cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Green composites. I. physical properties of ramie fibers for environment-friendly green composites

The surface topography, tensile properties, and thermal properties of ramie fibers were investigated as reinforcement for fully biodegradable and environmental-friendly ‘green’ composites. SEM micrographs of a longitudinal and cross-sectional view of a single ramie fiber showed a fibrillar structure and rough surface with irregular cross-section, which is considered to provide good interfacial adhesion with polymer resin in composites. An average tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and fracture strain of ramie fibers were measured to be 627 MPa, 31.8 GPa, and 2.7 %, respectively. The specific tensile properties of the ramie fiber calculated per unit density were found to be comparable to those of E-glass fibers. Ramie fibers exhibited good thermal stability after aging up to 160°C with no decrease in tensile strength or Young’s modulus. However, at temperatures higher than 160°C the tensile strength decreased significantly and its fracture behavior was also affected. The moisture content of the ramie fiber was 9.9%. These properties make ramie fibers suitable as reinforcement for ‘green’ composites. Also, the green composites can be fabricated at temperatures up to 160°C without reducing the fiber properties.
ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL STATUS AS DETERMINANTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD IDENTITY

Is social status or participation in neighborhood affairs a more important determinant of one's sense of identity with the local neighborhood? Log-linear analysis of survey responses from 364 residents of a Minneapolis neighborhood explores the relationship of status and activism to four measures of neighborhood identity: cognition, evaluation, attachment and activities. The results indicate that while identity is jointly dependent on both variables, activism exerts a stronger influence. High-status activists stand apart from all other residents in showing the greatest awareness of, and strongest sense of attachment to, their neighborhood.
Left Bundle Branch Block Etiologic, Hemodynamic, and Ventriculographic Considerations

Coronary angiography, cine left ventriculography, and the cardiovascular hemodynamics of 24 patients with left bundle branch block were studied. Seven patients were found to have significant coronary artery disease, always severe. Five had cardiomyopathy and seven had valvular disease. Only those with coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy had abnormal left ventricular contraction patterns. The onset of left ventricular contraction was delayed in the patients with left bundle branch block, but the period of isovolumic contraction was normal in those without severe underlying disease. Left axis deviation in addition to left bundle branch block did not imply more frequent coronary atherosclerosis.
5-year prospective results of dimercapto-succinic acid imaging in children with febrile urinary tract infection: Proof that the top-down approach works

Purpose: Evaluation in children after febrile urinary tract infection involves voiding cystourethrogram, which emphasizes urinary reflux rather than renal risk. We believe that early dimercapto-succinic acid renal scan after febrile urinary tract infection predicts clinically significant reflux and which children should undergo voiding cystourethrogram. The criticism of this approach is that some reflux and preventable renal damage would be missed. This study validates the use of initial dimercapto-succinic scan and presents 5-year renal outcomes.Materials and Methods: We prospectively studied children with febrile urinary tract infection using initial dimercapto-succinic acid renal scan, voiding cystourethrogram and renal/bladder ultrasound. Children with anatomical or neurological genitourinary abnormality and protocol failures were excluded from analysis. Dimercapto-succinic acid scan was repeated at 6 months if initially abnormal. Followup was done every 6 months in all children for at least 5 years.R...
Measuring fine structure in speech: application to speaker identification

The performance of systems for speaker identification (SID) can be quite good with clean speech, though much lower with degraded speech. Thus it is useful to search for new features for SID, particularly features that are robust over a degraded channel. This paper investigates features that are based on amplitude and frequency modulations of speech formants, high resolution measurement of fundamental frequency and location of "secondary pulses", measured using a high-resolution energy operator. When these features are added to traditional features using an existing SID system with a 168 speaker telephone speech database, SID performance improved by as much as 4% for male speakers and 8.2% for female speakers.
Evaluation of Polar MM5 Simulations of Antarctic Atmospheric Circulation

Abstract Evaluation of a complete annual cycle of nonhydrostatic mesoscale model simulations of the Antarctic atmospheric circulation is presented. The year-long time series are compiled from a series of overlapping short-duration (72 h) simulations of the atmospheric state with the first 24 h being discarded for spinup reasons, and the 24–72-h periods used for model evaluation. The simulations are generated with the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5), which is modified for polar applications, and is referred to as the Polar MM5. With a horizontal resolution of 60 km, the Polar MM5 has been run for the period of January 1993–December 1993, creating short-term simulations from initial and boundary conditions provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) operational analyses. The model output is compared with observations from automatic weather stations, upper-air d...
The Joy of Inquiry

In this article, the author reflects on his own educational experiences as a starting point for an exploration of the way that education can be a joyful process if framed as an opportunity for crea...
Factors Associated with the Movement of Calcium from the Food to the Bones of Chicks

Abstract THE influence of vitamin D on absorption of calcium has been reported from numerous laboratories. Migicovsky and Emslie (1949 Migicovsky and Emslie (1950) demonstrated that vitamin D affects the absorption and excretion of calcium in chicks but has no effect on the skeletal deposition of an injected dose of calcium. Migicovsky and Nielson (1951) also reported that the amount of Ca45 appearing in the tibiae of chickens, following an intramuscular injection of Ca45 was directly proportional to the quantity injected and that vitamin D slightly decreased the quantity of Ca45 appearing in the bone. Excess phosphate in the gut did not appear to interfere with calcium absorption. The results reported in this manuscript were obtained during studies on factors other than vitamin D which influence the mineralization of bones in chicks. EXPERIMENTAL Day-old White Leghorn cockerels, Rhode Island Red cockerels and White Rock chicks of both sexes were used during these studies. The …
Segmentation and analysis of pulmonary blood vessel from X-ray CT images

Methods are proposed that allow the 3-D pulmonary structure to be reconstructed by automatic segmentation and analysis of pulmonary blood vessels with 1-cm thickness in chest X-ray CT images. Techniques are fully described for enhancement of the edges in a set of CT images and measurement of the line width in binary images. The results suggest that the segmented blood vessels are accurately extracted and that the measured values are effective for 3-D reconstruction, which is studied separately. >
Don Juan de Austria and the Venetian music trade

A recently discovered document sheds new light on the musical patronage of the Spanish royal family in the late Renaissance, and on the international music trade based in Venice. Don Juan de Austria, Philip II's half-brother, ordered the Spanish resident ambassador in Venice to procure for him a number of musical instruments and printed music books. The ambassador in turn hired Girolamo dalla Casa, maestro de' concerti at San Marco, to help him fill the order. The receipt lists the purchased items and their prices, and includes numerous woodwinds, brass instruments from Germany, and editions by both Spanish and Italian composers. The varied nature of the purchases highlights the international scope of the music trade in Venice, as well as the previously unknown musical interests of Don Juan.
p53 Mutation and Locoregional Treatment Failure in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: The p53 gene (also known as TP53) may be the most common genetic target involved in the malignant transformation of human cells. Direct sequence analysis has demonstrated that alteration of this gene occurs in approximately 45% of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. The consequences of p53 mutations in these cancers with respect to tumor behavior and patient survival have not been rigorously determined. Purpose: We evaluated the implications of p53 mutations in relation to the control of locoregional disease and overall survival following radiation therapy. Methods: Data from 110 consecutive patients with invasive disease who were treated with primary radiation therapy (given with curative intent) or with adjuvant radiation therapy (following complete surgical extirpation of gross disease) were included in the analysis. A 1.8-kilobase fragment of the p53 gene encompassing exons 5-9 was amplified from the DNA of stored (frozen) tumor specimens; the amplified DNA was cloned and sequenced by use of standard techniques. Overall survival and locoregional disease-free survival after the completion of radiation therapy were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method; survival comparisons were made by use of the logrank test or proportional hazards regression models. Reported P values are two-sided. Results: Fortyeight (44%) of the 110 tumors had cells bearing p53 mutations. The risk of locoregional recurrence following either primary or adjuvant radiation therapy was significantly greater (i.e., the time to recurrence was shorter) for patients whose tumors contained mutant p53 genes (univariate model hazard ratio [HR] for p53 mutation versus wild-type = 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CTJ = 1.2-4.1; P =.02). The presence of regional lymph node metastases (presence versus absence, HR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.0-42; P = .05) and treatment type (primary radiation therapy versus surgery plus adjuvant radiation therapy, HR = 23; 95% CI = 1.2-4J; P = .01) were also associated with greater risks of locoregional failure. The presence of p53 mutations and lymph node metastases and treatment with primary, as opposed to adjuvant, radiation therapy remained significant risk factors in multivariate regression analysis. No relationship was demonstrated between p53 status and overall survival (mutant versus wild-type, HR = 1.1; 95% CI = 0.6-2.1; P = .66); however, a relationship was shown for tumor stage and overall survival (stages III and IV [more advanced] versus stages I and II [less advanced], HR = 33; 95% CI = 1.010.8; P = .05). Mutation of the p53 gene was not associated with patient age, sex, tumor stage, primary tumor site, regional lymph node status, degree of tumor cell differentiation, or treatment method. Conclusions: Mutation of the p53 gene is associated with an increased risk of locoregional failure in patients with invasive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who are treated with radiation therapy. [J Natl Cancer last 1996;88:1580-6]
Role of optimizing testosterone before microdissection testicular sperm extraction in men with nonobstructive azoospermia.

Purpose: Although optimizing endogenous testosterone production before testicular sperm extraction is commonly practiced, whether improved preoperative testosterone levels enhance sperm retrieval remains unclear. We evaluated the influence of preoperative medical therapy in men with nonobstructive azoospermia before microdissection testicular sperm extraction.Materials and Methods: A total of 1,054 men underwent microdissection testicular sperm extraction from 1999 to 2010. Patients with preoperative testosterone levels less than 300 ng/dl were treated with aromatase inhibitors, clomiphene citrate or human chorionic gonadotropin before microdissection testicular sperm extraction with the goal of optimizing testosterone levels. Patient demographics, preoperative testosterone levels, sperm retrieval rate and pregnancy outcomes were recorded and compared in men with different baseline testosterone levels.Results: Of the 736 men who had preoperative hormonal data 388 (53%) had baseline testosterone levels gre...
Oil frictions and the subterranean geopolitics of energy regionalisms

This paper contributes to analyses of energy integration strategies in Latin America. Focusing on the case of Ecuador’s participation in regional energy networks, the paper traces how oilfields, re...
SAR calibration: an overview

Progress in synthetic-aperture radar, (SAR) calibration is reviewed. The difficulties of calibrating both airborne and spaceborne SAR image data are addressed. The quantities measured by a SAR, i.e. radar backscatter, are defined and mathematical formulations for the three basic types of SAR image are developed. The difficulties in establishing science requirements for calibration are discussed. The measurement of SAR image quality is briefly addressed. The problem of radiometric calibration is introduced via the SAR form of the radar equation, with both internal and external calibration approaches considered. The development of algorithms for polarimetric radar calibration is reviewed and the problems involved in phase calibration of interferometric SAR are discussed. Future challenges in the field of SAR calibration are considered. >
Economic Dependence and Political Democracy A Cross-National Study

This study critically examines the widely held hypothesis that a simple inverse relationship exists between economic dependence and political democracy. A recent study presenting empirical evidence in support of this simple hypothesis is first criticized on methodological grounds. A reanalysis of the author's data, which takes these criticisms into account, fails to confirm the author's original findings. The simple hypothesis is then retested using other measures of economic dependence and democracy. These analyses also fail to confirm the simple hypothesis. Finally, an alternative theoretical framework for viewing the relationship between economic dependence and political democracy is developed, based on the work of O'Donnell, Cordoso, Skidmore, and Kaufman. Although this framework is not empirically tested here, it serves to highlight the weak theoretical foundation that underlies the simple hypothesis.
New opportunities to dissect and manipulate plant processes

The use of transgenic plants has become a standard tool of experimental plant biology and is changing many approaches to plant improvement. The technology has greatly expanded the range of methods available to isolate and identify new plants genes, and has permitted great strides in understanding the mechanisms which regulate gene expression. In addition, the ability to use cloned genes to alter the functional expression of the gene in transgenic plants has created entirely novel opportunities to examine the biological role of virtually any cellular constituent.
P450cam biocatalysis in surfactant‐stabilized two‐phase emulsions

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) are powerful biocatalysts that have the ability to oxidize a broad range of substrates, often at non-reactive carbon centers. However, incorporation of P450s into synthetic schemes has so far been limited to a few whole-cell transformations. P450 substrates are often hydrophobic and have low water solubility, limiting the amount of product that can be produced. To help overcome this limitation, we have examined P450cam activity in two-phase hexane/water emulsions with and without the anionic surfactant, bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT). Hydroxylation of camphor to hydroxycamphor by the three- component P450cam system was chosen as the model reaction, and regeneration of NADH was accomplished with yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH). P450cam was activated in the surfactant-free emulsions, and addition of AOT improved the activity even further, at least over the range of camphor concentrations for which initial rates were readily measurable in all media. The largest observed rate enhancement was 4.5-fold. Nearly 50-times more product was formed in the surfactant-stabilized emulsions than was achieved in aqueous buffer, with total turnover numbers reaching 28,900 for P450cam and 11,800 for YADH. In the absence of surfactant, the two-phase reaction appeared to be mass-transfer limited, while inclusion of AOT alleviated transport limitations and/or afforded a larger interfacial area for P450 activation. The oxidation of hydroxycamphor to 2,5-diketocamphane was also observed, owing to the large concentration of hydroxycamphor relative to camphor in the aqueous phase of the two-phase emulsion. This competing reaction was accompanied by the uncoupled oxidation of NADH (i.e., NADH oxidation without formation of 2,5-diketocamphane), which reduced the availability of NADH for camphor oxidation and further limited the yield of hydroxycamphor in the two-phase emulsions. These results indicate that a surfactant-stabilized two-phase emulsion is a promising reaction medium for practical P450 biocatalysis, although its effectiveness for a given P450/substrate combination can depend on several factors, including competitive or sequential reactions, product inhibition, and NAD(P)H uncoupling.
Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Firms: Order Effects and the Adoption of Process Improvement Recommendations

In many manufacturing operations, profitable energy efficiency opportunities remain unexploited. Although previous studies have tried to explain the underinvestment, we focus on how the way in which a portfolio of opportunities is presented in a list affects adoption decisions. We use information on over 100,000 energy-saving recommendations made to more than 13,000 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms under the Industrial Assessment Centers program of the U.S. Department of Energy. We find that adoption rates are higher for initiatives appearing early in a list of recommendations. This sequence effect is consistent and large: simply moving a recommendation one position lower has the same effect on average as increasing up-front implementation cost by at least 17% from the average value. Given this impact of sequence on adoption of individual recommendations, we utilize variations within our data to examine how various sequencing approaches affect adoption at the portfolio level. Sequences in which recommendations are listed from best to worst payback achieve higher potential energy savings given the investments in energy efficiency made by the firms. We also observe a choice overload effect at the portfolio level, but the magnitude of this effect is small.
Recurrent neural network for solving quadratic programming problems with equality constraints

A recurrent neural network for solving quadratic programming problems with equality constraints is presented. The proposed recurrent neural network is asymptotically stable and able to generate optimal solutions to quadratic programs with equality constraints. An opamp based analogue circuit realisation of the recurrent neural network is described. An illustrative example is also discussed to demonstrate the performance and characteristics of the analogue neural network.
Labor History after the Gender Turn: Transatlantic Cross Currents and Research Agendas

The examination of the cultural and linguistic production of gender and of gender relations in society has had a serious impact on the study of labor history over the past twenty years. Work on the role of gender has linked culture and ideas to politics and policies and has shown how ideas about masculinity and femininity shaped notions of the wage, skills, and work, as well as labor and employer practices, union strategies, and labor struggles. But this important methodological move and the new knowledge it has produced has had a limited impact on the field. The tendency to think of gender as a synonym for women has obscured the more radical potential of gender as an analytical tool. The problematic status of gender outside of North America and some parts of Western Europe, as well as the role that labor history itself plays in national histories, has also limited its impact. New research on the intersection of race and ethnicity with gender (including masculinity) and class—instead of treating gender, race, and class as distinct variables—has the potential of moving these investigations forward, especially in the European context.
Photosynthetic Responses of Soybean to Soybean Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) Injury

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumara, was discovered in the United States in the summer of 2000. Since that initial discovery, the aphid has spread across northern soybean production regions. In 2001, we examined the physiological responses of soybeans to low aphids densities (fewer than 50 aphids/leaf). In this study, we determined photosynthetic rates, leaf fluorescence responses, and photosynthetic responses to variable carbon dioxide and light levels. In addition, analyses for chlorophyll content and stable carbon isotope ratios were used to differentiate potential differences in stomatal versus mesophyll limitations to photosynthesis. We observed rate reductions of up to 50% on infested leaflets, including lealets with no apparent symptoms of aphid injury (such as chlorosis). Differences in fluorescence data indicated that photoelectron transport was not impaired. These results indicate that substantial physiological impact on soybean is possible even at low aphid densities. Also, the conventional view of aphid injury acting through reductions in chlorophyll content and light-harvesting reactions of photosynthesis is not supported by our findings in this system.
Dietary Carotenoids and the Nervous System

This issue of Foods is focused on the general topic of carotenoids within the nervous system. The focus is on the effects of the xanthophylls on the central nervous system (CNS), reflecting the majority of work in this area. [...].
Hydrolytic charge‐reversal of PEGylated polyplexes enhances intracellular un‐packaging and activity of siRNA

Hydrolytically degrading nano-polyplexes (HDG-NPs) that reverse charge through conversion of tertiary amines to carboxylic acids were investigated to improve intracellular un-packaging of siRNA and target gene silencing compared to a non-degradable analog (non-HDG-NPs). Both NP types comprised reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) synthesized diblock copolymers of a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) corona-forming block and a cationic block for nucleic acid packaging that incorporated butyl methacrylate (BMA) and either dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA, non-HDG-NPs) or dimethylaminoethyl acrylate (DMAEA, HDG-NPs). HDG-NPs decreased significantly in size and released significantly more siRNA (∼40%) than non-HDG-NPs after 24 h in aqueous solution. While both HDG-NPs and non-HDG-NPs had comparable uptake and cytotoxicity up to 150 nM siRNA doses, HDG-NPs achieved significantly higher target gene silencing of the model gene luciferase in vitro. High resolution FRET confocal microscopy was used to monitor the intracellular un-packaging of siRNA. Non-HDG-NPs had significantly higher FRET efficiency than HDG-NPs, indicating that siRNA delivered from HDG-NPs was more fully un-packaged and therefore had improved intracellular bioavailability.
Design and applications of a secure and decentralized distributed hash table

Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs) are a powerful building block for highly scalable decentralized systems. They route requests over a structured overlay network to the node responsible for a given key. DHTs are subject to the well-known Sybil attack, in which an adversary creates many false identities in order to increase its influence and deny service to honest participants. Defending against this attack is challenging because (1) in an open network, creating many fake identities is cheap; (2) an attacker can subvert periodic routing table maintenance to increase its influence over time; and (3) specific keys can be targeted by clustering attacks. As a result, without centralized admission control, previously existing DHTs could not provide strong availability guarantees. This dissertation describes Whanau, a novel DHT routing protocol which is both efficient and strongly resistant to the Sybil attack. Whanau solves this long-standing problem by using the social connections between users to build routing tables that enable Sybil-resistant one-hop lookups. The number of Sybils in the social network does not affect the protocol's performance, but links between honest users and Sybils do. With a social network of n well-connected honest nodes. Whanau provably tolerates up to O (n/log n) such "attack edges". This means that an attacker must convince a large fraction of the honest users to make a social connection with the adversary's Sybils before any lookups will fail. Whanau uses techniques from structured DHTs to build routing tables that contain Opn log n) entries per node. It introduces the idea of layered identifiers to counter clustering attacks, which have proven particularly challenging for previous DHTs to handle. Using the constructed tables, lookups provably take constant time. Simulation results, using large-scale social network graphs from LiveJournal, Flickr, YouTube, and DBLP, confirm the analytic prediction that Whanau provides high availability in the face of powerful Sybil attacks. Experimental results using PlanetLab demonstrate that an implementation of the Whanau protocol can handle reasonable levels of churn. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Changing Wealth Inequality between College and High-School Graduates: Life-Cycle Theory and Reality

This paper analyzes the changes in wealth inequality between college graduates and high-school graduates. The college/high-school net worth gap first narrows from 1989 to 1995 but then increases to the 1989 level thereafter. The wealth gap and income gap seem closely related, as some stylized facts about earnings inequality are also found in the dynamics of wealth inequality. However, a simple life-cycle model based on income differentials cannot account for the wealth gap between the two groups. Dynamics of the wealth gap reflect changing patterns of portfolio composition as the two groups differ substantially in their attitudes towards risk and saving.
Effect of drugs on the lipolytic action of hormones in isolated fat cells.

The effect of various drugs on the lipolytic action of growth hormone plus dexamethasone was compared with that on the action of ACTH and epinephrine in isolated fat cells from starved rats. Phenoxybenzamine reduced the acceleration of lipolysis by growth hormone plus dexamethasone but had no significant effect on that of either ACTH or epinephrine. Butoxamine inhibited the effect of growth hormone plus dexamethasone and of ACTH on lipolysis. dl-β-hydroxy-N-tert-butyl-2,4-dichlorophenethylamine (DCB) stimulated lipolysis and did not prevent the acceleration of lipolysis by growth hormone and dexamethasone. There was no lipolytic effect of epinephrine and ACTH in the presence of DCB. Propranolol, which is a beta adrenergic blocking agent with little sympathomimetic activity, completely blocked the lipolytic effect of epinephrine. Propranolol did not inhibit the lipolytic action of either ACTH or growth hormone plus dexamethasone. Nicotinic acid blocked the lipolytic effect of growth hormone plus dexamethasone, and theophylline potentiated their lipolytic action. Actinomycin D blocked the lipolytic effect of growth hormone and dexamethasone, but not of epinephrine.
A linearized model for the kinematics equations of the pure pursuit guidance law

This paper describes a lineralized model for the pure pursuit guidance law kinematics equations. The linear model is derived using a linearization along trajectory that approximates the pure pursuit from the starting point to the interception. Unlike the classical linearization, the linearization coecien ts depend on the initial line of sight angle and higher order terms are included in the approximation. We derive the solution for both non-maneuvering and maneuvering targets. Using simulation we show that the interception using the linearized model is accomplished successfully.
Nanocomposites with Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles

A recurring challenge in the field of nanocomposites is to control the spatial distribution of nanoparticles (NPs) in a polymer matrix. This issue is of critical importance since it is now well-established that a specific NP dispersion state is necessary to optimize a desired property of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). This Perspective focuses on one particular approach to controlling NP spatial dispersion, and hence the properties of polymer-based nanocomposites: the use of polymer-grafted NPs. Novel developments over the past decade in synthesis techniques allow us to controllably functionalize NPs with polymer chains. This has ignited considerable interest in this field, leading to significant advances in creating nanocomposites with tunable physical properties. We begin by briefly outlining the various synthetic strategies for functionalizing NPs and then discuss various methods for controllably dispersing them in a polymer matrix. The consequences of having states with controlled NP dispersion on nano...
Increase in red cell volume in response to long exposure to cold.

SummaryAn increase in total red cell volume and total circulating hemoglobin was observed in rats exposed to a cold environment for a period of 30 days.
Detection of influenza virus by Real-Time RT-PCR in Jinhua City in 2008

Objective:To detect influenza nucleic acid in specimens of influenza-like cases and inquiry into infection factor.Methods:The specimens of nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from influenza-like cases.The specimens were tested for influenza type A,subtype A1,subtyepe A2,and type B by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results:Among total 36 doubtful specimens of nasopharyngeal swabs,25 sepcimens were positive,and the total positive rate of influenza was 69.44%.Among the 25 positive results,the number specimens of type A,subtype A1,subtype A3,and type B was 13,12,12,12,respectively.Conclusion:Subtype A1 and type B are main strains of influenza virus in Jinhua City in 2008.Real-time RT-PCR for detection of influenza virus is a rapid method which can provide early and accurate evidence for influenza-like cases and clinical cases.
Influence of Technical Innovation on Industrial Revolution from Vibration Utilization Development

In this paper, some important achievements of vibration utilization technology have been summarized in machinery, communication, medical, traffic and other field, which has been revealed that the technical advance have produced a significant influence on industrial transform and socioeconomic increase, and have risen a promote role for human social development.
Referential cues modulate attention and memory during cross-situational word learning.

Tracking word-object co-occurrence statistics can reduce referential uncertainty during word learning. But human learners are constrained by limits on attention and memory, and therefore must store a subset of the information available—how do they select what information to store? We hypothesize that the presence of referential cues like eye gaze guides how learners allocate their attention. In three large-scale experiments with adults, we test how the presence of referential cues affects cross-situational word learning. Referential cues shift learners away from multiple hypothesis tracking towards storing only a single hypothesis (Experiments 1 and 2). In addition, learners are sensitive to the reliability of a referential cue and when it is less reliable, they are less likely to use the cue and more likely to store multiple hypotheses (Experiment 3). Together, the data suggest a rational tradeoff: In conditions of greater uncertainty, learners tend to store a broader range of information.
Appropriate Prevention and Detection of Gastrointestinal Neoplasms in the Elderly

Colorectal and gastric cancers are related to the lifestyle and dietary habits of the elderly. Modification of these factors can decrease the incidence of gastrointestinal neoplasms. Periodic testing is necessary to evaluate for the presence of colonic polyps with potential malignant degeneration.
How are we communicating about clinical trials?: an assessment of the content and readability of recruitment resources.

Abstract Clinical trials (CTs) are important for advancing public health and medical research, however, CT recruitment is challenging. The high reading level of CT information and the technical language of providers or researchers can serve as barriers to recruitment. Prior studies on the informed consent process found that consent documents often contain complicated terms. Limited research has examined resources specifically used to recruit individuals into CTs. The purpose of this study was to examine the content and readability of CT recruitment education resources in one U.S. state. Convenience sampling was employed for the collection of CT recruitment materials. A codebook was developed based on previous content analyses and emergent themes from statewide focus groups about CTs. A total of 127 materials were collected and analyzed (37.8% print; 62.2% Web). Most content was focused on treatment-related CTs (60.6%). Inclusion criteria related to specific disease conditions (88.9%) and age (73.6%) were described most often. Only 30% of resources had an explicit call to action. Overall mean readability level was Grade 11.7. Web-based materials were significantly more likely to be written at a higher grade level than print materials (p ≤ .0001). Readability also differed significantly according to resource distributor/creator, CT type, person quoted, and presence or absence of inclusion criteria and an explicit call to action. Our study provides insight into the content and difficulty level of recruitment materials intended to provide initial information about a CT. Future studies should examine individuals’ comprehension of recruitment materials and how participation intentions are associated with recruitment messages.
Information‐theoretical Complexity Metrics

Information-theoretical complexity metrics are auxiliary hypotheses that link theories of parsing and grammar to potentially observable measurements such as reading times and neural signals. This review article considers two such metrics, Surprisal and Entropy Reduction, which are respectively built upon the two most natural notions of ‘information value’ for an observed event (Blachman 1968). This review sketches their conceptual background and touches on their relationship to other theories in cognitive science. It characterizes them as ‘lenses’ through which theorists ‘see’ the information-processing consequences of linguistic grammars. While these metrics are not themselves parsing algorithms, the review identifies candidate mechanisms that have been proposed for both of them.
Man-to-Machine Interfaces

Can robots be used for human interactions?How would the Cogitive Things authenticate a user?Could a Cognitive Thing detect and adjust to emotions and detect hidden meanings in a conversation?How would the Cognitive Things detect personality in their interaction with humans?Could the Cognitive Things negotiate cooperatively with humans?
Numerical Approach to Spatial Deterministic-Stochastic Models Arising in Cell Biology.

Hybrid deterministic-stochastic methods provide an efficient alternative to a fully stochastic treatment of models which include components with disparate levels of stochasticity. However, general-purpose hybrid solvers for spatially resolved simulations of reaction-diffusion systems are not widely available. Here we describe fundamentals of a general-purpose spatial hybrid method. The method generates realizations of a spatially inhomogeneous hybrid system by appropriately integrating capabilities of a deterministic partial differential equation solver with a popular particle-based stochastic simulator, Smoldyn. Rigorous validation of the algorithm is detailed, using a simple model of calcium ‘sparks’ as a testbed. The solver is then applied to a deterministic-stochastic model of spontaneous emergence of cell polarity. The approach is general enough to be implemented within biologist-friendly software frameworks such as Virtual Cell.
A Method for Designing Conforming Folding Propellers

As the aviation vehicle design environment expands due to the in flux of new technologies, new methods of conceptual design and modeling are required in order to meet the customer's needs. In the case of distributed electric propulsion (DEP), the use of high-lift propellers upstream of the wing leading edge augments lift at low speeds enabling smaller wings with sufficient takeoff and landing performance. During cruise, however, these devices would normally contribute significant drag if left in a fixed or windmilling arrangement. Therefore, a design that stows the propeller blades is desirable. In this paper, we present a method for designing folding-blade configurations that conform to the nacelle surface when stowed. These folded designs maintain performance nearly identical to their straight, non-folding blade counterparts.
Solid matrix transformation and tracer addition using molten ammonium bifluoride salt as a sample preparation method for laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Solid sampling and analysis methods, such as laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), are challenged by matrix effects and calibration difficulties. Matrix-matched standards for external calibration are seldom available and it is difficult to distribute spikes evenly into a solid matrix as internal standards. While isotopic ratios of the same element can be measured to high precision, matrix-dependent effects in the sampling and analysis process frustrate accurate quantification and elemental ratio determinations. Here we introduce a potentially general solid matrix transformation approach entailing chemical reactions in molten ammonium bifluoride (ABF) salt that enables the introduction of spikes as tracers or internal standards. Proof of principle experiments show that the decomposition of uranium ore in sealed PFA fluoropolymer vials at 230 °C yields, after cooling, new solids suitable for direct solid sampling by LA. When spikes are included in the molten salt reaction, subsequent LA-ICP-MS sampling at several spots indicate that the spikes are evenly distributed, and that U-235 tracer dramatically improves reproducibility in U-238 analysis. Precisions improved from 17% relative standard deviation for U-238 signals to 0.1% for the ratio of sample U-238 to spiked U-235, a factor of over two orders of magnitude. These results introduce the concept of solid matrix transformation (SMT) using ABF, and provide proof of principle for a new method of incorporating internal standards into a solid for LA-ICP-MS. This new approach, SMT-LA-ICP-MS, provides opportunities to improve calibration and quantification in solids based analysis. Looking forward, tracer addition to transformed solids opens up LA-based methods to analytical methodologies such as standard addition, isotope dilution, preparation of matrix-matched solid standards, external calibration, and monitoring instrument drift against external calibration standards.
Enrollment Decision-Making in U.S. Forestry and Related Natural Resource Degree Programs

This article investigates enrollment decision-making trends among students currently enrolled in forestry and related natural resource (FRNR) degree programs in the United States. We conducted an online survey administered to all student participants attending the Society of American Foresters (SAF) National Convention in Salt Lake City, UT, in 2014 to obtain our enrollment decision-making data. Students were asked to rank the enrollment factors they considered most important to their decision to enroll, and factors that caused them to hesitate when enrolling in their degree program. We found that the “typical” FRNR enrollee was a person who enjoyed being outdoors and had an affinity toward nature, while being attracted to the idea of working outdoors on subject material that pertained to nature in general. We also found that there were many important differences between the “typical” FRNR enrollee and their minority counterparts. For example, women were found to be significantly more hesitant about enrolling in a FRNR program than males (the dominant demographic of FRNR students). In addition to these differences, we found critical differences between degree program and specialty that also crossed gender lines. We report the results of these findings and discuss the implications for future recruitment efforts geared toward both boosting FRNR enrollment overall as well as increasing FRNR student diversity.
Where are we now? Learning progressions and formative assessment

In this commentary, I consider the three empirical studies in this special issue based on two main aspects: (a) the nature of the learning progressions and (b) what formative assessment practice(s)...
Influence of Molecular Excluded Volume and Connectivity on the Nanoscale Morphology of Conjugated Polymer/Small Molecule Blends

Over the past couple of decades, organic photovoltaics (OPV) based on conjugated polymer/fullerene derivative bulk heterojunctions have been extensively studied, resulting in single-junction efficiencies of order 10%. The need to push the efficiency toward 15% has resulted in the synthesis of a large number of non-fullerene electron acceptors with ever-increasing absorption coefficients in the red. Though some new acceptors have recently begun to be competitive with the fullerene, there is very little systematic understanding of which molecular geometries and spatial frontier orbital extent correlate with improved performance. One of the most important factors that determines the OPV efficiency is the nanoscale, phase-separated morphology of the blend. In this article, using a combination of resonant elastic X-ray scattering and elemental mapping, we investigate the influence of relatively small chemical changes to a nonplanar conjugated small molecule on the nanoscale morphology of the resulting polymer/...
Factors Affecting the Induction of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

Some succulent plants initially perform C3 photosynthesis but subsequently shift to CAM after developmental or environmental changes (e.g. photoperiod, water stress, day/night temperature). Species which have a strong dependency on the environment for expression of CAM are facultative, in contrast to obligate CAM plants which tend to function in the CAM mode under all conditions (Cockburn 1985; Winter 1985). Associated with this transition in facultative species is nocturnal opening of stomata with concomitant CO2 uptake, and diurnal fluctuations of tissue acidity and malate content. Facultative CAM plants may maximize their growth by assimilating carbon via the C3 pathway when environmental conditions are less stressful, and utilize the CAM mode when environmental conditions cause more potential for water stress.
A Case for Packageless Processors

Demand for increasing performance is far outpacing the capability of traditional methods for performance scaling. Disruptive solutions are needed to advance beyond incremental improvements. Traditionally, processors reside inside packages to enable PCB-based integration. We argue that packages reduce the potential memory bandwidth of a processor by at least one order of magnitude, allowable thermal design power (TDP) by up to 70%, and area efficiency by a factor of 5 to 18. Further, silicon chips have scaled well while packages have not. We propose packageless processors - processors where packages have been removed and dies directly mounted on a silicon board using a novel integration technology, Silicon Interconnection Fabric (Si-IF). We show that Si-IF-based packageless processors outperform their packaged counterparts by up to 58% (16% average), 136%(103% average), and 295% (80% average) due to increased memory bandwidth, increased allowable TDP, and reduced area respectively. We also extend the concept of packageless processing to the entire processor and memory system, where the area footprint reduction was up to 76%.
Apparatus for dry deposition of aerosols on snow

Abstract. Deposition of light-absorbing aerosol on snow can drastically change the albedo of the snow surface and the energy balance of the snowpack. To study these important effects experimentally and to compare them with theory, it is desirable to have an apparatus for such deposition experiments. Here, we describe a simple apparatus to generate and evenly deposit light-absorbing aerosols onto a flat snow surface. Aerosols are produced (combustion aerosols) or entrained (mineral dust aerosols) and continuously transported into a deposition chamber placed on the snow surface where they deposit onto and into the snowpack, thereby modifying its surface reflectance and albedo. We demonstrate field operation of this apparatus by generating black and brown carbon combustion aerosols and entraining hematite mineral dust aerosol and depositing them on the snowpack. Changes in spectral snow reflectance are demonstrated qualitatively through pictures of snow surfaces after aerosol deposition and quantitatively by measuring hemispherical-conical reflectance spectra for the deposited areas and for adjacent snowpack in its natural state. Additional potential applications for this apparatus are mentioned and briefly discussed.
Wrangling Rogues: Managing Experimental Post-Moore Architectures.

The Rogues Gallery is a new experimental testbed that is focused on tackling "rogue" architectures for the Post-Moore era of computing. While some of these devices have roots in the embedded and high-performance computing spaces, managing current and emerging technologies provides a challenge for system administration that are not always foreseen in traditional data center environments. We present an overview of the motivations and design of the initial Rogues Gallery testbed and cover some of the unique challenges that we have seen and foresee with upcoming hardware prototypes for future post-Moore research. Specifically, we cover the networking, identity management, scheduling of resources, and tools and sensor access aspects of the Rogues Gallery and techniques we have developed to manage these new platforms.