SEAD: Preserving Data for Environmental Sciences in Areas of Climate, Land-Use, and Environmental Management

NSF Funded DataNet Project #OCI0940824 • SEAD goal is to contribute infrastructure to the NSF DataNet Vision that supports data • Access • Sharing • Reuse • Preservation • Direct work with data at the NSF STC NCED (National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics

Change in Working Length at Different Stages of Instrumentation as a Function of Canal Curvature

The aim of this study was to determine the change in working length (∆WL) before and after coronal flaring and after complete rotary instrumentation as a function of canal curvature. One mesiobuccal or mesiolingual canal from each of 43 extracted molars had coronal standardization and access performed. Once the access was completed, canal preparation was accomplished using Gates Glidden drills for coronal flaring and EndoSequence files for rotary instrumentation. WLs were obtained at 3 time points: pre-instrumentation (unflared), mid-instrumentation (flared) and post-instrumentation (concluded). Measurements were made via direct visualization (DV) and the CanalPro apex locator (EM) in triplicate by a single operator with blinding within the time points. Root curvature was measured using Schneider’s technique. The change in working length was assessed using repeated-measures ANCOVA. The direct visualization measurements were statistically larger than the electronic measurements (paired t-test difference = 0.20 mm, SE = 0.037, P \u3c .0001), although a difference this large may not be clinically important. Overall, a greater change in working length was observed in straight canals than in curved canals, and this trend was more pronounced when measured electronically than via direct visualization, especially in the unflared-concluded time points compared with unflared-flared time points. A greater change in working length was also observed in longer canals than in shorter canals.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1032/thumbnail.jp

dRail: a novel physical layout methodology for power gated circuits

In this paper we present a physical layout methodology, called dRail, to allow power gated and non-power gated cells to be placed next to each other. This is unlike traditional voltage area layout which separates cells to prevent shorting of power supplies leading to impact on area, routing and power. To implement dRail, a modified standard cell architecture and physical layout is proposed. The methodology is validated by implementing power gating on the data engine in an ARM Cortex-A5 processor using a 65nm library, and shows up to 38% reduction in area cost when compared to traditional voltage area layou

Prediction of Compressive Strength and Evaluation of Different Theoretical Standards and Proposed Models of Brick Columns Confined with FRP, FRCM, or SRG System

The Strength Capacity of Confined Masonry Column is One of the Topics that Need to Be Studied. in This Study, the Efficiency of using Different Types of Advanced Composite (Non-Corrosive Materials) Such as Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM), or Steel Reinforced Grout (SRG) in Confining Masonry Columns is Investigated. a Wide Range of Experimental Database of Masonry Column Specimens Has Been Collected from the Results that Available in Scientific Literatures. Different Theoretical Standards and Proposed Models that Used to Predict the Capacity of Masonry Columns Confined with FRP and FRCM Are Evaluated based on Collected Experimental Database. Since There is No Standard Code or Specific Proposed Model for SRG System, the Confined Capacity of This System is Predicted and Evaluated using the FRCM Proposed Models. the Justification of using These Models is that Both FRCM and SRG Systems Have the Same Concept of using Inorganic Material as a Paste Material. an Index Named Equivalent Fiber Reinforcement Index (EFRI) is Proposed to Capture the Key Factors that Control the Behavior of the Confined Masonry Columns with Different Advanced Composite. This Index is Used as Reference Parameter for the Purpose of the Comparison between Different Strengthening Systems. as a Result, All Types of Advanced Composite Presented a Significant Increase in Ultimate Capacity. Also, the Behavior of the Masonry Columns Was Significantly Dependent on the Type of Fabric Used. Different Modes of Failure Were Reported, Including Crushing of Masonry Block, as Well as a Deboning of FRP from the Masonry Substrate and Deboning or Slippage of Fabric within Inorganic Paste Matrix. Compared with Other Models and Standards, the American Concrete Institute Committee 440 (ACI 440) and American Concrete Institute Committee 549 (ACI 549) Shows Very Good Predictions for the Confined Capacity of Masonry Columns Strengthened by FRP and FRCM or SRG Respectively

Frequency and risk factors of acute kidney injury during diabetic ketoacidosis in children and association with neurocognitive outcomes

Importance: Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs commonly during diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children, but the underlying mechanisms and associations are unclear. Objective: To investigate risk factors for AKI and its association with neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric DKA. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was a secondary analysis of data from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Fluid Therapies Under Investigation in DKA Study, a prospective, multicenter, randomized clinical trial comparing fluid protocols for pediatric DKA in 13 US hospitals. Included DKA episodes occurred among children age younger than 18 years with blood glucose 300 mg/dL or greater and venous pH less than 7.25 or serum bicarbonate level less than 15 mEq/L. Exposures: DKA requiring intravenous insulin therapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: AKI occurrence and stage were assessed using serum creatinine measurements using Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. DKA episodes with and without AKI were compared using univariable and multivariable methods, exploring associated factors. Results: Among 1359 DKA episodes (mean [SD] patient age, 11.6 [4.1] years; 727 [53.5%] girls; 651 patients [47.9%] with new-onset diabetes), AKI occurred in 584 episodes (43%; 95% CI, 40%-46%). A total of 252 AKI events (43%; 95% CI, 39%-47%) were stage 2 or 3. Multivariable analyses identified older age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] per 1 year, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.09; P = .03), higher initial serum urea nitrogen (AOR per 1 mg/dL increase, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.11-1.18; P \u3c .001), higher heart rate (AOR for 1-SD increase in z-score, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.09-1.32; P \u3c .001), higher glucose-corrected sodium (AOR per 1 mEq/L increase, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00-1.06; P = .001) and glucose concentrations (AOR per 100 mg/dL increase, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.07-1.32; P = .001), and lower pH (AOR per 0.1 increase, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51-0.78; P \u3c .001) as variables associated with AKI. Children with AKI, compared with those without, had lower scores on tests of short-term memory during DKA (mean [SD] digit span recall: 6.8 [2.4] vs 7.6 [2.2]; P = .02) and lower mean (SD) IQ scores 3 to 6 months after recovery from DKA (100.0 [12.2] vs 103.5 [13.2]; P = .005). Differences persisted after adjusting for DKA severity and demographic factors, including socioeconomic status. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that AKI may occur more frequently in children with greater acidosis and circulatory volume depletion during DKA and may be part of a pattern of multiple organ injury involving the kidneys and brain

Behavior of EB FRP Masonry Bond under Service Temperature

The interest in advanced composites in repairing and strengthening infrastructure systems has considerably increased, especially as the application externally bonded (EB) fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has become more well established. Previous research on bond behavior has focused on impact of durability by considering exposure to harsh environmental conditions and testing the specimens after exposure, rather than testing bond performance during exposure. The influence of directly applying temperature on bond behavior represents an open topic that needs to be investigated in more detail. This study is one of the first studies to investigate the bond behavior when the composite is subjected to tension force simultaneously with applying temperature. The temperatures considered in this study were at freezing, ambient, and high temperature, which are more representative of structural elements under field conditions. A total of 16 specimens were strengthened and tested under single-lap direct shear. The key parameters investigated include (a) the type of fiber [laminate carbon vs. wet layup glass] (b) the level of temperature applied on specimen, including ambient condition 21°C (70 °F), freeze condition -18 °C (0 °F) and hot weather 49 °C (120 °F), and (c) the exposure regime (direct exposure during loading process vs. loading after exposure). Most of the specimens were subjected to tension force simultaneously with applying temperature, and the other specimens were later tested after exposure to the heating and cooling cycles. These cycles are proposed to simulate 20 years of the typical in-situ weather conditions in the Central United States. The results showed that overall the EB strengthening systems exhibited good performance when subjected to cycles of heating and cooling prior to testing. High reduction of FRP-epoxy bond properties was up to 59% when exposed to high service temperatures. Different modes of failure were observed such as debonding at fiber-matrix interface and debonding due to shearing in laminate

Relative pavement performance for dual and wide-based tyre assemblies using a finite element method

There is a need to assess the realistic tire contact pressure created by a tire in contact with a pavement. The contact pressure is a function of tire type, axle loading, and tire inflation pressure (TiP). The research carried out considered dual tire and wide-based tire assemblies across a range of axle loading and TiP. These contact pressures were incorporated into a finite element package (CAPA-3D) and modelled on a simple pavement structure. The strains from this modelling were sorted to produce key strains associated with the mechanisms of surface distress, near surface distress, deep asphalt distress, and the subgrade. The main distress mechanisms were top down cracking, asphalt cracking/rutting, bottom-up fatigue cracking, and subgrade rutting. This gave a method to fairly compare the dual and wide-based tire assemblies with the same axle loading and TiP. The analysis gave interesting results for the different distress mechanisms of the pavement. The wide-based tire gives consistently higher shear strains for all the areas of distress investigated. There is great variation in surface and near surface shear strains due to the different combinations of axle loading and TiP. It is clear that the wide-based tire is a more damaging tire for all combinations of TiP and axle loading. It is also apparent that how these factors interact has a great influence on the damaging potential of a tire

Data Portraits and Intermediary Topics: Encouraging Exploration of Politically Diverse Profiles

In micro-blogging platforms, people connect and interact with others. However, due to cognitive biases, they tend to interact with like-minded people and read agreeable information only. Many efforts to make people connect with those who think differently have not worked well. In this paper, we hypothesize, first, that previous approaches have not worked because they have been direct -- they have tried to explicitly connect people with those having opposing views on sensitive issues. Second, that neither recommendation or presentation of information by themselves are enough to encourage behavioral change. We propose a platform that mixes a recommender algorithm and a visualization-based user interface to explore recommendations. It recommends politically diverse profiles in terms of distance of latent topics, and displays those recommendations in a visual representation of each user's personal content. We performed an "in the wild" evaluation of this platform, and found that people explored more recommendations when using a biased algorithm instead of ours. In line with our hypothesis, we also found that the mixture of our recommender algorithm and our user interface, allowed politically interested users to exhibit an unbiased exploration of the recommended profiles. Finally, our results contribute insights in two aspects: first, which individual differences are important when designing platforms aimed at behavioral change; and second, which algorithms and user interfaces should be mixed to help users avoid cognitive mechanisms that lead to biased behavior.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. To be presented at ACM Intelligent User Interfaces 201