bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health behavior change in transactive systems
Authors: vanDellen Michelle R.
Published: November 2019

Relationship members are frequently concordant on health outcomes; health behaviorchangeis also concordant in close relationships. Despite clear evidence of this influence, relatively little is known about the possible mechanisms by which individuals in densely transactive systems (i.e., relationships with high goal‐related interdependence) influence each other's health. I draw on transactive goal dynamics (TGD) theory to highlight potential processes involved in health behavior change in interdependent systems. I introduce and discuss relevant literature about two related constructs—partner‐directed goal pursuit and partner‐directed goal qualities. I then highlight two areas where drawing on TGD principles may be useful, including unpacking recursive patterns of influence and health behavior change in concordant systems. I conclude with recommendations for future research.
Risk of RBC alloimmunization in multiple myeloma patients treated by Daratumumab
Authors: Ye Zhan , Wolf Laurie A. , Mettman Daniel , Plapp Fred V.
Published: November 2019

Background

Daratumumab (DARA) is a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). DARA binds to CD38 on RBCs and interferes with detection of RBC alloantibodies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of RBC alloimmunization in MM patients treated with DARA.

Materials and methods

A retrospective study of the complete serological profile and transfusion history of 45 MM patients received transfusion and treated with DARA from July 2015 to December 2018 was undertaken. All cases with positive Ab screens were treated with DTT to identify RBC alloantibodies. RBC transfusion history was monitored between the first DARA dose to the last or extending to the first negative Ab screen after the last DARA dose if the Ab screen was ever positive. Forty‐six MM patients received transfusion but not DARA were studied as control group.

Results

Totally 184 Ab screens were done on 45 patients transfused with ABO‐Rh compatible RBCs, phenotypically matched units or both. None of them showed detectable alloantibodies after DTT treatment. The duration of Ab screening positivity varied markedly, ranging from 25 days to 5 months after the last dose. Two of 46 patients in the control group had preexisting alloantibodies but no new alloantibodies were detected during study period.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that the risk of forming new RBC alloantibodies after transfusion in MM patients treated with current regimens is very low and no DARA‐associated difference in the alloimmunization risk. No significant difference in alloimmunization is detected between ABO‐Rh compatible and phenotypically matched transfusion.
Diagnosis and management of transfusion‐associated circulatory overload in adults and children
Authors: Gauvin France , Robitaille Nancy
Published: November 2019

Transfusion‐associated circulatory overload (TACO) is a severe transfusion adverse reaction that is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The incidence of TACO in adults varies from 1% to 8%; the incidence in the paediatric population is variable according to the different studies. TACO usually occurs in patients who receive a large volume of blood product over a short period of time. It is more common in patients with known risk factors such as cardiovascular disease, renal failure and older or younger age. The typical presentation of TACO is respiratory distress (dyspnoea, tachypnea). Associated signs and symptoms are hypoxia, hypertension, tachycardia, positive fluid balance, high central venous pressure and acute or worsening pulmonary oedema on chest X‐ray. Echocardiography and measurement of brain natriuretic peptide is helpful for diagnosis. Several definition criteria have been proposed for TACO, but none are adapted for children, particularly critically ill children who are more at risk. In a recent study, the incidence of TACO was compared among paediatric intensive care unit patients using different definition criteria. TACO incidence varied from 1·5% to 76%, depending on the definition used. With such wide variability, conclusion was that a more operational definition of TACO is needed in paediatrics, particularly for critically ill children. Treatment for TACO is similar to that of any other cardiogenic pulmonary oedema: oxygen, diuresis and ventilatory support. Prevention is possible by avoiding unnecessary transfusions, transfusing only the necessary amount of blood product, avoiding rapid transfusions and using diuretics.
Molecular phylogeny places the enigmatic subfamily Masoninae within the Ichneumonidae, not the Braconidae
Authors: Quicke Donald L. J. , Austin Andrew D. , Fagan‐Jeffries Erinn P. , Hebert Paul D. N. , Butcher Buntika A.
Published: November 2019

The Masoninae (type genus Masona van Achterberg) is a widespread but seldom collected group of morphologically aberrant tiny (body length 2 mm or less) wasps that have always been considered as a subfamily of Braconidae, albeit on little supporting evidence. Discovery of a fully winged female of Masona from remote Australia has enabled a reassessment of its relationships. This specimen yielded sequence data for the nuclear 28S and 18S rDNA genes, the barcoding fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene. These were analysed separately and together, along with representatives of Braconidae and Ichneumonidae. Maximum likelihood analyses of all four genes separately and combined concur that Masona is nested within the Ichneumonidae and, therefore, is not a member of Braconidae. This is also supported by the position of the sternaulus low on mesopleuron, absence of fore wing vein (RS + M)a (though the great reduction in wing venation makes further interpretation problematic) and the articulated junction of metasomal tergites 2 and 3. On balance, molecular analyses place Masona basally among the ophioniformes lineage of Ichneumonidae. Formal description of the Australian species as Masona timpaynei Quicke sp. n. and a revised diagnosis of Masoninae are provided in S1 together with illustration of the holotype.
Spatiotemporal Integration of an Agent-Based First Responder Performance Model With a Fire Hazard Propagation Model for Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants
Authors: Bui Ha , Sakurahara Tatsuya , Reihani Seyed , Kee Ernie , Mohaghegh Zahra
Published: November 2019

To advance emergency response (ER) modeling in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), this research offers a new methodology that explicitly incorporates the spatiotemporal evolution of underlying physical and social phenomena and their bidirectional interactions. While this methodology is applicable for various ER scenarios on different spatial and temporal scales, this paper focuses on advancing ER modeling for a nuclear power plant (NPP) internal fire. This paper provides a thorough review and categorization of existing studies on internal fire ER modeling for NPPs and highlights the contributions of this research. This paper then develops a new methodology for fire ER modeling by integrating an agent-based model of first responder performance (FRP) with a fire hazard propagation (FHP) model through a shared geographical information system (GIS)-based spatial simulation environment. This research is the first to explicitly incorporate space (in addition to time) into the FRP modeling within ER modeling of NPP fire probabilistic risk assessment (fire PRA). In addition, this research develops a GIS-based interface between FRP and FHP that has the capability of transferring both spatial and temporal information in a bidirectional way. Although this paper is focused on a fire ER scenario, the new methodology developed in this paper can contribute to modeling external control room (ExCR) human performance in other contexts, such as diverse and flexible coping strategy (FLEX), maintenance, and offsite first responders in level 3 PRA.
Three-dimensional reflector localisation and room geometry estimation using a spherical microphone array
Authors: Lovedee-Turner Michael , Murphy Damian
Published: November 2019

The analysis of room impulse responses to localise reflecting surfaces and estimate room geometry is applicable in numerous aspects of acoustics, including source localisation, acoustic simulation, spatial audio, audio forensics, and room acoustic treatment. Geometry inference is an acoustic analysis problem where information about reflections extracted from impulse responses are used to localise reflective boundaries present in an environment, and thus estimate the geometry of the room. This problem, however, becomes more complex when considering non-convex rooms, as room shape cannot be constrained to a subset of possible convex polygons. This paper presents a geometry inference method for localising reflective boundaries and inferring the room's geometry for convex and non-convex room shapes. The method is tested using simulated room impulse responses for six scenarios, and real-world room impulse responses measured in a cuboid-shaped room, using a spherical microphone array containing multiple spatially distributed channels capable of capturing both time- and direction-of-arrival. Results show that the general shape of the rooms is inferred for each case, with a higher degree of accuracy for convex shaped rooms. However, inaccuracies generally arise as a result of the complexity of the room being inferred, or inaccurate estimation of time- and direction-of-arrival of reflections.
Coupled plate-string vibrations in the presence of a finite bridge: Effect on natural frequencies and harmonicity
Authors: Mandal Ashok Kumar , Wahi Pankaj
Published: November 2019

Harmonicity of natural frequencies is investigated for a string vibrating against a finite bridge mounted on a flexible plate. This coupled system is akin to the vibration of strings in musical instruments like the sitar, where the top plate is approximated as a clamped circular plate. The bridge is assumed to be parabolic and rigidly attached to the plate at one point. For simplicity, the plate is replaced by linear and torsional springs with frequency dependent dynamic stiffness to account for the continuous nature of the plate. Governing equations of motions are obtained using Hamilton's principle, which are linearized about the static configuration. It is observed that the coupled natural frequencies below the first structural frequencies are inharmonic in a manner opposed to the inharmonicity due to the bending rigidity of the string. A detailed parametric study on the effect of plate thickness, position, mass, and geometry of the bridge on the natural frequencies is performed. It is found that a proper choice of these parameters can significantly increase the harmonic content in the frequencies for real strings. This study guides the proper choice of system parameters to obtain better harmonic relation between the coupled structure-string modes with real strings.
Bacterial toxin linked to severe alcoholic liver disease
Authors: Frederick Eva
Published: November 2019

In mice, viruses known as phages reduced alcohol-related liver problems by eliminating a gut microbe.
Top Democrat wants big AI push
Authors: Mervis Jeffrey
Published: November 2019

Senator Charles Schumer calls for 5-year, $100 billion plan.
Returning the fallen
What Remains: Bringing America's Missing Home from the Vietnam War
Sarah E. Wagner
Harvard University Press, 2019. 304 pp.
Authors: McFate Montgomery
Published: November 2019

An anthropologist offers compelling context for ongoing efforts to repatriate service members killed in Vietnam
Modeling the early development of a primate embryo
Authors: Tam Patrick P. L.
Published: November 2019

Post-implantation embryos from cynomolgus monkeys are cultured for extended periods
Biofilms of Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Can Be Sensitized to Antibiotics by Disaggregation and Oxygenation
Authors: Kolpen Mette , Jensen Peter Østrup , Qvist Tavs , Kragh Kasper Nørskov , Ravnholt Cecillie , Fritz Blaine Gabriel , Johansen Ulla Rydahl , Bjarnsholt Thomas , Høiby Niels
Published: November 2019

Pulmonary infection with the multidrug-resistant
Mycobacterium abscessus
complex (MABSC) is difficult to treat in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). MABSC grows as biofilm aggregates in CF patient lungs, which are known to have anaerobic niches. How aggregation and anoxic conditions affect antibiotic tolerance is not well understood. We sought to determine whether disaggregation and oxygen availability sensitize MABSC isolates to recommended antibiotics.
Case of non-alcoholic Wernicke’s encephalopathy
Authors: Theodoreson Mark D , Zykaite Ausrine , Haley Michael , Meena Saroj
Published: November 2019

A 61-year-old obese man presented with 8-week history of nausea and occasional vomiting. He reported poor appetite and unintentional weight loss of more than 20 kg of his body mass. A week after admission, he developed double vision and unsteady gait. Neurological examination revealed isolated sixth cranial nerve palsy on the left side with horizontal nystagmus that progressed to bilateral lateral gaze palsy with normal vertical gaze. Brain MR revealed T2/fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) high signal in mammillary bodies, tectum of the midbrain and the periaqueductal grey matter. He was diagnosed with Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE). WE is a medical emergency that carries high mortality yet can be often under-diagnosed in the non-alcoholic patient. Varied presentation and absence of alcohol dependence lowers the degree of suspicion and this was true in this case. The patient was given intravenous thiamine and made a rapid and dramatic recovery.
Vocal cord surgery and pharmacological treatment of a patient with HPV and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis
Authors: Galletti Francesco , Freni Francesco , Gazia Francesco , Gallo Andrea
Published: November 2019

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is caused by persistent infection of the respiratory epithelium by human papillomavirus (HPV), especially HPV 6 and 11. We present a case of surgically treated RRP. The main purpose of our protocol is to remove the lesions with a non-aggressive surgical technique and prevent recurrences with the use of cidofovir for local infiltrations in multiple sessions. We use low-power energy CO2laser, directed towards the upper part of the vocal cord, to determine a retraction of the mucosa with consequent coverage of the epithelium of the free edge. The aim of this technique is to treat and stop the formation of synechia of the anterior commissure and the free margin of the vocal cords in the anterior commissure. After 8 years follow-up, there are no signs of recurrence of the disease. The voice had a net improvement confirming the effectiveness of the protocol.
Cardiopulmonary failure as a result of brainstem encephalitis caused by enterovirus D68
Authors: Yogo Naoki , Imamura Tomohiko , Muto Yuichiro , Hirai Katsuki
Published: November 2019

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) causes respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia, and has been reported to cause acute flaccid myelitis. Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is known to cause cardiopulmonary failure due to brainstem encephalitis, but there have been few reports of these conditions being associated with EV-D68. Outbreaks of EV-D68 infection have occurred in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. Clinical management is largely supportive and there are no specific antivirals available. The case patient, a 4-year-old girl, had cardiopulmonary failure due to brainstem encephalitis. EV-D68 was isolated from a throat swab. On admission, she had cardiopulmonary failure, which required intensive care using a ventilator and inotropic agents. Her cardiac function improved, but she had residual bulbar paralysis and limb weakness, which resolved over a 6-month period. This case confirms that EV-D68, may cause severe illness due to brainstem encephalitis, similar to that caused by EV-A71.
Form friction factor of armored riverbeds
Authors: Okhravi Saeid , Gohari Saeed
Published: November 2019

Resistance to flow because of the presence of bed forms over armored riverbeds is of paramount importance, leading to the effective design of water-resources-related projects. Based on the findings over bed armored surfaces, it is shown that the controlling roughness (ks) can be taken as equal to the median diameter of the armor layer. Analytical methodologies for total and grain friction factors have been proposed here that take flow non-uniformity into account using the velocity distribution and friction slope. The percentage composition of form friction factor in the total friction factor was estimated to be 40%. The results were explained in light of the coupling of the sediment threshold problem with the friction factor and coarse-grain rearrangement in armor layer. The computed form friction factor by proposed method was compared with Keulegan’s method and is found to give satisfactory results, showing 80% agreement of all field data sets.
Effects of an experimental ice storm on forest canopy structure
Authors: Fahey Robert T. , Atkins Jeff W. , Campbell John L. , Rustad Lindsey E. , Duffy Meghan , Driscoll Charles T. , Fahey Timothy J. , Schaberg Paul G.
Published: November 2019

Intermediate disturbances are an important component of many forest disturbance regimes, with effects on canopy structure and related functions that are highly dependent on the nature and intensity of the perturbation. Ice storms are an important disturbance mechanism in temperate forests that often result in moderate-severity, diffuse canopy damage. However, it has not previously been possible to distinguish the specific effect of ice storm intensity (as ice accretion) from predisturbance stand characteristics and physiographic factors. In this study, we utilized a novel experimental ice storm treatment to evaluate the effects of variable ice accretion levels on forest canopy structure. Our results verified significant impacts of ice storm disturbance on near-term canopy structural reorganization. Canopy openness, light transmission, and complexity increased significantly relative to predisturbance baselines and undisturbed controls. We documented variable impacts with disturbance intensity, as significant canopy changes largely occurred with ice accretion levels of ≥12.7 mm. Repeated ice storm disturbance (two consecutive years) had marginal, rather than compounding, effects on forest canopy structure. Our findings are relevant to understanding how ice storms can affect near-term forest canopy structural reorganization and ecosystem processes and add to a growing base of knowledge on the effects of intermediate disturbances on canopy structure.
Elastic stiffness tensors of Zr–xNb alloy in the presence of defects: A molecular dynamics study
Authors: Basaadat Mohammad-Reza , Payami Mahmoud
Published: November 2019

In a nuclear reactor, the Zr–[Formula: see text]Nb alloy, which is used as a structural material in the core region, is irradiated by energetic particles that cause the atoms to be displaced from their lattice sites and giving rise to crystal defects. The local changes in the atomic arrangements lead to local deformations of the solid and thereby changes of its local mechanical properties. Understanding the mechanisms behind this evolution in the core region of a reactor, and its monitoring or controlling is a critical task in nuclear industry. In this work, using extensive molecular dynamics simulations, we have studied the effects of radiation damage on the local mechanical properties of Zr–[Formula: see text]Nb alloy. In the first step, the effect of Nb-concentration on the mechanical stability of homogeneous Zr–[Formula: see text]Nb alloy is investigated. In the second step, we have studied the local changes of the elastic constants due to local changes of the microstructure. These local changes include presence and accumulation of vacancies in the form of dislocation loops or voids, accumulation of Nb atoms in the form of clusters of different morphologies. This study covers both cases of [Formula: see text]K and finite temperatures up to [Formula: see text]K.
Contracting Emissions Reduction Supply Chain Based on Market Low-Carbon Preference and Carbon Intensity Constraint
Authors: Xie Jiaping , Li Jing , Liang Ling , Fang Xu , Yang Guang , Wei Lihong
Published: November 2019

Carbon emissions reduction has become a frequently discussed topic in industry and academia. However, how can reduction effects be enhanced with dominant brand and downstream manufacturer? This paper incorporates emissions reduction into a green supply chain which considers consumers’ low-carbon preference behavior and government intensity regulations, in order to discuss the impacts of consumers’ environmental awareness and government constraints on optimal emissions reduction and profit, respectively. The paper first constructs three reduction models on the basis of reality: independent reduction by manufacturer, contractual reduction by brand and collaborative reduction by both. Then it concludes the optimal decisions and compare the models. The results show that both the profits and emissions reduction will be decreased with the strengthened carbon intensity constraint, but the cost-sharing contract can mitigate this negative effect on dominant brand and society. Meanwhile, the acceptable range of cost-sharing ratio will be smaller with a lower cost coefficient of emissions reduction and a higher consumers’ preference. Furthermore, government should design the incentive method or regulate the carbon market to improve the social welfare level. Lastly, a numerical study is conducted, the impact of several key factors on supply chain performance and model selection are presented for management decisions.
Scattering in graphene quantum dots under generalized uncertainty principle
Authors: Wu Zheng-Xue , Long Chao-Yun , Wu Jing , Long Zheng-Wen , Xu Ting
Published: November 2019

In this article, the Dirac electron scattering problem on circular barrier of radius [Formula: see text] is studied under the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). The expressions of scattering coefficients, scattering cross-section and scattering efficiency of massless Dirac particle are obtained by solving the massless Dirac equation under GUP and discussed by numerical methods. It shows that the scattering coefficient, the scattering cross-section, and the scattering efficiency depend explicitly on the GUP parameter [Formula: see text]. For the scattering coefficient [Formula: see text], GUP may cause slight shift in the oscillation position of [Formula: see text] and make some peaks value of [Formula: see text] smaller. For scattering cross-section and scattering efficiency, GUP may also lead to slight shift in their oscillation position and increase of amplitude when the GUP parameter increases.
More Effective Ontology Authoring with Test-Driven Development and the TDDonto2 Tool
Authors: Davies Kieren , Keet C. Maria , Lawrynowicz Agnieszka
Published: November 2019

Ontology authoring is a complex process, where commonly the automated reasoner is invoked for verification of newly introduced changes, therewith amounting to a time-consuming test-last approach. Test-Driven Development (TDD) for ontology authoring is a recent test-first approach that aims to reduce authoring time and increase authoring efficiency. Current TDD testing falls short on coverage of OWL features and possible test outcomes, the rigorous foundation thereof, and evaluations to ascertain its effectiveness. We aim to address these issues in one instantiation of TDD for ontology authoring. We first propose a succinct, logic-based specification of TDD testing and present novel TDD algorithms so as to cover also any OWL 2 class expression for the TBox and for the principal ABox assertions, and prove their correctness. The algorithms use methods from the OWL API directly such that reclassification is not necessary for test execution, therewith reducing ontology authoring time. The algorithms were implemented in TDDonto2, a Protégé plugin. TDDonto2 was evaluated by users, which demonstrated that modellers make significantly fewer errors with TDDonto2 compared to the standard Protégé interface and complete their tasks better using less time. Thus, the results indicate that TDD is a promising approach in an ontology development methodology.
THIN FILM FLOW OF CNTs NANOFLUID OVER A THIN NEEDLE SURFACE
Authors: GUL TAZA , ULLAH MALIK ZAKA , ANSARI KHURSHEED J. , AMIRI IRAJ S.
Published: November 2019

Energy restoration is the prime issue for the researcher and they have tried to develop advanced techniques and resources for renewable energy. The nanofluid is one of the resources for the restoration of energy which depends on the dynamic thermophysical properties of metal nanoparticles. The recent study is concerned with the thin film flow of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) water-based nanofluid for the improvement of heat transfer applications. The flow of two types of CNTs nanofluid was studied, comprising single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) over the surface of a thin stirring needle. The study has been carried out in the presence of a magnetic effect and viscous dissipation. The BVP 2.0 package has been used for the solution of the modeled problem. The effect of the physical constraints like Prandtl number, magnetic field and Eckert number vs the momentum and thermal boundary layers has been analyzed. The sum of the residual errors has been obtained up to the 20th order estimates to settle the strong convergence of the problem. The obtained results show that the thin film has a quick response to the increasing of heat transfer rate over the surface of a thin needle as compared to the thick boundary layers.
Multiscaling frame multiresolution analysis and associated wavelet frames
Authors: Yu Xiaojiang
Published: November 2019

Frame multiresolution analysis (FMRA) in [Formula: see text] is an important topic in frame theory and its applications. In this paper, we consider the so-called multiscaling FMRA in [Formula: see text], which has matrix dilations and a finite number of scaling functions. This framework is a generalization of the theories both on monoscaling FMRA and on the classical MRA of multiplicity [Formula: see text]. We characterize wavelet frames and Parseval wavelet frames for [Formula: see text] under the circumstances that they can be associated with a multiscaling FMRA. We give two necessary and sufficient conditions for given functions [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] to be multiframe generators of [Formula: see text]. Especially, the second condition depends on the multiscaling FMRA and [Formula: see text] only, does not require the existence of other functions, and is relatively easier to verify. Moreover, for any finitely-generated frame of integer translates, we give explicitly the Fourier transforms of the generators of its canonical dual frame. We illustrate the implementation and an application of the theory with an example.
ENTREPRENEUR’S GENDER AND FIRM INNOVATION BREADTH: AN INSTITUTION-BASED VIEW OF SMEs IN AN EMERGING MARKET CONTEXT
Authors: ARUN T. M. , JOSEPH ROJERS P. , UL AKRAM MANZOOR
Published: November 2019

This study, at the intersection of gender, entrepreneurship and innovation, investigates the impact of women leadership (vis-a-vis men) on innovation by SMEs in an emerging economy context. Drawing from the institution-based view, we examine the moderating role of regional formal institutions and informal gender norms on the innovativeness of women-led SMEs in India. Using data obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey and World Value Survey, and deploying the Poisson regression method, we find that, overall, women-led SMEs perform better than men-led SMEs in innovation breadth. Interestingly, the regional formal institutional quality negatively moderates the relationship between having a female entrepreneur and firm innovation breadth. In addition, regional gender role expectations act as a positive moderator between having a female entrepreneur and firm innovation breadth. Further, the increase in innovation breadth under unfavourable formal institutional quality and informal gender norms is larger for non-technological innovation than for technological innovation.
Filtrations of units of Viète field
Authors: Morisawa Takayuki , Okazaki Ryotaro
Published: November 2019

Let [Formula: see text] be the [Formula: see text]th Viète field for any non-negative integer [Formula: see text]. We are interested in the relative unit group of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we consider two filtrations of the relative unit group from Galois actions and from congruences and show that they are equal. And, as applications, we estimate the Mahler measure and the trace of square of relative units.
Biomass Chitosan-Induced Fe3O4 Functionalized Halloysite Nanotube Composites: Preparation, Characterization and Flame-Retardant Performance
Authors: Zhang Mengmeng , Cheng Yamin , Li Zhiwei , Li Xiaohong , Yu Laigui , Zhang Zhijun
Published: November 2019

An inorganic–organic nanohybrid flame retardant, HNT@CS@Fe3O4, is prepared by Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) as nanotemplate, chitosan (CS) as char-forming agent and ferroferric oxide (Fe3O[Formula: see text] playing in a catalytic role, aiming to endow enhanced flame-retardant performance of its nanohybrid. Results show that HNT@CS@Fe3O4 nanohybrids have a corn-like structure and can significantly improve the flame retardancy and thermal stability of epoxy resin (EP). Especially, the initial thermal degradation temperature of EP/HNT@CS@Fe3O4 is significantly improved by [Formula: see text]C relative to pure EP, and the residual carbon yield under air atmosphere is 8.8[Formula: see text]wt.%, which is significantly higher than other EP composites, indicating a higher thermal stability is offered by the as-prepared nanohybrid. The limiting oxygen index of EP/10HNT@CS@Fe3O4 is 31.3%, which is 10.2% higher than that of pure EP. Meanwhile, the HNT@CS@Fe3O4 nanofiller reduces the peak heat release rate, CO production and peak smoke production release of EP nanocomposite by 32.0%, 44.0% and 33.0% in a cone calorimeter test, respectively. This is because the HNT-based composite can form a three-dimensional network structure into the EP matrix to inhibit heat release and diffusion of flammable moieties upon burning of EP. In the meantime, the incorporated Fe3O4 nanoparticle can in situ catalyze the charring of CS and EP matrix on the surface of HNT during the combustion process, which also contributes to the significantly increased fire safety of EP.
Investigation of Electrochemical Performance on SnSe2 and SnSe Nanocrystals as Anodes for Lithium Ions Batteries
Authors: Cheng Yayi , Huang Jianfeng , Cao Liyun , Wang Yongfeng , Ma Ying , Xi Shaohua , Shi Bingyao , Xie Hui , Li Jiayin
Published: November 2019

SnSe2 and SnSe nanocrystals were prepared using a simple solvothermal method by changing the molar ratio of SnCl[Formula: see text]2H2O and Se powder. When SnSe2 and SnSe are acted as lithium ion battery anodes, the SnSe hybrid structure shows more excellent electrochemical performance than that of SnSe2 interconnected nanosheet. It delivers a reversible capacity of 1023[Formula: see text]mAh[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text] at a current density of 200[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text], and maintaining a capacity of 498[Formula: see text]mAh[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text] till 120 cycles. According to many present works, SnSe2 with interconnected thin nanosheet should possess more superior property than hybrid structured SnSe due to short charge transfer paths. However, in our research, the result is the opposite. Therefore, we consider that the superior electrochemical performance of SnSe is attributed to its highly reversible conversion reaction mechanism than SnSe2.
Development of Gold Nanorods-Insulin Amyloid Fibril Assemblies: A Hybrid Nanoscaffold with Enhanced Conductivity
Authors: Akhtari Yasin , Moghadam Tahereh Tohidi , Ranjbar Bijan
Published: November 2019

Gold nanoparticles are metallic nanostructures with wide range of applications in biomedicine and biosensing. Among diverse morphologies of gold nanostructures, gold nanorods have attracted much more attention for their outstanding structure, optical property and function. The unique characteristic of these nanostructures encourages their integration with biomolecules of interest for versatile biomedical proposes. In this effort, amyloid fibrils with well-known mechanical strength and chemical stability have been used as biotemplates for assembly of gold nanorods to exploit dual property of both nano and bio counterparts in a hybrid nanoscaffold. To maximize the interaction of the nanostructures with the biotemplate, surface of the gold nanorods was modified with biocompatible polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques including UV–Vis, CD, ThT and TEM were used to characterize formation of insulin amyloid fibrils, gold nanorods and their assemblies on the biotemplate. Morphology of gold nanorods was also monitored upon interaction with amyloid fibrils. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the hybrid nanoscaffold showed that increase in the concentration of the assembled nanostructures on the biotemplate has clearly led to enhancement of conductivity. Results of this investigation highlight gold nanorods as promising candidates in design and fabrication of novel hybrid nanoscaffolds of enhanced conductivity, especially for biosensing and tissue engineering purposes.
Synthesis and Functionalization of Copper-Doped Indium Phosphate Quantum Dots with Ratiometric Fluorescence
Authors: Xu Bin , Xue Jingwen , Huang Jun , Jin Haojun , Shen Peng , Sun Qingjiang
Published: November 2019

The doped quantum dots (QDs) that feature dual emission in one nanocrystal and long fluorescence lifetime have gained great interest in biosensing and bioimaging applications. In this work, we report the synthesis and functionalization of copper ion-doped indium phosphate (Cu:InP) QDs that exhibit simultaneous green InP emission and red Cu[Formula: see text] emission. The oil-soluble QDs were synthesized by adsorbing Cu[Formula: see text] onto InP core, followed by growing zinc selenide (ZnSe) shell via the successive ion layer adsorption reaction. During the synthesis, fluorescence ratiometry (and resultant multiple fluorescence colors) can be generated by changing either the dopant amount or the shell-growth time, but they act in a different manner: increasing the Cu[Formula: see text] amount results in quenched InP emission and oppositely improved Cu[Formula: see text] emission; the increase of shell-growth time leads to continuously improved Cu[Formula: see text] emission relative to constant InP emission. Further, functionalization of the oil-soluble Cu:InP QDs with dihydrolipoic acid-polyethylene glycol (DHLA-PEG) via ligand exchange produces the water-soluble and biocompatible dual-emission QDs. The PEGylated Cu:InP QDs present desirable charge neutrality and excellent thermal stability and photostability, thereby holding high potential in a diversity of biomedical applications.
Changes in physical and mechanical properties of limestone and marble after exposure to different high temperatures
Authors: Zhang Weiqiang , Xu Chenchen , Geng Jishi
Published: November 2019

Under or after high-temperature treatment, the physical and mechanical characteristics of limestone and marble change significantly. This study seeks to understand the effect of high temperatures on physical and mechanical properties (such as density, porosity, permeability, P-wave velocity, thermal diffusivity, elastic modulus, uniaxial compressive strength, peak strain and Poisson's ratio) of limestone and marble. The results indicate that, from room temperature to 300°C, most of the physical and mechanical indices of limestone and marble change relatively little, except for thermal diffusivity. Above 300°C (especially at 400–600°C), physical and mechanical characteristics change significantly, corresponding to the changes to minerals between 400 and 600°C. These results confirm the important link between physical and mechanical properties and heating temperature, and can provide the basis of theory and reference for related engineering.
Neural-network-based Memory for a Social Robot
Authors: Doering Malcolm , Kanda Takayuki , Ishiguro Hiroshi
Published: November 2019

Many recent studies have shown that behaviors and interaction logic for social robots can be learned automatically from natural examples of human-human interaction by machine learning algorithms, with minimal input from human designers [1--4]. In this work, we exceed the capabilities of the previous approaches by giving the robot
memory
. In earlier work, the robot's actions were decided based only on a narrow temporal window of the current interaction context. However, human behaviors often depend on more temporally distant events in the interaction history. Thus, we raise the question of whether (and how) an automated behavior learning system can learn a memory representation of interaction history within a simulated camera shop scenario. An analysis of the types of
memory-setting
and
memory-dependent
actions that occur in the camera shop scenario is presented. Then, to create more examples of such actions for evaluating a shopkeeper robot behavior learning system, an interaction dataset is simulated. A Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) neural network architecture is applied in the behavior learning system, which learns a memory representation for performing memory-dependent actions. In an offline evaluation, the GRU system significantly outperformed a without-memory baseline system at generating appropriate memory-dependent actions. Finally, an analysis of the GRU architecture's memory representation is presented.
Scheduling When You Do Not Know the Number of Machines
Authors: Stein Clifford , Zhong Mingxian
Published: November 2019

Often in a scheduling problem, there is uncertainty about the jobs to be processed. The issue of uncertainty regarding the machines has been much less studied. In this article, we study a scheduling environment in which jobs first need to be grouped into some sets before the number of machines is known, and then the sets need to be scheduled on machines without being separated. To evaluate algorithms in such an environment, we introduce the idea of an α-robust algorithm, one that is guaranteed to return a schedule on any number
m
of machines that is within an α factor of the optimal schedule on
m
machine, where the optimum is not subject to the restriction that the sets cannot be separated. Under such environment, we give a (5\3+ϵ)-robust algorithm for scheduling on parallel machines to minimize makespan and show a lower bound 4\3. For the special case when the jobs are infinitesimal, we give a 1.233-robust algorithm with an asymptotic lower bound of 1.207. We also study a case of fair allocation, where the objective is to minimize the difference between the maximum and minimum machine load.
CxDNN
Authors: Jain Shubham , Raghunathan Anand
Published: November 2019

Resistive crossbars have shown strong potential as the building blocks of future neural fabrics, due to their ability to natively execute vector-matrix multiplication (the dominant computational kernel in DNNs). However, a key challenge that arises in resistive crossbars is that non-idealities in the synaptic devices, interconnects, and peripheral circuits of resistive crossbars lead to errors in the computations performed. When large-scale DNNs are executed on resistive crossbar systems, these errors compound and result in unacceptable degradation in application-level accuracy. We propose CxDNN, a hardware-software methodology that enables the realization of large-scale DNNs on crossbar systems by compensating for errors due to non-idealities, greatly mitigating the degradation in accuracy. CxDNN is composed of (i) an optimized mapping technique to convert floating-point weights and activations to crossbar conductances and input voltages, (ii) a fast one-time re-training method to recover accuracy loss due to this conversion, and (iii) low-overhead compensation hardware to mitigate dynamic and hardware-instance-specific errors. Unlike previous efforts that are limited to small networks and require the training and deployment of hardware-instance-specific models, CxDNN presents a scalable compensation methodology that can address large DNNs (e.g., ResNet-50 on ImageNet) and maintains the train-once-deploy-anywhere tenet of current DNN application. We evaluated CxDNN on six top DNNs on the ImageNet dataset with 0.5--13.8 million neurons and 0.5--15.5 billion connections. CxDNN achieves 16.9%--49% improvement in the top-1 classification accuracy, effectively mitigating a key challenge to the use of resistive crossbar--based neural fabrics.
Overcoming Security Vulnerabilities in Deep Learning--based Indoor Localization Frameworks on Mobile Devices
Authors: Tiku Saideep , Pasricha Sudeep
Published: November 2019

Indoor localization is an emerging application domain for the navigation and tracking of people and assets. Ubiquitously available Wi-Fi signals have enabled low-cost fingerprinting-based localization solutions. Further, the rapid growth in mobile hardware capability now allows high-accuracy deep learning--based frameworks to be executed locally on mobile devices in an energy-efficient manner. However, existing deep learning--based indoor localization solutions are vulnerable to access point (AP) attacks. This article presents an analysis into the vulnerability of a convolutional neural network--based indoor localization solution to AP security compromises. Based on this analysis, we propose a novel methodology to maintain indoor localization accuracy, even in the presence of AP attacks. The proposed secured neural network framework (S-CNNLOC) is validated across a benchmark suite of paths and is found to deliver up to 10× more resiliency to malicious AP attacks compared to its unsecured counterpart.
ALEXIA
Authors: Krishnakumar Gnanambikai , REDDY Kommuru Alekhya , Rebeiro Chester
Published: November 2019

Illegal use of memory pointers is a serious security vulnerability. A large number of malwares exploit the spatial and temporal nature of these vulnerabilities to subvert execution or glean sensitive data from an application. Recent countermeasures attach metadata to memory pointers, which define the pointer’s capabilities. The metadata is used by the hardware to validate pointer-based memory accesses. However, recent works have considerable overheads. Further, the pointer validation is decoupled from the actual memory access. We show that this could open up vulnerabilities in multithreaded applications and introduce new vulnerabilities due to speculation in out-of-order processors.

In this article, we demonstrate that the overheads can be reduced considerably by efficient metadata management. We show that the hardware can be designed in a manner that would remain safe in multithreaded applications and immune to speculative vulnerabilities. We achieve these by ensuring that the pointer validations and the corresponding memory access is always done atomically and in order. To evaluate our scheme, which we call ALEXIA, we enhance an OpenRISC processor to perform the memory validation at runtime and also add compiler support. ALEXIA is the first hardware countermeasure scheme for memory protection that provides such an end-to-end solution. We evaluate the processor on an Altera FPGA and show that the runtime overhead, on average, is 14%, with negligible impact on the processor’s size and clock frequency. There is also a negligible impact on the program’s code and data sizes.
Hardware-Software Collaborative Thermal Sensing in Optical Network-on-Chip--based Manycore Systems
Authors: Li Mengquan , Liu Weichen , Guan Nan , Xie Yiyuan , Ye Yaoyao
Published: November 2019

Continuous technology scaling in manycore systems leads to severe overheating issues. To guarantee system reliability, it is critical to accurately yet efficiently monitor runtime temperature distribution for effective chip thermal management. As an emerging communication architecture for new-generation manycore systems, optical network-on-chip (ONoC) satisfies the communication bandwidth and latency requirements with low power dissipation. Moreover, observation shows that it can be leveraged for runtime thermal sensing. In this article, we propose a brand-new on-chip thermal sensing approach for ONoC-based manycore systems by utilizing the intrinsic thermal sensitivity of optical devices and the inter-processor communications in ONoCs. It requires no extra hardware but utilizes existing optical devices in ONoCs and combines them with lightweight software computation in a hardware-software collaborative manner. The effectiveness of the our approach is validated both at the device level and the system level through professional photonic simulations. Evaluation results based on synthetic communication traces and realistic benchmarks show that our approach achieves an average temperature inaccuracy of only 0.6648 K compared to ground-truth values and is scalable to be applied for large-size ONoCs.
REAL
Authors: Tiwari Sakshi , Tuli Shreshth , Ahmad Isaar , Agarwal Ayushi , Panda Preeti Ranjan , Subramoney Sreenivas
Published: November 2019

Shared last level caches (LLC) of multicore systems-on-chip are subject to a significant amount of contention over a limited bandwidth, resulting in major performance bottlenecks that make the issue a first-order concern in modern multiprocessor systems-on-chip. Even though shared cache space partitioning has been extensively studied in the past, the problem of cache bandwidth partitioning has not received sufficient attention. We demonstrate the occurrence of such contention and the resulting impact on the overall system performance. To address the issue, we perform detailed simulations to study the impact of different parameters and propose a novel cache bandwidth partitioning technique, called
REAL
, that arbitrates among cache access requests originating from different processor cores. It monitors the LLC access patterns to dynamically assign a priority value to each core. Experimental results on different mixes of benchmarks show up to 2.13× overall system speedup over baseline policies, with minimal impact on energy.
A Faster Algorithm for Minimum-cost Bipartite Perfect Matching in Planar Graphs
Authors: Asathulla Mudabir Kabir , Khanna Sanjeev , Lahn Nathaniel , Raghvendra Sharath
Published: November 2019

Given a weighted planar bipartite graph
G
(
A
∪
B
,
E
) where each edge has an integer edge cost, we give an Õ(
n
4/3
log
nC
) time algorithm to compute minimum-cost perfect matching; here
C
is the maximum edge cost in the graph. The previous best-known planarity exploiting algorithm has a running time of
O
(
n
3/2
log
n
) and is achieved by using planar separators (Lipton and Tarjan ’80).

Our algorithm is based on the bit-scaling paradigm (Gabow and Tarjan ’89). For each scale, our algorithm first executes
O
(
n
1/3
) iterations of Gabow and Tarjan’s algorithm in
O
(
n
4/3
) time leaving only
O
(
n
2/3
) vertices unmatched. Next, it constructs a compressed residual graph
H
with
O
(
n
2/3
) vertices and
O
(
n
) edges. This is achieved by using an
r
-division of the planar graph
G
with
r
=
n
2/3
. For each partition of the
r
-division, there is an edge between two vertices of
H
if and only if they are connected by a directed path inside the partition. Using existing efficient shortest-path data structures, the remaining
O
(
n
2/3
) vertices are matched by iteratively computing a minimum-cost augmenting path, each taking Õ(
n
2/3
) time. Augmentation changes the residual graph, so the algorithm updates the compressed representation for each partition affected by the change in Õ(
n
2/3
) time. We bound the total number of affected partitions over all the augmenting paths by
O
(
n
2/3
log
n
). Therefore, the total time taken by the algorithm is Õ(
n
4/3
).