cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Classical control of a chaotic system

It is shown that classical control techniques can be used for the control of chaotic systems. In particular, it is demonstrated that a model for a fluid loop can be stabilized at a given operating point in the chaotic regime. It is also shown that in the stable regime, output feedback can be used to drive the system into chaos. >
Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons Drive GABA Release from Dopamine Terminals

Striatal cholinergic interneurons are implicated in motor control, associative plasticity, and reward-dependent learning. Synchronous activation of cholinergic interneurons triggers large inhibitory synaptic currents in dorsal striatal projection neurons, providing one potential substrate for control of striatal output, but the mechanism for these GABAergic currents is not fully understood. Using optogenetics and whole-cell recordings in brain slices, we find that a large component of these inhibitory responses derive from action-potential-independent disynaptic neurotransmission mediated by nicotinic receptors. Cholinergically driven IPSCs were not affected by ablation of striatal fast-spiking interneurons but were greatly reduced after acute treatment with vesicular monoamine transport inhibitors or selective destruction of dopamine terminals with 6-hydroxydopamine, indicating that GABA release originated from dopamine terminals. These results delineate a mechanism in which striatal cholinergic interneurons can co-opt dopamine terminals to drive GABA release and rapidly inhibit striatal output neurons.
Presence and regulation of alkaline phosphatase activity in eukaryotic phytoplankton from the coastal ocean: Implications for dissolved organic phosphorus remineralization

The biologically important constituents of the dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) pool, their bioavailability, and their cycling in coastal systems are still poorly understood. Here we use the enzyme alkaline phosphatase as a metric of DOP bioavailability and track the activity of this enzyme in a coastal system. We observed alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) in the >0.2-μm size fraction of all surface samples tested during an Oregon coast cruise in August 2001. Although there was not a significant trend between APA and phosphate concentration in the data set as a whole, chlorophyll a-normalized APA was elevated at the station with the lowest dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) concentration. Activity was also elevated in nutrient-addition experiments in which nitrate amendments were Used to force community drawdown of DIP. These data are consistent with phosphate regulation of APA. A cell-specific APA assay revealed that the percentage of diatoms with APA mimicked the trend in the hydrolytic rate, but such a trend was not observed for the dinoflagellates. Further, the percentage of dinoflagellate cells with APA was routinely higher than the percentage of diatom cells with activity. In nutrient-addition experiments designed to evaluate the regulation of APA, diatom taxa expressed APA less frequently than dinoflagellates, but they displayed a tighter regulation of the activity by DIP than dinoflagellates. The variability observed in the presence and regulation of APA in these eukaryotic phytoplankton indicates that DOP bioavailability is a potential driver of phytoplankton nutrition and species composition in the coastal ocean.
THE EFFECTS OF HERBIVORE DENSITY ON SOIL NUTRIENTS AND TREE GROWTH IN TROPICAL FOREST FRAGMENTS

The role of herbivores in nutrient cycling in tropical forest ecosystems re- mains poorly understood. This study investigates several aspects of nutrient cycling along a gradient in herbivore (Alouatta seniculus, red howler monkey) density among small landbridge islands in Lago Guri, Venezuela. Specifically, two contrasting hypotheses were addressed: (1) herbivores increase the availability of soil nutrients and subsequently primary productivity, and (2) herbivores decrease nutrient availability and primary productivity because they increase the dominance of non-preferred, nutrient-poor, tree species. Although C:N increased with herbivore density, the annual increase in basal area (an indicator of aboveground productivity) increased with herbivore density. According to an analysis of the tree communities on the study islands, herbivory may also be causing a shift in the tree community toward non-preferred species, and thus, over a longer time scale, both nutrient availability and productivity are expected to decline. The influence of herbivores on nutrient cycling and plant productivity has important implications for conservation and rates of carbon sequestration in tropical forests.
A New 12-Lead ECG Prognostic Score.

Background The Diagonal Line Rule (DLR) is an educational pattern recognition tool for the classification of 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) as normal or abnormal. Objective To develop a score using the DLR for the risk stratification of abnormal ECGs. Methods Patients at the Palo Alto, VA, referred for a routine resting ECG between 1987 and 1999 were retrospectively considered. The initial ECGs of 43,798 patients were scored according to the DLR. The main outcome variable was cardiovascular mortality with 8 years of follow-up. Results ECG abnormalities identified by the DLR were combined with age, gender, and ST depression to develop an additive score. The score was validated and shown to stratify levels of cardiac risk with a 0.78 area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for identifying those who had a cardiovascular death. Conclusion The score effectively stratifies ECGs for prediction of risk of cardiovascular death.
Component-based software development for integrated construction management software applications

This paper presents a framework and a prototype for designing Integrated Construction Management (ICM) software applications using reusable components. The framework supports the collaborative development of ICM software applications by a group of ICM application developers from a library of software components. The framework focuses on the use of an explicit software development process to capture and disseminate specialized knowledge that augments the description of the ICM software application components in a library. The importance of preserving and using this knowledge has become apparent with the recent trend of combining the software development process with the software application code. There are three main components in the framework: design patterns, design rationale model, and intelligent search algorithms. Design patterns have been chosen to represent, record, and reuse the recurring design structures and associated design experience in object-oriented software development. The Design Recommendation and Intent Model (DRIM) was extended in the current research effort to capture the specific implementation of reusable software components. DRIM provides a method by which design rationale from multiple ICM application designers can be partially generated, stored, and later retrieved by a computer system. To address the issues of retrieval, the paper presents a unique representation of a software component, and a search mechanism based on Reggia's setcover algorithm to retrieve a set of components that can be combined to get the required functionality is presented. This paper also details an initial, proof-of-concept prototype based on the framework. By supporting nonobtrusive capture as well as effective access of vital design rationale information regarding the ICM application development process, the framework described in this paper is expected to provide a strong information base for designing ICM software.
The Role of Amyloplasts during Gravity Perception in Gynophores of the Peanut Plant (Arachis hypogaea)

Gravitropic perception and response are essential for the completion of the reproductive life cycle of the peanut plant (Arachis hypogaea L.). The developing seeds are buried in the soil by a specialized organ, the gynophore, allowing the fruit to mature underground. Controversy exists about the site of graviperception in the gynophore: previous workers suggested that the intercalary meristem was the zone where gravity was perceived. Taking the starch statolith hypothesis for graviperception as a framework, we explored the possibility that the starch-grain filled plastids (amyloplasts) in the starch sheath of the gynophore may be acting as gravisensors. We show that these amyloplasts sediment readily with respect to the gravity vector within 30 min of reorientation, and before there is a measurable gravitropic response. Gynophore explants were incubated with gibberellic acid and kinetin, in darkness, to remove starch from the amyloplasts. Destarching the gynophores did not inhibit overall growth of the organ, but reduced the gravitropic response curvature by 82% compared to water-treated controls. In addition, gynophores placed on a rotating clinostat (without hormone treatment) also showed a reduced gravitropic response. In conclusion, the evidence presented in this work strongly suggests that the amyloplasts of the starch sheath are responsible for gravitropic perception in the peanut gynophore. A model for graviperception in the gynophore is presented.
Independence of heritable influences on the food intake of free-living humans.

OBJECTIVE: The time of day of meal ingestion, the number of people present at the meal, the subjective state of hunger, and the estimated before-meal contents in the stomach have been established as influences on the amount eaten in a meal and these influences have been shown to be heritable. Because these factors intercorrelate, the calculated heritabilities for some of these variables might result indirectly from their covariation with one of the other heritable variables. The independence of the heritability of the influence of these four factors was investigated with 110 identical and 102 fraternal same-sex and 53 fraternal mixed-sex adult twin pairs who were paid to maintain 7-d food-intake diaries. METHODS: From the diary reports, the meal sizes were calculated and subjected to multiple regression analysis using the estimated before-meal stomach contents, the reported number of other people present, the subjective hunger ratings, and the time of day of the meal as predictors. Linear structural modeling was applied to the -coefficients from the multiple regression to investigate whether the heritability of the influences of these four variables was independent. RESULTS: Significant genetic effects were found for the -coefficients for all four variables, indicating that the heritability of their relationship with intake is to some extent independent and heritable. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that influences of multiple factors on intake are influenced by the genes and become part of the total package of genetically determined physiologic, sociocultural, and psychological processes that regulate energy balance. Nutrition 2002;18:11‐16. ©Elsevier Science Inc. 2002
An advanced multi-standard TV video/sound IF

This paper describes a circuit which performs the functions of IF amplification, AGC, AFT, and demodulation of a TV video and sound IF signal for PAL, NTSC, SECAM, and AM D2MAC. >
Canonical time-frequency processing for broadband signaling over dispersive channels

Even though broadband signaling and reception is often employed in practice for communication over time- and frequency-dispersive channels, existing receiver designs do not fully exploit the advantage of broadband signaling. We introduce a framework for time-frequency processing that is dictated by a canonical characterization of linear dispersive channels and fully utilizes the advantage of broadband signaling. The framework is based on processing in a natural time-frequency subspace defined by orthogonal time-frequency shifted copies of the transmitted broadband waveform. It generalizes existing receivers and suggests new designs that promise substantially improved performance compared to existing systems.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor-coupled gene network organization.

An early gene cDNA microarray was developed to study genes that are regulated immediately following gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor activation. 956 selected candidate genes were printed in triplicate, a tstatistic-based regulation algorithm was used for data analysis, and the response to GnRH in a time course from 1 to 6 h was determined. Measurements were highly reproducible within arrays, between arrays, and between experiments. Accuracy and algorithm reliability were established by real-time polymerase chain reaction assays of 60 genes. Gene changes ranging from 1.3- to 31-fold on the microarray were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Many of the genes were found to be highly regulated. The regulated genes identified were all elevated at 1 h of treatment and returned nearly or completely to baseline levels of expression by 3 h of treatment. This broad, robust, and transient transcriptional response to constant GnRH exposure includes modulators of signal transduction (e.g. Rgs2 and IκB), cytoskeletal proteins (e.g. γ-actin), and transcription factors (e.g. c-Fos, Egr1, and LRG21). The interplay of the activators, repressors, and feedback inhibitors identified embodies a combinatorial code to direct the activity of specific downstream secondary genes.
Using Ethidium Bromide To Probe the Interactions between DNA and Dendrimers

Investigations have been carried out to probe the interactions between double-stranded DNA and amine-terminated, ethylenediamine core polyamidoamine starburst dendrimers generation 2 (G2), generation 4 (G4), and generation 7 (G7). Ethidium bromide is used as a fluorescent probe for this study. Under our experimental conditions, the results show that there is mainly one binding mode between ethidium and DNA−dendrimer complexes and that dendrimers bind to DNA sufficiently strongly that they cannot be displaced by ethidium. In the proposed binding model for DNA−dendrimer complexes, the DNA wraps around G7 dendrimers while the wrapping of DNA does not occur for G2 and G4 dendrimers. DNA−dendrimer interactions display little preference on DNA base components. The influence of pH and ionic strength is in agreement with electrostatic interactions as the major binding force for DNA−dendrimer complexes.
Effects of high-dose cytarabine

Plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and tear concentrations of cytarabine (ara-C) were measured in 15 patients receiving 3 gm/m2 IV ara-C given as a 1 hr infusion every 12 hr for 6 days. The two assay methods used for measuring ara-C concentrations (high-pressure liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay) gave much the same results. Peak plasma ara-C concentrations (2.0 microM) after high-dose therapy were 50 times those achieved with more conventional (100 to 300 mg/m2) doses. High doses of ara-C were not sufficient to saturate cytidine deaminase; plasma ara-C half-lifes (t1/2) after high-dose therapy (distribution t1/2 = 6.2 min; elimination t1/2 = 154 min) were much the same as those after conventional ara-C doses. Kinetics of ara-C were not altered by repeated dosing over a 6-day period. Cerebrospinal fluid ara-C concentrations after high-doses (mean = 7.8 microM) were 10 times those after conventional intravenous dosing, bot were 0.5% to 1.0% those achieved by intrathecal ara-C doses. Tear concentrations of 22 and 38 micro M were measured in two patients who developed conjunctivitis after high-dose therapy so that the presence of ara-C in tears may be a cause of the conjunctivitis seen in some patients.
Lead exposure among young urban women.

Objective. Blood lead levels have declined among every age group in the United States, but urban minority residents remain at disproportionate risk for elevated lead levels. Our objective was to measure lead burden in young women of childbearing age in New York City. We also describe successful means of recruiting this population into a cohort study. Material and methods. Healthy women aged 18-25 attending a New York City health care center in 1995-1998 were eligible for participation. Participants were recruited by health care providers, the study coordinator and the participants themselves. Venous blood samples were obtained for whole blood lead, ferritin and hematocrit measurements, and detailed questionnaires were administered. Results. 239 women have been recruited to date. The population is predominately minority: 62% African-American, 33% Hispanic and 5% Caucasian/Asian. The average age of participants is 19.3 years. Recruitment of participants into the study is predominantly (55%) through “word of mouth” from previously enrolled participants. Few participants learned of the study through their health care providers. The mean blood lead level among study participants is 2.1 ± 1.7 μg/dl, which is consistent with the most recent United States national survey. Conclusions. Blood lead levels are low in young, urban minority women of childbearing age in New York City. In this population, recruitment efforts were substantially enhanced with the help of enrolled participants and the health care community.
Rare (<1%) histological subtypes of renal cell carcinoma: an update

Recent advances in genetics and pathology have allowed description of several new histological subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as well as better characterization of other rare subtypes. We herein present a comprehensive review of taxonomy, epidemiology, pathology, imaging findings, and natural history of a wide spectrum of rare subtypes of RCCs that individually constitute <1% of all the RCCs.
One for the road: a comparison of drinking and driving behavior among younger and older adults involved in fatal crashes

Driving while intoxicated has been widely studied, but little is known about the differences in driving behaviors between the youngest and oldest drivers who consume alcohol but are not intoxicated. This study examined factors leading to fatal crashes in younger and older drivers who consumed alcohol, with a focus on drivers whose blood alcohol concentration was less than 0.08%. This was a secondary analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Mean blood alcohol for both age groups was nearly double the legal limit. Within the low alcohol group, a higher proportion of older drivers crashed compared with younger drivers. Continued efforts are needed to screen and educate drivers regarding drinking and driving.
The Variable Affordability of Law School -- How Geography and LSAT Profile Impact Tuition Costs

I have set forth here the PowerPoint slides I presented on January 5, 2015 at the AALS Conference session sponsored by the Section on Law School Administration and Finance. The presentation was entitled The Variable Affordability of Law School – How Geography and LSAT Impact Tuition Cost. (I am very grateful to my research assistant, Kate Jirik, and her husband, Sam, for awesome work on the spreadsheet that supported the data I presented.)The presentation begins with two slides summarizing data presented in my article Reflections on the Decreasing Affordability of Legal Education showing the extent to which average public school and private school tuition increased between 1985 and 2011 relative to law school graduate income. While many have observed that law school has become increasingly expensive over the last few decades, this "macro" discussion fails to highlight the extent to which differences in tuition exist at a “micro” level either based on geography or on LSAT score.Using 2012 tuition data, the first set of slides focuses on geographic differences – noting some states where legal education generally is very expensive, some states where legal education generally is very affordable and the balance of states in which tuition costs are in the middle or have a mix of affordable and expensive. Following those slides, there is a set of slides that describe the process I used to calculate net tuition costs after accounting for scholarships for all entering first-year students at the 195 fully accredited and ranked law schools in fall 2012 in an effort to allocate all students into a five-by-five grid with five LSAT categories (165, 160-164, 155-159, 150-154 and The concluding slide sets forth a couple of short observations about the data. There was a robust discussion with some great questions following the presentation of this data.
Pentaclethra macroloba Seed Effect on Larval Growth, Cell Viability, and Midgut Enzyme Activity of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Tests were conducted to determine whether seeds from the tropical plant Pentaclethra macroloba (C.L. Willdenow) O. Kuntze contain factors that retard or inhibit growth of larvae of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). Three different assays were used to determine effects of aqueous seed extracts on H. zea . Micro-bioassays examined effects of extracts on living larvae. Cell culture assays examined effects of the seed extracts on H. zea cells. Midgut enzyme inhibition assays examined the potential of the extracts to disrupt H. zea larval digestive processes. These three assays showed that P. macroloba seeds contain factors that retard H. zea growth, reduce the viability of H. zea cells, and specifically inhibit the activity of trypsin and chymotrypsin proteinases from the larval midgut. In addition, dialysis and heat treatment indicated that the active, water-soluble factors in P. macroloba seeds have approximate molecular weights ≥3,500 and are heat-labile. Results from recovery studies indicated that H. zea larvae have a limited ability to overcome the toxic effects of the active water-soluble components of P. macroloba seeds.
A Primate Model for Age and Host Response to Genital Herpetic Infection: Determinants of Latency

Thirty five female Cebus albifrons monkeys (16 adolescents and 19 adults) were infected vaginally with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2. Fifteen developed spontaneous recurrent genital HSV infections. All 35 were killed for study eight to 12 months after primary infection, and tissue from the vagina, cervix, uterus, ovary, paracervical autonomic plexus, and lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia of eight animals. Host age was the most important variable influencing viral latency; 69% of adolescents and 42% of adults had latent HSV type 2 infections. Animals that developed latent infections were significantly easier to infect, shed virus during the primary infection significantly longer, and had more severe primary disease than those who did not become latently infected.
Effect of Low Temperatures on Hymenopterous Parasites Choetospila elegans and Anisopteromalus calandrae of the Maize Weevil

Adults and the immature stages of Choetospila elegans Westwood and Anisopteromalus calandme (Howard) were subjected to a low-temperature treatment for varying periods to determine their survival potential. The host insect was the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamaize Motschulsky. Two percent of adult A. calandrae survived 9 days at –4°C, and 3 percent of adult C. elegans survived 6 days. None survived longer. Ten days’ exposure at –4°C of the immature stages of A. calalldme and C. elegans reduced the number of emerged adults by approximately 3.5- and 8-fold, respectively. However, some immature stages of both parasite species survived the maximum treatment of 10 days at –4°C.
Characterizing Gold Nanorods in Solution Using Depolarized Dynamic Light Scattering

The ability to custom-tailor surface plasmon resonances of metallic nanorods via their geometry has made nanorods a prominent platform for the design of novel nanomaterials with wide-ranging potential applications. Characterization of nanorod geometries within their native solution environments is essential for targeting nanorod properties to the specific application and for improved monitoring of nanorod synthesis. Here we use a custom-designed depolarized dynamic light scattering setup for measuring nanorod translational and rotational diffusion in situ. Using either straight cylinders or prolate ellipsoids as model geometries, we developed an approach to convert diffusion measurements directly into predictions of nanorod lengths and aspect ratios. Neither of these two geometrical models was able to properly reproduce real nanorod diffusion. Yet, these discrepancies mostly precluded reliable predictions of nanorod aspect ratios while derived nanorod lengths were within 10–20% of their values determined ...
Quantifying Quantum Dots through Förster Resonant Energy Transfer

Semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs or quantum dots) have significant potential for use in a variety of applications from renewable energy generation to biological imaging. Modern methods of colloidal synthesis can be used to create crystalline materials with tight size distributions; this assures high quantum yields and narrow emission profiles in the case of direct-bandgap semiconductors. The optical properties of NCs may also be tuned with size due to quantum confinement effects. Quantum confinement also creates problems when characterizing nanomaterials; specifically, the absorptivity of a sample is a function of the size and structure of the quantum dots. We demonstrate here a simple method for determining the molar absorptivity of aqueous CdSe/CdZnS NCs through Forster resonant energy transfer. Energy transfer from NC donors to dye acceptors was measured and modeled using standard Forster theory incorporating Poissonian statistics to calculate the acceptor/donor ratio leading to a direct determination o...
PL04.2 Sex Hormones, HIV Infection and Unintended Pregnancy: Ever Since Adam and Eve

Regardless of the Genesis interpretation, human sexual behaviour is necessary for species survival. Biologically, steroidal sex hormones affect sexual function, reproductive capacity, and possibly infection risk. Women have 2 main sex hormones - oestrogen and progestin. These hormones function in two ways - endogenously to regulate the reproductive cycle and exogenously to control fertility. In the highest HIV prevalence regions, women wishing not to conceive have limited contraceptive choices - typically injectable progestins, oral oestrogen/progestin combinations or male condoms. None of these are in the top tier of contraceptive effectiveness. For nearly a quarter century, the hypothesis that women using hormonal contraceptives may be at increased risk of HIV acquisition has persevered. However, the results across multiple human studies have been mixed - some demonstrate increased HIV risk, but others do not. The strongest evidence that use of hormonal contraception may increase HIV susceptibility is for injectable progestin-only contraceptives. Observational studies have estimated that this method may increase HIV acquisition risk 1.4–2-fold. Their limitations include few endpoints, measurement error in contraceptive use, and likely confounding by behavioural factors. Evidence on HIV acquisition risk is weaker for oral contraceptives, and few data are available for other hormonal formulations including progestin implants or IUDs. In addition, trade offs between the alleged risks of hormonal contraception and those of an unintended pregnancy must be considered. Four mathematical models have addressed this question. Using different assumptions, analytic algorithms and levels of rigour, they all reached similar conclusions. Withdrawal of injectable progestins has adverse pregnancy consequences, switching to implants/IUDs has better outcomes than injectables, while switching to orals/condoms was worse. While the current situation creates a public health conundrum, it also presents an opportunity to expand contraceptive choice, and concomitant reproductive rights, for women exposed to HIV.
Papular Scars: An Addition to the Acne Scar Classification Scheme

To the editor: Acne is one of the most common skin diseases, affecting more than 90 percent of adolescents.1 The severity of acne in adolescents increases with advancing maturity through the teenage years.2 Although the prevalence and severity of acne scarring in the population is not well-documented, the available literature is usually correlated to the severity of acne.3 Acne scars can present with varying morphologies. One morphologic acne scar classification system includes three main types of scars: ice pick, rolling, and boxcar.4 Some have also used the term atrophic scars as a distinct entity or as an all-encompassing term to refer to these types of scars.5 Other less common scars include sinus tracts, hypertrophic scars, and keloidal scars. Precise identification of the scar subtype is important in guiding therapeutic management. Herein, the authors would like to expand the acne scar classification system by adding papular scars to the existing dermatologic lexicon of ice pick, rolling, and boxcar scars (Figure 1). Papular scars are 3 to 4mm skin-colored cobblestone-like papules distributed anywhere on the body but, in our clinical experience, most commonly on the chin (Figure 2a), nose, and back. Also known as white papular acne scars, these flesh-colored papules are often incorrectly diagnosed as acne and do not respond to traditional acne treatments. Histologically, dermal fibrosis consistent with scar is present (Figure 4). Figure 1 Schematic of acne scar classification system. Ice pick scars are narrow, deep, and extend vertically to the deep dermis or subcutaneous tissue. Rolling scars occur from fibrous anchoring of the dermis to the subcutis, leading to superficial shadowing ... Figure 2 Representative flesh-colored, 3–4mm, soft, cobblestone-like papules scattered on the chin. Figure 3 Mild superficial perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate, telangiectasia, and periappendageal dermal fibrosis consistent with scar (H&E, magnification 4X) Papular scars can clinically mimic closed comedones, acne, and granulomas, leading to an unnecessary delay in appropriate treatment. Active acneiform lesions causing any type of scars should be treated aggressively with systemic therapy to prevent further progression of scarring. A more specific and broader classification system is important not only for obtaining an accurate clinical examination, but also for designing targeted studies and treatment protocols for papular scars. Knowledge of this newly described type of acne scar aids in preventing a misdiagnosis of acne and guides appropriate scar-directed management. Future research should be directed toward comparative studies of scar treatments, such as subcision, punch excision, punch elevation, chemical peels, and lasers to determine the most effective approach to treating this newly classified scar subtype.
Effect of Randomness on Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media

A presentation is made of various analytical aspects of convective heat and mass transport in random porous media. Randomness is introduced as an abstraction of the microstructure or the transport process associated with disordered porous materials. The statistic characterization of the microstructure of packed beds and fractals is first attempted. Flow through the interstitial space of these two classes of random media is considered. A semi-empirical model for flow through random packed beds is explored and its impact on heat and mass transport is analyzed and compared with experiments found in the literature. Approximate solutions of convection-dispersion-reaction stochastic equations with a-priori statistics are then pursued. The results demonstrate several novel features of diffusive stochastic models, like anomalous (non-Fickian) diffusion and localization. Several suggestions are made to narrow the gap between mathematical models and realistic porous media.
Substance use and other psychiatric disorders among 100 American Indian patients

One hundred American Indian patients with a Psychoactive Substance Use Disorder (PSUD) were studied with special reference to associated psychiatric disorders. This clinical sample was divided into three groups: PSUD only, PSUD plus an Organic Mental Disorder (OMD), and PSUD plus any other psychiatric disorder. OMD diagnoses included primarily Delirium Tremens and Alcoholic Hallucinosis; cases of Alcohol Amnestic Disorder, Alcohol Dementia, and trauma-induced OMD were also encountered. Other psychiatric disorders included primarily Major Depression and Anxiety Disorder, with smaller numbers of Schizophrenia, Conduct, Sexual, and other Disorders. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared among these three groups. Those with PSUD + OMD tended to be older, male, and have more DSM-III Axis 3 disorders (American Psychiatric Association 1980) as compared to other patients; those with PSUD + other diagnoses tended to be single and younger. Education and occupational status were not related to the three diagnostic groups. The data were also subjected to MANOVA analysis. Even when corrected for sex, types of substance being abused, Axis 3 health status, and other factors, the three diagnostic groups still bore a significant relationship to age. Those with PSUD + Other psychiatric diagnoses besides OMD tended to be youngest. Those with PSUD-only were intermediate by age, while those with PSUD + OMD tended to be the oldest.
Thermal Protection Systems

The primary determinant of thermal protection is the stagnation point heat transfer, and attention is paid to the most useful correlations. The high temperatures ensure dissociation and ionization of air molecules, so approximations are developed for the treatment of air chemistry. Heat transfer on a blunt hemispherical body and a spherically capped cone is addressed to highlight the different mechanisms at work. The analyses developed are extended to the design of heat shields for entry vehicles. Heat sink, melting ablator, and charring ablator heat shields are analyzed, as are active systems involving surface injection of coolants. The similarity parameters crucial to heat transfer effects are reviewed.
Trophic effects of gut hormones in the gastrointestinal tract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the effects of gastrointestinal (GI) hormones on the proliferation and repair of non-neoplastic tissues, and the receptors and signaling pathways, which transmit signals from the cell surface to the nucleus. Gastrin is the GI hormone that stimulates acid secretion from gastric parietal cells, and is the single most important trophic hormone for the gastric mucosa. One of the peptides that stimulates gastric mucosal proliferation is bombesin (BBS)/gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), which stimulates pancreatic, gastric, and intestinal secretion, gut motility, and smooth muscle contraction, and release of all gut hormones. These peptides can stimulate growth of GI mucosa and pancreas. BBS also stimulates growth of the small bowel mucosa. Administration of BBS effectively prevented mucosal atrophy associated with feeding rats a liquid elemental diet. GI hormone-stimulated signal transduction occurs with the binding of hormones to their cognate cell surface receptors, which are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). These receptors have the typical structural features of G-protein-binding seven-transmembrane receptors, which are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). These receptors have the typical structural features of G-protein-binding seven-transmembrane receptors which can regulate a number of physiological processes, including proliferation, growth, and development. The molecular mechanisms though which GPCRs transduce signals are complex, and likely involve multiple signaling pathways. In addition, the signaling pathways are likely cell-specific, which may explain the diverse physiologic functions controlled by gut hormones, ranging from regulation of secretion, motility, and in some instances growth, depending on the target tissue. Once a trophic GI peptide binds its seven-transmembrane GPCR, signal transduction pathways are activated which ultimately can lead to cell proliferation depending upon cell type.
Open Introductory Psychology Textbooks: Prose and Qualms.

Given their high cost, many students no longer buy textbooks for all of their courses, impacting their learning and performance in these courses. This is especially prevalent at community colleges. Open (digitally free) textbooks constitute one solution to this problem, but the latest national survey of college faculty found that 66% were not aware of open textbooks and 15% only somewhat aware. Because introductory psychology is psychology’s most popular course with 1–2 million students enrolled annually and almost 50% are community college students, we addressed this unawareness problem by providing analytical discussions of the viability of the open introductory textbooks presently available. We conclude that traditional textbooks are higher in quality, but open textbooks meet a specific market need.
Pediatric Program Leadership's Contribution Toward Resident Wellness

Abstract Background Residency program leaders are required to support resident well-being, but often they do not receive training in how to do so. Objective To determine frequency in which program leadership provides support for resident well-being, comfort in supporting resident well-being, and factors associated with need for additional training in supporting resident well-being. Methods National cross-sectional web-based survey in June 2015 of pediatric program directors, associate program directors, and coordinators about their experiences supporting resident well-being. Univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics compared responses between groups. Generalized linear modeling, adjusting for program region, size, program leadership role, and number of years in role determined factors associated with need for additional training. Results The response rate was 39.3% (322/820). Most respondents strongly agreed that supporting resident well-being is an important part of their role, but few reported supporting resident well-being as part of their job description. Most reported supporting residents' clinical, personal, and health issues at least annually, and in some cases weekly, with 72% spending >10%of their time on resident well-being. Most program leaders desired more training. After adjusting for level of comfort in dealing with resident well-being issues, program leaders more frequently exposed to resident well-being issues were more likely to desire additional training ( P Conclusions Program leaders spend a significant amount of time supporting resident well-being. Although they think that supporting resident well-being is an important part of their job, opportunities exist for developing program leaders through including resident wellness on job descriptions and training program leaders how to support resident well-being.
A Systematic Review on Healthcare Analytics: Application and Theoretical Perspective of Data Mining

The growing healthcare industry is generating a large volume of useful data on patient demographics, treatment plans, payment, and insurance coverage—attracting the attention of clinicians and scientists alike. In recent years, a number of peer-reviewed articles have addressed different dimensions of data mining application in healthcare. However, the lack of a comprehensive and systematic narrative motivated us to construct a literature review on this topic. In this paper, we present a review of the literature on healthcare analytics using data mining and big data. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a database search between 2005 and 2016. Critical elements of the selected studies—healthcare sub-areas, data mining techniques, types of analytics, data, and data sources—were extracted to provide a systematic view of development in this field and possible future directions. We found that the existing literature mostly examines analytics in clinical and administrative decision-making. Use of human-generated data is predominant considering the wide adoption of Electronic Medical Record in clinical care. However, analytics based on website and social media data has been increasing in recent years. Lack of prescriptive analytics in practice and integration of domain expert knowledge in the decision-making process emphasizes the necessity of future research.
Solidification processing at near-rapid and rapid rates (Keynote Paper)

Abstract In recent years a number of novel casting processes have been developed which involve solidification at near-rapid or rapid rate. The processes include powder production, strip casting, wire casting, surface melting, and pressure die casting. Other processes are spray forming, semisolid forming, and metal matrix composite casting. These processes are discussed in this paper, with special reference to dendritic growth and microsegregation. Processes which take place at cooling rates in the range of 1 to 103 Ks-1 are referred to as “near-rapid” rate processes, and those at greater cooling rates “rapid rate” processes. For both rapid and near-rapid rate processes, it is useful to distinguish between two types of solidification: columnar and equiaxed. It is also useful to distinguish between processes where heat flow is through the growing liquid-solid region, and those where heat flow is into undercooled bulk liquid.
Carnitine Regulation of Fatty Acid Metabolism in Heart

Recent investigations of the distribution and functions of carnitine (β-hydroxy-γ-trimethyl ammonium butyrate) and its derivatives, have led to the general concept that carnitine may be involved in acyl group transfer from extra- to intramitochondrial compartments (l). According to this view, fatty acids are activated to CoA derivatives and transferred to mitochondria. At the outer mitochondrial membrane, carnitine acyl transferase (acyl CoA:carnitine O-acyl transferase) catalyzes transfer of the acyl group from CoA to carnitine, thereby facilitating membrane transport of the long-chain fatty acid. The acyl group is subsequently reconverted to the CoA derivative at the intramitochondrial site of fatty acid oxidation. Consonant with this hypothesis are the following evidences: a) carnitine favors the formation of acyl-carnltine, which in turn is a requisite for increased oxidation of the acyl group by isolated mitochondria (2); b) the rate of transfer of acyl groups across the mitochondrial membrane is presumably the main determinant of the rate of fatty acid oxidation (3); c) palmityl carnitine competitively inhibits carnitine stimulation of fatty acid oxidation in heart mitochondria (4).
Hanging Cable as Rotational Vibration Absorber

Many basic textbooks present an analysis of free vibration of a uniform cable hanging in a gravitational field. An extension to illustrate the effects of a concentrated tip mass is given in Ref. 3. The purpose of this note is twofold: 1. To investigate the free vibration of the rigid body-cable system. 2. to show how a uniform hanging cable can be used as a dynamic absorber for a rigid body constrained to rotate about a fixed axis containing its mass center and subjected to sinusoidal moment disturbances.
A New Function for Adenosine: Protection of Vascular Endothelial Cells from Neutrophil-Mediated Injury

Activated neutrophils adhere to and injure endothelial cells by generating toxic oxygen metabolites. We have previously demonstrated that adenosine and its analogues inhibit generation of oxygen metabolites by stimulated neutrophils. Our data demonstrate that 2-chloroadenosine, a poorly metabolized adenosine receptor agonist, inhibits adherence of stimulated neutrophils to endothelial cells. We also found that 2-chloroadenosine prevents stimulated neutrophils from injuring endothelial cells. Adenosine is present in the medium of endothelial cells cultured with neutrophils. The adenosine present in the medium prevents both unstimulated and stimulated neutrophils from injuring endothelial cells. The results of these experiments suggest that adenosine may be a potent, endogenously derived anti-inflammatory agent.
A Personalized Travel Recommendation System Using Social Media Analysis

Personalization of recommender systems enables customized services to users. Social media is one resource that aids personalization. This study explores the use of twitter data to personalize travel recommendations. A machine learning classification model is used to identify travel related tweets. The travel tweets are then used to personalize recommendations regarding places of interest for the user. Places of interest are categorized as: historical buildings, museums, parks, and restaurants. To better personalize the model, travel tweets of the user’s friends and followers are also mined. Volunteer twitter users were asked to provide their twitter handle as well as rank their travel category preferences in a survey. We evaluated our model by comparing the predictions made by our model with the users choices in the survey. The evaluations show 68% prediction accuracy. The accuracy can be improved with a better travel-tweet training dataset as well as a better travel category identification technique using machine learning. The travel categories can be increased to include items like sports venues, musical events, entertainment, etc. and thereby fine-tune the recommendations. The proposed model lists 'n' places of interest from each category in proportion to the travel category score generated by the model.
Additive manufacturing of soft robots

Abstract The soft materials additive manufacturing revolution will rely heavily on the interplay between soft material mechanics, fluid properties, chemical interfaces, biology, process engineering, and chemical engineering knowledge in order to deal with the complications that arise when structuring various fluids into 3D shapes. Extrusion-based additive manufacturing of soft materials is especially exciting in the context of soft robotics due to the wide range of material systems that can be printed. Well established as well as novel methods of extrusion-based printing are becoming known for fast, precise, and complex geometry possibilities, improving over previous techniques in manual construction. In this chapter, we will review several recent developments in additive manufacturing in soft robotics, as well as an outline of strategies for soft robot extrusion-based additive manufacturing, and introduce a machine design and material characterization. We will also discuss future directions in soft robot additive manufacturing and emphasize the need for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Through a Glass Darkly: Validity Standards and the Debate over Nuclear Strategic Doctrine.

This article examines the way competing interpretations of evidence form the basis for arguments over appropriate defense postures. Because the dispute is interdisciplinary, there are no apriori fi...
Pyrolysis characteristics of Arundo donax harvested from a reclaimed mine land

Abstract Production of biomass crops is competing with food production in terms of arable land, therefore, attention is being given to the establishment of dedicated energy crops on marginal lands. While more attention has been given to C4 plants like Miscanthus and Switchgrass due to their high productivity and ability to withstand unfavorable soil conditions, Arundo donax (a C3 plant) has also been proven to thrive well on marginal lands and has high productivity. In this study, pyrolysis of Arundo donax harvested on a reclaimed mine land in West Virginia was carried out in a batch reactor at a temperature of 500 °C for 30 min and the pyrolysis products were collected and characterized. Pyrolysis products distribution was 30.12%, 45.62% and 24.26% for the biochar, bio-oil and non-condensable gases, respectively. Calorific values of the biomass and the biochar were found to be 18.96 and 29.51 MJ/kg, respectively. The pH of the biochar showed that it is alkaline in nature while the pH of the bio-oil showed that it is acidic in nature.