cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integration of carbon nanotube sensing skins and carbon fiber composites for monitoring and structural repair of fatigue cracked metal structures

Abstract Advanced composite materials have been investigated for repair of fatigue-damaged metal structures, but one of the challenges is the repair often covers-up underlying damage, preventing visual inspection. A novel approach where a carbon nanotube-based sensing layer integrated in a steel/composite adhesive bond has been investigated as an approach for repair while adding capability to detect the adhesive bond integrity and monitor propagation of cracks in the underlying substrate. The sensing layer, composed of a random mat of aramid fibers coated with carbon nanotubes, offers tremendous application flexibility for integration of sensing capabilities in structures. Experiments examining fatigue crack propagation in structural steel with a composite repair and integrated bondline sensing increased the fatigue life by 380% to over 500%, depending on configuration. The sensing layer was able to monitor deformation and crack propagation in real-time and shows potential for use in periodic inspection-based monitoring of cracks using electrical property changes.
Human lipodystrophy: An update in molecular genetics and possible mechanisms of fat loss

Lipodystrophy, a disease characterized by lack of adipose tissue, is either due to genetic defects or acquired. Genetic lipodystrophies are inherited both in an autosomal dominant or recessive fashion. Several genetic loci have been identified affecting differentiation of adipose tissue or lipid storage. Although it appears counterintuitive, lack of adipose tissue results in the same clinical burden seen in subjects with obesity, chiefly, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, fatty liver, and diabetes. This implies a role for adipose tissue at the center of energy homeostasis. Study of human lipodystrophies has provided a rich trove of genetic loci which affect adipogenesis and/or lipid storage (adipose tissue dysregulation) as illustrated by mutations in AGPAT2, BSCL2, LMNA, or ZMPSTE24 genes. Thus, identifying additional genetic loci in patients with lipodystrophies will continue to be a rich source of biological material to study loss of both white and brown adipose tissues. In this review I discuss the recent findings which have occurred over the last 5 years.
One-Year Survival and Neurologic Outcomes After Pediatric Open-Chest Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Background Limited data exist about neurobehavioral outcomes of children treated with open-chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Our objective was to describe neurobehavioral outcomes 1 year after arrest among children who received open-chest CPR during in-hospital cardiac arrest and to explore factors associated with 1-year survival and survival with good neurobehavioral outcome. Methods The study is a secondary analysis of the Therapeutic Hypothermia after Pediatric Cardiac Arrest In-Hospital Trial. Fifty-six children who received open-chest CPR for in-hospital cardiac arrest were included. Neurobehavioral status was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II) at baseline before arrest and 12 months after arrest. Norms for VABS-II are 100 ± 15 points. Outcomes included 12-month survival, 12-month survival with VABS-II decreased by no more than 15 points from baseline, and 12-month survival with VABS-II of 70 or more points. Results Of 56 children receiving open-chest CPR, 49 (88%) were after cardiac surgery and 43 (77%) were younger than 1 year. Forty-four children (79%) were cannulated for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during CPR or within 6 hours of return of spontaneous circulation. Thirty-three children (59%) survived to 12 months, 22 (41%) survived to 12 months with VABS-II decreased by no more than 15 points from baseline, and of the children with baseline VABS-II of 70 or more points 23 (51%) survived to 12 months with VABS-II of 70 or more points. On multivariable analyses, use of ECMO, renal replacement therapy, and higher maximum international normalized ratio were independently associated with lower 12-month survival with VABS-II of 70 or more points. Conclusions Approximately one-half of children survived with good neurobehavioral outcome 1 year after open-chest CPR for in-hospital cardiac arrest. Use of ECMO and postarrest renal or hepatic dysfunction may be associated with worse neurobehavioral outcomes.
Data Driven Predictive Maintenance of Distribution Transformers

This paper presents a method for the predictive maintenance of distribution transformers. That is, a method of predicting which transformers are most likely to fail soon. Once predicted, such transformers may be subject to maintenance or replacement. This practice reduces the costs and increases the reliability of power distribution systems. The practice is common in transmission systems. In that domain, physical methods such as dissolved gas analysis see fantastic results. Data-driven techniques utilizing DGA data are also popular. But such methods are cost prohibitive for distribution systems. Instead, this paper proposes to utilize a data driven framework for the task which only uses readily available data. Such data include the transformers' specification, loading, location, and weather-related information. Such data inspire the use of two suitable machine learning algorithms. The first is random forests. The second is the Random Undersampling with AdaBoost (RUSBoost) algorithm. These algorithms are tested on over 700,000 distribution transformers in Southern California. This test finds that both algorithms outperform the current state of practice. Further, it finds that the RUSBoost algorithm performs better than the Random Forest.
Optimization of an azetidine series as inhibitors of colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) Type II to lead to the clinical candidate JTE-952.

Abstract Optimization of novel azetidine compounds, which we had found as colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) Type II inhibitors, provided JTE-952 as a clinical candidate with high cellular activity (IC50 = 20 nM) and good pharmacokinetics profile. JTE-952 was also effective against a mouse collagen-induced model of arthritis (mouse CIA-model). Additionally, the X-ray co-crystal structure of JTE-952 with CSF-1R protein was shown to be a Type II inhibitor, and the kinase panel assay indicated that JTE-952 had high kinase selectivity.
Feasibility Using Amazon Mechanical Turk for Online Surveys of Attitudes and Perceptions of Chiropractic Health Care in the United States.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and utility of using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) for online surveys of US adults about their perceptions of chiropractors and to report differences between people who have positive versus negative attitudes toward chiropractic care. Methods A 74-item, unvalidated survey was developed through iterative review to assess attitudes of respondents to chiropractic, including a query stratifying respondents based on previous and future use of chiropractic (have used, would consider; have used, would not consider; have not used, would consider; have not used, would not consider). The electronic survey was delivered using Qualtrics; respondents were recruited using MTurk, a crowdsourcing website. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and cross tabulations, were performed. Results A total of 1300 responses were obtained. Consistent with previous reports, 32.2% of the respondents reported having seen a chiropractor in the past. Chiropractic care was perceived as being effective for musculoskeletal complaints. Respondents who would not consider future chiropractic care shared a common set of beliefs related to training of chiropractors, scope of chiropractic practice, and safety and reputation of chiropractic. These respondents reported increased likelihood of chiropractor use with the recommendation of a primary care physician. Conclusion Recruiting survey participants using MTurk is feasible, affordable, and quick and offers high utility to academic researchers. Using this resource, we ascertained preliminary data about attitudes and perceptions from individuals who would or would not consider chiropractic, stratified by their previous use.
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Case Series of Male Pediatric Patients:

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of children (<18 years old) who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, victimized within U.S. borders. There is limited knowledge and research in regard to male involvement in DMST outside the context of homelessness and runaway youth. To our knowledge, no research specifically examines at-risk or involved male youth from a larger dataset of youth who present to a child abuse outpatient medical clinic. The objective of the present case series was to describe the demographic, psychosocial, medical, and psychiatric characteristics of natal male participants (who did not identify as transgender) suspected of DMST involvement. Six medical records of male patients under the age of 18 who were referred to a child protection clinic for concern of DMST involvement between 8/1/13 and 12/31/18 were retrospectively reviewed. Our case series demonstrates that male participants present for concern of sex trafficking and have complex behavioral, medical, and psychiatric concerns similar to what has been identified in research focused on female victims. Therefore, testing (e.g., sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV testing, urine toxicology screening), DMST screening, and interventions (e.g., STI prophylaxis, referrals to mental health counselors) should be completed in male patients.
Explorations of the Insulinlike and Growth-Promoting Properties of Somatomedin by Membrane Receptor Assays

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the explorations of the insulinlike and growth-promoting properties of somatomedin by membrane receptor assays. A competitive radioreceptor assay using 125 I-labeled insulin and a human placental cell membrane preparation was developed to measure the total insulinlike activity (ILA) during the fractionation of outdated human plasma. After isoelectric focusing, a major peak of ILA focused in a neutral zone and a minor peak in a more basic zone; conversely, more of the bioassayable somatomedin activity focused in the basic zone than in the neutral zone. The basic fraction was further purified by preparative electrophoresis at pH 2.3 on a 15% acrylamide gel containing 4 M urea. After additional chromatographic steps on Sephadex, an arginine-rich peptide was obtained and designated somatomedin C. Somatomedin C labeled with radioactive iodine was found to possess its own primary binding site in human placental cell membranes, chick embryo chondrocyte membranes, and membranes from rat liver, thymus, kidney, muscle, and brain. The somatomedin C receptor was 100 times more sensitive to competitive binding by unlabeled somatomedin than was the insulin receptor and 1000 times less sensitive to competitive inhibition by insulin.
Library as client and business students as consultants: A collaborative effort in experiential learning

This case study focuses on an experiential learning collaboration between the academic library and business faculty at a small liberal arts and sciences college. Students enrolled in a semester-lon...
LITT for Intractable Psychiatric Disease

Functional lesions for the treatment of intractable, debilitating psychiatric disease have been created using a variety of techniques over many decades. Here, we describe the relative advantages and disadvantages of laser thermal lesions and the application of this technique to one particular disease, refractory and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Early experience suggests this approach will enable the creation of reliable and morphologically consistent lesions while avoiding some of the pitfalls and complications of other lesion modalities.
G97(P) A QI project to introduce point of care CRP testing for asymptomatic babies receiving antibiotics on the post natal ward

Aim To see if point-of-care (POC) rather than laboratory C-reactive protein (CRP) testing on the postnatal ward (PNW) leads to earlier discharge for asymptomatic babies >37 weeks gestation who have been screened and treated for sepsis based on risk factors alone. Method Babies > 37 weeks gestation receiving antibiotics for sepsis risk factors on the PNW were prospectively identified from the daily medical handover list. The trust sepsis risk factors are maternal group B streptococcal infection, prolonged rupture of membranes > 18 hours and suspected maternal sepsis. Babies were excluded if clinically unwell. In our trust all babies meeting the threshold for screening and treating for infection have a full blood count, CRP and blood culture at birth with antibiotics administered afterwards. A second CRP should be performed at 18–24 hours of life. Babies who remain clinically well with the second CRP being Results Conclusion Babies receiving POC CRP testing on the PNW had their antibiotics stopped slightly sooner and were discharged to midwifery care slightly earlier, however these differences were slight. They did not go home sooner as many required further midwifery care, most commonly feeding support. We anticipate that as our teams become more familiar with the POC CRP testing less babies will receive unnecessary doses of antibiotics and will return to midwifery care sooner.
Corruption, State Capture and the Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption Agency in Post-Communist Ethiopia

In 2001, Ethiopia established a centralized anti-corruption agency (ACA), the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC) (see, Proclamation Nos. 433/2005 and 882/2015), purportedly to be used for curbing the rampant corruption. By the government’s repeated admissions, corruption continues to engulf the country, indicating the failure of the FEACC to curb corruption. Various researchers attribute the FEACC’s failures to curb corruption to a host of reasons that many anti-corruption initiatives have fallen apart. This paper follows a different route to show why the FEACC was doomed to fail from the outset. We show that the war against corruption in Ethiopia collapsed mainly because of mischaracterization of the nature of corruption in the country and how the FEACC was established – a conventional anti-corruption agency for a non- conventional problem of corruption. In this paper, we deploy some testable hypotheses in order to explore the scenarios under which an anti-corruption agency would be effective. Drawing from the corruption literature of post-communist countries, the paper shows that corrupt Ethiopian practices can easily be subsumed under an extreme version of the highest form of corruption known as state capture. By providing instances of state capture, the paper unpacks the systemic and predatory nature of the Ethiopian corruption conundrum and how the FEACC approached in tackling it. Doing so allows us to illustrate the endogenous nature of the country’s corruption patterns and why a traditional ACA is incapable of tackling state-driven patronage that encompasses the whole politico-economic system. It also lays out the flawed structures and practices of the FEACC showing why, under a state-crafted corruption conundrum, the FEACC is doomed to fail from the start. The paper concludes by illustrating the detrimental effects of using the agency as a political weapon to neutralize the ruling party’s political opponents as well as the failure of the war against corruption. It calls for a different approach to combating the Ethiopian systemic corruption, a governance regime change being one of them.
Regularity and stability for a plate model involving fractional rotational forces and damping

We consider a damped plate model with rotational forces in a bounded domain. The plate is either clamped or hinged. The rotational forces and damping involve the spectral fractional Laplacian with powers $$\theta $$ in [0, 1] and $$\delta $$ in [0, 2], respectively. Using the frequency domain approach, and appropriate interpolation inequalities, we show that the underlying semigroup is: (a) analytic for all $$\theta $$ in [0, 1] and $$\delta $$ in $$[(2+\theta )/2,2]$$ , (b) not analytic for all $$\theta $$ in [0, 1] and $$\delta $$ in $$(\theta ,(2+\theta )/2)$$ , (c) of Gevrey class $$\alpha >(2-\theta )/2(\delta -\theta )$$ for all $$\theta $$ in [0, 1] and $$\theta<\delta <(2+\theta )/2$$ . We also prove that for each admissible value of $$\theta $$ , the semigroup is exponentially stable for $$\delta \ge \theta $$ , and only polynomially stable, with rate $$O(t^{-{2-\theta \over 2(\theta -\delta )}})$$ , for $$\delta <\theta $$ , when $$\theta >0$$ . In particular, in the hinged plate case, we show that the polynomial decay rate is optimal.
Regulation of mouse primordial follicle formation by signaling through the PI3K pathway.

Cell signaling mediated by the KIT receptor is critical for many aspects of oogenesis including the proliferation and migration of primordial germ cells, as well as the survival, growth, and maturation of ovarian follicles. We previously showed that KIT regulates cyst breakdown and primordial follicle formation, and in this study, have investigated the mechanisms downstream of the receptor by modulating the activity of two downstream signaling cascades: the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. E17.5 ovaries were cultured for five days with a daily dose of media supplemented with either the PI3K inhibitor LY294002, the MEK inhibitor U0126, or a DMSO vehicle control. Our histological observations aligned with the established role of PI3K in oocyte growth and primordial follicle activation but also revealed that LY294002 treatment delayed the processes of cyst breakdown and primordial follicle formation. U0126 treatment also led to a reduction in oocyte growth and follicle development but did not appear to affect cyst breakdown. The delay in cyst breakdown was mitigated when ovaries were dually dosed with LY294002 and KITL, suggesting that while KIT may signal through PI3K to promote cyst breakdown, other signaling networks downstream of the receptor could compensate. These observations unearth a role for PI3K signaling in the establishment of the ovarian reserve and suggest that PI3K might be the primary mediator of KIT-induced cyst breakdown and primordial follicle formation in the mouse ovary.
An opinion dynamics model of meta-contrast with continuous social influence forces

Abstract Opinion dynamics is the study of how opinions in a group of individuals change over time and opinion dynamics models attempt to mathematically formulate this process. This research lays the foundations for, and develops the meta-contrast influence field model, a novel opinion dynamics model based on self-categorization theory. It improves on the existing meta-contrast model by providing a properly scaled, continuous influence basis while replicating key results of the original model. This influence basis is modular in nature, allowing future research to include other competing psychological forces in the mathematical formulation of influence. This flexibility is achieved while drastically reducing computational complexity, making feasible larger models of more psychologically complex agents.
Correlates and Predictors of Risky Sexual Partnering

CORRELATES AND PREDICTORS OF RISKY SEXUAL PARTNERING By Jennifer A. Nield, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013. Major Director: Derek A. Chapman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Division of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University Introduction: Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS, continue to be a major burden in the United States. Sexual partnering behaviors contribute to the spread of STDs. Sexual concurrency has been shown to exponentially increase STD prevalence in populations. Serial monogamy with short periods between sexual partners also introduces risk. Methods: We identified sexually active men and women from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and used sub sets for each particular study. Sexual partnering was defined as being concurrent, serially monogamous or monogamous in the previous year. Polytomous logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between age of sexual debut among adult men, age of menarche and discordant heterosexual identity and behavior among all women and sexual partnering patterns. Descriptive, mediation, subpopulation and stratified analyses were also conducted. Results: Sexual debut < 15 and 15-17 years was associated with concurrency (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)<15: 2.19; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.36-3.55; aOR 15-17: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.042.75). This association was mediated by lifetime number of partners (further adjusted for lifetime partners: OR<15: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.74-2.22; OR15-17: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.67-1.92). Age of menarche was not associated with subsequent concurrent sexual partnering (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)early: 1.09; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.57-2.09; aORaverage: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.64-1.99) or serial monogamy (aORearly: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.41-1.38; aORaverage: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.39-1.29). A subanalysis among currently unmarried women did not alter this relationship. Heterosexually discordant women who had both male and female partners in the previous year were 5.5 times as likely to report having a concurrent relationship (95% CI: 2.77-11.09) and 2.43 times as likely to report engaging in serially monogamous relationships (95% CI: 1.19-4.97) with their male partners than concordant women. Conclusions: Sexual partnering behaviors are potentially modifiable and reducing risky partnerships will contribute to a decrease in STD acquisition and transmission. Our findings have important implications. Clinically, they support the provision of comprehensive services, regardless of sexual identity. For policy, they confirm the need for early, inclusive and thorough sexual and reproductive health programming for our youth, in particular focusing on the benefits of lifetime partner reduction.
Physics: Make nanotechnology research open-source

To drive innovation at the nanoscale, the patent thicket must be chopped down, argues Joshua M. Pearce.
Preliminary results on using static analysis tools for software inspection

Software inspection has been shown to be an effective defect removal practice, leading to higher quality software with lower field failures. Automated software inspection tools are emerging for identifying a subset of defects in a less labor-intensive manner than manual inspection. This paper investigates the use of automated inspection for a large-scale industrial software system at Nortel Networks. We propose and utilize a defect classification scheme for enumerating the types of defects that can be identified by automated inspections. Additionally, we demonstrate that automated code inspection faults can be used as efficient predictors of field failures and are effective for identifying fault-prone modules.
Robust automated thresholding of SAR imagery for open-water detection

Most thresholding algorithms reported in the literature for water detection in SAR imagery are optimized for a single sensor, limited collection parameters, or scene content. This study uses a diverse library of data (106 independent collects) to develop a robust thresholding algorithm for automated water detection in SAR imagery. The library includes RadarSat-2, TerraSAR-X, and COSMO-SkyMed collects for a diverse set of ground sites (18 sites; littoral and riverine). The study of water features extracted from this library provides a platform from which to investigate the relationships between scene content, collection parameters, and the ability to extract water features in an automated way. This is the first work to the authors' knowledge that rigorously compares the automated detection of water features using a library of data with an approximation of ground truth. Two key observations are: 1) a positive correlation between the fraction of water in a scene and the classification accuracy; 2) cross-pol (i.e. HV or VH) often provides better contrast for segmentation of open-water and non-open-water than the HH polarization.
Use of Self-Report Measures of Anxiety and Depression in Outpatients with Schizophrenia: Reliability and Validity

The psychometrics of many self-report measures of anxiety and depression have been established for patients with anxiety disorders, but little is known about use of these measures in patients with psychotic disorders. This study examined psychometrics of commonly used self-report measures. Self-report measures and interviewer ratings were collected on 33 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia disorders. A sample of 46 patients with anxiety disorders completed the same self-report measures. Internal consistency was high for the self-report measures in both samples. Test-retest reliability was moderate to high. Scores on self-report measures were correlated with interviewer ratings and with scores on other self-report measures of similar constructs, supporting the convergent validity of the measures. Reliable and valid information about anxiety and depression can be obtained through administering the self-report measures to outpatients diagnosed with psychotic disorders. There was more overlap among measures than was expected, possibly because of poor discriminant validity. One explanation of this may be that anxiety constructs overlap more in patients with schizophrenia or related disorders than in non-psychotic populations.
Chinese Management Research at a Crossroads: Some Philosophical Considerations

In this commentary, I discuss some philosophical issues related to contextualizing Chinese management research. First, it should be noted that contextualization can be interpreted in different ways by different philosophical perspectives. Second, the Duhem-Quine thesis implies that replications, in the form of empirical generalization, are an appropriate means of testing Western theories in a Chinese context. Third, owing to the difficulty of conclusively falsifying management theories, attempts to create theories that explain unique Chinese management phenomena may lead to theory proliferation and the perpetuation of weak, or even false, theories. Finally, I propose the study of empirical regularities as an alternative to the theory application and theory creation approaches.
3D Image-Based Viscoplastic Response with Crystal Plasticity

An efficient digital FFT-based viscoplastic method was applied to calculating the viscoplastic stress-strain response on a 3D image of a serial sectioned nickel alloy. A single strain step under uniaxial tensile loading was calculated using crystal plasticity. Analysis of the results indicated higher stresses near grain boundaries than in the bulk of grains. All types of grain boundary gave similar results and no special cases, such as the twin boundaries, were identified. A new analysis for clusters of high stress points was introduced; the distribution of sizes of high stress clusters was found to be close to log-normal.
Effects of postnatal ethanol exposure on glial cell development in rat optic nerve.

Abstract This study morphologically evaluated the effects of limited postnatal alcohol exposure on the development of glial cells in the rat optic nerve. Rat pups were artificially reared on Days 5–18 with a supplemented milk diet fed via a chronic gastrostomy tube. Experimental animals received 4% ethanol in their diet on Days 5–9, otherwise the experimental and control animals received identical diets. Optic nerve tissues were prepared for electron microscopy on Days 10, 16, 22, 29, and 90. There were fewer glial cells per cross section and the cross-sectional areas of optic nerves were smaller on Days 10 and 16 in the ethanol-exposed animals. The alcohol caused a delay in the maturation of oligodendroglial cells at 10 days as evidenced by decreases in the total number of oligodendroglia present and by a delay in the appearance of immature cells within the oligodendroglial lineage. All of these effects were compensated for at later ages. There was no evidence of alcohol-induced degeneration of glial cells or their organelles. Thus, postnatal alcohol exposure causes a delay in oligodendrocyte maturation but appears to have no long-term effects on the glial cell population of rat optic nerve.
Effects of sulfate on selenate uptake and toxicity in the green alga Selenastrum capricornutum

Sulfate and selenate compete for active transport across cell membranes via a common permease, suggesting that a significant interaction may exist between uptake of the two ions. The effect of sulfate on selenate uptake and toxicity in Selenastrum capricornutum was investigated using two sulfate levels (3.3 and 33 mg/L S, as SO4) and two selenate levels (10 and 100 μg/L Se, as SeO4). This provided four treatments: one with S:Se molar ratio of 75, two with molar ratios of 750, and one with a molar ratio of 7,500. Selenium uptake and toxicity analyses demonstrated antagonism between the two anions. Increasing sulfate resulted in significantly reduced selenate uptake and increased algal growth. There was a significant difference in selenate uptake between the two treatments with the same S:Se molar ratio suggesting different relative permease affinities for each of the ions at different substrate levels (i.e., above and below permease saturation levels) and/or the presence of two different permease systems. The environmental significance of sulfate and selenate antagonism is discussed.
Characterization model for crop stress using hand-held radiometer data

Remotely sensed reflectance from stressed and non-stressed crop vegetative cover can be predicted from two combinations of spectral bands as a ratio or as normalized vegetation indices. The most common spectral bands used lie in the red and infrared region (350-800 nm) and are dominated by the absorption of chlorophyll and other accessory pigments. In addition, reflectance in the middle infrared is dominated by absorption from liquid water contained in plant’s tissues. The objectives of the present work are: 1) to develop characterization model to evaluate the reflectance data from frequently irrigated and water stressed alfalfa, Sudan grass, and other crops such cotton as using a handheld radiometer and assess the spectral correlation with the ground-truth and; 2) The model will be better model to evaluate the stressed crops. The experiment was designed to collect reflectance data from cotton crops planted at the Blythe area, California. The fields are planted with cotton crops in different stages of maturity at Longitude of -114°32.79 and -114°32.80 and Latitude 33° 39.64. With a field spectrometer, the scan over each treatment was made at 1 hr intervals between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Pacific Day Time (PDT). Vegetative samples were taken from the two treatments (i.e. stressed and unstressed vegetation) during the initial sampling for purposes of conducting chemical analysis. Soil samples were collected to determine the amount of available soil moisture differences in the two treatments. The suggested model in the present paper is called the Model of Water Stress (MWS) where it include in it the statistical values and parameters, indicates that the stressed crops have values higher than unstressed crops in MWS scale. This means that the model is differentiating between the stressed and unstressed vegetation. Additional work will evaluate the reflectance peaks and their relationship to other parameters that were collected and are relevant to the applications of the model. The model will be tested against the AVIRIS data that were collected at the same time of the collection of ground-truth data.
The 23Na(d, p)24Na reaction and the nuclear structure of 24Na

Abstract The level scheme of 24 Na up to about 7 MeV has been studied with the 23 Na(d, p) 24 Na reaction. Several new levels have been observed. A few discrepancies in energy assignment to levels exist between these and earlier experiments. The angular distributions have been analysed with the DWBA analysis. A BBA analysis checks well with earlier results. Spectroscopic data have been obtained for many of the levels. A discussion of the nuclear structure of 24 Na will follow in a second paper 28 ).
Effect of temperature on functional properties of carp hemoglobin.

Abstract Precise oxygen equilibrium curves of carp hemoglobin have been obtained in 0·1 m -phosphate from 10 to 25 °C. The equilibrium data were analyzed according to the stepwise oxygenation model of Adair (1925) to obtain the enthalpy change (ΔHi), entropy change (ΔSi) and free energy change (ΔGi) for the i (= 1, 2, 3, 4) individual oxygenation steps. The values of ΔHi are definitely non-uniform with dependencies on i and the pH of the medium. The co-operative effects in carp hemoglobin are due mainly to enthalpic contributions under the conditions studied here. The thermodynamic properties suggest a structural transition with pK ~8·5 as was also seen in other functional and spectroscopic measurements.
Seasonal Variability of the South Equatorial Current Bifurcation in the Atlantic Ocean: A Numerical Study

Abstract In this study, a reduced-gravity, primitive equation OGCM is used to investigate the seasonal variability of the bifurcation of the South Equatorial Current (SEC) into the Brazil Current (BC) to the south and the North Brazil Undercurrent/Current (NBUC/NBC) system to the north. Annual mean meridional velocity averaged within a 2° longitude band off the South American coast shows that the SEC bifurcation occurs at about 10°–14°S near the surface, shifting poleward with increasing depth, reaching 27°S at 1000 m, in both observations and model. The bifurcation latitude reaches its southernmost position in July (∼17°S in the top 200 m) and its northernmost position in November (∼13°S in the top 200 m). The model results show that most of the seasonal variability of the bifurcation latitude in the upper thermocline is associated with changes in the local wind stress curl due to the annual north–south excursion of the marine ITCZ complex. As the SEC bifurcation latitude moves south (north) the NBUC tra...
Centrality-based power control for hot-spot mitigation in multi-hop wireless networks

When shortest path routing is employed in large scale multi-hop wireless networks such as sensor networks, nodes located near the center of the network have to perform disproportionate amount of relaying for others. Nodes in such traffic hot-spots deplete their batteries faster than others due to their high relay load. These traffic hot-spots also adversely affect the network capacity due to increased congestion in the regions. To solve the problem, various divergent routing schemes are used which route the data on center-avoiding divergent routing paths. Though they achieve better load balancing, overall relaying is increased significantly due to their longer routing paths. In this paper, we propose power control as a way for balancing relay load and mitigating hot-spots in wireless sensor networks. Using a heuristic based on the concept of centrality, we show that if we increase the power levels of only the nodes which are expected to relay more packets, significant relay load balancing can be achieved even with shortest path routing. Different from divergent routing schemes, such load balancing strategy is applicable to any arbitrary topology and traffic pattern. With extensive simulations, we show that centrality based power control can drastically increase the network lifetime of sensor networks. We compare its performance with other divergent routing schemes and multiple battery level assignment strategy. Also, it is shown that centrality based power control results into better throughput capacity in many different topologies.
Six‐day racing entrepreneurs and the emergence of the twentieth century arena sportscape, 1891‐1912

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore twentieth century sportscapes and their role in the development of urban arenas as places of sport.Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing frame theory and sport business history scholarship, the author examines entrepreneurs' development of six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden. The main primary sources include autobiographies, morgue files, and newspapers.Findings – In this paper, it is argued that entrepreneurs' shaping and marketing of six‐day races and their sportscapes resulted in a popular sporting spectacle and helped to promote arenas as spaces and places of sport.Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the process and development of “frame management” in urban arenas and their transition to spaces and places of sport. By exploring six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, the paper shows the importance of a now‐forgotten cultural event to the development of the multi‐billion dollar sport industry and to one of the world's most i...
RESPONSE LATENCY WITH CONSTANT AND VARIABLE INTERVAL SCHEDULES.

Sz~mmary.-12 independent groups were used to examine the relationship berween response latency and regularity of signal occurrence. In each of 6 groups 20 simple visual 51gnals were presented sequentially at one of 6 constant intetvals. Interval durations were 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, or 320 sec. For each consrant-inrerval group tested, there was also a variable-interval group with intervals of the same average duration. For all intervals except one (40 sec.), rhe variable-interval groups had longer response latencies than the constant-interval groups, the difference in response latency between the constant- and variable-interval groups increasing as a function of the duration of the interval, up to intervals of 160 sec. For both constant- and variable-interval groups, response latency varied dicectly with interval duration. The present study joins a literature of about n dozen papers, dating from Woodrow's 1914 monograph, concerned with the regularity of the temporal program of stimuli and its relation to response efficiency. The largest number of chese experiments involve varying the length of the foreperiod in the traditional reaction time paradigm, with the maxirn~~m interval used to date being 15 sec. (Botwinick & Brinley, 1962). The common finding has been that reaction cimes are shorter for the constant foreperiod schedule. Botwinick and Brinley, however, report this advantage to be reduced as duration of foreperiod increases and to be lost with foreperiods of 15 sec. Meanwhile, recognition of reaction time as a sensitive measure of behavioral efficiency has led to its exploitation in the study of vigilance. Here procedure varies from the reaction-time experimenc in that the premonitory cae is omitted and the interscimulus interval replaces the foreperiod, the intervals are considerably longer in duration, and primary concern is for response efficiency over a series of trials rather than on a single trial. Studies of response latency as a function of the regularity of the schedule of presentacion have been unsystematic and the results, caken in total, are unclear. McCormack and Prysiazniuk ( 1961) confirmed with a 60-sec. interval the relacionship between constant and variable foreperiods in the reaction-time studies. Adams and Boulter ( 1964) report similar results for a 195-sec. interval, but Boulter and Adams (1963) failed to demonstrate a significant difference for a 220-sec. interval. The purpose of the present experiment was to examine the relationship of response latency to regularity over a wide range of interval durations: on the one hand, overlapping the range of the reaction-time experiments and, on the other,
Bilateral neck exploration for parathyroidectomy under local anesthesia: a viable technique for patients with coexisting thyroid disease with or without sestamibi scanning.

Abstract Background: Bilateral neck exploration (BNE) with the patient under general anesthesia has been the standard for parathyroidectomy. In efforts to minimize invasiveness and recovery from the procedure, unilateral neck exploration with the patient under local anesthesia in combination with sestamibi scanning is being done. Patients with a nonlocalized adenoma, concurrent thyroid disease, and/or multiple parathyroid adenomas have been excluded from this minimally invasive procedure. Methods: Two hundred thirty-six patients underwent BNE under local anesthesia for primary hyperparathyroidism that was performed by a single surgeon between 1988 and April 1999. Results: The percentage of patients who underwent parathyroidectomy under local anesthesia increased from 3% in 1988 to 97% in 1999. Twenty-three percent of patients underwent a concurrent thyroid procedure, and 84% of patients had a single adenoma removed. Sixty-two percent of patients had a negative preoperative sestamibi scan or did not have a scan at all. The incidence of frozen section decreased in the initial 50 cases from 100% to 39% during the last 100 cases. Average operative time was 43 minutes without a thyroid procedure and 66 minutes with a thyroid procedure. Overall, 70% of patients were discharged within 6 hours of the surgical procedure; this percentage increased to 91% during the last 5 months. Conclusions: BNE with the patient under local anesthesia can be performed safely and effectively in patients with coexisting thyroid disease and a nonlocalized adenoma. (Surgery 1999:126:1011-5.)
Primary affective disorder: Bender-Gestalt sequence of placement as an indicator of impulse control.

The Bender-Gestalt protocols of 37 bipolar (depression plus mania) and 30 unipolar (depression alone) Ss hospitalized for depression were compared for sequential patterns of placement on the test paper. Of 11 Ss with an itregular sequence and 11 Ss with an overly methodical sequence, 9 were subsequently identified as bipolar and 10 as unipolar, respectively. When these two groups with contrasting sequences were compared on the Ma and Pt scales of the MMPI, the bipolar group had significantly higher scores than the unipolar group on the Ma scale and significantly lower scores on the Pt scale. These results suggest that irregular sequence of placement and lack of impulse control are more characteristic of bipolar depression and overly methodical sequence and impulse control are more characteristic of unipolar depression.
Polycrystalline silicon p- n junctions

Abstract Silicon films deposited on recrystallized metallurgical silicon substrates have been used for the fabrication of low cost solar cells. The substrate is polycrystalline, and the active region of the solar cell is epitaxial with respect to the substrate. Since the dark current-voltage characteristics of a solar cell are important factors affecting its conversion efficiency, the characteristics of a number of epitaxial mesa diodes of the configuration n + -silicon/ p -silicon/ p + -metallurgical silicon/graphite have been measured over a wide temperature range to study the effects of grain boundaries. The results were analyzed on the basis of the two-exponential model.
Guanidinium- and temperature-induced conformational changes in glucose dehydrogenase.

Abstract The conformational changes in glucose dehydrogenase are studied as a function of temperature and guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) concentration. The data were analyzed assuming a two-conformer model which gave similar results using either circular dichroism or enzyme activity. The free energy of denaturation was 0.94 kcal/mol from specific activity and 1.64 kcal/mol from circular dichroism measurements. The mid-point of the denaturation curve was 0.65 or 0.63 M GdmCl, as determined by specific activity of circular dichroism, respectively. The transition temperature, 6.4°C, is close to that of a microsomal membrane phase change, a result that is consistent with the fact that glucose dehydrogenase contains lipid materials when isolated with a non-ionic detergent such as Triton X-114. As the temperature increased, the amount of β-pleated sheet increased, and the α-helical content decreased, suggested that glucose dehydrogenase contains a stable core of β-pleated sheet.
Designing Hybrid Architectures for Massive-Scale Graph Analysis

Turning large volumes of data into actionable knowledge is a top challenge in high performance computing. Our previous work in this area demonstrated algorithmic techniques for massively parallel graph analysis on multithreaded systems. This work led to the development of GraphCT, the first end-to-end graph analytics platform for the Cray XMT and x86-class systems with OpenMP, and STINGER, a high performance, multithreaded, dynamic graph data structure and algorithms. Both of these packages are freely available as open source software. This dissertation research culminates in experimental and analytical techniques to study the marriage of disk-based systems, such as Hadoop, with shared memory-based systems, such as the Cray XMT, for data-intensive applications. David Ediger is a fifth year PhD candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Immuno-spin trapping of heme-induced protein radicals: Implications for heme oxygenase-1 induction and heme degradation

Heme, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, can act as a peroxidase. Intravascular hemolysis results in a massive release of heme into the plasma in several pathophysiological conditions such as hemolytic anemia, malaria, and sickle cell disease. Heme is known to induce heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) expression, and the extent of induction depends on the ratio of albumin to heme in plasma. HO-1 degrades heme and ultimately generates the antioxidant bilirubin. Heme also causes oxidative stress in cells, but whether it causes protein-radical formation has not yet been studied. In the literature, two purposes for the degradation of heme by HO-1 are discussed. One is the production of the antioxidant bilirubin and the other is the prevention of heme-dependent adverse effects. Here we have investigated heme-induced protein-radical formation, which might have pathophysiological consequences, and have used immuno-spin trapping to establish the formation of heme-induced protein radicals in two systems: human serum albumin (HSA)/H2O2 and human plasma/H2O2.We found that excess heme catalyzed the formation of HSA radicals in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. When heme and hydrogen peroxide were added to human plasma, heme was found to oxidize proteins, primarily and predominantly HSA; however, when HSA-depleted plasma was used, heme triggered the oxidation of several other proteins, including transferrin. Thus, HSA in plasma protected other proteins from heme/H2O2-induced oxidation. The antioxidants ascorbate and uric acid significantly attenuated protein-radical formation induced by heme/H2O2; however, bilirubin did not confer significant protection. Based on these findings, we conclude that heme is degraded by HO-1 because it is a catalyst of protein-radical formation and not merely to produce the relatively inefficient antioxidant bilirubin.
On the Differences in Storm Rainfall from Hurricanes Isidore and Lili. Part II: Water Budget

Abstract Part I of this two-part paper examined the satellite-derived rainfall accumulation and rain potential history of Hurricanes Isidore and Lili (2002). This paper (Part II) uses analyses from the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) to examine the water budget and environmental parameters and their relationship to the precipitation for these two storms. Factors other than storm size are found to account for large volumetric differences in storm total rainfall between Lili and Isidore. It is found that the horizontal moisture convergence was crucial to the initiation and maintenance of Isidore’s intense rainfall before and during its landfall. When the storm was over the ocean, the ocean moisture flux (evaporation) was the second dominant term among the moisture sources that contribute to precipitation. During Isidore’s life history, the strong horizontal moisture flux convergence corresponded to the large storm total precipitable water. The large difference in budget-derive...