cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deposition of Optimal a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H by HWCVD Using the Same Filament Temperature and Substrate Temperature

The incorporation of high Ge content a-SiGe:H into a low bandgap solar cell device commonly involves the use of bandgap (Ge) profiling. In previous work using the hot wire (HWCVD) technique, device quality low bandgap (ETauc = 1.25eV) a-SiGe:H films were deposited at low Tsub (~200-250°C) using a thin (0.38 mm diameter) W filament operating at Tfil ~ 1750-1800°C. The film Ge contents were ~55-70 at.%. However, higher bandgap films containing little or no Ge and deposited under the same low temperature (Tsub,Tfil) conditions were of decidedly inferior quality to those deposited using higher temperatures (Tfil~2000°C, Tsub~360°C). Although a single junction n-i-p solar cell with an efficiency ~ 5.85% was fabricated using these materials, it was clear that our best 'end point' materials were not used in this device. In addition, W filament alloying at this low Tfil severely limits film reproducibility and filament lifetime. This work explores deposition of device quality low bandgap a-SiGe:H and (high bandgap) a-Si:H, both at the same low Tsub, using a tantalum (Ta) filament operating at low Tfil. Film material properties are presented.
Monoclonal production of both IgM and IgG1 antihapten antibody.

The anti-DNP antibodies produced by primary and secondary splenic foci were analyzed for heavy chain class by a radioimmunoassay, using iodinated, purified goat antimouse µ-chain antibody and goat antimouse γ1 chain antibody. The frequency of primary and secondary foci producing both IgM and IgG1 anti-DNP antibody (16% and 14%, respectively) was considerably higher than that which would be predicted by a random distribution. It would thus appear that IgM and IgG1 antibody can be made by the clonal progeny of a single precursor cell.
Topology guided search of potential fields

Using reactive control algorithms and a dictionary of motion primitives, we have developed search and reconnaissance protocols for mobile robots aimed at efficiently discovering key features of an unknown potential field's topology (as opposed to its geometry). This work has in a natural way led to the creation of parsimonious reconnaissance routines that do not rely on any prior knowledge about the environment. The design of topology guided search protocols uses a mathematical framework that quantifies the relationship between what is discovered and what remains to be discovered. This quantification rests on an information theory inspired model, whose properties allow us to treat search as a problem in optimal information acquisition. The main idea is that “conservative” and “aggressive” search strategies can be precisely defined, and search decisions regarding exploration vs. exploitation choices can be informed by our information-like metric.
The effects of surface roughness characterized by fractal geometry on sputtering

Abstract Fractal geometry has been added to the binary-collision TRIM computer code to simulate realistic atomic-scale surface roughness. This inclusion significantly affects TRIM sputtering yields and reflection coefficients at low energies (10s to 100s of eV) and non-normal angles of incidence. Results are shown and favorably compared to experiments for H and C sputtering of C as a function of angle, energy and fractal dimension. Energy and angular distributions of the sputtered and reflected particles as a function of fractal dimension are also shown.
Aggregated Word Pair Features for Implicit Discourse Relation Disambiguation

We present a reformulation of the word pair features typically used for the task of disambiguating implicit relations in the Penn Discourse Treebank. Our word pair features achieve significantly higher performance than the previous formulation when evaluated without additional features. In addition, we present results for a full system using additional features which achieves close to state of the art performance without resorting to gold syntactic parses or to context outside the relation.
Burkitt's cells can be triggered by teleocidin to secrete interferon-γ

The secretion of interferon (IFN)-gamma by T lymphocytes is mediated by the synthesis of interleukin 2 (IL-2) and the availability of IL-2 receptors. Since some Burkitt's lymphoma lines express Tac antigen and can be triggered to secrete IL-2 following activation with the new tumor promoter teleocidin, we addressed the question of whether the induction of IL-2 by B lymphocytes is accompanied by the induction of IFN-gamma. IFN-gamma has not been detected in any of the 25 cell lines studied, and following stimulation with teleocidin, we triggered the synthesis of IFN-gamma in JLP(C), a pre-Burkitt's cell line. The mechanism of IFN-gamma secretion by B lymphocytes is not clear. Our findings demonstrate that the synthesis of IL-2 by B cells is not accompanied by IFN-gamma and suggest that the synthesis of IFN-gamma is not mediated by IL-2 or IL-1 or B-cell growth factor. Neutralization studies have shown that IFN-gamma secretion is not accompanied by the induction of IFN-alpha or IFN-beta. Our data imply that B cells can be triggered to secrete IFN-gamma under certain circumstances. Whether similar function occurs in vivo is not known.
Hypoxia-amplified proliferation of human dental pulp cells.

Abstract Introduction Postnatal human dental pulp is a potentially promising source of progenitor cells. Sustaining and amplifying progenitor cell populations would be beneficial for basic science research with application in pulpal regeneration. Hypoxia has been observed to promote the undifferentiated cell state in various stem cell populations. The purpose of this study was to examine human dental pulp cells (DPCs) proliferation in normoxia and hypoxia. Methods Dental pulp cells were obtained from third molars of adult patients and cultured in alpha modification of Eagle's medium culture medium with 10% fetal bovine serum. For cell proliferation, DPCs were divided into two groups: (1) DPCs incubated in normoxic conditions (20% oxygen tension) and (2) DPC incubated in hypoxic conditions (3% oxygen tension). Cell proliferation assays were performed every 2 to 3 days from day 3 to day 14 by trypsinization and quantification of cells with a hemacytometer. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis was completed to investigate stem cell markers, CD133, and STRO-1. Results DPCs proliferated significantly more in hypoxia than in normoxia (ie, two-fold throughout the experiment, p Conclusions This study suggested that hypoxia is an effective treatment to amplify numbers of progenitor cells from human dental pulp.
Mechanisms of pulsed laser microbeam release of SU-8 polymer "micropallets" for the collection and separation of adherent cells.

The release of individual polymer micropallets from glass substrates using highly focused laser pulses has been demonstrated for the efficient separation, collection, and expansion of single, adherent cells from a heterogeneous cell population. Here, we use fast-frame photography to examine the mechanism and dynamics of micropallet release produced by pulsed laser microbeam irradiation at λ = 532 nm using pulse durations ranging between 240 ps and 6 ns. The time-resolved images show the laser microbeam irradiation to result in plasma formation at the interface between the glass coverslip and the polymer micropallet. The plasma formation results in the emission of a shock wave and the ablation of material within the focal volume. Ablation products are generated at high pressure due to the confinement offered by the polymer adhesion to the glass substrate. The ablation products expand underneath the micropallet on a time scale of several hundred nanoseconds. This expansion disrupts the polymer–glass interface and accomplishes the release of the pallet from its glass substrate on the microsecond time scale (∼1.5 μs). Our experimental investigation demonstrates that the threshold energy for pallet release is constant (∼2 μJ) over a 25-fold range of pulse duration spanning the picosecond to nanosecond domain. Taken together, these results implicate that pallet release accomplished via pulsed laser microbeam irradiation is an energy-driven plasma-mediated ablation process.
Clinical Implications of Clinically Insignificant Stone Fragments After Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

AbstractPurpose: We determined the natural history and clinical significance of small, asymptomatic, noninfection related stone fragments after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL*).Materials and Methods: We prospectively followed 160 patients with 4 mm. or less asymptomatic calcium oxalate/phosphate stone fragments after ESWL for 1.6 to 88.8 months (mean 23) to stone-free status, censorship or intervention. Kaplan-Meier estimates of probability to anatomical stone-free, decreased or stable status were determined as well as the probability of symptomatic episodes or required urological intervention.Results: Stone-free status or a decreased, stable or increased amount of residual stone occurred in 38 (23.8 percent), 26 (16.3 percent), 67 (41.9 percent) and 29 (18.1 percent) of the 160 patients, respectively. At 5 years after ESWL the probability of a stone-free, stone-free or decreased status, or stone-free, decreased or stable status was 0.36, 0.53, and 0.80, respectively. A total of 91 patients (...
Providing End-of-Life Care to Patients: Critical Care Nurses’ Perceived Obstacles and Supportive Behaviors

• BACKGROUND Critical care nurses care for dying patients daily. The process of dying in an intensive care unit is complicated, and research on specific obstacles that impede delivery of end-of-life care and/or supportive behaviors that help in delivery of end-of-life care is limited. • OBJECTIVE To measure critical care nurses’ perceptions of the intensity and frequency of occurrence of (1) obstacles to providing end-of-life care and (2) supportive behaviors that help in providing end-oflife care in the intensive care unit. • METHODS An experimental, posttest-only, control-group design was used. A national, geographically dispersed, random sample of members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses was surveyed. • RESULTS The response rate was 61.3%, 864 usable responses from 1409 eligible respondents. The highest scoring obstacles were frequent telephone calls from patients’ family members for information, patients’ families who did not understand the term lifesaving measures, and physicians disagreeing about the direction of a dying patient’s care. The highest scoring supportive behaviors were allowing patients’ family members adequate time alone with patients after death, providing peaceful and dignified bedside scenes after death, and teaching patients’ families how to act around a dying patient. • CONCLUSIONS The biggest obstacles to appropriate end-of-life care in the intensive care unit are behaviors of patients’ families that remove nurses from caring for patients, behaviors that prolong patients’ suffering or cause patients pain, and physicians’ disagreement about the plan of care. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2005;14:395-403)
Platelet-Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase and Brain Development

The heterotrimeric brain platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAFAH1B1) contains two catalytic subunits and a regulatory subunit. This complex plays important, surprising roles in brain development and in spermatogenesis. The regulatory subunit, PAFAH1B1 (LIS1 protein), is critically regulated and when deficient leads to the devastating human neurological disorder Lissencephaly, or smooth brain. The role of the protein in brain development is not the catalysis of platelet-activating factor, rather the entire brain platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase complex serves a signaling role, coordinating important pathways in brain development. The role of this complex in spermatogenesis was not foreseen, but appears to function to regulate a critical level of the PAFAH1B1 protein, such that too much of this protein or too little of this protein can lead to a disruption of spermatogenesis. Brain platelet-activating factor is thus a signaling complex, important for brain development and for spermatogenesis.
In vitro opioid receptor affinity and in vivo behavioral studies of Nelumbo nucifera flower

Ethnopharmacological relevance Nelumbo nucifera Geartn., known as sacred lotus, has been used traditionally in South East Asia as a traditional medicine for various CNS disorders including stress, fever, depression, insomnia, and cognitive conditions.
Models for Degradation Processes and Event Times Based on Gaussian Processes

We present two stochastic models that describe the relationship between marker process values at random time points, event times, and a vector of covariates. In both models the marker processes are degradation processes that represent the decay of systems over time. In the first model the degradation process is a Wiener process whose drift is a function of the covariate vector; in the second model the degradation process is taken to be the difference between a stationary Gaussian process and a time drift whose drift parameter is a function of the covariates. For both models we present statistical methods for estimation of the regression coefficients. The first model is useful for predicting the residual time from study entry to the time a critical boundary is reached while the second model is useful for predicting the latency time from the event initiating degradation until the time the presence of degradation is detected. We present our methods principally in the context of conducting inference in a population of HIV infected individuals.
Public opinions about public welfare

Evelyn H. Ogren, DSW, is Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Community Plan ning, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Mary land. When this paper was written, the author was a doctoral candidate and Research Asso ciate, Regional Research Institute in Social Welfare, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. The survey on which this article is based was financed in part by supplemental grant 10-P 56033 i9-01 from the U.S. Public Health Service.
Response of a Schuler-Tuned Inertial Guidance System to Random Errors

PL~ Pu = ndO/ds) where 5 is the arc length of the sail and T the tension in the sail per unit span, in place of kqj used in Ref. 3. Clearly the nondimensional results given in tha t report, such as the universal sail shape, can be taken over to the porous-sail problem by replacing k with k'. The lift and drag coefficients of the porous sail are shown in Fig. 2. The magnitudes of the loadings calculated for the impermeable sail will need to be factored by k'/k. The value of k'/k as a function of the porosity parameter a is shown in Fig. 3 for a sail angle of 0.35 rad. Using Eq. (4), the magnitude of the porosity parameter a can be judged from the ratio v/U = ak'9 (5) This is plotted in Fig. 3. The value of <r is likely to be no more than 0.02 for the type of material discussed in the references. The correction to the loadings given in Ref. 3 in this case is 5 percent or less.
Anisotropic properties of human cortical bone with osteogenesis imperfecta

The heterogeneity of bone shape and size variation is modulated by genetic, mechanical, nutritional, and hormonal patterning throughout its lifetime. Microstructural changes across cross sections are a result of mechanistic optimization that results over the years of evolution while being based on universal, time-invariant ingredients and patterns. Here we report changes across anatomical sections of bone with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) that undermines the work of evolution through genetic mutation. This work examines the microstructure and molecular composition of different anatomical positions (anterior, medial, posterior, and lateral regions) in the diaphysis of an OI human tibia. The study shows that although there is no significant microstructural difference, molecular changes are observed using FTIR revealing differences in molecular composition of the four anatomical positions. In addition, the nanomechanical properties of anterior section of OI bone seem more heterogeneous. The nanomechanical properties of interstitial lamellae in all these bone samples are consistently greater than those of osteonal lamellae. The nanomechanical properties of bone depend on its anatomical section and on the measurement direction as well. Variations in molecular structure with anatomical positions and also corresponding differences in nanomechanical properties are reported. These are compared to those observed typically in healthy bone illustrating the unique influence of OI on bone multiscale behavior which results from an evolutionary process lasting for many years.
Yrast spectroscopy of 60 128 Nd 68 and systematics of the ν h 1 1 / 2 crossing in A ∼ 130 nuclei

High-spin states in ${}^{128}\mathrm{Ca}$ were populated with the ${}^{92}\mathrm{Mo}$ ${(}^{40}\mathrm{Ca},2p2n)$ reaction at a beam energy of 184 MeV. The previously known ground-state band has been extended to ${I}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}{=(34}^{+})$ and four sidebands were observed. Configuration assignments for these sidebands are discussed based on their alignment behavior. A significant delay of the $\ensuremath{\nu}{h}_{11/2}$ crossing frequency is observed in the $A\ensuremath{\sim}130$ region, with the largest delays occurring consistently at $N=70.$ Cranked shell model calculations were performed in order to investigate whether a variation of deformation and/or pairing parameters can account for this phenomenon.
Large-Eddy Simulations of a Supersonic Jet with Fluidic Injection for Noise Reduction

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of an under-expanded jet with and without fluidic injection have been carried out. Twelve injection nozzles angled at 60 towards the main jet axis are used for fluidic injection. The effect of two injection mass flow rates along with the amount of the fluidic injection are studied. Longitudinal vortices are generated when the micro jets impinge on the main jet and a thicker shear layer is formed when these vortices diffuse and merge together. Fluidic injection reduces shock-cell size and strength, elongates the potential core, and reduces the turbulence kinetic energy. Increasing the injection mass flow rate brings stronger modifications to the main jet. Shock-associated noise and mixing noise are both reduced, and more reduction is found near the region where shock-associated noise is generated. The magnitude of the high-frequency component is increased near the region where longitudinal vortices are present and this increases with the injection flow rate. The results of the larger injection flow rate are also compared with those of a chevron nozzle. The strength of the longitudinal vortices and the increased shear-layer thickness is comparable for both cases and a similar noise reduction is observed.
Occupational health in developing countries and the status of occupational health nursing.

By virtue of international trade, communication, and transportation, events which occur in developing countries have a direct impact upon developed countries. Occupational health is especially effe...
Solid State NMR Chemical Shifts of Chalcogenides and Pnictides

Chemical shift data available in the literature on binary II-VI and III-V semiconductors and semiconductor alloys and new data obtained on II-IV-V2 chalcopyrite semiconductors and their respective alloys are reviewed and discussed in terms of current molecular orbital descriptions for solids. The chemical shift trends observed for the 33S, 77Se, and 125Te resonances in binary II-VI compounds are satisfactorily explained in terms of the Bond Orbital Model (BOM) developed by Harrison, whereas the 113Cd chemical shift trends observed for the cadmium chalcogenides disagree with BOM predictions. For the III-V compounds, the BOM fails to account for the experimentally observed chemical shift trends. Here, the two-electron bond orbital model including the effect of inter-electronic interactions provides a much better description. In terms of this model, the major chemical shift differences seen along homologous series are due to differences in anion-cation overlap rather than bond ionicity. Applications of this model for explaining chemical shift trends in II-IV-V2 chalcopyrite semiconductors and II-VI, III-V, and II-IV-V2 semiconductor alloys are discussed.
Disturbances of Copper and Iron Metabolism

Abstract The pathology associated with the two classic disorders of metal storage in the liver, Wilson’s disease (copper) and haemochromatosis (iron), are covered in this chapter. Wilson’s disease has a broad spectrum of liver biopsy changes ranging from simple steatosis or scattered acidophilic bodies to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. While histochemical staining for copper with the rhodanine or other method is useful, stainable copper is not homogeneously located throughout the entire liver and the definitive diagnosis requires quantification of copper, with the presence of copper >250 μg/g dry weight. For haemochromatosis, the gene test has in many ways diminished the role of liver biopsy, unless additional secondary conditions are present that require clarification. The presence of diffuse Kupffer-cell haemosiderosis is a cue for the differential diagnosis of haemolysis, transfusions and haemodialysis. By contrast, in the classic HFE haemochromatosis, the haemosiderosis is very prominently within hepatocytes, with a progressively diminishing gradient from periportal to centrilobular regions. The condition termed ‘neonatal haemochromatosis’ is a secondary form of iron storage resulting from severe intrauterine immune liver injury from maternal antibodies that cross the placenta (gestational alloimmune liver disease).
Efficacy of a brief web-based intervention with and without SMS to enhance healthy eating behaviors among university students

Abstract Background Healthy eating, such as the regular inclusion of fruits and vegetables in one's diet, is essential for maintaining optimal weight, maximizing brain and immune system functioning, and reducing the risk for disease. Despite its importance, few students meet recommended guidelines for healthy dietary behavior. The current study was designed to test the efficacy of two ehealth intervention approaches for increasing healthy eating behaviors among university students. Methods Student volunteers from an introductory psychology class at a northeastern US university participated for class credit (n = 154). Students were randomized to either an assessment only (AO), web-based nutrition intervention only (WBO), or web-intervention with daily text-messaging condition (WB + M). Participants completed measures of vegetable and fruit consumption and frequency of meals with designated healthy food selections at baseline and one-month follow-up. Results Only the WB + M intervention significantly increased the likelihood of attaining vegetable consumption standards and increased the frequency of designated healthy food choice options guidelines at follow-up compared to the AO condition. Conclusions Findings suggest that delivering a brief web-based intervention with daily text messages about personal nutrition and fitness goals may support healthier eating patterns among students.
Detection of Significant Groups in Hierarchical Clustering by Resampling

Hierarchical clustering is a simple and reproducible technique to rearrange data of multiple variables and sample units and visualize possible groups in the data. Despite the name, hierarchical clustering does not provide clusters automatically, and ``tree-cutting" procedures are often used to identify subgroups in the data by cutting the dendrogram that represents the similarities among groups used in the agglomerative procedure. We introduce a resampling-based technique that can be used to identify cut-points of a dendrogram with a significance level based on a reference distribution for the heights of the branch points. The evaluation on synthetic data shows that the technique is robust in a variety of situations. An example with real biomarker data from the Long Life Family Study shows the usefulness of the method.
Urban Preservation and Renewal Designating the Historic Beacon Hill District in 1950s Boston

This article takes up the creation of Boston’s Beacon Hill historic district during the 1950s as a significant chapter of preservation planning history. Inspired by similar efforts in the South, this campaign succeeded in a decade commonly associated with conformity and consensus, suburbia and urban renewal, obsolescence and progress. Activists on Beacon Hill persuaded their neighbors and city and state officials that the heretofore little-used technique of historic district designation should be employed in a big, northern industrial city. In so doing, they led the way for the more widespread historic preservation movement that followed during the 1960s and 1970s.
Phase I Study of the Combination of Azacitidine (AZA) with MEC (Mitoxantrone, Etoposide and Cytarabine) Salvage Chemotherapy in Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): Early Results

Abstract 3616 We recently reported that in addition to down-regulating DMNT1 mRNA and inducing DNA hypomethylation, AZA has the ability to reduce the mRNA and protein expression of M2, a subunit of Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR) in AML cells [Blood 119(22): 5229–38, 2012]. RNR is an enzyme critical to DNA synthesis and repair that converts endogenous ribonucleotides to deoxynucleotides. Thus, we hypothesize that AZA-mediated downregulation of M2 results in decreased levels of endogenous triphosphate deoxynucleotides (dNTP). Thus, when AZA is combined with cytarabine (AraC), the backbone for several primary and salvage regimens in AML, the AraCTP/dNTP ratio would be expected to increase in favor of AraCTP DNA incorporation, thereby overcoming AraC resistance. Based on this rationale, we conducted a phase I trial of escalating doses of AZA (q24 h) on days 1–8 combined with unchanged mitoxantrone (6 mg/m2 q24h), etoposide (80 mg/m2 q24 h), and AraC (1 g/m2 q24 h) (MEC) salvage chemotherapy on days 3–8 in patients (pts) with relapsed or refractory AML. AZA doses were escalated (30, 50, or 75 mg/m2 q24h) with each dose level (DL) at which 3–6 pts were treated. Thirteen pts (39% male) with median age 52 (range 36–64) were enrolled. Five pts had primary refractory disease and 8 had relapsed AML (4 with 1 st complete remission duration 500 was 35 days (range 23–45) and median time to platelets>50K was 35 days (range 22–45). Pharmacokinetics (PK) of AZA showed post-infusion biexponential decays with fast and slow plasma half-lives in the range of 10 minutes and 2 hours, respectively. Significant pharmacodynamic reduction in M2 mRNA and/or protein levels was observed in 3 pts analyzed, thus far. In conclusion, the combination of AZA with MEC salvage chemotherapy in advanced AML is well tolerated, not significantly different than MEC alone, and without prolongation in anticipated cytopenias. Early response rate and evidence of reduction in M2 as a proposed target of AZA are encouraging considering that most of the pts had high risk clinical and cytogenetic features. Updated clinical, PK and pharmacodynamic data will be presented. Supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health Grant Number U01CA076576. Disclosures: Off Label Use: Azacitidine in AML.
Tax Rates and Tax Losses. A Preliminary Analysis Using Aggregate Data

Theory suggests that increases in income tax rates induce individuals to make choices that reduce their tax liability. This article documents the growth of “business” losses reported on personal tax returns during 1948–1980. Such losses offset $57 billion of taxable income in 1980 and saved taxpayers an estimated $16 billion.
Can radiation research impact the estimation of risk

AbstractPurpose: This review is a contribution to the memory of Dr William (Bill) Morgan and highlights an area of research and deliberation that he considered extremely important in support of the setting of protective radiation dose limits. Biological research has generally played a minor role in the estimation of adverse health outcomes following exposure to low doses and low dose rates of radiation. The reliance has been on the available, quite extensive data base of epidemiology studies. The major concern is that such studies are for moderate to high doses requiring risk extrapolation methodologies for estimating low dose effects. There are significant uncertainties associated with this approach. This review will discuss how radiation biology studies can potentially reduce this uncertainty through the use of a key events/adverse outcome pathways approach to identify bioindicators of cancer and non-cancer effects for use as parameters in biologically-based dose-response (BBDR) models. Such models woul...
The Modern History of Scientific Explanation

To be a philosopher of science means, among other things, to have an account of what scientific explanation is, or, at the very least, to have a response to various accounts of scientific explanation on offer from other philosophies of science while earnestly working toward what one hopes will be one’s own, original account. One presumption clearly and often lying behind such work is that science provides two kinds of knowledge. There is propositional knowledge, “knowledge that” or “knowledge what,” and there is some other kind of knowledge, something beyond propositional knowledge, usually called “knowing why.” We can know that the moon will have such a phase at this or that time, that home sales will always slump following a rise in interest rates, or that probably no two snowflakes are the same shape, without knowing why the moon will have that phase, home sales will fall as interest rates rise, or no two snowflakes (probably) have the same shape. But science, so the common contemporary presumption continues, fills in the missing knowledge — it tells us why. How science does this, when (if ever) it can’t, and what the nature of this sort of knowledge is are precisely the issues that separate theorists of explanation. There are, of course, deflationary views of explanation, which reduce explanation to other properties or eliminate explanation altogether (e.g., van Fraassen’s pragmatic account of explanation), but these are a decided minority. The vast majority of the work on scientific explanation takes itself to be addressing a certain, distinct, kind of knowledge. This is, moreover, a familiar and introductory point made in philosophical discussions of explanation. I rehearse it here because it has a role to play later, in my discussion of Carl Hempel and Paul Oppenheim’s 1948 article, “Studies in the Logic of Explanation” (hereafter, ‘SLE’).1
Visible Emission in Nanocrystalline Rutile: Free Exciton and Water as Probes for Midgap States in Adsorption/Desorption Using “Conventional” and Synchronous Luminescence Spectroscopy

We studied absorption and emission transitions in the visible range through three distinct electronic midgap states in nanocrystalline rutile TiO2 using absorption spectroscopy, “conventional” photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, synchronous luminescence spectroscopy for the first time, and complementary methods. We have used free exciton in rutile as an intrinsic midgap state (obtained under the subbandgap photoexcitation at 430 nm) to assign luminescence bands of “green light” (ca. 520 nm) and “green–yellow light” (ca. 560 nm) at 25 °C. Further, we utilized water in the vapor phase as spectroscopic probe to learn about origin of visible emission in rutile. Visible photoluminescence is increased by factor ×20 after water desorption and reversibly decreased (quenched) upon water adsorption in air under ambient conditions. Preferential quenching of “green–yellow light” by adsorbed water occurs versus “green light” as originating from surface vs subsurface oxygen vacancies. Water “adsorption/desorption” was...
Summary measures of agreement and association between many raters' ordinal classifications

Abstract Purpose Interpretation of screening tests such as mammograms usually require a radiologist's subjective visual assessment of images, often resulting in substantial discrepancies between radiologists' classifications of subjects' test results. In clinical screening studies to assess the strength of agreement between experts, multiple raters are often recruited to assess subjects' test results using an ordinal classification scale. However, using traditional measures of agreement in some studies is challenging because of the presence of many raters, the use of an ordinal classification scale, and unbalanced data. Methods We assess and compare the performances of existing measures of agreement and association as well as a newly developed model-based measure of agreement to three large-scale clinical screening studies involving many raters' ordinal classifications. We also conduct a simulation study to demonstrate the key properties of the summary measures. Results The assessment of agreement and association varied according to the choice of summary measure. Some measures were influenced by the underlying prevalence of disease and raters' marginal distributions and/or were limited in use to balanced data sets where every rater classifies every subject. Our simulation study indicated that popular measures of agreement and association are prone to underlying disease prevalence. Conclusions Model-based measures provide a flexible approach for calculating agreement and association and are robust to missing and unbalanced data as well as the underlying disease prevalence.
Understanding the college choice process of Asian international students

In the United States, many higher education institutions are experiencing decreasing enrollment due to shrinking numbers of traditional college-age students. From an international student perspective, the increasing competition among countries and higher education institutions means that they have more options to consider in their college choice process. This study seeks to develop a comprehensive college choice model uniquely suited for international students who have chosen American colleges and universities as their study destinations. Using a mixed methods case study methodology, this study reveals that the leading reasons for why international students begin to consider study abroad and finally choose their college destination were mainly explained by human capital theory and the concept of global cultural capital. The study also finds that the dynamic relationships among push and pull forces during the three-stage college choice model may significantly differ by students’ background characteristics (e.g., family income or parental education). This study has important policy and research implications for understanding the factors that influence international students that choose to study abroad in the United States.
On stability of fixed points and chaos in fractional systems.

In this paper, we propose a method to calculate asymptotically period two sinks and define the range of stability of fixed points for a variety of discrete fractional systems of the order 0 < α < 2. The method is tested on various forms of fractional generalizations of the standard and logistic maps. Based on our analysis, we make a conjecture that chaos is impossible in the corresponding continuous fractional systems.
Resistance to Rapamycin: A Novel Anticancer Drug

The macrocyclic lactone rapamycin has an established place as an immune suppressive agent in organ transplantation. However, more recently it has been recognized as an inhibitor of pathways that may be activated during malignant transformation and tumor progression. Thus, increasing interest is being directed to this class of antibiotic as potential antitumor agents. Here we summarize the history, mechanism of action, and mechanisms of resistance to rapamycin.
Chronic Type I and Type III aortic dissections: a propensity analysis of outcomes after open distal repair.

OBJECTIVES To compare short-term outcomes, long-term survival and reinterventions in patients requiring surgery after chronic Type I and chronic primary Type III aortic dissections. METHODS Over an 11-year period, 466 patients underwent thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm repair for chronic Type III (n = 239) and Type I (n = 227) aortic dissections. Short-term outcomes and reinterventions were evaluated by multivariable regression analysis for the entire group; propensity matching produced 169 pairs. RESULTS Mortality was 6% (n = 28) in the overall cohort and 6.2% (n = 14) and 5.9% (n = 14) in those with chronic Type I and Type III aortic dissections, respectively. Overall stroke and persistent spinal cord deficit rates were 4.0% and 2.6%, respectively, in the Type I group and 1.3% and 3.8% in the Type III group. In the propensity-matched patients, analysis showed no neurological differences between the 2 groups, but respiratory failure was significantly more frequent in the chronic Type I group (30.2% vs 15.4%; P = 0.001). Multivariable analysis identified chronic Type I dissection as an independent risk factor for postoperative pulmonary complications (odds ratio 1.612; 95% confidence interval 1.060-2.452; P = 0.026) and an association between chronic Type I dissection and stroke (odds ratio 4.013; 95% confidence interval 1.026-15.698; P = 0.046). Six-year survival was 74.4% ± 4.1% and 74.4% ± 4.6% in the chronic Type I and Type III groups, respectively (P = 0.87). CONCLUSIONS Short- and long-term mortality and reintervention rates were comparable after open repair for chronic Type I and primary chronic Type III aortic dissections. Respiratory failure was more frequent in the chronic Type I aortic dissection group.
Handling Imbalanced and Overlapping Classes in Smart Environments Prompting Dataset

The area of supervised machine learning often encounters imbalanced class distribution problem where one class is under represented as compared to other classes. Additionally, in many real-life problem domains, data with an imbalanced class distribution contains ambiguous regions in the data space where the prior probability of two or more classes are approximately equal. This problem, known as overlapping classes, thus makes it difficult for the learners in classification task. In this chapter, intersection between the problems of imbalanced class and overlapping classes is explored from the perspective of Smart Environments as the application domain. In smart environments, the task of delivering in-home interventions to residents for timely reminders or brief instructions to ensure successful completion of daily activities, is an ideal scenario for the problem. As a solution to the aforementioned problem, a novel clustering-based under-sampling (ClusBUS) technique is proposed. Density-based clustering technique, DBSCAN, is used to identify “interesting” clusters in the instance space on which under-sampling is performed on the basis of a threshold value for degree of minority class dominance in the clusters.
Coxsackievirus B Epidemiology and Public Health Concerns

The coxsackieviruses group B (CVB) are members of the genus Enterovirus and share many properties with other members of this group. There are several excellent reviews covering the basic epidemiology and clinical characteristics of enteroviruses and their infections (MOdlin 1990; Morens et al. 1991; MElnick 1996), and this material will not be repeated in detail except as it relates to recent studies. Most of the conclusions concerning enteroviruses in general are directly applicable to CVB, including: pronounced seasonality in temperate climates; geographic, age, and sex distribution; high incidence and prevalence; moderately high transmission; and most clinical syndromes.
Teaching mands for actions to children with autism spectrum disorder using systematic instruction, behavior chain interruption, and a speech-generating device1

Q What are the effects of using the behavior chain interruption strategy, with time delay with least-to-most prompting, for teaching mands for actions to three children with autism?Design: Multiple...
Management of malignancy-associated bowel obstruction by cervical esophagostomy and total parenteral nutrition, case series of 2 patients.

Abstract Background Patients with gastrointestinal or gynecologic malignancy may show disease progression within the abdomen and pelvis causing bowel obstruction in the absence of clinical evidence of disease outside of the peritoneal space. Bowel obstruction eventually results and has a profound effect on quality of life eventually leading to the demise of these patients. Methods In order to improve the quality of life and combat the requirement for a nasogastric tube, a combination of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to allow adequate caloric intake plus cervical esophagostomy to drain intestinal secretions was utilized as a palliative treatment long-term for patients with malignancy-associated bowel obstruction. Results In 2 patients with appendiceal malignancy no cancer spread outside of the peritoneal space occurred. Unfortunately, total obstruction of the bowel caused unremitting nausea, vomiting, and pain accompanied by an inability to take adequate nutrition by mouth. In these 2 patients TPN long-term was initiated and a cervical esophagostomy tube placed percutaneously. Relief of malnutrition and the symptoms of nausea and vomiting were well treated using this combined approach. Pain management continued as an ongoing problem. Conclusions Long-term management of malignancy-associated bowel obstruction is possible with improvement in quality of life using a combination of TPN and a cervical esophagostomy tube. In these two cases the cervical esophagostomy tube was placed with limited adverse events, and adequate drainage of intestinal secretions long-term.
Linear Fractional Cyclicity

So far we have concentrated on issues of function theory that were motivated by our studies of boundedness, compactness, and spectra for composition operators. Here we begin exploring the function theoretic-consequences of yet another fundamental notion from operator theory, that of cyclicity.
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation contributes to eradication of minimal residual disease in adult Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients treated with dasatinib.

7024Background: Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive (Ph+) disease is associated with a poor prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Recent studies have shown that the eradication of minimal r...
Children’s Mental Health After 9/11 and the Boston Marathon Bombing

Terrorism directly impacts an enormous number of children and adolescents each year, and by definition, the explicit goals of terrorism extend beyond causing death, injury, and the destruction of property. An increasing body of research finds that direct and indirect terrorism exposure can be associated with a very heavy mental health toll in a sizable proportion of exposed youth. This chapter reviews what our research group and our research partners have learned from focused studies examining children and adolescents in the aftermath of the 2001 9/11 attack and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. These studies have identified population-based rates of psychopathology in terrorism-exposed youth and have helped move the field beyond a relatively exclusive focus of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms by also documenting elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and even externalizing problems in this population. These studies have also (a) highlighted the considerable effects that subsequent attack-related life disruptions—such as economic hardships and disrupted infrastructure—can have on youth mental health; (b) charted the effects that media-based exposure (e.g., exposure to television, the Internet, and/or social media coverage of terrorism events) can have on youth mental health; (c) clarified the critical role that parents and teachers can play in helping youth make sense of and process terrorism; and (d) identified particularly vulnerable subgroups of children following terrorist attacks, such as children of first responders and children with prior exposure to community violence. We conclude with a discussion of important future directions in research on terrorism-exposed youth, as well as how findings from studies conducted in the wake of the 9/11 attack and the Boston Marathon bombing can inform the optimal allocation of limited mental health resources following future terrorist events.
A variable-θ method for parabolic problems of nonsmooth data

Abstract Parabolic initial–boundary value problems with nonsmooth data show either rapid transitions or reduced smoothness in its solution. For those problems, specific numerical methods are required to avoid spurious oscillations as well as unrealistic smoothing of steep changes in the numerical solution. This article investigates characteristics of the θ -method and introduces a variable- θ method as a synergistic combination of the Crank–Nicolson (CN) method ( θ = 1 ∕ 2 ) and the implicit method ( θ = 1 ). It suppresses spurious oscillations, by evolving the solution implicitly at points where the solution shows a certain portent of oscillations or reduced smoothness, and maintains as a similar accuracy as the CN method with smooth data. An effective strategy is suggested for the detection of points where the solution may introduce spurious oscillations (the wobble set); the resulting variable- θ method is analyzed for its accuracy and stability. Various numerical examples are given to verify its effectiveness.
How is balance controlled by the nervous system

Abstract Balance (posture) control has two main goals: postural equilibrium (stability) and postural orientation. Balance control has the following properties: the musculoskeletal system, antigravity postural tone, forward internal model of the body and world, coupling between posture and movement, and cognitive control of balance. Many different brain networks are involved in control of balance. The main roles of the basal ganglia in control of balance are: energization/scaling (vigor), 2) automatization, 3) posture-movement coupling, and 4) context-dependent adaptation. The main balance domains to assess are: standing balance, postural responses, postural transitions, dynamic balance during gait, and turning. Balance can be improved with practice.
Burdened by renewable energy? A multi-scalar analysis of distributional justice and wind energy in the United States

Abstract The transition towards renewable energy is likely to be uneven across social and spatial dimensions. To ensure this transition is equitable and just, energy injustice has become the key framework for analyzing and interpreting the distribution of energy infrastructure. Wind energy development has experienced a significant gap between broad public support for increased development but persistent localized opposition to proposed projects, indicating that wind represents a locally unwanted land use. We present the theoretical argument that although the negative impacts of wind energy infrastructure are less extreme than those posed by other, more toxic, unwanted land uses, their status as a locally unwanted land use will produce similar distributional injustices as have been found throughout the environmental injustice literature. Using data from both the American Community Survey, the U.S. Wind Turbine Database, and the National Renewable Energy Lab we use logistic and Poisson regressions, fixed effects, and temporal lags to evaluate the current landscape of wind energy injustice along the social dimensions of income, race and ethnicity, age, education, labor force participation, and rurality at three spatial scales: between all counties within the contiguous United States, between counties within states with wind energy, and between census tracts within counties with wind energy. We do not find strong evidence of distributional injustice along the lines of race, ethnicity, or low-income. However, we do find evidence of injustice for populations which are younger, less educated, have lower labor force participation, and are more rural.