cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The development of compression damage zones in fibrous composites

Recent experimental work (Narayanan S, Schadler LS. Mechanisms of kink band formation in graphite/epoxy compsites: a micromechanical experimental study. Comp Sci Technol 1999; 59:2201-13) suggests that kink bands in unidirectional continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites initiate from damage zones formed under axial compressive loads. A damage zone consists of a cluster of locally crushed fibers and broken fibers, that are often fractured at an angle, θ > 0°, normal to the fiber axis. Typically, under compressive loads, fiber breaks in damage zones form roughly along a plane at an angle φ, normal to the fiber axis. These damage zones produce stress concentrations which can lead to instabilities in the nearby fiber and matrix and initiate microbuckling and kink bands. This paper extends a micromechanical influence function technique based on earlier shear lag fiber composite models. Our modified technique calculates the fiber axial and matrix shear stress concentrations due to multiple angled and crushed fibers in arbitrary configurations. Modeling reveals that angled or ‘shear’ breaks (θ > 0°) can lead to higher shear stress concentrations in the matrix than transverse breaks (θ=0°). Also we find that the damage zone is more likely to form at an angle φ, which is greater than that of its individual fiber breaks, θ. When φ is slightly greater than θ, the shear stress in the surrounding matrix regions within the damage zone achieves a maximum, potentially weakening the matrix and interface and consequently leading to kink band formation. Monte Carlo simulations incorporating this stress analysis predict that the initiation and propagation of crushed and angled breaks progress roughly along an angle, φ ≈ 17° in a linear elastic system. When possible, our model results are compared to strain measurements of fiber composites under compression obtained by Narayanan and Schadler using micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS).
Cranial Base Surgery

Physical Examination and Diagnosis of Cranial Base Lesions. Imaging of the Cranial Base: Plain Radiogrphy. Computed Tomography: Axial, 3-D Reconstruction . Mri. Arteriography. Other Modalities. Interventional Neuroradiology: Embolization. Stenting. Balloon Occlusion Test. Anatomy of the Cranial Base: Embryology. Paranasal Sinuses. Anterior Fossa: Olfactory Fossa, Orbit, Cavernous Sinus, Sella. Middle Fossa: Temporal Fossa, Infratemporal Fossa and Plane, Pterygoid Fossa, Pterygopalatine Fossa, Carotid Canal, Jugular Foramen, Peripharyngeal Space, Temporomandibular Joint, External Auditory Canal. Clivus. Posterior Fossa: Internal Auditory Canal, Cerebellopontine Angle. Craniocervical Junction: Occipital Condyles, Atlas, Axis. Surgical Approaches to the Cranial Base: Rationale for Approach Selection. Anterior and Anterolateral Intracranial Approach. Anterior and Anterolateral Extracranial Approach. Craniofacial Approach. Transmastoid Translabyrinthine Approach. Facial Translocation. Middle Fossa Approach. Extreme Lateral Transcondylar and Transjugular Approaches. Transmaxillary Approach. Petrosal Approach. Posterior Fossa. Translabyrinthine/Transcochlear Approaches. Transsphenoidal Approach. Transtemporal Infratemporal Approach. Transmandibular-Transcervical Approach. Transoral Approach. Retrosigmoid Approach. Frontotemporal/Subtemporal Approach. Transfrontal Approach. Transcervical Approach. Selected Topics: Space-Occupying Lesions: Osseous Tumors, Jugular Foramen Tumors, Esthesioneuroblastoma, Juvenile Angiofibroma, Carcinoma of the Sinuses,Carcinoma of the Middle Ear and Temporal Bone. Meningiomas: Tuberculum Sells, Olfactory Groove, Petroclival Region, Foramen Magnum. Chordomas. Neurilemomas: Acoustic, Facial, Trigeminal, Jugular Foramen. Glomus Tumors: Jugulare, Vagale. Pituitary Tumors. Craniopharyngioma. Orbital Tumors. Adjunct Therapy: Linac, External Beam Radiation, Gamma Knife , Chemotherapy. Inflammatory Lesions: Necrotizing Otitis Externa, Osteomyelitis, Otogenic Brain Abscess, Cholesteatoma, Temporal Bone Granuloma, Sinus Abscess, Sinus Mucocoeles. Trauma: Duraplasty, Fronto-Orbital Repair, Optic Nerve Decompression. Vascular: Carotid-Cavernous Fistula, Vascular Bypass, Aneurysms. Facial Nerve Reconstruction. Vagal Paralysis. Cranioplasty. Intensive CareManagement. Complicatons of Cranial Base Surgery. Rehabilitation.
Norms and Beliefs: How Change Occurs

Societies are rife with negative, damaging practices, from open defecation to female genital cutting (FGC), endemic in many developing countries, to corruption and violence against women and children that we also witness in many Western societies. The theoretical and practical challenge we face is twofold. On the one hand, we want to explain what generates and supports such practices. On the other, we want to find ways to change them permanently. We will argue here that social norms play an important role in both tasks. Often norms support or embed certain practices, so that eliminating the latter involves changing the former. Sometimes, however, norms have to be created in order to eliminate a negative practice and support a new one, as we know of several widely practiced behaviors that are not supported by norms, but can be changed by introducing them. To understand what we mean by “practice” and “norm,” we shall next refer to Bicchieri (2006) definition of social norms, a definition that allows to shed light on the way norms are supported, and on ways we may act to change them.
A developmental theory of speech act production.

Most recent studies of language acquisition have emphasized the child's learning of the abstract syntactic and semantic structures of “linguistic competence.” This study analyzes linguistic acquisition in terms of the semantic-pragmatic unit of the speech act. Findings support the idea that even before children acquire syntax, they develop a “communicative competence,” apart from linguistic competence, and that there are distinct styles of language acquisition best described in terms of the child's “primitive speech acts.”
Energetics of divalent selectivity in a calcium channel: the ryanodine receptor case study.

A model of the ryanodine receptor (RyR) calcium channel is used to study the energetics of binding selectivity of Ca2+ versus monovalent cations. RyR is a calcium-selective channel with a DDDD locus in the selectivity filter, similar to the EEEE locus of the L-type calcium channel. While the affinity of RyR for Ca2+ is in the millimolar range (as opposed to the micromolar range of the L-type channel), the ease of single-channel measurements compared to L-type and its similar selectivity filter make RyR an excellent candidate for studying calcium selectivity. A Poisson-Nernst-Planck/density functional theory model of RyR is used to calculate the energetics of selectivity. Ca2+ versus monovalent selectivity is driven by the charge/space competition mechanism in which selectivity arises from a balance of electrostatics and the excluded volume of ions in the crowded selectivity filter. While electrostatic terms dominate the selectivity, the much smaller excluded-volume term also plays a substantial role. In the D4899N and D4938N mutations of RyR that are analyzed, substantial changes in specific components of the chemical potential profiles are found far from the mutation site. These changes result in the significant reduction of Ca2+ selectivity found in both theory and experiments.
Combinational Logic Soft Error Correction

We present two techniques for correcting radiation-induced soft errors in combinational logic ? Error Correction using Duplication, and Error Correction using Time-Shifted Outputs. Simulation results show that both techniques reduce combinational logic soft error rate by more than an order of magnitude. Soft errors affecting sequential elements (latches and flip-flops) at combinational logic outputs are automatically corrected using these techniques.
Isotopic studies on a Precambrian geochronologic boundary, Sierra Madre Mountains, Wyoming

Geochronologic evidence indicates that a profound discontinuity separating two discrete Precambrian provinces parallels the Wyoming-Colorado border. This east-trending boundary transects the Sierra Madre Range in southern Wyoming adjacent to a fault-bounded sequence of folded middle Precambrian sedimentary rocks. Precambrian rocks of the Sierra Madre Mountains reveal a series of igneous and sedimentary events that occurred near the probable edge of the Archean continental nucleus between 2,600 and 1,600 m.y. B.P. North of the boundary, Archean quartz-biotite gneiss, probably 2,800 to 2,900 m.y. old, grades eastward into a northwest-trending antiform of microcline augen gneiss and granite. The Rb-Sr isochron of the granite gneiss complex yields an age of 2,560 m.y. and an initial Sr 87 /Sr 86 intercept of 0.7000. Geochemical evidence suggests that the quartz-biotite gneiss may have evolved from a supracrustal dacitic protolith formed by anatexis of a basaltic amphibolite. Calc-alkalic volcanic flows, tuffs, and volcanogenic sediments and a 4-km-thick sequence of conglomerate, quartzite, and limestone were deposited on the gneiss basement after 2,560 m.y. B.P. A period of igneous activity and tectonism between 1,650 and 1,900 m.y. B.P. resulted in the metamorphism and folding of the sediments into an east-trending anticlinorium of isoclinal folds. The Sierra Madre south of this metasedimentary structure consists principally of a composite batholith of plutons ranging from gabbro to granite. The Encampment River Granodiorite, the oldest intrusion, is a gneissic unit that was probably derived by partial melting and remobilization of the polycyclic quartz-biotite gneiss, as suggested by isotopic and rare-earth-element data. This thermal reactivation occurred between 1,900 and 2,000 m.y. B.P. The majority of the batholith is made up of a distinctive red granite that yields an isochron age of 1,680 m.y. and an initial Sr 87 /Sr 86 ratio of 0.7024. A white quartz monzonite discordantly intrudes the granite and hornblende gneiss country rock. Isochron ages and initial Sr 87 /Sr 86 intercepts of the monzonite and gneiss are 1,680 m.y. and 0.7020 for the quartz monzonite and 1,880 m.y. and 0.7015 for the country rock. At least three distinct generations of mafic dikes are present in the Sierra Madre; field relations with dated units indicate ages of ∼2700 m.y., 1,800 to 2,650 m.y., and ∼1,680 m.y.
The Reconstruction of American Liberalism, 1865–1914 . By Nancy Cohen. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Pp. xi, 318. $22.50, paper.

In this brief volume Nancy Cohen “offers a new narrative of the origins of modern American liberalism” (p. 4). As this agenda suggests, the book is primarily a history of political thought. Briefly, her argument is that the values and programs of Progressive Era corporate liberalism originated in the debates among two generations of Gilded Age political intellectuals. Men such as Edwin L. Godkin, David A. Wells, and Francis A. Walker represented the first generation in the immediate post–Civil War decades. These were not simply classical liberals but “the pioneering theorists of economic consolidation and the active liberal state” (p. 13). A second generation of liberals emerged around the American Economic Association in the 1880s and was led by economists such as Henry C. Adams, John B. Clark, Richard T. Ely, and Edwin R. A. Seligman. Initially more radical, this group was purged in the 1880s, often with the aid of their older colleagues. Together these two generations “confronted the problem of the relationship between democracy and capitalism” (p. 15), and they provided “ideological legitimization of the novel economic, political and social relationships attendant on the rise of corporate capitalism.”
Efficient O(N) recursive computation of the operational space inertia matrix

The operational space inertia matrix Lambda reflects the dynamic properties of a robot manipulator to its tip. In the control domain, it may be used to decouple force and/or motion control about the manipulator workspace axes. The matrix Lambda also plays an important role in the development of efficient algorithms for the dynamic simulation of closed-chain robotic mechanisms, such as multiple manipulator systems and walking machines. This paper presents the development of a recursive algorithm for computing the operational space inertia matrix (OSIM) that reduces the computational complexity to O(N). This algorithm, the inertia propagation method, is based on a single recursion that begins at the base of the manipulator and progresses out to the last link. Also applicable to redundant systems and mechanisms with multiple-degree-of-freedom joints, the inertia propagation method is the most efficient method known for computing Lambda for N>or=6. The numerical accuracy of the algorithm is discussed for a PUMA 560 robot with a fixed base. >
Pointing-vector and velocity based frequency predicts for deep-space uplink array applications

Uplink array technology is currently being developed for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) to provide greater range and data throughput for future NASA missions, including manned missions to Mars and exploratory missions to the outer planets, the Kuiper belt, and beyond. Here we describe a novel technique for generating the frequency predicts that are used to compensate for relative Doppler, derived from interpolated earth position and spacecraft ephemerides. The method described here guarantees velocity and range estimates that are consistent with each other, hence one can always be recovered from the other. Experimental results have recently proven that these frequency predicts are accurate enough to maintain the phase of a three element array at the EPOXI spacecraft for three hours. Previous methods derive frequency predicts directly from interpolated relative velocities. However, these velocities were found to be inconsistent with the corresponding spacecraft range, meaning that range could not always be recovered accurately from the velocity predicts, and vice versa. Nevertheless, velocity-based predicts are also capable of maintaining uplink array phase calibration for extended periods, as demonstrated with the EPOXI spacecraft, however with these predicts important range and phase information may be lost. A comparison of the steering-vector method with velocity-based techniques for generating precise frequency predicts specifically for uplink array applications is provided in the following sections.
Synaptogenesis in Purified Cortical Subplate Neurons

An ideal preparation for investigating events during synaptogenesis would be one in which synapses are sparse, but can be induced at will using a rapid, exogenous trigger. We describe a culture system of immunopurified subplate neurons in which synaptogenesis can be triggered, providing the first homogeneous culture of neocortical neurons for the investigation of synapse development. Synapses in immunopurified rat subplate neurons are sparse, and can be induced by a 48-h exposure to feeder layers of neurons and glia, an induction more rapid than any previously reported. Induced synapses are electrophysiologically functional and ultrastructurally normal. Microarray and real-time PCR experiments reveal a new program of gene expression accompanying synaptogenesis. Surprisingly few known synaptic genes are upregulated during the first 24 h of synaptogenesis; Gene Ontology annotation reveals a preferential upregulation of synaptic genes only at a later time. In situ hybridization confirms that some of the genes regulated in cultures are also expressed in the developing cortex. This culture system provides both a means of studying synapse formation in a homogeneous population of cortical neurons, and better synchronization of synaptogenesis, permitting the investigation of neuron-wide events following the triggering of synapse formation.
Course and Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Parents after Pediatric Intensive Care Treatment of their Child

Objective To study posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents after unexpected pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) treatment of their child and to identify risk factors for its development. Method Parents completed PTSD questionnaires 3 and 9 months (N ¼190) after PICU treatment. Risk factors included pretrauma data, medical data, social demographics and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months. Results In total, 30.3% of parents met criteria for subclinical PTSD and 12.6% for clinical PTSD at 3 months. Clinical PTSD prevalence rates did not change over time. At 9 months, 10.5% of parents still met criteria for PTSD. Number of earlier stressful life events, earlier psychosocial care and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months predicted persistent subclinical and clinical PTSD. Conclusions PICU admission is a stressful event associated with persistent parental PTSD. Assessment of risk factors can facilitate detection of persistent PTSD for early intervention.
Application of formation control for multi-vehicle robotic minesweeping

In an effort to find low cost solutions to Naval minesweeping, a fleet of robot minesweepers equipped with detection sensors and acoustic/magnetic devices is proposed. To ensure maximum sweeping all vehicle movements are coordinated through a supervisor vehicle that determines if vehicles are lost to mine detonation, and re-tasks, as needed, the remaining vehicles to follow tracks left by lost vehicles. A computer program has been developed to evaluate the control logic linking the supervisor and worker vehicles. The algorithms for tracking control and vehicle ID reassignment are given and example results are shown.
Object oriented Fortran for development of portable parallel programs

Parallel programming has to date remained inaccessible to the average scientific programmer. Parallel programming languages are generally foreign to most scientific applications programmers who only speak Fortran. Automatic parallelization techniques have so far proved unsuccessful in extracting large amounts of parallelism from sequential codes and do not encourage development of new, inherently parallel algorithms. In addition, there is a lack of consistency of programmer interface across architectures which requires programmers to invest a lot of effort in porting code from one parallel machine to another. This paper discusses the object oriented Fortran language and support routines developed at Mississippi State in support of parallelizing complex field simulations. This interface is based on Fortran to ease its acceptance by scientific programmers and is implemented on top of the Unix operating system for portability. >
Modeling of Ni–CGO anode in a solid oxide fuel cell deposited by spray pyrolysis

Abstract A complete electrode polarization model of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been developed and utilized to analyze the performance of Ni–CGO anode deposited by spray pyrolysis. The model integrated a macro model and a micro model to consider electrode microstructural parameters in overall cell behavior. Three different microstructures were prepared by varying the processing conditions. The model was capable of predicting the electrochemical performance of the different microstructural variations with discrepancy smaller than 10%. It was found that the activation loss was most dominant of all three major voltage losses. The decrease in particle size improved the anode performance due to the increase in triple phase boundary area. The model also showed that optimal particle size decreased with increasing anode porosity. Overall, the work contributed to the understanding of cell performance in relation to the anode electrode microstructure.
Tactile fabric comfort prediction using regression analysis

In this paper we explore complex relationships between mechanical and sensory properties of fabrics, and the perceived tactile comfort. Mechanical properties, measured objectively by Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-FB), and handfeel properties, measured subjectively by sensory expert panel, are related to the tactile comfort of fabrics using statistical regression approaches. A universe of 48 fabrics is examined to analyze and map the relations. The initial 17 mechanical and 17 handfeel parameter sets were reduced to 4 and 5 properties, respectively. Adjusted R2 values were 0.657 for mechanical and 0.863 for handfeel parameters, reflecting sound goodness-of-fit measures, and providing reasonable ways for prediction of tactile fabric comfort from mechanical and handfeel parameters.
"We'd Be Free": Narratives of Life Without Homophobia, Racism, or Sexism.

Stigma and social inequality deprive disadvan- taged social groups of a sense of social well-being. Stress researchers have focused on prejudice-related events and conditions but have not described more intangible stressors experienced by sexual minorities. We use narrative methods to examine how sexual minorities experience stigma and social inequality as we focus on the more intangible stressors that are both pervasive and difficult to measure. Three themes emerged in the narratives of our ethnically diverse sample of 57 adult sexual minority women and men: (a) stigma deprived them of access to critical possibilities and opportunities; (b) stigma deprives them of safety and acceptance; and (c) despite this, the experience of stigma is also related to the adoption of a positive and collective orientation towards their stigmatized identities. Recognizing these stressors and related resilience can direct policy makers toward interventions that go even beyond eliminating prejudice by including goals to strengthen minority communities.
Clinical Acquired Resistance to RAF Inhibitor Combinations in BRAF-Mutant Colorectal Cancer through MAPK Pathway Alterations

BRAF mutations occur in ~10% of colorectal cancer (CRC). While RAF inhibitor monotherapy is highly effective in BRAF-mutant melanoma, response rates in BRAF-mutant CRC are poor. Recent clinical trials of combined RAF/EGFR or RAF/MEK inhibition have produced improved efficacy, but patients ultimately develop resistance. To identify molecular alterations driving clinical acquired resistance, we performed whole-exome sequencing on paired pre-treatment and post-progression tumor biopsies from BRAF-mutant CRC patients treated with RAF inhibitor combinations. We identified alterations in MAPK pathway genes in resistant tumors not present in matched pre-treatment tumors, including KRAS amplification, BRAF amplification, and a MEK1 mutation. These alterations conferred resistance to RAF/EGFR or RAF/MEK combinations through sustained MAPK pathway activity, but an ERK inhibitor could suppress MAPK activity and overcome resistance. Identification of MAPK pathway reactivating alterations upon clinical acquired resistance underscores the MAPK pathway as a critical target in BRAF-mutant CRC and suggests therapeutic options to overcome resistance.
Bifrontal meningioma presenting as postpartum depression with psychotic features.

The use of neuroimaging is of uncertain value in the routine evaluation of new-onset psychiatric disorders. We present the case of an apparent postpartum depression with psychosis in a woman with a history of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with central nervous system (CNS) radiation. Neuroimaging during an inpatient psychiatric hospitalization revealed a large bifrontal meningioma. Patients treated with CNS radiation for childhood cancer may be a subset of patients in whom neuroimaging is warranted in the setting of new-onset psychosis.
Evaluating In-Vehicle Collision Avoidance Warning Systems for IVHS

Pursuant to the recent Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), there has been a considerable apportionment of resources for developments in the area of Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS). IVHS promises, both here in the United States and in its various international forms, to address the questions of improved safe and efficient transportation. Such developments are mandated by the unacceptable levels of urban traffic congestion in most global conurbations and the epidemic level of traffic accidents which serve to rob society of human life and incur unsupportable burden on financial resources in the form of medical and insurance costs. IVHS can be divided into two major elements with respect to driver behavior. The first element, and one not dealt with in detail here, is assistance to navigation and congestion avoidance. The second, which is of central concern here, is collision avoidance. Collision avoidance systems seek to inform the driver of imminent or impending collision and to present assistance in conflict resolution. Just how such conflict resolution is to be enacted has yet to be determined. Various tactics have been suggested. They range from usurpation of control by some automatic system to messaging systems for preferred avoidance maneuvers. While the design and operational ramifications of these options are considered briefly here, the central theme is the critical use of simulation as a method for investigating and evaluating such alternatives. It is proposed that testing in high-fidelity simulation is currently the most, if not the only, viable option by which such technology can be safely instantiated. In examining this issue I contrast the situation specific approaches that appear to be favored in current research with an envelope approach based on the ecological analysis first posited by Gibson some fifty years ago. How simulation informs such design becomes a critical link if the safety aspects of IVHS are to reach fruition.
Barriers to effective communication between veterans with chronic kidney disease and their healthcare providers

Background: Many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have insufficient knowledge about CKD, which is associated with poorer health outcomes. Effective patient–provider communication can improve CKD patients’ knowledge, thereby augmenting their participation in self-care practices. However, barriersto addressing CKD patients’information needs have not been previously characterized. Methods: Adults with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 or on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant were recruited from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nephrology clinic. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted to assess patients’ CKD information needs and demographic characteristics. A qualitative approach was used to analyze interview transcripts and identify themes pertaining to communication dynamics. Results: Thirty-two patients participated. The mean age of participants was 63 years; most were male (94%) and non-Hispanic white (53%). CKD severity groups represented included CKD-3 (eGFR 30–59 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ; 34%), CKD-4 (eGFR 15–29 mL/min/ 1.73 m 2 ; 25%), CKD-5 (eGFR <15 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ; 16%), end-stage kidney disease on dialysis (13%) and kidney transplant recipients (12%). Several key themes emerged about barriers to patient–provider communication based on patients’ reported care at both VA and non-VA facilities, including patients perceived their role as a ‘listener’, reported limited CKD knowledge, did not understand physicians’ explanations and were dissatisfied with the patient–provider relationship.
Trees and Rebirth: Social-ecological Symbols and Rituals in the Resilience of Post-Katrina New Orleans

Following from earlier work on ‘memorialization mechanisms in disaster resilience’, I posit that tree symbols and rituals, and how tree symbols and rituals are remembered, re-constituted, and reproduced, represent a cluster of social mechanisms that can be viewed as ‘tangible evidence of social mechanisms behind social-ecological practices that deal with disturbance and maintain system resilience’. I continue to draw upon Berkes and Folke’s argument that some social-ecological systems build resilience through the experience of disturbance, but for this to occur, sufficient memory from both ecological and social sources for reorganization must be present. Thus, I argue, the constellation of social-ecological memories, social-ecological symbols and rituals, and the resulting relationships between human actors and other system components, feedbacks and cycles catalyzed by these relationships, all contribute to system memory, processes involved in ‘regeneration and renewal that connect that system’s present to its past’ and aid in conferring resilience.
Enzyme activities associated with the demyelinating phase of canine distemper. I. Beta-glucuronidase, acid and neutral proteinases.

Plasmalogenase activity was 67% higher in the brains of dogs with demyelination resulting from canine distemper than in brains of age-matched control dogs. The finding that plasmalogenase activity was highest in the tissues with least severe demyelination suggests that plasmalogenase acts early in the process of demyelination. The elevation of plasmalogenase activity and loss of plasmalogen which occurs in other demyelinating diseases indicates that plasmalogenase is part of a common catabolic mechanism by which demyelination proceeds.
The effect of chlorine on mixed oxidant corrosion of stainless steels

Previous work has shown that mixed oxidant corrosion below 600°C is characterized by the formation of outward growing Fe and Ni rich sulfide scales and inward growing Cr oxide and sulfide precipitation zones and/or scales. In syngas without HC1 a somewhat protective FeCr2S4 scale is formed below the outward growing sulfide scale. When the oxygen pressure of the gas is increased this layer becomes gradually enriched in oxygen, but corrosion losses only drop significantly, when the scale consists of FeCr2O4 only. In this paper we will review the effect of HC1 on the corrosion process. In addition, the effect of deposits containing 5–15% chlorides and exposure to high humidity conditions during downtime will be discussed. The data indicate that the presence of HC1 or chlorides will cause accelerated corrosion, once a threshold chloride level is reached. For many alloys the threshold level is very high and is only reached in the presence of chloride rich deposits. High humidity conditions during downtime can ...
UV Photon-Induced Water Decomposition on Zirconia Nanoparticles

Formation of H2 from photolysis of water adsorbed on zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles using 254 nm (4.9 eV) and 185 nm (6.7 eV) photon irradiation was examined. The H2 yield was approximately an order of magnitude higher using monoclinic versus cubic phase nanoparticles. For monoclinic particles containing 2 monolayers (ML) of water, the maximum H2 production rate was ∼0.4 μmole h–1 m–2 using 185 + 254 nm excitation and a factor of 10 lower using only 254 nm. UV reflectance reveals that monoclinic nanoparticles contain fewer defects than cubic nanoparticles. An H2O coverage dependence study of the H2 yield is best fit by a sum of interactions involving at least two types of adsorbate–surface complexes. The first dominates up to ∼0.06 ML and is attributed to H2O chemisorbed at surface defect sites. The second dominates at coverages up to a bilayer. H2 formation is maximum within this bilayer and likely results from efficient energy transfer from the particle to the interface. Energy transfer is more efficient...
The problem of dependent evidence

It is appropriate to use Dempster's rule for combining belief functions only if the belief functions combined are based on independent items of evidence. What can be done in the case of dependent evidence? Often the answer is to reframe the problem. Three examples are given: one from everyday experience, one from probabilistic relaxation, and one from expert systems.
Coordinated Operation of Concentrated Solar Power and Wind Resources for the Provision of Energy and Reserve Services

Renewable energy poses increasing challenges for power systems due to its variability, intermittency and uncertainty. The concentrated solar power ( CSP ) plant represents a promising alternative source of renewable energy technology and allows for the incorporation of thermal energy storage ( TES ) to store energy for later use. Furthermore, an electric heater ( EH ) can be integrated in CSP plant to convert supplemental energy from other sources into thermal energy for utilizations. Both TES and EH devices provide operational flexibility into power systems to accommodate more renewable energy through strategic scheduling and dispatching. Thus, we devote this paper to develop a stochastic two-stage day-ahead unit commitment model and a rolling look-ahead economic dispatch model with the integration of CSP and wind resources. We apply the proposed approach to assess the role of TES and EH in the improvement of the system's operational flexibility. Specifically, we focus on their contribution to the mitigation of the uncertainty in the outputs of renewable resources, to the reserve requirements and to the reduction of overall system costs. We perform extensive studies on a modified IEEE test system using real solar and wind data with different configurations of CSP , TES and EH . The results demonstrate the effectiveness of CSP with TES and EH in promoting the further integration of renewable energy.
Truman Case Studies

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began during the Truman administration. The World War II alliance, cobbled together by the personal diplomacy of Franklin Roosevelt, fell apart as the victors squabbled over the postwar settlement. The tensions that emerged between Truman and Stalin during the Potsdam conference would result in disagreements over the composition of governments in almost every liberated area. The threat that held the allies together during the war was replaced by the perceived opportunity to reshape the world in one’s own image and secure access to economic resources and global markets. The decisions made by the Truman administration between 1945 and 1951 would shape U.S. foreign policy for the next 45 years.
Analyzing Router Responsiveness to Active Measurement Probes

Active probing has increasingly been used to collect information about the topological and functional characteristics of the Internet. Given the need for active probing and the lack of a widely accepted mechanism to minimize the overhead of such probes, the traffic and processing overhead introduced on the routers are believed to become an important issue for network operators. In this paper, we conduct an experimental study to understand the responsiveness of routers to active probing both from a historical perspective and current practices. One main finding is that network operators are increasingly configuring their devices not to respond to active direct probes. In addition, ICMP based probes seem to elicit most responses and UDP based probes elicit the least.
The Role of Socioeconomic Factors in Black-White Health Inequities Across the Life Course: Point-in-time Measures, Long-term Exposures, and Differential Health Returns

Abstract Research links Black-White health disparities to racial differences in socioeconomic status (SES), but understanding of the role of SES in racial health gaps has been restricted by reliance on static measures of health and socioeconomic well-being that mask the dynamic quality of these processes and ignore the racialized nature of the SES-health connection. Utilizing twenty-three years of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1984–2007), this study uses multilevel growth curve models to examine how multiple dimensions of socioeconomic well-being—including long-term economic history and differential returns to SES—contribute to the life course patterning of Black-White health disparities across two critical markers of well-being: body mass index (N = 9057) and self-rated health (N = 11,329). Findings indicate that long-term SES exerts a significant influence on both body mass index and self-rated health, net of point-in-time measures, and that Black-White health gaps are smallest in models that adjust for both long-term and current SES. I also find that Blacks and Whites receive differential health returns to increases in SES, which suggests that other factors—such as neighborhood segregation and exposure racial discrimination—may restrict Blacks from converting increases in SES into health improvements in the same way as Whites. Together, these processes contribute to the life course patterning of Black-White health gaps and raise concerns about previous misestimation of the role of SES in racial health disparities.
Issues of Impermanence: Christian and Early Buddhist Contemplations of Time

It is my thesis that Early Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, and the Protestant Reformation each developed constructs to address impermanence and unsatisfactory problems associated with time. I will explore these differences through the Roman Catholic Purgatory, the Protestant Reformation that rejected Purgatory, and Early Buddhism that saw enlightenment as an end to the ignorance of trying to make permanent that which is impermanent.
Constitutivism without Normative Thresholds

Constitutivist accounts in metaethics explain the normative standards in a domain by appealing to the constitutive features of its members. The success of these accounts turns on whether they can explain the connection between normative standards and the nature of individuals they authoritatively govern. Many such explanations presuppose that any member of a norm-governed kind must minimally satisfy the norms governing its kind. I call this the Threshold Commitment, and argue that constitutivists should reject it. First, it requires constitutivists to restrict the scope of their explanatory ambitions, because it is not plausibly true of social kinds. Second, despite the frequent reliance on physical artifacts in constitutivists’ illustrations of the Threshold Commitment, it counter-intuitively entails that physical artifacts can cease to exist without being physically destroyed. Third, it misconstrues the normative force of authoritative norms on very defective kind-members because it locates this force not in the norm, but in the threat of non-existence. Fortunately, constitutivism can be decoupled from the Threshold Commitment, and I close by sketching a promising alternative account.
A comparison of formulations and relaxations for cross-dock door assignment problems

Abstract This paper deals with cross-dock door assignment problems in which the assignments of incoming trucks to strip doors, and outgoing trucks to stack doors are determined, with the objective of minimizing the total handling cost. We present two new mixed integer programming formulations which are theoretically and computationally compared with existing ones. One of such requires a column generation algorithm to solve its associated linear relaxation. We present the results of a series of computational experiments to evaluate the performance of the formulations on a set of benchmark instances. We also perform sensitivity analysis with respect to several input parameters of the Cross-dock Door Assignment Problems.
Measuring oil supply disruptions: A historical perspective

Abstract An oil supply disruption in OPEC member countries or in the Persian Gulf region may have unusually large effects on crude oil prices because such a disruption may escalate into wider disruptions within these volatile regions. This analysis reviews and updates several past studies to identify specific events that can be linked to oil supply shocks that remove oil production while increasing world oil prices. Using historical data, it finds that a 10% cut in world oil supplies arising from abrupt and large monthly disruptions of OPEC and Persian Gulf crude oil production correlates with a 35–43% increase in inflation-adjusted crude oil prices. The data also reveal that almost all sudden and large oil supply disruptions occurred prior to 2004, which raises some interesting issues about how to interpret the evidence from studies evaluating the impact of future oil disruptions on either prices or the economy.
Financial Capability: Clinicians' Assessment of Beneficiaries With Dual Diagnoses.

Objective: Adults with mental health disorders whose ability to work is sufficiently impeded are entitled to financial supports from the Social Security Administration. Beneficiaries determined to ...
The ancient constitution and the Roman law: on Benjamin Straumann’s Crisis and Constitutionalism

Benjamin Straumann’s book advances a bold claim: that constitutionalism was not born from the practice of framing or of living under a constitution, but rather from the experience of its demise dur...
MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO PATHOGENESIS IN MUSCULAR DYSTROPHIES

A mechanistic definition of the dystrophic process is proposed, and the effects of growth factors vs. down-regulation of growth are critically analyzed. A conceptual scheme is presented to illustrate the steps leading to pathology, and various compensatory systems which ameliorate the pathology are examined, particularly in regards to the mdv mouse which is resistant to the deficiency of dystrophin, the main protein product of the Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) gene. These compensatory systems are analyzed in terms of the differential resistance of fiber types to pathogenesis. The generation of a stable population of maturationally arrested centronucleated fibers which express the mature adult myosin isoforms is proposed to be the main strategy of mdx muscle to minimize apoptosis. Physiological properties of these fibers, such as utrophin expression, and high mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum content, together with probable increased glycerophosphorylcholine concentrations and facile access to the vascular system, are hypothesized to be instrumental in their resistance to pathogenesis. It is proposed that the major element that determines the susceptibility of most human muscles to the dystrophic process is their inability to arrest the maturation of regenerated fibers at the centronucleated stage with a concomitant expression of the adult myosins.
Treatment Results with External Beam Radiation Therapy for Localized Carcinoma of the Prostate (Stages T1b, T2, and T3)

Optimal treatment for patients with localized carcinoma of the prostate is controversial. Radiation therapy is an established modality in the management of these patients, and several reports indicate that clinical results are comparable to those achieved with radical prostatectomy (Bagshaw et al. 1990; Culp 1967; Hanks 1993; Partin et al. 1993b; Perez et al. 1993b; Zincke et al. 1991). Recently, efficacy of therapy for carcinoma of the prostate is being evaluated in the light of posttreatment prostate specific antigen (PSA) determinations (Benson et al. 1992; Catalona et al. 1991; Oesterling et al. 1988; Oesterling 1991; Pisansky et al. 1993).
Advances in digital and physical anthropomorphic breast phantoms for x-ray imaging.

Purpose With the advent of three-dimensional (3D) breast imaging modalities such as digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and dedicated breast CT (bCT), research into new anthropomorphic breast phantoms has accelerated. These breast phantoms are important for the optimization of new breast imaging systems, assessing new regulatory submissions to prove safety and effectiveness, and for developing new approaches to acceptance and constancy testing of 3D breast imaging systems. This paper provides a review of current research investigating both digital and physical breast phantom development for use in x-ray based imaging. Methods Two approaches for designing anthropomorphic, digital breast phantoms are discussed, procedural model-based phantom generation, where breast features are expressed using mathematical models, and patient-based generation, where breast structures from tissue specimens or patient-based breast MR or CT volumes are segmented. Following this discussion, a review of physical anthropomorphic phantoms is given, with emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages present with each approach. Conclusions This paper provides a summary of the state-of-the-art in anthropomorphic breast phantom development for x-ray breast imaging. The primary advantage of model-based digital phantoms is that an unlimited number of phantoms with varying size, shape, and density can be generated. Current research on model-based breast phantoms is producing more and more realistic breast models; however, they probably are not yet able to pass the so-called "fool the radiologist" visualization test. Empirical patient-based breast phantoms are typically based on clinical breast CT data and look more realistic. However, clinical breast CT images have limited spatial resolution and thus do not always portray the finer details in the breast. A number of innovative solutions have been proposed for fabricating physical anthropomorphic breast phantoms based on digital phantom models; however, a number of challenges remain, including realistic modeling of x-ray attenuation properties and accurately representing high-frequency structures within breast.
Complementary Research Methods: An Introduction and Overview

This chapter serves as an introduction to the edited volume and has three broad purposes. First, the chapter defines complementary research methods as the application of multiple methodologies and methods to the study of related policy and leadership issues. Second, the chapter relates leadership and policy research using the concept of a policy research continuum. This continuum situates leadership and policy researchers as being part of the same research community. Finally, the chapter supports novice scholars, specifically, by describing the ways in which readers might use the volume, and it provides some reflective questions that illuminate the epistemological, methodological, and conceptual ideas undergirding the volume’s contents.
Beyond the Numbers: Social and Emotional Benefits of Participation in the Imagination Library Home-Based Literacy Programme.

As home-based literacy programmes proliferate, stakeholders are asking for evidence that programme goals are being met and for information on what types of programming provide the best cost-to-bene...
Sexual Harassment in Vascular Surgery Training Programs.

Background Sexual harassment is any unwelcome behavior or obscene remark that affects an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. We sought to examine its presence in vascular surgery training programs, identify factors associated with occurrence, and determine reporting barriers. Methods An anonymous survey consisting of questions on frequency of sexual harassment including type/perpetrators/locations; why/how the practice occurs; reporting mechanisms/barriers to reporting; and demographic information was emailed to all vascular surgery trainees in the United States. Descriptive and univariate analysis was performed. Results Of 498 invitations sent, 133 (27%) completed the survey. Fifty of 133 (38%) thought harassment occurred more commonly in surgical specialties with hierarchy/power dynamics, historical male dominance in field, and ignoring of behavior, being the most common reasons cited that it still occurs. Of 133, 81 (61%) respondents have either experienced (63/133, 47%) or witnessed (18/133, 14%) other trainees being harassed, with calling a sexist slur/intimate nickname being the most common behavior. Those affected were more commonly women (P = 0.0006), with the most common perpetrator being a surgical attending and the most common area of occurrence being the operating room. Reasons for not reporting included believing the behavior was harmless in intent (33/63, 52%) and feeling nothing would come of it if reported (28/63, 44%), but 15/63 (24%) feared repercussions and 15/63 (24%) feeling uncomfortable are identified as a target of sexual harassment. Of 133, 46 respondents were not aware of institutional mechanisms for reporting harassment, with only 70/133 (53%) feeling comfortable reporting to their departmental leadership. Conclusions A significant number of vascular surgery trainees have experienced sexual harassment during their training. Over a third of respondents do not know institutional mechanisms for reporting, and almost half do not feel comfortable reporting to departmental leadership. Increasing education on harassment and reporting mechanisms may be necessary in vascular surgery training programs.