cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemical Amplification Resists: Laboratory Curiosity to Paradigm

It has been a little more than a quarter century since chemical amplification resists were invented. They achieve a high sensitivity through a catalytic action of a photochemically generated acid. This drastically novel imaging concept was considered laboratory curiosity initially. However, the very first chemically amplified tBOC resist was quickly implemented in mass production of 1 megabit dynamic random access memory devices by deep UV lithography at IBM. Since then the chemical amplification concept has become the paradigm of advanced resist systems, enabling the industry to shift to shorter wavelengths (from 365 to 248, and then to 193 nm) for higher resolution and to follow the Moore's law. The chemical amplification resist invented for 1 μm resolution can now resolve 30 nm equal line/space patterns and continues to play a pivotal role in microlithography in the foreseeable future. This paper describes the inception and advancement of chemical amplification resists.
Anatomy of the Two Subdisciplines of Communication Study

Evidence is summarized here for the degree to which the field of communication study is divided into two subdisciplines: mass communication versus interpersonal communication. This division is expressed (a) in the general lack of cross-citations between five mass communication journals and five interpersonal communication journals, (b) by separation of the two subdisciplines in communication associations, and (c) by the awarding of doctoral degrees in programs specializing mainly in interpersonal communication or in mass communication. The historical and other reasons for this bifurcation of communication study and the functions and dysfunctions of this division are discussed.
The Daily Child Behavior Checklist

The purpose of this study was to develop a child behavior checklist that could be completed on a daily basis and that included both positive and negative child behaviors. Participants in the study were six groups of individuals, including one group of clinical psychology graduate students and five groups of either clinic-referred or nonclinic children and their parents. Content, discriminant, concurrent, and statistical conclusion validity data as well as test-retest reliability data were collected on the Daily Child Behavior Checklist (DCBC). The results indicated that the instrument has satisfactory validity and reliability and is reasonably sensitive to daily changes in child behaviors. The advantages and uses of the DCBC are discussed.
Radiosensitizing and Cytocidal Effects of Misonidazole: Evidence for Separate Modes of Action

Hypoxic BP-8 murine sarcoma cells were exposed to misonidazole and/or radiation and the kinetics and extent of cell death were evaluated with the [125I]iododeoxyuridine-prelabeling assay. Cell death after treatment with lethal doses of misonidazole was rapid and essentially complete within 2 or 3 days after drug exposure. In contrast, radiation death became apparent only after a delay period of 4 days and was complete by Day 10 after irradiation. Radiosensitization by short exposures to sublethal doses of misonidazole affected only the delayed component of cell death, that is, the radiation component of death. In experiments involving sequential radiation and drug treatment, prior irradiation of cells did not enhance the direct cytocidal effects of misonidazole, as evidenced by the fact that the early component of cell death was equal in control and preirradiated cells. However, postirradiation treatment with misonidazole did enhance the delayed radiation component of cell death. These results suggest that radiosensitization and direct killing by misonidazole are two distinct phenomena mediated by different cellular mechanisms, and radiosensitization by misonidazole represents a two-component effect composed of true dose modification and dose additive damage interactions, but these additive effects must occur at a site different from the cellular structure responsible for direct drug-induced cell death.
Systematic characterization of component failures for the DIII–D tokamak

Abstract A fusion reactor will be a fairly complex system consisting of many components. All the components are required to produce plasma and control it. Some of the components will be large, and for economic reasons, there will not be spares for all the components. It is therefore important to have a system whereby troubles are communicated, recorded and analyzed. Such a trouble report system has been in place at the DIII–D tokamak facility for many years. The purpose of the system is to easily facilitate communication between the people that discover problems and those that fix the problems. The trouble sheets are logged into a computer database that is used to characterize the kind of problems that the facility experiences, and determine which equipment, software, or human errors are causing significant downtime. The information is also used to evaluate whether sufficient maintenance is done to the equipment and to provide a basis for replacing it. The original system was based on paper forms. Before the end of its first year in operation, the system was changed to a web-based system. In the new system a trouble report is filled out using a web browser, and the information is emailed to the repair personnel and managers as soon as the form is submitted through the web. The study will discuss the problems experienced at the DIII–D facility, and how the information is used to adjust the preventive maintenance schedule.
The Design of Robust H &#8734; Filtering for Stochastic Uncertain Systems

The robust Hinfin filtering problem is considered for stochastic uncertain systems subject to norm-bounded parameter uncertainties in both state and output matrices of the state space model. The aim is to design a filter by auxiliary systems, which ensures both the robustly stochastic stability and prescribed level of Hinfin performance for the filtering error dynamics for all admissible uncertainty. The sufficient conditions for existing filter are derived. An LMI method for designing filter is given by matrix transformations, so it is convenient to obtain the expression of filter. At last, a numerical example shows that the method is effective and feasible
Corporate Transparency and Firm Growth: Evidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts

Using a panel data set of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), we find corporate transparency to be positively associated with REIT growth. These results suggest that greater transparency facilitates firm growth by relaxing information-based constraints on external financing. The magnitude of this effect is larger in the equity market than in the debt market. Moreover, the sensitivity of investment to cash flows is decreasing in transparency, evidence that transparency relaxes liquidity constraints. Finally, we find more transparent REITs are less likely to crash.
Child Soldiers and Clicktivism: Justice, Myths, and Prevention

The Kony 2012 campaign, conducted under the auspices of an American advocacy group, Invisible Children, highlighted – somewhat belatedly – the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), its leadership, and its many victims in northern Uganda, notably child soldiers. Deeper questions lurk, however, amid the breezy media flurry. How does Kony 2012 inform our understanding of child soldiers? How does it sculpt international efforts to prevent child soldiering? Kony 2012 draws from and buttresses pre-existing assumptions and narratives. I argue in my book Reimagining Child Soldiers that these assumptions and narratives, however well intended, incubate policy initiatives that assuage collective sensibilities but, ultimately, fall short in terms of actual effectiveness (Drumbl, 2012). People have thought hard about the impact of media on messages for quite some time, including well before the dawn of the internet. Nearly 50 years ago, Marshall McLuhan opined that the medium was (is) the message (McLuhan, 1964). Undoubtedly, activists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would do well to harness the power of contemporary social media. But the content of the message itself still really matters. Is it sensible for international law and policy to be based upon stylized content deliberately airbrushed just to increase attention-worthiness? More international law, and more attention to international law, does not invariably lead to progress. Substance counts, too. Misguided law, after all, leads to ineffective outcomes.
The effect of setup uncertainty on normal tissue sparing with IMRT for head-and-neck cancer.

Abstract Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is being evaluated in the management of head-and-neck cancers at several institutions, and a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group study of its utility in parotid sparing is under development. There is an inherent risk that the sharper dose gradients generated by IMRT amplify the potentially detrimental impact of setup uncertainty. The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements Report 62 (ICRU-62) defined planning organ-at-risk volume (PRV) to account for positional uncertainties for normal tissues. The purpose of this study is to quantify the dosimetric effect of employing PRV for the parotid gland and to evaluate the use of PRV on normal-tissue sparing in the setting of small clinical setup errors. Methods and Materials: The optimized nine-beam IMRT plans for three head-and-neck cancer patients participating in an institutional review board approved parotid-sparing protocol were used as reference plans. A second optimized plan was generated for each patient by adding a PRV of 5 mm for the contralateral parotid gland. The effect of these additions on the quality of the plans was quantified, in terms of both target coverage and normal-tissue sparing. To test the value of PRV in a worst-case scenario, systematic translational setup uncertainties were simulated by shifting the treatment isocenter 5 mm superiorly, inferiorly, left, right, anteriorly, and posteriorly, without altering optimized beam profiles. At each shifted isocenter, dose distributions were recalculated, producing a total of six shifted plans without PRV and six shifted plans with PRV for each patient. The effect of setup uncertainty on parotid sparing and the value of PRV in compensating for the uncertainty were evaluated. Results: The addition of the PRV and reoptimization did not significantly affect the dose to gross tumor volume, spinal cord, or brainstem. In contrast, without any shift, the PRV did increase parotid sparing and reduce coverage of the nodal region adjacent to the parotid gland. As expected, when the plans were shifted, the greatest increase in contralateral parotid irradiation was noted with shifts toward the contralateral parotid gland. With these shifts, the average volume of contralateral parotid receiving greater than 30 Gy was reduced from 22% to 4% when a PRV was used. This correlated with a reduction in the average normal-tissue complication probability (NTCP) from 22% to 7%. Conclusions: The use of PRV may limit the volume of normal tissue structures, such as the parotid gland, exceeding tolerance dose as a result of setup errors. Consequently, it will be important to incorporate the nomenclature of ICRU-62 into the design of future IMRT studies, if the clinical gains of increased normal-tissue sparing are to be realized.
Continued alcohol use in patients with head and neck cancer

Background The effect of posttreatment alcohol consumption on health-related quality of life (QOL) and factors predicting overall QOL and continued alcohol consumption were examined in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods Self-reported alcohol use and abuse 1 year after diagnosis was analyzed. Results Although current drinkers (44.5% of 283 patients) had better overall QOL and fewer depressive symptoms, current social drinkers had the best scores, whereas current problem drinkers had the worst. Female sex, fewer depressive symptoms, less pain, and better eating function predicted better QOL. Oral function was the only predictor of 12-month alcohol use. Conclusion Depression, pain, and eating function predicted overall QOL. Alcohol consumption was not associated with QOL, but was associated with better oral function, which in turn predicted better QOL. Alcohol consumption itself does not improve QOL in this population, and these patients should be counseled regarding detrimental effects of continued drinking after treatment. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2010
Synthesis of substituted cyclobutenediones from 3-ethenyl-4-methoxy-cyclobutene-1,2-dione

Abstract The synthesis of 3-ethenyl-4-methoxycyclobutene-1,2-dione from dimethyl-squarate is described. This compound was observed to undergo facile 1,6-addition of both carbon and non-carbon nucleophiles to the 3-alkenyl group. Thus, it serves as a versatile starting material for the synthesis of a variety of substituted cyclobutenediones which are convenient starting materials to a variety of other ring systems.
Landscape linkages and conservation planning for the black bear in west-central Florida

The Greater Chassahowitzka black bear population is the smallest documented in North America with fewer than 20 individuals. Its future depends on landscape linkages with other bear populations that are separated by denatured habitat. We used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify potential landscape linkages between this isolated population and six others in Florida. Pathway lengths ranged from 60–194 km with varying potentials for facilitating black bear dispersal. Each pathway incorporated 35–88% conservation land and encountered at least 11 dispersal bottlenecks. Even pathways that incorporated extensive conservation land encountered bottlenecks that make these linkages potentially unviable. All six pathways, however, passed through ≥95% core black bear habitat. Thus, the infrastructure for a conservation network is still largely intact. The Suwannee pathway provides the best opportunity to restore connectivity between the Greater Chassahowitzka Ecosystem (GCE) and a southward colonising bear population in the Big Bend region. However, intensification of development poses an immediate threat to maintaining connectivity between the GCE and other bear populations in Florida. Through immediate strategic planning and active conservation and restoration measures, many of the generated pathways can provide long-term connectivity. Least-cost path analyses can aid in the conservation of wide-ranging animals by providing managers with a science-based, empirically derived blueprint of potential landscape linkages.
John Cammett, Antonio Gramsci, and anthropology

The Marxist historian and Gramsci scholar John Cammett died on July 30, 2008. He was 81 years old. Cammett introduced the writings and theoretical concepts of Antonio Gramsci to English-language readers at a crucial moment in the history of the United States left. His book, Antonio Gramsci and the Origins of Italian Communism (1967) traced Gramsci's political activism and theoretical contributions to the formation of the Communist Party of Italy. Previously, in 1957, Carl Marzani published The Open Marxism of Antonio Gramsci and International Publishers brought out "The modern prince" and Other Essays (Gramsci 1957). However, these last two volumes were published during the McCarthy era, a time when Marxism of all sorts was on the defensive in the United States. By 1967 the cultural terrain and political discourse in the United States had shifted dramatically in response to the upsurge of the Civil Rights, antiVietnam War, and student movements. Gramsci's ideas, made accessible by Cammett's scholarship, have had a profound impact on activists and scholars concerned with social change over the next 40 years. John Cammett was born July 8, 1927. After serving in the U.S. Navy in WWII, (1945-1947) Cammett returned to the United States where he was active in the social movements of the political left and trade unions. He obtained a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Italy (1950-1951) where he was introduced to the Communist Party of Italy (PCI) and through these relationships, to the work of Antonio Gramsci, who had been a founder of the PCI. These connections provided the basis for Cammett's doctoral dissertation at Columbia University, which in turn became the basis for his 1967 book.
A Convergent Validity Study of Six Jealousy Scales

To determine the convergent validity of 6 measures of jealousy, these measures along with two measures of neuroticism, two measures of romantic love, and a measure of extraversion were factor analy...
Fire history in the ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests on the east slope of the Washington Cascades

We collected 490 and 233 fire scars on two ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)/Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) dominated landscapes on the east slope of the Washington Cascades that contained a record of 3901 and 2309 cross-dated fire events. During the pre-settlement period (1700/1750‐1860), the Weibull median fire-free interval (WMFFI) and the mean firefree interval (MFFI) were 6.6‐7 years at both sites. The MFFI during the settlement period (1860‐1910) varied within 3 years of the pre-settlement value, but increased to 38 and 43 years for a truncated fire suppression period between 1910 and 1996. Increased variation in MFFI among aspect polygons suggests fire regimes have become more complex since Euro-settlement. In the pre-settlement period, an area equal to approximately 50‐60% of the study areas burned every 6‐7 years, an amount of fire disturbance apparently in balance with landscape and stand vegetation structure. Overlapping fires have created a complex mosaic of different fire histories on these forested landscapes. Mapped fire events from the 1700‐1910 showed 134 and 157 separate fire history polygons (FHP) at the two sites. Fire disturbance rates and patterns are suggested as ecologically defensible reference points for landscape heterogeneity to reduce the potential for catastrophic fires and to establish vegetation disturbance management guidelines. # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
ACCUMULATION OF WATER SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS AND HYDROLYSIS OF POLYPHOSPHATES BY CLADOPHORA GLOMERATA (CHLOROPHYCEAE)1,2

Concentrations of hot-water extractable phosphorus from most samples of Cladophora glomerata (L.) Kutz. were relatively high (0.06–0.68%) and correlated closely with total dissolved P in ambient Lake Michigan water. Cladophora was able to hydrolyze polyphosphates by enzymes found in intracellular, extracellular and cell wall fractions. The intracellular phosphatase activity is pH dependent with the optimal hydrolysis rate at pH 7.8. Secretion of phosphatases is affected by pH, with maximum rate at 7, but affected little by light intensity. Magnesium is the most effective metallic cofactor required for maximal rates of intracellular phosphatase activities.
Completeness criteria in many-valued set logic under compositions with Boolean functions

Discusses the functional completeness problems in r-valued set logic, which is the logic of functions mapping n-tuples of subsets into subsets over r values. Boolean functions are convenient choice as building blocks in the design of set logic functions. A set of functions F is Boolean complete if any set logic function can be composed from F once all Boolean functions are added to F. The paper proves that there are 2/sup r/-2 Boolean maximal sets in r-valued set logic and gives their description using equivalence relations. A set F is then Boolean complete if it is not a subset of any of these 2/sup r/-2 Boolean maximal sets, which is a completeness criteria in many-valued set logic under compositions with Boolean functions. >
Nature of the Powder-Like Deposit on the Spinning Frame from Chlorine-Corona Treated Wool

Wool sliver, that had undergone a corona discharge treatment in an air-chlorine atmosphere, deposited a white powder- like substance on the spinning frame. The deposit was shown by TLC and IR to be...
Weathering the storm: Nonprofit organization survival strategies in a hostile climate

This study examines strategies for organizational survival among community-based nonprofit organizations operating in a political environment antithetical to their missions. Qualitative fieldwork is drawn upon to examine how syringe exchange programs in New York City manage to operate despite government hostility and the disenfranchisement of drug users from policy making. This work examines the presentation of forms chosen by the groups in question, their political machinations and interorganizational relations, and the manner of claims made or not made by representatives of exchange programs in the political arena. Programs are found to have altered their outward appearance and forms away from the needs of their constituents toward protection of state interests, but they have not received very much in return.
Vowel and consonant confusion in noise by cochlear implant subjects: predicting performance using signal processing techniques

Cochlear implants are able to restore some degree of hearing to deafened individuals; however implant users are particularly susceptible to background noise. The effect of noise can be assessed using vowel and consonant confusions measured in listening experiments. The paper presents three signal processing methods developed to predict patterns in vowel and consonant confusion in noise for cochlear implant users. Prediction performance is tested using the results of a listening experiment conducted with acoustic models of two cochlear implant speech processors and normal hearing subjects. Confusion prediction is based on prediction metrics calculated using each method's unique representation of the speech tokens.
Hydrothermal synthesis of ferroelectric perovskites from chemically modified titanium isopropoxide and acetate salts

The feasibility of the acetylacetonate-Ti isopropoxide complex as a new precursor for synthesis of Ti-based perovskite particles under hydrothermal conditions has been demonstrated. Perovskite powders including BaTiO3, PbTiO3, PZT, PLZT, and SrTiO3 were prepared by reacting the acetylacetonate-modified Ti precursor in metal acetate aqueous salt solution under hydrothermal conditions. Synthesis parameters including reaction time and temperature, feedstock concentration, nd reaction medium significantly influence particle characteristics of the hydrothermally derived erovskite powders. It is proposed that use of the acetylacetonate-modified Ti precursor promotes ntimate mixing among multicomponent reacting species at the molecular level and promotes article formation through a dissolution/recrystallization mechanism.
WE‐E‐E‐611‐04: How Should We Be Doing It?

UC Davis physics education to residents involves an educational curriculum with didactic lectures offered over a contiguous 9 week period, one hour per day during the noontime hour during the months of May, June, and July (this is in lieu of the normal noon lecture, which is held in the early morning and/or late afternoon). Teaching faculty are convinced that day to day continuity aids greatly in the successful delivery and understanding of physics concepts. Physics lecture materials are produced on overhead projector transparencies, and are identical to the notes provided to the residents. Interactive writing on the transparencies allows appropriate emphasis of important information, and allows the residents to concentrate on the lecture instead of trying to take notes. Another benefit of the overhead projector is the ability to maintain reasonable luminance in the room, permitting eye contact with the residents and keeping them awake and alert. Further study (e.g., “homework”) is achieved by consulting the physics textbook from which a majority of the lecture content is extracted. Additionally, sample question and answer sets give the residents a feel for what is to be expected in terms of written examinations. Interactive, animated computer presentations are under development to aid in describing more difficult concepts, and eventually, migration to all computerized materials is planned. Finally, the residents attend a concentrated, 4 day summer physics review course taught by UC Davis faculty prior to the board exams. Educational Objectives: 1. Illustrate the methods of physics teaching to residents at UC Davis Dept of Radiology 2. Describe teaching curriculum, time commitment, schedule for the residents
A New Multiple Scatterer Model for Fixed Indoor Wireless Communication Channels

A new statistical channel model known as the Multiple Scatterer Channel (MSC) is developed to capture the time variations of both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) fixed indoor communication (FIC) channels. It is shown that, when the statistics of the signal scatterers (e.g., speed distributions and locations) are known, the MSC model can capture the time variations of any FIC channel because its parameters can be estimated via ray tracing.
Pediatric ingestions: Charcoal alone versus ipecac and charcoal

Study objectives: To determine the effect of syrup of ipecac (SOI) on time to receive and retention of activated charcoal (AC) and on total ED time. Design: During a two-year period, patients were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, unblinded, controlled trial. Setting: All patients were recruited and studied in a pediatric emergency department. Participants: Seventy children less than 6 years old (mean age, 2.4 ± 0.2 years) who presented with mild-to-moderate acute oral ingestions. Interventions: Group 1 received SOI before AC. Group 2 received only AC. Measurements and main results: Group 1 patients took significantly longer to receive AC than group 2 from the time of ED arrival (2.6 ± 0.1 vs 0.9 ± 0.1 hours, P P P Conclusions: Ipecac delays the administration of AC, hinders its retention, and prolongs ED time in pediatric ingestion patients. These data support the recommendation that AC alone should be the gastrointestinal decontamination method of choice for the mild-to-moderate pediatric ingestion patient presenting to an ED.
A simple radiative-convective model with a hydrological cycle and interactive clouds

SUMMARY We have developed a simple, analytically tractable radiativexonvective model of the tropical climate system that includes an explicit moisture budget, a simple convection parametrization, a simple but physically based radiation parametrization, and interactive clouds. The underlying surface is assumed to be ocean. The model includes prognostic equations for the sea surface temperature and the vertically integrated water vapour content. A stratosphere in radiative equilibrium limits the depth of the convective layer. The lower-tropospheric lapse rate, surface evaporation rate, and clear-sky long-wave and short-wave radiative fluxes at the surface and the top of the atmosphere are determined as functions of the sea surface temperature and precipitable water only. The radiativeconvective equilibria of the model atmosphere resemble the observed tropical climate, if realistic sea surface temperatures are prescribed. However, cloud-free radiativexonvective equilibria of the tropical atmosphere-ocean system do not occur for realistic values of the surface albedo. When cloud radiative effects are included, the model produces radiativexonvective equilibria that are unrealistically warm. With prescribed realistic lateral energy and moisture transports, however, the equilibria of the model are realistic.
Fast query-optimized kernel machine classification via incremental approximate nearest support vectors

Support vector machines (and other kernel machines) offer robust modern machine learning methods for nonlinear classification. However, relative to other alternatives (such as linear methods, decision trees and neural networks), they can be orders of magnitude slower at query-time. Unlike existing methods that attempt to speedup querytime, such as reduced set compression (e.g. (Burges, 1996)) and anytime bounding (e.g. (DeCoste, 2002), we propose a new and efficient approach based on treating the kernel machine classifier as a special form of k nearest-neighbor. Our approach improves upon a traditional k-NN by determining at query-time a good k for each query, based on pre-query analysis guided by the original robust kernel machine. We demonstrate effectiveness on high-dimensional benchmark MNIST data, observing a greater than 100- fold reduction in the number of SVs required per query (amortized over all 45 pairwise MNIST digit classifiers), with no extra test errors (in fact, it happens to make 4 fewer).
High-performance thin-film transistors fabricated using excimer laser processing and grain engineering

High-performance polysilicon thin-film transistors (TFTs) are fabricated using an excimer laser to recrystallize the undoped channel and dope the source-drain regions. Using a technique we call "grain engineering" we are able to control grain microstructure using laser parameters. Resulting polysilicon films are obtained with average grain sizes of /spl sim/4-9/spl times/m in sub-100 nm thick polysilicon films without substrate heating during the laser recrystallization process. Using a simple four-mask self-aligned aluminum top-gate structure, we fabricate TFTs in these films. By combining the grain-engineered channel polysilicon regions with laser-doped source-drain regions, TFTs are fabricated with electron mobilities up to 260 cm/sup 2//Vs and on/off current ratios greater than 10/sup 7/. To our knowledge, these devices represent the highest performance laser-processed TFTs reported to date fabricated without substrate heating or hydrogenation.
Tuberous sclerosis complex regulates Drosophila neuromuscular junction growth via the TORC2/Akt pathway

Mutations in the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are associated with various forms of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and epilepsy. The heterodimeric TSC complex, consisting of Tsc1 and Tsc2 proteins, regulates the activity of the TOR (target of rapamycin) complex via Rheb, a small GTPase. TOR, an atypical serine/threonine kinase, forms two distinct complexes TORC1 and TORC2. Raptor and Rictor serve as specific functional components of TORC1 and TORC2, respectively. Previous studies have identified Tsc1 as a regulator of hippocampal neuronal morphology and function via the TOR pathway, but it is unclear whether this is mediated via TORC1 or TORC2. In a genetic screen for aberrant synaptic growth at the neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in Drosophila, we identified that Tsc2 mutants showed increased synaptic growth. Increased synaptic growth was also observed in rictor mutants, while raptor knockdown did not phenocopy the TSC mutant phenotype, suggesting that a novel role exists for TORC2 in regulating synapse growth. Furthermore, Tsc2 mutants showed a dramatic decrease in the levels of phosphorylated Akt, and interestingly, Akt mutants phenocopied Tsc2 mutants, leading to the hypothesis that Tsc2 and Akt might work via the same genetic pathway to regulate synapse growth. Indeed, transheterozygous analysis of Tsc2 and Akt mutants confirmed this hypothesis. Finally, our data also suggest that while overexpression of rheb results in aberrant synaptic overgrowth, the overgrowth might be independent of TORC2. Thus, we propose that at the Drosophila NMJ, TSC regulates synaptic growth via the TORC2-Akt pathway.
The complexity of the consistency and n-representability problems for quantum states

Quantum mechanics has important consequences for machines that store and manipulate information. In particular, quantum computers might be more powerful than classical computers; examples of this include Shor’s algorithm for factoring and discrete logarithms, and Grover’s algorithm for black-box search. Because of these theoretical results, and the possibility that we may eventually succeed in building scalable quantum computers, it is interesting to study complexity classes based on quantum computation. QMA (Quantum Merlin-Arthur) is the quantum analogue of the class NP. There are a few QMA-complete problems, most of which are variants of the “Local Hamiltonian” problem introduced by Kitaev. In this dissertation we show some new QMA-complete problems which are very different from those known previously, and have applications in quantum chemistry. The first one is “Consistency of Local Density Matrices”: given a collection of density matrices describing different subsets of an n-qubit system (where each subset has constant size), decide whether these are consistent with some global state of all n qubits. This problem was first suggested by Aharonov. We show that it is QMA-complete, via an oracle reduction from Local Hamiltonian. Our reduction is based on algorithms for convex optimization with a membership oracle, due to Yudin and Nemirovskii. Next we show that two problems from quantum chemistry, “Fermionic Local Hamiltonian” and “N-representability,” are QMA-complete. These problems involve systems of fermions, rather than qubits; they arise in calculating the ground state energies of molecular systems. N-representability is particularly interesting, as it is a key component in recently developed numerical methods using the contracted Schrodinger equation. Although these problems have been studied since the 1960’s, it is only recently that the theory of quantum computation has provided the right tools to properly characterize their complexity. Finally, we study some special cases of the Consistency problem, pertaining to 1-dimensional and “stoquastic” systems. We also give an alternative proof of a result due to Jaynes: whenever local density matrices are consistent, they are consistent with a Gibbs state.
Portfolio Reasons for Homeownership: The Case of Immigrants

This paper uses data from the Legalized Population Survey to study the determinants of U.S. immigrant’s home ownership. The main interest of the paper is on the relationship between house ownership in the U.S. and house ownership abroad. The results show that house ownership of U.S. immigrants is positively related to house ownership abroad. The results are especially significant for females and for the ownership of a second house in the U.S. These results seem to imply that migrants balance their portfolios between housing investments in the U.S. (safe assets) and housing investments abroad (risky assets). It is possible that these housing investments abroad can account for some of the low house ownership rates that previous studies have found for U.S. immigrants
Application of RF Frequency-Division Multiplexing for Multiple Species Measurements in Large Pool Fires

Researchers at Sandia have been experimentally and numerically investigating large-scale pool fires for several years, because of the risk that these fires pose to critical engineered systems during transport accident scenarios. Due to the difficulty of fielding optical measurement techniques in this turbulent, optically thick, high-temperature environment, experimental measurements in large fire research have traditionally been limited to thermocouples, heat-flux gauges, and bidirectional velocity probes. Recently, Sandia developed and successfully implemented an insulated, water-cooled fiber optic probe (see Figure 1) that utilized a combined HeNe-laser-absorption and a 2-coIor emission technique to determine soot volume fraction distributions and soot temperatures over a 2-cm sampling distance in a 6-meter diameter JP-8 pool fire [1]. With the collection and analysis of soot property data, attention has turned to the measurement of gas-phase species concentrations (together with soot properties), in order to evaluate mixing phenomena, gas-phase radiation interactions, and soot formation and oxidation chemistry in these large fires.
Neues Zylinderkopfdichtungskonzept für den Sechszylinder-Twin-Turbo-Ottomotor von BMW

Der neue Reihensechszylinder-Ottomotor von BMW ist beispielhaft fur eine zukunftsweisende Motorenentwicklung. Entsprechend anspruchsvoll und komplex sind die Anforderungen an die Zylinderkopfdichtung. Mit dem bisher weniger verbreiteten Dichtungskonzept BOSTEC (Bead-On-Stopper-Technology) von Federal-Mogul Sealing Systems in Verbindung mit bewahrter FEM-Auslegungsmethodik gelang es innerhalb kurzer Zeit, eine optimal zugeschnittene Zylinderkopfdichtung fur diesen Motor zur Serienreife zu entwickeln.
The World Threw a Party

Modern financial markets were a European Renaissance innovation. The merchants of Venice had been trading in various securities in the thirteenth century, and the Dutch East Indies Company began issuing stock in the seventeenth century. Indeed, the wealth from banking and trade allowed these Merchants of Venice, must notably the Medici family, to patronize the arts and sciences in the Renaissance. Soon thereafter, the Dutch created a market that resembles the modern stock exchange in many significant ways.
Sensory System, Overview

The somatic sensory system is one of the phylogenetically oldest sensory systems, evolving before the specialized senses of vision and hearing. This complex system provides information on the spatial limits of the organism by communicating information about the body to the brain through distinct receptors and pathways. For the most part, information arises from the body surface, although vital sensory information is also relayed from the muscles, internal organs, and blood vessels. By providing a continuous source of information on the body conditions and interactions with the external world, these pathways allow for rapid perception of threatening as well as pleasing stimuli. Neurological diseases of diverse causes may affect this somatosensory system, and understanding the underlying anatomy is a useful tool for localizing the pathological processes within the nervous system.
Extended Pelvic Lymphadenectomy for Prostatic Cancer

AbstractThirty patients with clinically localized prostatic carcinoma underwent extended pelvic lymphadenectomy, including the presacral and presciatic (lateral sacral) areas. The first echelon of pelvic nodes to be involved by metastases was the external iliac, obturator, presacral and presciatic. The deep presacral-presciatic nodes were involved almost as often as the more superficial external iliac-obturator group. Metastases limited only to the deep pelvic nodes were found in 14 per cent of the cases.
Residential Medical Settings

It is common for patients in long-term care or residential care settings to have a variety of different psychiatric conditions. While some facilities might have regular access to consulting psychiatrists, that is not common. The patients who reside in these facilities may also have chronic, complex diseases and be on a multitude of medications. Therefore, on-call psychiatrists must approach the care of these patients with caution, particularly if ordering psychoactive medications. Nurse staffing levels (e.g., number of patients/nurse) in these facilities are significantly less than in hospitals; most assisted living communities have no licensed nurses and few care aides. It is essential that on-call staff ensure a high level of communication with physicians and nurses to prevent medical errors and poor outcomes.
338. Evaluation of TALENs and the CRISPR/Cas9 Nuclease System To Correct the Sickle Cell Disease Mutation

Targeted genome editing technology can correct the sickle cell disease mutation of the beta-globin gene in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSCs). The correction induces production of red blood cells that synthesize normal hemoglobin proteins. Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs) and the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 nuclease systems have been developed to target the sickle mutation in the beta-globin gene for site-specific cleavage to facilitate precise correction of the sickle mutation by a co-delivered homologous donor template. K562 cells were electroporated with TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9 expression plasmids and, using the Surveyor Nuclease Assay (Cel-1), cleavage rates were quantified and compared between TALEN- and CRISPR/Cas9-treated cells. Of the six CRISPR/Cas9 guides tested, each of them led to target disruption of the beta-globin locus with the highest cleavage rates upwards of 35% of alleles. Of 4 distinct TALEN pairs generated, only 2 demonstrated targeted cleavage at rates nearing 10% of alleles. In addition to on-target cleavage at beta-globin, nuclease off-target cleavage at other beta-globin family genes was evaluated for each technology by Cel-1 of nucleofected K562 cells. Here the two TALEN pairs demonstrate cleavage in the highly-homologous delta-globin gene with the optimal TALEN pair cleaving 11% of alleles. In this assay, of the 6 CRISPR guides tested, none showed off-target disruption of delta-globin or any of the other beta-globin cluster genes. Of note, in each of the tested guides, at least one base differed from the target site in beta-globin to the respective sequence in delta-globin in the 10bp PAM proximal region. Further experiments are being conducted to determine the genome-wide off-target effects of each of these nucleases.Upon co-delivery of a plasmid donor template containing the corrective base at the sickle site as well as a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for rapid assessment of targeted gene modification, both nuclease technologies led to gene modification. Gene modification rates were assayed by qPCR with primers specific to the modified base. TALENs drove gene modification rates of 18%, while the optimal CRISPR guides resulted in 37% modification in K562 cells without sorting for transfected cells. These results provide the basis for pursuing the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease system for targeted correction of the sickle mutation in human HSCs.
The radiation shielding potential of CI and CM chondrites

Abstract Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) pose a serious limit on the duration of deep space human missions. A shield composed of a bulk mass of material in which the incident particles deposit their energy is the simplest way to attenuate the radiation. The cost of bringing the sufficient mass from the Earth’s surface is prohibitive. The shielding properties of asteroidal material, which is readily available in space, are investigated. Solution of Bethe’s equation is implemented for incident protons and the application in composite materials and the significance of various correction terms are discussed; the density correction is implemented. The solution is benchmarked and shows good agreement with the results in literature which implement more correction terms within the energy ranges considered. The shielding properties of CI and CM asteroidal taxonomy groups and major asteroidal minerals are presented in terms of stopping force. The results show that CI and CM chondrites have better stopping properties than Aluminium. Beneficiation is discussed and is shown to have a significant effect on the stopping power.
Pourfour du Petit Syndrome Associated With Right Eye Pressure

Pourfour du Petit (PDP) syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by ipsilateral mydriasis, eyelid retraction, and hemifacial hyperhidrosis caused by hyperactivity of the ipsilateral oculosympathetic pathway. A case is presented of PDP syndrome associated with likely ipsilateral occipital neuralgia. We review the causes and co-morbidities and the clinical features of PDP.
Noise Reduction A Priori Synthetic Over-Sampling for class imbalanced data sets

Compares the NRAS method against popular SMOTE based generalizations, SMOTE and OUPS.NRAS resulted in the highest sensitivity and G-mean over other approaches and is statistically significant.NRAS can improve prediction of under-represented samples containing noise because of its ability to remove outliers resulting in statistically significant improvement. In real world data set the underlying data distribution may be highly skewed. Building accurate classifiers for predicting group membership is made difficult because the classifier has a tendency to be biased towards the over represented or majority group as a result. This problem is referred to as a class imbalance problem. Re-sampling techniques that produce new samples by means of over-sampling aim to combat class imbalance by increasing the number of members that belong to the minority group. This paper introduces a new over-sampling technique that focuses on noise reduction and selective sampling of the minority group which results in improvement for prediction of minority group membership. Experiments are conducted across a wide range of data sets, learners and over sampling methods. The results for this new method show improvement for Sensitivity and Gmean measures over the compared approaches.
Writing War and Empire: Poetry, Patriotism, and Public Claims-Making in the British Caribbean

The outbreak of World War One fueled a groundswell of poetic writing in Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada, and elsewhere in the British Caribbean. While many of the region’s established authors published works of war verse, the outpouring of war-themed poetry emerged from soldier-poets and civilian writers outside of the elite class of professional writers. This chapter offers the first sustained treatment of Anglophone Caribbean war verse, examining previously uncited poems culled from newspapers, archives, and autograph books. It argues that war poetry functioned as a form of public claims making during and after the war years, allowing writers from the colonial peripheries to render visible their place in the British Empire and to (re)negotiate their relationship to the metropole.
The effect of baseline characteristics on clinical efficacy of liraglutide in patients treated with high-dose insulin

In patients requiring high-dose insulin treatment, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that liraglutide improved glycaemic control and treatment satisfaction while promoting weight loss. We performed a post hoc analysis to evaluate if patients' baseline characteristics impact the efficacy of liraglutide, and which outcomes correlate with treatment satisfaction. We used regression analysis to model the change in HbA1c and weight, with treatment assignment and baseline characteristics [HbA1c, age, body mass index (BMI), total daily dose (TDD) of insulin, duration of insulin treatment, and type of insulin regimen] as independent variables. Improvement in HbA1c was best predicted by treatment with liraglutide, followed by higher baseline HbA1c, BMI and age. Changes in weight were only associated with liraglutide treatment, independent of all baseline characteristics. Improvement in HbA1c was the only significant predictor of improvement in treatment satisfaction, while weight loss, change in TDD of insulin and rate of hypoglycaemia did not influence treatment satisfaction. In patients treated with high-dose insulin, liraglutide significantly improved glycaemic control and led to weight loss regardless of patients' baseline characteristics. Improvement in HbA1c was the most important predictor of patients' treatment satisfaction.