cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A discrete event method for wave simulation

This article describes a discrete event interpretation of the finite difference time domain (FDTD) and digital wave guide network (DWN) wave simulation schemes. The discrete event method is formalized using the discrete event system specification (DEVS). The scheme is shown to have errors that are proportional to the resolution of the spatial grid. A numerical example demonstrates the relative efficiency of the scheme with respect to FDTD and DWN schemes. The potential for the discrete event scheme to reduce numerical dispersion and attenuation errors is discussed.
A Partially Observed Markov Decision Process for Dynamic Pricing

In this paper, we develop a stylized partially observed Markov decision process (POMDP) framework to study a dynamic pricing problem faced by sellers of fashion-like goods. We consider a retailer that plans to sell a given stock of items during a finite sales season. The objective of the retailer is to dynamically price the product in a way that maximizes expected revenues. Our model brings together various types of uncertainties about the demand, some of which are resolvable through sales observations. We develop a rigorous upper bound for the seller's optimal dynamic decision problem and use it to propose an active-learning heuristic pricing policy. We conduct a numerical study to test the performance of four different heuristic dynamic pricing policies in order to gain insight into several important managerial questions that arise in the context of revenue management.
ARE PLACEMENT TESTS FOR INCOMING UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS STUDENTS WORTH THE EXPENSE OF ADMINISTRATION

ABSTRACT One of the tasks faced by undergraduate mathematics departments is placing incoming students into the appropriate mathematics classes for their abilities. This is often accomplished through giving a placement test at the time of student orientation. Dissatisfaction with the results of the placement test used at our university prompted us to write a new one. In this paper, we describe the writing of the new placement test and provide detailed results of a validity study on the test. Our results led us to conclude that placement testing does not work very well, and to suggest that undergraduate mathematics departments consider using existing data rather than give a separate placement test. In spite of this conclusion, we do decide to continue with our placement test, and we offer reasons for doing so. *The authors are indebted to David Frisbie, a testing and measurement professor at the University of Iowa, who read early versions of this paper, and gave expert advice. We also thank our colleague, D...
Multimethod, Multi-informant Agreement, and Positive Predictive Value in the Identification of Child Anxiety Disorders Using the SCAS and ADIS-C

The current study sought to provide practical information for the clinical use of child and parent reports of child anxiety symptoms by investigating agreement between parent, child, and clinician as well as the predictive value of this information. Examining 88 anxious children and their parents, the study compared agreement by correlating parent and child responses on the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS); comparing parent and child responses to clinician data operationalized through continuous and dichotomous variables from the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule for Children; and examining the relative clinical utility of parent and child reports on the SCAS in terms of positive and negative predictive value. Results indicated that parent and child agreement on the SCAS was moderate to high for most anxiety disorder symptoms and that both were generally consistent with clinician impressions. Moreover, both child and parent provided unique information to the diagnostic process.
T1 Hyperintensity of the Pediatric Neural Axis: What to Consider?

3-year-oldgirlwithnumerouslargecongenitalmelano-cyticnevipresentedwithacuteonsetofrighthemipare-sis following 6 weeks of morning emesis andintermittent lethargy. On examination, she was lethargic withrighthemiparesisandaleftpartialthirdnervepalsywithptosisand miosis. Precontrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance im-ages of the spine demonstrated diffuse hyperintensity alongthe pial surfaces of the spinal cord (Figure,A).T1-hyperintensity is attributed to stable free radicals in melanin,which elicit paramagnetic effects by shortening the T1relaxation time. Postcontrast T1-weighted images showedleptomeningeal enhancement along the spinal cord andnerve root enhancement (Figure, B), consistent withleptomeningeal disease and malignant degeneration. Brainmagnetic resonance images were remarkable for diffuseleptomeningeal enhancement and communicating hydro-cephalus (Figure, C and D) secondary to leptomeningealdisease, malignant degeneration, and reduction ofcerebrospinal ﬂuid absorption at the arachnoid granulations.The patient’s symptoms resolved with placement of aventriculardrain.T1-hyperintensity causes include fat, hemorrhage, cal-cium, proteinaceous material, minerals, injection of contrastagent, or melanin.
The International Intellectual Property System: Treaties, Norms, National Courts and Private Ordering

Although part of the political impetus for international intellectual property law making has long come from the economic gains that particular countries could secure in the global market, the recent situation of intellectual property within the institutional apparatus of the trade regime has been an important factor in the transformation of the classical system of international intellectual property law. This chapter analyses various aspects of this transformation. It suggests that viewing intellectual property through the prism of trade alone offers an incomplete explanation of the changes that have occurred in international intellectual property law making. For example, a full account of the contemporary system must reflect the role of both litigation in national courts and private ordering by commercial actors in establishing international intellectual property norms. This chapter stresses that these new contributors to the international system must be subject to no lesser scrutiny than traditional public international instruments such as treaties. The chapter also discusses the increasingly quick resort to international institutions in the field of intellectual property law. To ameliorate the costs associated with the speedy development of international rules, and perhaps to ensure that some international solution is adopted, policy makers have begun more overtly to support the adoption of soft law norms rather than hard law treaty obligations. In response, those skeptical of these trends in international intellectual property law making have sought to slow down the process or bring it to a complete halt. In order to achieve a political climate where public international law imposes fewer constraints on national law makers (particularly law makers in developing countries), skeptics have adopted a number of strategies, including the multiplication of international institutions in which intellectual property is considered, and the concomitant development of a range of rival norms that have massively complicated the political economy of public international intellectual property law. Using examples drawn primarily from copyright and trademark law, I illustrate the pressure to accelerate internationalization, the varying strength of adopted norms, and the changes to the political climate in which public international law making is occurring. To some extent, these changes reflect increased political and popular attention to trade and development. However, regardless of the catalyst, these systemic changes remain crucially important to trade and development because of the entanglement of intellectual property with trade and development policy.
Abstract 92: Oxidative Stress Induces Endothelial Dysfunction: Role of Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 2 and MicroRNA-92a

Oxidative stress, elevated in pathophysiological conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and aging affects endothelial homeostasis by impairing endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-derived NO bioavailability and promoting inflammatory response. We recently demonstrated that atheroprone flow activates sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) 2 and induces endothelial innate immunity, evidenced by NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Transgenic mice overexpressing endothelium-specific SREBP2 (EC-SREBP2) manifest accelerated atherosclerosis synergized by hyperlipidemia. In the current study, we investigated whether oxidative stress activates SREBP2 in endothelial cells (ECs), contributing to endothelial dysfunction. Several oxidative stress-inducing stimuli, i.e. hydrogen peroxide, Angiotensin II, and oxidized-LDL, all activates SREBP2 in ECs. Furthermore, SREBP2 transactivates microRNA-92a (miR-92a), previously shown to be dysregulated in ischemia and atherosclerosis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation, together with gain- and loss-of-function assays revealed that oxidative stress-activated SREBP2 induces miR-92a, which in turn targets several key molecules including Kruppel-like factor (KLF) 2, KLF4, and Sirtuin 1. As a result, NLRP3 inflammasome is activated and eNOS inhibited. In EC-SREBP2 mice, locked nucleic acid (LNA) inhibition of miR-92a improves vasodilatory function. In an Angiotensin II-challenged model, LNA-92a ameliorates atherogenesis in EC-SREBP2 with an ApoE-/- background. Collectively, these findings suggest a novel link between oxidative stress and the endothelial inflammation involving SREBP2-miR-92a-inflammasome. This newly defined pathway could be a therapeutic target to intervene endothelial dysfunction during the onset of atherosclerosis.
The Effects of Low Protein Finisher Diets on Broiler Males’ Performance and Abdominal Fat

Abstract Four isocaloric (3250 kcal/kg metabolizable energy finisher diets were fed to 860 broiler males at 9, 12, 15, and 18% protein from 42 to 49 days of age. Body weight gains from 42 to 49 days were directly proportional to dietary protein level. Birds fed 18% protein diets were significantly more efficient in finisher feed conversion and total feed conversion than birds on 9 and 12% protein. There was no significant difference in finisher feed conversion and total feed conversion between 15 and 18% protein and between 12 and 15% protein. Birds fed 9 and 15% protein diets had significantly more percent fat than birds fed 12 and 18% protein diets.
Factory Production—1 A.D

The article reports on a historical finding relevant to the field of industrial organization. The author provides information regarding the discovery of a Chinese rice bowl in an ancient imperial t...
Efficiency Gains in Broiler Production Through Contract Parameter Fine Tuning

Abstract This paper reports on an analysis of existing broiler production contracts, with an attempt to establish the degree of efficiency gains possible from contract alteration. With the use of settlement cost and farm level data, an assessment is made of optimal grower input decisions given contract specifications. Using this analytical framework, alternative contract designs are simulated by searching over possible contract parameter values. The foci of the analysis are three contract parameters: base payment, bonus factor, and the utilities cost allocation factor. In the first two cases, the simulation generated ambiguous results. In the third case, results seem to indicate that switching part of the electricity cost from the grower's cost into the settlement cost may result in a mutual welfare gain.
Inductive Tuning of Fano-Resonant Metasurfaces Using Plasmonic Response of Graphene in the Mid-Infrared

Graphene is widely known for its anomalously strong broadband optical absorptivity of 2.3% that enables seeing its single-atom layer with the naked eye. However, in the mid-infrared part of the spectrum graphene represents a quintessential lossless zero-volume plasmonic material. We experimentally demonstrate that, when integrated with Fano-resonant plasmonic metasurfaces, single-layer graphene (SLG) can be used to tune their mid-infrared optical response. SLG’s plasmonic response is shown to induce large blue shifts of the metasurface’s resonance without reducing its spectral sharpness. This effect is explained by a generalized perturbation theory of SLG-metamaterial interaction that accounts for two unique properties of the SLG that set it apart from all other plasmonic materials: its anisotropic response and zero volume. These results pave the way to using gated SLG as a platform for dynamical spectral tuning of infrared metamaterials and metasurfaces.
Neural network prediction based on variable structure algorithms and its application

In order to eliminate limitations of conventional modeling and dynamic prediction method,based on variable structure algorithms,multilayer dynamic forward networks are considered as the models of oilfield systems,and the prediction models and technique of multiplayer dynamic forward networks are studied.The deficiency of gradient learning algorithm is analyzed.An improvement scheme is given,so the algorithm performance is improved.Thus the method of modeling and prediction for oil field is renewed.In the application of the new scheme,excellent result has been obtained,which proves that the new scheme is very effective and useful.
Bridging GIS Success

Abstract.This article shares the first-time geographic information system (GIS) experiences of two advanced placement human geography classes. The teacher had participated in a summer GIS workshop and then brought those skills into her classroom for the students' benefit. Eighteen students shared their experiences researching their family history, working to map the migration of their genealogy to the United States, and presenting their findings to their classmates. Researchers were on hand to observe presentations and collected survey data from the students. Overall it was a very successful educational experience in which students utilized a “new” technology in the context of their own lives.
Semantic Annotation for Supporting Context-Aware Information Retrieval in the Transportation Project Environmental Review Domain

AbstractAlthough transportation practitioners nowadays have an unprecedented level of access to information, substantial gaps still exist in their ability to efficiently and reliably find the right information, at the right time, for the task or decision at hand. To address this gap, this paper proposes a context-aware information retrieval (IR) approach that can capture and exploit the conceptualization of user needs, decision context, and content meanings in order to support the retrieval of information that is more relevant to decision making. The proposed IR approach includes three primary components: semantic annotation (SA), semantic query processing (SQP), and semantic document ranking (SDR). This paper focuses on SA for IR for supporting the transportation project environmental review (TPER) decision-making process. It proposes an epistemology-based SA algorithm for automatically annotating Web pages in the TPER domain with contextual concepts from an epistemological model. The TPER epistemology i...
Coffee consumption and the decreased risk of diabetes mellitus type 2

Coffee is among the most commonly consumed beverages in The Netherlands. Caffeine can acutely lower insulin sensitivity, but it is not clear whether tolerance for this effect develops after long-term regular intake. Furthermore, it is plausible that the effects of coffee are different from those of caffeine. Coffee contains hundreds of substances and there are indications that certain components may partly counter-act the effect of caffeine or may have independent beneficial effects. Intake of the coffee components chlorogenic acid, quinides, lignans, and trigonelline improved glucose metabolism in animal studies. Habitual coffee consumption has been studied in relation to the risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 in 12 cohort studies in Europe, the USA, and Japan. Generally, high coffee consumption was associated with a substantially lower risk of type-2 diabetes. The findings were similar for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that the non-caffeine components of coffee may be responsible. Identification of these coffee components may lead to the development or selection of coffee types with improved effects on health.
Using Photoshop with Images Created by a Confocal System

Many pure colors and grayscales tones that result from confocal imaging are not reproducible to output devices, such as printing presses, laptop projectors, and laser jet printers. Part of the difficulty in predicting the colors and tones that will reproduce lies in both the computer display, and in the display of unreproducible colors chosen for fluorophores. The use of a grayscale display for confocal channels and a LUT display to show saturated (clipped) tonal values aids visualization in the former instance and image integrity in the latter. Computer monitors used for post-processing in order to conform the image to the output device can be placed in darkened rooms, and the gamma for the display can be set to create darker shadow regions, and to control the display of color. These conditions aid in visualization of images so that blacks are set to grayer values that are more amenable to faithful reproduction. Preferences can be set in Photoshop for consistent display of colors, along with other settings to optimize use of memory. The Info window is opened so that tonal information can be shown via readouts. Images that are saved as indexed color are converted to grayscale or RGB Color, 16-bit is converted to 8-bit when desired, and colorized images from confocal software is returned to grayscale and re-colorized according to presented methods so that reproducible colors are made. Images may also be sharpened and noise may be reduced, or more than one image layered to show colocalization according to specific methods. Images are then converted to CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) for consequent assignment of pigment percentages for printing presses. Changes to single images and multiple images from image stacks are automated for efficient and consistent image processing changes. Some additional changes are done to those images destined for 3D visualization to better separate regions of interest from background. Files are returned to image stacks, saved and then printed to best reveal colors, contrast, details and features.
Treatment of sequential bilateral germ cell tumors of the testis following interval retroperitoneal lymph node dissection

Modification in lymphatic drainage following retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, such as a collateral circulation or lymph node and lymphatic vessel regeneration, was observed in 2 patients in whom a second tumor developed in the remaining testicle. Such alterations of the lymphatic system are difficult to evaluate for the possible presence of metastatic disease. The presence of extensive collateral circulation rules out lymph node dissection or radiation therapy as an appropriate treatment in these patients. A short course of systemic chemotherapy, regardless of the histological type of the second malignancy, seems to be the safest adjunctive treatment in such cases.
Child labour measurement: Whom should we ask?

Funding decisions to support vulnerable children are tied to child labour statistics, hence the importance of an accurate measurement. The author analyses whether the type of respondent plays an important role in explaining variations in child labour statistics. Using data from two sites in Tanzania, the analysis shows that “whom we ask” matters considerably when estimating the prevalence of child labour. The results suggest that prevalence increases by approximately 35 to 65 per cent when using child self‐reports rather than proxy reports. This bias affects 14 to 31 per cent of the sample, depending on the indicator. Discrepancies decrease as the child ages and increase if proxy attitudes demonstrate opposition to child labour.
Industry-Led Access-To-Medicines Initiatives In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: Strategies And Evidence

Global biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly establishing access-to-medicines (AtM) initiatives in low- and middle-income countries. We reviewed the initiatives of twenty-one research-based global biopharmaceutical companies to assess their strategies for improving access and the quality of evidence on the impact of their initiatives. The number of operating initiatives increased from 17 in 2000 to 102 in 2015. Of the 120 different AtM initiatives identified, 48 percent used a medicine donation strategy, and 44 percent used a price reduction strategy. While companies have frequently claimed that their initiatives have had positive impacts, we found published evaluations for only seven initiatives, and nearly all of the evaluations were of low (62 percent) or very low (32 percent) quality. It is clear that the biopharmaceutical industry has increased its commitment to improving access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries. However, companies should do more to generate high-quality evidenc...
Dynamic Ice Forces on an Inclined Structure

A qualitative model of the breaking behaviour of an ice cover against an inclined structure and subsequent movement of the broken ice slabs is presented. The various force components resulting from the assumed ice behaviour are identified, physical models developed, and quantitative expressions formulated. Particular attention is given to all the assumptions. An example of the variation of the force components with time throughout the breaking cycle is presented. The results of the analytical model compared well with the results of a new series of model tests.
Point of Sale Scanner Data for Rapid Surveillance of the E-cigarette Market.

Objectives Describe e-cigarette sales trends and market share from U.S. convenience stores and mass market retailers. Methods We used Nielsen Scantrack to calculate U.S. e-cigarette sales market share from convenience and mass market channels during the 4-week period ending 1/19/13 through the period ending 12/19/15. Internet searches were used to supplement Nielsen product information. Results From 2013 to 2015, rechargeable e-cigarette brands VUSE and MarkTen experienced the largest growth in Nielsen channels. E-liquid and tank type brands Vapin Plus and Haus experienced growth although their Nielsen market share is small compared to other brands. Sales of brands with high labeled nicotine content (according to packaging or website) increased. Fruit-flavored sales increased rapidly in Nielsen, yet still represent a minority of market share in these channels. Discussion Market-leading e-cigarette brands changed substantially in Nielsen channels from 2013 to 2015. Brand leaders in these channels are now owned by tobacco companies. Changes in labelled nicotine content and fruit-flavored products and product types suggest that as e-cigarette use increases, convenience store and mass market channels are offering new products to meet consumer preferences; however, Nielsen channels do not represent the entire e-cigarette marketplace.
EEG Instrumentation, Montage, Polarity, and Localization

This chapter discusses the source of the EEG signal, its recording technique, acquisition, filtering, montages, processing, and display including the basics of signal filtering for intracranial EEG recording. It will include an explanation for the sampling rate requirements. It will also cover issues related to grounding for patient safety as well as common artifacts seen in EEG recordings.
High-temperature crystallization of nanocrystals into three-dimensional superlattices

Crystallization of colloidal nanocrystals into superlattices represents a practical bottom-up process with which to create ordered metamaterials with emergent functionalities. With precise control over the size, shape and composition of individual nanocrystals, various single- and multi-component nanocrystal superlattices have been produced, the lattice structures and chemical compositions of which can be accurately engineered. Nanocrystal superlattices are typically prepared by carefully controlling the assembly process through solvent evaporation or destabilization or through DNA-guided crystallization. Slow solvent evaporation or cooling of nanocrystal solutions (over hours or days) is the key element for successful crystallization processes. Here we report the rapid growth (seconds) of micrometre-sized, face-centred-cubic, three-dimensional nanocrystal superlattices during colloidal synthesis at high temperatures (more than 230 degrees Celsius). Using in situ small-angle X-ray scattering, we observe continuous growth of individual nanocrystals within the lattices, which results in simultaneous lattice expansion and fine nanocrystal size control due to the superlattice templates. Thermodynamic models demonstrate that balanced attractive and repulsive interparticle interactions dictated by the ligand coverage on nanocrystal surfaces and nanocrystal core size are responsible for the crystallization process. The interparticle interactions can also be controlled to form different superlattice structures, such as hexagonal close-packed lattices. The rational assembly of various nanocrystal systems into novel materials is thus facilitated for both fundamental research and for practical applications in the fields of magnetics, electronics and catalysis.
Toward understanding disciplinary divides within games research

Recent work has highlighted a notable divide in communication and collaboration between technical and social science/humanities disciplines within games research. In order to provide deeper insight around this apparent separation and underlying difference in epistemic cultures, we interviewed experts from various communities within games research. Our findings highlight some fundamental differences in research methodologies, publication practices, and epistemic cultures that need consideration in the larger discussion around future directions of games research. We in turn utilize these differing viewpoints to consider an assortment of approaches that could potentially better address the needs of technical, social science, and humanities sub-communities within games research.
Branded App Usability: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Prediction of Consumer Loyalty

Despite the importance of usability assessment, few studies have taken a consumer-centric approach to conceptualize and measure the underlying dimensions of branded app usability. Addressing this g...
Breast cancer molecular subtype classification using deep features: preliminary results.

Radiogenomics is a field of investigation that attempts to examine the relationship between imaging characteris- tics of cancerous lesions and their genomic composition. This could offer a noninvasive alternative to establishing genomic characteristics of tumors and aid cancer treatment planning. While deep learning has shown its supe- riority in many detection and classification tasks, breast cancer radiogenomic data suffers from a very limited number of training examples, which renders the training of the neural network for this problem directly and with no pretraining a very difficult task. In this study, we investigated an alternative deep learning approach referred to as deep features or off-the-shelf network approach to classify breast cancer molecular subtypes using breast dynamic contrast enhanced MRIs. We used the feature maps of different convolution layers and fully connected layers as features and trained support vector machines using these features for prediction. For the feature maps that have multiple layers, max-pooling was performed along each channel. We focused on distinguishing the Luminal A subtype from other subtypes. To evaluate the models, 10 fold cross-validation was performed and the final AUC was obtained by averaging the performance of all the folds. The highest average AUC obtained was 0.64 (0.95 CI: 0.57-0.71), using the feature maps of the last fully connected layer. This indicates the promise of using this approach to predict the breast cancer molecular subtypes. Since the best performance appears in the last fully connected layer, it also implies that breast cancer molecular subtypes may relate to high level image features
Relationship between composite contraction stress and leakage in Class V cavities.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between polymerization contraction stress and leakage in Class V composites. METHODS A microfill (Heliomolar) and two minifill hybrid composites (Herculite, Z100) were tested. Maximum contraction stress (n = 5) for the composites was evaluated in a MTS machine at a C-factor of 3 (ratio of bonded to non-bonded surface area). Composite was placed in the gap between the surfaces of glass stubs that had been air abraded, silane treated and coated with a layer of resin adhesive. Specimens were light-cured through the top glass stub for 60 seconds and maximum force was recorded during the first 10 minutes. Leakage (n = 10) was evaluated by cutting cylindrical cavity preparations with all enamel margins (C-factor = 3) in bovine incisors. The cavities were treated with two layers of Scotchbond MP adhesive. Composites were applied in one increment, light-cured at the same intensity used in the stress tests, and immediately finished on SiC paper. After 1 day in water, the restorations were placed in silver nitrate, developed and evaluated as a single cross-section (2-D) and multiple cross-sections (3-D) for leakage: 0 (none), 1 (minimal leakage), 2 (to the DEJ), 3 (to line angle), 4 (along the pulpal wall). RESULTS The maximum stresses (MPa) recorded were lowest for Heliomolar (7.0 +/- 0.4), intermediate for Herculite (10.5 +/- 0.6) and greatest for Z100 (11.6 +/- 1.3). 3-D leakage was as follows: Heliomolar--two specimens scored 1, seven scored 2 and one scored 3; Herculite--six scored 2 and four scored 3; Z100--eight scored 3 and two scored 4. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference in leakage for the three composites (P < 0.05), and leakage was greater when evaluated in 3-D. The leakage results correlated with the stress values, i.e. composites with higher contraction stress showed more extensive marginal leakage.
Girls in the Mathematics Classroom: What's Happening with Our Best and Brightest?.

With the advent of both the women's movement and a heightened national interest in educational excellence, scholar ly attention has been focused on the suc cess of females in mathematics. Sells (1978) identified mathematics as the "critical filter" that could limit the range of career choices available to those who do not take an adequate number of high school math ematics courses. Casserly and Rock (1979) looked at factors that differentiate girls who enroll in Advanced Placement math ematics courses from those who do not. Studies of Fennema and Sherman (1977) demonstrated that gender differences in mathematics achievement are substantially reduced when the number of mathematics courses is controlled. Benbow and Stanley (1982), however, found that sex differences in mathematics achievement did not reflect differential mathematics course taking. Their study involved students in the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) who, as seventh and eighth grad ers, scored as well as a national sample of eleventhand twelfth-grade females on the S.A.T. mathematics and verbal tests. Of recent interest to researchers has been gender differences in classroom inter action, particularly in mathematics. Fen nema and Peterson (1985) have proposed a model of autonomous learning behavior (ALB) to explain gender discrepancies in
Tony Blair’s gamble: The Middle East Peace Process and British participation in the Iraq 2003 campaign:

Tony Blair tried throughout the preparatory phase of the US-led Iraq intervention in 2003 to influence US policy on the Middle East Peace Process. This article tries to understand how Blair fared i...
Formation and fragmentation within a networked public sphere: Social media debates on Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract By analyzing the social media posts published by the scientific community and conventional media organizations, the study explored the recent social media debates on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A combination of textual analysis and content analysis revealed two main findings. First, different networks of expertise on Weibo generated conflicting discourses about TCM: while the scientific community contributed the overwhelming majority of posts that criticized TCM, conventional media outlets were much more likely to promote TCM without skepticism. Implications of the finding is discussed. Second, the social media debate did not appear to facilitate problem solving, evidenced by the fact that only a small portion of the posts included rational comments about the controversy. In addition, users typically communicated only with users who shared their viewpoints, resulting in few communications between groups. The trend illustrates the fragmentation of China’s networked public sphere on Weibo.
High Reliability Power Package Design for Automotive Requirements

As the high demand of high power and high current in power discrete packages, products are applying the bigger die size but are limited by the same package footprint. The bigger die size requires bigger exposed pad(e-pad) size but limited by given footprint and gives challenges to package design and assembly process. Along with the size challenges, the package should consider high reliability requirement for automotive application. Once die size is getting bigger, high die to exposed pad size ratio is worse in package reliability. Because it causes package delamination and die crack due to insufficient adhesion around the silicon die.This paper investigated package cracks by structure and material property, especially the epoxy molding compound (EMC). To achieve a robust package structure with even bigger die size, an evaluation was conducted on several types of EMCs and various leadframe design options and verified by mechanical simulation. Finally, the key considerations for package design are proposed based on the results.
Practice-Based Research Networks Ceding to a Single Institutional Review Board

Historically, a single research project involving numerous practice-based research networks (PBRNs) required multiple institutional review boards (IRBs) to be involved in approval of the project. However, to avoid redundancies, federal IRB regulations now allow cooperative research projects that involve more than one institution to use reasonable methods of cooperative IRB review and to cede authority for review and oversight of the project to a single lead IRB. Through ceding, a lead IRB has the authority for review and oversight of the project delegated by all participating sites' IRBs and becomes the IRB of record for the ceded sites. In the conduct of cooperative research projects, each institution or primary care office site is still responsible for safeguarding the rights and welfare of human subjects and for complying with applicable regulations. The purpose of this report is to delineate the process, including cooperation and effort of personnel, for accomplishing IRB approval for the Implementing Networks' Self-management Tools Through Engaging Patients and Practices (INSTTEPP) clinical trial. This process involved 4 PBRNs, 16 family physician offices, 4 academic institution's IRBs, and 4 family practice office external IRBs ceding to the lead IRB. Once ceding was accomplished, subsequent IRB modifications and continuing reviews were the responsibility of the lead IRB, ultimately saving time for all participants and keeping the project on schedule.
Underwater Material Discriminability with Fluorescence Lidar in Unknown Environmental Conditions

Discriminating different underwater objects based on their material is of great interest in many maritime applications, such as safe navigation and seafloor mapping. Fluorescence Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) systems allow different materials to be discriminated based on their spectral fluorescence properties. However, acquisition conditions play an important role in underwater material discriminability, and a scarce and/or inaccurate knowledge of such conditions may impair final performance. In this work, we investigate underwater material discriminability in unknown environmental conditions. Experimental results obtained with synthetic data reveal the potential of the explored approach.
Performance Stability Analysis of SRAM Cells Based on Different FinFET Devices in 7nm Technology

In this paper, the performances of 6T SRAM designs implemented by different FinFET devices are compared for different pull-up, pull down and pass gate transistor (PU:PD:PG) ratios to identify the best FinFET device for high speed and low power SRAM applications. Underlapped FinFETs (UF) and Design/Technology Co-Optimized FinFETs (DTCO_F) are used for the design and analysis. It is observed that with the PU:PD:PG ratios of 1:1:1 and 1:5:2 for the UF-SRAMs the read energy has degraded by 3.31% and 48.72% compared to the DTCO_F-SRAMs, respectively. However, the read energy with 2:5:2 ratio has improved by 32.71% in the UF-SRAM compared to the DTCO_F-SRAMs. The write energy with 1:1:1 configuration has improved by 642.27% in the UF-SRAM compared to the DTCO_F-SRAM. On the other hand, the write energy with 1:5:2 and 2:5:2 configurations has degraded by 86.26% and 96% in the UF-SRAMs compared to the DTCO_FSRAMs. The stability and reliability of different SRAMs are also evaluated for 500mV supply.
Composite Hydrogels With Controlled Degradation in 3D Printed Scaffolds

Controlled cell delivery has shown some promising outcomes compared with traditional cell delivery approaches over the past decades, and strategies focused on optimization or engineering of controlled cell delivery have been intensively studied. In this paper, we demonstrate the fabrication of a 3D printed hydrogel scaffold infused with degradable PEGPLA/NB composite hydrogel core for controlled cell delivery with improved cell viability and facile tunability. The 3D printed poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) scaffold with specifically designed architectures can provide mechanical support while allowing bidirectional diffusion of small molecules, thus permitting structural integrity and long-term cell viability. Poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) (PLA-PEG-PLA), which is highly susceptible to hydrolysis, however, the acrylation reactions it utilizes for chain growth have been reported as toxic to cells. Poly(ethylene glycol) norbornene (PEGNB), validated for its excellent cytocompatibility, was therefore mixed and infused together with PLA-PEG-PLA into the printed PEGDA scaffold. Cells encapsulated microfluidically into PEGNB microspheres and then polymerized within PEGPLA/NB composite hydrogel maintained excellent viability over a week. Controlled cell release was achieved via the manipulation of PEGPLA/NB composition. By increasing PEGNB proportion in the core, cell release was significantly slowed while increasing PLA-PEG-PLA proportion eventually resulted in a very robust cell release within a short time frame. The functionality of released cells was validated by their cell viability and proliferation potential. In summary, we have shown this droplet-microencapsulation technique coupled with composite degradable hydrogel and 3D printing could offer an alternative route for controlled cell delivery.
Professional skills in the Product Development Process: the contribution of learning environments to professional skills in the Industry 4.0 scenario

Abstract The Industry 4.0 scenario has raised many challenges for industries. The introduction of new technologies in production and products allows shorter product lifecycles, highly customization of products, and lower development and production costs. Such phenomena generate large amounts of data throughout the product lifecycle, which can be integrated and managed by Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems. However, to be competitive in this environment and to cope with these challenges, companies must be able not only to manage effectively their product information over the entire product lifecycle but also to count on highly skilled professionals to do so. The new trends originated from the Industry 4.0 paradigm have changed the design and development scenario, as well as the sets of skills required from professionals. Therefore, product engineers, as well as engineering students in universities, should develop new skills and meet these new market requirements. One alternative to preparing new professionals is through learning environments in cooperation with universities. These learning environments, also called learning factories to enable the transference of knowledge on processes and methods to students through the introduction of a factory concept in the academic environment, in which students can apply the acquired theoretical knowledge in real industry situations. In such a context, a Learning Factory (LF) testbed supporting the product development process in a PLM environment was developed and implemented. This paper aims to present the LF for the product development process implemented in a Brazilian university; how it contributes to the qualification of product development professionals in the Industry 4.0 scenario; its limitations and the future perspectives to meet the demand for new skills.
Beyond Victims of Sexual Perverts: Expanding Shielding to All Juvenile Witnesses

In Maryland v. Craig, the Supreme Court approved shielding child abuse victim-witnesses from the presence of the defendant while the witnesses testified. The genesis for shielding laws was social science evidence demonstrating trauma to child sex abuse victims who, while testifying, confronted defendants. Because the Supreme Court to date has declined to consider the scope of applicability of Craig, the current legal landscape of shielding rules suffers from a lack of uniformity on the breadth of applicability of shielding. Consequently, if a juvenile witness does not fall within the class of witnesses protected by a shielding statute, then the witness may be forced to testify in the defendant’s presence and without being shielded. Such an event may traumatize the child, just as it might a child sexual abuse victim-witness. This Article contends that Craig should be interpreted to extend to all juvenile witnesses regardless of age, nature of the case, or relationship of the child to the case as victim or witness. The Court’s rationale in Craig is sufficiently broad to warrant extension of shielding to all juveniles in any case, yet narrow enough to avoid eviscerating the right of confrontation. To implement the changes argued for herein, the Article recommends that legislatures adopt the Uniform Child Witness Testimony by Alternative Methods Act with one essential change: revise the Act’s age limit from thirteen years of age to eighteen years of age.
Yield Analysis and Quality Assurance and Control Methods Used in Microsystems Manufacturing

This chapter covers the importance of ensuring quality and reviews methods for performing yield analysis in microsystems manufacturing. Methods for determining device functional and parametric yields are both reviewed. The types of defects that result in nonfunctional devices and various analytical techniques used for functional yield modeling based on point defects are explained. Parametric yield is then reviewed wherein a manufacturing function that incorporates all of the statistical distributions of the parameters describing the microsystems device’s output response is overlaid by an acceptance region to determine the yield. Methods to ensure quality during manufacturing using statistical process control (SPC) are covered. Control charts are used to show how processing steps can be monitored for whether they are in control or not. Process capability is shown to be an excellent gauge for whether a manufacturing process is able to produce devices having acceptable yields. Lastly, techniques for sampling of the measurements on wafers during and after manufacturing so as to obtain data that is rationally subgrouped so as to identify non-random changes are discussed.
Time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering in a pumped Mott insulator

Collective excitations contain rich information about photoinduced transient states in correlated systems. In a Mott insulator, charge degrees of freedom are frozen, but can be activated by photodoping. The energy-momentum distribution of the charge excitation spectrum reflects the propagation of charge degrees of freedom and provides information about the interplay among various intertwined instabilities on the timescale set by the pump. To reveal charge excitations out of equilibrium, we simulate time-resolved x-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering using a Hubbard model. After pumping, the former resolves photodoping, while the latter characterizes the formation, dispersion, weight, and nonlinear effects of collective excitations. Intermediate-state information from time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (trRIXS) can be used to decipher the origin of these excitations, including bimagnons, Mott-gap excitations, doublon and single-electron in-gap states, and anti-Stokes relaxation during an ultrafast pump. This paper provides a theoretical foundation for existing and future trRIXS experiments.
Visualization of Stable Heteroclinic Channel-Based Movement Primitives

Movement primitives are a well-established approach to robot motion planning, as they offer a modular basis for robot motion planning. Dynamic movement primitives (DMPs) are a popular control framework based on nonlinear differential equations which, when scaled in time, produce a smooth kinematic movement plan. In this letter, we introduce an adjusted movement primitive framework which replaces the stable equilibria of DMPs with saddle points. These saddle points are linked together in stable heteroclinic channels (SHCs) which are in turn part of dynamical systems called stable heteroclinic networks. SHC-based movement primitives (SMPs) form a framework where the weights of the kernel functions have spatial significance in the task space. In this letter, we show that SMPs and DMPs perform comparably according to a kinematic-based cost function. We also show that SMP kernel weights follow a given trajectory when plotted in the task space. The plotted kernel weights provide an intuitive tool for managing the controller.
Synthetic dual energy CT imaging from single energy CT using deep attention neural network

This work presents a learning-based method to synthesize dual energy CT (DECT) images from conventional single energy CT (SECT). The proposed method uses a residual attention generative adversarial network. Residual blocks with attention gates were used to force the model to focus on the difference between DECT maps and SECT images. To evaluate the accuracy of the method, we retrospectively investigated 20 headand-neck cancer patients with both DECT and SECT scans available. The high and low energy CT images acquired from DECT acted as learning targets in the training process for SECT datasets and were evaluated against results from the proposed method using a leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. The synthesized DECT images showed an average mean absolute error around 30 Hounsfield Unit (HU) across the wholebody volume. These results strongly indicate the high accuracy of synthesized DECT image by our machinelearning-based method.