cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A real-space stochastic density matrix approach for density functional electronic structure

The recent development of real-space grid methods has led to more efficient, accurate, and adaptable approaches for large-scale electrostatics and density functional electronic structure modeling. With the incorporation of multiscale techniques, linear-scaling real-space solvers are possible for density functional problems if localized orbitals are used to represent the Kohn–Sham energy functional. These methods still suffer from high computational and storage overheads, however, due to extensive matrix operations related to the underlying wave function grid representation. In this paper, an alternative stochastic method is outlined that aims to solve directly for the one-electron density matrix in real space. In order to illustrate aspects of the method, model calculations are performed for simple one-dimensional problems that display some features of the more general problem, such as spatial nodes in the density matrix. This orbital-free approach may prove helpful considering a future involving increasingly parallel computing architectures. Its primary advantage is the near-locality of the random walks, allowing for simultaneous updates of the density matrix in different regions of space partitioned across the processors. In addition, it allows for testing and enforcement of the particle number and idempotency constraints through stabilization of a Feynman–Kac functional integral as opposed to the extensive matrix operations in traditional approaches.
A Revised Interpersonal Circumplex Inventory of Children's Social Goals

Motivational factors such as social goals are important features of developing social adjustment, and thus researchers studying social adjustment need psychometrically sound measures of social goals. A valid measure of social goals for English-speaking youth is lacking. Such a measure would increase understanding of children's social adjustment and allow for testing developmental models of social goals and interpersonal functioning. The authors' aim was to revise the Interpersonal Goals Inventory for Children (IGI-C) for an English-speaking sample and examine its validity. The revised IGI-C (IGI-CR) fit a circumplex model and performed as expected with most external criterion variables examined. In addition, some differences were observed across males and females, offering insights into gender differences in social goals. Results support the IGI-CR as a sound measure.
Scalable and deterministic key agreement for large scale networks

Key agreement is a central problem to build up secure infrastructures for networks. Public key technology may not be suitable in many networks of low-end devices, such as ad hoc networks and sensor networks, because of its computation inefficiency and the lack of central authorities in those distributed scenarios. Conventional distributed symmetric key agreement schemes lack scalability due to their large memory cost (O(N), where N is the total number of nodes), and their probabilistic nature cannot ensure key agreement between every pair of nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel symmetric key agreement scheme, which is scalable for large scale networks with very small memory cost per node. A t-degree (k+1)-variate symmetric polynomial is used to achieve key agreement between nodes. The memory cost per node for a network of N nodes is reduced to around k+1radic(k(k+1)!/2) kradicN, where k ges 1. Our scheme is also deterministic in that every pair of nodes can establish a shared key.
Computational study of the role of gas-phase oxidation in CW laser ablation of Al target in an external supersonic air flow

Vapor expansion from Al target irradiated by a continuous wave laser into a supersonic external air flow is investigated in kinetic simulations performed for values of pressure in the external flow ranging from 50 Pa to 10000 Pa. The direct simulation Monte Carlo method enhanced with a simplified description of Al vapor burning in air is used in the simulations. The results of the simulations reveal a significant effect of the external gas pressure on the flow structures and the mechanisms of the alumina and oxygen transport to the target surface. At small values of pressure, the transport of both alumina and oxygen is controlled by diffusion and the formation of alumina film on the surface of the laser spot is dominated by the direct sedimentation of alumina from the gas flow. In this regime, the flux of oxygen to the laser spot is by an order of magnitude smaller than that of alumina. At higher values of pressure, the diffusion cannot directly deliver oxygen and alumina to the surface of the laser spot, but the circulating flow generated upstream the spot can effectively trap alumina formed in the flame zone and deposit it to the target surface. In this regime, the likely mechanism of the alumina film formation within the spot is the heterogeneous oxidation and growth of the film from the upstream edge of the spot in the downstream direction.
Phytochemical analysis and In vitro antioxidant acitivity of hydroalcoholic seed extract of Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f.

Objective To evaluate the phytochemical constituents and the antioxidant activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Nymphaea nouchali seed locally prescribed as a diet for diabetes mellitus.
The multimedia fax-MIME gateway

New standards may help bridge the rapidly growing communities of the Internet and facsimile machine users. One of these is the Internet standard proposed in July 1992 which provides enhanced capabilities for e-mail. This new standard, Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), lets users exchange multiple-media mail messages over the Internet. The fax-MIME gateway takes advantage of these developments to offer fax services to Internet users and Internet services to multimedia fax users. >
Role of human milk in extremely low birth weight infants’ risk of necrotizing enterocolitis or death

To determine the association between human milk (HM) intake and risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) or death among infants 401 to 1000 g birth weight. Analysis of 1272 infants in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Network Glutamine Trial was performed to determine if increasing HM intake was associated with decreased risk of NEC or death. HM intake was defined as the proportion of HM to total intake, to enteral intake and total volume over the first 14 days. Known NEC risk factors were included as covariates in Cox proportional hazard analyses for duration of survival time free of NEC. Among study infants, 13.6% died or developed NEC after 14 days. The likelihood of NEC or death after 14 days was decreased by a factor of 0.83 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.72, 0.96) for each 10% increase in the proportion of total intake as HM. Each 100 ml kg−1 increase in HM intake during the first 14 days was associated with decreased risk of NEC or death (hazard ratio, HR 0.87 (95% CI 0.77, 0.97)). There appeared to be a trend towards a decreased risk of NEC or death among infants who received 100% HM as a proportion to total enteral intake (HM plus formula), although this finding was not statistically significant (HR 0.85 (95% CI 0.60, 1.19)). These data suggest a dose-related association of HM feeding with a reduction of risk of NEC or death after the first 2 weeks of life among extremely low birth weight infants.
Statistical estimation of multiple faults in aircraft gas turbine engines

This article presents estimation of multiple faults in aircraft gas-turbine engines, based on a statistical pattern recognition tool called symbolic dynamic filtering. The underlying con- cept is formulated by statistical analysis of evidences to estimate anomalies (i.e. deviations from the nominal values) in multiple critical parameters of the engine system; it also presents a framework for sensor information fusion. The fault estimation algorithm is validated on a numer- ical simulation test-bed that is built upon the NASA C-MAPSS model of a generic commercial aircraft engine.
Mapping stewardship networks in urban ecosystems

Collaboration is often promoted as an effective strategy for conservation and natural resource management. Collaboration and communication can be particularly important—but challenging—in cities where there are many diverse stakeholders. However, there is little information about the factors that increase social interactions in urban stewardship networks. We used social network analysis to examine the extent of collaboration and patterns in the flow of information, ideas, and funding among stakeholders in an industrial urban ecosystem. Organizations associated with a regional conservation alliance (Chicago Wilderness) had more connections than other organizations. Geographic proximity, of both office locations and shared field sites, also increased interactions. All interaction types were correlated with each other, suggesting that one form of interaction may lead to additional connections. Despite spanning a large geographic area and incorporating many diverse organizations, the network we evaluated appeared to be remarkably well connected and shows great promise for successful conservation outcomes. Our approach can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses in other collaborative stewardship efforts and uncover key actions that may improve conservation in urban areas.
A combined magnetic circular dichroism and density functional theory approach for the elucidation of electronic structure and bonding in three- and four-coordinate iron(II)–N-heterocyclic carbene complexes

Iron salts and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands is a highly effective combination in catalysis, with observed catalytic activities being highly dependent on the nature of the NHC ligand. Detailed spectroscopic and electronic structure studies have been performed on both three- and four-coordinate iron(II)–NHC complexes using a combined magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and density functional theory (DFT) approach that provide detailed insight into the relative ligation properties of NHCs compared to traditional phosphine and amine ligands as well as the effects of NHC backbone structural variations on iron(II)–NHC bonding. Near-infrared MCD studies indicate that 10Dq(Td) for (NHC)2FeCl2 complexes is intermediate between those for comparable amine and phosphine complexes, demonstrating that such iron(II)–NHC and iron(II)–phosphine complexes are not simply analogues of one another. Theoretical studies including charge decomposition analysis indicate that the NHC ligands are slightly stronger donor ligands than phosphines but also result in significant weakening of the Fe–Cl bonds compared to phosphine and amine ligands. The net result is significant differences in the d orbital energies in four-coordinate (NHC)2FeCl2 complexes relative to the comparable phosphine complexes, where such electronic structure differences are likely a significant contributing factor to the differing catalytic performances observed with these ligands. Furthermore, Mossbauer, MCD and DFT studies of the effects of NHC backbone structure variations (i.e. saturated, unsaturated, chlorinated) on iron–NHC bonding and electronic structure in both three- and four-coordinate iron(II)–NHC complexes indicate only small differences as a function of backbone structure, that are likely amplified at lower oxidation states of iron due to the resulting decrease in the energy separation between the occupied iron d orbitals and the unoccupied NHC π* orbitals.
Analysis of the PLL jitter due to power/ground and substrate noise

Phase-locked loops (PLL) in radio-frequency (RF) and mixed analog-digital integrated circuits (ICs) experience substrate coupling due to the simultaneous circuit switching and power/ground (P/G) noise which translate to a timing jitter. In this paper. an analysis of the PLL timing jitter due to substrate noise resulting from P/G noise and large-signal switching is presented. A general comprehensive stochastic model of the substrate and P/G noise sources in very large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits is proposed. This is followed by calculation of the phase noise of the constituent voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in terms of the statistical properties of substrate and P/G noise. The PLL timing jitter is then predicted in response to the VCO phase noise. Our mathematical method is utilized to study the jitter-induced P/G noise in a CMOS PLL, which is designed and simulated in a 0.25-/spl mu/m standard CMOS process. A comparison between the results obtained by our mathematical model and those obtained by HSPICE simulation prove the accuracy of the predicted model.
The 24‐hour pattern of serum TSH in patients with endogenous depression

The 24-h pattern of serum thyrotropin (TSH) has been studied using hourly blood-sampling in four patients with severe endogenous depression. All patients showed a pattern similar to that of normal subjects, with lowest levels of serum TSH between 0900 and 2000 h and highest levels between 2100 and 0800 h. A phaseshift of the TSH rhythm can therefore not account for our previous finding of a significant negative correlation between severity of endogenous depression and night increase in serum TSH measured as the difference between the values at 2400 and 1400 h.
Pelvic structure and function at 1 month compared to 7 months by dynamic magnetic resonance after vaginal birth

Objective We sought to determine whether changes exist in location and movement of pelvic floor structures at 1 and 7 months postpartum. Study Design Midsagittal magnetic resonance images from 13 primiparous women with birth events associated with levator ani damage at early (∼1 month) and late (∼7 months) postpartum time points were analyzed. Pelvic floor structure locations at rest and displacements from rest to maximum Kegel and Valsalva were determined. Urogenital and levator hiatus diameters were measured as well. Results The perineal body was 7.1 mm and anal verge 7.9 mm higher at 7 months postpartum ( P = .003). Both the urogenital and levator hiatus diameters were smaller at 7 months ( P Conclusion Resting locations of the perineal body and anal verge are higher at 7 months postpartum, but the amount of movement during Kegel or Valsalva does not change.
Pathogenesis of anemia in a case of nontropical sprue; study made using radioactively labeled vitamin B12 and radiochromium.

Summary In a case of nontropical sprue encountered at the Mayo Clinic the outstanding clinical manifestations were anemia and skeletal pains secondary to osteomalacia. Hematologic studies revealed severe hypochromic microcytic anemia with scattered macrocytes. The vitamin B 12 -cobalt 60 tracer tests showed greatly decreased absorption of vitamin B 12 . Radiochromium studies demonstrated that the erythrocyte survival was normal but that the patient episodically lost a significant amount of blood from the gastrointestinal tract, probably from internal hemorrhoids. The depletion of iron in the body, evidenced by hypochromic anemia and low concentration of iron in the serum, was shown to be due, at least partially, to gastrointestinal bleeding with hemorrhoids as the possible source. Deficient iron absorption, which is common in idiopathic steatorrhea, 10 probably was a factor in the pathogenesis of the patient's anemia. In combination with vitamin B 12 therapy the parenteral administration of iron produced a satisfactory reticulocyte response and apparently helped to maintain a hematologic remission originally established with the aid of blood transfusions.
Cellular and molecular physiology of alcohol actions in the nervous system.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the physiological actions of alcohol in the nervous system and discusses the possible cellular and molecular basis of alcohol's behavioral actions. The chapter focuses on the acute neuronal actions of alcohol, as detected by neurophysiological techniques. The approach to elucidating the cellular actions of alcohol in the nervous system investigates the effects of ethanol on the spike firing of neurons in different regions of the nervous system. Such investigations have revealed a plethora of results. Ethanol has been observed to increase or decrease, have biphasic effects on, or have no effect on neuronal discharge in different brain regions. In several brain regions, certain general patterns of ethanol effects have emerged, with either inhibition or excitation of neuronal firing predominating. On the other hand, in some brain regions, different effects of ethanol administration is observed on the firing of a given neuronal type dependent upon such factors as the preparation used, the presence or absence of anesthetic, the type of anesthetic used, and the method of ethanol administration. This diversity suggests that a variety of different factors may influence the effect of ethanol on neuronal discharge. Thus, to elucidate the cellular mechanisms of ethanol's action, it is necessary to minimize the variables that impinge upon neuronal function.
It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got Musicality: A Music-First Method for Teaching Historically Rooted Jazz Dance

This article proposes a method for teaching jazz dance technique according to music concepts and prioritizing deep embodiment of music. This method addresses what can be seen as a disconnect betwee...
Brief report on ecological momentary assessment: everyday states predict HIV prevention behaviors

Prevention behaviors help persons living with HIV (PLWH) to avoid transmitting HIV, and psychological variables have been found to predict HIV prevention behaviors. These variables have typically been measured using retrospective questionnaires about average psychological states over a period of time, which are likely to be biased by selective recall and interpretation. Measuring the same variables as momentary states, in the day-to-day context where they actually occur, may reveal different relationships to behavior. 21 PLWH completed daily surveys about momentary states and prevention behaviors. Brief, validated measures were used to assess control beliefs, mood, stress, coping, social support, stigma, knowledge, and motivation. We used multilevel models to predict prevention behaviors from momentary states the previous day, while controlling for the effect of multiple observations from the same person over time. Participants reported a moderate overall level of HIV prevention behaviors during the 6-month study. Although lapses in prevention were infrequent, there was room for improvement. Control beliefs, mood, and motivation had significant prospective effects on HIV prevention behaviors, rs = 0.07−0.21. Stress and coping had effects approaching significance. Some momentary states predicted prevention behaviors, providing partial support for the motivational model. This finding supports past research showing effects of momentary states on behavior, and advances the science by testing multiple predictors. High within-sample diversity strengthened generalizability, but the overall sample size was small and the findings require replication. Future research should continue to examine the everyday experiences of PLWH as influences on their behavior.
Creating Competition Policy for Transition Economies

This is an introduction to a symposium on Creating Competition for Transition Economies. This article provides an overview of the topic, and also briefly introduces the authors of the articles in the symposium; William Kovacic, Eleanor Fox, Spencer Weber Waller, Malcolm Coate, and Armando Rodriguez.
Subcutaneous Fat Thickness Is Associated With Early Reoperation and Infection After Total Knee Arthroplasty in Morbidly Obese Patients.

Abstract Background Morbid obesity has been associated with increased complications after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but previous studies have failed to take factors such as body composition and fat distribution into consideration. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the interobservable and intraobservable reliabilities of measuring anterior knee subcutaneous fat thickness on lateral knee radiographs and (2) determine if these measurements associate with early complications in patients with morbid obesity. Methods Using a retrospective case-control analysis, we reviewed 1689 primary TKAs performed in morbidly obese patients at our institution from 1995 to 2012. All patients (n = 58) who required reoperation for wound complication or infection within 90 days were compared to a matched cohort of morbidly obese patients who did not require early reoperation. Distances from patella skin (prepatellar thickness) and tibial tubercle skin (pretubercular thickness) were measured on routine lateral knee radiographs and associated with outcomes. Results Intraobserver and interobserver reliabilities were excellent for both measurements. Knees in the reoperation group had significantly greater prepatellar ( P = .0001) and pretubercular ( P = .0006) soft tissue thickness. Prepatellar thickness ≥15 mm and pretubercular thickness ≥25 mm increased the risk of early reoperation by 2.0× ( P = .0003) and 1.6× ( P = .023), respectively, and were more predictive measurements than body mass index. Conclusion Anterior knee subcutaneous fat thickness can be reproducibly measured on lateral knee radiographs and is associated with a significantly increased risk of early reoperation for wound complications and infection after primary TKA in morbidly obese patients.
Compressive Conjugate Directions: Linear Theory

We present a powerful and easy-to-implement iterative algorithm for solving large-scale optimization problems that involve $L_1$/total-variation (TV) regularization. The method is based on combining the Alternating Directions Method of Multipliers (ADMM) with a Conjugate Directions technique in a way that allows reusing conjugate search directions constructed by the algorithm across multiple iterations of the ADMM. The new method achieves fast convergence by trading off multiple applications of the modeling operator for the increased memory requirement of storing previous conjugate directions. We illustrate the new method with a series of imaging and inversion applications.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Improves Fluency in Non-Fluent Aphasia after Stroke (S43.004)

Objective: To determine whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) improves speech fluency in individuals with chronic nonfluent aphasia, and to identify linguistic properties that mediate improved fluency in persons who respond to rTMS. Background Failure of spontaneously generated fluent speech is a significant source of functional impairment in many individuals with aphasia. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) administered to the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) has been shown to induce improvements in naming ability in persons with chronic left hemisphere stroke and non-fluent aphasia. However, changes in fluency in aphasic subjects receiving rTMS have not been adequately explored. Design/Methods: Ten individuals with left hemisphere MCA strokes and mild to moderate non-fluent aphasia participated in the study. Before treatment, subjects were asked to describe the Cookie Theft picture scene in three separate sessions. In the treatment arm, subjects received 1200 pulses of 1 Hz rTMS daily for 10 days at a site that had previously been shown to elicit a patient-dependent optimal response to rTMS on a naming task. They repeated the task two months after treatment. Five of these subjects initially received sham stimulation instead of real TMS. Two months after sham treatment, these individuals entered into the treatment arm. Performance both at baseline and after stimulation was coded using Quantitative Production Analysis (Saffran, Berndt & Schwartz, 1989) and Correct Information Unit (Nicholas & Brookshire, 1993)analysis. Results: Real rTMS treatment resulted in a significant increase in multiple measures of discourse productivity compared to baseline performance. There was no significant increase in measures of sentence productivity or grammatical accuracy. There was no significant increase from baseline in the sham condition on any study measures. Conclusions: Stimulation of the right IFG in patients with chronic non-fluent aphasia can improve fluency, and does so specifically by facilitating discourse production, potentially reflecting improved lexical-semantic access. Disclosure: Dr. Hamilton has nothing to disclose. Dr. Medina has nothing to disclose. Dr. Norise has nothing to disclose. Dr. Turkeltaub has nothing to disclose. Dr. Coslett has nothing to disclose.
Developmental Patterns in Production by Children Aged 9 to 19 of Original Verbal Images as Measured by Sounds and Images

The originality scores of 352 boys and 313 girls of West Virginia, aged 9 to 19, on Sounds and Images shows a statistically nonsignificant slump for girls of 11 yr., a leveling of differences between boys and girls with increasing age, and peak scores at 14 to 19 yr., with the greatest variance occurring between 10 and 12 yr. for boys and 11 and 13 yr. for girls.
Beta Silicon Carbide Growth with Device Applications

Epitaxial thin films of cubic-SiC (100) have been grown at temperatures ranging from 1340–1400°C by using a reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition system. In this work, we will report on the doping of SiC using trimethylalumium (TMA), phosphine, and nitrogen. The electrical measurements on the SiC layers have been performed (Hall, CV, DLTS, etc.) and will be discussed in reference to SiC MESFETs and other SiC device structures.
To study the relationship between heart rate variability and malignant arrhythmia in 113 cases of acute myocardial infarction

Objective:To study the relationship between heart rate variability(HRV) and malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death in acute myocardial infarction(AMI) patients and the pathogenetic condition and prognosis.Methods:To study time domain analysis of HRV(the main parameter: SDNN) and the incidence rate of malignant ventricular arrhythmia with Holter monitoring in 113 cases of AMI,and then follow up one year.Results:31 cases as high risk group(SDNN50ms),36 cases moderate risk group(SDNN 50-100 ms) and 46 cases low risk group(SDNN 100-150 ms).The amount of malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death were 19 cases and 6 cases in high risk group,9 cases and 1 cases in moderate risk group,5 cases and 0 cases in low risk group.The incidence rate of malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death in 3 group was significant(P0.05 and P0.01).Conclusion:There were direct correlation between HRV and malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death in AMI.HRV is important to estimate the risk and prognosis in AMI.
Compressive behavior of high-viscosity granular systems: Effects of viscosity and strain rate

Abstract The compressive behavior of granular materials has been evaluated under a variety of conditions. Granules were formulated using two size fractions of two different particulate materials prepared with a polydimethylsiloxane binder ranging in viscosity from 12–2413 Pa·s. The solids content of the granules was maintained constant at 90% in all cases studied. Granules were compressed at three different velocities (1, 10, and 100 mm/s). At these high viscosities, characteristics of the binder appear to have the greatest impact on granular behavior. Through ~ 300 Pa·s, the granule strength increases with increasing viscosity. Above this critical viscosity, however, the granular strength remains approximately constant within a given set of test parameters. The compression velocity also impacts the granular strength, as do the size and shape of the particulate inclusions (though to a lesser extent).
Vive La France: Three Delusional Disorders Originally Reported in the French Medical Literature.

Delusions as a feature of psychosis have long captured the fascination of both psychiatry and the public at large. The French first described three famous delusions: the Cotard delusion, folie a deux, and Capgras delusion. In this article, we examine a case illustrating each delusion and the hallmark features of each as well as a brief discussion about the current understanding of these disorders.
Multi-way amplify-and-forward relay networks with massive MIMO

The performance of amplify-and-forward (AF) multi-way relay networks (MWRNs) with very large relay antenna arrays is investigated. Asymptotic signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) expressions are derived when the number of antennas at the relay is substantially higher than the number of user nodes. These asymptotic SINRs are independent of the fast fading component of the wireless channel, and hence, the latency in the air interface due to fast fading can be reduced. The transmit power at each user node and/or relay can be scaled down inversely proportional to the number of antennas at the relay without degrading the system performance. The asymptotic SINR expressions are then used to derive asymptotic spectral and energy efficiencies of AF MWRNs with symmetric and asymmetric data traffic. These spectral and energy efficiency results show that MWRNs with massive MIMO achieve substantial multiplexing gains while allowing the transmit powers of user nodes to become infinitesimal.
Self-reported depression in psychiatric, pediatric, and normal populations.

The present study compared Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) scores of child psychiatry inpatients, child psychiatry outpatients, and pediatric inpatients with those of a group of matched normal children. The analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant difference between groups. Posthoc tests indicated that there were no significant differences between the three clinical groups and the normal control group. However, the psychiatric inpatients had significantly higher scores than the pediatric inpatients or the psychiatric outpatients. Results were discussed relative to previous findings and in terms of needing to match samples by age and gender.
Underwater optical communication link using Orbital Angular Momentum space division multiplexing

This work demonstrates an underwater optical link utilizing Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM). Space division multiplexing is used to increase the data rate over a range of modulation frequencies.
On the Kuznetsov trace formula for PGL2(C)

Abstract In this note, using a representation theoretic method of Cogdell and Piatetski-Shapiro, we prove the Kuznetsov trace formula for an arbitrary discrete group Γ in PGL 2 ( C ) that is cofinite but not cocompact. An essential ingredient is a kernel formula, recently proved by the author, on Bessel functions for PGL 2 ( C ) . This approach avoids the difficult analysis in the existing method due to Bruggeman and Motohashi.
Symmetric Gaussian mixture distributions with GGC scales

Abstract The aim of this study is to unify and extend hyperbolic distributions when scalars are generated from the GGC family. Such distributions play an important role for modeling asset prices. Explicit expressions of multivariate densities are presented in terms of either the Laplace transform or the density of the scalar. When scalars are members of the GGC family, then the representations are articulated with respect to the Thorin measure. Several examples are provided.
Mesna, doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and dacarbazine (MAID) chemotherapy for treatment of metastatic or recurrent uterine leiomyosarcoma.

e15523 Background: Metastatic or recurrent uterine leiomyosarcoma is often treated with chemotherapy. There are a limited number of viable regimens that are effective and well tolerated. Our object...
Medicare accountable care organizations and antidepressant use by patients with depression

Objective:This study examined whether Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) programs were associated with early changes in antidepressant use or adherence among beneficiaries with depression.Methods:A difference-in-difference design was used to compare claims from Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (2009–2013) and ACO patients with those from local control groups. Outcome measures were total antidepressant days supplied, filling one or more antidepressant prescriptions, and proportion of days covered (PDC) by supply among antidepressant users (adherence).Results:Among antidepressant users, ACO contracts were associated with slight differential increases in PDC (.4–.8 percentage point, p≤.03), depending on ACO program and entry year. The proportion of patients with one or more prescriptions was unchanged or decreased slightly for ACO patients with depression, such that total supply did not consistently increase.Conclusions:Medicare ACO programs were associated with early modest increases in anti...
Clinical Neurology and Epidemiology of the Major Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are a common cause of morbidity and cognitive impairment in older adults. Most clinicians who care for the elderly are not trained to diagnose these conditions, perhaps other than typical Alzheimer's disease (AD). Each of these disorders has varied epidemiology, clinical symptomatology, laboratory and neuroimaging features, neuropathology, and management. Thus, it is important that clinicians be able to differentiate and diagnose these conditions accurately. This review summarizes and highlights clinical aspects of several of the most commonly encountered neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and its variants, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and Huntington's disease (HD). For each condition, we provide a brief overview of the epidemiology, defining clinical symptoms and diagnostic criteria, relevant imaging and laboratory features, genetics, pathology, treatments, and differential diagnosis.
Effects of Thermal Aging and Low Dose Neutron Irradiation on the Ferrite Phase in a 308L Weld

The integrity of reactor internal components made of austenitic stainless steel welds with a duplex structure can potentially be affected by thermal aging and/or neutron irradiation induced embrittlement. There have not been sufficient studies on the long-term service performance of SS welds in light water reactors. In this study, thermal aging was performed at 400 °C for up to 2220 h on a 308L weld, and the irradiation was conducted in the Halden reactor at ~315 °C to 0.08 dpa (5.6 × 1019 n/cm2, E > 1 meV). The microstructural evolution of the ferrite phase was characterized using atom probe tomography (APT) and auxiliary transmission electron microscope studies. Spinodal decomposition and Ni-Mn-Si solute clusters were observed in both the thermally aged and neutron irradiated 308L welds. As compared with thermal aging, low dose neutron irradiation induced similar spinodal decomposition with slightly larger concentration wavelength and amplitude. The solute clusters in irradiated ferrite phase also show a larger mean size, a wider size distribution, but a lower number density as compared with those in thermally aged ferrite phase. In addition, the neutron irradiation significantly promotes segregation of trace elements, particularly phosphorus, at the Ni-Mn-Si solute clusters.
Does background really matter? Worker activity recognition in unconstrained construction environment

In order to prevent the construction injuries effectively, it is essential to fully understand the accident causation in construction. Worker action detection and recognition can be treated as the initial step of further productivity and risk factor analysis. With the development of computer vision and machine learning techniques, monitoring worker activity automatically and continuously using camera becomes feasible and promising. In this paper, we focus on worker activity recognition problem and propose an automate recognition system based on an unconstrained worker activity video dataset, in which both coarse-grained and fine-grained actions coexist. Videos are segmented by graph cuts energy minimization. Neural network technique is integrated with principle component analysis for recognizing workers' activities automatically. Discussion on different scenario settings and comparison to the state-of-the-art method are provided. Experimental results show that the average accuracy outperforms the state-of-the-art results.
A spatio-temporal probabilistic framework for dividing and predicting facial action units

This paper proposed a probabilistic approach to divide the Facial Action Units (AUs) based on the physiological relations and their strengths among the facial muscle groups. The physiological relations and their strengths were captured using a Static Bayesian Network (SBN) from given databases. A data driven spatio-temporal probabilistic scoring function was introduced to divide the AUs into : (i) frequently occurred and strongly connected AUs (FSAUs) and (ii) infrequently occurred and weakly connected AUs (IWAUs). In addition, a Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) based predictive mechanism was implemented to predict the IWAUs from FSAUs. The combined spatio-temporal modeling enabled a framework to predict a full set of AUs in real-time. Empirical analyses were performed to illustrate the efficacy and utility of the proposed approach. Four different datasets of varying degrees of complexity and diversity were used for performance validation and perturbation analysis. Empirical results suggest that the IWAUs can be robustly predicted from the FSAUs in real-time and was found to be robust against noise.
Factors Influencing the Future of Outcome-Based Evaluation

The future is now. The trends that we discussed in Chapter 1, including the quality revolution, consumer empowerment, accountability defined on the basis of outcomes, the support paradigm, and the pragmatic evaluation paradigm, will continue to challenge educational and social programs, and those of us involved in outcome-based evaluation. A final truism: Education and social programs in the future will be fundamentally different than they are now. The parameters of what they will look like are summarized well in the following principles described by Osborne and Gaebler (1993), around which entrepreneurial public organizations are being built: Steer more than row. Empower communities rather than simply deliver services. Encourage competition rather than monopoly. Be driven by a mission, not rules. Fund outcomes rather than inputs. Meet the needs of the customer, not the bureaucracy. Concentrate on earning, not just spending. Invest in prevention rather than cure. Decentralize authority. Solve problems by leveraging the marketplace, rather than simply creating public programs.
Integrated State and Alarm Monitoring Across Heterogeneous Networks Using OSI Standards and Object-Oriented Techniques

Network management standards for Open System Interconnection (OSI) continue to evolve. Current standards and implementors’ agreements being developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Network Management Forum (Forum) are based on an object-oriented approach to network management. These standards concentrate on the overall architecture, the protocols and services that allow a manager system to exchange information with a managed system over an interoperable interface, and the objects necessary to communicate management information over the interoperable interface. The specific manner in which network management is accomplished for functions such as state and alarm monitoring is left up to the implementor. An example of applying OSI standards and object-oriented techniques for state and alarm monitoring in a prototype integrated network management system being developed for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is described.
Condensation modes in sheared magnetic fields

The present study of the condensation modes in coronal cylindrical plasmas, with attention to magnetic shear effects on stability, notes that such shear is insignificant in the initiation of condensation in the case of low beta coronal plasmas. The effects of magnetic field shear, twist, and strength on condensation modes differ, depending on the wave vector. The stability of condensation modes strongly depends on the choice of equilibrium temperature and density profiles. If plasma temperature increases with twist but density does not, condensation modes are unstable for low field twist; by contrast, if plasma density increases with twist but temperature does not, condensation modes are unstable for high twist.
Vagus nerve stimulation promotes generalization of conditioned fear extinction and reduces anxiety in rats.

Abstract Background Exposure-based therapies are used to treat a variety of trauma- and anxiety-related disorders by generating successful extinction following cue exposure during treatment. The development of adjuvant strategies that accelerate extinction learning, improve tolerability, and increase efficiency of treatment could increase the efficacy of exposure-based therapies. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with exposure can enhance fear extinction, in rat models of psychiatric disorders, and chronic administration of VNS reduces anxiety in rats and humans. Objective: We tested whether VNS, like other cognitive enhancers, could produce generalization of extinction for stimuli that are not presented during the extinction sessions, but are associated with the fear event. Methods Male Sprague Dawley rats underwent auditory fear conditioning with two easily discriminable auditory stimuli. Following fear conditioning, extinction training consisted of exposure to only one of the conditioned sounds. Half of the rats received VNS and half received sham stimulation during with sound presentations. VNS effects on anxiety were examined in a separate study where VNS was administered prior to testing on the elevated plus maze. Results Sham stimulated rats given 20 presentations of a conditioned stimulus (CS) during the extinction session showed performance that was matched to VNS-treated rats given only 4 presentations of the CS. Despite comparable levels of freezing to the presented CS, only the VNS-treated rats showed a significant decrease in freezing to the CS that was not presented. VNS-induced generalization of extinction was observed only when the two sounds were paired with footshock within the same fear conditioning session; VNS did not promote generalization of extinction when the two sounds were conditioned on different days or in different contexts. On the anxiety test, VNS administration significantly increased time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze. Conclusion These results provide evidence that VNS can promote generalization of extinction to other stimuli associated with a specific fear experience. Furthermore, non-contingent VNS appears to reduce anxiety. The ability to generalize extinction and reduce anxiety makes VNS a potential candidate for use as an adjunctive strategy to improve the efficacy and tolerability of exposure-based therapies.
Powder Recycling Effects on the Tensile and Fatigue Behavior of Additively Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V Parts

Additive manufacturing technology has enabled industries to generate functional parts with an increased level of complexity via layer-by-layer fabrication. In laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF), powder is often recycled due to its high cost. However, there is no comprehensive study on how powder recycling affects its rheological properties, as well as the mechanical and fatigue behavior of the manufactured part. This study compares powder characteristics and mechanical performance of as-built and machined specimens fabricated from new and heavily used Ti-6Al-4V powder. Powder characteristics include particle size distribution and morphology, flowability, apparent density, compressibility, thermal conductivity, oxygen concentration, and more. Results indicate that particle size distribution becomes narrower and flowability increases with recycling. Not a significant effect of recycling was observed on the monotonic tensile and fatigue behavior of specimens in the as-built surface condition. However, machined specimens fabricated from used powder demonstrated longer fatigue lives in the high cycle regime.
Religión e integración en la sociedad: posibilidades y límites de la integración del Islam en las sociedades democráticas y pluralistas

This paper seeks to reflect, from a political philosophy point of view, about the integration possibilities of religion in public sphere –specifically Islam– in plural and democratic societies. In this article, we will confront ideas of Occidental thinkers –such as Rawls, Habermas and Taylor– with Muslim scholars such as Sachedima and An-Na’im.
CLOCK-pro+: improving CLOCK-pro cache replacement with utility-driven adaptation

CLOCK-Pro is the low-overhead approximation of the state-of-the-art cache replacement policy, Low Inter-Reference Recency Set (LIRS). It also improves the static cache space allocation in LIRS with simple heuristics to adapt to LRU-friendly workloads. However, the heuristics do not perform well in certain cases. Inspired by the idea of utility-driven adaptation from another state-of-the-art policy, CLOCK for Adaptive Replacement (CAR), we propose a new CLOCK-Pro+ policy. The new policy directly evaluates the utility of growing the number of cold pages against that of growing hot pages. It then dynamically adjusts the cache space allocation driven by the utility comparison. Experiments are performed on traces from the UMass Trace Repository as well as a synthetic trace drawn from a stack-depth distribution. While sometimes CLOCK-Pro substantially outperforms CAR and sometimes vice versa, the new CLOCK-Pro+ policy consistently performs close to the winner between the two in all the cases.
Results from a single arm, single stage phase II trial of trametinib and GSK2141795 in persistent or recurrent cervical cancer.

Abstract Background Improved treatment for advanced cervical cancer is needed; currently, treatment options include combined chemotherapy and bevacizumab or pembrolizumab monotherapy for PD-L1 positive disease. PIK3CA and KRAS mutations have been reported in cervical cancers; this study therefore tested dual inhibition of PI3K and RAS signaling by combining the MEK inhibitor trametinib and the AKT inhibitor GSK2141795 in recurrent cervical cancer. Methods This was an investigator-initiated phase II study combining trametinib and GSK2141795 in patients with recurrent cervical cancer. Primary endpoint was best tumor response; secondary endpoints included progression free survival, overall survival, and safety assessment. Translational objectives included characterization of molecular alterations in PI3K and RAS signaling pathway genes. Results Planned accrual was 35 patients; 14 patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of study drug before the study was terminated due to discontinuation of GSK2141795 development. There were no confirmed responses; 1 patient had an unconfirmed PR, 8 had stable disease, 3 had progression as best response, and 2 were unevaluable. Toxicities were mostly grade 1 and 2, although 57% of patients experienced grade 3/4 adverse events and 50% patients required a dose reduction. Conclusions The combination of trametinib and GSK2141795 was feasible but required dose holds and modifications for adverse events; however, anti-cancer activity was minimal, even in patients with PI3K or RAS pathway alterations. Although the study was terminated early after GSK2141795 development was halted, the findings in these 14 patients do not support further development of this combination in cervical cancer.