cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexual Behavior of Flinders Line Female Rats Bred for Differential Cholinergic Sensitivities

Flinders Lines are two strains of rats selectively bred for their divergent physiological responses to cholinergic drug challenges. Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats are highly sensitive to cholinergic stimulation of various autonomic and behavioral responses compared to Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats. Because cholinergic innervation contributes to the regulation of female sexual behaviors in rats, a study was conducted to compare the sexual responses of FSL females to those of FRL females, as well as to those of Long-Evans (LE) females, a conventional rat strain. Ovariectomized FSL rats exhibited significantly higher incidences of lordosis and proceptive behaviors than ovariectomized FRL and LE rats over a range of estrogen doses (2, 3, 4, 5, or 20 microgram(s)/kg estradiol benzoate at 48 h before testing) administered in combination with progesterone (1 or 2 mg/kg at 4-6 h before testing). In addition, the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine inhibited lordosis behavior strongly in FRL females over a range of doses (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, or 4 mg/kg), but failed to inhibit lordosis in FSL females. Results indicate that FSL females are highly sensitive to the behavioral effects of gonadal steroids and highly insensitive to the effects of a muscarinic antagonist. The enhanced sexual behavioral responses of FSL females could be a consequence of their well-established cholinergic hypersensitivity or a consequence of other undocumented characteristics of FSL females such as hypersensitivity to ovarian hormones. FSL females could provide a valuable model for the study of estrogen action at behavioral, cellular, and molecular levels.
Synthetic, structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical studies of mixed sandwich Rh(III) and Ir(III) complexes involving Cp* and tridentate macrocycles

Abstract The syntheses, structures, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry for six Ir(III) and Rh(III) mixed sandwich mononuclear complexes involving tridentate macrocycles and pentamethylcyclopentadienide (Cp*) are reported. The complexes are readily prepared by direct ligand substitution reactions from the dichloro bridged binuclear complexes, [{M(Cp*)(Cl)2}2]. All complexes have the general formula [M(L)(Cp*)]X2 (M = Ir(III) or Rh(III), L = macrocycle, X = PF 6 - or Cl−) and exhibit a distorted octahedral structure involving three donor atoms from the macrocycle and the facially coordinating carbocyclic Cp* ligand. The complex cations include: [Rh(η5 -Cp*)(9S3)]2+ (1), [Rh(η5-Cp*)(9N3)]2+ (2), [Rh(η5-Cp*)(10S3)]2+ (3), [Ir(η5-Cp*)(9S3)]2+ (4), [Ir(η5-Cp*)(9N3)]2+ (5), and [Ir(η5-Cp*)(10S3)]2+ (6), where 9S3 = 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane, 9N3 = 1,4,7-triazacyclononane, and 10S3 = 1,4,7-trithiacyclodecane. The structures for all six complexes are supported by 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectroscopy, and five complexes are also characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography (complexes 1–5). The 1H NMR splittings between the two sets of methylene protons for both the Rh(III) and Ir(III) 9S3 complexes are much larger (0.4 vs. 0.2 ppm) compared to those in the two 9N3 complexes. Similarly, the 13C{1H} NMR spectra in all four thioether complexes show that the ring carbons in the Cp* ligand are shifted by over 10 ppm downfield compared to the azacrown complexes. The electrochemistry of the complexes is surprisingly invariable and is dominated by a single irreversible metal-centered reduction near −1.2 V vs. Fc/Fc+.
METAMORPHISM IN THE ALEUTIAN ARC: THE FINGER BAY PLUTON, ADAK, ALASKA

The metarnorphism of the small, early Tertiary Finger Bay pluton on Adak Island in the central Aleutians occurred under low pressure (<3 kbar) and subgreenschist-togreenschist facies conditions (325-400"C); it is similar to that of other Aleutian early-stage arc rocks. The primary cause of metamorphism was a hydrothermal circulation of meteoric water associated with later magmatic activity, rather than a separate discrete event such as oceanic-ridge subduction. On all scales, the intensity of metamorphic recrystallization correlates with the proximity of fracture zones. Variable assemblages and compositions of metamorphic minerals, both within and between samples, and the maintenance of igneous whole-rock compositions, suggest only a very local redistribution of elements, consistent with Iow water-to-rock ratios and the low solute-content of the circulating water. Although very local equilibrium only has been achieved, the metagabbroic rocks appear to be characterized by the assemblage prehnite-chloriteactinolite. Prehnite, which usually forms as a breakdown product of biotite, is common in the northern and central pans of the pluton. The more siliceous rocks in the south do not contain prehnite, probably owing to compositional effects, but perhaps because they were at temperatures above that of prehnite breakdown. Grandite (grossularandradite) garnet associated with chlorite occurs in the leasr recrystallized rocks. Throughout the pluton, hightemperature ilmenite lamellae in titanomagnetite are commonly replaced by titanite and Mn-rich ilmenite. Aluminous actinolite related to the cooling (postmagmatic) history of the pluton is also recognized. The same pattern of metamorphism is expected in accreted island-arc terranes, which are common components of the continental mosaic in areas such as the northwestem part of the Pacific basin.
Examination of hypotheses in the Kolmogorov refined turbulence theory through high-resolution simulations. Part 1. Velocity field

The fundamental hypotheses underlying Kolmogorov-Oboukhov (1962) turbulence theory (K62) are examined directly and quantitutivezy by using high-resolution numerical turbulence fields. With the use of massively parallel Connection Machine-5, we have performed direct Navier-Stokes simulations (DNS) at 5123 resolution with Taylor microscale Reynolds number up to 195. Three very different types of flow are considered : free-decaying turbulence, stationary turbulence forced at a few large scales, and a 2563 large-eddy simulation (LES) flow field. Both the forced DNS and LES flow fields show realistic inertial-subrange dynamics. The Kolmogorov constant for the k-5/3 energy spectrum obtained from the 5123 DNS flow is 1.68 kO.15. The probability distribution of the locally averaged disspation rate E, over a length scale r is nearly log-normal in the inertial subrange, but significant departures are observed for high-order moments. The intermittency parameter p, appearing in Kolmogorov's third hypothesis for the variance of the logarithmic dissipation, is found to be in the range of 0.20 to 0.28. The scaling exponents over both E, and r for the conditionally averaged velocity increments ~,u(E, are quantified, and the direction of their variations conforms with the refined similarity theory. The dimensionless averaged velocity increments (&.PI~,)/(E,~)"/ ~ are found to depend on the local Reynolds number Recr = ~f/~r~/~/v in a manner consistent with the refined similarity hypotheses. In the inertial subrange, the probability distribution of ~5,u/(e,r)'/~ is found to be universal. Because the local Reynolds number of K62, I&, = ~:'~r~/~/v, spans a finite range at a given scale r as compared to a single value for the local Reynolds number R,. = Z1/3r4/3/v in Kolmogorov's (1941a,b) original theory (K41), the inertial range in the K62 context can be better realized than that in K41 for a given turbulence field at moderate Taylor microscale (global) Reynolds number RA. Consequently universal constants in the second refined similarity hypothesis can be determined quite accurately, showing a faster-than-exponential growth of the constants with order n. Finally, some consideration is given to the use of pseudo-dissipation in the context of the K62 theory where it is found that the probability distribution of locally averaged pseudo-dissipation ei deviates more from a log-normal model than the full dissipation
Comparative Performance Analysis of a Kalman Filter and a Modified Double Exponential Filter for GPS-Only Position Estimation of Automotive Platforms in an Urban-Canyon Environment

This paper compares the performance of a modified double exponential filter (DEF) with respect to a Kalman filter for automotive applications that rely solely on position estimation via a global-positioning-system receiver. The performance of these two filters was initially analyzed in simulations for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian noise sources on the position estimates. The analysis was extended to include a field data collection on a vehicle in an urban-canyon environment. The modified DEF exhibited better 2-D position accuracy in both the non-Gaussian simulation and the field data collection efforts.
A gene-targeted approach to investigate the intestinal butyrate-producing bacterial community

Butyrate, which is produced by the human microbiome, is essential for awell-functioning colon. Bacteria that produce butyrate are phylogeneticallydiverse, which hinders their accurate detection based on conventional phylogeneticmarkers. As a result, reliable information on this important bacterial group isoften lacking in microbiome research. In this study we describe a gene-targeted approach for 454 pyrotag sequencing andquantitative polymerase chain reaction for the final genes in the two primarybacterial butyrate synthesis pathways, butyryl-CoA:acetate CoA-transferase(but) and butyrate kinase (buk). We monitored theestablishment and early succession of butyrate-producing communities in fourpatients with ulcerative colitis who underwent a colectomy with ileal pouch analanastomosis and compared it with three control samples from healthy colons. Allpatients established an abundant butyrate-producing community (approximately 5% to26% of the total community) in the pouch within the 2-month study, but patternswere distinctive among individuals. Only one patient harbored a community profilesimilar to the healthy controls, in which there was a predominance of butgenes that are similar to reference genes from Acidaminococcus sp.,Eubacterium sp., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii andRoseburia sp., and an almost complete absence of buk genes.Two patients were greatly enriched in buk genes similar to those ofClostridium butyricum and C. perfringens, whereas a fourthpatient displayed abundant communities containing both genes. Most butyrateproducers identified in previous studies were detected and the general patterns oftaxa found were supported by 16S rRNA gene pyrotag analysis, but thegene-targeted approach provided more detail about the potential butyrate-producingmembers of the community. The presented approach provides quantitative and genotypic insights intobutyrate-producing communities and facilitates a more specific functionalcharacterization of the intestinal microbiome. Furthermore, our analysis refinesbut and buk reference annotations found in centraldatabases.
The Rickettsia, Wolbachia pipientis (gen. et sp.n.) and Associated Inclusions of the Mosquito, Culex pipiens

The invariable presence of a rickettsia in the gonads of the mosquito, Culex pipiens , is confirmed. This rickettsia is found in the cytoplasm of every germ cell in both sexes at all stages of development from larva to adult. No other species of mosquito is known to be similarly infected. The morphology of the organism shows the following features. In addition to “typical rickettsiae”, i.e. minute rods and coccoids which multiply by binary fission, there is a variety of other forms which are interpreted as a series of stages, usually in the following sequence: small coccoids become enlarged, and instead of dividing by binary or multiple fission, undergo a condensation of their stainable substance into points or rods which ultimately appear as various combinations of sharply curved rods and coccoids retained as in a matrix within the body of the original or “parent” coccoid. As the matrix disappears, they become the irregularly curved forms and compact aggregations of “daughter” forms characteristic of this rickettsia. The pathological germ cells previously noted in the testis by cytologists were found to occur in both sexes at all stages, and to be apparently the result of infection with this rickettsia. The problem of classifying the rickettsiae is discussed. The similarity of the rings and curved forms of various rickettsiae to corresponding forms, as yet little studied, in other groups of organisms is pointed out. The name Wolbachia pipientis (gen. et sp.n.) is proposed for the rickettsia of Culex pipiens . Large, homogeneous or granular cell inclusions with an affinity for neutral red, termed NR bodies , were found in the gonad wall of nearly every specimen of Culex pipiens , but were not found in C. territans . They resemble the inclusion bodies of certain viruses and at times closely simulate masses of rickettsiae, but are apparently distinct from the species here described. Their nature is unknown but their appearance and behaviour are consistent with their being living agents or the manifestations thereof. A degenerative process, in which NR bodies replace primary ovarian follicles in whole or in part, is described. Inoculation and cultivation experiments resulted negatively for both rickettsiae and NR bodies.
Application of the Bayesian MMSE estimator for classification error to gene expression microarray data

Motivation: With the development of high-throughput genomic and proteomic technologies, coupled with the inherent difficulties in obtaining large samples, biomedicine faces difficult small-sample classification issues, in particular, error estimation. Most popular error estimation methods are motivated by intuition rather than mathematical inference. A recently proposed error estimator based on Bayesian minimum mean square error estimation places error estimation in an optimal filtering framework. In this work, we examine the application of this error estimator to gene expression microarray data, including the suitability of the Gaussian model with normal–inverse-Wishart priors and how to find prior probabilities. Results: We provide an implementation for non-linear classification, where closed form solutions are not available. We propose a methodology for calibrating normal-inverse-Wishart priors based on discarded microarray data and examine the performance on synthetic high-dimensional data and a real dataset from a breast cancer study. The calibrated Bayesian error estimator has superior root mean square performance, especially with moderate to high expected true errors and small feature sizes. Availability: We have implemented in C code the Bayesian error estimator for Gaussian distributions and normal–inverse-Wishart priors for both linear classifiers, with exact closed-form representations, and arbitrary classifiers, where we use a Monte Carlo approximation. Our code for the Bayesian error estimator and a toolbox of related utilities are available at http://gsp.tamu.edu/Publications/supplementary/dalton11a. Several supporting simulations are also included. Contact: [email protected] Supplementary Information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The Apparatus and Enabling of a Code Balanced System

Success in the embedded world revolves around two key concepts: cost effectiveness and performance. The ability for an operating system to boot quickly combined with speedy application usage at runtime is important with regards to consumer unit adoption. The most common memory sub-system setup in cellular phone architectures today is what is called an eXecute-In-Place architecture. This type of memory sub-system defines the execution of code and data directly from NOR flash memory. An additional memory architecture of choice is called a Store and Download architecture. This is a memory subsystem where the compressed code gets copied to RAM at boot time and executes out of the RAM. This paper explores the addition of a new memory usage model called a code balanced system. The result is a system that combines a small RAM memory requirement with a performance increase for improved targeted application and boot time execution
Consulting to Star Trek: to boldly go into dynamic neuropsychiatry

Technical consultation to a screenwriter of episodes for The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager series of Star Trek drew upon the new discipline of dynamic neuropsychiatry to originate ideas for the alien experiences in the science fiction scripts. In particular, the neurologic misidentification syndromes, which elicit complex neuropsychic defenses and illustrate the psychodynamics of object relations, provided a sense of strangeness. The wide, creepy popular appeal of the syndromes, described here, reveals a latent mental defensive structure that is activated by psychopathology and neuropathology, but that is also somehow sensed by those who are more or less neurologically intact. Illustrative examples are drawn from these series and the more recent Enterprise series that has been aired since the consultation. In addition, the changing persona of the physician character in Star Trek is a projection of our changing status in American society.
A new path metric for survivable circuit switched routing

The authors report a novel path metric for survivable circuit switched routing. The distribution of physical assets in the network is assumed flat, and the network operates in a stressed environment with link and node failures. In addition, the traffic distribution is arbitrary as a function of space and time. The fundamental assumption driving this work is that 'delay', both processing delay at a node and propagation delay, is insignificant to the degree that from a delay-only viewpoint, the total number of hops that comprise the path of the circuit is unimportant. A heuristic that attempts to completely avoid using capacity into or out of a node and generally defers blocking calls as long as possible is used. Three metrics have been studied: the shortest number of hops without regard for link utilization, the shortest number of hops considering links that have unused capacity, and a nonlinear utilization-sensitive metric. >
Raman enhancement across the domain wall in ferroelectric Lithium Niobate

Lithium Niobate is a ferroelectric material, which is widely used in nonliear and electro-optical devices. In such application the materials is often prepared with the specific patterns of up or down ferroelectric domains. The region between an up and a down domain (“domain wall region”) is of great importance because it ultimately limits the size of the patterns. Theoretical and experimental reports vary in their results regarding the size of the wall. While theoretically the wall region is expected to be confined within a few lattice sites [1], experimental results show effects to several microns from the wall. We use Raman spectroscopy to investigate the domain wall to gain a better understanding of the modification of the crystal lattice across a domain wall.
Continuous processing of polymers in repetitively pulsed atmospheric pressure discharges with moving surfaces and gas flow

Atmospheric pressure corona discharges are industrially employed to treat large areas of commodity polymer sheets by creating new surface functional groups. The most common processes use oxygen containing discharges to affix oxygen to hydrocarbon polymers, thereby increasing their surface energy and wettability. The process is typically continuous and is carried out in a web configuration with film speeds of tens to hundreds of cm s −1 . The densities and relative abundances of functional groups depend on the gas composition, gas flow rate and residence time of the polymer in the discharge zone which ultimately determine the magnitude and mole fractions of reactive fluxes to the surface. In this paper, results are discussed from a two-dimensional computational investigation of the atmospheric pressure plasma functionalization of a moving polypropylene sheet in repetitively pulsed He/O2/H2O discharges. O and OH typically initiate surface processing by hydrogen
Kinematic evidence for top quark pair production in W + multijet events in pp ̄ collisions at √s = 1.8 TeV

We present a study of W+multijet events that compares the kinematics of the observed events with expectations from direct QCD W+jet production and from production and decay of top quark pairs. The data were collected in the 1992--93 run with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) from 19.3 ${\mathrm{pb}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ of proton-antiproton collisions at \ensuremath{\surd}s =1.8 TeV. A W+\ensuremath{\ge}2 jet sample and a W+\ensuremath{\ge}3 jet sample are selected with the requirement that at least the two or three jets have energy transverse with respect to the beam axis in excess of 20 GeV. The jet energy distributions for the W+\ensuremath{\ge}2 jet sample agree well with the predictions of direct QCD W production. From the W+\ensuremath{\ge}3 jet events, a ``signal sample'' with an improved ratio of tt\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} to QCD produced W events is selected by requiring each jet to be emitted centrally in the event center of mass frame. This sample contains 14 events with unusually hard jet ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{T}}$ distributions not well described by expectations for jets from direct QCD W production and other background processes. Using expected jet ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{T}}$ distributions, a relative likelihood is defined and used to determine if an event is more consistent with the decay of tt\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} pairs, with ${\mathit{M}}_{\mathrm{top}}$=170 GeV/${\mathit{c}}^{2}$, than with direct QCD W production. Eight of the 14 signal sample events are found to be more consistent with top-quark than direct QCD W production, while only 1.7 such top-quark--like events are expected in the absence of tt\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}.The probability that the observation is due to an upward fluctuation of the number of background events is found to be 0.8%. The robustness of the result was tested by varying the cuts defining the signal sample, and the largest probability for such a fluctuation found was 1.9%. Good agreement in the jet spectra is obtained if jet production from tt\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} pair decays is included. For those events kinematically more consistent with tt\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} we find evidence for a b-quark content in their jets to the extent expected from top quark decay, and larger than expected for background processes. For events with four or more jets, the discrepancy with the predicted jet distributions from direct QCD W production, and the associated excess of b-quark content, is more pronounced.
Experiments on the Mechanism of Gastrulation in a Frog's Egg:

SummaryOur work with Hyla regilla shows that the mesoderm of the dorsal lip of the blastopore has little or no inherent capacity for involution. The material immediately around the early blastopore (the pharyngeal endoderm and prechordal mesoderm), although itself having a strong capacity for involution, does not bring about the involution of the mesoderm above it. On the other hand, excellent involution of the dorsal lip mesoderm occurs when it is transplanted together with laterally located mesoderm.
A Film Boiling Reactor for Chemical Processing

This paper presents an experimental demonstration of a chemical reactor design based on film boiling, which we term a Film Boiling Reactor (FIBOR). The FIBOR consists of a heated surface coated with a catalyst and immersed in a pool of reactant liquid. Film boiling is established in the liquid and chemical reaction occurs at the surface by reactant gases which evaporate at the liquid/vapor interface and diffuse to the heated surface. In the present study we use a horizontal tube (Inconel 600) immersed in methanol as the means to create the FIBOR. The tube is coated with a platinum catalyst. We show the performance of the reactor concept to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Total flow rates of product gases of approximately 6.5 L/min for a tube surface temperature of around 800°C were measured (product yields depend on catalyst structure). The product gases were measured by gas chromatography which shows a molar ratio of two moles hydrogen to one carbon monoxide as anticipated from the methanol conversion reaction.Copyright © 2008 by ASME and US Government
Correlates of Perceived Smoking Prevalence Among Korean American Emerging Adults

Perceived smoking prevalence, a strong predictor of actual smoking behavior, may be influenced by the ethnicity and gender of the reference group presented to Korean American emerging adults. Self-identifying Korean and Korean Americans aged 18-25 (N = 475), were invited to complete a 15-20 min online survey about their attitudes towards smoking. Predictors of perceived smoking prevalence were evaluated separately for four reference groups: Caucasian Americans, Korean Americans in general, Korean American men, and Korean American women. Respondents' smoking status was associated with perceived smoking prevalence for all reference groups except Caucasian Americans, even among light smokers. Father's smoking status was associated with perceived smoking prevalence for Korean American men, only among females respondents. Findings suggest that ethnicity and gender of both the reference group and respondents influence smoking rate estimates. Tailoring intervention content to the target population's gender and ethnicity may be a way to enhance smoking prevention strategies.
Comparision of different intervention methods to health literacy among high school students

Objective To evaluate the effect of four kinds of health literacy intervention including mobile SMS,Wechat,traditional education lessons,and traditional education materials among high school students and to provide basis for making more effective health literacy strategies. Methods Four schools were selected from 2 districts of Beijing,and 4 classes from each school were included. In each school,2 classes received intervention activities by mobile SMS,Wechat,traditional education lessons,and traditional education materials separately,and the other two classes were control group. An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted to explore the change of health literacy between the intervention group and control group in each of 4 different intervention methods. Focus-group interviews were conducted when the intervention activities was completed. Results Significant differences were found between the intervention group and the control group in Wechat and traditional education lesson methods. No significant differences were shown between the intervention and control groups in SMS and traditional material methods. The difference of average score before and after in SMS intervention group SMS control group,wechat intervention group,Wechat control group,traditional education lessons intervention and control group,traditional material group,intervention and control group was 2.66,1.74,4.98,0.77,11.89,3.83,0. 28,- 1. 56,respectively. The cost-effectiveness analysis showed the effects decreased as follows: Wechat,traditional education lessons,mobile SMS,and traditional material orderly. Conclusion The results suggest that social media including Wechat is effective in health education among high school students.
Optimized Alignment of a USCG Polar Class Icebreaker Wing Shaft Using a Distributed Bearing Finite-Element Model

There are indications that new analytical techniques must be employed for determining and optimizing the shaft alignment of the wing shafts of the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Class icebreakers. These indications include failing shaft coupling bolts and excessive stress concentration factors in the shaft. Current design practices dictate the use of point bearing loads for both design and realignment analysis of propulsion shafts. In this work, a general purpose finite-element code is utilized for modeling the shaft. The bearings are modeled as flexible distributed supports. A public-domain optimization routine is coupled to the analysis for determining the optimum shaft alignment. The new process is validated, and then utilized for analyzing the USCG Polar Class ice-breaker,wing shafts. Results are presented and discussed.
6.27 – Gastric and Mucosal Ulceration

Acid-related diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease, remain major problems, in spite of enormous advances in their treatment in the last 25 years. Peptic ulcer disease is caused by the generation of acid by the stomach and infection by Helicobacter pylori or the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is results from the abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus, which can also cause laryngitis and asthma. Current treatment still includes antacids, but these are only able to treat symptoms, not the underlying disease. For peptic ulcer disease, either histamine H2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors are indicated for treatment. Their mechanisms of action and advantages and disadvantages are discussed. In peptic ulcer disease, if infection by H. pylori is found, eradication of the organism should be undertaken, and the basis of acid suppressive therapy in conjunction with two antibiotics is discussed. New strategies include the development of reversible inhibitors of gastric H+/K+-ATPase, the enzyme responsible for hydrochloric acid secretion by the stomach, and alternative eradication targets such as the carbonic anhydrase of the organism.
Guided Wave Phased Arrays in Piping

Introduction Phased array technology has taken the world by storm in the inspection ability to scan structures and to achieve dynamic beam focusing and beam steering without mechanically moving actuators over the part under examination. Modern-day electronics and cost reduction have inspired activity in this area. The first real-time phased array multi-element transducer system used in medical ultrasound was introduced in the ’70s with applications in solid materials following in the ’80s. In the case of using bulk wave ultrasound, only straight line computation was needed to control wave interference phenomena at selected points inside the human body or inside a specific solid structure. In addition to real-time phased array systems, synthetic focusing was introduced whereby enough information was transmitted from a multi-element array and subsequently received by the individual elements, where software was used to simulate the real-time phased array approach. Both methods provide special advantages. During the ’90s, real-time phased array and synthetic focusing methods were introduced for cylindrical structures, primarily pipelines. The time delay computations to achieve this are more complex. This chapter primarily focuses on principles for cylindrical piping structures.
Out of the House of Bondage: “A Makeshift Kind of Life”

I think I was very foolish last month to make up beds and wash soiled dishes. I began seriously to think that it was in very bad taste to have three meals in one day and wondered at the rapidity with which my homely but necessary duties followed each other and if I had dessert, or the plates were changed, seriously considered the subject in a new light, as so many more dishes to wash. Gertrude Thomas, employer Celestine left suddenly taking Rosella with her without any provocation from me or notification to me. Tryphena Fox, employer Mrs. Wms has engaged Anna for a cook.…She used to be about us when we lived at Gravel Hill and was a very good woman, but they have all changed so she may not be worth much now. Sarah Palmer Williams, employer Cretia is the comfort – animal comfort – of my every day life. Mary Pringle, employer “I have such a nice servant in Katy,” Elizabeth Porcher wrote to her sister in 1866. “She is a nice washer and a good cook and has a little girl of Annie's size who helps a good deal and I am to give her $8. I really hope I am at last comfortably fixed. I never have to show her anything hardly and she is so humble and civil.” In the coming years, Porcher would see that prospect dissipate bit by bit. She would see her share of poverty and servants not so “nice” or “humble.”
Metabolic and Cardiovascular Complications in HIV/HCV-Co-infected Patients

Fifteen to thirty percent of HIV-infected persons in North America and Europe are co-infected with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). The latter is associated with a significant number of extra-hepatic metabolic complications that could compound HIV-associated increased cardiovascular risk. This article reviews the basic science and epidemiologic and clinical evidence for increased cardio-metabolic risk among HIV/HCV-co-infected patients and discusses potential underlying mechanisms. We will finally review the impact of control of HCV viremia on the cardio-metabolic morbidity and mortality of HIV/HCV-co-infected patients. HCV infection is associated with a number of immune-related complications such as cryoglobulinemia but also metabolic complications including dyslipidemias, hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. The incidence of these complications is higher among HIV-co-infected patients and might contribute to increased mortality. The potential mechanisms of increased cardiovascular risk among HIV/HCV-co-infected subjects include endothelial dysfunction, chronic inflammation and immune activation, the cardio-metabolic effects of HCV-induced hepatic steatosis and fibrosis or insulin resistance, and chronic kidney disease. However, epidemiologic studies show discordant findings as to whether HCV co-infection further increases the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (acute myocardial infarctions and strokes) among HIV-infected patients. Nonetheless, successful treatment of HCV is associated with significant improvements in cardio-metabolic risk factors including diabetes mellitus. HCV co-infection is associated with a higher incidence of metabolic complications—and likely increased risk of cardiovascular events—that might contribute to increased mortality in HIV. These appear to improve with successful HCV therapy.
Community Organizing: Cambridge, MA, Polity Press, 184 pp., ISBN: 978-0-7456-6319-7

Community Organizing by David Walls discusses an extensive history of community organizing beginning with Saul Alinsky’s early work and progressing to social movements today. Walls defines communit...
Effects of Common Carp on Trophic Dynamics of Sport Fishes in Shallow South Dakota Water Bodies

AbstractThe Common Carp Cyprinus carpio is one of the most common freshwater fish invaders worldwide, creating adverse effects on water quality and impacting ecosystem structure and function. To assess how Common Carp impact food web dynamics, we compared the trophic dynamics of Bluegills Lepomis macrochirus and Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides in three lakes containing Common Carp populations with the trophic dynamics in three lakes without Common Carp. All six lakes were located in eastern South Dakota. Stable isotope analysis was used to estimate trophic positions and indicate energy sources utilized by adult and age-0 fish. Additionally, diets of age-0 Bluegills were analyzed to assess whether Common Carp were inhibiting ontogenetic diet shifts, and bomb calorimetry was used to evaluate differences in energy density of age-0 fish prior to winter. Age-0 fish and adult Bluegills derived significantly more energy from pelagic sources in the systems populated with Common Carp. Adult Bluegills in Comm...
A simplified CMOS FET model using surface potential equations for inter-modulation simulations of passive-mixer-like circuits

In many CMOS analog/RF circuits, such as passive mixers or N-path filters, the transistor operates as a switch. Switching circuits often experience source-drain reversal, and most transistor models exhibit discontinuities in second and higher-order derivatives of the drain current around zero drain-source bias. This introduces fundamental challenges in performing third-order inter-modulation distortion simulations. In this work, a method is presented to replace the factory models with equivalent surface potential models for static current in conjunction with a simple circuit to take into account second-order parasitics, namely, gate current and terminal capacitors. The modeling approach may be utilized even if device measurements are not available, is shown to be simultaneously more computationally efficient and accurate than prior approaches, and is validated through measurements from a 0.15–2.5GHz mixer-first receiver in 65nm CMOS that exhibits +34.8dBm out-of-band IIP3.
Mechanical model of human eye compliance for volumetric occlusion break surge measurements.

Purpose To develop a mechanical model of human eye compliance for volumetric studies. Setting Alcon Research, Ltd., Lake Forest, California, USA. Design Experimental study. Methods Enucleated human eyes underwent pressurization and depressurization cycles with peak intraocular pressures (IOPs) of 60 to 100 mm Hg; anterior chamber pressure and volume changes were measured. Average net volume change curves were calculated as a function of IOP for each eye. Overall mean volumes were computed from each eye's average results at pressure points extrapolated over the range of 5 to 90 mm Hg. A 2-term exponential function was fit to these results. A fluid chamber with a displaceable piston was created as a mechanical model of this equation. A laser confocal displacement meter was used to measure piston displacement. A test bed incorporated the mechanical model with a mounted phacoemulsification probe and allowed for simulated occlusion breaks. Surge volume was calculated from piston displacement. Results An exponential function, V = C1 × exp(C2 × IOP) + C3 × exp(C4 × IOP) − V0, where V, the volume, was fit to the final depressurization curve obtained from 15 enucleated human eyes. The C1 through C4 values were −0.07141, −0.23055, −0.14972, and −0.02006, respectively. The equation was modeled using a piston system with 3 parallel springs that engaged serially. The mechanical model mimicked depressurization curves observed in human cadaver eyes. Conclusion The resulting mechanical compliance model measured ocular volumetric changes and thus would be helpful in characterizing the postocclusion break surge response.
Age Cohort and Health Service Utilization Among Gay Men.

Gay men report unique health disparities and service utilization trends compared to their heterosexual peers including a lack of health-care participation which may lead to chronic health condition...
Evidence that Analyst Following and Institutional Ownership Accelerate the Pricing of Future Earnings

This paper presents evidence that prices of firms followed by sell-side analysts and favored by institutional investors incorporate future earnings earlier than prices of other firms. We conduct two sets of empirical tests: the first examines coefficients from regressions of returns on lead, contemporaneous, and lag earnings changes; the second compares the timing of monthly abnormal returns from earnings-based zero-investment portfolios. In both sets of tests, the results for analysts and institutions are incremental to each other. In addition, neither the analyst price lead nor the institutional price lead is due to price leads increasing with firm size.
Measurement of Viscosity in Liquids Using Reflection Coefficient: Phase Difference Method

Measurement of viscosity of fluids is a critical parameter in determining the state of the fluid (ie. edible products), and the state of the forming solid (ie. molten metals and glasses). Experiments to measure viscosity using ultrasound, have been carried out since as early as 1951 [1]. Ultrasound has potentially offered a non-invasive, in-line method of property and process monitoring [2,3]. Early research has demonstrated that viscosity measurement can be accomplished by ultrasound using different linear and nonlinear techniques [4]. This paper is devoted to furthering the technique called shear reflectance method [5].
Informed Consent in Electronic Medical Record Systems

Informed consents, either for treatment or use/disclosure, that protect the privacy of patient information subject to law that in certain circumstances may override patient wishes, are mandatory practice in healthcare. Although the healthcare industry has widely adopted Electronic Medical Record EMR systems, consents are still obtained and stored primarily on paper or scanned electronic documents. Integrating a consent management system into an EMR system involves various implementation challenges. The authors show how consents can be electronically obtained and enforced using a system that combines medical workflows and ontologically motivated rule enforcement. Finally, the authors describe an implementation that uses open-source software based addition of these components to an open-source EMR system, so that existing systems needn't be scrapped or otherwise rendered obsolete.
Précis of Regard for Reason in the Moral Mind

Regard for Reason in the Moral Mind argues that a careful examination of the scientific literature reveals a foundational role for reasoning in moral thought and action. Grounding moral psychology in reason then paves the way for a defense of moral knowledge and virtue against a variety of empirical challenges, such as debunking arguments and situationist critiques. The book attempts to provide a corrective to current trends in moral psychology, which celebrate emotion over reason and generate pessimism about the psychological mechanisms underlying commonsense morality. Ultimately, there is rationality in ethics not just despite but in virtue of the neurobiological and evolutionary materials that shape moral cognition and motivation.
Unsupervised Kernelized Correlation-Based Hyperspectral Unmixing With Missing Pixels

In this paper, a novel framework is developed that performs unmixing in a set of hyperspectral pixels which contain mixtures of pure materials. This novel algorithm utilizes statistical correlation present among the mixed data to evaluate the contribution levels (abundances) of each pure material, along with their spectral responses (endmembers). Norm-one regularization along with kernel transformations is employed to construct a constrained regularized and kernelized correlation framework that can estimate the contribution of the pure materials in the pixels. A novel combination of coordinate and gradient descent along with the Lagrange multipliers method enables the recursive and efficient estimation of abundances facilitating a least-squares estimation of the pure materials’ spectral responses. Novel unsupervised kernel selection is performed by exploiting eigenvalue decomposition, while irrelevant spectral bands are clipped utilizing variance measures. Extensive numerical tests using both real hyperspectral as well as synthetic data generated using real data sets show that not only does our novel unsupervised method outperform existing supervised and unsupervised techniques, but it is also highly robust even in the presence of data corruption originating from dead (missing) pixels as well as in the presence of lower degree of purities.
Digital Disobedience and the Limits of Persuasion: Social Media Activism in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement

This article probes the catalytic features of social media in civic participation and mass civil disobedience in Hong Kong’s 2014 protests, and conceptualizes digital activism in terms of mobilizat...
Reducing Three Infections Across Cardiac Surgery Programs: A Multisite Cross-Unit Collaboration

Using a pre-post design, this study examined the impact of a multifaceted program to simultaneously improve 3 health care-associated infections and patient safety culture throughout the cardiac surgery service line in 11 hospitals. Interventions included the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program to improve safety culture and evidence-based bundles to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), surgical site infection (SSI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). CLABSIs and SSIs showed a downward trend over 2 years, then the rates returned to levels similar to baseline in the third year. VAP rate changes were difficult to interpret because of the VAP definition change. Patient safety culture domain "hospital management support" showed significant improvement, but feedback and communication about errors and staffing declined. Simultaneous implementation of multiple interventions across units is challenging. The findings highlight the importance of sustainment efforts and suggest future work should anticipate both positive and negative change in safety culture dimensions.
Patient-oriented education and visual-aid intervention are inadequate to identify patients with potential capsule retention: a prospective randomized study.

Background/aims: The key procedure-related risk with video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is capsule retention, which should be suspected in patients who have not reported capsule passage. The study aims ...
Automata Processing in Reconfigurable Architectures: In-the-Cloud Deployment, Cross-Platform Evaluation, and Fast Symbol-Only Reconfiguration

We present a general automata processing framework on FPGAs, which generates an RTL kernel for automata processing together with an AXI and PCIe based I/O circuitry. We implement the framework on both local nodes and cloud platforms (Amazon AWS and Nimbix) with novel features. A full performance comparison of the proposed framework is conducted against state-of-the-art automata processing engines on CPUs, GPUs, and Micron’s Automata Processor using the ANMLZoo benchmark suite and some real-world datasets. Results show that FPGAs enable extremely high-throughput automata processing compared to von Neumann architectures. We also collect the resource utilization and power consumption on the two cloud platforms, and find that the I/O circuitry consumes most of the hardware resources and power. Furthermore, we propose a fast, symbol-only reconfiguration mechanism based on the framework for large pattern sets that cannot fit on a single device and need to be partitioned. The proposed method supports multiple passes of the input stream and reduces the re-compilation cost from hours to seconds.
Imagination and Speculation as Historical Impulse: Engaging Uncertainties within Art Education History and Historiography

Through the presentation of three historical accounts, this article explores the roles imagination and speculation may play within the writing and study of history. By looking at these three incide...
Children’s Disaster Reactions: the Influence of Family and Social Factors

This review examines family (demographics, parent reactions and interactions, and parenting style) and social (remote effects, disaster media coverage, exposure to secondary adversities, and social support) factors that influence children's disaster reactions. Lower family socioeconomic status, high parental stress, poor parental coping, contact with media coverage, and exposure to secondary adversities have been associated with adverse outcomes. Social support may provide protection to children in the post-disaster environment though more research is needed to clarify the effects of certain forms of social support. The interaction of the factors described in this review with culture needs further exploration.