cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Random Utility Modeling: A Monte Carlo Analysis

Applied studies of commercial fishing have largely ignored the intertemporal aspects of repeated site choices. For many fisheries, fishermen might choose a dynamically optimal cruise trajectory rather than myopic day-to-day strategies and a model that ignores these considerations will likely lead to biased parameter estimates and poor policy guidance. A dynamic random utility model is developed that utilizes the same information as static site-choice models but is entrenched in the principles of dynamic optimization. Using Monte Carlo analysis, we evaluate the performance of this estimator as compared to the static model for a variety of simulated fishery types.
Infusion of sex education curricula into transition planning: obstacles and solutions

Although best practice literature centering on the transition of students with disabilities has highlighted the need for holistic planning, few educators have addressed the socio-sexual concerns of students with disabilities in transition plans. Given that appropriate sex education may increase the probability of successful adult adjustment of students with disabilities, efforts must be made to address socio-sexual issues. A particularly appropriate time to address such concerns is during transition planning when educators are preparing students with disabilities to undertake adult roles. The purpose of the current study was to examine educators' perceptions of sex education curricula for students with moderate to severe disabilities and apply these findings to create a strategy for infusing socio-sexual issues into existing curricula and individualized transition plans. The inclusion of socio-sexual concerns in transition encompassed strategies for assuring success of a sex education program, identification of curricular components, methods of modifying the curriculum, and team members involved in programming. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
Using Item Response Theory and Model–Data Fit to Conceptualize Differential Item and Person Functioning for Students With Disabilities

The major purpose of this study is to describe a conceptual framework for examining differential item functioning (DIF) and differential person functioning (DPF) as types of model—data misfit within the context of assessing students with disabilities. Specifically, DIF and DPF can be viewed through the lens of residual analyses. Residual analyses can be used to explore DIF (item fit) as well as extended to explore DPF (person fit). One of the advantages of this conceptual framework is that the size of the subgroups can be quite small with interpretable results produced even for individuals. To illustrate this conceptual framework, Rasch measurement theory is used as the item response theory model. Methodological and theoretical issues are discussed. Data from a high-stakes assessment in mathematics in Georgia (Grade 7, geometry items) are used to illustrate the conceptual framework for students with disabilities. The substantive research questions used to illustrate the conceptual framework addresses whet...
Prevalence of vitamin D depletion among subjects seeking advice on osteoporosis: a five-year cross-sectional study with public health implications

We assessed vitamin D nutritional status in unselected consecutive patients seeking advice on osteoporosis. The prevalence of vitamin D depletion ranged from 15–72% depending upon the cut-off levels used for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and the prevalence did not change over the 5 years of the study. Vitamin D depletion is a significant public health problem and has been studied in different populations using different cut-off levels, but the optimal level is yet to be established. In a cross-sectional study of 2924 patients seen for osteoporosis advice we determined the prevalence of vitamin D depletion, as assessed by 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), using three different cut-off levels stratified by gender, race and the year of the study over 5 years. Mean age was 68.3 ± 10.0 years; 90% women and 88% white. Mean 25-OHD level was 24.6 ± 10 ng/ml and mean PTH was 48.4 ± 32 pg/ml. The prevalence of vitamin D depletion was 15% with a cut-off level of <15 ng/ml, and rose to 32% and 72% with cut-off levels <20 ng/ml and <30 ng/ml, respectively. The prevalence was higher in men and blacks and remained constant over 5 years, regardless of the cut-off level. The expected inverse relationship between 25-OHD and PTH was observed irrespective of gender or ethnicity. The prevalence of vitamin D depletion in patients seeking advice for osteoporosis is high and did not change over the 5 years of the study.
Acculturation, Health Literacy, and Illness Perceptions of Hypertension among Hispanic Adults:

Purpose: Hypertension treatment rates are disproportionately lower among Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among acculturation, health literacy, and illness perceptions of hypertension among Hispanics. Design: A cross-sectional correlational design was used, including 144 Hispanic adults with a self-reported diagnosis of hypertension. Method: The instruments used included the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics, the Newest Vital Sign instrument to measure health literacy, and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Results: Significant relationships were found among acculturation, health literacy, and several illness perceptions (consequences, control, symptoms, and emotions). Conclusion: Acculturation and health literacy play an important role in illness perceptions of hypertension among Hispanics. Implications: Findings could be helpful in the development of tailored health promotion interventions to impro...
Tractor and implement configuration for reducing power hop

Agricultural tractors come to jump and bounce severely in specific field conditions. This phenomenon of instability, commonly called "power hop", is more likely to happen when the soil is dry, has been worked recently, and when the tractor is pulling disks, or a chisel. Many efforts have already been made to control the phenomenon, and some empirical techniques proved somewhat efficient. Yet, these techniques sometimes prevent the farmers from using their tractors in optimal conditions in terms of tire inflation pressures, tractor ballast… So far, no radical solution has been found regarding tire conception, tire carcass construction, materials, and other tire characteristics… Thus, the objective of the work presented here is double: first to understand analytically the origin of the instability, and secondly, to find configuration parameters that can improve system stability. A simplified analytical model is presented, which demonstrates the possibly instable nature of the system, using the Laplace transform approach. The influence of various parameters (tractor pitch inertia, wheel base, drawbar height) and operating conditions (drawbar force) can then be known. Experimental tests were conducted both on a hard soil (concrete) and a soft soil (wheat stubble) to verify some of the predictions. These tests confirm the predicted interest of lowering the drawbar height close to ground level.
Online gain scheduling of multi-resolution Wavelet-based controller for acoustic noise and vibration reduction in sensorless control of PM-synchronous motor at low speed

An online gain scheduling of the Wavelet-based controller coefficients is presented in this paper for the purpose of reducing noise and vibration resulting from a sensorless control of PM machines at low speeds. The Wavelet-based controller decomposes the whole frequency spectrum into several sub-bands. Each sub-band has a unique effect on the position and speed estimation error in the transient and steady state conditions. The high frequency bands mostly affect the noise and vibration of the system. In this study, parameters which belong to the wavelet-based controller are optimized with hardware in the loop in order to reduce the steady state errors and increase the estimation precision. For the optimization procedure, the GA (Genetic Algorithm) was implemented. The performance of the optimized controller was verified trough the simulation and laboratory experimentation.
Pont's Index: A Clinical Evaluation*

Abstract No Abstract Available. From the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington. This study was supported by Public Health Serviae Training Grant DE-00238-01.
Intimate partner violence and animal abuse in an immigrant-rich sample of mother-child dyads recruited from domestic violence programs

We examined rates of animal abuse in pet-owning families experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). We also examined whether higher levels of IPV (as measured by subscales from the Conflict Tactics Scales) predicted increased risk for partner-perpetrated animal abuse. Our sample included 291 mother–child dyads, where the mothers sought services from domestic violence agencies. Nearly half the sample is comprised of Mexican immigrants. Mothers reported that 11.7% of partners threatened to harm a pet and 26.1% actually harmed a pet, the latter of which represents a lower rate than in similar studies. When examining animal abuse by “Hispanic status,” follow-up analyses revealed significant omnibus differences between groups, in that non-Hispanic U.S.-born partners (mostly White) displayed higher rates of harming pets (41%) than either U.S.-born or Mexican-born Hispanic groups (27% and 12.5%, respectively). Differences in rates for only threatening (but not harming) pets were not significant, possibly due ...
Investigations of a GPU-based levy-firefly algorithm for constrained optimization of radiation therapy treatment planning

Abstract Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) affords the potential to decrease radiation therapy associated toxicity by creating highly conformal dose distribution to tumor. Inverse optimization of IMRT treatment plans is often a time intensive task due to the large scale solution space, and the indubitably complexity of the task. Furthermore, the incorporation of conflicting dose constraints in the treatment plan, usually introduces an additional degree of intricacy. Metaheuristic algorithms have been proposed in the past for global optimization in IMRT treatment planning. However one disadvantage of the aforementioned methods is their extensive computational cost. One way to ameliorate their performance deficiency is to parallelize the application. In the current study we propose a GPU-based levy-firefly algorithm (LFA) for constrained optimization of IMRT treatment planning. The evaluation of our method was realized for two treatment cases: a prostate and a head and neck (H&N) cancer IMRT plans. The studies indicated an ascendable increase of the speedup factor as a function of the number of pencil beams with a maximum of ~11, whereas the performance of the algorithm was decreasing as a function of the population of the swarm particles. In addition, from our simulation results we concluded that 200 fireflies were sufficient for the algorithm to converge in less than 80 iterations. Finally, we demonstrated the effect of penalizing factors on constraining the maximum dose at the organs at risk (OAR) by impeding the dose coverage of the tumor target. The impetus behind our study was to elucidate the performance and generic attributes of the proposed algorithm, as well as the potential of its applicability for IMRT optimization problems.
Children’s Inter-Individual Variability and Asthma Development

Children of different ages vary in their response to environmental stressors due to their continuous development and changes in their bodies' anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. Each age group of children has special biological features that distinguish their toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic characteristics from other age groups. The variability in responses extends to include children of the same age group. These intra- and inter-group differences in biological features explains the variability in responses to environmental exposures. Based on such differences in children's responses to exposures, adverse health outcomes and diseases develop differently in children. One of these diseases that are common in children is asthma. Asthma is a complex respiratory chronic disease that is multifactorial in origin. This paper discusses how variability in certain factors among children contributes to asthma occurrence or exacerbation, and links these factors to asthma in children of different ages. The importance of this review is to provide an insight on factors affecting asthma prevalence among children. These factors are usually overlooked in clinical or public health practice, which might significantly affect asthma management, and decrease the predictability of asthma detection measures. Therefore, keeping these factors into consideration can significantly improve asthma treatment and assist in asthma prevention amongst susceptible populations.
Evidence against KATP channel involvement in adenosine receptor-mediated dilation of epicardial vessels

The purpose of this study was to determine whether ATP-glyburide-sensitive K+ (KATP-glyburide) channels are involved in the adenosine-induced vasorelaxation of porcine and canine epicardial vessels in vitro. Adenosine and its analogues, 2-chloroadenosine (CAD), 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA), R-N6-(2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine (R-PIA), N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA), N6-[2-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-(2-methylphenyl)]adenosine (DPMA), 2-phenylaminoadenosine (CV-1808), 2-[m-(carboxyethyl)phenylamino]-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (CGS-22988), 2-[(2-cyclohexylethyl)amino]adenosine (CGS-22492), 2-[(p-amino)phenethylamino]adenosine (APE), and 2-(1-octynyl)adenosine (YT-146) (10 nM-100 microM), produced concentration-dependent relaxations in endothelium-intact and -denuded arterial ring segments contracted with 30 mM KCl, 10 nM endothelin-1, or 10 microM prostaglandin F2 alpha. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 1 nM-10 microM) and KATP-channel activator, pinacidil (10 nM-10 microM), also produced similar vasodilatory responses. Glyburide, a KATP-channel blocker, caused a rightward shift of the concentration-response curve to pinacidil but did not alter the responses elicited by SNP or adenosine and its analogues. The data suggest that KATP-glyburide channels are not involved in the mechanism whereby adenosine and its analogues elicit their vasorelaxant response in isolated porcine or canine epicardial vessels.
“Hel our Queen”: An Old Norse Analogue to an old English Female Hell *

One of the most arresting characters in medieval literature, appearing in the Old English Gospel of Nicodemus, is seo hell , an apparently female chthonic figure who engages in a memorable flyting with Satan and orders him out of “her” dwelling ( ut of mýnre onwununge ) Her vivid personification in a dramatically excellent scene suggests that her gender is more than grammatical, and invites comparison with the Old Norse underworld goddess Hel and the Frau Holle of German folklore, to say nothing of underworld goddesses in other cultures.
A Dual-Dual CGE Model of an Archetype African Economy

We build a CGE model of an archetype African economy to simulate the welfare effects of trade liberalization specifically on poverty. The economy is modeled following a dual-dual framework (Thorbecke, 1993, 1994, 1997) that is characteristic of the structure of a developing country in its middle development phase. This provides the basis for analyzing the distribution of modern and informal sector activities in both rural and urban areas. The interdependence of these four broadly defined sectors is modeled not only in terms of production and consumption decisions within them, but also in terms of labor migration among them, adding a richness which is missing in the standard CGE models. Poverty analysis is integrated in the CGE methodology by endogenizing both intra-group income distributions and the nominal poverty line. The application of standard poverty measures to the pre- and post simulation poverty lines and distributions of income for each socio-economic group, allows the assessment of policy-induced changes on group specific poverty and national poverty. Simulations with a model calibrated from a social accounting matrix (SAM) of a prototype African economy, show that an important contribution of the dual-dual model vis-a-vis poverty analysis in a CGE model is the inter-group migration it incorporates. Changes in the population shares of the socio-economic groups that follow population shifts have important implications for the magnitudes of changes in national poverty.
Mining Complaints for Traffic-Jam Estimation: A Social Sensor Application

Physical events in the real world are known to trigger reactions and then discussions in online social media. Mining these reactions through online social sensors offers a fast and low cost way to understand what is happening in the physical world. In some cases, however, further study of the affected population's emotional state can improve this understanding. In our study we analyzed how car commuters react on Twitter while stuck in heavy traffic. We discovered that the online social footprint does not necessarily follow a strict linear correlation with the volume of a traffic jam. Through our analysis we offer a potential explanation: people's mood could be an additional factor, apart from traffic severity itself, that leads in fluctuations of the observed reaction in social media. This finding can be important for social sensing applications where external factors, like sentiment, also contribute on how humans react. We propose a novel traffic-congestion estimation model that utilizes the volume of messages and complaints in online social media, based on when they happen. We show through experimental evaluation that the proposed model can estimate, with higher accuracy, traffic jam severity and compare the results with several baselines. The model achieves at least 38% improvement of absolute error and more than 45% improvement of relative error, when compared with a baseline that assumes linear correlation between traffic and social volume. To support our findings we combined data from the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) and Twitter, for a total of 6 months, and focused on a major traffic-heavy freeway in Los Angeles, California.
The Relationship Between Independent and Interdependent Self-Concepts and Reasons for Purchase

SUMMARY This article applies theory from cross-cultural psychology to identify several factors that are related to a consumer's reasons for planned and impulsive purchase decisions. At the country level, this study found that people from more collectivist countries (Malaysia and Singapore) had more strongly correlated independent and interdependent self-concepts than people from more individualist countries (USA and Australia). At the individual level, across all countries, a person's independent self-concept was positively related to purchase reasons associated with uniqueness, but not with group affiliation. In contrast, a person's interdependent self-concept was positively related to purchase reasons that depicted group affiliation and, to a lesser extent, uniqueness.
Surface Composition Changes and Ablation Dynamics in Excimer Laser Irradiated CdTe

We have investigated the dynamics of KrF excimer laser ablation of CdTe and the fluence dependent changes in surface stoichiometry that accompany the laser ablation process. The composition of the CdTe surface was reversibly controlled between stoichiometric and a Te-rich condition by varying the laser fluence over the range from 15–65 mJ/cm2. The primary species ejected from the irradiated surface were Cd atoms and Te2 molecules. Their velocity distributions as measured by time-of-flight mass spectrometry were found to be Maxwellian. From the analysis of the velocity distributions, the preferential desorption of surface atoms, and the reversible nature of the process, we conclude that the desorption is due to a photo-thermal mechanism which mediates the competition between Te2 formation and desorption and the desorption of Cd atoms.
Pyrolysis of a lignite in an entrained flow reactor: 1. Effect of cations on total weight loss

Abstract The role of exchangeable metal cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Sr and Ba) in the rapid pyrolysis of a Montana lignite has been studied. The effects of variation of the cations present, and cation concentration, on weight loss and pyrolysis kinetics are presented. The reactor utilized was a dilute-phase entrained flow reactor. The reactor conditions decrease the degree of secondary reactions occurring to the primary volatile species and allow a clearer view of the fundamental pyrolysis processes. A model of the heat and momentum transfer in the reactor has been employed to estimate the particle time-temperature history. The results of pyrolysing the lignite samples display a significant role of metal cations. At 1173 K, the presence of metal cations resulted in a decrease in total weight loss at maximum residence time (0.25 s) from 50% (dry inorganic constituent free basis, dicf) for 0 wt% metal cations (acid washed) to 30% (dicf) (raw lignite, 2.8 wt% cations). Data are also presented concerning the maximum weight loss when only calcium, sodium or magnesium exchangeable cations were present. The apparent activation energy obtained from a first-order Arrhenius kinetic treatment is shown to be dependent on the presence of cations.
Acceptance of Advance Directives and Palliative Care Referral for Veterans With Advanced Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis.

Objectives:To evaluate the documentation of advance directive (ADs) and physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) with acceptance of palliative care (PC) services referral among patients with cancer.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed veterans with advanced cancers at the Veterans Administration Palo Alto Health Care System. Chi-square tests estimated AD and POLST documentation and referral to PC. Logistic regression models estimated the odds of AD and POLST documentation and PC referral.Results:Two hundred and forty-six veterans were diagnosed with cancer. In all, 53% had a documented AD, 5% had a POLST, and 47% accepted referral to PC. The AD documentation was not associated with acceptance of PC.Discussion:We found no association of AD documentation and PC referral. Future studies should evaluate other factors that influence referral to these services.
Study on the Preparation of Polyorgano-Siloxane Foam Material

The formula and process preparing polyorgano-siloxane foam material was determined by selecting the polyorgano-siloxane viscosity,the foamer types,the types and dosage of catalysts and the reaction temperature,the material having significant heat resistance and fine closely,even distribution porosities was prepared.The risen viscosity was increased by prepolymerizing hydroxyl-terminated polydimethyl siloxane;The decomposing temperature of foamer H was dropped by using pentaerythrite.The results showed that tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide could replace the platinum to catalyze the crosslink between hydrogen silicone and hydroxyl-terminated polydimethyl siloxane,to catalyze the crosslink between hydrogen silicone and ethylene-terminated polydimethyl siloxane.
Modeling and Analysis of a Fused Bomb Aiming Principle Integrating CCAR with CCRP

Considering that the existing bomb aiming principles can't guarantee both bombing accuracy and the safety of airplane, we studied an advanced bomb aiming principle integrating continuously computed accessible region(CCAR) with continuously computed release point(CCRP) , which was used in a certain attacker refitted recently by USAF.The model of the principle was analyzed based on the HUD picture, which could be divided into 4 modules: trajectory and accessible region solution module, accessible region reduction module, target position prediction and aiming module and aiming deviation solution and display module.The model and arithmetic of each module was presented, which was simulated in Matlab.An analysis was given to the reasons why the advanced principle has high bombing accuracy as CCAR while keeping a high safety level as CCRP with an easier operation mode.
Introduction to Photographic Equipment, Processes, and Definitions of the 19th Century

This edition of the Focal Encyclopedia of Photography has been written at a time when the industrial production of silver halide materials is rapidly declining as a result of digital photographic technologies and practices. At this same time, the movement to preserve the technology of handmade processes from the 19th century is becoming stronger. The greatest challenge for future photohistorians will not be the understanding of photographic processes of the 1800s but rather the photographic industry of the 20th century that is being dismantled at this time.
A Patient with Chronic Kidney Disease Is Coming to the Operating Room for an Emergent Procedure, Which Intravenous Fluid Do You Plan to Give Her?

A 56-year-old female with stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been diagnosed with acute appendicitis. She has mild hypertension that went undiagnosed for a few years but is now controlled on medication, the name of which she cannot remember. She denies any other medical problems and has no allergies. She states she still makes urine and that she is followed by her nephrologist closely, but unfortunately her renal function has slowly been worsening over the last year. She appears euvolemic and normotensive. You are the anesthesiologist on call and are preparing the operating room for the case, but which IV fluid do you plan to give her?
Spike-Dip Transformation Method of Setaria viridis

Conventional Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of monocots involves labor-intensive and time-consuming in vitro tissue culture methodology to regenerate T0 plants. To overcome these difficulties, a simple in planta Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation method for the emerging monocot model Setaria viridis was developed. Initial standardization of transient and stable transformations was performed using A. tumefaciens strain AGL1 harboring the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter to transform preanthesis developing spikes. The method was further optimized by using A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 carrying β-glucuronidase plus (GUSplus), green fluorescent protein (GFP), and Discosoma sp. red fluorescent protein (DsRed) reporter genes driven by either CaMV35S or an intron-interrupted maize ubiquitin (Ubi) promoters to develop stable transgenic lines from S. viridis. Dipping of 5-day-old S3 spikes into Agrobacterium cultures containing S. viridis spike-dip medium supplemented with 0.025 % Silwet L-77 and 200 μM acetosyringone for 20 min produced stable transformants at the rate of 0.8 ± 0.1 %. Transgenic lines showed stable integration of transgenes into the genome, and inherited transgenes followed the Mendelian segregation pattern and were expressed in subsequent generations. This spike-dip method will facilitate high-throughput translational research in a monocot model.
Summary of prerequisites for undergraduate instruction in parallel and distributed systems: poster session

On multiple levels, parallel and distributed computing has arrived and is available in nearly every computational system available to the general public, including nearly all desktop computers, most handheld and laptop computers, mid- and high-end graphics cards, and the majority of cellular "smartphones". Beyond this, advertisements for cloud computing solutions are equally ubiquitous and target developers and corporate decision-makers. What the current computing environment lacks, however, is software that is aware of and utilizes the multiple core processors, or multiple networked computers, to the fullest advantage. In order for these types of software to become more prevalent, undergraduates of computer science programs should be educated in parallel and distributed theories, system designs, and software development. In order for the material to be taught effectively, students, or at least undergraduate instructors, should have some exposure to the underlying topics that surround parallel and distributed systems.
Corporate Activities and the Market Risk Premium

While existing asset pricing studies focus on macroeconomic variables to predict stock market risk premium, we find that an aggregate index of corporate activities has substantially greater predictive power both in- and out-of sample, and yields much greater economic gain for a mean-variance investor. The predictive ability of the corporate index stems from its information content about future cash flows and expected corporate investments. Cross-sectionally, the corporate index performs particularly well for stocks with great information asymmetry.
Don't get burned: thermal monitoring of vessel sealing using a miniature infrared camera

Miniature infrared cameras have recently come to market in a form factor that facilitates packaging in endoscopic or other minimally invasive surgical instruments. If absolute temperature measurements can be made with these cameras, they may be useful for non-contact monitoring of electrocautery-based vessel sealing, or other thermal surgical processes like thermal ablation of tumors. As a first step in evaluating the feasibility of optical medical thermometry with these new cameras, in this paper we explore how well thermal measurements can be made with them. These cameras measure the raw flux of incoming IR radiation, and we perform a calibration procedure to map their readings to absolute temperature values in the range between 40 and 150 °C. Furthermore, we propose and validate a method to estimate the spatial extent of heat spread created by a cautery tool based on the thermal images.
The KOL → μ ;+ + μ − Puzzle

The naive theoretical lower bound on the K O L →μ++μ− branching ratio exceeds the present experimental upper limit. Possible causes and consequences of this puzzle are discussed.
Automated functional analysis of astrocytes from chronic time-lapse calcium imaging data

Recent discoveries that astrocytes exert proactive regulatory effects on neural information processing and that they are deeply involved in normal brain development and disease pathology have stimulated broad interest in understanding astrocyte functional roles in brain circuit. Measuring astrocyte functional status is now technically feasible, due to recent advances in modern microscopy and ultrasensitive cell-type specific genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators for chronic imaging. However, there is a big gap between the capability of generating large dataset via calcium imaging and the availability of sophisticated analytical tools for decoding the astrocyte function. Current practice is essentially manual, which not only limits analysis throughput but also risks introducing bias and missing important information latent in complex, dynamic big data. Here, we report a suite of computational tools, called Functional AStrocyte Phenotyping (FASP), for automatically quantifying the functional status of astrocytes. Considering the complex nature of Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes and low signal to noise ratio, FASP is designed with data-driven and probabilistic principles, to flexibly account for various patterns and to perform robustly with noisy data. In particular, FASP explicitly models signal propagation, which rules out the applicability of tools designed for other types of data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of FASP using extensive synthetic and real data sets. The findings by FASP were verified by manual inspection. FASP also detected signals that were missed by purely manual analysis but could be confirmed by more careful manual examination under the guidance of automatic analysis. All algorithms and the analysis pipeline are packaged into a plugin for Fiji (ImageJ), with the source code freely available online at https://github.com/VTcbil/FASP.
Intelligent demand response for electricity consumers: A multi-armed bandit game approach

Real-time electricity pricing (RTP) for consumers has long been argued to be key to realize the many envisioned benefits of a smart energy grid. How to actually implement an RTP scheme, however, is still under debate. Since most of the organized wholesale power markets in the US implement a two-settlement system, with day-ahead electricity price forecasts guiding financial and physical transactions in the next day and real-time ex post prices settling any real-time imbalances, it is a natural idea to let consumers respond to the day-ahead prices. Such an idea, however, may lead to consumers all respond in the same fashion, causing large swings of the energy demand and prices, which may jeopardize system stability and increase consumers' financial risks. To overcome this issue, we propose a game-theoretic framework in which each consumer solves a multi-armed bandit problem; that is, consumers learn from the history and attempts to minimize their regrets. The consequence is drastically reduced volatility on real-time prices and much flatter load curves for the entire grid. Such results are not only based on simulation, but are also supported by theories of mean-field equilibria in multi-armed bandit games.
Selective decentralization to improve reinforcement learning in unknown linear noisy systems

In this paper, we answer the question of to what extend selective decentralization could enhance the learning and control performance when the system is noisy and unknown. Compared to the previous works in selective decentralization, in this paper, we add the system noise as another complexity in the learning and control problem. Thus, we only perform analysis for some simple toy examples of noisy linear system. In linear system, the Halminton-Jaccobi-Bellman (HJB) equation becomes Riccati equation with closed-form solution. Our previous framework in learning and control unknown system is based on the following principle: approximating the system using identification in order to apply model-based solution. Therefore, this paper would explore the learning and control performance on two aspects: system identification error and system stabilization. Our results show that selective decentralization show better learning performance than the centralization when the noise level is low.
Before and After Avatar Exposure: The Impact of Body Scanning Technology on Body Satisfaction, Mood, and Appearance Management

Loker et. al. initiated a call for research investigating how third dimension (3-D) affects one’s perceptions of their own body by raising the following questions: Will the ability to see ourselves...
Who's still smoking? Disparities in adult cigarette smoking prevalence in the United States

The continuing high prevalence of cigarette smoking among specific subpopulations, many of them vulnerable, is one of the most pressing challenges facing the tobacco control community. These populations include individuals in lower education and/or socioeconomic groups; from certain racial/ethnic groups; in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; with mental illness; and in the military, particularly among those in the lowest pay grades. Although traditional tobacco control measures are having positive health effects for most groups, the effects are not sufficient for others. More attention to and support for promising novel interventions, in addition to new attempts at reaching these populations through conventional interventions that have proven to be effective, are crucial going forward to find new ways to address these disparities. CA Cancer J Clin 2018;68:106-115. © 2018 American Cancer Society.
Complement and Immune Deficiencies

Arnaiz-Villena et al.1 reported a family of 6 siblings in which 3 were C1q-deficient. The 3 affected siblings did not have a common haplotype. One of the normal siblings was HLA identical with his C1q-deficient brother.
ESTUARINE TOTAL SYSTEM METABOLISM AND ORGANIC EXCHANGE CALCULATED FROM NUTRIENT RATIOS: AN EXAMPLE FROM NARRAGANSETT BAY

Abstract. The average ratio of the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to phosphorus (DIP) found in many estuaries differs from that in the rivers, sewage, rain, and offshore waters that contribute nutrients to these systems. These differences are largely the result of various biological processes which take place in the estuary, including denitrification, the net production of organic matter, and the consumption and remineralization of organic matter carried into the estuary. Net production in this case represents the total amount of organic matter exported, harvested, and removed through long-term burial that is in excess of the amount imported and consumed within the estuary. It is not the same as the commonly reported net production by the autotrophic components of the system. Together with physical mixing and chemical exchange processes which take place in the system, these biological transformations provide a dynamic “filter” which often makes the quantity and form of nutrients exported from an estuary quite different from those it imports. These changes can themselves provide insight into the internal processes of the estuary. For Narragansett Bay (RI, USA) we have combined measurements of the annual nutrient input with the ratio of the annual time and volume-weighted mean concentrations of DIN and DIP found in the Bay, measurements of the annual rate of denitrification, and data on the chemical composition of the plankton to calculate the total system metabolism of the Bay. The result suggests that the system is autotrophic, with net production exceeding consumption by about 80 g C m-2 y-1. Since only a small portion of this organic matter accumulates in the sediments (~ 6 g C m-2 y-1) or is removed in the fishery (~ 1 g C m-2 y-1), some 70-75 g C m-2 y-1 may be exported from the Bay, an amount equal to 22-24% of the reported production by the phytoplankton.
An Automated, Intermittent Flow Respirometer for Monitoring Oxygen Consumption and Long-Term Activity of Pelagic Crustaceans

Recently there has been an increase in interest regarding the effects of environmental parameters such as temperature, pressure, oxygen, pH, and salinity on the oxygen consumption of pelagic animals [1,3,4,6,8,11]. In these studies polarographic oxygen sensors (POS) were used with closed respirometers rather than continuous-flow systems to avoid problems of flow control and the need for a second POS in the system. There are, however, two major limitations to closed respirometry systems: (1) oxygen consumption rates cannot be measured over extended periods of time; and (2) the partial pressure of oxygen to which the animal is exposed cannot be maintained at a constant level.
Ultrafast Pump-Repump-Probe Photochemical Hole Burning as a Probe of Excited-State Reaction Pathway Branching.

We demonstrate pump–repump–probe (PRP) transient hole burning as a spectroscopic tool for differentiating reactive from nonreactive deactivation of excited photochemical reactants observed by transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS). This method utilizes a time-delayed, wavelength-tunable ultrafast pulse to alter the excited reactant population, with the impact of “repumping” quantified through depletions in photoproduct absorption. We apply this approach to characterize dynamics affecting the nonadiabatic photocyclization efficiency to form S0 dihydrotriphenylene (DHT) following 266 nm excitation of ortho-terphenyl (OTP). TAS studies revealed bimodal deactivation of OTP*, but neither relaxation time scale (700 fs and 3.0 ps) could be assigned unambiguously to DHT formation due to overlap of excited-state and product spectra. PRP studies reveal that S1 OTP only cyclizes on the slower of these time scales, with the faster process attributable to nonreactive deactivation. We demonstrate that this method offe...
Organometallic hydride-transfer agents as reductants for organic semiconductor molecules

Abstract Both organic hydride donors, DH, and the dimers formed by some organic radicals and by some 19-electron organometallic sandwich compounds, D2, have recently been examined extensively as n-dopants for organic semiconductors. This properties of two classes of organometallic DH derivatives – organic DH derivatives with metallocenyl substituents and species obtained by hydride reduction of 18-electron D+ sandwich cations – are discussed and compared to those of the corresponding D2 molecules. 1,3-Dimethyl-2-metallocenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]imidazoles, Mc-DMBI-H (Mc = ferrocenyl [Fc], ruthenocenyl [Rc]), and 1,3-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazolium tetrakis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl))borates, Mc-DMBI+BAr'4– (Mc = Fc, Rc), have recently been reported as intermediates in the synthesis of the dimers (Mc-DMBI)2; here their crystal structures are reported and compared to those of related molecules. The solution reactivity of the Mc-DMBI-H derivatives with a fullerene acceptor is similar to that of purely organic aryl-DMBI-H species. Previously reported (exo-H-η4-pentamethylcyclopentadiene)(η5-cyclopentadienyl)metal complexes, M(exo-H-Cp*H)Cp (M = Rh, Ir) and the new (η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)(η5-1,3,5-trimethylcyclohexa-1,3-dien-5-yl)ruthenium, RuCp*(mesH), have also been examined as potential reductants for organic semiconductors; RuCp*(mesH) is particularly reactive, affording the radical anions of perylene diimide and 6,13-bis(tri(isopropyl)silylethynyl)pentacene. The electrochemistry of DH, D+, and D2 species is compared for the five compounds. Density-functional theory calculations are used to gain insight into the trends in electrochemistry and reactivity.
Identity images of undergraduate college majors: implications for hospitality and tourism education

ABSTRACTA two-phase study explored the role of academic majors in identity development and affirmation among undergraduate collegestudents. Phase one of the study examined the existence of identity...
Heterogeneous transcriptome response to DNA damage at single cell resolution

Cancer cells often heterogeneously respond to genotoxic chemotherapy, leading to fractional killing and chemoresistance1, 2, which remain as the major obstacles in cancer treatment. It is widely believed that DNA damage induces a uniform response in regulating transcription and that cell fate is passively determined by a threshold mechanism evaluating the level of transcriptional responses3. On the contrary to this assumption, here we show that a surprisingly high level of heterogeneity exists in individual cell transcriptome responses to DNA damage, and that these transcriptome variations dictate the cell fate after DNA damage. Many DNA damage response genes, including tumor suppressor p53 targets, were exclusively expressed in only a subset of cells having specific cell fate, producing unique stress responses tailored for the fate that the cells are committed to. For instance, CDKN1A, the best known p53 target inhibiting cell cycle, was specifically expressed in a subset of cells undergoing cell cycle checkpoint, while other pro-apoptotic p53 targets were expressed only in cells undergoing apoptosis. A small group of cells exhibited neither checkpoint nor apoptotic responses, but produced a unique transcriptional program that conferred strong chemoresistance to the cells. The heterogeneous transcriptome response to DNA damage was also observed at the protein level in flow cytometry. Our results demonstrate that cell fate heterogeneity after DNA damage is mediated by distinct transcriptional programs generating fate-specific gene expression landscapes. This finding provides an important insight into understanding heterogeneous chemotherapy responses of cancer cells.
A Preliminary Genetic Decomposition of Probabilistic Independence

The purpose of this research is to construct a preliminary genetic decomposition delineating the mental constructions underlying probabilistic independence. This delineation will be considered within the framework of APOS theory. While the use of the term independence in probability is often conflated with causation, the technical definition relies instead upon an understanding of conditional probability. I hypothesize that the concept of independence is only fully available to students with a schema conception of probability. I offer additional hypotheses, supported by literature and anecdotal teaching experience, regarding students’ quantification of probability and construction of combinatorial reasoning.
Angle- and polarization-independent mid-infrared narrowband optical filters using dense arrays of resonant cavities

We report design and experimental verification of narrowband mid-infrared optical filters with transmission characteristics that are practically constant over a wide range of incident angles. The filter employs a dense array of dielectric resonant cavities in a metal film, where the transmission of each cavity depends upon localized rather than travelling fields, making the filter fundamentally angle-independent. We show experimentally a transmission around 90% from normal incidence up to 60°. Simulations show that the filter becomes polarization-independent when geometry of the cavities is azimuthally symmetric.
Abstract P302: Adverse Health Behaviors Identified in Africans Living With Undiagnosed Diabetes in America

Background: For African born blacks living in America, lifestyle and food choices may promote or exacerbate diabetes. Objective: Our goal was to determine by OGTT the prevalence of diabetes in 451 ...
Network architecture in the age of programmability

Motivated by the rapid emergence of programmable switches, programmable network interface cards, and software packet processing, this paper asks: given a network task (e.g., virtualization or measurement) in a programmable network, should we implement it at the network's end hosts (the edge) or its switches (the core)? To answer this question, we analyze a range of common network tasks spanning virtualization, deep packet inspection, measurement, application acceleration, and resource management. We conclude that, while the edge is better or even required for certain network tasks (e.g., virtualization, deep packet inspection, and access control), implementing other tasks (e.g., measurement, congestion control, and scheduling) in the network's core has significant benefits---especially as we raise the bar for the performance we demand from our networks. More generally, we extract two primary properties that govern where a network task should be implemented: (1) time scales, or how quickly a task needs to respond to changes, and (2) data locality, or the placement of tasks close to the data that they must access. For instance, we find that the core is preferable when implementing tasks that need to run at short time scales, e.g., detecting fleeting and infrequent microbursts or rapid convergence to fair shares in congestion control. Similarly, we observe that tasks should be placed close to the state that they need to access, e.g., at the edge for deep packet inspection that requires private keys, and in the core for congestion control and measurement that needs to access queue depth information at switches.