cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dimensionless Parameters Important to the Prediction of Vortex-Induced Vibration of Long, Flexible Cylinders in Ocean Currents

Abstract Case studies drawn from 17 years of field laboratory experiments are used to demonstrate and explain why the flow-induced vibration of long cylinders in ocean currents varies from single mode lock-in to broad band random vibration. It is shown that, with careful consideration of a few dimensionless parameters, the range of observed behavior is predictable. New interpretations are given to the significance of familiar parameters such as mass ratio and reduce damping. In addition, the fractional variation in flow velocity over the length of the cylinder and the number of natural frequencies within the bandwidth of the vortex-shedding frequencies are shown to be of considerable importance. When consideration of the above parameters of the above parameters reveals that multiple mode response without lock-in is likely to occur, then hydrodynamic damping is revealed to have a powerful influence on dynamic response, and the simple product of the total damping ratio and the mode number allows one to anticipate the whole range of response behavior, from the wave propagation properties of infinite length cables to the standing wave features of short cylinders.
SLOW CITIES: SUSTAINABLE PLACES IN A FAST WORLD

ABSTRACT:This article examines the Slow Food and Slow City movement as an alternative approach to urban development that focuses on local resources, economic and cultural strengths, and the unique historical context of a town. Following recent discussions about the politics of alternative economic development, the study examines the Slow City movement as a strategy to address the interdependencies between goals for economic, environmental, and equitable urban development. In particular, we draw on the examples of two Slow Cities in Germany—Waldkirch and Hersbruck, and show how these towns are retooling their urban policies. The study is placed in the context of alternative urban development agendas as opposed to corporate-centered development. We conclude the article by offering some remarks about the institutional and political attributes of successful Slow Cities and the transferability of the concept.
Impact of Constraints on the Complexity of Dynamic Spectrum Assignment

In this paper we study the complexity of spectrum assignment problems in cognitive radio networks (CRNs) in the presence of several constraints. Although optimal spectrum assignment for secondary transmissions in CRNs is generally believed to be NP complete, the impact of fairness and link quality constraints on the hardness of the problem is not well studied. In this paper we show that when a minimum quality constraint is imposed on secondary transmissions, the spectrum assignment problem can be solved in polynomial time. However, such assignments may not guarantee fairness. We also show that when fairness is desired, even in the presence of quality constraints spectrum assignment problems remain NP complete. We then propose a tree pruning based algorithm to solve distance constrained spectrum assignment problem. We also discuss some heuristic techniques to solve fair distance constrained spectrum assignment problems in polynomial time.
Variable penalty methods for constrained minimization

Abstract This paper describes a class of variable penalty methods for solving the general nonlinear programming problems. The algorithm poses a sequence of unconstrained optimization problems with mechanisms to control the quality of the approximation for the Hessian matrix. The Hessian matrix is proposed in terms of the constraint functions and their first derivatives. The unconstrained problems are solved using a modified Newton's algorithm. The convergence of the method is accelerated by choosing variable penalty function parameters which in a given constraint environment, during an unconstrained minimization process, best control the error in the approximation of the Hessian matrix. Several possibilities for obtaining such parameters are discussed. The numerical effectiveness of this algorithm is demonstrated on a relatively large set of test problems.
Effectiveness of crisis center volunteers and the personal orientation inventory.

43 university students who had volunteered for crisis center work were initially evaluated for positive characteristics via the Personal Orientation Inventory, then later rated on semantic differential scales for effectiveness as volunteers. Among the rating scales were those purported to measure empathy, nonpossessive warmth, and genuineness. In the present study, positive characteristics as inventoried yielded more negative significant than positive correlations with supervisors' ratings of effectiveness. All were small to moderate in magnitude. Strong, active, energetic, self-directed, and genuine gave the largest negative rs with inventory scales. This study does not confirm earlier findings with somewhat similar samples and procedures. The Personal Orientation Inventory might be measuring positive characteristics of the more tender-minded, while supervisors of crisis workers were favoring the strong, active, and genuine.
Psychophysical magic : rendering the visible 'invisible'

What are the neural correlates of conscious visual awareness? Tackling this question requires contrasting neural correlates of stimulus processing culminating in visual awareness with neural correlates of stimulus processing unaccompanied by awareness. To produce these two neural states, one must be able to erase an otherwise visible stimulus from awareness. This article describes and assesses visual phenomena involving dissociation of physical stimulation and conscious awareness: degraded stimulation, visual masking, visual crowding, bistable figures, binocular rivalry, motion-induced blindness, inattentional blindness, change blindness and attentional blink. No single approach stands above the others, but those producing changing visual awareness despite invariant physical stimulation are clearly preferable. Such phenomena can help lead us ultimately to a comprehensive account of the neural correlates of conscious awareness.
Expression of the Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger Ameliorates Ionomycin-Induced Cell Death

Abstract PC12 cells were stably transfected with cDNA encoding the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX1.4). A robust Na+-dependent Ca2+ uptake confirmed the functional expression of the protein. When NCX1.4 expressing cells (NO) and vector transfected control cells (VC) were exposed to 0.5–20 μM ionomycin for 6 h, a dose-dependent increase in LDH release was observed. LDH release was significantly reduced in NO when compared with VC. When either VC and NO were treated with 3 μM ionomycin and 1.1 mM EGTA, the increase in LDH release was nearly abolished. However, when VC and NO were treated with ionomycin and then EGTA was added 2 min later, LDH release remained elevated. These data suggest ionomycin-induced cell death was Ca2+ dependent and expressing NCX1.4 may have ameliorated cell death by reducing elevated [Ca2+]I.
Substrate considerations for graphene synthesis on thin copper films

Chemical vapor deposition on copper substrates is a primary technique for synthesis of high quality graphene films over large areas. While well-developed processes are in place for catalytic growth of graphene on bulk copper substrates, chemical vapor deposition of graphene on thin films could provide a means for simplified device processing through the elimination of the layer transfer process. Recently, it was demonstrated that transfer-free growth and processing is possible on SiO2. However, the Cu/SiO2/Si material system must be stable at high temperatures for high quality transfer-free graphene. This study identifies the presence of interdiffusion at the Cu/SiO2 interface and investigates the influence of metal (Ni, Cr, W) and insulating (Si3N4, Al2O3, HfO2) diffusion barrier layers on Cu–SiO2 interdiffusion, as well as graphene structural quality. Regardless of barrier choice, we find the presence of Cu diffusion into the silicon substrate as well as the presence of Cu–Si–O domains on the surface of the copper film. As a result, we investigate the choice of a sapphire substrate and present evidence that it is a robust substrate for synthesis and processing of high quality, transfer-free graphene.
Molecular cytogenetic characterization of a familial der(1)del(1)(p36.33)dup(1)(p36.33p36.22) with variable phenotype.

Chromosome deletions involving 1p36 are the most common known terminal rearrangements occurring at a frequency of ∼1 in 5,000 live births. In contrast, duplications of the same region have been reported rarely. We describe a familial rearrangement der(1)del(1)(p36.33)dup(1)(p36.33p36.22) identified in a mother, daughter, and son. These individuals help define a syndrome with variable mental disability, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, and a distinctive facial appearance with wide palpebral fissures, broad nasal root, macrostomia, ear malformations, and prominent incisors. Based on our results we suggest that the complex rearrangement seen in our family could be the result of the breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycles model of formation. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Use of Imaging in Restorative Stroke Trials

Restorative therapies aim to improve behavioral outcome after stroke by promoting repair and restoration. Measures of CNS injury and function might be useful to evaluate such therapies in a clinical trial, for example, by optimizing patient selection or treatment dose. These issues are considered in this review, with specific examples provided.
Purification and characterization of Thermotoga maritima endonuclease IV, a thermostable apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease and 3'-repair diesterase.

An endonuclease IV homolog was identified as the product of a conceptual open reading frame in the genome of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima. The T. maritima endonuclease IV gene encodes a 287-amino-acid protein with 32% sequence identity to Escherichia coli endonuclease IV. The gene was cloned, and the expressed protein was purified and shown to have enzymatic activities that are characteristic of the endonuclease IV family of DNA repair enzymes, including apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity and repair activities on 3′-phosphates, 3′-phosphoglycolates, and 3′-trans-4-hydroxy-2-pentenal-5-phosphates. The T. maritima enzyme exhibits enzyme activity at both low and high temperatures. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicates that T. maritima endonuclease IV has secondary structure similar to that of E. coli endonuclease IV and that the T. maritima endonuclease IV structure is more stable than E. coli endonuclease IV by almost 20°C, beginning to rapidly denature only at temperatures approaching 90°C. The presence of this enzyme, which is part of the DNA base excision repair pathway, suggests that thermophiles use a mechanism similar to that used by mesophiles to deal with the large number of abasic sites that arise in their chromosomes due to the increased rates of DNA damage at elevated temperatures.
The yeast lgl family member Sro7p is an effector of the secretory Rab GTPase Sec4p

Rab guanosine triphosphatases regulate intracellular membrane traffic by binding specific effector proteins. The yeast Rab Sec4p plays multiple roles in the polarized transport of post-Golgi vesicles to, and their subsequent fusion with, the plasma membrane, suggesting the involvement of several effectors. Yet, only one Sec4p effector has been documented to date: the exocyst protein Sec15p. The exocyst is an octameric protein complex required for tethering secretory vesicles, which is a prerequisite for membrane fusion. In this study, we describe the identification of a second Sec4p effector, Sro7p, which is a member of the lethal giant larvae tumor suppressor family. Sec4-GTP binds to Sro7p in cell extracts as well as to purified Sro7p, and the two proteins can be coimmunoprecipitated. Furthermore, we demonstrate the formation of a ternary complex of Sec4-GTP, Sro7p, and the t-SNARE Sec9p. Genetic data support our conclusion that Sro7p functions downstream of Sec4p and further imply that Sro7p and the exocyst share partially overlapping functions, possibly in SNARE regulation.
The social rate of return on investment in public health, 1880-1910.

The period 1880–1910 saw great improvement in the health of city dwellers. Life expectancy at birth for males in Boston rose from 37 in 1880 to 46 in 1910; in New York City it rose from 29 in 1880 to 45 in 1910. The improvement in the state of health came largely from a decline in the incidence of infectious disease. Recent studies have suggested that most of this decline is fairly attributable to improvements in the standard of living—especially as reflected in diets and housing—and, for cities, to new public health measures—especially the installation of sanitary sewers and the provision of central supplies of pure drinking water. Government installation of public health projects in the United States was a part of the “sanitation movement,” which began some time around 1880. During the thirty-year period 1880–1910 there was a rapid increase in the fraction of the urban population served by sanitary sewers and improved water systems. For example, in 1875 fewer than 30,000 urban citizens were supplied with filtered water. By 1910 the figure had risen to over 10,000,000. That the improved health resulting from these public health measures must have been regarded by its recipients as an increase in their well being is clear. What is not clear is whether the recipients of improved health would have been even better off if the resources used in constructing and maintaining public health projects had been put to alternative uses unrelated to health. In this article I shall estimate the social rates of return on the cumulated investments in public health projects as could have been perceived by their builders and show that it may have exceeded the market rate of return on capital by several times.
Acarbose: A Review of US Clinical Experience

Postprandial hyperglycemia and elevations in glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels have been associated with long-term complications of diabetes. Because not all patients with type II, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), respond adequately to diet, exercise, or treatment with oral sulfonylurea drugs, alternate therapies have been investigated. Acarbose, the first alpha-glucosidase inhibitor available in the United States, exerts its activity in the gastrointestinal tract. By reversibly inhibiting the enzymatic cleavage of complex carbohydrates to simple absorbable sugars, treatment with acarbose results in a reduction in postprandial blood glucose and, subsequently, reductions in HbA1c levels. Acarbose may be given as monotherapy with diet or in combination with diet and a sulfonylurea drug. The results of several controlled clinical studies conducted in the United States are reviewed here. Acarbose, in doses of up to 100 mg three times daily for periods of up to 16 weeks, was statistically significantly superior to placebo with respect to the mean reduction in HbA1c levels and mean 1-hour postprandial glucose levels. Adverse events were nonsystemic and primarily gastrointestinal in nature. Acarbose represents a new approach to the management of NIDDM, modulating gastrointestinal carbohydrate metabolism to control postprandial hyperglycemia and to maximize long-term glycemic control.
Arachidonic acid in uterine phospholipid during early pregnancy and following hormone treatment.

Evidence that prostaglandins are involved in intercellular communication during blastocys: implantation suggested that development and loss of uterine sensitivity to deciduogenic stimuli during early pregnancy might depend upon changes in uterine capacity to mobilize arachidonic acid from phospholipid. We measured levels of arachidonic acid in lipid fractions on Day 6 of pregnancy in uterine segments containing implantation sites, in uterine segments between implantation sites, and in luminal epithelial cells after a deciduogenic stimulus. Arachidonic acid in uterine phospholipid was depleted at implantation sites. With an intrauterine deciduogenic stimulus of hormonally primed ovariectomized rat uteri, the arachidonic acid content of the Iwninal epithelium decreased. When the fatty acid composition of the lwninal epithelium was examined during pseudopregnancy and after progestin-estrogen treatment, however, no changes in arachidonic acid composition and content were observed. These data suggest that during blastocyst implantation, luminal epithelial cells at implantation sites mobilize arachidonic acid from phospholipid for prostaglandin synthesis, but that uterine sensitivity and the capacity to synthesize prostaglandins in response to the blastocyst does not depend upon changes in arachidonic acid levels in uterine phospholipid.
Interactions Between Transient and Sustained Neural Signals Support the Generation and Regulation of Anxious Emotion

Anxious emotion can manifest on brief (threat response) and/or persistent (chronic apprehension and arousal) timescales, and prior work has suggested that these signals are supported by separable neural circuitries. This fMRI study utilized a mixed block-eventrelated emotional provocation paradigm in 55 healthy participants to simultaneously measure brief and persistent anxious emotional responses, testing the specificity of, and interactions between, these potentially distinct systems. Results indicated that components of emotional processing networks were uniquely sensitive to transient and sustained anxious emotion. Whereas the amygdala and midbrain showed only transient responses, the ventral basal forebrain and anterior insula showed sustained activity during extended emotional contexts that tracked positively with taskevoked anxiety. States of lesser anxiety were associated with greater sustained activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, ventromedial prefrontal recruitment was lower in individuals with higher scores on intolerance of uncertainty measures, and this hyporecruitment predicted greater transient amygdala responding to potential threat cues. This work demonstrates how brain circuitries interact across temporal scales to support brief and persistent anxious emotion and suggests potentially divergent mechanisms of dysregulation in clinical syndromes marked by brief versus persistent symptoms of anxiety.
Complexity of dendritic SER increases at enlarging synapses during LTP

Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) forms a membranous network that extends throughout neurons. SER regulates intracellular calcium and the posttranslational modification and trafficking of membrane and proteins. As the structure of dendritic SER shifts from a tubular to a more complex, branched form, the movement of membrane cargo slows and delivery to nearby spines increases. Here we discovered changes in the structural complexity of SER that have important functional implications during long-term potentiation (LTP) in adult rat hippocampus. By 2 hours after the induction of LTP with theta-burst stimulation, synapse enlargement was greatest on spines that contained SER. More spines had an elaborate spine apparatus than a simple tubule of SER. The SER in dendritic shafts became more complex beneath spines with both polyribosomes and SER, and less complex along aspiny dendritic regions. The findings suggest that local changes in dendritic SER support enhanced growth of specific synapses during LTP.
Terror in the Skies: International Law, Domestic Security Efforts and Their Efficacy

America has historically been protected by its geographic location from international threats, due its being surrounded on either side by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The arrival of the airplane and the commercial airline industry changed the calculus regarding the threat that was posed to America - as was displayed by the horrific events of September 11, 2001. This paper will look at the development in law regarding criminal acts in aviation and analyzes the modern direction and effectiveness of law in its attempt to preempt terrorism and potential criminals from boarding planes.
A Wireless-Based Approach for Transit Analytics

We propose Trellis --- an in-vehicle WiFi-based tracking system that passively observes mobile devices and provides various analytics for transit operators. Our infrastructure is fairly low-cost and can be a complementary, yet efficient, mechanism by which such operators collect various information, e.g., popular original-destination stations of passengers, waiting times of passengers at stations, occupancy of vehicles, and more. A key challenge in our system is to efficiently determine which device is actually inside (or outside) of a transit vehicle, which we are able to address through contextual information. While our current system cannot provide accurate actual numbers of passengers, we expect the relative numbers and general trends to be still fairly useful from an analytics perspective. We have deployed a preliminary version of Trellis on two city buses in Madison, WI, and report on some general observations on transit efficiency over a period of four months.
Wild pig (Sus scrofa) reproduction and diet in the Rolling Plains of Texas

Abstract Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species that can negatively impact arid environments. Their invasiveness mainly stems from two aspects of their behavior: diet and reproductive ability. We examined the stomach contents (n = 89) and reproductive tracts (n = 78) taken from wild pigs from June 1996 to October 1998 in the Rolling Plains of Texas. Pigs showed variation in forage categories among seasons. Agricultural crops were used with high frequency in all seasons. Farrowing peaked between December and February, with an average fetal litter size of 4.75 ± 2.67. Older and larger sows tended to have larger litters, but sows as young as 8 months of age were reproductive. We recommend limiting pig access to agricultural crops when possible and trapping when pigs are most nutrient stressed (summer). Control efforts should be most effective immediately preceding the farrowing peak and focused on females >8 months of age.
Human Avatar Robotic Puppeteering (HARP)

The Human Avatar Robotic Puppeteering (HARP) project is focused on studying whether homologous puppeteering (controlling via mimicry) is an effective control principle for robots, given minimal user training. This project aims to develop a practical implementation at low-cost. The HARP project is a three-joint robotic crane that is capable of grasping objects. In order to control via puppeteering, the system tracks the user’s hand moving in free space in real time as an avatar. This implementation relies on a Microsoft Kinect ($150) and a Leap Motion sensor ($100). This low-cost prototype is a proof-of-concept for a natural interface between user and robot, allowing gestures to be the method of communication rather than the traditional button-and-switch method. The system uses the Xbox Kinect to track the hand in reference to a known point on a table. This position is mapped using the imaging camera sensor in the Kinect, and an inverse kinematic algorithm is used to translate that position to the joint-angles for the crane. The grasping of the user’s hand is sensed with the Leap Motion sensor. A key contribution to the research field is the blending of two different gesture based sensor systems to form a robust control interface.
Thermoelectric Properties of Nd2-xCexCuO4 Sintered Bodies

Thermoelectric power factor and figure of merit of Nd2-xCexCuO4 (x=0-0.1) sintered bodies were estimated from the Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity measured in temperature range of 300-673 K. Temperature dependence of Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity showed n-type semiconducting behavior. Thermal conductivities, which decreased with increasing temperature for each Cc concentration, were in range of 3.7-7.5 Wm-1K-1. The power factor and the figure of merit for x=0.01 and 0.05 increased with decreasing temperature. Their maxima were 9.2⋅10-5 Wm-1K-2 and 1.7⋅10-5K-1, respectively, at 320 K for x=0.05. The figure of merit would be improved to some extent by reduction of lattice thermal conductivity.
Structural Basis of Microtubule Polymerases in Accelerating Tubulin Polymerization via Multiple Tog Domains

XMAP215/Dis1 proteins are microtubule polymerases that accelerate αβ-tubulins assembly at microtubule plus ends via multiple conserved Tumor Overexpressed Gene (TOG) domains; however, their mechanisms remains poorly understood. Here, we describe structural basis for microtubule polymerase using biochemistry and x-ray crystallography by studying multi-TOG domain-αβ-tubulin complexes in two states along the polymerization pathway. We show TOG1 and TOG2 domains bind αβ-tubulins but release them with different rates using biochemical methods. Upon inhibiting αβ-tubulin polymerization, we determine x-ray structures revealing that two subunits of TOG1-TOG2 domains form dimeric head-to-tail square assemblies bound to αβ-tubulins, stabilized by novel higher-order TOG domain interfaces. In this intermediate the four αβ-tubulins are positioned in a polarized organization, 90°-rotated from polymerization contacts. Upon controlled release of αβ-tubulin polymerization, TOG2 dissociate from TOG1 domains, rotating and polymerizing αβ-tubulins to form a head-to-tail two-subunit polymer. A new paradigm emerges from our studies to explain microtubule polymerase catalysis suggesting two TOG1-TOG2 domain subunits cooperatively organize αβ-tubulins in a polarized organization prior to polymerization, and dissociation of TOG domains at microtubule plus ends leads tubulin polymerization due to the organization coupled with an αβ-tubulin TOG domain release rate gradient, with the most rapid being at the outermost end of a newly formed polymer.
Identity Economics 2016: Where Do Social Distinctions and Norms Come From?

Abstract Identity economics provides a framework to analyze economic outcomes by establishing people's identities--not just pecuniary incentives--as primary motivations for choice. The heart of the framework is social difference and norms. This paper engages the emerging economic research into sources of divisions and norms: individuals, families, schools, governments, and social movements. The task at hand is to further to develop the micro-foundations of identity, in order to build a socially framed understandings of human motivation that will yield more robust accounts of behavior and institutions and yet better predictions of the implications of policy.
Circulating vasoactive substances and hemodynamic adjustments at birth in lambs.

Circulating vasoactive substances and hemodynamics were examined in chronically instrumented unanesthetized lambs before, during, and after cesarean section (spontaneous respiration). One of three infusions were started 20 min before birth: saline control (n = 10), saralasin (n = 5), or captopril (n = 6). Control lambs exhibited peak (means +/- SE) increases above fetal base line at 5 min after birth in plasma renin activity (5.0 +/- 1.1 to 11.0 +/- 3.4 ng.ml-1.h-1), angiotensin II (ANG II, 37 +/- 6 to 141 +/- 45 pg/ml) and total catecholamines (318 +/- 35 to 3,821 +/- 580 pg/ml). Mean systemic arterial pressure (Psa) and arterial O2 partial pressure (PaO2) increased more rapidly and to a greater extent by 1 h after birth in control lambs (Psa, 65 +/- 1 Torr; PaO2, 45 +/- 3 Torr) compared with the captopril group (Psa, 53 +/- 2 Torr; PaO2, 31 +/- 4 Torr) and the saralasin group (Psa, 56 +/- 2 Torr; PaO2, 27 +/- 3 Torr). Intravenous infusions of ANG II in control lambs, 2 h after birth resulted in a preferential systemic vs. pulmonary pressor response. The results demonstrate that at birth ANG II formation fosters the postnatal rise in Psa and PaO2, and high levels of circulating catecholamines may support postnatal cardiac output and Psa.
Real-time model predictive control for keeping a quadrotor visible on the camera field-of-view of a ground robot

This paper considers a cooperative control design for an aerial/ground robot system, and addresses the problem of maintaining visibility of a quadrotor within the camera field-of-view of a ground robot in the presence of external disturbances. The quadrotor needs to be tracked by the ground robot with a monocular camera, and hence its motion should facilitate the ground vision-based tracking process by remaining in the effective camera sensing area. We design a model predictive controller (MPC) strategy where the visibility constraints of the camera and the control input constraints of the quadrotor are encoded into the cost function via barrier functions, and we adopt a fast MPC solver that is able to solve the optimization problem in real time. We also propose a method to enhance the robustness of the algorithm by suitably defining a restart method for the MPC solver. The applicability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through simulations and experimental results on real setups.
Wisdom, Suffering, and Practice

With a focus historically on religious ‘goods’ in the context of monastic life, Zen Buddhists have not developed systems of social ethics. Although Zen life does contain significant ethical components, Japanese Zen Buddhists have often deferred to Confucianism or conventional Japanese ethics. Usually failing to reflect critically and exhaustively on the ethical components of Zen life in the context of the larger Buddhist tradition, Zen Buddhists in Japan have exhibited a wide range of political stances and behaviours, some of which appear to diverge from basic Buddhist values. For example, as outlined in Chapter 3, certain Japanese monks whose monastic life was guided by precepts and regulations led social lives characterised by close collaboration with the political status quo, which often involved violence and oppression and was headed by warriors most Buddhists would be hard pressed to equate with bodhisattvas.1
Family Instability, Multipartner Fertility, and Behavior in Middle Childhood

Two concepts capture the dynamic and complex nature of contemporary family structure: family instability and multipartner fertility. Although these circumstances are likely to co-occur, their respective literatures have proceeded largely independently. The authors used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,062) to consider these dimensions of dynamic family structure together, asking whether they independently predict children's behavior problems at age 9. Frequent family instability was consistently predictive of higher predicted levels of behavior problems for children born to mothers who were unmarried, an association largely attenuated by factors related to family stress. Multipartner fertility was robustly related to self-reported delinquency and teacher-reported behavior problems among children born to mothers who were married.
Intelligent management of multiple sensors for enhanced situational awareness

Wide area motion imagery (WAMI) offers the promise of persistent surveillance over large regions. However, the combination of lower frame rate and coarser spatial resolution found in most WAMI systems can limit the ability to track multiple targets. One way to address this limitation is to employ the wide-area sensor in concert with one or more high resolution sensors. We have developed a capability called Sensor Management for Adaptive Reconnaissance and Tracking (SMART), for tasking an arbitrary number of high-fidelity assets, working with the WAMI sensor to maximize situational awareness based on a prevailing set of conditions and target priorities. We present a simulation framework for exploring performance of various sensor management strategies and present the findings from an initial set of experiments.
The National Council for Black Studies

The major professional organization of Black Studies scholars is the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) founded by education professor Bertha Maxwell-Roddy in 1976. The organization’s initial concerns were to provide support and curriculum guidance for emerging Black Studies units. However, the organization’s first decade witnessed internal divisions between Black nationalist and Marxist factions that hindered its development. The organization was heavily dependent on large public universities such as Indiana University and Ohio State for infrastructure support. Elite private schools and historically Black colleges played minimal roles in its development. More recently, the NCBS has broadened its base of support and developed a journal.
Multifunctional roles of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 protein in replication, recombination and repair

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 DNA helicase has important roles in DNA replication, recombination and repair. In replication, Srs2 aids in repair of gaps by repair synthesis by preventing gaps from being used to initiate recombination. This is considered to be an anti-recombination role. In recombination, Srs2 plays both prorecombination and anti-recombination roles to promote the synthesis-dependent strand annealing recombination pathway and to inhibit gaps from initiating homologous recombination. In repair, the Srs2 helicase actively promotes gap repair through an interaction with the Exo1 nuclease to enlarge a gap for repair and to prevent Rad51 protein from accumulating on single-stranded DNA. Finally, Srs2 helicase can unwind hairpin-forming repeat sequences to promote replication and prevent repeat instability. The Srs2 activities can be controlled by phosphorylation, SUMO modification and interaction with key partners at DNA damage or lesions sites, which include PCNA and Rad51. These interactions can also limit DNA polymerase function during recombinational repair independent of the Srs2 translocase or helicase activity, further highlighting the importance of the Srs2 protein in regulating recombination. Here we review the myriad roles of Srs2 that have been documented in genome maintenance and distinguish between the translocase, helicase and additional functions of the Srs2 protein.
Kicking Ash: Who (or What) is Winning the “War on Coal”?

US coal‐fired generating capacity has shed nearly 25% of its footprint between 2011 and 2018. Multiple factors—regulation, natural gas prices, renewable energy adoption, and environmental activism—have each been lauded by various stakeholders for this trend. To improve our understanding of this environmental technology transition, it is important to determine the extent to which each of these factors has accelerated coal unit retirements. We do so in this study through an accelerated failure time model that utilizes data on US coal‐fired generating units from 2008 through 2016. Our findings indicate that environmental regulation, reduced natural gas price volatility, increased utilization of renewable capacity, and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign have all accelerated coal unit retirements. We do not, however, find evidence that natural gas price levels or the penetration of renewable capacity have accelerated coal unit retirements. Among the significant drivers, we estimate that the Beyond Coal campaign has had the greatest effect per unit, reducing expected operating life by an average of 24.4 months. However, among these factors, federal regulation affected the greatest number of coal units, and thus had the greatest aggregate impact on coal retirements. In post hoc analysis, we estimate that 40% of the generation that had been provided by retired coal‐fired units spilled over to surviving coal‐fired units. However, we estimate the 60% that was displaced from the coal fleet resulted in a 103.6 to 178.2 million metric ton net reduction in CO2 emissions each year.
Assessing Diagnostic Tests

Pathologists need to assess diagnostic tests and to decide whether to incorporate a test into their practice and decision-making process. This requires them to understand and interpret the technical and clinical characteristics of the tests. The technical utility of tests is dependent on their technical accuracy and precision which are determined by identifying and quantifying measurement error. Clinical utility of diagnostic tests is dependent on the ability of the test to correctly distinguish diseased state from the unaffected state; the clinical accuracy is defined using terms such as sensitivity and specificity.
Estimating dining hall usage using bluetooth low energy beacons

Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons are a relatively new technology that has recently found extensive use in various industry and marketing fields. While these beacons have begun to be used in research settings, much of the focus has been related to indoor positioning, and not on general place detection and user patterns. In this paper we use BLE beacon data to detect visits to the dining hall, and analyze these visitation patterns from the perspective of what would be useful to our institution's dining services department. For the data collection, we leverage a BLE beacon sensing-enabled institutional app to collect data from over 700 users during finals week, as a preliminary study of the capabilities of such data.
Current status and future directions for a total artificial heart with a past.

The total artificial heart (TAH) now known as the Cardio West was the product of work in Dr. Willem Kolff's laboratory at the University of Utah. It made a clinical debut in the early 1980s as a permanent device, the Jarvik-7 TAH. In the mid 1980s, it was used successfully as a bridge to transplantation as the Symbion TAH. Sufficient data from that experience documented its safety and efficacy; however, regulatory issues led to the loss of its investigational device exemption (IDE) in January 1991 and the subsequent halt of all implants in the U.S.A. and significant diminution of them in Europe. Our hypothesis, based upon work accumulated up to that time, was that this device had sufficient merit in terms of functional characteristics and previous documentation to be useful as a short-term bridge to transplant and as a longer term circulatory support device, especially because of its proven portability. We thus set out to reinstate the IDE and restudy the same device, now named the CardioWest TAH. As of January 1993, a new IDE study was begun with accompanying collaboration with U.S., Canadian, and French teams. Since then, we have completed our IDE study and generated 114 implants. In the national study, 25 of the 27 implanted patients (93%) were transplanted, and 24 were discharged (89% of the total; 96% of those transplanted). Compared with a series of 18 matched control patients with a discharge rate of 39%, the discharge rate of patients treated with the CardioWest was significantly better (p < 0.00001). In our own institutional experience, 24 patients were implanted, 1 remains on the TAH, 19 of 23 (83%) were transplanted, and 19 were discharged (83% of the total and 100% of those transplanted). Finally, worldwide, there have been 114 implants of the CardioWest TAH with 72 transplanted (63%) and 66 discharged (58% of total and 92% of those transplanted). Implant times have been as long as 186 days. Work is underway to readapt the Heimes driver, a camera case sized portable pneumatic driver, to the TAH. Given the efficacy and durability of the device and the potential of portability, the future for out of hospital living with this device appears more realistic than ever.
Multi-Cumulant and Pareto Solutions for Tactics Change Prediction and Performance Analysis in Stochastic Multi-Team Noncooperative Games

New solution concepts, called the multi-cumulant Pareto Nash and minimax strategies, are proposed for quadratic decision problems where multiple teams of decision makers are interested in strategies that not only ensure cooperation within each team and competition among different teams but also provide noncooperative teams the capability of assessing team performance and predicting tactics via complete statistical descriptions. Analytical expressions for higher-order statistics associated with strategy selection and performance assessment as well as closed-form feedback Nash equilibrium and minimax solutions to the special linear-quadratic class of stochastic multi-team games are also presented. The capability to shape the probability density function of the team performance measure is possible because not only is the first performance statistic considered as in the special case of the linear-quadratic-gaussian problem, but also some finite linear combinations of other performance statistics are included. In all decision strategies developed here, the decision feedback gains are explicitly dependent upon the “information” statistics which are then used to directly target the uncertainty of team performance and decision laws. It is concluded that the need to account for the reduction of performance uncertainty gives rise to the interaction between dual decision control functions: reducing uncertainty and exercising control. As the result, the certainty equivalence property is no longer available for the class of statistical control problems considered here.
Principles of gene transfer and foreign protein expression for human gene therapy

The conceptual and technical bases for human gene therapy are maturing rapidly. At its inception in the early 1970s, gene therapy presumed the eventual development of efficient and targeted vectors to deliver therapeutic foreign genetic elements into defective cells for the purpose of complementing underlying genetic defects responsible for human genetic disease. The initial models for this approach were the single-gene Mendelian defects associated with classical “inborn errors of metabolism”. It was a relatively simple task to demonstrate early that normal alleles could be introduced into defective cells, that newly expressed gene products could complement genetic defects and that aspects of complex disease phenotypes could be reversed inin vitroand animal model systems.
Dyskeratosis Congenita and the Telomere Biology Disorders

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a genetic syndrome with an increasingly appreciated myriad of disease manifestations including life-threatening bone marrow failure (BMF), pulmonary fibrosis, hepatic cirrhosis, and cancer predisposition. Driven by defects in telomere length maintenance, DC is one of a spectrum of telomere biology disorders (TBDs), which includes familial pulmonary fibrosis and the severe variants, Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome, Revesz syndrome, and Coats plus. To date, genes implicated in the TBDs encode telomerase core components (TERT and TERC), factors required for telomerase biogenesis (DKC1, NHP2, NOP2, NAF1, and PARN), telomerase trafficking (WRAP53), telomerase recruitment (ACD), telomere replication and end structure (RTEL1, CTC1, STN1, and POT1), and multiple aspects of telomere biology (TINF2). In this chapter, the principles of telomere length maintenance are described, and a current appraisal of the diagnosis, disease manifestations, treatment options, and molecular genetics of DC and related TBDs is provided.
THE GUINEA PIG I REGION- A STRUCTURAL, GENETIC AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

A combined approach of serologic, chemical and functional analyses has permitted an organization of the guinea pig I region, and the association of specific Ia antigens with Ir genes. Three subregions of the guinea pig I region have been identified, each of which encodes an Ia antigen with a distinct molecular structure. Ia.2 of strain 2 animals is borne on molecule consisting of a 33,000 dalton chain and a 25,000 dalton chain most likely in non-covalent linkage, and is associated with the Ir gene for GL. Ia.4,5 of strain 2 are borne on a 58,000 dalton molecule composed of a 33,000 dalton chain and 25,000 dalton chain joined by disulfide bonds, and is most likely associated with the response to PPD. Ia.3, 5 of strain 13 guinea pigs has a structure homologous to Ia.2, and is associated with the Ir gene for DNP-GPA. Ia.7 of strain 13 is on a molecule similar to Ia.4,5, and as yet has no associated Ir gene. Ia.1,6 of strain 13 is borne on a molecule of one 26,000 dalton chain, or possibly two 26,000 dalton chains in non-covalent linkage, and is associated with the Ir gene for GT. Ia.6 in the strain 2 animals has not been definitively mapped.
Pipes on Property and Freedom

Every once in a while a book comes along which bodes well to explain, expound upon, and, most importantly, defend and justify that much maligned institution—private property rights—but which turns out, in the end, to be a disappointment. Two years ago it was Bethell’s The Noblest Triumph that took on this role. This time around it would appear to be the turn of Pipes’s Property and Freedom that fails to meet our hopes and expectations.
BIOCERAMIC COMPOSITE: HEN’S EGGSHELL CHARACTERIZATION AND MAIN APPLICATIONS

The chicken eggshell is a bioceramic composite which constitutes a solid waste material whose final disposal is complex and expensive. Brazil generates significant amounts of eggshell residue. This work aimed to characterize the eggshells of white, red and backyard hens and indicate their technological potential as raw material for ceramic products manufacturing. The eggshells were crushed, ground, sifted in a ABNT number 80 sieve and subsequently analyzed by X-rays fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermal analyses (DTA and TGA). Through XRF it was observed that the main constituent of eggshell is calcium oxide (CaO), with different percentages between the eggshell types. XRD analysis indicated that the chicken eggshells used in this work are mainly composed of CaCO 3 . DTA and TGA demonstrated that the thermal decomposition of the chicken eggshells occurs in three events: water removal; decomposition of organic matter; and decomposition of CaCO 3 in CaO and CO 2 . By reviewing the literature, it was verified that chicken eggshells have important applications since they can be used in biomedicine, civil construction, food industries and as soil nutrients. As a result, it is possible to conclude that the chicken eggshell is rich in CaCO 3 and can be easily calcined to obtain CaO.
A Thin Alumina Film as a Tritium Adsorption Inhibitor for Stainless Steel 316

The effect of a thin alumina coating on stainless steel 316 (SS316) samples on tritium adsorption and transport are reported. Compact films of alumina were produced on the surfaces of pristine SS31...
Millennials Acceptance of Insurance Telematics: An Integrative Empirical Study

Insurance telematics is a recent technology-enabled service innovation advanced by insurance companies and adopted by millions of drivers worldwide. This research study explores the insurance telematics technology acceptance and use among the new Millennials generation, which represents both a challenge and an opportunity for insurers. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the study uses data from 138 Millennials in the USA to delve into their perceived attitudinal behavior and intention to use insurance telematics. The findings provide empirical confirmation of the integrative and predictive power of the proposed combined theoretical framework (TAM-TPB) to explain insurance telematics adoption and use. The results also suggest a sophistication-level shift in Millennials preferences from functionality evaluation to applicability value sought through the adoption and use. And the findings ascertain the role of perceived enjoyment, trust, and social media as critical factors influencing Millennials attitudinal behavior and intention to use insurance telematics. Considering these results, the authors further discuss implications for scholars and practitioners, and suggest future research directions.