cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermodynamic and statistical principles of the theory of elastoviscoplastic deformation and strengthening of materials

We propose a thermodynamic method and a statistical one for constructing the constitutive equations of elastoviscoplastic deformation and strengthening of materials. The thermodynamic method is based on the energy conservation law as well as the equations of entropy balance and entropy generation in the presence of self-equilibrated internal microstresses, which are characterized by coupled strengthening parameters. The general constitutive equations consist of the relations between thermodynamic flows and forces, which follow from nonnegativity of entropy generation and satisfy the generalized Onsager principle, as well as the thermoelasticity relations and the expression for entropy, which follow from the energy conservation law. The specific constitutive equations are obtained on the basis of representation of the energy dissipation rate as a sum of two constituents that describe translational and isotropic strengthening and are approximated by power and hyperbolic sine laws. Starting from the stochastic microstructural concepts, we construct the constitutive equations of elastoviscoplastic deformation and strengthening on the basis of the linear model of thermoelasticity and the nonlinear Maxwell model for spherical and deviatoric components of microstresses and microstrains, respectively. The solution of the problem of the effective properties and stress-strain state of a three-component material is constructed with the use of the combined Voigt-Reuss scheme and leads to constitutive equations coinciding, as to their form, with similar equations constructed by the thermodynamic method.
Automatic error bounds for real roots of polynomials having interval coefficients

Polynomials with interval coefficients, presenting Newton Raphson algorithm for real roots error bounds
Disrupting Asian America: South Asian American Histories as Strategic Sites of Narration

This article elaborates a critical practice that interrogates the discursive protocols narrating the US nation's histories. It poses South Asian American genealogies as strategic sites from which the racial formation of the United States and Asian America may be explored. Keywords: Asian America; South Asian American genealogies; immigrant histories; pan-ethnicity; identity politics. I am an American, not an Asian-American. My rejection of hyphenation has been called race treachery, but it is really a demand that America deliver the promises of its dream to all its citizens equally. - Bharati Mukherjee, Mother Jones, January/ February 1997 The picture on the cover of Mother Jones is compelling. In the middle of a cornfield, Bharati Mukherjee stands with a US flag draped, like a sari, over her left shoulder. The caption reads, "America's Changing Colors." In the carefully staged picture, the message is
Patient Navigation: Economics of Program Development and Implementation

In this age of consumer-driven health care and competitive markets, cancer centers must be innovative in their program development and offer personalized services to informed consumers. Many national medical societies and health care organizations have developed cancer service excellence criteria that include supportive care services as being an integral and preferred element of cancer care to support conventional biomedical treatments. Proper planning and thought must be given to a process that will design a navigation program that aligns specific customer requirements and enhances the patient, caregiver, and physician experience. A well-planned process will produce successful program components that eliminate or greatly reduce the need for costly redesigns or reorganization after implementation. The objectives of such a design would be to improve participant's health outcome and quality of life, manage side effects, prevent secondary infections and avoid secondary cancers, improve access to care, lower cost, and promote program growth.
Piezoelectrically actuated four-bar mechanism with two flexible links for micromechanical flying insect thorax

In this paper, a piezoelectrically actuated four-bar mechanism with two flexible links is proposed to be used in a micromechanical flying insect robot wing thorax for stroke amplification. PZT-5H- and PZN-PT-based unimorph actuators are utilized at the input link of the four-bar for a compact and lightweight thorax transmission mechanism. The kinematics and dynamics of the proposed wing structure with two parallel four-bar mechanisms are analyzed, optimal four-bar link size selection method is introduced, and quasistatic forces generated at the wing are computed for evaluating the feasibility of the design. Using laser micromachining and folding techniques, prototype four-bar structures are constructed. In the experiments, for a 10/spl times/1/spl times/0.12 mm/sup 3/ PZT-5H actuator-based four-bar mechanism, the stroke amplification of around 20 - 25 is held, and an attached polyester wing is resonated at 29 Hz with around 90/spl deg/ flapping motion. These results match closely with the predicted theoretical values.
Fine-needle aspiration cytology of intraabdominal extralobar pulmonary sequestration: a case report.

A 55-yr-old female presented with a mass near the left adrenal gland detected on a CT scan performed for breast cancer staging. A CT-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was performed and showed scattered ciliated cells, compatible with benign respiratory-type epithelial cells. CT-guided needle biopsy also showed fibrocollagenous and fibroadipose connective tissue with focal respiratory type epithelium with subepithelial mucus glands. A final diagnosis of extralobar pulmonary sequestration (ELS) was rendered after surgical resection. This uncommon benign congenital malformation should be considered in the differential diagnosis of FNA of an intraabdominal mass in an adult.
Synergistic Simvastatin and Metformin Combination Chemotherapy for Osseous Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Docetaxel chemotherapy remains a standard of care for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Docetaxel modestly increases survival, yet results in frequent occurrence of side effects and resistant disease. An alternate chemotherapy with greater efficacy and minimal side effects is needed. Acquisition of metabolic aberrations promoting increased survival and metastasis in CRPC cells includes constitutive activation of Akt, loss of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity due to Ser-485/491 phosphorylation, and overexpression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoAR). We report that combination of simvastatin and metformin, within pharmacologic dose range (500 nmol/L to 4 μmol/L simvastatin and 250 μmol/L to 2 mmol/L metformin), significantly and synergistically reduces C4-2B3/B4 CRPC cell viability and metastatic properties, with minimal adverse effects on normal prostate epithelial cells. Combination of simvastatin and metformin decreased Akt Ser-473 and Thr-308 phosphorylation and AMPKα Ser-485/491 phosphorylation; increased Thr-172 phosphorylation and AMPKα activity, as assessed by increased Ser-79 and Ser-872 phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoAR, respectively; decreased HMG-CoAR activity; and reduced total cellular cholesterol and its synthesis in both cell lines. Studies of C4-2B4 orthotopic NCr-nu/nu mice further demonstrated that combination of simvastatin and metformin (3.5-7.0 μg/g body weight simvastatin and 175-350 μg/g body weight metformin) daily by oral gavage over a 9-week period significantly inhibited primary ventral prostate tumor formation, cachexia, bone metastasis, and biochemical failure more effectively than 24 μg/g body weight docetaxel intraperitoneally injected every 3 weeks, 7.0 μg/g/day simvastatin, or 350 μg/g/day metformin treatment alone, with significantly less toxicity and mortality than docetaxel, establishing combination of simvastatin and metformin as a promising chemotherapeutic alternative for metastatic CRPC.
The role of magnesium in plant disease

Magnesium (Mg), as an essential mineral element for plants and microbes, can have both indirect as well as direct effects on disease. Balanced nutrition is critical for the expression of disease resistance since nutrition is part of a delicately balanced interdependent system influenced by the plant’s genetics and the environment. A deficiency or excess of Mg can influence a wide range of physiologic functions because of these interrelated processes. There are fewer reports of direct effects of Mg deficiency or excess on plant disease than for many elements because of its participation in a wide spectrum of general physiological functions so that individual activities involved in defense, virulence, or pathogenesis are not as easily characterized. The ability of Mg to compliment or antagonize other minerals can result in different disease responses to Mg under varying environmental conditions. Fusarium wilt pathogens tend to be less severe when adequate Mg is available, and Mg increases resistance of tissues to degradation by some pectolytic enzymes of macerating or soft rotting pathogens. In contrast, high rates of Mg that interfere with Ca uptake may increase the incidence of diseases such as bacterial spot of tomato and pepper or peanut pod rot. The more general physiological benefits of Mg for active growth often obscure specific mechanisms involved in resistance to disease, although Mg is an important contributor to over-all plant health. A specific mechanism of defense to diseases enhanced by Mg includes increased resistance of tissues to degradation by pectolytic enzymes of bacterial soft rotting pathogens. Management of Mg nutrition to reduce disease, in balance with other minerals, is an underutilized tool for disease control.
A linear programming formulation for security-aware gate sizing

Differential power analysis (DPA) has been shown to be the dominant type of side-channel attacks that significantly jeopardize the security in integrated circuits. It has been shown that the data, the functional unit operations as well as the internal micro-architectures can be detected through current and power analysis. Subsequently, different CMOS logic styles have been proposed in the literature for performing computations in such a manner that the current and power signatures can be concealed through reduction of the variance in transient power dissipation. In this work, we propose a gate sizing formulation based on traditional static CMOS standard cells that improves the security of the circuits while maintaining low overheads in terms of area, power and delay. The proposed algorithm considers all disjoint paths from primary inputs to the primary outputs, performing gate sizing with the objective of balancing the switched path capacitances among the various paths making it difficult to extract power or current signatures through current or power profiling. Further, we show that the path based security aware gate sizing formulation is NP-complete and propose a greedy approximation algorithm based on linear programming. The proposed algorithm has been implemented and validated on the ISCAS85 benchmarks and the experimental results indicate a reduction of the variance of transient dynamic power by about 40% with very low overhead in terms of delay, area and power.
Religion as a determinant of educational attainment: an economic perspective.

Abstract This paper uses data from the 1987–88 National Survey of Families and Households to study how the religion in which individuals are brought up influences the number of years of schooling that they complete. In multivariate analyses where a large number of other family background factors are held constant, significant differences by religion are uncovered: educational attainment is highest among Jews and lowest among fundamentalist Protestants, with Catholics and mainline Protestants at the center of the distribution. Various channels through which religion may influence the level of schooling are considered, within the framework of a human capital model that distinguishes between supply and demand factors. The empirical findings suggest that while demand influences are most important in explaining the high education of Jews, the relatively low schooling level of fundamentalist Protestants reflects supply and demand forces of similar strength. Analyses of schooling transitions shed light on the stages of the process at which the divergences occur.
NEURAL NETWORK SIMULATIONS OF DISTRIBUTED VERSUS INTERVAL DISPARITY CELL CODINGS

The purpose of the present paper was to implement two computational models of structure-from-stereopsis comparing the computational utility of interval and distributed codings of image disparity. Interval codings represent disparity in discrete ranges, whereas distributed codings represent disparity using overlapping tuning curves similar to the response profiles of neurons found in the visual cortex of primates. We relate this also to recent neurophysiological work indicating that binocular neurons may be tuned to the relative phase of luminance input to the left and right eyes. A distributed coding of disparity has been shown previously to provide a good model for human stereoacuity. In this paper we show that it is also advantageous for solving the structure-from-stereopsis problem. Separate sets of neural network simulations were undertaken to learn a mapping function from (1) interval and (2) distributed disparity codings to a three-dimensional surface representation. Example pairs of disparity codings and surface representations were used to adjust the weights on a radial basis function network to learn the mapping function for the example surfaces. The generalizability of the learned mapping function was tested with novel surfaces. While the networks performed equally well (perfectly) on the learned surfaces, the distributed disparity coding networks generalized better to novel surfaces than did the interval code.
Cytochrome unfolding pathways from computational analysis of crystal structures.

We have developed a model to study the role of geometrical factors in influencing the early stages of unfolding in three cytochromes: cyt c′, cyt c-b_(562) and cyt c. Each stage in unfolding is quantified by the spatial extension 〈λ_i〉 of n-residue segments, and by their angular extension 〈β_n〉. Similarities and differences between and among the three cytochromes in the unfolding of helical and non-helical regions can be determined by analyzing the data for each signature separately. Definite conclusions can be drawn when spatial and angular changes are considered in tandem. To facilitate comparisons, we present graphical portraits of the three cytochromes at the same stage of unfolding, and in relation to their native state structures. We also display specific segments at different stages of unfolding to illustrate differences in stability of defined domains thereby allowing us to make specific predictions on the unfolding of corresponding internal and terminal helices in cyt c′ and cyt c-b_(562). Our work accords with an earlier experimental report on the presence and persistence of a hydrophobic core in cyt c.
Bit-Serial Architecture For Real Time Motion Compensation

We describe a bit-serial VLSI architecture for a real time motion estimation chip. The chip can search windows of arbitrary size with integer displacement resolution. Using 3 micron CMOS, it is projected to perform up to 6 million matches per second. This would permit real time exhaustive motion estimation of 8 x 8 blocks on 16 x 16 windows at NTSC resolution and 20 frames/sec. A short design time, without silicon assemblers or compilers, for the high speed chip is made possible by its bit-serial architecture.
Schematic Responses to Sexual Harassment Complainants: The Influence of Gender and Physical Attractiveness

This study was designed to examine the characteristics of a sexual harassment schema and its consequences using expectancy-violation theory as a framework for investigating an ostensible organizational grievance. Reactions to sexual harassment complainants were expected to be less favorable when the complainant was male than when the complainant was female. Results for the complainants of sexual harassment confirmed that men were believed less, liked less, and punished more than women. Furthermore, the tendency to believe and like female complainants more than male complainants was stronger when complainants were physically attractive. This study contributes to a growing body of research on gender schemas in the context of sexual harassment.
Robust control of a nonlinear time-delay system

Experiments dealing with the heating of living tissue have resulted in four completely different temperature response characteristics as a result of the application of four different constant power levels. The four response characteristics can be classified as overdamped, critically damped, underdamped, and undamped oscillations. A particular nonlinear, time-delay dynamic equation has previously been shown to exhibit the same type of temperature response characteristics as those in the experiments. Herein, a control strategy is applied to the nonlinear, time-delay equation to inhibit the oscillatory behavior. A proportional plus integral (PI) controller with antiwindup, that is restricted to be nonnegative, is shown to be an effective controller in eliminating the oscillatory responses. This effectiveness is shown by analyzing and explaining the robustness properties of this controller as applied to this nonlinear, time-delay system.
Noise variance in signal denoising

In the thresholding method of denoising the optimum threshold is obtained as a function of additive noise variance. In practical problems, where the variance of the noise is unknown, the first step is to estimate the noise variance. The estimated noise variance is then implemented in calculation of the optimum threshold. The current available methods of variance estimation are heuristic. Here, we provide a new method for estimation of the additive noise variance. The method is derived from a new denoising method which is proposed in Beheshti et al. (2002). Unlike thresholding approaches the denoising method in Beheshti is based on comparison of subspaces of the basis. It compares a defined description length (DL) of the noisy data in the subspaces. We show how the estimation of the noise variance and the denoising process can be done simultaneously.
Improving hierarchical architecture performance with dynamic segmentation

Dynamic segmentation is a method for improving the performance of cooperating tasks executed on loosely coupled multiprocessors. Four different data transfer techniques that can be used for intersegment data transfers in dynamically segmented buses are analyzed. Preemptive data transfers are considered for uniform message latencies and results are provided for message latency comparisons using various locality factors. These results indicate dynamic segmentation improves performance considerably, at a fraction of the cost of more complex interconnection networks such as multiple buses. >
Post-tetanic potentiation of response in monosynaptic reflex pathways of the spinal cord.

Following tetanic afferent stimulation of a monosynaptic reflex pathway, the transmission through that pathway of isolated reflex volleys is enhanced for some minutes. Post-tetanic potentiation is comparable in the monosynaptic reflex arcs of flexor and extensor muscles. The facilitator and inhibitor actions of monosynaptic reflex afferent fibers, as well as the transmitter action, are potentiated following tetanization. Little post-tetanic change attends reflex transmission through plurisynaptic reflex arcs. Various tests for excitability change made independently of the tetanized afferent fibers reveal none or a slight depression. Hence the potentiating influence of a tetanus is limited to subsequent action on the part of the recently tetanized fibers themselves. Increase in the size of the individual impulses comprising an afferent volley such as might occur during positive after-potential, would accommodate the requirement for a limited process and provide for increased synaptic action. The proposed association between post-tetanic potentiation and positive after-potential (i.e. hyperpolarization) is supported by the following lines of evidence:— 1. Changes in intensity and duration of potentiation with change in frequency and duration of tetanic stimulation are characteristic of, and parallel to, the changes of positive after-potential in similar circumstances. 2. Afferent impulses are increased following a tetanus, and in a fashion that parallels the course of monosynaptic reflex potentiation. Post-tetanic potentiation, as here described, and after-discharge, whatever may be its mechanism, are unrelated phenomena.
Modified Viterbi algorithm for a jitter-dominant 1-D/sup 2/ channel

A modified Viterbi algorithm (MVA) for a jitter-dominant 1-D/sup 2/ channel is proposed. The MVA is based on the Gaussian jitter assumption and has the same structure as the Viterbi detector except that a modified error metric is used to explore the data-dependent nature of jitter noise. Error rate simulations have been performed for both VA and MVA under the assumptions of Gaussian jitter and truncated Gaussian jitter. Results show that the MVA yields lower error rates than the VA. Simulation also indicates that the two detectors produce different types of error patterns. >
A mission critical embedded system: A new type FPGA-based digital magnetometer system for space research

The magnetometer, a sensor system which measures magnetic field intensity and how it varies over time, is commonly used in scientific research and industrial applications. Typically, it consists of a magnetic sensor, analog amplifier and filter circuits. It also contains digital circuits for data acquisition. In our study, we address an issue where there is a number of ground-based magnetometer systems installed in both polar regions and in outer space. Due to the limited accessibility to those regions, installation and maintenance of those systems require high cost and lead time. This study proposes a primary test model of a ground-based magnetometer system for space research using digital signal processing techniques based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) and minimal analog circuits. This FPGA-based design is accessible via an Ethernet based network. Network functions provide communications, data acquisition, system test, and remote system control. This approach includes remote control of system characteristics like frequency response, gain, sampling rate, and sampling resolution. This new design concept will result in timely and less expensive maintenance, ease of access/service, and greater reliability. In addition, this system remotely uses an embedded self-test method which can perform system integrity tests for each separate circuit component.
Copy Number Networks to Guide Combinatorial Therapy of Cancer and Proliferative Disorders

Interaction networks can be charted by seeking gene pairs that are amplified and deleted in tandem, even when located at a distance on the genome. Our experience with radiation hybrid (RH) panels, a library of cell clones that have been used for genetic mapping, has shown that this tool can pinpoint statistically significant patterns of coinherited gene pairs. In fact, we were able to identify gene pairs specifically associated with the mechanism of cell survival at single-gene resolution. Further, the RH network can be used to provide single gene specificity for cancer networks constructed from correlated copy number alterations (CNAs). In a survival network for glioblastoma, we found that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) oncogene interacted with 46 genes. Of these genes, 10 (22%) happened to be targets for existing drugs. Here, we highlight the potential of CNA networks to guide combinatorial drug treatment in cancer, autoimmunity, and atherosclerosis.
Cultural Foundations in Communication: Relationship-Building in the Chinese Context

Across industries, both Chinese and Western managers report that their primary difficulty doing business with each other stems from poor communication. Because Chinese and Western business customs and etiquette are so different from one another, it is of fundamental importance that both groups of business people work to develop some understanding of these differences and of how their behavior may be interpreted. This note is intended to introduce readers to some primary differences between Chinese and Western methods of communication, and to suggest strategies for communicating effectively while respecting cultural differences. While any introductory exposition of a culture is necessarily based on a particular perspective, to some degree, the generalities contained in the note are meant to serve as a starting place for understanding how Chinese-Western communications may be facilitated. Both Chinese and Western managers would be well served by learning to balance the individual behaviors they observe with the generalities offered here.
Impact of Gender

Gender equality is approaching; there is room for optimism; but more efforts with new programs and constructive ideas are needed.
Discussion: Economics of Stock Natural Resource Use

Whoever planned this session apparently anticipated that these three papers would relate in a unique way that would permit a single discussant. If so, the plans seem to have gone awry. About the only thing the papers have in common is that they deal with "stock" resources, and even here, Dr. Grubb's water aquifer, mistakenly I think, is treated as a flow resource if the rate of replenishment exceeds the rate of discharge. In general, the level of theoretical abstraction as well as the substantive issues treated in the three papers are highly disparate. Notwithstanding, in my opinion, all the authors have taken reasonable approaches to their respective subjects. I do not think it would be especially fruitful to compare or relate the papers to each other; rather, I will discuss each one on its own merits (or demerits). Let me begin with the scholarly paper written by Dr. Brewer. The title suggests that economic, technologic, and policy issues will be treated. Almost all the substantive material in the paper deals with technologic considerations, which, however, are analyzed from an economic point of view and suggest some policy implications. In fact, Brewer's decision to focus mainly on technologic factors was wise, since other economic problems of optimal rates of extraction of a stock resource, the scale of optimal investment, and relationships between price paths and the rate of interest have been thoroughly discussed by Gaffney, Scott, Herfindahl, and Vickrey in the recent volume to which Dr. Brewer referred [MASON GAFFNEY, ed., Extractive Resources and Taxation, Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 1967]. Brewer's paper is a welcome supplement to that volume because he considers a set of issues not treated in that book-namely, how technological advance at various levels of exploitation and utilization of stock resources impinges on resource owners. His notion that problems of pollution and environmental quality constitute a special case of the stock resource problem is an exciting new concept that should yield fruitful results. I appreciate the careful way in which Brewer sets up his model for a
Difference Analysis of Organic Agriculture Production Standards between China and European Union

Aiming at the differences in the standards of organic agricultural production between China and European Union,this article analyzed the standards of the latest organic agricultural products production in China and European Union,summarized their differences and producing causes from the aspects of the guiding ideology of establishing the standards,organic agricultural production technology,production standards supervision etc.,and put forward the corresponding suggestions for the better development of organic agricultural production in China.
Obtaining drugs from foreign markets

Guidelines are presented for pharmacist coordination of the importation for use by institutionalized patients of drugs not currently approved by the FDA. A prerequisite for importation of foreign drugs is that traditional therapies have failed or are not an option. Steps that are required for drug importation and administration include completing an investigational new-drug application, obtaining institutional review board approval, obtaining informed consent, contacting a customs broker or the local FDA district import program manager, arranging for drug shipment, and documenting receipt and administration of the drug. Conditions are described under which portions of this process may be waived. By helping to ensure compliance with FDA requirements, pharmacists can expedite drug importation for institutionalized patients.
Intelligent network monitoring

To improve network management in today's increasingly complex communication networks, the authors propose an intelligent monitoring hierarchy. The hierarchy is comprised of hidden Markov models (HMMs) and neural networks. As demonstrated on real network data, this hierarchy can detect abnormal behavior at high levels using only readily available low-level fault models. This allows the node to provide the network manager a complete picture of the nodes health.
The Relationship Between Arch Height and Arch Flexibility: A Proposed Arch Flexibility Classification System for the Description of Multidimensional Foot Structure

Background: The correlation between arch structure and injury may be related to the fact that foot structure influences foot function. Foot structure is often defined by arch height, although arch flexibility may be just as important to form a more complete description. We propose an arch flexibility classification system, analogous to arch height classification, and then use the classification system to examine the relationship between arch flexibility and arch height. Methods: Arch height index was calculated in 1,124 incoming military cadets, of whom 1,056 had usable data. By measuring arch height during both sitting and standing, a measurement of arch flexibility could also be calculated. These values were used to create five arch flexibility categories: very stiff, stiff, neutral, flexible, and very flexible. The distribution of arch flexibility types among arch height categories was statistically compared. Results: The goodness of fit test showed a disproportionate number of each arch flexibility ty...
Determinants of cyanobacterial species composition in the splash zone of two Croatian islands

ABSTRACTCyanobacterial communities of the splash zone of two Croatian islands, Veruda and Ugljan, were surveyed. At each island, we studied eight localities with different aspects. From all 336 samples, a total of 42 cyanobacterial species, one green alga, and one red alga were found. In both islands Hyella spp. and Gloeocapsopsis crepidinum dominated and Entophysalis deusta, Solentia spp., Kyrtuthrix dalmatica and Mastigocoleus testarum were found frequently. Multivariate statistical analysis of species composition shows that the vertical gradient is the strongest determinant of species composition and that there are statistically significant but not very pronounced differences in species composition between the two islands. Species composition among individual sites within islands differed slightly, and between localities decreased rather slowly with the distance of individual samples (i.e. the similarity distance decay was very slow), showing that even close samples can have quite different species com...
Sociodemographic factors associated with stage of diagnosis and treatment uptake among patients with colorectal cancer: A brief report

Abstract Introduction Previous research has indicated the presence of sociodemographic differences in disease stage at diagnosis and treatment uptake among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients that identify as black, being female and older age are associated with a decreased uptake of therapeutic options, however these findings are inconsistent in the literature. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the presence of sociodemographic disparities in disease stage and diagnosis and subsequent treatment uptake among patients with CRC. Materials & methods This secondary data analysis was conducted utilizing a tumor registry database from a academic cancer center with data from patients with diagnosed adenocarcinoma of the colon, rectum or rectosigmoid junction ( n =524) from May 2009 to May 2014. Diagnosed disease stage and treatment uptake differences were assessed among sociodemographic groups. Results Analyses showed that being female and decreased age were significantly associated with more advanced diagnosed disease stage. There were no significant sociodemographic predictors associated with patients who received treatment versus those who did not. Additionally, there were no significant differences by sociodemographic factors for treatment type. Conclusions Sociodemographic disparities were present among women and younger patients related to disease stage at diagnosis. Future research is needed to corroborate the presence of and psychosocial mechanisms behind disparities in diagnosis and treatment uptake among patients with CRC.
An Analysis of Teachersâ€™ Fears for the First Day of School

This qualitative study focused on fears about the first day of school as expressed by three groups of educators:Â inexperienced teachers enrolled in an alternative certification program, paraprofessionals with classroom experience, and junior/senior education majors anticipating field experince.Â participant groups answered the open-ended question, "What is your biggest fear for the first day of school?Â Three dominant thematic categories emerged.Â The first and most frequent category, perception-of-self, described fears related to academic competency, personal self-control, and peer-student acceptance.Â Unique to this category was the fear of inappropriate or violent behavior.Â The second category, Perception-of-World, spoke to issues of classroom control and responsibillity.Â The third category, Fear-for-the Student, addressed emotional and physical safety of the student.Â This study provides vaious insights useful for teacher candidate preparation.
Abstract P275: Time-of-Day--Dependent Variation in Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Is Lost in Mice Lacking the Regulator of Calcineurin 1 Gene

Many important components of the cardiovascular system display circadian rhythmicity. In humans, the incidence of myocardial infarction peaks in the morning. Furthermore, studies in mouse models ha...
Projection Stereolithographic Fabrication of BMP-2 Gene-activated Matrix for Bone Tissue Engineering.

Currently, sustained in vivo delivery of active bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) protein to responsive target cells, such as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), remains challenging. Ex vivo gene transfer method, while efficient, requires additional operation for cell culture and therefore, is not compatible with point-of-care treatment. In this study, two lentiviral gene constructs – (1) Lv-BMP/GFP, containing human BMP-2 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene (BMP group); or (2) Lv-GFP, containing GFP gene (GFP group) – were incorporated with human BMSCs into a solution of photocrosslinkable gelatin, which was then subjected to visible light-based projection stereolithographic printing to form a scaffold with desired architectures. Upon in vitro culture, compared to the GFP group, cells from BMP group showed >1,000-fold higher BMP-2 release, and the majority of them stained intensely for alkaline phosphatase activity. Real-time RT-PCR also showed dramatically increased expression of osteogenesis marker genes only in the BMP group. 3.5 months post-implantation into SCID mice, the micro-computed tomography imaging showed detectable mineralized areas only in the BMP group, which was restricted within the scaffolds. Alizarin red staining and immunohistochemistry of GFP and osteocalcin further indicated that the grafted hBMSCs, not host cells, contributed primarily to the newly formed bone.
Scalable spam classifier for web tables

Internet mail spam is a problem for most organizations and individuals. Spam can be classified into two categories: fraud and commercial. The fraud category includes phishing, scams, malware, counterfeit products and any other criminal activities. The commercial category includes promotional messages and newsletters that we do not want to receive, being sent illegally from legitimate organizations. Fraud can be seen as being a high threat with high volume while commercial spam is the opposite. Similar to mail, there are spam Web tables that do not have any useful content. Here we describe our machine-learning classifier for efficient and effective Web tables spam filtering that was tested on a large-scale Web tables corpus of ≈ 36 million tables.
Potential immunotherapies for sarcoidosis.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease that commonly causes lung disease, but can affect other vital organs and tissues. The cause of sarcoidosis is unkno...
Oscillatory cool flame combustion behavior of submillimeter sized n-alkane droplet under near limit conditions

Abstract This paper reports simulation results of oscillatory cool flame burning of an isolated, submillimeter sized n-heptane (n-C7H16) droplet in a selectively ozone (O3) seeded nitrogen-oxygen (N2-O2) environments at atmospheric pressure. An evolutionary one-dimensional droplet combustion code encompassing relevant physics and detailed chemistry was employed to explore the roles of low-temperature chemistry, O3 seeding, and dynamic flame structure on burning behaviors. For XO2= 21% and a range of selective ozone seeding, near-quasi-steady cool flame burning is achieved directly (without requiring hot flame initiation and radiative extinction). Under low oxygen index conditions, but with significant O3 seeding (XO3 = 5%), a nearly quasi-steady cool flame is initially established that then transitions to a dynamically oscillating cool flame burning mode which continues until the droplet is completely consumed. It is found that the oscillation occurs as result of a initial depletion of fuel vapor-oxidizer layer evolving near the droplet surface and its dynamic re-establishment through liquid vaporization and vapor/oxidizer transport. A kinetic analysis indicates that the dynamic competition between the reaction classes- (a) degenerate chain branching and (b) chain termination/propagation - along with continuous fuel and oxygen leakage through the flame location contributes to an oscillatory burning phenomena of ever-increasing amplitude. Analysis based on single full-cycle of oscillatory burning shows that the reaction progression matrices (evolution of heat and species) for QOOH➔chain propagation/termination reactions (here, Q = C7H14-) directly scales with the gas phase temperature field. On the contrary, the QOOH➔degenerate branching reactions undergoes three distinct stages within the same oscillatory cycle. The coupled flame dynamics and kinetics suggest that in the oscillatory burning mode, kinetic processes dynamically cross through conditions characterizing the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) turnover temperature, separating low temperature and NTC kinetic regimes. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to determine the role of O3 seeding level on the observed oscillation phenomena.
The Ideal Model of Chromatography

The ideal model of chromatography assumes that the column efficiency is infinite. Although actual columns have a finite efficiency, the ideal model has several attractive features which make it important to understand. First, it takes into exact account the effects of the thermodynamics of the phase equilibria on the band profiles. The influence of a nonlinear isotherm or of competition between the components for interaction with the stationary phase appear very clearly. Secondly, the differences between the band profiles observed at high concentrations on real columns and the prediction of the ideal model are moderate and qualitatively predictable. Finally, analytical solutions of the ideal model exist, for convex or concave isotherms in the single component case, and for the competitive Langmuir isotherm in the case of a binary mixture. We review these solutions, in overloaded elution with a wide and a narrow injection pulse, and in displacement chromatography.
Content Fragmentation: A Redundancy Scheme to Save Energy in Cloud Networks

Due to rapid growth of content-based cloud services (e.g., video streaming), energy usage of cloud infrastructures, consisting of distributed data centers interconnected by a high-bandwidth long-distance network, keeps increasing. This energy usage could further increase due to requested content redundancy to ensure content-service resiliency. Typical content redundancy schemes are based on content replication (CR), i.e., each content is replicated in at least one secondary dc location, reachable in case of failure affecting the primary location, which induces at least 100% increase in storage energy consumption. To reduce storage energy overhead of CR, we investigate a new redundancy scheme, called content fragmentation (CF). CF exploits Reed–Solomon erasure code to fragment and encode content into blocks with less storage overhead (thus less storage energy usage) to guarantee content-service resiliency. But CF requires additional energy for content reconstruction and data transport in the core network. To determine which scheme is more energy efficient, we formulate, for both, the content-placement problem using mixed integer liner program (MILP), with the objective to minimize energy consumption. Also, due to MILP’s poor scalability, we propose a meta-heuristic content placement and routing assignment algorithm for more efficient solutions. We observe the impact on energy usage of three main metrics, i.e., number of content requests (popularity), resiliency, and latency. Results from a realistic case study suggest that CF always consumes less energy than CR given the same resiliency requirement, and CF is particularly energy-efficient when stored contents are less popular and latency-tolerant.
Assessment of Information on Concussion Available to Adolescents on Social Media

Background: Considering how many people obtain information about their health online, the aim of this study was to describe the content of the currently most widely viewed YouTube videos related to concussions and to test the hypothesis that consumer videos would be anecdotal, while other sources would be more informational. Methods: The term “concussion” was used to search for videos with 100,000 or more views on YouTube that were posted in English or Spanish. Descriptive information about each video was recorded, as was information on whether certain content was conveyed during the video. The main outcome measures are sources of upload and content of videos. Results: Consumer videos accounted for 48% of the videos, television based accounted for 50% of the videos, and internet based accounted for only 2% of the videos. None of the videos viewed fell into the professional category. Television based videos were viewed significantly more than consumer or internet based videos. Consumer and television based videos were equally anecdotal. Many of the videos focused on adolescents and were related to sports injuries. The majority of the videos (70.4%) addressed concussion causes, with 48% stating sports. Few videos discussed symptoms of concussion and prevention. Conclusions: The potential for widespread misinformation necessitates caution when obtaining information on concussion on a freely accessible and editable medium, such as YouTube.
Performance Review: Two Decades of Selling Peking Opera White Snakes to Foreigners: From Tourist Peking Opera in Beijing (1996) to Zhang Huoding at Lincoln Center (2015)

After ten years of Model Peking Opera (yangban xi 樣板戲), Chinese audiences, especially residents of Beijing, were euphoric to see the return of “traditional” (chuantong 傳統) Jingju 京劇 plays to the st...
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone messenger ribonucleic acid and protein expression in Vero cells.

Purpose: Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a major regulator of local cellular interactions during embryonic implantation. We hypothesized that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) may also play a role in the embryonic/epithelial dialogue during early implantation. To examine this hypothesis, we examined the ability of IL-1 to regulate GnRH mRNA and protein expression in Vero cells. Methods: Viable Vero cells (1 × 105/well) were cultured in multiple-well tissue culture plates for in vitro studies and in 4-well chamber slides for immunohistochemical study. Confluent Vero cells were cultured with increasing concentrations of recombinant human IL-1β for an additional 24 hr. Vero cell expression of GnRH and GnRH receptor mRNAs was measured with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested PCR, respectively. GnRH protein expression was validated by immunohistochemistry study. The quantitative level of GnRH mRNA expression regulated by IL-1β in Vero cells was determined by quantitative competitive PCR (QC PCR) with standard curve methodology. Results: RT-PCR revealed β-actin, GnRH, and GnRH receptor mRNA expression in Vero cell cultures. Immunostaining confirmed the presence of GnRH protein in Vero cells. Quantitative PCR demonstrated IL-1β up-regulation of Vero cell GnRH mRNA expression (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that Vero cell mRNA and protein expression of GnRH may play a substantial role in early embryo/epithelial dialogue during embryo coculture, with an embryotrophic effect due to expression of GnRH by Vero cells.
Synthesizing Energy Consumption Data Using a Mixture Density Network Integrated with Long Short Term Memory

Smart cities comprise multiple critical infrastructures, two of which are the power grid and communication networks, backed by centralized data analytics and storage. To effectively model the interdependencies between these infrastructures and enable a greater understanding of how communities respond to and impact them, large amounts of varied, real-world data on residential and commercial consumer energy consumption, load patterns, and associated human behavioral impacts are required. The dissemination of such data to the research communities is, however, largely restricted because of security and privacy concerns. This paper creates an opportunity for the development and dissemination of synthetic energy consumption data which is inherently anonymous but holds similarities to the properties of real data. This paper explores a framework using mixture density network (MDN) model integrated with a multi-layered Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network which shows promise in this area of research. The model is trained using an initial sample recorded from residential smart meters in the state of Florida, and is used to generate fully synthetic energy consumption data. The synthesized data will be made publicly available for interested users.