cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A sliding window update for the basis matrix of the QR decomposition

A method of updating the unitary basis matrix for QR decomposition by applying a sliding window to the input data is presented. The basis matrix update allows the recursive update to be applied to problems which require the tracking of a basis set, and the sliding-window feature gives this alternative update a superior nonstationary performance characteristic. >
A policy for science.

Policy and science often interact. Typically, we think of policymakers looking to scientists for advice on issues informed by science. We may appreciate less the opposite look: where people outside science inform policies that affect the conduct of science. In clinical medicine, we are forced to make decisions about practices for which there is insufficient, inadequate evidence to know whether they improve clinical outcomes, yet the health care system may not be structured to rapidly generate needed evidence. For example, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services noted insufficient evidence to support routine use of computed tomography angiography and they called for a national commitment to completion of randomized trials, their call ran into substantial opposition. I use the computed tomography angiography story to illustrate how we might consider a “policy for science” in which stakeholders would band together to identify evidence gaps and to use their influence to promote the efficient design, implementation, and completion of high-quality randomized trials. Such a policy for science could create a culture that incentivizes and invigorates the rapid generation of evidence, ultimately engaging all clinicians, all patients, and indeed all stakeholders into the scientific enterprise.
Synthesis and performance of precision wideband slanted array compressors

An improved device analysis model that accurately predicts amplitude and phase responses in a SAW slanted array/compressor (SAC) is described. The major ingredients in the analysis model are reviewed. A synthesis model that iteratively applies a simplified analysis model to adjust the SAC transducer's frequency dependent acoustic aperture for the intended amplitude response. The full-fledged analysis is then performed to fine-tune the design. The synthesis algorithms and the overall design methodology are discussed. Approaches for spectral weighting and compensation of phase error are described. Experimental and testing techniques, involving extensive use of a high-performance phase-sensitive SAW laser probe and an on-wafer RF probe, are discussed. Difficulties encountered and potential limitations to the present approach, as well as possible further improvements, are also discussed. The improved design capability is illustrated by several L-band devices. >
Free Radical Injury and Liver Tumor Promotion

One of the underlying mechanisms of tumor promotion both in the skin and liver involves free radical mediated injury to informational macromolecules of target cells. A choline-deficient (CD) diet, which is an efficient liver tumor promoter, induces peroxidative damage of liver cell membrane lipids. By modifying components of a CD diet, we have shown that the efficacy of the promotion is correlated with the extent of lipid peroxidation. The substitution of fats in a CD diet with predominantly polyunsaturated fat and the addition of methapyrilene to a CD diet enhances membrane lipid peroxidation and the promoting effects. An antioxidant (BHT) and hypolipidemic peroxisome proliferators (BR.931 and DEHP) suppress both of these effects. Contrary to these findings, phenobarbital did not induce membrane lipid peroxidation, and its addition to a CD diet inhibited the diet-induced lipid peroxidation, though such a combination exerted a stronger promoting action. Thus, a CD diet and phenobarbital exert their promot...
Nitrogen-15 NMR evidence for the structures of N-9-H-Xanthen-9-yl- and N,N′-Di-9 H-xanthen-9-yl-ureas

A new monoxanthen‒9‒yl derivative of urea has been synthesized and the structure of this product (N‒9 H‒xanthen‒9‒ylurea) and that of the previously known N,N′‒di‒9 H‒xanthen‒9‒ylurea have been proved by 15N NMR and other spectroscopic techniques. A series of 13C and 15N labeled urea derivatives has been prepared and the utility of their 13C and 15N chemical shifts and coupling constants in the structural analysis of urea derivatives has been investigated.
Sunyaev–Zeldovich signal processing and temperature–velocity moment method for individual clusters

Future high resolution, high sensitivity Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) observations of individual clusters will provide an exciting opportunity to answer specific questions about the dynamical state of the intra-cluster medium (ICM). In this paper we develop a new method that clearly shows the connection of the SZ signal with the underlying cluster model. We include relativistic temperature and kinematic corrections in the single-scattering approximation, allowing studies of hot clusters. In our approach, particular moments of the temperature and velocity field along the line-of-sight determine the precise spectral shape and morphology of the SZ signal. We illustrate how to apply our method to different cluster models, highlighting parameter degeneracies and instrumental effects that are important for interpreting future high-resolution SZ data. Our analysis shows that line-of-sight temperature variations can introduce significant biases in the derived SZ temperature and peculiar velocity. We furthermore discuss how the position of the SZ null is affected by the cluster's temperature and velocity structure. Our computations indicate that the SZ signal around the null alone is rather insensitive to different cluster models and that high frequency channels add a large leverage in this respect. We also apply our method to recent high sensitivity SZ data of the Bullet cluster, showing how the results can be linked to line-of-sight variations in the electron temperature. The tools developed here as part of SZpack should be useful for analyzing high-resolution SZ data and computing SZ maps from simulated clusters.
Ascospore morphology is a poor predictor of the phylogenetic relationships of Neurospora and Gelasinospora.

The genera Neurospora and Gelasinospora are conventionally distinguished by differences in ascospore ornamentation, with elevated longitudinal ridges (ribs) separated by depressed grooves (veins) in Neurospora and spherical or oval indentations (pits) in Gelasinospora. The phylogenetic relationships of representatives of 12 Neurospora and 4 Gelasinospora species were assessed with the DNA sequences of four nuclear genes. Within the genus Neurospora, the 5 outbreeding conidiating species form a monophyletic group with N. discreta as the most divergent, and 4 of the homothallic species form a monophyletic group. In combined analysis, each of the conventionally defined Gelasinospora species was more closely related to a Neurospora species than to another Gelasinospora species. Evidently, the Neurospora and Gelasinospora species included in this study do not represent two clearly resolved monophyletic sister genera, but instead represent a polyphyletic group of taxa with close phylogenetic relationships and significant morphological similarities. Ascospore morphology, the character that the distinction between the genera Neurospora and Gelasinospora is based upon,was not an accurate predictor of phylogenetic relationships.
Fabrication of low contrast homogenous guided mode resonance filters

This paper presents a narrow spectral filter based on a homogeneous Silicon Dioxide structure with a periodic array of air holes. Theoretical and experimental results are provided for a resonant structure with a 6 nm spectral width at 1.591μm.
Google+ Communities as Plazas and Topic Boards

Researchers have recently been focusing on understanding online communities in social networks that offer easy access to new audiences. How do online communities function within these social networks? In this work, we conducted a mixed-method study of public Google+ Communities and found two major types evident in both how users talk about them and how they appear to use them: plazas to meet new people, and topic boards to discuss common interests. This reflects two common motivations users cite in describing Communities: "meeting like minded people" and "finding great content". We characterize these two types of Communities within Google+ using mixed methods including surveys, interviews, and quantitative analytics, and expose differences in user behaviors between them.
Search Image Formation in the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Blue jays trained to detect Catocala moths in slides were exposed to two types of slide series containing these moths: series of one species and series of two species intermixed. In one-species series, detection ability increased with successive encounters with one prey type. No similar effect occurred in two-species series. These results are a direct demonstration of a specific search image.
Origin of chiral selectivity in gas-phase serine tetramers

Serine "magic-number" clusters have attracted substantial experimental and theoretical interest since their discovery. Serine undergoes marked chiral enrichment upon sublimation, which has been associated with the homochiral selectivity of the octamer. This process has been implicated in one possible mechanism leading to the origin of biological homochirality. While the octamer is the best known of the serine clusters, here we focus on the tetramer, the smallest serine cluster known to exhibit homochiral preference. This choice is based on its greater simplicity and tractability with accessible computational resources. Basin-hopping molecular dynamics simulations coupled to density functional theory calculations yield a "structural landscape" for low-lying configurations on the potential energy surface. The full range of enantiomeric compositions and charge states is investigated. Global energy minimum serine tetramers consist of a cage structure bonded by zwitterionic terminal groups. The participation of the serine hydroxyl side chains in hydrogen bonds with adjacent monomers drives the homochiral selectivity of serine tetramers. The configuration of the hydrogen bonding network is strongly dependent on enantiomeric composition and charge state. Smaller cations are incorporated into the center of the tetramer cage and effectively disable all side chain hydrogen bonding, while larger cations appear not to incorporate into the tetramer cage and are stabilized outside only in the homochiral case. The current theoretical data requires the introduction of a kinetic barrier to complete the model, limiting rearrangement from the basic cage configuration in some cases, which is discussed and probed directly by doubly-nudged elastic band transition state searches. These calculations elucidate a large barrier for reorganization of the cage, completing the theoretical understanding of the tetramers.
Linking Costs to Health Outcomes for Allocating Scarce Public Health Resources

Introduction: Resources for public health (PH) are scarce and policymakers face tough decisions in determining their funding priorities. The difficulty of making these decisions is compounded by current PH accounting systems, which are ill-equipped to link fiscal resources to PH outcomes. This paper examines the types of revenues and expenditures, health services, and health outcomes that are being tracked at the local and state PH levels. The authors provide recommendations for strengthening the ability of local and state governments to link expenditures to PH outcomes, both within and across jurisdictions. Framework and Next Steps: The source of revenue data for most local jurisdictions is the accounting systems used for the budgeting and auditing of fiscal activities, and these are primarily linked to specific PH programs. In contrast, expenditure data are mostly generic and typically span multiple PH programs with no link to specific PH activities. Many challenges exist to then link PH activities to health outcomes data, which are often collected through separate reporting systems at the local, state, and national levels. Policy change at the state level and implementation strategies that are standardized across local health departments are required to assess the costs and health outcomes of PH activities. Conclusion: Information linking PH expenditures to health outcomes of PH services could greatly inform the decision-making process. This information will allow investments in PH to be better understood and will provide a strong foundation for the PH services and systems research community to understand variation and drive improvement. Ultimately, these data could be used to improve accountability at the local and state PH department levels.
Experimental and theoretical studies of hydroxyl-induced magnetism in TiO nanoclusters

A main challenge in understanding the defect ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic oxides is the direct experimental verification of the presence of a particular kind of defect and distinguishing its magnetic contributions from other defects. The magnetic effect of hydroxyls on TiO nanoclusters has been studied by measuring the evolution of the magnetic moment as a function of moisture exposure time, which increases the hydroxyl concentration. Our combined experiment and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations show that as dissociative water adsorption transforms oxygen vacancies into hydroxyls, the magnetic moment shows a significant increase. DFT calculations show that the magnetic moment created by hydroxyls arises from 3d orbitals of neighboring Ti sites predominantly from the top and second monolayers. The two nonequivalent hydroxyls contribute differently to the magnetic moment, which decreases as the separation of hydroxyls increases. This work illustrates the essential interplay among defect structure, local structural relaxation, charge redistribution, and magnetism. The microscopic differentiation and clarification of the specific roles of each kind of intrinsic defect is critical for the future applications of dilute magnetic oxides in spintronic or other multifunctional materials.
Cement as a thermoelectric material

Cement pastes containing short steel fibers, which contribute to electron conduction, exhibit positive values (up to 68 μV/°C) of the absolute thermoelectric power. Cement pastes containing short carbon fibers, which contribute to hole conduction while the cement matrix contributes to electron conduction, exhibit negative or slightly positive values of the absolute thermoelectric power. The hole and electron contributions in carbon fiber reinforced cement paste are equal at the percolation threshold. Addition of either steel or carbon fibers to cement paste yields more reversibility and linearity in the variation of the Seebeck voltage with temperature difference (up to 65 °C).
Sites of binding and orientation in a four-location model for protein stereospecificity.

The stereospecificity of the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase was examined by steady-state kinetics and x-ray crystallography. The enzyme has the intriguing property that the apoenzyme in the absence of divalent metal showed a selectivity for the inactive l-enantiomer of the substrate isocitrate, whereas the enzyme containing magnesium showed selectivity for the physiologically active d-enantiomer. The hydrogen atom on the C2 carbon that is transferred during the reaction was, in both the d- and l-isocitrate complexes, in an orientation very close to that expected for delivery of a hydride ion to the cosubstrate NADPT+. The beta-carboxylate that is eliminated as a CO2 molecule during the reaction occupied the same site on the protein in both the d- and l-isocitrate complexes. In addition, the C3 carbon was in the same protein site in both the d- and l-enantiomers. Only the fourth group, the OH atom, was in a very different position in the apo enzyme and in the metal-containing complexes. A four-location model is necessary to explain the enantiomeric specificity of IDH in contrast to the conventional three-point attachment model. The thermodynamic and kinetic ramifications of this model are explored.
Fixing Our Focus: Training Attention to Regulate Emotion:

Empirical studies have frequently linked negative attentional biases with attentional dysfunction and negative moods; however, far less research has focused on how attentional deployment can be an adaptive strategy that regulates emotional experience. The authors argue that attention may be an invaluable tool for promoting emotion regulation. Accordingly, they present evidence that selective attention to positive information reflects emotion regulation and that regulating attention is a critical component of the emotion regulatory process. Furthermore, attentional regulation can be successfully trained through repeated practice. The authors ultimately propose a model of attention training methodologies integrating attention-dependent emotion regulation strategies with attention networks. Although additional interdisciplinary research is needed to bolster these nascent findings, meditative practices appear to be among the most effective training methodologies in enhancing emotional well-being. Further exploration of the positive and therapeutic qualities of attention warrants the empirical attention of social and personality psychologists.
Is the multidrug resistance an ATP channel

The multidrug resistance (mdr1) gene product, P-glycoprotein, is responsible for the ATP-dependent extrusion of a variety of compounds, including chemotherapeutic drugs, from cells. The data presented here show that cells with increaed levels of the P-glycoprotein release ATP to the medium in proportion to the concentration of the protein in their plasma membrane. Furthermore, measurements of whole-cell and single-channel currents with patch-clamp electrodes indicate that the P-glycoprotein serves as an ATP-conducting channel in the plasma membrane. These findings suggest an unusual role for the P-glycoprotein.
Use of e-Health Services between 1999 and 2002: A Growing Digital Divide

Objective: To evaluate the patterns of e-Health use over a four-year period and the characteristics of users. Design: Longitudinal, population-based study (1999–2002) of members of a prepaid integrated delivery system. Available e-Health services included ordering prescription drug refills, scheduling appointments, and asking medical questions. Measurements: Rates of known access to e-Health services, and of e-Health use each quarter. Results: The number of members with known e-Health access increased from 51,336 (1.6%) in 1999 to 324,522 (9.3%), in 2002. The percentage of households in which at least one person in the household had access increased from 2.7% to 14.1%. Among the subjects with known access, the percentage of subjects that used e-Health at least once increased from 25.7% in 1999 to 36.2% in 2002. In the multivariate analysis, subjects who had a low expected clinical need, were nonwhite, or lived in low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods were less likely to have used e-Health services in 2002. Disparities by race/ethnicity and SES persisted after controlling for access to e-Health and widened over time. Conclusion: Access to and use of e-Health services are growing rapidly. Use of these services appears to be greatest among persons with more medical need. The majority of subjects, however, do not use any e-Health services. More research is needed to determine potential reasons for disparities in e-Health use by race/ethnicity and SES as well as the implications of these disparities on clinical outcomes.
Compressive Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Composite Materials

Results of an experimental and analytical investigation of the compressive strength of unidirectional boron-epoxy composite material are presented. Observation of fiber coordinates in a boron-epoxy composite indicates that the fibers contain initial curvature. Combined axial compression and torsion tests were conducted on boron-epoxy tubes and it was shown that the shear modulus is a function of axial compressive stress. An analytical model which includes initial curvature in the fibers and permits an estimate of the effect of curvature on compressive strength is proposed. Two modes of failure which may result from the application of axial compressive stress are analyzed - delamination and shear instability. Based on tests and analysis, failure of boron-epoxy under axial compressive load is due to shear instability.
The Power of Institutions State and Interest Group Activity in the European Union

This article investigates the ways in which government activity, or demand-side forces, influence interest mobilization and formal inclusion in the policy-making process in the European Union. Draw...
Effect of High Dietary Copper on Gizzard Integrity of the Chick

Abstract Six experiments were conducted with male broiler chicks kept in battery brooders to investigate the effects of feeding diets high in copper on the integrity of the gizzard lining. Conventional and corn starch-soy basal diets were used. Slight improvements in body weight gain and/or feed efficiency were observed when the diets were supplemented with 250 p.p.m. copper as CuSO4 · 5H2O, but higher levels (500 to 1000 p.p.m.) depressed growth and decreased feed efficiency. Little or no gizzard erosion was seen in birds fed the practical ration without added copper. Gizzard erosion was observed with 250 p.p.m. copper and the severity of the condition increased with higher levels. With the same level of copper supplementation, severity of gizzard erosion was greater when chicks were fed the corn starch-soy diet than when fed the practical diet. Adding 0.5 p.p.m. selenium to the practical diet containing 1000 p.p.m. copper slightly improved the appearance of the gizzard lining, although the subjective scoring index was significantly (P
The Causes of War

Armed conflict is a recurrent and destructive feature of international politics. Because citizens are eager to avoid it and policy makers are keen to anticipate it, war has long been studied by philosophers. Today, war is a central concern of contemporary international-relations scholars. To understand the causes of war, scholars must first define war, then establish a universe of actors or conflicts in which both war and peace are possible. Next, they must collect data on the incidence of war in the entire universe of cases over a particular period of time, a random sample of relevant cases, a number of representative cases, or a set of cases relevant to independent variables in the theories they are testing. Finally, scholars must use this data to construct quantitative and qualitative tests of hypotheses about why actors fight instead of resolving their differences in other ways and, in particular, why actors initiate wars by launching the first attack.
The Long, Lingering Shadow: Slavery, Race, and Law in the American Hemisphere (Introduction)

This essay is the introduction to the recently published book, The Long, Lingering Shadow: Slavery, Race , and Law in the American Hemisphere (University of Georgia Press, 2013). Students of American history know of the law’s critical role in developing a system of racial hierarchy in the United States. The Long, Lingering Shadow shows that this history is best appreciated in a comparative perspective. The volume looks at the parallel legal histories of race relations in the United States, Brazil, and Spanish America. It takes the reader on a journey that begins with the origins of New World slavery in colonial Latin America and continues on to the current debates and litigation over affirmative action in Brazil and the United States. The Long, Lingering Shadow also examines contemporary struggles against racial discrimination and Afro-Latin invisibility in the Spanish-speaking nations of the hemisphere.Ranging across such topics as slavery, emancipation, scientific racism, immigration policies, racial classifications, and legal processes, The Long, Lingering Shadow unravels a complex odyssey. By the eve of the Civil War, the slave system in the United States was rooted in a legal and cultural foundation of racial exclusion unmatched in the Western Hemisphere. That system’s legacy would later be echoed in Jim Crow, the practice of legally mandated segregation. Jim Crow in turn caused leading Latin Americans to regard their nations as models of racial equality because their laws did not mandate racial discrimination — a belief that masked very real patterns of racism and racial exclusion throughout the Americas. And yet, as The Long, Lingering Shadow shows, if the United States has had a history of more-rigid racial exclusion, since the Second World War it has also had a more thorough civil rights revolution, with significant legal victories over racial discrimination. The Long, Lingering Shadow explores this remarkable transformation and shows how it is now inspiring civil rights activists throughout the Americas.
The p-channel a-Si:H Thin Film Transistor with Plasma Etched Copper Electrodes

P-channel thin film transistors (TFTs) with a copper (Cu) gate, source, and drain electrodes, prepared by a novel plasma etching process, have been fabricated and studied. The p-channel TFT characteristics are similar to those of the p-channel TFT with Mo electrodes. The influence of the channel length on the TFT characteristics, such as mobility, threshold voltage, and on-off current ratio, was examined. In spite of its low mobility, good device characteristics, such as ohmic contacts, were obtained. Most of the TFT characteristics, except the threshold voltage, were not affected by an extended high-temperature annealing step. The increase of the threshold voltage was probably due to the lack of a diffusion barrier between the gate Cu and the gate SiNx layer.
LAN-oriented Vulnerability Monitoring and Managment System

According to the disadvantages of traditional vulnerability management,the paper brings forward a new system for vulnerability monitoring and management,which can find vulnerabilities in time and remind the manager of patching. The paper first introduces the system structure,and then discusses the key technologies from the aspects of determining monitoring information, maintaining safety information bank,and vulnerability detection,and at last presents a DAG-based algorithm for vulnerability detection.
Analysis on the effect of microvascular decompression on trigeminal neuralgia

Objective To explore the operative effect of microvascular decompression (MVD) on idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) and to summarize the management techniques of the different types of offending vessels.Methods The clinical data of 125 patients with ITN undergoing MVD were analyzed retrospectively. Operative technique and the efficacy were evaluated.Results The offending vessels which were responsible for ITN were identified at root exit zone (REZ) in 124 cases (99.2%).The offending vessels responsible for the compression of trigeminal nerves mostly came from the superior cerebellar artery (SCA) (68%,85 cases) and anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) (30.4%,38 cases).A total of 96.8% offending vessels were arteries. The main trunk or tributaries of superior petrosal vein contacting with trigeminal nerve or compressing it occurred in 11 cases (8.8%).All patients got the initial aeute pain relief and the cure rate of 96.8%.Conclusion MVD is a safe,microinvasive and effective surgical modality for ITN.The improvement of operative technique is beneficial to improve the operative effects and reduce the complications of MVD.
Reoperative surgery in calves with a total artificial heart

Two surgical techniques have been developed in our laboratory to deal with identifiable problems in long-term artificial heart experiments. A right throacotomy is used to deal with problems such as extensive bleeding, which occur in the immediate postoperative stage of the experiment, while a left thoracotomy is used in cases in which the original implantation is preceded by more than one week, since extensive adhesions complicate the right thoracotomy at that stage. Pulmonary problems have been eliminated as primary cause of difficulties after reoperation, but infection remains a serious problem.
Laboratory Data Analysis System: Section II—Analytic Error Limits

A technic using analytic error limits which is able to decrease the usual population range of normal values is described. The process originates from a study of human within-day and between-day variability and applies the appropriate data to a comparison of subject results. The process indicates individual variability and requires at least two patient samples for calculation. The determination is used as an initial screening process for a Laboratory Data Analysis System .
What if There Is No Authority

If there is no authority, does it follow that we ought to abolish all governments? No. The absence of authority means, roughly, that individuals are not obligated to obey the law merely because it is the law and/or that agents of the state are not entitled to coerce others merely because they are agents of the state. There might still be good reasons to obey most laws, and agents of the state might still have adequate reasons for engaging in enough coercive action to maintain a state. If the arguments of the preceding chapters are correct, the circumstances and purposes that would justify coercion on the part of the state are just the circumstances and purposes that would justify coercion on the part of private agents. It remains to be seen whether some organizations are justified in engaging in enough statelike activities to qualify as states. In the terminology of contemporary political philosophy, I have so far defended philosophical anarchism (the view that there are no political obligations), but I have yet to defend political anarchism (the view that government should be abolished).1
Characterization and Metabolism of Nuclear Viral RNA Synthesized 18 Hours after Infection with Adenovirus 2

Nuclear viral RNA was studied in cultured human cells (KB) productively infected with adenovirus type 2. The nuclear RNA synthesized beginning 18 hours after infection was at least 50% virus specified. Only 10% of the nuclear RNA bound to poly U filters. More than half of newly synthesized nuclear viral RNA sedimented as greater than 28S, whereas cytoplasmic viral mRNA is of the size range 10S–28S. Nuclear RNA greater than 28S bound to poly U filters 5%, and nuclear RNA in the size range 10S–28S bound nearly 20%.
Reaeration and Velocity Prediction for Small Streams

The radioactive tracer technique employing dye, krypton-85 and tritium was utilized for the determination of reaeration and velocity characteristics of small streams. Based on work conducted over a 3-yr period, models are developed to predict reaeration coefficient and velocity associated with a particular stream reach as a function of its slope and specific discharge (stream discharge per unit drainage basin area). Reaeration at dams is predicted as a function of the height of fall over the dam. These concepts have been incorporated into a general computer model for prediction of stream dissolved oxygen profiles and an example application is presented.
PO31FRACTAL ANALYSIS OF PREOPERATIVE IMAGING AS A TOOL FOR PREDICTING PROGNOSIS IN GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORMAE – PRELIMINARY RESULTS

INTRODUCTION: The fractal analysis objectively quantifies the geometric complexity of structures in unitless measure index. We hypothesise it may reflect the degree of malignancy in glioblastoma multiformae (GBM). METHOD: A group of 33 patients with postoperative diagnosis of GBM were retrospectively enrolled into the study. Preoperative brain MR (T1-weighted post-gadolinium) were processed and analyzed to determine the average and maximum fractal dimension (FD and FDmax) of the inner and outer surface of the contrast enhancing part of the tumour. Box-count method and ImageJ 1.49 software were used. Corellations between fractal dimensions and: 1) demographics; 2) immunohistochemical characteristics; 3) progression free (PFS) and overal survival (OS); 4) tumour volume were determined by mean of nonparametric tests. RESULTS: There were 8 women and 25 men in the study group, mean age was 67 ± 10 years. Fractal analysis was possible to be perfomed in all cases with good inter-observer reproducibility (Kappa >0.80). The median FD was 1.2550 (IQR 0.0897) and FDmax 1.3848 (IQR 0.1057). There was a statisticaly significant Spearman Rank correlation between fractal dimensions and Ki-67 index (-0.44 and -0.52 for FD and FDmax respectively). Both FD and FDmax were significantly (Fi2; p < 0.05) correlated with: age, tumor volume, PFS, OS, and Phosphohistone-H3 index but not with the expression of neurofilaments, p53, GFAP, EGFR and IDH-1. CONCLUSION: Fractal analysis of the preoperative MR images may pottentially act as an adjunct in determing the degree of malignancy and prognosis in GBM. Further studies on a wider cohort of patients are warranted.
Natural fibre composites (NFCs) for construction and automotive industries

Abstract This chapter focuses on natural fibre composites (NFCs) in which the matrix materials are polymeric resins. NFCs are composite materials comprising at least one major component derived from a renewable biological origin. Fundamentals of NFC materials are discussed in terms of reinforcement preforms, matrix resins, composite manufacturing techniques, characterization and quality assurance. Since NFC material based on renewable resources can provide viable low-cost structural components and eco-friendly alternatives to conventional structural materials for automotive and construction applications, the newly emerging bio-based structural composite materials for construction and automotive industry application are also considered. In this second edition, the fracture toughness enhanced NFCs by interlaminar reinforcement techniques for these structural applications are discussed.
A closed-loop LTI SISO system with an unstable open-loop plant can be stabilized for delays larger than its theoretical delay-margin upper bound

In a single-input single-output (SISO) linear time-invariant (LTI) feedback control setting with a loop delay Τ, unstable poles of the finite-dimensional plant being controlled pose significant limitation on the delay margin Τ of the closed loop system. An analytical study recently published derived conditions on the upper-bound Τ* of this delay margin for certain unstable plant transfer functions; a derivation that holds independent of proper finite-dimensional stable controllers that can be proposed [1]. This inherent limitation posed by the plant unstable poles therefore does not allow stabilizing the loop for a given delay value Τ′ > Τ* no matter what the controller is. A remedy to this as demonstrated in this article as the main contribution is to pursue a numerical optimization scheme to design two disjoint stable delay intervals [0, h 1 ) and (h 2 , h 3 ) with 0 1 2 3 , whereby it is possible to design h 2 and h 3 such that Τ ∈ (h 2 ; h 3 ) and hence the closed-loop can be made stable for Τ = Τ′ > Τ*.
Insuring well-being ? buyer's remorse and peace of mind effects from insurance

This paper estimates the causal effects of index insurance coverage on subjective well-being among livestock herders in southern Ethiopia. The randomization of incentives to purchase index-based livestock insurance and three rounds of panel data are exploited to separately identify ex ante welfare gains from insurance that reduces risk exposure and ex post buyer's remorse effects that may arise after the resolution of uncertainty. Insurance coverage currently in force generates subjective well-being gains that are significantly higher than the buyer's remorse effect of an insurance that lapsed without paying out. Given the temporal correlation in insurance purchase propensity, failure to control for potential buyer's remorse effects can bias downward estimates of welfare gains from current insurance coverage.
Social Studies, Common Core, and the Threat to Constructivist Education

Social studies is marginalized by Common Core and the accompanying high-stakes standardized testing. At its worst, in the Common Core Standards’ pursuit of de-textualized teaching and learning, it undermines the very essence of social studies education and embraces learning in the absence of understanding; it removes substance from learning, raising a generation of students with limited exposure to not only the historical events of our nation but also the key tenets of citizenship. Three cases of outstanding constructivist teaching are presented to demonstrate the power and potential of constructivism to empower and engage students as active members of our democracy.
Adaptive search pattern for fast motion estimation in HD video

Motion estimation consumes the major portion of time and power in both video compression standards — HEVC and H.264. This paper presents a Fast Motion Estimation algorithm, which learns the best search pattern per video scene. That maximizes the quality of the Motion Vectors, while preserving the speed of Fast Motion Estimation without any extra memory usage. The algorithm is not specific to HEVC or H.264 and thus can be used by either one.
Cyber resilience and integrity self-awareness of mobile autonomous systems

Mission objectives for cyber systems operating in a tactical or deployed operational environment must address not only security but also resilience. A cyber resilient architecture is engineered for completing mission objectives in the “face of persistent, stealthy, and sophisticated attacks of cyber resources (MITRE, 2011)”. Ever evolving adversaries drive the need for system architectures to protect cyber resources but enable operations during an attack to achieve mission objectives. Similar to cyber security, resilience must be engineered into all layers of system architecture at inception, baking protections for security and redundancies for resilience through all layers of the system architecture.
Propagation of Guided Elastic Waves in Orthotropic Plates

Numerical studies of wave propagation in free anisotropic plates were conducted at Stanford University in the early 70’s [1,2], followed by a flurry of related work. Yet, this subject has not been completely understood. Recent years, however, have seen greatly increased interests in the influence of the anisotropy of composites and textured metal plates on Lamb wave propagation characteristics. This paper presents the basic theory for the propagation of guided elastic waves in orthotropic plates. Included are both numerical results and analytical or semianalytical expressions for the generalized Rayleigh-Lamb dispersion equations. As examples, comparisons are made of the dispersion curves for isotropic, weakly orthotropic, and strongly orthotropic plates with emphasis on the behavior of the zeroth order symmetric, antisymmetric, and horizontally polarized sheer modes.
Nature of the Processes of and Factors Influencing Production of T3s from T4

A systematic examination of the mechanism of the outer ring or 5′-mono-deiodination of T4 to T3 in vitro started with the studies of Albright, Larson, and their co-workers (Albright et al. 1954; Albright and Larson 1959) who demonstrated clear evidence for the conversion in kidney slices and suggested that the process is enzymic in nature. However, these observations stimulated limited interest in the area, probably because the existence of conversion T4 to T3 in vivo was questioned (Lassiter and Stanbury 1958). After redemonstration of the process in man (Braverman et al. 1970), there has been an impressive resurgence of interest in the in vitro studies.
Multidisciplinary Approaches: Workshop Report

It may seem almost axiomatic to state that a multidisciplinary approach to the study of male-mediated developmental toxicity (or other research topics) is necessary, or useful, or desirable, much as we routinely state that “further research is needed” in the conclusions of scientific papers. On a practical level, however, it is arguable that little consideration has been given to questions such as: Why and in what situations are multidisciplinary approaches needed or advantageous? What are the major obstacles to putting such approaches into effect? What recommendations can be made to improve the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches? In an attempt to focus on these questions, the group drew extensively on individual experiences in a number of different disciplines, as well as on the collective experience of participants at this multidisciplinary conference.
Ending Preventable Suffering: Ethics and Social Change

Working toward ending needless suffering is both a personal value and a public good. It offers hope to those who suffer now or will in the future; it supports those who devote themselves to humanitarian work or otherwise empathize with sufferers. After reviewing ethical theories, it becomes clear that multiple theories are needed to apply the principle of moral responsibility to relieve suffering. Then, strategies are summarized for the relief of suffering through individual and collective action. A classification of personal humanitarian action using the concept of compassionate caring is visually displayed, and recommendations made for incorporating the relief of suffering more fully into social policy for welfare and development programs. Suggestions are offered for ongoing research on the quality of life integrating it with the concept of suffering. The chapter concludes with a summary of several contentious issues likely to underscore future controversies involving suffering and its relief, e.g., suffering versus obligation to sustain life, protection from addiction, and suffering relief versus economic relief. A successful future, in large part, depends upon global institutions’ success in recognizing and containing demographic and environmental crises in order to prevent massive rises in future human suffering.
Adolescent Cognitive Aptitudes and Later-in-Life Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders

Importance Low early-life cognitive ability is a potential early marker of dementia risk in later life. Previous studies use only global measures of general intelligence and/or study this relationship in gender-specific samples. The contribution of early-life performance on specific cognitive abilities, such as language, reasoning, and visualization aptitudes, to indicating future dementia risk is unknown. Objectives To investigate the association between adolescent cognitive ability and Medicare-recorded Alzheimer disease and related disorders (ADRD) using both general and specific measures of cognitive ability and to explore these associations separately in men and women. Design, Setting, and Participants Population-based cohort study from the Project Talent–Medicare linked data set, a linkage of adolescent sociobehavioral data collected from high school students in 1960 to participants’ 2012 to 2013 Medicare Claims and expenditures data. The association between adolescent cognitive ability and risk of ADRD in later life was assessed in a diverse sample of 43 014 men and 42 749 women aged 66 to 73 years using a series of logistic regressions stratified by sex, accounting for demographic characteristics, adolescent socioeconomic status, and regional effects. Data analysis was conducted from November 2017 to March 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures Presence of Medicare-reported ADRD. Results Overall, 1239 men (2.9%) and 1416 women (3.3%) developed ADRD. Lower mechanical reasoning was associated with increased odds of ADRD in men (odds ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.05-1.29), and lower memory for words in adolescence was associated with increased odds of ADRD in women (odds ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.05-1.28). Lower performance on several other language, reasoning, visualization, and mathematic aptitudes in adolescence showed prominent, but weaker, associations with odds of ADRD. Conclusions and Relevance This work contributes to the understanding of early-life origins of ADRD risk. The results suggest specific measures of cognitive ability may contribute to very early identification of at-risk subgroups who may benefit from prevention or intervention efforts.
Spectrum License Design, Sharing, and Exclusion Rights

The FCC is in the midst of a rulemaking to create a novel tripartite sharing regime in the 3.5GHz band. This has the potential to be a watershed event in the decades long transition toward more flexible and dynamic, market-based spectrum management. As part of this proceeding, Lehr (2014b) proposed interpreting commercial licenses to protected access as options contracts that explicitly separated the interference protection and exclusion rights as a way to endogenize market-based incentives to share spectrum. This paper builds on Lehr (2014b) by setting forth the larger vision implicit in the earlier proposal and expanding on the case for separating exclusion and interference protection rights. This separation will enable a licensing regime that will support more dynamic and granular assignment of access rights; is more consistent with the future of radio networks and spectrum utilization; and will expand the economic tools available to regulators for incentivizing efficient spectrum usage, which necessarily includes sharing spectrum more intensively.
Isolated surgical tricuspid repair versus replacement: meta-analysis of 15 069 patients

Objectives Tricuspid valve disease is increasingly encountered, but surgery is rarely performed in isolation, in part because of a reported higher operative risk than other single-valve operations. Although guidelines recommend valve repair, there is sparse literature for the optimal surgical approach in isolated tricuspid valve disease. We performed a meta-analysis examining outcomes of isolated tricuspid valve repair versus replacement. Methods We searched Pubmed, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane from January 1980 to June 2019 for studies reporting outcomes of both isolated tricuspid valve repair and replacement, excluding congenital tricuspid aetiologies. Data were extracted and pooled using random-effects models and Review Manager 5.3 software. Results There were 811 article abstracts screened, from which 52 full-text articles reviewed and 16 studies included, totalling 6808 repairs and 8261 replacements. Mean age ranged from 36 to 68 years and females made up 24%–92% of these studies. Pooled operative mortality rates and odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for isolated tricuspid repair and replacement surgery were 8.4% vs 9.9%, 0.80 (0.64 to 1.00). Tricuspid repair was also associated with lower in-hospital acute renal failure 12.4% vs 15.6%, 0.82 (0.72 to 0.93) and pacemaker implantation 9.4% vs 21.0%, 0.37 (0.24 to 0.58), but higher stroke rate 1.5% vs 0.9%, 1.63 (1.10 to 2.41). There were no differences in rates of prolonged ventilation, mediastinitis, return to operating room or late mortality. Conclusion Isolated tricuspid valve repair was associated with significantly reduced in-hospital mortality, renal failure and pacemaker implantation compared with replacement and is therefore recommended where feasible for isolated tricuspid valve disease, although its higher stroke rate warrants further research.
Fast Algorithms for Finding O(Congestion + Dilation) Packet Routing Schedules

(c+d) steps using constant-size queues, where c is the congestion of the paths in the network, and d is the length of the longest path. The proof, however, used the Lovasz Local Lemma and was not constructive. In this paper, we show how to find such a schedule in time, with probability , for any positive constant β, where is the sum of the lengths of the paths taken by the packets in the network, and m is the number of edges used by some packet in the network. We also show how to parallelize the algorithm so that it runs in NC. The method that we use to construct the schedules is based on the algorithmic form of the Lovasz Local Lemma discovered by Beck.