cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Giant shifts of photoluminescence bands in GaN

Unusually large shifts of photoluminescence (PL) bands with excitation intensity or with temperature are sometimes observed in GaN. In particular, the ultraviolet luminescence band with a maximum at 3.28 eV is attributed to transitions from the conduction band (or shallow donors) to the shallow MgGa acceptor. In semi-insulating GaN samples doped with Mg, enormous redshift (up to 0.6 eV) and broadening of this PL band can be observed with variation of temperature or excitation intensity. A similar behavior of PL was observed in semi-insulating GaN doped with Zn. The blue band with a maximum at 2.9 eV in GaN:Zn is attributed to electron transitions from the conduction band or from shallow donors to the ZnGa acceptor level located at 0.4 eV above the valence band. In conductive n-type GaN, this PL band redshifts by only 7 meV with decreasing excitation intensity by five orders of magnitude, and the shift is explained with the donor–acceptor pair model. However, in semi-insulating GaN:Zn samples, a gradual shift by up to 0.8 eV with decreasing excitation intensity has been observed. Finally, the yellow luminescence band shifts by not more than 7 meV in high-quality, undoped GaN samples, while a redshift by more than 0.1 eV can be observed in GaN heavily doped with Si. The giant shifts are attributed to the presence of electric fields in high-resistivity or heavily doped n-type GaN.
Extractive resource policy and civil conflict: Evidence from mining reform in the Philippines

Abstract We estimate how a shift towards a more extractive resource policy, brought about by a regulatory reform of the mining sector, affected civil conflict in the Philippines. Our empirical strategy uses a difference-in-differences approach that compares provinces with and without mineral deposits before and after the reform. We find that the reform led to a large increase in conflict violence, most likely due to increased competition over control of resource-rich areas. The estimated welfare cost of this increase in violence is several orders of magnitude larger than the country's total revenue from taxes on mineral production.
MSeg: A Composite Dataset for Multi-Domain Semantic Segmentation

We present MSeg, a composite dataset that unifies se- mantic segmentation datasets from different domains. A naive merge of the constituent datasets yields poor performance due to inconsistent taxonomies and annotation practices. We reconcile the taxonomies and bring the pixel-level annotations into alignment by relabeling more than 220,000 object masks in more than 80,000 images. The resulting composite dataset enables training a single semantic segmentation model that functions effectively across domains and generalizes to datasets that were not seen during training. We adopt zero-shot cross-dataset transfer as a benchmark to systematically evaluate a model’s robustness and show that MSeg training yields substantially more robust models in comparison to training on individual datasets or naive mixing of datasets without the presented contributions. A model trained on MSeg ranks first on the WildDash leaderboard for robust semantic segmentation, with no exposure to WildDash data during training.
Circumspection in using automated measures: Talker gender and addressee affect error rates for adult speech detection in the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system

Automatic speech processing devices have become popular for quantifying amounts of ambient language input to children in their home environments. We assessed error rates for language input estimates for the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) audio processing system, asking whether error rates differed as a function of adult talkers' gender and whether they were speaking to children or adults. Audio was sampled from within LENA recordings from 23 families with children aged 4-34 months. Human coders identified vocalizations by adults and children, counted intelligible words, and determined whether adults' speech was addressed to children or adults. LENA's classification accuracy was assessed by parceling audio into 100-ms frames and comparing, for each frame, human and LENA classifications. LENA correctly classified adult speech 67% of the time across families (average false negative rate: 33%). LENA's adult word count showed a mean +47% error relative to human counts. Classification and Adult Word Count error rates were significantly affected by talkers' gender and whether speech was addressed to a child or an adult. The largest systematic errors occurred when adult females addressed children. Results show LENA's classifications and Adult Word Count entailed random - and sometimes large - errors across recordings, as well as systematic errors as a function of talker gender and addressee. Due to systematic and sometimes high error in estimates of amount of adult language input, relying on this metric alone may lead to invalid clinical and/or research conclusions. Further validation studies and circumspect usage of LENA are warranted.
Compressed sensing for reduced hardware footprint in medical ultrasound.

Abstract In this work, a compressed sensing method to reduce hardware complexity of ultrasound imaging systems is proposed and experimentally verified. We provide clinical evaluation of the method with a possible high compression rates (up to 64 RF signals compressed into a single channel on receive) which uses elastic net estimation for decoding stage. This allows a reduction in size and power consumption of the front-end electronics with only a minor loss in image quality. We demonstrate an 8-fold receive channel count reduction with a 3.16 dB and 3.64 dB mean absolute error for gallbladder and kidney images, respectively, as well as 7.4% increase in the contrast-to-noise ratio for kidney images and 0.1% loss in the contrast-to noise ratio for gallbladder images, on average. The proposed method may enable a fully portable ultrasonic device with virtually no loss in image quality as compared to a full size clinical scanner to be constructed.
Chiral plasmonic metasurface absorbers in the mid-infrared wavelength range

Chiral metamaterials in the mid-infrared wavelength range have tremendous potential for studying thermal emission manipulation and molecular vibration sensing. Here, we present one type of chiral plasmonic metasurface absorber with high circular dichroism (CD) in absorption of more than 0.56 across the mid-infrared wavelength range of 5-5.5 µm. The demonstrated chiral metasurface absorbers exhibit a maximum chiral absorption of 0.87 and a maximum CD in absorption of around 0.60. By adjusting the geometric parameters of the unit cell structure of the metasurface, the chiral absorption peak can be shifted to different wavelengths. Due to the strong chiroptical response, the thermal analysis of the designed chiral metasurface absorber further shows the large temperature difference between the left-handed and right-handed circularly polarized light. The demonstrated results can be utilized in various applications such as molecular detection, mid-infrared filter, thermal emission, and chiral imaging.
The Ongoing Challenge with NDM-Harboring Enterobacteriaceae in Murine Infection Models.

We read with interest the article by Das, Johnson and colleagues regarding meropenem pharmacodynamics in an NDM-infected murine thigh model (1).….
Genome evolution in a putatively asexual wasp

Asexual lineages are destined for extinction--a result predicted by theory and revealed in practice. Short-term benefits of asexuality are eventually outstripped by their fitness costs: losses of sex and recombination are together expected to reduce efficacy of selection, increase mutation load, and thus, lower fitness. We characterized genomic patterns of accumulating mutations in Diachasma muliebre, a parasitic wasp that has apparently lost sex, an inference supported by many decades of field collections of 1000s of individuals in which only females were found. The split between D. muliebre and its closest sexual relative, Diachasma ferrugineum, is quite recent, allowing us to observe initial events in the evolution of this putative asexual species. First, we find a faster rate of molecular evolution across the D. muliebre genome. In addition, we observed a marked excess of replacement nucleotide substitutions in orthologous genes in the putatively asexual D. muliebre when compared to D. ferrugineum. This pattern directly indicates genome-wide relaxed selection in this young, putatively asexual species, the resulting mutational load from which is expected to ultimately lead to extinction. However, these genomic effects occur in the presence of genomic recombination initially detected by a previous study and also supported by analyses of genome-wide substitution rates within codons. In addition, following completion of the genome sequence and its analysis, we discovered two D. muliebre males, suggesting the possibility of rare sex in this species. Haplodiploid animals, including the sexual ancestors of D. muliebre, bear small genetic loads, likely making their initial transitions to asexuality relatively benign. Paradoxically, an elevated rate of mutation accumulation resulting from asexuality, when accompanied by retention of recombination and/or rare sex, could actually be beneficial: we hypothesize that the novel variation introduced by mutation along with limited shuffling of genes may facilitate initial adaptation and extend persistence of such lineages.
Abstract 2856: GLI3-mediated HH regulates prostate cancer progression

Although prostate cancer patients initially respond to androgen deprivation therapy, they eventually progress to lethal castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), characterized by restoration of the androgen receptor (AR) signaling despite castrate levels of circulating androgens. Mechanisms proposed to underlie CRPC include AR crosstalk with alternative signaling pathways. Among these, the Sonic hedgehog (SHH)Hedgehog (HH) pathway, an essential signaling axis in prostate development and homeostasis, has been implicated in prostate cancerCRPC progression. SHH pathway is regulated by transcription factors and effectors Glioma-associated oncogene family zinc finger (GLI) proteins 1, 2, and 3. Previous studies reported that GLI1 and GLI2 drive androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer by upregulating androgen-stimulated genes. However, whether and how GLI3 plays a role in prostate cancer progression remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of GLI3 in the progression of prostate cancer cells. Like GLI2, GLI3 is the a downstream transcriptional factor effector of the SHH signaling pathway that can exist as a full-length activator form or a cleaved repressor form. Our data showed an increase in GLI3 expression in prostate cancer cells growing under androgen deprived conditions. Thuserefore, we hypothesize that androgen deprivation leads to activation of the SHH signaling pathway which consequently activates GLI3 to promote androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer cells. We showed that knockdown of GLI3 repressed while overexpression of GLI3 promoted androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer cells. GLI3 knockdown also resulted in regression of castration-resistant outgrowth of xenograft tumors in mice. Additionally, transcriptomic analysis of GLI3 knockdown cells revealed that the SHH signaling pathway and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes are altered suggesting that GLI3 regulates androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer cells through canonical SHH signaling pathway and likely contributes to prostate cancer metastasis. Lastly, our data demonstrated a physical and functional relationship between GLI3 and AR suggesting a functional crosstalk between SHH signaling and AR signaling pathways in advanced prostate cancer. Citation Format: Thu Minh Duong, Marieke Oldenbroek Burleson, J J. Deng, T Qin, Das D, L-z Sun, T G. Boyer. GLI3-mediated HH regulates prostate cancer progression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2856.
Pulmonary artery aneurysm associated with a nonstenotic bicuspid pulmonic valve: A role for genetics?

BACKGROUND Bicuspid pulmonic valves are quite uncommon, being described in only 0.1% of donor's hearts, while pulmonary artery aneurysms (PAAs) are even rarer, having been found in 8 out of 109,571 autopsies. This rarity makes it difficult to characterize the relationship between them. MATERIALS AND METHODS We describe the case of a 66-year-old female who was found to have a bicuspid pulmonic valve and PAA (5.1 cm) on imaging by her cardiologist. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION This case raises the question of whether the association between bicuspid semilunar valve disease and vascular wall anomalies is more genetic or hemodynamic. Even on the aortic side, despite the robust association between bicuspid aortic valves and thoracic aortic aneurysms, the mechanism still remains unclear. In our patient there was no significant gradient across the bicuspid pulmonic valve, suggesting that hemodynamics are not the primum mobile of this association.
DNA methylation in development of bladder cancer.

In this chapter, the role of DNA methylation in the generation of human bladder cancer will be reviewed. As is known, there are several different kinds of bladder cancer including: papillary tumors, carcinoma in situ (CIS), invasive cancers and squamous cancers. Fortunately several tumor suppressor genes which are important in the genesis of these different diseases are now known. For example, there seems to be a gene on chromosome 9q which is probably involved in the genesis of papillary tumors and the p53 gene, as well as pi6, pi9 genes play important roles (see chapter by Reznikoff). Tumor suppressor genes have different penetrance in these different kinds of bladder cancers. For example, a p53 mutation in a papillary tumor is virtually never seen. The mechanisms by which tumor suppressors are inactivated are interesting and we are familiar with mutations, loss of heterozygosity and homozygous deletions as being major routes to their disablement. Presently, the concept of DNA methylation as being a new mechanism that people are realizing could play an important role in switching genes off in cancer development, will be discussed. The mechanisms by which a given suppressor is inactivated tends to vary depending upon that suppressor. For example, the p53 is very often disabled by point mutations whereas the p 16 and p 19 genes are rarely found to be mutated in bladder cancer. In most cases, the genes are completely missing and mutations seem to be a much more rare event. So, the type of disease, the tumor suppressor, and the mechanism for inactivation are important in understanding the molecular basis.
Cultured Mammary Epithelial Cells Secrete a Factor Which Suppresses Lipoprotein Lipase Production by 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

The enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is made in tissues which use plasma lipoprotein triglycerides either as a source of energy, e.g. muscle, or for storage, adipose tissue (Eckel, 1989). In rodents, LPL activity is low in the mammary gland and high in adipose tissue during pregnancy. At birth there are reciprocal changes with LPL activity in the mammary gland rising to very high levels while it is barely detectable in adipose tissues. This allows triglycerides to be diverted from storage in adipose tissue towards the production of milk fat (Hamosh et al., 1970; Jensen et al., 1994). However, LPL is synthesized by the adipocytes in the mammary gland (Jensen et al., 1991), raising the question: how are the same cell types in two different regions of the body controlled independently?
Concluding Comments on Other Sensory Abilities

Although the most striking of cetacean sensory abilities is their acoustic echolocation skill (Nachtigall and Moore, 1989), they are also endowed with sensitivities for a number of other modalities. Among the senses considered at the conference are included magnetic, tactile, electroreceptive, pressure, and gravitational senses. Further, in addition to the animals’ sensitivity to these various modalities marine mammals are also endowed with the cognitive capacities to make use of this sensory information to represent their environment and the events within it.
A Self-Consistent Calculation of Spatial Spreading of the Quantum Well in HEMT

A new two-dimensional self-consistent numerical model for HEMT is presented. In previous two-dimensional models, the quantization of electrons in the quantum well has been treated by using a triangular well approximation in which the width of the quantum well is assumed to be zero and the quantized electrons are assumed to reside right at the heterojunction. In this paper, we do not make the above assumptions. Instead, the spatial spreading of the electron concentration in the quantum well normal to the heterojunction is taken into account by solving Schrodinger’s and Poisson’s equations self-consistently.
Applications of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to the Study of Fibre-Resin Composites

A major concern in the development of advanced composite materials technology is the problem of composite reliability. One of the sources of variations in composite performance is the differences in polymer composition and state of cure. This review will discuss the detailed character methods available for the determination of the chemical composition, structure and state of cure of the material. Particular emphasis is placed on the spectroscopic methods of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, with consideration also given to the thermal techniques.
Blame and Credit Attributions and Quality of Work Life: The Effect of Organizational Structure and Culture

Employees’ affective responses to their work have increasingly been linked to their subjective well-being and their quality of life (QOL) overall. One source of subjective well-being for individuals is the credit they receive for organizational successes and the blame they receive for failures. This chapter presents two ethical dilemmas involving blame and credit attributions. In determining how to address these dilemmas, we review the research literature on responsibility assignments, integrate recent research on blame contagion, describe how this process can affect employees’ willingness to take risks and report errors, and examines how these processes can impact an organization’s capacity to learn. We finally integrate these findings in a model of blame assignment in organizations, proposing structural and cultural interventions that may help to address some of the problematic outcomes of blame and credit attributions for QWL.
What did I learn and why do I believe in it

The paper describes a study of students’ reflections on their learning in the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE). ISLE was implemented in two freshmen introductory physics courses for engineering students at risk. Weekly Reports — structured journals — were a part of their homework assignments. We found that a thorough reflection on their reasoning based on experimental evidence had a positive effect on student performance. However a surprising finding was that learning from authority was beneficial as well. This result is in contradiction to a similar study conducted by May and Etkina in 2001 in a freshmen course for honors engineering students. The current study therefore suggests that instructors should encourage different ways of knowledge construction when dealing with different student populations.
On bounded distance decoding for general lattices

A central problem in the algorithmic study of lattices is the closest vector problem: given a lattice $\mathcal{L}$ represented by some basis, and a target point $\vec{y}$, find the lattice point closest to $\vec{y}$. Bounded Distance Decoding is a variant of this problem in which the target is guaranteed to be close to the lattice, relative to the minimum distance $\lambda_1(\mathcal{L})$ of the lattice. Specifically, in the α-Bounded Distance Decoding problem (α-BDD), we are given a lattice $\mathcal{L}$ and a vector $\vec{y}$ (within distance $\alpha\cdot\lambda_1(\mathcal{L})$ from the lattice), and we are asked to find a lattice point $\vec{x}\in \mathcal{L}$ within distance $\alpha\cdot\lambda_1(\mathcal{L})$ from the target. In coding theory, the lattice points correspond to codewords, and the target points correspond to lattice points being perturbed by noise vectors. Since in coding theory the lattice is usually fixed, we may “pre-process” it before receiving any targets, to make the subsequent decoding faster. This leads us to consider α-BDD with pre-processing. We show how a recent technique of Aharonov and Regev [2] can be used to solve α-BDD with pre-processing in polynomial time for $\alpha=O\left(\sqrt{(\log{n})/n}\right)$. This improves upon the previously best known algorithm due to Klein [13] which solved the problem for $\alpha=O\left(1/n\right)$. We also establish hardness results for α-BDD and α-BDD with pre-processing, as well as generalize our results to other lp norms.
Influences of Organizational Structure and Diversification on Medical malpractice Insurer Performance

Prior literature has indicated some advantage to physician-directed insurers in the medical malpractice insurance market (Lei and Browne, 2008, and Lei and Schmit, 2008, 2010). We anticipate that these advantages lead to enhanced financial performance, and test that hypothesis. We note, however, that physician-directed insurers tend to be highly specialized both in product line and geography, generating the vast majority of their premium volume from medical malpractice liability insurance in one or just a few states. The advantages of physician-directed insurers could be due to such specialization and concentration, or perhaps be independent of those characteristics. We report our tests of the hypothesis that organizational form, product specialization, and geographic concentration of medical malpractice insurers affect their financial performance. Our results indicate that product diversification is positively related to financial performance. Furthermore, holding product diversification constant, we also find that physician directed insurers show enhanced performance over other organizational forms.
Diagnosing parametric faults: from parameter estimation to parity relations

A close relationship is demonstrated between two "distinct" approaches to the detection and isolation of parametric faults, namely parameter estimation and the parametric version of parity equations. It is shown that (i) Parameter estimation applied to the parity equation residuals yields the estimates of the deviation from the nominal model; (ii) A residual set designed with diagonal response to parametric faults may be considered as a minimum data-set estimator of the same; (iii) Parity equations written for underlying (physical) parameters may serve as direct estimators of the faults in the same but are approximate if the model parameters depend on the underlying parameters nonlinearly.
Cholesterol Metabolism Regulation

A complex set of homeostatic mechanisms maintains strict control over the level of free cholesterol within the cell. Disruption of these mechanisms can lead to developmental and/or neurodegenerative disorders as well as increased levels of circulating low-density lipoprotein and an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Keywords: homeostasis; atherosclerosis
Adaptive software transactional memory

Software Transactional Memory (STM) is a generic synchronization construct that enables automatic conversion of correct sequential objects into correct nonblocking concurrent objects. Recent STM systems, though significantly more practical than their predecessors, display inconsistent performance: differing design decisions cause different systems to perform best in different circumstances, often by dramatic margins. In this paper we consider four dimensions of the STM design space: (i) when concurrent objects are acquired by transactions for modification; (ii) how they are acquired; (iii) what they look like when not acquired; and (iv) the non-blocking semantics for transactions (lock-freedom vs. obstruction-freedom). In this 4-dimensional space we highlight the locations of two leading STM systems: the DSTM of Herlihy et al. and the OSTM of Fraser and Harris. Drawing motivation from the performance of a series of application benchmarks, we then present a new Adaptive STM (ASTM) system that adjusts to the offered workload, allowing it to match the performance of the best known existing system on every tested workload.
The nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of fluorocarbons Part II. Halogenated n-paraffins

Abstract The nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of H 1 and F 19 have been observed in eleven halogenated propanes, two fluorinated butanes, one fluorinated pentane, four fluorinated hexanes, and one fluorinated octane. Characteristic chemical shifts and spin-spin coupling constants are listed for each molecule. As the length of the carbon chain becomes longer in the normal paraffins, it becomes increasingly difficult to interpret the observed spectra, since the resolved lines become broader as a result of viscosity effects and of the increased number of unresolved hyperfine components produced by spin-spin coupling.
The importance of good working environments.

NURSING STANDARD Research grants the general Nursing Council for england and Wales trust is offering around £20,000 of funding for research that contributes to nursing policy, practice or education. the lead applicant must be a nurse and the trust will not fund organisational overheads, equipment purchase or dissemination costs such as conference attendance. Payment is conditional on ethical and research governance approval. the closing date is April 10. www.gnct.org.uk/apply-for-grant
Direct 3D image reconstruction for the energy subtraction Compton scattering camera (ESCSC) with spatially invariant point spread function

A direct 3D image reconstruction technique has been implemented for the energy subtraction Compton scattering camera (ESCSC) data. By simulating a point source with MCNP and projecting cone surfaces that result from preferred events (defined as photons that undergo a single Compton scattering in the primary detector and then a photoelectric absorption in the secondary detector) into the source space, a point spread function (PSF) describing the characteristics of the imaging system was determined. Based on the Fourier convolution theorem, the PSF was considered as a system response function h(r), and an image was reconstructed via deconvolution using the Fourier transform. For the ESCSC, different weighting schemes can result in spatially invariant or spatially variant PSFs. In this paper, a weighting scheme leading to a nearly spatially invariant PSF was chosen for the backprojection operation. Using MCNP simulated data, several distributed sources were used to test this direct technique. The images of the distributed sources were reconstructed without the existence of simulated noise. Results show that the reconstructed images give reasonable dimensional information of objects, however the intensity recovery is not uniform through the entire object space.
Exploring the perceptual biases associated with believing and disbelieving in paranormal phenomena

Abstract Ninety-five participants (32 believers, 30 disbelievers and 33 neutral believers in the paranormal) participated in an experiment comprising one visual and one auditory block of trials. Each block included one ESP, two degraded stimuli and one random trial. Each trial included 8 screens or epochs of “random” noise. Participants entered a guess if they perceived a stimulus or changed their mind about stimulus identity, rated guesses for confidence and made notes during each trial. Believers and disbelievers did not differ in the number of guesses made, or in their ability to detect degraded stimuli. Believers displayed a trend toward making faster guesses for some conditions and significantly higher confidence and more misidentifications concerning guesses than disbelievers. Guesses, misidentifications and faster response latencies were generally more likely in the visual than auditory conditions. ESP performance was no different from chance. ESP performance did not differ between belief groups or sensory modalities.
Origin of correlated electron emission in double ionization of atoms

We investigate the origin of coordinated two-electron ionization of atoms under irradiation by short, intense laser pulses. We introduce a wave-function masking technique that separates the wave function into multiple components, based on the location of the population at some preselected time. Propagating these components separately allows a semiclassical tracking of populations and recollision events, with the full wave function being obtainable at any time as the coherent sum of the masked components. This method reveals that for our model system the most significant pathway to coordinated double ionization involves a correlated recollision event in which the returning electron comes back to the core in opposition to the laser force.
An Efficient 3D-to-2D Reduction Technique for Frequency-Domain Layered Finite Element Analysis of Large-Scale High-Frequency Integrated Circuits

This paper proposes an efficient technique for reducing a 3D layered system matrix to a 2D layered one in the framework of the frequency-domain layered finite element method. This technique is capable of solving the volume-unknown based matrix equation in linear complexity, and hence reducing the complexity of 3D-to-2D reduction from O(M3) to O(M2), with M being the number of top/bottom surface unknowns in a single layer. The numerical procedure is rigorous without making any approximation. The technique applies to any arbitrarily-shaped multilayer IC problem. Numerical and experimental results have demonstrated its accuracy and efficiency.
Fabrication of multiple height microstructures using UV lithography on timed-development-and-thermal-reflowed photoresist

Multiple height pillar arrays as well as various circular or parabolic microstructures are fabricated by the combination of the timed-development-and-thermal-reflow process and an additional ultraviolet (UV) exposure step. First, uncrosslinked photoresist (SU-8) in a confined region such as a via or trench from the initial lithography step is partially developed in a timed manner to obtain a different development depth while a subsequent thermal treatment above the glass transition temperature of the remaining uncrosslinked polymer allows the polymer to reflow to form an uneven but smooth round shape surface profile, which can be well described using the Young-Laplace equation. Second, an additional UV exposure step to the prepared uneven surface by the back side exposure scheme through a transparent substrate with prepatterned Cr patterns is performed to have pillar arrays with various heights. A 2 by 5 micropillar array with gradually changing heights is successfully demonstrated. Also, a microfluidic channel with a triangular cross section is fabricated for particle sorting.
Impact of Linear Coupling on the Design of Active Controllers for the Thermoacoustic Instability

Analysis of combustion instability has traditionally been based on the assumption that linear coupling among acoustic modes is insignificant. While this is reasonable when one is interested in determining the unstable mode frequency and growth rate, in this paper we show that this assumption in a model-based active control design may lead to serious errors. To explain the origin of these errors, we employ both analysis and numerical examples to investigate the effect of linear coupling on the resonance and anliresonance properties of a benchlop premised combuslor in the presence of external excitation. The analysis is carried out using one-dimensional flow dynamics in the presence of an oscillating heal release source based on laminar premised flame kinematics, and an external actuator in the form of a loudspeaker. We show that, for certain sensor-actuator configurations, a controller designed on the basis of a model where linear coupling is neglected may fail to suppress the thermoacoustic instability wh...
Transforming Potential Offenders into Motivated Ones: Are Sex Offenders Tempted by Alcohol and Pornography?

One of the primary concerns of scholars of routine activity theory is the explication of the three core elements necessary for crime to occur. Using sex offenders as a sample of offenders, the present analysis examines the element potential offender and considers whether or not there are differences among offenders and their locations that may transform potential offenders into actively motivated ones. Until recently, most routine activity scholars took potential offenders as a given and used the terms potential and motivated interchangeably. This analysis shows that there is a distinctive difference between the presence of potential offenders and the idea that there may be offenders who are more actively motivated, particularly by the presence of community temptations (e.g., factors that attract or draw offenders to offending). We find that for sexual victimization rates, the presence of potential offenders is insignificant, whereas the presence of potential offenders in combination with the presence of ...
Effects of Protein Purity and Precipitant Stereochemistry on the Crystallization of Thaumatin

Thaumatin is frequently used as a model protein in crystallization studies because it rapidly forms crystals in the presence of tartrate ions. The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of thaumatin crystals have been studied for almost 10 years, and the results are contradictory. Here we show that by using a homogeneous preparation of thaumatin and controlling the stereochemistry of the tartrate precipitant, it is possible to achieve consistent results for the protein solubility. To understand the role of protein impurities in the crystallization of thaumatin, we examined two commercial sources of the protein and characterized the heterogeneities therein. To examine the effect of precipitant stereochemistry, we crystallized thaumatin with l, d, and dl (racemic) tartrate ions. We suggest that the inconsistencies among previous results stem in part from the different behavior of thaumatin with the l and d enantiomers: the solubility of thaumatin crystals increases with temperature in l-tartrate, whereas it d...
Aitken's and Steffensen's accelerations in several variables

Aitken's acceleration of scalar sequences extends to sequences of vectors that behave asymptotically as iterations of a linear transformation. However, the minimal and characteristic polynomials of that transformation must coincide (but the initial sequence of vectors need not converge) for a numerically stable convergence of Aitken's acceleration to occur. Similar results hold for Steffensen's acceleration of the iterations of a function of several variables. First, the iterated function need not be a contracting map in any neighbourhood of its fixed point. Instead, the second partial derivatives need only remain bounded in such a neighbourhood for Steffensen's acceleration to converge quadratically, even if ordinary iterations diverge. Second, at the fixed point the minimal and characteristic polynomials of the Jacobian matrix must coincide to ensure a numerically stable convergence. By generalizing the work that Noda did on the subject between 1981 and 1986, the results presented here explain the numerical observations reported by Henrici in 1964 and 1982.
Real-time image-based topological localization in large outdoor environments

This paper presents a real-time implementation of a topological localization method based on matching image features. This work is supported by a unique sensor pod design that provides stand-alone sensing and computing for localizing a vehicle on a previously traveled road. We report extensive field test results from outdoor environments, with the sensor pod mounted on both a small and a large all-terrain vehicle. Off-line analysis of the approach is also presented to evaluate the robustness of the various image features tested against different weather and lighting conditions.
Edge Detection Algorithm for SST Images

An algorithm to detect fronts in satellite-derived sea surface temperature fields is presented. Although edge detection is the main focus, the problem of cloud detection is also addressed since unidentified clouds can lead to erroneous edge detection. The algorithm relies on a combination of methods and it operates at the picture, the window, and the local level. The resulting edge detection is not based on the absolute strength of the front, but on the relative strength depending on the context, thus, making the edge detection temperature-scale invariant. The performance of this algorithm is shown to be superior to that of simpler algorithms commonly used to locate edges in satellite-derived SST images. This evaluation was performed through a careful comparison between the location of the fronts obtained by applying the various methods to the SST images and the in situ measures of the Gulf Stream position.
Kinetic Energy and the Covalent Bond in H 2

A modified version of Ruedenberg’s innovative analysis of the chemical bond in the hydrogen molecule ion is presented that factors the bond energy into bonding and nonbonding contributions. This simplified approach clearly illustrates Ruedenberg’s main thesis: chemical bond formation is driven by a decrease in electron kinetic energy.
The Mediating Role of Visual-Verbal Redundancy on the Perceived Effectiveness of Antismoking Messages

This study investigates the mediating role of visual-verbal redundancy on the impact of three features, namely, message sensation value (MSV), message cognition value (MCV), and smoking scenes, on the perceived effectiveness of antismoking messages among young adults. Recent literature examining the effects of the three major message characteristics presents contradictory results, which is argued to be affected by the factor of how ad structure and content are organized. Using a within-subject experimental design, the mediation analyses indicate that the visual-verbal redundancy mediates the relationship between message effectiveness and three message features. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Temporal changes in diastolic function measured by volumetric CMR after ST Elevation Myocardial infarction

Method 23 patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI were prospectively enrolled and sequential CMR imaging was performed within 96 hours of admission and at 1 month follow up. LV volumetric quantification was performed (QMass MR, Medis, Leiden, The Netherlands) with manual planimetry of the endocardial contours in all temporal phases of the contiguous short-axis slices. Systolic parameters were obtained. Diastolic CMR parameters were derived including peak filling rate (PFR) and its index normalized to end diastolic volume (NPFR), time to peak filling rate (TPFR), diastolic volume recovery (DVR80): proportion of diastole required for recovery of 80 percentage of stroke volume as well as the ratio of the biphasic early (E) and late (A) filling profiles (E/A ratio). The change in those parameters was then correlated to peak troponin-I and baseline LVEF.
A look at tethered satellite identification using ridge-type estimation methods

Recent studies of ill-conditioned orbit determination problems have demonstrated that ridge-type estimation methods have the capability to provide increased solution accuracy over classical estimation techniques. These advanced estimation methods add a small amount of bias to the solution in order to decrease the total variance of the estimates. Even though the addition of bias to the solution results in a slightly poorer data fit, the overall solution accuracy can be improved in certain types of ill-conditioned problems. One application in which the usefulness of ridge-type estimation methods has been demonstrated is the problem of quick-look orbit determination, i.e., the problem of accurately determining the trajectory of a spacecraft using only a short arc of observational data. One similar type of orbit determination problem which has received renewed interest lately is that of the identification of a satellite to be part of a tethered satellite system without prior knowledge that it is so. A batch filter has recently been developed which has the capability of identifying a satellite to be tethered, however the accuracy of this filter is highly dependent on the amount of observational data being processed. The performance of this filter has indicated that the shorter the data arc, the more ill-conditioned the problem, thereby resulting in inaccurate solutions. This paper applies ridge-type estimation methods to the problem of identifying a tethered satellite using short arcs of observational data. Performance of the ridge-type filter is evaluated for cases of differing tether lengths, tether orientations, levels of observation error, and observation span. Results will be compared to those obtained from classical minimum variance methods with special attention being given to the speed at which the identification of a tethered satellite can take place.
Recursively unsolvable word problems of modular lattices and diagram-chasing

Abstract The unsolvability of the word problem for modular lattices is demonstrated, using the known unsolvability of the word problem for semigroups. More generally, suppose that Λ is a nontrivial ring, N is a denumerably infinite set, and Γ(ΛN) is the lattice of submodules of the left Λ-module of all functions N → Λ. Then a lattice presentation with a finite number of generators and relations is constructed that has a recursively unsolvable word problem in any quasivariety of modular lattices that contains Γ(ΛN). Given a finite commutative abelian category diagram with specified exactness conditions, it may be that other exactness conditions are implied. For example, consider the five-lemma. It is proved that no algorithm can compute every exactness implication in every finite commutative diagram with specified exactness conditions. The result is obtained essentially by expressing an unsolvable modular lattice word problem as a family of diagram-chasing problems.
Identity, location, disease and more: inferring your secrets from android public resources

The design of Android is based on a set of unprotected shared resources, including those inherited from Linux (e.g., Linux public directories). However, the dramatic development in Android applications (app for short) makes available a large amount of public background information (e.g., social networks, public online services), which can potentially turn such originally harmless resource sharing into serious privacy breaches. In this paper, we report our work on this important yet understudied problem. We discovered three unexpected channels of information leaks on Android: per-app data-usage statistics, ARP information, and speaker status (on or off). By monitoring these channels, an app without any permission may acquire sensitive information such as smartphone user's identity, the disease condition she is interested in, her geo-locations and her driving route, from top-of-the-line Android apps. Furthermore, we show that using existing and new techniques, this zero-permission app can both determine when its target (a particular application) is running and send out collected data stealthily to a remote adversary. These findings call into question the soundness of the design assumptions on shared resources, and demand effective solutions. To this end, we present a mitigation mechanism for achieving a delicate balance between utility and privacy of such resources.
Effect of zinc on regeneration in the fiddler crab Uca pugilator and its interactions with methylmercury and cadmium

Abstract After multiple autotomy (one chela and six walking legs) fiddler crabs ( Uca pugilator ) were exposed to zinc chloride, cadmium chloride, methylmercuric chloride or combinations of these metals. Zinc at 1, 3 and 5 ppm had a retarding effect on limb regeneration, which was amplified in water of reduced salinity. Methylmercury at 0·5 ppm and cadmium at 1·0 ppm have previously been found to retard regeneration. When crabs were exposed to meHg and Zn the effects were additive, both in sea water (30% salinity) and in water of reduced salinity (7–8%). However, when crabs were exposed to combinations of Zn and Cd the effects were antagonistic and the rate of regeneration was almost that of controls. In water of 7–8% salinity the Cd effect was greatly intensified and growth was almost totally prevented. The presence of Zn counteracted this and allowed growth and ecdysis to occur.
Discussion: The neurobiology of language (Lenneberg)

Thank you Dr. Hagin, members and guests of the Orton Society. Every once in a while, say about once every 500 years, there appears upon the scene a man who seems to transcend any rigid professional limitations, a man who is equally at home in many disciplines. Such a person is Dr. Lenneberg. Not only is he an inspiring and innovative psychologist but he is a linguist, a neurologist, a basic biologist, a speech therapist, and he probably could teach reading too. In all of these skills he brings a depth of knowledge and wide experience. My hrst acquaintance with Dr. Lenne berg was through his book, The Biological Foundations of Language, which I first obtained in the Christmas of 1967. So powerful was this book, that even while sitting around the pool in Miami, with the bikini-clad beauties wandering about, my interest was solely with this book. It was indeed a pleasure this afternoon to listen to Dr. Lenneberg discuss various problems which we have, in our own minor way, struggled with for a long time. Dr. Lenneberg has made three major points : ( 1 ) that language is the resultant of the environment interacting with the biological substrata present in each individual, the interaction taking place in the dimension of time, (2) that theoretically language is "relational," "that we have to take into account the relationship between temporal configurations," and (3) that the concept of language as a basic biological phenomenon has certain practical implications. The concept that language is a basic biological phenomenon is, of course, not a strange one to a physician. Dr. Lenneberg stresses the inter action between experiential and genetically determined biological phe nomena, leading to new physiological states which may respond in different ways to environmental stimuli. So interwoven are these factors in language development that Dr. Lenneberg states it is futile to make the distinction between biological and experiential factors. It seems to me, however, that we cannot stop at that. If we consider the old Stimulus-» Response formula, it is important to know what factors are on each side of the equa tion, what stimulus produces what response. More than that we would like to investigate the arrow of the equation, namely, what is happening in the brain between the stimulus and the response. Only when these three factors, the stimulus, the arrow and the response, are teased apart and their interrelationships studied, can we really begin to understand the forces which go into creating a language problem and the forces we must apply in prevention and remediation. We do not yet know, for example, just what "environmental deprivation" does to developing language, what chemical factors are involved in learning. Certainly even the replication of proteins must take place at a molecular level under certain conditions
Holographic Associative Memories

A Lyapunov or "energy" function based on Kosko's BAM model of associative memory is derived for optical associative memories based on thin holograms in a nonlinear cavity. The dynamic behavior is illustrated using computer simulations.