRB) and p53 tumour suppressor pathways. Tumour viruses frequently subvert host cell control of the cell division cycle, apoptosis, genome integrity and immune recognition. Human tumour viruses include DNA viruses (HPV, EBV, KSHV and HBV) and RNA viruses (HTLV-I and HCV). The most recently discovered emerging human tumour virus is Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Keywords: virus; cancer; transformation; oncogenes; tumour suppressor genes