cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric Dual-Mode Constellation and Protograph LDPC Code Design for Generalized Spatial MPPM Systems
Creators: name: Lv, Liang
name: Fang, Yi
name: Dai, Lin
name: Li, Yonghui
name: Guizani, Mohsen
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Information Theory (cs.IT)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: To achieve reliable and efficient transmissions in free-space optical (FSO) communication, this paper designs a new protograph low-density parity-check (PLDPC) coded generalized spatial multipulse position modulation (GSMPPM) system over weak turbulence channels. Specifically, we investigate the PLDPC code, generalized space shift keying (GSSK) modulation, and MPPM constellation. First, we propose a type of novel GSMPPM constellations that intelligently integrates the GSSK into MPPM, referred to as asymmetric dual-mode (ADM) constellations, so as to improve the performance of the PLDPC-coded GSMPPM system. Furthermore, exploiting a protograph extrinsic information transfer (PEXIT) algorithm, we construct a type of improved PLDPC code, referred to as I-PLDPC code, which outperforms the existing PLDPC codes over weak turbulence channels. Analytical and simulation results show that the proposed ADM constellations and the proposed I-PLDPC code can obtain noticeable performance gains over their counterparts. Therefore, the proposed PLDPC-coded GSMPPM system with ADM constellations is competent to satisfy the high-reliability requirement for FSO applications.
description: accepted by IEEE transactions on communications
title: Racial Disparities in In-hospital Mortality and Discharge Disposition among Trauma Patients in Massachusetts
Creators: name: Li, Wenjun
name: Hobbs, Sylvia
name: Hackman, Holly
name: Osler, Turner
name: Milham, Frederick
name: Simpson May, Georgia
name: Kang, Hyung-Joo
name: Kane, Kevin
name: Santry, Heena P.
name: Rogers, Selwyn
name: Alam, Hasan
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: Background: Population-based data on trauma care are important to a solid understanding of racial disparities in the care and outcomes of trauma patients.

Methods: Data on inpatient hospitalizations for trauma were obtained from the Massachusetts (MA) Statewide Trauma Registry which conducts annual census of trauma-related hospitalizations in MA. This analysis included patients who were MA residents and admitted to a MA hospital between 2008 and 2010, and 15 years and older at the time of admission. Patients were grouped as non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, Asian, and other or unknown race. Injury severity, discharge disposition and mortality of the first hospitalization of the patients were compared among the groups while adjusting for sex, age and severity.

Results: The data were from 23,666 patients with a mean age of 63.8 years. The patients included 51.8% women, 86.1% whites, 4.3% blacks, 5.6% Hispanics, 1.2% Asians and 2.7% other or unknown races. In total, 597 (2.52%) died in the hospital. Asians and other races had higher risk for death (OR=2.96, p<0.001; OR=2.28, p<0.001; respectively) than whites. Among survivors, there were no significant differences in disposition between blacks and Hispanics. However, compared to whites, blacks and Hispanics were discharged more likely to home (59.9% vs. 29.0%, p<0.001), and less likely to a post-surgical care or rehabilitation facility (22.6% vs. 52.6%, p<0.001).

Conclusions: Remarkable racial/ethnic disparities in inhospital mortality and discharge dispositions were seen among trauma patients in MA. The determinants of the disparities and related policy implications are under investigation by a study supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Deviations from Matthiessen rule and resistivity saturation effects in Gd and Fe
Creators: name: Glasbrenner, J. K.
name: Pujari, B. S.
name: Belashchenko, K. D.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: According to earlier first-principles calculations, the spin-disorder contribution to the resistivity of rare-earth metals in the paramagnetic state is strongly underestimated if Matthiessen's rule is assumed to hold. To understand this discrepancy, the resistivity of paramagnetic Fe and Gd is evaluated by taking into account both spin and phonon disorder. Calculations are performed using the supercell approach within the linear muffin-tin orbital method. Phonon disorder is modeled by introducing random displacements of the atomic nuclei, and the results are compared with the case of fictitious Anderson disorder. In both cases the resistivity shows a nonlinear dependence on the square of the disorder potential, which is interpreted as a resistivity saturation effect. This effect is much stronger in Gd than in Fe. The non-linearity makes the phonon and spin-disorder contributions to the resistivity non-additive, and the standard procedure of extracting the spin-disorder resistivity by extrapolation from high temperatures becomes ambiguous. An "apparent" spin-disorder resistivity obtained through such extrapolation is in much better agreement with experiment compared to the results obtained by considering only spin disorder. By analyzing the spectral function of the paramagnetic Gd in the presence of Anderson disorder, the resistivity saturation is explained by the collapse of a large area of the Fermi surface due to the disorder-induced mixing between the electronic and hole sheets.
description: 9 pages, 7 figures
Location of Solution Channels and Sinkholes at Dam Sites and Backwater Areas by Seismic Methods: Part II
Creators: name: Drnevich, Vincent P.
name: Raghu, D.
Publisher: name: Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University of Kentucky
Year: 1972

description: Abstract:
Four seismic field methods and a laboratory method are used to determine shear wave propagation velocities and shear moduli for two sites. The four seismic methods are: standard seismic refraction survey, down hole shooting refraction survey, transient Rayleigh wave survey, and crosshole shooting survey. A torsional resonant column apparatus was used for the laboratory tests. The cross hole shooting method gave the best results because direct measurements were made. Criteria for using this method are given. Methods which measure compression wave velocity give inconsistent results because the conversion to shear wave velocity is very sensitive to Poisson's ratio. Laboratory tests data gave consistently low values. Strength reduction due to sampling was one cause advanced. Laboratory tests also showed increase in values with time. Strength and time effect corrections were applied to the laboratory data and then comparisons were made with the field data.
Funding information: The work on which this report was supported in part by funds provided by the Office of Water Resources Research, United States Department of the Interior, as authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964.
Distinguishing de Sitter universe from thermal Minkowski spacetime by Casimir-Polder-like force
Creators: name: Tian, Zehua
name: Jing, Jiliang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We demonstrate that the static ground state atom, which interacts with a conformally coupled massless scalar field in the de Sitter invariant vacuum, can obtain a position-dependent energy-level shift and this shift could cause a Casimir-Polder-like force on it. Interestingly no such force arises on the inertial atom bathed in a thermal radiation in the Minkowski universe. Thus, although the energy-level shifts of the static atom for these two cases are structurally the same, whether the energy-level shift causes the Casimir-Polder-like force, in principle, could be as an indicator to distinguish de Sitter universe from the thermal Minkowski spacetime.
description: 11 pages
The afterlives of communism
Creators: name: Nouril, Ksenia Anastasia
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2018

description: This dissertation examines the phenomenon of the historical turn in contemporary Eastern European art as evinced in the cross-media works of Olga Chernysheva (b. 1962), Deimantas Narkevičius (b. 1964), Paulina Ołowska (b. 1976), and Ilya and Emilia Kabakov (b. 1933, 1945). Acknowledging the heterogeneity of the communist experience, I focus my study on these five artists who have worked since 1989 both inside and outside the region in Russia, Lithuania, Poland, and the United States, respectively. Looking back at and mining the recent past through artifacts, archives, reenactments, and reconstructions, they trace the afterlives of communism by actively questioning the histories of its lived experience across the former Eastern Bloc today. They use strategies of interruption to breakdown temporal barriers and redirect the course of official and unofficial, personal and collective, national and transnational narratives that demand our renewed attention. In doing so, their many films, paintings, photographs, installations, performances, and works on paper deconstruct representations of precarity, memory, gender, and identity that are intrinsic to our global condition and respond to widely held concerns regarding regional integrations into the art historical canon. Extending the context-focused methodology of a social history of art and the object-based rigor of formal analysis, I argue that contemporary Eastern European artists engaging in the historical turn are not merely re-presenting the empty signs of their communist pasts or post-communist presents but are proactively shaping future histories of Eastern European art for decades to come.
An example concerning Hamiltonian groups of self product, I
Creators: name: Hu, Shengda
name: Lalonde, Francois
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Symplectic Geometry (math.SG)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 53D45, 57S05

description: We show that $(S^2\times S^2, ω_0 \oplus λω_0)$, with $λ> 1$, is an example of symplectic manifold $(X, ω)$ such that the $π_1 Ham(X \times X, ω\oplus -ω)$ contains extra elements than those from $π_1 Ham(X, ω) \times π_1 Ham(X, -ω)$.
description: This is the first of two short articles. They originally form one paper. After submission, it was split into two parts by the request of the Journal. They appeared in African Diaspora Journal of Mathematics
title: Modification of Ti6Al4V Substrates with Well-defined Zwitterionic Polysulfobetaine Brushes for Improved Surface Mineralization
Creators: name: Liu, Pingsheng
name: Domingue, Emily
name: Ayers, David C.
name: Song, Jie
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: Osteoconductive mineral coatings are beneficial for improving the osteointegration of metallic orthopedic/dental implants, but achieving adequate structural integration between the surface minerals and underlying metallic substrates has been a significant challenge. Here, we report covalent grafting of zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (pSBMA) brushes on the Ti6Al4V substrates to promote the surface-mineralization of hydroxyapatite with enhanced surface mineral coverage and mineral-substrate interfacial adhesion. We first optimized the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) conditions for synthesizing pSBMA polymers in solution. Well-controlled pSBMA polymers (relative molecular weight up to 26,000, PDI = 1.17) with high conversions were obtained when the ATRP was carried out in trifluoroethanol/ionic liquid system at 60 °C. Applying identical polymerization conditions, surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) was carried out to graft zwitterionic pSBMA brushes (PDI < 1.20) from the Ti6Al4V substrates, generating a stable superhydrophilic and low-fouling surface coating that inhibited non-specific protein absorptions without compromising the bulk mechanic property of the Ti6Al4V substrates. The zwitterionic pSBMA surface brushes, capable of attracting both cationic and anionic precursor ions during calcium phosphate apatite mineralization, increased the surface mineral coverage from 32% to 71%, and significantly reinforced the attachment of the apatite crystals on the Ti6Al4V substrate. This facile approach to surface modification of metallic substrates can be exploited to generate multifunctional polymer coatings and improve the performance of metallic implants in skeletal tissue engineering and orthopedic and dental care.
Eternal Universe
Creators: name: Wetterich, C.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We discuss cosmological models for an eternal universe. Physical observables show no singularity from the infinite past to the infinite future. While the universe is evolving, there is no beginning and no end - the universe exists forever. The early state of inflation is described in two different, but equivalent pictures. In the freeze frame the universe emerges from an almost static state with flat geometry. After entropy production it shrinks and "thaws" slowly from a "freeze state" with extremely low temperature. The field transformation to the second "big bang picture" (Einstein frame) is singular. This "field singularity" is responsible for an apparent singularity of the big bang. Furthermore, we argue that past-incomplete geodesics do not necessarily indicate a singularity or beginning of the universe. Proper time ceases to be a useful concept for physical time if particles become massless. We propose to define physical time by counting the number of zeros of a component of the wave function. This counting is independent of the choice of coordinates and frames, and applies to massive and massless particles alike.
description: Extended discussion of physical time, map between frames, limitation of proper time, incomplete geodesics in the Sitter space, graviton scattering, 17 pages, 2 figures
title: Live Well Springfield (LWS) – A Community Transformation Initiative LWS.org Website Evaluation
Creators: name: Mushenko, Jesse
name: Carbone, Elena
name: Krupczynski, Joseph
name: Wicks, Kathy
name: Puleo, Elaine M.
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: The Live Well Springfield (LWS) initiative is a collaborative effort comprised of partner organizations in Springfield, Massachusetts. The project promotes healthy living by increasing knowledge and awareness of food and physical activity. A website to communicate this mission is a major strategy being employed by LWS. In addition to event and health information, the website exhibits stories (including multimedia) that depict residents practicing healthy lifestyle choices. These narratives were designed to motivate residents to engage in healthy behaviors. To date, there has been no evaluation of the website’s reach and effect. A mixed-methods approach of an online survey and focus group discussion will be used to collect data. Examining the end-users perceptions of website/content will assess the website’s quality, engagement potential, and appropriateness. Constructs adapted from eHealth evaluation literature and from theoretical models, including Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM) and Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), were used to develop the online survey. The survey will be accessible via the homepage of the LWS website as well as the LWS Facebook page to collect user perceptions as quantitative data. Qualitative data collected by focus groups will explore users’ responses to affective (narratives) versus cognitive (fact-based) messaging. Survey data will be analyzed using frequencies and cross tabulation. Recurrent themes identified from focus group transcripts will be used to assess appropriateness and relevance of website content. Results will inform potential revisions of the LWS website and contribute to the wider, second phase activities of the LWS initiative.
How the super-Eddington regime affects black hole spin evolution in high-redshift galaxies
Creators: name: Massonneau, Warren
name: Dubois, Yohan
name: Volonteri, Marta
name: Beckmann, Ricarda S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: By performing three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of a galaxy in an isolated dark matter halo, we follow the evolution of the spin parameter $a$ of a black hole (BH) undergoing super-Eddington phases throughout its growth. This regime, suspected to be accompanied by powerful jet outflows, is expected to decrease the BH spin magnitude. We combine super-Eddington accretion with sub-Eddington phases (quasar and radio modes) and follow the BH spin evolution. Due to the low frequency of super-Eddington episodes, relativistic jets in this regime are not able to decrease the magnitude of the spin effectively, as thin disc accretion in the quasar mode inevitably increases the BH spin. The combination of super- and sub-Eddington accretion does not lead to a simple explicit expression for the spin evolution because of feedback from super-Eddington events. An analytical expression can be used to calculate the evolution for $a\lesssim0.3$, assuming the super-Eddington feedback is consistently weak. Finally, BHs starting with low spin magnitude are able to grow to the highest mass, and if they initially start misaligned with the galactic disc, they get a small boost of accretion through retrograde accretion.
description: Updated the paper to the published A&A version
title: Isolation of Human Antigen-Specific Antibodies from Memory B-Cells Nearly Two Years Post Vaccination
Creators: name: Nelson, Stuart
name: Crowley, Andrew
name: Thomas Jr., William D.
name: Souders, Colby A.
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: Isolation and production of therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) traditionally utilizes a handful of techniques including antibody engineering, phage display, hybridoma generation from transgenic mice or EBV immortalization of B-cells. Over the past decade a new approach has emerged that attempts to extract antigen-specific memory B-cells from the peripheral blood of individuals vaccinated or infected with the target. Initial attempts focused on culturing B-cells and inducing differentiation to plasmablasts for analysis of antibody-antigen specificity, but results were largely mixed due to difficult culture conditions and/or rarity of target cells. With advancing technology in cell sorting, single antigen-specific memory B-cells can be identified and sorted with fluorescently labeled antigens. This method has produced virus-specific mAbs from HIV-infected patients and tetanus-specific mAbs within weeks after Tdap immunization. Many other studies claim to have found antigen-specific mAbs months to years after immunization or clearance of an infection; however, these studies fail to provide direct evidence of antibody specificity by cloning and expressing the mAbs from B-cells. Here we report the efficient isolation of tetanus-specific mAbs from a subject Td-immunized almost two years prior to blood draw. Initially, the total B-cell population was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells enriched by negative selection, then stained to identify tetanus-specific memory B-cells. These cells were individually sorted and PCR was performed to amplify heavy and light chain variable regions of the B-cell’s antibody mRNA. After sequencing, 15 of 42 samples produced both heavy and light chain antibody sequence and 11 mAbs were cloned and transiently expressed. ELISA analysis indicated 5 of the 11 mAbs bound the Hc protein fragment of tetanus toxin and 3 were specific for Hc. We plan to extend this initial success to additional targets and longer gaps between vaccination and B-cell isolation to identify functional therapeutic human antibodies.
Developing a legal framework for determining forum choices in transnational intellectual property litigation
Creators: name: Ho, Vannessa May Ha
Publisher: name: Macquarie University
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 480603
subject: Intellectual property law

description: As communication technologies have assisted in the rapid transfer of information and goods across borders, there has been a commensurate rise in transnational intellectual property litigation. In particular, use of the Internet for trade and consumption of information has led to simultaneous infringement of parallel intellectual property rights in multiple States. The chosen forum to resolve such a dispute is perceived to have significant effect upon the outcome of litigation. There is a need to closely evaluate current jurisdiction rules and recent reform proposals to determine the extent to which they facilitate or prevent litigants from making forum choices that can promote efficiency and fairness in the dispute resolution process. However, there is currently no formal international treaty that regulates how litigants may make forum choices during transnational intellectual property litigation. As a result, the range of forum choices available to litigants are determined by divergent domestic rules, meaning that litigants must enforce their intellectual property rights in forums within every State where the rights exist and have been infringed upon. In such as context, a critical issue is to consider is whether an international regulatory framework could be developed to facilitate appropriate forum choices which advances and calibrates efficiency and fairness in transnational intellectual property litigation. As most conceptions of appropriate forums are from a doctrinal perspective, it is necessary to create a theoretical framework to determine what constitutes an appropriate forum choice during a transnational intellectual property dispute. This theoretical framework can then be used to evaluate the merits of current rules on jurisdiction and determine whether they define a suitable range of available forums that allow litigants to make appropriate choices. The forum non conveniens doctrine also needs to be evaluated as it has the most developed case law that considers appropriate forums for civil disputes. Finally, the risks and benefits of developing an international regulatory framework needs to be examined to assess which method would be the most suitable way to facilitate appropriate forum choices. It is hoped that this research will assist courts and legal practitioners when making decisions about complicated jurisdiction issues during transnational intellectual property disputes, as well as enable policy makers to promote reform that facilitates more efficient and fair forum choices.
An example concerning Hamiltonian groups of self product, II
Creators: name: Hu, Shengda
name: Lalonde, Francois
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Symplectic Geometry (math.SG)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 53D12, 53D40, 57S05

description: We describe the natural identification of $FH_*(X \times X, \triangle; ω\oplus -ω)$ with $FH_*(X, ω)$. Under this identification, we show that the extra elements in $Ham(X \times X, ω\oplus -ω)$ found in (Part I), for $X = (S^2 \times S^2, ω_0 \oplus λω_0)$ for $λ> 1$, do not define new invertible elements in $FH_*(X, ω)$.
description: This is the second of two short articles. They originally form one paper. After submission, it was split into two parts by the request of the Journal. They appeared in African Diaspora Journal of Mathematics
Spreading dynamics on networks: the role of burstiness, topology and non-stationarity
Creators: name: Horváth, Dávid X.
name: Kertész, János
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Spreading on networks is influenced by a number of factors including different parts of the inter-event time distribution (IETD), the topology of the network and non-stationarity. In order to understand the role of these factors we study the SI model on temporal networks with different aggregated topologies and different IETDs. Based on analytic calculations and numerical simulations, we show that if the stationary bursty process is governed by power-law IETD, the spreading can be slowed down or accelerated as compared to a Poisson process; the speed is determined by the short time behaviour, which in our model is controlled by the exponent. We demonstrate that finite, so called "locally tree-like" networks, like the Barabási-Albert networks behave very differently from real tree graphs if the IETD is strongly fat-tailed, as the lack or presence of rare alternative paths modifies the spreading. A further important result is that the non-stationarity of the dynamics has a significant effect on the spreading speed for strongly fat-tailed power-law IETDs, thus bursty processes characterized by small power-law exponents can cause slow spreading in the stationary state but also very rapid spreading heavily depending on the age of the processes.
title: Cranberry Fruit and Leaf Polyphenols Inhibit Staphylococcus Bacterial Biofilms
Creators: name: Neto, Catherine C.
name: MacLean,  Jason
name: Song, Biqin
name: Dovell, Anthony
name: Kwasny, Steven
name: Opperman, Timothy
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is known for urinary tract health benefits associated with reducing the adhesion of E. coli bacteria. This property has been linked to cranberry polyphenols known as proanthocyanidins. Staphylococcus bacteria are a growing public health concern due to development of resistant strains. Identification of agents that inhibit biofilm formation by these bacteria may provide a new route to reduce infection in clinical settings. Fruit and leaves of North American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) and cranberry juice were fractionated and screened for their ability to prevent biofilm formation by several strains of S. aureus and S. epidermidis bacteria. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the most bioactive fractions identified the major constituents as proanthocyanidin oligomers (PACs) with A-type linkages, ranging in size from 2-12 degrees of polymerization. Further characterization by NMR is underway. The polyphenol-rich fractions from cranberry leaf, fruit and juice inhibited biofilm formation by strains of S. aureus and S. epidermidis, with MBIC as low as 3.1 μg/mL, and without significant bacteriocidal activity. Thus, compounds from cranberry fruit, plant material and juice may be useful in reducing Staphylococcus biofilms without promoting resistance.
Large Graph Signal Denoising with Application to Differential Privacy
Creators: name: Chedemail, Elie
name: de Loynes, Basile
name: Navarro, Fabien
name: Olivier, Baptiste
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Signal Processing (eess.SP)
subject: Methodology (stat.ME)
subject: Machine Learning (stat.ML)
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Over the last decade, signal processing on graphs has become a very active area of research. Specifically, the number of applications, for instance in statistical or deep learning, using frames built from graphs, such as wavelets on graphs, has increased significantly. We consider in particular the case of signal denoising on graphs via a data-driven wavelet tight frame methodology. This adaptive approach is based on a threshold calibrated using Stein's unbiased risk estimate adapted to a tight-frame representation. We make it scalable to large graphs using Chebyshev-Jackson polynomial approximations, which allow fast computation of the wavelet coefficients, without the need to compute the Laplacian eigendecomposition. However, the overcomplete nature of the tight-frame, transforms a white noise into a correlated one. As a result, the covariance of the transformed noise appears in the divergence term of the SURE, thus requiring the computation and storage of the frame, which leads to an impractical calculation for large graphs. To estimate such covariance, we develop and analyze a Monte-Carlo strategy, based on the fast transformation of zero mean and unit variance random variables. This new data-driven denoising methodology finds a natural application in differential privacy. A comprehensive performance analysis is carried out on graphs of varying size, from real and simulated data.
description: Accepted in IEEE Transactions on Signal and Information Processing over Networks
Cosmological Magnetogenesis From Extra-dimensional Gauss Bonnet Gravity
Creators: name: Atmjeet, Kumar
name: Pahwa, Isha
name: Seshadri, T. R.
name: Subramanian, Kandaswamy
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Generation of primordial magnetic fields during inflation typically requires the breaking of conformal invariance of the Electromagnetic action. In this paper this has been achieved naturally in a higher dimensional cosmological model with a Gauss-Bonnet term in the action. The evolution of the scale factor of the extra dimension (whose dynamics is influenced by the Gauss-Bonnet term) acts as the cause for the breaking of conformal invariance. Different cases have been investigated, each of which is characterized by the number of higher dimensions, the value of the Gauss-Bonnet parameter, and the cosmological constant. Many of the scenarios considered are highly constrained by the requirements that the cosmic evolution is stable, that the normal dimensions expand and that there is no back reaction due to growing electric fields. However there do exist scenarios which satisfy the above requirements and are well suited for magnetogenesis. In particular, a scenario where the number of extra dimensions $D=4$ and the cosmological constant is non-zero, turns out to be best suited for generating primordial magnetic fields. It is shown that for these values of parameters, a scale invariant magnetic field of the order of $10^{-10}-10^{-9}$ $G$ can be produced. Even in these most favorable scenarios, the higher dimensional space expands during inflation at the same rate as the normal dimension. Hence if a mechanism could freeze the evolution of the higher dimension, this seems to be a viable mechanism to produce acceptable primordial magnetic fields.
description: 13 pages, 2 tables
title: Inhibition of Colon Cancer by Polyphenols from Whole Cranberry
Creators: name: Neto, Catherine
name: Liberty, Anne
name: Frade, Sarah
name: Tata, Anuradha
name: Ferreira, Tracie
name: Song, Mingyue
name: Wu, Xian
name: Xiao, Hang
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: The ability of cranberry fruit extracts to inhibit colon carcinogenesis is under investigation using a combination of in vitro and in vivo methods. Compounds isolated from cranberry fruit (Vaccinium macrocarpon) including oligomeric polyphenols known as proanthocyanidins (PACs) decreased the proliferation of HCT116 and HT-29 colon cancer cells, induced apoptosis and reduced the formation of tumor colonies. Treatment of HCT116 colon cancer cells with cranberry polyphenols produced changes in expression of genes and proteins associated with the MAPK pathway, confirmed by microarray analysis, quantitative (Q)-PCR and Western blotting. Based on cranberry's effect in vitro, a feeding study was conducted using AOM/DSS mice, an inflammatory colon cancer model that mimics colitis. Mice were treated with AOM and DSS to induce inflammation-driven colon carcinogenesis, while receiving an AIN-93 diet containing whole cranberry powder, concentrated polar polyphenolic extract, nonpolar extract or no cranberry (control). After 20 weeks on the diet, mice were sacrificed and the tumors analyzed. The number and volume of tumors was significantly lower in the cranberry powder group compared to control; the polyphenolic extract group also showed a significant reduction in tumor volume, while the non-polar extract showed significant inhibition on the tumor number. Tissue analysis indicated that expression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-6 were greatly reduced, and mRNA levels of iNOS and COX-2 were also significantly decreased by different cranberry preparations. These studies demonstrate potential for dietary cranberry to inhibit colon carcinogenesis through decreased inflammation and proliferation.
Fine structure of flare ribbons and evolution of electric currents
Creators: name: Sharykin, I. N.
name: Kosovichev, A. G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Emission of solar flares across the electromagnetic spectrum is often observed in the form of two expanding ribbons. The standard flare model explains the flare ribbons as footpoints of magnetic arcades, emitting due to interaction of energetic particles with the chromospheric plasma. However, the physics of this interaction and properties of the accelerated particles are still unknown. We present results of multiwavelength observations of C2.1 flare of August 15, 2013, observed with New Solar Telescope (NST) of Big Bear Solar Observatory, Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), GOES and FERMI spacecraft. The observations reveal previously unresolved sub-arcsecond structure of the flare ribbons in regions of strong magnetic field consisting from numerous small-scale bright knots. We observe red-blue asymmetry of H alpha flare ribbons with a width as small as 100 km. We discuss the relationship between the ribbons and vertical electric currents estimated from vector magnetograms, and show that Joule heating can be responsible for energization of H alpha knots in the ribbons.
Location of Solution Channels and Sinkholes at Dam Sites and Backwater Areas by Seismic Methods: Part I
Creators: name: Drnevich, Vincent P.
name: Smith, S. R.
name: Cleveland, E. P.
Publisher: name: Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University of Kentucky
Year: 1972

description: Abstract:
The basic concepts associated with the sledge hammer seismic refraction survey are reviewed and a modified version called down hole shooting is discussed. The latter method has distinct advantages for rock surface profiling. These include: calibration at the end points of the survey, measurement of vertical wave propagation velocities directly, and having a refracted wave ray path for almost the entire survey length.
The down hole shooting seismic refraction survey has been simulated with the digital computer. The method can handle any shaped rock surface profile and generates corresponding travel time curves for the forward and reverse profile surveys. This program was used to systematically study the effects of anomalies on the travel time curves. A method of data reduction was developed that enables an estimate of the rock surface profile to be made from the travel time data. The procedure involves the use of a reference depth line which connects the end points of a survey and the travel time curves for this reference depth line.
Field tests were performed at four sites having soil and rock characteristics different from each other. Typical results are given. Rock surface profiles are estimated from the travel time curves using the procedure developed and these are compared with the depth to rock by proof drilling.
Finally, the sources of error are discussed and some limitations of use are presented. For the sledge hammer method to be used for rock surface profiling, the rock surface should be within 25 to 30 ft of the soil surface and the minimum width of solution channel that can be sensed with this method is on the order of two feet. Recommendations for additional research are also given.
Funding information: The work on which this report is based was supported in pa.rt by funds provided by the Office of Water Resources Research, United States Department of the Interior, as authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964.
Testing in-medium $πN$ dynamics on pionic atoms
Creators: name: Friedman, E.
name: Gal, A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: A general algorithm for handling the energy dependence of meson-nucleon amplitudes in the nuclear medium has been recently applied to antikaons and to eta mesons. Here we test this approach on $πN$ amplitudes in pionic atoms where direct comparison can be made with ample experimental results. Applying this algorithm to a large-scale fit of 100 pionic-atom data points across the periodic table, which also include the `deeply-bound' states in Sn and Pb, reaffirms earlier conclusions on the density-dependent renormalization of the $πN$ threshold isovector amplitude $b_1$, or equivalently the renormalization of the pion decay constant $f_π$ in the nuclear medium.
description: V2 minor rephrasing, 15 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Nuclear Physics A special issue in memory of Gerry Brown
Observation of an Anomalous Hall Effect in Single-crystal Mn3Pt
Creators: name: Zuniga-Cespedes, Belen E.
name: Manna, Kaustuv
name: Noad, Hilary M. L.
name: Yang, Po-Ya
name: Nicklas, Michael
name: Felser, Claudia
name: Mackenzie, Andrew P.
name: Hicks, Clifford W.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The Mn3X family of compounds was the first in which a large anomalous Hall effect (AHE) was predicted to arise from a purely antiferromagnetic structure, due to the Berry curvature in momentum space. Nearly simultaneously with this prediction, a large AHE was observed experimentally in one of the hexagonal members of this family, Mn3Sn. Aligning antiferromagnetic domains, a necessary step for observation of the AHE, is more challenging for the cubic members of the Mn3X family, due to a combination of a smaller spontaneous ferromagnetic moment and much stronger magnetic anisotropy. Here, we use a combination of uniaxial stress and applied magnetic field to align domains of bulk single-crystal Mn3Pt, and demonstrate for the first time a substantial AHE in a bulk sample of a cubic member of the Mn3X family. The AHE remains locked in with essentially no quantitative variation when the stress is ramped back to zero, which shows that it is not a consequence of any stress-induced ferromagnetic moment.
title: Patient- and Hospital-level Predictors of 30-day Readmission after Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Systematic Review
Creators: name: Nobel, Lisa
name: Saczynski, Jane S.
name: Ash, Arlene S.
name: Kiefe, Catarina I.
name: Allison, Jeroan J.
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: Background: Readmissions following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are costly and may be partly due to poor care. A previous systematic review examined the literature through 2007. Since then, health policy has changed and additional articles examining predictors of readmission have appeared. We sought to conduct a systematic review of the literature after 2007 regarding socio-demographic, clinical, psychosocial, and hospital level predictors of 30-day readmissions after acute coronary syndrome.

Methods: A systematic search of the literature using Pubmed, OVID, ISI web of science, CINAHL, ACP and the Cochrane Library was conducted, including a quality assessment using Downs and Black criteria. Articles reporting on 30-day readmission rate and examining at least one patient-level predictor of readmission at 30 days were included; articles examining interventions to reduce readmissions were excluded.

Results: Twenty-two studies were included in this review from which more than 60 predictors of 30-day readmission were identified. Age, co-morbidity, COPD, diabetes, hypertension and having had a previous AMI were all consistently associated with higher risk of readmission. However, no studies reported psychosocial factors as predictors of readmission at 30 days.

Conclusion: Studies of readmission should adjust for age and co-morbidity, consistent predictors of readmission at 30-days. Patients with these risk factors for readmission should be targeted for more-intensive follow-up after discharge. Psychosocial predictors of readmission remains a relatively unexplored area of research.
Interacting vacuum energy in the dark sector
Creators: name: Chimento, L. P.
name: Carneiro, S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We analyse three cosmological scenarios with interaction in the dark sector, which are particular cases of a general expression for the energy flux from vacuum to matter. In the first case the interaction leads to a transition from an unstable de Sitter phase to a radiation dominated universe, avoiding in this way the initial singularity. In the second case the interaction gives rise to a slow-roll power-law inflation. Finally, the third scenario is a concordance model for the late-time universe, with the vacuum term decaying into cold dark matter. We identify the physics behind these forms of interaction and show that they can be described as particular types of the modified Chaplygin gas.
description: To appear in AIP Conf. Proc. of "CosmoSur II - Gravitation and Cosmology in the Southern Cone" (Valparaiso, Chile, 27-31 May 2013)
title: Establishment of Rab-11 Induced Inflammatory Regulation as Therapeutic Targets in Colon Cancer Progression
Creators: name: Nie, Yingchao
name: Amcheslavsky, Alla
name: Li, Qi
name: Yu, Shiyan
name: Gao, Nan
name: Jiang, Zhong
name: Markstein, Michele
name: Ip,  Y. Tony
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: Colon cancer is the third-deadliest cancer in the United States. Better understanding the cancer microenvironment/niches is crucial to the development of successful therapeutic targets. An RNAi screening using enterocyte specific driver was performed in Drosophila melanogaster intestine to search for niches regulating the intestine stem cell homeostasis. A small GTPase, Rab11 caused strong intestine stem cell (ISC) proliferation and tissue hyperplasia upon knockdown, due to increased production of inflammatory cytokines and growth factors. Increased inflammatory cytokines and proliferation were also observed in mouse Rab11a knockout (KO) intestine, indicating Rab11 regulatory role in the inflammation-induced hyperplasia is evolutionarily conserved and may also apply to human. We hypothesized that Rab11 is required to maintain cytokines in an appropriate state and its expression is down regulated in cancers. We investigated dextran sulfate sodium and chemical induced mouse colon cancer. Rab11 was largely reduced/absent in cancer tissues whereas well present in the normal tissue. We also investigated the correlation of Rab11 level and human cancer progression by immunofluorescence staining, and found that close to 50% and 40% of the cases studied had reduced Rab11 level by 20% and 30%, respectively. The greater the reduction is, the higher chance it is associated with more progressed cancer. Rab11, therefore, functions to suppress cancer progression and can be potentially developed towards a better diagnosis and treatment target for colon cancer. We will screen FDA approved drugs for ISC proliferation regulation, using a fly intestine tumor model established by expressing a human activated RAFGOFgene and a luciferase gene in the fly gut precursor cells. Selected drugs will be applied to test the Rab11 induced hyperplasia in fly, and further validated by mouse and human organoids derived from Rab11 KO mouse or human colon cancer tissues.
Phosphorene nanoribbon as a promising candidate for thermoelectric applications
Creators: name: Zhang, J.
name: Liu, H. J.
name: Cheng, L.
name: Wei, J.
name: Liang, J. H.
name: Fan, D. D.
name: Shi, J.
name: Tang, X. F.
name: Zhang, Q. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this work, the electronic properties of phosphorene nanoribbons with different width and edge configurations are studied by using density functional theory. It is found that the armchair phosphorene nanoribbons are semiconducting while the zigzag nanoribbons are metallic. The band gaps of armchair nanoribbons decrease monotonically with increasing ribbon width. By passivating the edge phosphorus atoms with hydrogen, the zigzag series also become semiconducting, while the armchair series exhibit a larger band gap than their pristine counterpart. The electronic transport properties of these phosphorene nanoribbons are then investigated using Boltzmann theory and relaxation time approximation. We find that all the semiconducting nanoribbons exhibit very large values of Seebeck coefficient and can be further enhanced by hydrogen passivation at the edge. Taking armchair nanoribbon with width N=7 as an example, we calculate the lattice thermal conductivity with the help of phonon Boltzmann transport equation. Due to significantly enhanced Seebeck coefficient and decreased thermal conductivity, the phosphorene nanoribbon exhibit a very high figure of merit (ZT value) of 4.0 at room temperature, which suggests its appealing thermoelectric applications.
title: A Pilot Study to Explore Contamination of Student Nurses’ Scrubs with Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Before and After Laundering in College Dormitory
Creators: name: Nicoloro, Jennifer
name: Marika, Desta
name: Duty, Susan
name: Scott, Elizabeth
name: Goodyear, Nancy
Publisher: name: eScholarship@UMMS
Year: 2014

description: The potential role of environmental factors, including nurses’ scrubs, in the spread of infection is an area of growing interest. Laundering plays an important role in decontaminating scrubs. Our goal was to qualitatively assess the presence of S. aureus and MRSA on nursing student scrub tops, before and after laundering in college dormitory facilities. Study participants included junior and senior nursing students from Simmons College, Boston MA, who interned in acute inpatient clinical units during the 2013-14 academic year. Each participant was provided with sterile culturette swabs, swabbing templates, coded labels, sample transport bags, and detailed written and video sampling instructions. Participants used the template to standardize the swabbing area (abdominal, above the pockets), and collected samples after wearing the scrub top to clinicals, and again after laundering. Swabs were collected on Simmons campus, refrigerated and delivered weekly to UMass Lowell. Samples were cultured within 24hr to mannitol salt agar, tryptic soy agar and Staphylococcus enrichment broth to ensure recovery of low numbers. Plates were incubated for up to 48hr before determination of no growth. Positive enrichment broths with corresponding no growth plates were plated. Colonies morphologically consistent with S. aureus were identified with Gram stain, catalase and a commercial kit. Oxacillin and chromogenic MRSA plates were used to confirm methicillin susceptibility. Forty-three scrub tops were sampled pre and post laundering. Of the pre laundering samples, 11 (26%) were contaminated with S. aureus, 5 (45%) of which survived the laundering process. There were two instances of S. aureus on the post sample but not the pre. These pilot study findings demonstrate that student nursing scrub tops may act as a vector for infectious microorganisms, and that traditional laundering practices may not remove all pathogens. Additional samples will be obtained, and laundry conditions analyzed for possible correlation to survival post laundry.