cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alternative Representations of In-Stream Habitat: Classification using Remote Sensing, Hydraulic Modeling, and Fuzzy Logic

Improved techniques are needed to characterize complex fluvial systems and monitor ecologically important, yet highly vulnerable riverine environments. This paper explores potential alternatives to traditional mapping of in‐stream habitat and presents fuzzy set theory as a means of departing from the rigid, Boolean, object‐based framework. We utilize hydrodynamic modeling, remotely sensed data, and fuzzy clustering to obtain classifications that allow for continuous partial membership and gradual transitions among habitat types. Methods of assessing cluster validity are available, but data quality is a crucial consideration. Crisp, vector‐based representations can be derived from raster fuzzy classifications by applying a threshold to maximum membership values. This process results in conditional objects separated by ambiguous transition zones, and a compromise must be reached between the proportion of the channel assigned to polygons and the certainty with which this assignment can be made. Spatial patte...
Time-frequency and time-scale analysis for musical transcription

A representation in Cohen's class which improves on existing methods for a large class of musical signals is developed. The pseudo-Wigner distribution is extended to a constant-Q form well suited to the frequency resolution required for musical signal and pitch analysis. It has excellent resolution, but fails to provide even limited superposition. A kernel is designed for Cohen's class, based on a musical signal model, that provides a limited superposition property while maintaining improved resolution when applied to the constant-Q pseudo-Wigner distribution. Results are presented comparing these techniques to short-time Fourier methods. >
Tree-Structured Infinite Sparse Factor Model

A tree-structured multiplicative gamma process (TMGP) is developed, for inferring the depth of a tree-based factor-analysis model. This new model is coupled with the nested Chinese restaurant process, to nonparametrically infer the depth and width (structure) of the tree. In addition to developing the model, theoretical properties of the TMGP are addressed, and a novel MCMC sampler is developed. The structure of the inferred tree is used to learn relationships between high-dimensional data, and the model is also applied to compressive sensing and interpolation of incomplete images.
Programmable micropatterning of nanofibers for functional tissue engineering

This paper reports programmable micropatterning of electrospun nanofibrous materials using micropatterned collecting chips that consist of independently programmable microelectrodes. By regulating the local electrical field using activated and floating electrodes, the collecting chip allows creating the pattern of electrospun fibrous microstructures with controllable local orientation. This work provides a simple yet highly reliable way to produce micro/nanostructures of polymer nanofibers in a cost effective manner. It has a great potential in creating functional tissue engineered scaffolds with morphological and functional similarities with natural tissues, and can also be used as filtering substrates in microdevices with designed performance for on-chip biochemical analysis.
An Integrated Microfluidic Device for the Continuous Sampling and Analysis of Biological Fluids

Enzyme based biosensors suffer from loss of activity and sensitivity. One major reason is due to large molecular weight proteins adsorbing on the surface of the sensor. These proteins affect sensor signal stability and disrupt enzyme function. Thus, one fruitful way to minimize the loss of sensor activity is to filter out large molecular weight compounds before they come in contact with the enzyme based biosensor. Further, the removal of free protein from biological solution helps to increase sensor accuracy and lifetime. Therefore, a microdialysis microneedle is introduced that is capable of excluding large MW compounds based on size. These microneedles have been integrated into a planar microfluidic system capable of sampling and analyzing biological solutions. The integrated microfluidic system includes the assembly of microneedles with on-chip flow channels and electronics together with previously designed positive displacement micropumps, microvalves and a planar electrochemical sensor for biological detection. Multichannel fluidic control for biological sampling, sensor cleansing and recalibration is demonstrated with integrated sensor operation.
Firm Investment and Price Informativeness

I theoretically investigate how the informational content of stock prices is affected by the structure of firms' capital investment decisions. The efficiency of stock prices is determined by the weight firms attach to private information and by the extent to which investment is predictable. Both factors attract informed trading and lead to more revealing prices. The model predicts that i) individual stock prices should be more informative than aggregate prices, ii) firms with better managers should have more informative prices, iii) a higher degree of stock-based compensation reduces price efficiency and iv) more heterogenous markets are less price efficient.
From HIV to NCDs: Will Patent Fights Again Spur Better Treatment Access?

A decade ago, a crisis over access to HIV/AIDS treatment was the catalysis for elevating that disease and the other infectious diseases disproportionately affecting the world’s poor as a foreign policy issue, mobilizing billions in global health aid. Now, a new controversy over patented medicines for cancer, diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is emerging, particularly in middle-income countries. The intergovernmental institutions designated to address trade and global health concerns are proving unable to resolve this conflict. Alternatives to intellectual property, such as prizes or R&D treaties, have not attracted significant donor and multilateral support. Addressing the emerging NCD treatment-access crisis will require another transformation in global health, this time focusing on low-cost interventions and patient-centered, rather than country-focused, strategies.
Vacuum bell therapy

Background: For specific therapy to correct pectus excavatum (PE), conservative treatment with the vacuum bell (VB) was introduced more than 10 years ago in addition to surgical repair. Preliminary results using the VB were encouraging. We report on our 13-year experience with the VB treatment including the intraoperative use during the Nuss procedure and present some technical innovations. Methods: A VB with a patient-activated hand pump is used to create a vacuum at the anterior chest wall. Three different sizes of vacuum bells, as well as a model fitted for young women, exist. The appropriate size is selected according to the individual patient’s age and ventral surface. The device should be used at home for a minimum of 30 minutes (twice a day), and may be used up to a maximum of several hours daily. The intensity of the applied negative pressure can be evaluated with an integrated pressure gauge during follow-up visits. A prototype of an electronic model enables us to measure the correlation between the applied negative pressure and the elevation of the anterior chest wall. Results: Since 2003, approx. 450 patients between 2 to 61 years of age started the VB therapy. Age and gender specific differences, depth of PE, symmetry or asymmetry, and concomitant malformations such as scoliosis and/or kyphosis influence the clinical course and success of VB therapy. According to our experience, we see three different groups of patients. Immediate elevation of the sternum was confirmed thoracoscopically during the Nuss procedure in every patient. Conclusions: The VB therapy has been established as an alternative therapeutic option in selected patients suffering from PE. The initial results up to now are encouraging, but long-term results comprising more than 15 years are so far lacking, and further evaluation and follow-up studies are necessary.
Intermediate-scale community-level flux of CO2 and CH4 in a Minnesota peatland: putting the SPRUCE project in a global context

Peatland measurements of CO2 and CH4 flux were obtained at scales appropriate to the in situ biological community below the tree layer to demonstrate representativeness of the spruce and peatland responses under climatic and environmental change (SPRUCE) experiment. Surface flux measurements were made using dual open-path analyzers over an area of 1.13 m2 in daylight and dark conditions along with associated peat temperatures, water table height, hummock moisture, atmospheric pressure and incident radiation data. Observations from August 2011 through December 2014 demonstrated seasonal trends correlated with temperature as the dominant apparent driving variable. The S1-Bog for the SPRUCE study was found to be representative of temperate peatlands in terms of CO2 and CH4 flux. Maximum net CO2 flux in midsummer showed similar rates of C uptake and loss: daytime surface uptake was −5 to −6 µmol m−2 s−1 and dark period loss rates were 4–5 µmol m−2 s−1 (positive values are carbon lost to the atmosphere). Maximum midsummer CH4-C flux ranged from 0.4 to 0.5 µmol m−2 s−1 and was a factor of 10 lower than dark CO2–C efflux rates. Midwinter conditions produced near-zero flux for both CO2 and CH4 with frozen surfaces. Integrating temperature-dependent models across annual periods showed dark CO2–C and CH4–C flux to be 894 ± 34 and 16 ± 2 gC m−2 y−1, respectively. Net ecosystem exchange of carbon from the shrub-forb-Sphagnum-microbial community (excluding tree contributions) ranged from −3.1 gCO2–C m−2 y−1 in 2013, to C losses from 21 to 65 gCO2–C m−2 y−1 for the other years.
CORRELATION STUDIES OF MILKFAT CONTENT AS MEASURED BY THE MILKO-TESTER, BABCOCK, AND MOJONNIER METHODS

To evaluate some of the methods used to estimate milk-fat content in raw milk, producer's milk samples were tested by the Milko-Tester, Babcock, and Mojonnier methods. One hundred eighty-eight individual producer's raw milk samples were analyzed in duplicate the Mlilko-Tester and Babcock methods. In addition, 34 of these samples were randomly selected and analyzed in duplicate by the Mojonnier method. The correlation coefficient for the 188 samples tested by the Babcock and Milko-Tester methods was 0.95. A prediction equation for calculating Babcock results based on Milko-Tester readings was developed. Statistical analysis of the results of the three methods showed highly significant (P .05) among the three methods. Average variation between duplicate samples showed results from the Milko-Tester to have the least variation, while those from the Babcock procedure varied the most be...
Copolymer Nanofilters with Charge-Patterned Domains for Enhanced Electrolyte Transport

The further advancement of membrane separation processes will require the development of more selective membranes. In this study, membranes that take inspiration from the mosaic structure of cell walls and use multiple functionalities of unique chemical design to control solute transport through chemical factors as well as steric factors are detailed. Specifically, a poly{acrylonitrile-co-[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate]-co-(3-azido-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate)} copolymer tailor-made for the generation of nanofilters, which possess a high density of well-defined pores that are lined by azido moieties, allowed for the generation of chemically patterned mosaic membranes in a rapid manner through the use of printing devices. By engineering the composition of the reactive ink solutions printed on the membrane to allow for the rapid, one-to-one covalent attachment of alkynyl-functionalized groups to the azido moieties, we generated large areas of patterned membranes in seconds rather than ho...
Think small - In large numbers

The development and use of microspacecraft are examined. It is proposed that 10-50 microspacecraft per year can be launched; up to 50 microspacecraft can be dispatched with traditional launchers; and 1-3 experiments can be performed on the spacecraft. Various applications for the microspacecraft are discussed and specific examples of proposed missions are presented. Some systems and instruments designed for the microspacecraft are described.
Photostrictive Actuators Based on Piezoelectrics

Abstract Photostrictive materials, exhibiting light-induced strains, are of interest for future generation wireless remote control photoactuators, microactuators, and microsensor applications. The photostrictive effect arises from a superposition of the “bulk” photovoltaic effect. In other words, this arises from the generation of large voltage from the irradiation of light, and the converse piezoelectric effect, expansion or contraction under the voltage applied. (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 (PLZT) ceramics doped with WO3 exhibit large photostriction under uniform illumination of near-ultraviolet light. Using a bimorph configuration, a photo-driven relay and a micro walking device have been demonstrated. However, for the fabrication of these devices, higher response speed must be achieved. This chapter first reviews the theoretical background for the photostrictive effect, then it discusses enhanced performance through composition modification, and it also discusses sample preparation techniques (thickness and surface characteristics of the sample). Future applications of photostrictive actuators are briefly described.
A Qualitative Bigraph Model for Indoor Space

Formal models of indoor space for reasoning about navigation tasks should capture key static and dynamic properties and relationships between agents and indoor spaces. This paper presents a method for formally representing indoor environments, key indoor events that occur in them, and their effects on the topological properties and relationships between indoor spaces and mobile entities. Based on Milner’s bigraphical models, our indoor bigraphs provide formal algebraic specifications that independently represent agent and place locality (e.g., building hierarchies) and connectivity (e.g., path based navigation graphs). We illustrate how the model supports the description of scenes and narratives with incomplete information, and provide a set of reaction rules dictating legal system transformations to support goal-directed navigation. Given a starting scene and a particular navigation task we can determine potential sequences of events satisfying a goal (e.g., if a building fire occurs, what actions can an agent take to reach an exit?).
Analysis of large-area twins in Bi2CaSr2Cu2O8 superconductors.

We report on large-area twin structures in ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{CaSr}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}$${\mathrm{O}}_{8}$. Crystal growth was by a self-fluxed method. Twins were extracted from the free surfaces of the resolidified flux. Twinning was characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy and the twins were determined to be growth twins with {110} twin boundaries. Details of twin morphology and structure are presented in the context of twin formation and growth. Superconducting properties of the twinned specimens were determined by electrical and magnetic measurements. Preliminary results indicate that a single twin boundary did not significantly affect the resistance-temperature characteristics. Growth steps on the (001) face (which necessitated current transport in the c direction) were more important in determining the sharpness and form of the resistive transition.
Reconfigurable metasurfaces in a hybrid material platform through integration of plasmonic nanostructures with phase-change materials (Conference Presentation)

We demonstrate a highly-integrated, subwavelength, and reconfigurable nanoscale spatial light modulator capable of modulating the amplitude, phase, and polarization of impinging light both spatially and spectrally. These properties are enabled by integration of plasmonic metasurfaces with phase-change materials. Owing to the ultrafast switching speed, considerable scalability, high switching robustness, good thermal stability, adaptability with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, and large refractive index change contrast between its amorphous and crystalline phases, germanium antimony telluride (GST), a well-known PCM, is used for these miniaturized dynamic metadevices. To show the unprecedented capability of this hybrid plasmonic-PCM material platform for practical applications, we investigate a plasmonic-GST gradient metasurface comprising of a patterned array of gold nanostrips that is separated from an underlying reflecting gold plate by a thin layer of GST. While the plasmonic inclusions support enhanced short-range surface plasmons, which are highly coupled to both the electric and magnetic components of the incident optical field, the real-time structural transition between the states of GST constituent, upon excitation with an external electric stimulus, provides a remarkable refractive index contrast for reconfiguration. Such dynamic metasurfaces could lead to new avenues for realization of reconfigurable, fast, and energy-efficient miniaturized photonic components such as multifocus lenses, all-optical switches, vortex beam generator, and grayscale holograms in a reversible and nonvolatile fashion.
“Blocking” and “Filtering”: a Commentary on Mobile Technology, Racism, and the Sexual Networks of Young Black MSM (YBMSM)

While research investigates the role and influence of geo-social networking (GSN) applications on HIV, less is known about the impact of GSN functions on disease transmission. In our formative research on young Black men who have sex with men's (YBMSM) technology use patterns and preferences for a smartphone-based HIV prevention intervention, we found that study participants used GSN "block" and "filter" functions as protective mechanisms against racism and racial sexual discrimination. Yet, we suggest that these functions may unintentionally create restrictive sexual networks that likely increase their risk for disease transmission. As such, we contend that attention to the unintended effects of these protective mechanisms against racism on GSN applications is fundamentally a public health issue that requires more research and explicit intervention. Ultimately, we use this work to hypothesize the role of blocking and filtering as a strategy to avoid racism on GSN applications that may partly explain HIV disparities among YBMSM.
Passage Time Densities in Birth —Death Processes; Distribution Structure

Birth-death processes are a simple family of time-reversible processes of great importance in applications, and their passage time densities are of corresponding interest. Two basic distribution forms appear in the study of densities, complete monotonicity and the PF∞ form, that of the Polya-frequency densities of infinite order. These forms are special cases of log-concavity and log-convexity, each of interest in its own right. Log-concavity is a property closely related to unimodality, and is equivalent to “strong unimodality”. The origion of these forms, related moment inequalities, and their relation to the IFR and DFR classes of reliability theory are discussed.
U.S. Virgin Islands Transportation Petroleum Reduction Plan

This NREL technical report determines a way for USVI to meet its petroleum reduction goal in the transportation sector. It does so first by estimating current petroleum use and key statistics and characteristics of USVI transportation. It then breaks the goal down into subordinate goals and estimates the petroleum impacts of these goals with a wedge analysis. These goals focus on reducing vehicle miles, improving fuel economy, improving traffic flow, using electric vehicles, using biodiesel and renewable diesel, and using 10% ethanol in gasoline. The final section of the report suggests specific projects to achieve the goals, and ranks the projects according to cost, petroleum reduction, time frame, and popularity.
Erythropoietin Production by the Fetal Liver in an Adult Environment

To gain insight into the mammalian liver to kidney erythropoietin (Ep) switch, we heterotopically transplanted livers from preswitch, switched, and postswitch fetal and newborn lambs into normal adult sheep. Recipients' serum Ep and circulating reticulocyte levels were serially determined until rejection of the graft and compared with identical samples from sham-operated control adult ewes. Transplantation of preswitch and switched fetal livers caused an impressive rise in recipients' serum Ep activity and provoked a corresponding increase in reticulocytosis. In contrast, Ep activity and reticulocyte counts did not change from preoperative levels in adult ewes transplanted with postswitch livers or in the sham-operated controls. The production of Ep by the preswitch fetal liver in the adult environment was not dependent on the presence or absence of host kidneys and was stimulated by anemic hypoxia. These results suggest that the fetal liver is capable of producing relatively large amounts of Ep activity, and the production of Ep can be maintained in the adult environment in the presence of functional adult kidneys. This argues against suppression of liver Ep production by renal Ep, or some other factor in the postnatal environment, and suggests that the liver to kidney switch of Ep production during ontogeny may represent a genetically determined event.
Recent Research on Ozonation By-products in Water and Wastewater Treatment: Formation, Control, Mitigation, and Other Relevant Topics

Ozone is a powerful oxidant and disinfectant widely used in water and wastewater treatment. Unlike chlorine, ozone does not produce chlorinated and brominated organic disinfection by-products, such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. However, ozone-based treatment produces its own disinfection by-products, namely bromate, nitrosamines (such as N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA), aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, bromate and NDMA have been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) and probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), respectively. Because of its relevance in drinking water, bromate has been regulated in many countries as a primary drinking water contaminant. The formation and control of these compounds during water and wastewater treatment using ozone has been an active research topic in the water and wastewater industry. Recently, the use of ozone in advanced water purification and reuse has attracted much interest and is adding new aspects in ozonation-by product research. In this chapter, recent research on these ozonation by-products is reviewed. The emphasis will be given on two of the ozonation by-products, bromate and NDMA, because of their relevance in drinking water and recycled water and the difficulty of their complete removal/mitigation with currently available technologies.
Prenatal and childhood exposure to phthalates and motor skills at age 11 years.

Abstract Background Previous reports suggest that prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with lower scores on measures of motor skills in infants and toddlers. Whether these associations persist into later childhood or preadolescence has not been studied. Methods In a follow up study of 209 inner-city mothers and their children the concentrations of mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP), monomethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-carboxy-isooctyl phthalate (MCOP), and four di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate metabolites (ΣDEHP) were measured in spot urine sample collected from the women in late pregnancy and from their children at ages 3, 5, and 7 years. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency short form (BOT-2) was administered at child age 11 to assess gross and fine motor skills. Results The total number of children included in the study was 209. Of the 209 children, 116(55.5%) were girls and 93 were (45%) boys. Among girls, prenatal MnBP(b=−2.09; 95%CI: [−3.43, −0.75]), MBzP (b=−1.14; [95%CI: −2.13, −0.14]), and MiBP(b=−1.36; 95%CI: [−2.51, −0.21] and MEP(b=−1.23 [95%CI: −2.36, −0.11]) were associated with lower total BOT-2 composite score. MnBP (b= –1.43; 95% CI: [–2.44, –0.42]) was associated with lower fine motor scores and MiBP(b = –0.56; 95% CI: [–1.12, –0.01]) and MEP (b = –0.60; 95% CI: [–1.14, −0.06])was associated with lower gross motor scores. Among boys, prenatal MBzP (b = –0.79; 95% CI: [–1.40, −0.19]) was associated with lower fine motor composite score. The associations between MEP measured at age 3 and the BOT-2 gross motor, fine motor and total motor score differed by sex. In boys, there was an inverse association between ΣDEHP metabolites measured in childhood at ages 3 (b = –1.30; 95% CI: [–2.34, −0.26]) and 7 years (b = –0.96; 95% CI: [–1.79, −0.13]), and BOT-2 fine motor composite scores. Conclusions Higher prenatal exposure to specific phthalates was associated with lower motor function among 11- year old girls while higher postnatal exposure to ΣDEHP metabolites was associated with lower scores among boys. As lower scores on measures of motor development have been associated with more problems in cognitive, socioemotional functioning and behavior, the findings of this study have implications related to overall child development.
Lifestyle Medicine Interventions in Patients With Advanced Disease Receiving Palliative or Hospice Care

Background: Lifestyle medicine interventions have the potential to improve symptom management, daily function, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced or terminal disease receiving pall...
Measuring the Impact of Product Placement with Brand-Related Social Media Conversations and Website Traffic

We investigate the relationship between product placement in television programs and the volume of social media activity and website traffic for the featured brand.
Going to the Balcony: Two Professors Reflect and Examine Their Pedagogy

The purpose of this essay is twofold. First of all, we want to emphasize the value of taking time to reflect on the effectiveness of our teaching practices, especially when we sense that teaching and learning processes have become ‘stale.’ Heifetz and Linsky (2002) equate reflection with “going to the balcony from the dance floor” to view our actions from a different perspective, and this is what we attempted to do. Secondly, we want to highlight the professional and personal satisfaction that can result from collaboration with a colleague when investigating elements of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). To give you some background, let us describe how we evolved into this “balcony” place. We share a common history, having been elementary school principals in Illinois for many years. While leading our schools, we also completed our doctoral degrees at Illinois State University under the same advisor. We became friends through serving on the executive board of Illinois Women in Educational Leadership organization and nurtured our friendship by attending professional conferences together and conducting a joint research project. We both transitioned to teaching Educational Leadership at the university level in Illinois, but Linda moved to Alabama in 2005. Our research and collaboration on mentoring aspiring school leaders continued “across state lines” and has expanded over the last five years with additional national presentations and publications.
The liquidity impact of insider trading on small and medium size enterprises

This study compares the impact of insider trading by corporate employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the stock price liquidity of these firms with that of larger institutions. Using publicly reported data, we assess how trades placed by SME insiders affect the bid-ask spread of their companies’ stock. We document that the spread gets significantly larger following these transactions relative to trades by insiders from larger firms. Collectively, the evidence suggests that insider trading by SME executives, as well as non-executives, decreases liquidity for their firms. One important implication from our findings is that the cost of insider trading is more severe for SMEs, firms characterized by greater information asymmetry.
Republished: Treatment of hemorrhagic head and neck lesions by direct puncture and n-BCA embolization

Life-threatening bleeding in the head and neck region requires urgent management. These hemorrhagic lesions, for example, a ruptured pseudoaneurysm, are often treated by transarterial embolization (TAE), but prior intervention or surgery, inflammation, anatomic variants, and vessel tortuosity may render an endovascular approach challenging, time-consuming, and sometimes impossible. We report two cases of severe head and neck hemorrhages successfully embolized with n-butyl cyanoacrylate via direct puncture, and propose this approach as a fast, safe, and effective alternative to TAE.
P94 Making On-Farm Food Safety Easy Using an Online Application

Background Foodborne illness costs in the US are approximately $164 billion/year. In addition to public health costs, outbreaks pose huge risks and even jail time to the agricultural sector. Typical on-farm food safety trainings require all-day, lecture-based education that are costly and ineffective. Previous survey results show that 68% of 200 California farmers viewed laws and regulations as a barrier, 79% do not have documented food safety plans and 71% want practical food safety trainings. Objective The objective of this study was to develop, refine, and test the effectiveness of 13 on-farm food safety training videos which are a component of an interactive online food safety education program called EASY GAP. Study Design, Setting, Participants This study was a between-subjects design with 2 treatment groups comprised of California specialty crop farmers. Group #1 participants reviewed draft videos and Group #2 participants reviewed revised videos. Both groups completed a post survey. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Agreement statements were measured to determine the impact on knowledge and use of the videos. Additional questions captured participant feedback on the video training modules. Survey results were analyzed using SPSS (version 25) to assess differences between groups. A Mann Whitney Test was used to compare the survey responses between groups. Results There was a significant increase (P Conclusions Overall, participants agreed that the revised videos provided more useful information and were easier to use compared to the draft videos.
Vascular Calcification Slows But Does Not Regress After Kidney Transplantation.

Introduction Medial arterial calcification is a common and progressive lesion in end-stage renal disease that is associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes. Whether this lesion can be arrested or reversed is unknown, and was examined retrospectively by measuring progression of breast arterial calcification before and after kidney transplantation. Methods Arterial calcification was measured on serial mammograms from patients with previous kidney transplantation and compared to measurements performed before transplantation or in patients on the active waitlist. Serum creatinine >2.0 mg/dl after transplantation or warfarin use were exclusions. Results Median (interquartile range) progression of arterial calcification was 12.9 mm/breast per year (5.9 to 32.6) in 34 patients before or awaiting transplantation compared to just 1.2 mm/breast per year (-0.54 to 5.1) in 34 patients after transplantation (P < 0.001). Slowing of progression was also seen in longitudinal analyses of patients with mammograms performed both before and after transplantation. Duration of end-stage renal disease before transplantation but not age, diabetes, baseline calcification, or serum chemistries correlated with progression after transplantation. Significant regression was not observed in any patient. Conclusion In this first quantitative study of the effect of kidney transplantation, medial arterial calcification appeared to slow to rates seen in patients with normal renal function, indicating that the effect of renal failure may be completely abrogated. Overall, however, there was no significant regression, suggesting that calcification is irreversible and emphasizing the importance of prevention. Duration of pretransplant end-stage renal disease but not baseline calcification was a determinant of progression, consistent with cumulative, permanent changes to arteries that promote calcification.
The dynamic process of ambiguous emotion perception.

Everyday social interactions hinge on our ability to resolve uncertainty in nonverbal cues. For example, although some facial expressions (e.g. happy, angry) convey a clear affective meaning, other...
Identifying Ubiquitious Third-Party Libraries in Compiled Executables Using Annotated and Translated Disassembled Code with Supervised Machine Learning

The size and complexity of the software ecosystem is a major challenge for vendors, asset owners and cybersecurity professionals who need to understand the security posture of these systems. Annotated and Translated Disassembled Code is a graph based datastore designed to organize firmware and software analysis data across builds, packages and systems, providing a highly scalable platform enabling automated binary software analysis tasks including corpora construction and storage for machine learning. This paper describes an approach for the identification of ubiquitous third-party libraries in firmware and software using Annotated and Translated Disassembled Code and supervised machine learning. Annotated and Translated Disassembled Code provide matched libraries, function names and addresses of previously unidentified code in software as it is being automatically analyzed. This data can be ingested by other software analysis tools to improve accuracy and save time. Defenders can add the identified libraries to their vulnerability searches and add effective detection and mitigation into their operating environment.
Data-driven trajectory prediction with weather uncertainties: A Bayesian deep learning approach

Abstract Trajectory prediction is an essential component of the next generation national air transportation system. Reliable trajectory prediction models need to consider uncertainties coming from multiple sources. Environmental factor is one of the most significant reasons affecting trajectory prediction models and is the focus of this study. This paper propose an advanced Bayesian Deep Learning method for aircraft trajectory prediction considering weather impacts. A brief review of both deterministic and probabilistic trajectory prediction methods is given, with a specific focus on learning-based methods. Next, a deterministic trajectory prediction model with classical deep learning methods is proposed to handle both spatial and temporal information using a nested convolution neural network, recurrent neural network, and fully-connected neural network. Following this, the deterministic neural network model is extended to be a Bayesian deep learning model to consider uncertainties where the posterior distributions of parameters are estimated with variational inference for enhanced efficiency. Both mean prediction and confidence intervals are obtained giving the last on-file flight plans and weather data in the region. The proposed methodology is validated using air traffic and weather data from the Sherlock data warehouse. Data pre-processing procedures for big data analytics are discussed in detail. Demonstration and metrics-based validation are performed during severe convective weather conditions for several air traffic control centers. The results show a significant reduction in prediction variance. A comparison with existing methods is also performed. Several conclusions and future works are given based on the proposed study.
Bypassing Multicore Memory Bugs with Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Logic

Multicore systems deploy sophisticated memory hierarchies to improve memory operations' throughput and latency, by exploiting multiple levels of cache hierarchy and several complex memory-access instructions. As a result, the functional verification of the memory subsystem is one of the most challenging tasks in the overall system design effort, leading to many bugs escaping into the released product. In this work we propose MemPatch, a novel reconfigurable hardware solution to bypass such escaped bugs. To design MemPatch, we first analyzed publicly available errata documents and classified memory-related bugs by root cause and symptoms. We then leveraged that learning to design a specialized, reconfigurable detection fabric, implementing finite state machines that can model the bug-triggering events at the microarchitectural level. Finally we complemented this detection logic with hardware offering multiple bug-bypassing options. Our evaluation of MemPatch mapped a multicore RISC-V out-of-order processor, augmented with our logic, to a Xilinx ZCU102 FPGA board. When configured to detect up to 32 distinct bugs, MemPatch entails 7.6% area and 7.3% power overheads. An estimate on a commercial ARM Cortex-A57 processor target indicates that the area overhead would be much lower, 1.0%. The performance impact was found to be no more than 1% in all cases.
Turning the Tables on Bacon: Computer-Assisted Baconian Philology

Francis Bacon recommended the compilation of “Tables of Instances” as a crucial ingredient of his new natural philosophy, and his own methodology can helpfully be applied to his own texts. Controversial issues about the meaning of certain crucial Baconian terms can be elucidated by the use of exhaustive tables collecting all his uses of those terms. In particular, these tables help resolve long-standing questions about his use of the terms “violence,” “vexation,” and “torture”; the generation of such tables with the help of computers provides a new tool for Baconian philology.
Somatic Hybridization and Genetic Manipulation in Plants

Following the discovery of cytokinins and their role in plant development (Skoog and Miller, 1957), and the demonstration of the totipotency of plant cells (Vasil and Hildebrandt, 1965; Vasil and Vasil, 1972), plant regeneration has been achieved in vitro from a wide variety of plant species (Murashige, 1974; Vasil et al., 1978). Although plant regeneration from the most important groups of crop plants, namely the cereals and the legumes, still remains a serious problem, the ability to rapidly clone plants through tissue culture techniques fulfills an important prerequisite for the utilization of the novel methods of somatic hybridization and genetic manipulation of plants. These cloning procedures ensure that any changes effected through somatic hybridization or other parasexual methods in the information content of plant cells can be perpetuated without necessarily going through the sexual cycle where they might very well be eliminated.
The DSM-5 got PTSD right: comment on Friedman (2013).

Friedman in his article in this issue describes the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) and provides considerable information about the process that resulted in the revisions, as well as how PTSD in the DSM-5 differs from proposals for PTSD in the International Classification of Mental Disorders and Related Health Problems (ICD-11). In this commentary, I argue that (a) the placement of PTSD in the DSM-5 category of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders is a major advance because it draws attention to the role of “nurture” when there is an overemphasis on “nature” by some; (b) the broader construct of PTSD in DSM-5 is justified because it includes clinically important problems and can be reliably diagnosed; and (c) the web surveys contributed substantially to the provision of data needed to support proposed changes. Concerns are raised about the proposed ICD-11 approach, and the case is presented that substantial evidence should be required before these proposed changes are made because they differ substantially from a DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis that has demonstrated reliability and validity. Traditional and Simplified Chinese Abstracts by AsianSTSS 標題 : PTSD : DSM 第五版弄清楚了嗎? 撮要 : 這一期Friedman的文章描述精神疾病診斷及統計手冊第五版(DSM-5；美國精神學會〔APA〕,2013) 中創傷後壓力症(PTSD)的診斷，和提供PTSD在DSM-5內修訂的由來，及PTSD在DSM-5和國際疾病分類(ICD-11)提案的相互差異。本評論指出：(a)PTSD在DSM-5放在「創傷及壓力相關障礙」類別是一個進步，因為除了“天性”方面的影響亦留意到“教養”的角色；(b)PTSD在DSM-5的較寬構築是有必要的，因為包含了臨床重要問題，而且診斷方面更可靠；(c)網絡調查對建議的改變提供充份資料。由於ICD-11建議提案的提議改動對比已證實有可靠性及認可性的 DSM-5 PTSD有着明顯的差異，我們希望能有充份証據支持改動。 标题 : PTSD : DSM 第五版弄清楚了吗? 撮要 : 这一期Friedman的文章描述精神疾病诊断及统计手册第五版(DSM-5；美国精神学会〔APA〕,2013) 中创伤后压力症(PTSD)的诊断，和提供PTSD在DSM-5内修订的始末，及PTSD在DSM-5和国际疾病分类(ICD-11)提案的相互差异。本评论指出：(a)PTSD在DSM-5放在「创伤及压力相关障碍」类别是一个进步，因为除了“天性”方面的影响亦留意到“教养”的角色；(b)PTSD在DSM-5的较宽构筑是有必要的，因为包含了临床重要问题，而且诊断方面更可靠；(c)网络调查对建议的改变提供充份资料。由于ICD-11建议提案的提议改动对比已证实有可靠性及认可性的 DSM-5 PTSD有着明显的差异，我们希望能有充份证据支持改动。
Effect of crystal defects on minority carrier diffusion lengths in 6H SiC

Minority-carrier diffusion lengths in n-type 6H-SIC were measured using the planar electron-beam induced current (EBIC) technique. Experimental values of electron beam current, EBIC, and beam voltage were obtained for n-type SIC with a carrier concentration of 1.7E17 ~ m ~ . This data was fit to theoretically calculated diode efficiency curves, and the diffusion length and metal layer thickness extracted. The extracted hole diffusion length ranged from 0.68 pm to 1.46 pm. The error for these values was k 15%. Additionally, we introduce a novel variation of the planar technique. This “planar mapping” technique measures diffusion length along a linescan creating a map of diffusion length versus position. This map is overlaid onto the EBIC image of the linescan, allowing direct visualization of the effect of crystal defects on minority carrier diffusion length. Diffusion length maps of both n and p-type 6H Sic show that large micropipe defects severely limit the minority carrier diffusion length, reducing it well below 0.1 pm inside large defects.
Socio-economic impact of mobile phone in agriculture: A case study of Karnal district

The people's dependency on information technology is rapidly increasing day by day. In agricultural sector also mobile technology promises an effective method of information exchange. The present study assesses the impact of use of mobile phone for the coordination and management of agricultural activities and access to agricultural inputs, outputs, markets and prices. This study was conducted in the rural areas of an agriculturally developed district namely Karnal of Haryana state in India. The study is based on primary data collected through personal interviews on well-structured schedules. Sample includes 60 farmers of different farm size groups, 15 each from marginal, small, medium and large farms. The results revealed that more than 90 per cent of the farmers were using their mobile phones for coordination of agricultural operations, access to agricultural inputs, information of output prices, monitoring of financial transactions and coping agricultural emergency situations. Nearly 50 per cent farmers were consulting with experts via mobile phones. Further analysis showed that farmers were able to save more than 90 per cent of expenditures in terms of time and cost by use of mobiles. Also 80 per cent of farmers reported that use of mobiles improved their livelihood.
An electron-positron jet model for the galactic center

High energy observations of the galactic center on the subparsec scale seem to be consistent with electron‐positron production in the form of relativistic jets. These jets could be produced by a ∼106 M black hole dynamo transporting pairs away from the massive core. An electromagnetic cascade shower would develop first from ambient soft photons and then non‐linearly; the shower using itself as a scattering medium. This is suited to producing, cooling and transporting pairs to the observed annihilation region. It is possible the center of our galaxy is a miniature version of more powerful active galactic nuclei that exhibit jet activity.
Changes in sensory processing in the spinal dorsal horn accompany vincristine-induced hyperalgesia and allodynia

Abnormal sensation and pain are major dose-limiting factors in cancer chemotherapy with vincristine. In this study, we have adapted a model of this condition by using repeated daily intraperitoneal injections of vincristine in rats. Mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia without change in responses to thermal stimuli were first observed following 5-8 days of vincristine treatment (0.1mg/kg/day) and then persisted throughout the remainder of the treatment interval (2-3 weeks). Electrophysiological recording from wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons in the lumbar (L4-L5) spinal dorsal horn in hyperalgesic rats demonstrated significantly increased spontaneous activity and after-discharges to noxious mechanical stimuli (von Frey filaments with a bending force greater than 58.02mN, skin compression 1.3 and 3N, 1mm(2)), increased acute A- and C-fiber responses, after-discharges and abnormal 'wind-up' to electrical stimuli (5mA, 2ms) at 0.1Hz applied across the receptive field. These results suggest a state of central sensitization develops in spinal WDR neurons with repeated vincristine treatment that contributes to the spontaneous pain and hyperalgesia seen in patients and the hyperresponsiveness to sensory stimuli seen in animals treated with vincristine.
Making Dense Networks Work for You

The increased contention and collisions in dense networks trigger excessive scans for finding AP. The collective effect of simultaneous probes from all devices create even more contention in the network. Eventually, the devices start continuous cycles of probing since network condition does not improve after the handoff. Traces we have collected during Infocom 2012 and at busy airport terminals show this impact of probing on dense networks. In this paper, we propose Dynamo-Probing that obtains AP information from nearby active scan using its novel scan mode, Opp-Scan, and by switching to active scan when such opportunities are not available. By avoiding sending probes for each device in the network, Dynamo-Probing reduces the network overload due to probing and thus improves communication quality. Results from our ns-2 simulations capture a 78% improvements in network association time and up to an 82% improvements in throughput for very dense networks. By being adaptive to network density and interoperable with legacy devices, Dynamo-Probing provides an appropriate scan solution that ensures survival in dense networks and good performance in sparse networks.
Oxidative Stress in Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury

Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (stroke) continues to be the third leading cause of death in the USA. Hypoxia in the absence of ischemia, such as that occurs in individuals with sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and a number of other conditions, also represents a major and growing health issue. A great deal has been learned about the processes that contribute to short-term damage and long-term dysfunction of the nervous system after hypoxia or ischemia, and the mechanisms that underlie vulnerability of the brain to hypoxic-ischemic injury. Oxidative stress, due to pathological changes in the homeostasis of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reflecting abnormal production and/or impaired clearance of ROS, has been implicated as a key mechanism that contributes to tissue damage and functional deficits in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. This chapter will briefly review prior literature on the sources and molecular targets of ROS in hypoxia-ischemia, and will focus on newer studies implicating inflammatory signaling and redox dysregulation in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.