cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanical Engineering Component in Microelectronic Systems Curriculum

The need for multidisciplinary education in microelectronics systems is primarily driven by the evolution in scaling, when physical phenomena and not electrical circuit theory prevail, and the revolution in packaging, which calls for spatial, electrical, and temporal considerations. However, it remains difficult to incorporate a multidisciplinary component in traditional electrical engineering curricula despite a positive feedback from both funding and accreditation agencies as well as industry in the United States [5]. The latter, particularly in the area of CAD, evolves from a single technology solution towards system engineering, and beyond [3]. The paper describes a collaborative engineering approach being implemented at the University of New Hampshire which is based on two premises: (1) the emulation of a real industrial environment, and (2) challenging multidisciplinary projects as a driving vehicle [2].
The Role of Chromatin Factors in Hematopoietic Development

The initiation of blood-specific programs is orchestrated by key transcription factors. To generate a complete compendium of chromatin factors that establish the epigenetic code during developmental hematopoiesis, a large-scale reverse genetic screen was conducted targeting orthologs of 425 human chromatin factors in zebrafish. A set of chromatin regulators was identified that function at distinct steps of primitive and definitive blood formation, including factors not previously implicated in blood development. We identified 15 factors that regulate development of primitive erythroid progenitors and 29 factors that regulate development of definitive stem and progenitor cells. These chromatin factors are associated with SWI/SNF and ISWI chromatin remodeling, SET1/MLL methyltransferase, CBP/P300/HBO1/NuA4 acetyltransferase, Sin3A/NuRD deacetylase, and Polycomb repressive complexes. Knockdown of a class of chromatin factors led to an expansion of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In collaboration with Nancy Speck’s laboratory, we have investigated the activity of one of these chromatin factors, CHD7, that led to an expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the aorta. Using a T-cell line, a CBFβ protein pulldown, and a mass spectrometric sequencing approach led to the finding that CBFβ immunoprecipitated RUNX1 and CHD7 . By studying a conditional allele of murine Chd7 , inactivation does not have an effect on peripheral blood counts, but Chd7 -deleted HSCs purified based on phenotypic markers contain an increased number of functional HSCs. Our studies suggest that CHD7 suppresses hematopoiesis, and provides a novel control mechanism for the regulation of HSCs. Our work provides a comprehensive view of how specific chromatin factors and their associated complexes play a major role in the establishment of hematopoietic cells in vivo . Disclosures: Zon: Scholar Rock: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Founder, Founder Other, Membership on an entity’s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties; Stemgent, Inc: Consultancy, Membership on an entity’s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Stocks, Stocks Other; FATE Therapeutics, Inc: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Founder Other, Membership on an entity’s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties.
Microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing for synthesis of nanomaterials

Microfluidics expands the synthetic space such as heat transfer, mass transport, and reagent consumption to conditions not easily achievable in conventional batch processes. Hydrodynamic focusing in particular enables the generation and study of complex engineered nanostructures and new materials systems. In this review, we present an overview of recent progress in the synthesis of nanostructures and microfibers using microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing techniques. Emphasis is placed on distinct designs of flow focusing methods and their associated mechanisms, as well as their applications in material synthesis, determination of reaction kinetics, and study of synthetic mechanisms.
Impact of rotor temperospatial stability on acute and one-year atrial fibrillation ablation outcomes.

Background The utility of rotor ablation using commercially available systems as an adjunct to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is controversial. Variable results may stem from heterogeneous practice patterns. We investigated whether a prespecified protocol to determine temperospatial rotor stability improved acute and intermediate outcomes following rotor ablation. Hypothesis Protocolized rotor mapping and ablation, with prespecified metrics to determine temporal rotor stability prior to ablation, will improve short- and long-term PVI/rotor ablation outcomes. Methods Patients undergoing PVI plus rotor ablation at Johns Hopkins during 2015 were included. The first cohort underwent rotor mapping and ablation at the operator's discretion, whereas the second cohort underwent protocolized rotor mapping, with ablation limited to temperospatially stable rotors. Both cohorts underwent PVI. Acute results (rotor elimination, atrial fibrillation [AF] termination), procedural data, and 1-year outcomes were assessed. Results Twenty-seven patients underwent ablation (mean age, 64.4 ± 9 years, male 81.5%, persistent AF 85.2%, long-standing persistent AF 14.8%, mean AF duration 4.4 ± 4 years, repeat cases 51.8%, and mean LA size 4.6 ± 0.8 cm). In the protocolized cohort, rotors were reproducible in 83% (10/12) of cases in at least 1 chamber. Acute rhythm change was achieved in 8/27 (29.6%) patients. Sinus rhythm on presentation (62.5% vs 15.8%, P = 0.03) and higher total targeted rotors (3.8 ± 1.7 vs 2.5 ± 1.0, P = 0.02) predicted acute change. At 12 months, freedom from AF/atrial tachycardia was achieved in 5/15 (33.3%) patients in the first cohort and 5/11 patients in the protocolized cohort (45.5%; P = 0.53 for comparison). Conclusions Acute and intermediate results did not change with protocolized mapping designed to identify temperospatially stable rotors. Outcomes at 12 months were similar in both groups.
Eutrophication of Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems

Eutrophication is a widespread problem in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, estuaries, and other coastal habitats. It is caused by the excessive input of nutrients to water bodies, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, often as a result of human activities. High nutrient concentrations can lead to harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, fish kills, and the production of toxins. While there are many management strategies for mitigating the consequences of eutrophication, reversal and recovery is expensive and takes a long time. When possible, the prevention of nutrient loading is the key for avoiding the loss of ecosystem services that accompany the eutrophication of surface waters.
Can Social Media Marketing Improve Customer Relationship Capabilities and Firm Performance? Dynamic Capability Perspective

Abstract Social media usage has become ubiquitous, and organizations need to manage this tool to meet their strategic goals. Companies are finding it necessary to modify their approach to customer relationship management (CRM) and develop new marketing capabilities that facilitate customer satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to examine how social media usage can help firms build new CRM capabilities and thus improve marketing adoption strategies and business performance. We suggest that social CRM capability is critical when companies merge social media into their marketing strategies to improve customer engagement and firm performance. We empirically analyze data from 232 companies using Facebook, COMPUSTAT North America, and Global Fundamentals annual databases for the period 2004–2014. This study contributes to extant literature by confirming a new form of CRM capabilities – social CRM – using the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory frameworks, and by demonstrating that social media usage plays a moderating role by amplifying the positive impact of social CRM capabilities on firm performance.
EFFECTIVENESS OF A COLLABORATIVE CONTINUUM OF CARE MODEL FOR PATIENTS AND FAMILIES WITH DEMENTIA

Patients, families, and providers struggle with the complexities of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as families report poor understanding and poor support for care planning. A quality improvement model was established at Stanford Health Care in 2008 to follow patients and families through the continuum. The model has since been strengthened with collaborations from Stanford’s Center for Memory Disorders and the Stanford NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. This poster outlines the results of a survey from caregivers receiving transitional care coordination and home visits. Survey revealed effectiveness of the program. The importance of integration (rather than fragmentation) of services and providers was stressed, along with knowing there was a number to call for support through the continuum. Of the 50% of respondents who completed the surveys: nearly 100% of respondents felt that consultations, family meetings, referrals, guidance and support during transitions of care were ‘Very Helpful’; that information on coping and understanding complex behavior was ‘Very Helpful’; that the information provided improved the quality of life for the patient; that the caregiver understood the disease better; and that the program helped their family avoid future problems. Nearly 100% ‘Strongly Agreed’ that they felt comfortable requesting help from staff in the future and had an overall satisfaction with being “heard” as new problems arise. At a junction where a cure is still far away, all efforts to support families and improve quality of life are strongly welcomed by families, most of whom have little or no preparation for a caregiving role.
Alterations in nociception and morphine antinociception in mice fed a high-fat diet

Currently, more than 78.6 million adults in the United States are obese. A majority of the patient population receiving treatment for pain symptoms is derived from this subpopulation. Environmental factors, including the increased availability of food high in fat and sugar, contribute to the continued rise in the rates of obesity. The focus of this study was to investigate whether long-term exposure to a high-fat, energy-dense diet enhances baseline thermal and inflammatory nociception while reducing sensitivity to morphine-induced antinociception. Antinociceptive and hypothermic responses to morphine were determined in male and female C57BL/6N mice fed either a "western-style" diet high in fat and sucrose (HED) or a standard low-fat chow diet for 15 weeks. Antinociception was assessed using both the hot plate and tail flick tests of acute thermal pain and the formalin test of inflammatory pain. Acute administration of morphine dose-dependently increased antinociception in the hot plate and tail flick assays for mice of both sexes fed chow and HED. However, female mice displayed lower antinociceptive response to morphine compared to males in the tail-flick test. Hypothermic responses to acute morphine were also assessed in mice fed chow or HED. Male and female mice fed chow, and female mice fed HED displayed similar hypothermic responses to morphine. However, males fed HED did not exhibit morphine-induced hypothermia. Tolerance to the antinociceptive and hypothermic effects of morphine was assessed after ten days of repeated daily administration (10mg/kg morphine). Male mice fed chow or HED developed tolerance to morphine in the hot plate test. However, females fed HED did not. In the tail flick assay, only mice fed HED developed tolerance to morphine. All groups showed tolerance to morphine-induced hypothermia. In the formalin test, we found that both male and female mice fed HED had reduced sensitivity to the antinociceptive effects of morphine (6mg/kg). Collectively, these data suggest that sensitivity and tolerance to the antinociceptive effects of morphine may be dependent on diet and sex in the hot plate and tail flick thermal pain models, and that the acute antinociceptive effects of morphine in the formalin inflammatory pain model may also be dependent on these two factors. In addition, diet and sex can influence morphine-induced hypothermia. Exposure to an HED may lead to changes in neuronal signaling pathways that alter nociceptive responses to noxious stimuli in a sex-specific manner. Thus, dietary modifications might be a useful way to impact pain therapy.
Performance Characterization and Scalability analysis of a Chimera Based Parallel Navier-Stokes solver on commodity clusters

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on the performance characterization and scalability analysis of a chimera-based parallel Navier–Stokes solver on a commodity cluster. The parallel code—FDL3DI—is MPI-based, and the interconnectivity among zones is obtained through the Chimera approach. A computational domain is decomposed into a number of overlapped zones and each of the zones is assigned to a separate processor. Each zone is solved independently and communication among them is accomplished through the interpolation points in the overlapped region by explicit message passing using MPI libraries. The code's performance is assessed on a commodity cluster of AMD Athlon processors in terms of relative speed up, execution time, and cache analysis with different grids and domain sizes. Turbulent flow over a flat plate is considered as the benchmark problem for the current simulations. Three variants of the upwind biased Roe scheme, a second order central difference scheme, as well as a high-order compact differencing scheme with high-order pade-type filtering, are used for spatial discretization and they are compared with each other for relative execution time.
Rigid/non-rigid grounding and transitivity

ABSTRACTWhile extant replies to Jonathan Schaffer’s putative counterexamples to the transitivity of grounding have made significant strides against the charge of transitivity failure, the replies pay insufficient attention to the common structure of the counterexamples, overlooking a deeper structural feature that contributes to their prima facie plausibility. Putative counterexamples to the transitivity of grounding, I argue, trade on the distinction between what I call ‘rigid’ and ‘non-rigid’ grounding, and confusion over how rigid and non-rigid grounding react when combined pumps the intuition that the counterexamples’ chained conclusions are false. The rigid/non-rigid grounding distinction also reveals plausible weakening inference rules that have been overlooked in treatments of the logic of grounding.
An Empirical Evaluation of Techniques for Feature Selection with Cost

Feature selection is the process of selecting a subset of relevant features from the larger set of collected features. As the amount of available data grows with technology, feature selection becomes a more important part of the system-design process. In real-world applications, there are several costs associated with the collection, processing, and storage of data. Given that these costs can vary between data streams, it is important to consider the cost of features when performing feature selection. A majority of the feature selection algorithms select a relevant feature subset solely based on the merit and do not consider cost. In this study, we evaluate a previously proposed cost-based feature selection framework. We expand on the previously conducted experiments by testing a wider range of feature selection methods paired with the cost-based framework, testing a variety of classifiers, and sequentially adding features to the relevant subset based on the results of the cost-based framework. We find that the selection of the weight parameter that balances the effect of feature merit versus cost is tied to the choice of feature selection technique. The weight must be appropriately scaled with the value of the merit. Further, we confirm the previously tested results and offer insight into future research directions on the topic of feature selection and cost.
A research-based inter-institutional collaboration to diversify the biomedical workforce: ReBUILDetroit

Faced with decades of severe economic decline, the city of Detroit, Michigan (USA) is on the cusp or reinventing itself. A Consortium was formed of three higher education institutions that have an established mission to serve an urban population and a vested interest in the revitalization of the health, welfare, and economic opportunity in the Detroit metro region that is synergistic with national goals to diversify the biomedical workforce. The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale, approach, and model of the Research Enhancement for BUILDing Detroit (ReBUILDetroit) Consortium, as a cross-campus collaborative for students, faculty, and institutional development. The ReBUILDetroit program is designed to transform the culture of higher education in Detroit, Michigan by educating and training students from diverse and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to become the next generation of biomedical researchers. Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne State University established a Consortium to create and implement innovative, evidence-based and cutting-edge programming. Specific elements include: (1) a pre-college summer enrichment experience; (2) an inter-institutional curricular re-design of target foundational courses in biology, chemistry and social science using the Research Coordination Network (RCN) model; and (3) cross-institutional summer faculty-mentored research projects for ReBUILDetroit Scholars starting as rising sophomores. Student success support includes intentional and intrusive mentoring, financial support, close faculty engagement, ongoing workshops to overcome academic and non-academic barriers, and cohort building activities across the Consortium. Institutional supports, integral to program creation and sustainability, include creating faculty learning communities grounded in professional development opportunities in pedagogy, research and mentorship, and developing novel partnerships and accelerated pipeline programming across the Consortium. This article highlights the development, implementation and evolution of high-impact practices critical for student learning, research-based course development, and the creation of inter-institutional learning communities as a direct result of ReBUILDetroit. Our cross-institutional collaboration and leveraging of resources in a difficult economic environment, drawing students from high schools with a myriad of strengths and challenges, serves as a model for higher education institutions in large, urban centers who are seeking to diversify their workforces and provide additional opportunities for upward mobility among diverse populations.
Transplant Associated Coronary Artery Disease

Heart transplantation is the clinically acceptable treatment for end-stage heart failure. Since the development of better immunosuppressive regimes and particularly the introduction of Cyclosporin A in 1983, which combats cellular rejection, short-term survival for heart transplant recipients has increased steadily with survival at 1 year being in the order of 85% (Kriett and Kaye 1990). The major medium to long-term complication is development of a proliferative occlusive disease of the vasculature of the allograft. This disease, variously described as transplant associated coronary artery disease (TxCAD; Rose and Dunn 1993), cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV; Hosenpud et al. 1992), accelerated coronary artery sclerosis (ACS; Yacoub and Rose, 1994) and graft coronary artery sclerosis (GCA; Schoen and Libby 1991), is a rapidly progressing disease which causes blockage of the coronary arteries. The incidence of TxCAD varies between heart transplant centres. Harefield Hospital, U.K. has an incidence of 6% at 1 year increasing to 17% at 3 years (see Dunn and Rose, 1993), however, other centres have reported incidences as high as 10%–20% at 1 year, 25%–40% at 3 years and at least 40%–50% at 5 years (Gao et al. 1989; Uretsky et al. 1987).
Autonomous Retailing: A Frontier for Cyber-Physical-Human Systems

Retail is one of the largest economic sectors, accounting for almost $5 trillion in sales in the US alone. With the proliferation of e-commerce, mobile devices, and digitally engaging shopping journeys, retail is going through profound transformations that will change everyone’s life. The future of retail will inevitably integrate online and in-store shopping, and promises to enhance customers’ shopping experience. Physical stores, which still account for 85% of retail sales, and 95% of grocery sales, must be repositioned to coexist with online and mobile shopping channels.
Die ersten Sterne

Bald nach dem Urknall begann eine „dunkle Ara“ des Universums, die rund 100 Mio. Jahre andauerte. Erst danach bildeten sich Sterne, und das All wurde allmahlich lichtdurchlassig. Diese fruhen Supersterne waren vermutlich millionenfach groser als die Sonne, explodierten als Supernovae und bildeten schlieslich gigantische Schwarze Locher. Doch so viel Kosmologen uber diese Prozesse grubeln: Die Einzelheiten des Endes der dunklen Ara liegen noch immer – im Dunkeln (aus Spektrum der Wissenschaft 4/2013).
Epigenetic Perpetuation of the Impact of Early Life Stress on Behavior

There is growing support for epigenetic perpetuation of early life stressful experiences on offspring behavior. Evidence primarily exists for maternal psychosocial experiences (i.e. mood and exposure to stress, adversity, or trauma) to associate with epigenetic modification to offspring genes involved in neurobehavioral pathways (i.e. glucocorticoid, oxytocin, and serotonin system genes). Such epigenetic modifications associate with altered infant neurobehavioral developmental profiles, stress reactivity, and maladaptive behaviors observed in childhood and/or adolescence. Epigenetic transmission of adverse early life experiences to the offspring genome most often occurs during the prenatal and early postnatal periods, when developing systems are more sensitive to environmental signals. Emerging work suggests interventions that foster positive maternal–infant interactions may attenuate the epigenetic impact of early life stress.
Remembering Mass Violence: Oral History, New Media, and Performance.: By Steven High, Edward Little, and Thi Ry Duong (eds.). Toronto, ON, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2014. 376 pp. ISBN 978-1-4426-14659, Paperback, $19.48; ISBN 978-1-4426-46803, Hardcover, $63.00; ISBN 978- 1-4426-66597, e-Book, $19.48.

The 2009 Remembering War, Genocide, and other Human Rights Violations conference in Montreal produced a powerful collection of papers that go far be- yond a typical interdisciplinary anthology. Ind...
Estimating the Per-Application Effectiveness of Chlorhexidine Gluconate and Mupirocin in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Decolonization in Intensive Care Units

Abstract Introduction Chlorhexidine gluconate and mupirocin are widely used to decolonize patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and reduce risks of infection in hospitalized populations. The probability that a treated patient would be decolonized, which we term per-application effectiveness, is difficult to directly measure. Quantifying the efficacy of per-application effectiveness of CHG and mupirocin is important for studies evaluating alternative decolonization strategies or schedules as well as identifying whether there is room for improved decolonizing agents. Methods Using a stochastic compartmental model of an intensive care unit (ICU), the per-application effectiveness of chlorhexidine and mupirocin were estimated using approximate Bayesian computation. Extended sensitivity analysis examined the potential impact of a latent period between MRSA colonization and detection, the timing of decolonization administration, and parameter uncertainty. Results The estimated per-application effectiveness of chlorhexidine was 0.15 (95% Credible Interval: 0.01, 0.42), while the estimated effectiveness of mupirocin was is 0.15 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.54). A lag in colonization detection markedly reduced both estimates, which were particularly sensitive to the value to the modeled contact rate between nurses and patients. Gaps longer than 24-hours in the administration of decolonizing agents still resulted in substantial reduction of within-ICU MRSA transmission. Discussion The per-application effectiveness estimates for chlorhexidine and mupirocin suggest there is room for substantial improvement in anti-MRSA disinfectants, either in the compounds themselves, or in their delivery mechanism. Despite these estimates, these agents are robust to delays in administration, which may help in alleviating concerns over patient comfort or toxicity.
Broadening Near-Field Emission for Performance Enhancement in Thermophotovoltaics

The conventional notion for achieving high efficiency in thermophotovoltaics (TPVs) is to use a monochromatic emission at a photon energy corresponding to the band gap of the cell. Here, we prove t...
Blended Species Plywood (White Cypress Pine and Hoop Pine): Effect of Veneer Thickness on Susceptibility to Attack by the Subterranean Termite Coptotermes acinaciformis

Blended species plywood blocks comprising of 24 different veneer configurations of naturally durable white cypress pine and non-durable hoop pine were exposed to the subterranean termite Coptotermes acinaciformis in a field trial in Australia. Three thicknesses of cypress (1.8, 2.8, and 3.0 mm) and hoop pine (1.0, 1.5, and 3.0 mm) veneer were included. Blocks were assessed for termite damage using a visual damage rating and mass loss measurement. Blocks using all hoop pine veneers received substantial damage; however, blocks that had cypress face and back veneers had improved termite resistance, particularly for the 1.0-mm hoop pine core veneers. When cypress longbands were blended with hoop pine crossbands that created alternating layers, minimal damage was sustained in the hoop pine veneers; however, the damage increased with increasing hoop pine veneer thickness. All cypress veneers received essentially no termite damage, and cypress veneer thickness did not influence the severity of hoop pine veneer damage. The trial indicated that the plywood made with hoop pine core veneers, cypress pine face, and back veneers offered some termite resistance if the hoop pine veneer thickness was kept thin. Alternating cypress and hoop pine further improved the termite resistance.
Tightening Belts to Buy a Home: Consumption Responses to Rising Housing Prices in Urban China

This paper measures the impact of housing price changes on household consumption at the city level using the universe of credit and debit card transactions in China from 2011 to 2013. In sharp contrast to the literature on the U.S. housing market, our analysis shows a large and negative housing price elasticity of consumption: a 10% increase in housing prices would lead to a 9.1% reduction in non-housing spending. We argue that the negative elasticity is driven by the combination of a strong investment incentive in housing and heavy borrowing constraints faced by households. This is corroborated by the finding that households increase their savings as housing prices increase. Relative to the existing literature, our analysis helps to better explain how low- and middle-income households adapt to the limited investment venues and surging housing prices in the context of persistently high savings rates.
Predicting interchain contacts for homodimeric and homomultimeric protein complexes using multiple sequence alignments of monomers and deep learning

Abstract Deep learning methods that achieved great success in predicting intrachain residue-residue contacts have been applied to predict interchain contacts between proteins. However, these methods require multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) of a pair of interacting proteins (dimers) as input, which are often difficult to obtain because there are not many known protein complexes available to generate MSAs of sufficient depth for a pair of proteins. In recognizing that multiple sequence alignments of a monomer that forms homomultimers contain the co-evolutionary signals of both intrachain and interchain residue pairs in contact, we applied DNCON2 (a deep learning-based protein intrachain residue-residue contact predictor) to predict both intrachain and interchain contacts for homomultimers using multiple sequence alignment (MSA) and other co-evolutionary features of a single monomer followed by discrimination of interchain and intrachain contacts according to the tertiary structure of the monomer. Allowing true-positive predictions within two residue shifts, the best average precision was obtained for the Top-L/10 predictions of DNCON2: 22.9% for homodimers, and 17.0% for higher order homomultimers. In some instances, especially where interchain contact densities are high, the approach predicted interchain contacts with 100% precision. We show that the predicted contacts can be used to accurately construct the structure of some complexes. Our experiment demonstrates that monomeric multiple sequence alignments can be used with deep learning to predict interchain contacts of homomeric proteins.
Tremorgenic Toxins from Penicillia III. Tremortin Production by Penicillium Species on Various Agricultural Commodities

A low temperature (4 C) favors the accumulation of the mycotoxin tremortin when tremortin-producing molds are grown on various agricultural commodities. However, the rate of toxin formation is more rapid at a high temperature (20 C).
Feature extraction and separation in airborne laser scanner terrain integrity monitors

This paper describes the methodology and algorithms used in an implementation of a downward-looking airborne laser scanner (ALS) based terrain and feature integrity monitor. Using a high accuracy and high resolution ALS sensor, the described integrity monitor can first separate features from the terrain and then use the extracted feature data to detect and observe systematic and blunder errors in a terrain feature database. Two applications are envisioned for such a system - the first is to check the quality and update a terrain feature database and the second is as a real-time monitor on all aircraft which have systems that use terrain feature databases. Real-time terrain database integrity monitors have been studied at the Ohio University Avionics Engineering Center (AEC) for nearly 10 years. The feature integrity monitor is different from previous research performed at Ohio University in that it extracts specific features, such as buildings, roads, and towers, and performs a consistency check between these objects and a stored feature database. To perform the consistency check between the feature database and the ALS data a four-part building extraction algorithm is used. Once the high-frequency building shapes are extracted, they can be compared to the onboard feature database to determine changes and errors. The four-part building extraction algorithm described in this paper has the following characteristics: it works on non-uniformly spaced point-cloud data, it is designed for integrity monitoring rather than complete scene reconstruction, and the automatic feature extraction is not dependent on (but may use if available) a-priori feature shape information. This paper outlines the four-part building extraction algorithm and provides insight into its operation by applying the algorithms to ALS data collected on NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory over Reno, Nevada in 2003.
The lowest 1Πg, 3Πg, 1Πu and 3Πu states of Li2

Abstract The potential energy curves for the lowest 1Πg, 3Πg, 1Πu and 3Πu states of Li2 have been calculated on the single configuration Hartree—Fock—Roothaan, (HF), level and on the multiconfiguration SCF level by using between two and four configurations for each state. We present an improved MC SCF potential curve for the B 1Πu state and present for the first time MC SCF potential curves for the 1Πg 3Πg and 3Πu states. We show the 1Πg and 3Πu states to be bound and the 3Πg state to be unbound with respect to separated HF atoms. The shapes of the potentials of these states are discussed in terms of avoided crossings of Hartree—Fock curves and in terms of the dispersion interactions at long range which are dominated by the C3R−3 term. A detailed comparison with the long-range behavior of the corresponding states of H2 helps to understand the substantially different appearance of the potential curves for these isovalent molecules. For the Li2 Π states we present an improved value of C3 = ±5.6594 ± 0.0010 au (the 1Πu and 3Πg states have the positive sign).
INCIDENCE OF PELVIC ENDOMETRIOSIS IN ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, 1970–1979

To the authors' knowledge, the incidence pelvic endometriosis in the general female population has not been previously reported. The purpose of the present study was to determine the incidence rate of diagnosed pelvic endometriosis among white females of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Rochester, Minnesota, during 1970-1979. Incidence rates were prepared first with histologically confirmed cases alone and then with the successive inclusion of progressively less certain cases: surgically visualized, clinically probable, and clinically possible. The overall incidence of pelvic endometriosis more than doubled (from 108.8 to 246.9 cases per 100,000 person-years) as the definition of a case was extended from histologically confirmed cases alone to all cases. Age-specific incidence rates increased in successive age groups through age 44 and then declined for women 45-49 years of age. Methodological problems in the definition and ascertainment of incident cases of pelvic endometriosis are described in detail.
BENIGN USE OF SALT SLUGS ON AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES: MEASURING DISCHARGE WITH SALT DURING AN AQUATIC ECOLOGY STUDY

Pulsed salt tracer injections (salt slugs) are widely used for measuring discharge in streams, particularly in small streams. However, salt slug usage in stream ecology studies is limited, possibly due to concerns that salt injections may affect biotic results. We used salt slug measurements concomitantly with macroinvertebrate sampling over the course of a summer field season and show that the realistic use of salt slugs to measure discharge at our sites was benign with respect to several common biotic community metrics. Salt slug discharge measurements may warrant more usage as a component of stream ecology studies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhanced Fault-Tolerant Fixed-Priority Scheduling of Hard Real-Time Tasks on Multi-core Platforms

In this paper, we study the problem of partitioned scheduling of periodic real-time tasks with the capability of tolerating transient faults on multi-core platforms under Rate Monotonic Scheduling (RMS) policy. In our approach, we exploit the implicit relations among periods and recovery costs among tasks and develop a novel metric, called "compatibility index", to quantify how "compatible" a task set is when they are allocated on the same core. We theoretically analyze its properties for improving the system schedulability. Based on this metric, we propose two task partitioning schemes to partition hard real-time tasks with fault-tolerance requirements on multi-core platforms. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed approaches can significantly enhance the performance of existing techniques.
Estimates of pregnancy outcomes based on selection of bovine embryos produced in vivo or in vitro

The objective of this study was to estimate the degree of variation among experienced evaluators selecting in vivo- or in vitro-produced embryos for transfer and to determine how this affects both the proportion of recipients becoming pregnant after transfer, and the number of embryo transfers required per pregnancy. Data from 6 experienced evaluators who graded Day 7 embryos produced either in vivo (n = 15) or in vitro (n = 15) were used to estimate these effects. The evaluators viewed video recorded images of the embryos and classified each embryo for stage of development and quality grade (1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = fair, 4 = degenerated and nontransferable). The statistical model considered transfer of embryos of the following individual or combined grades: Grade 1 only, Grade 2 only, Grade 3 only, Grades 1 and 2, Grades 2 and 3, and Grades 1, 2 and 3. Probabilities of pregnancy after embryo transfer were based on pregnancy rates of recipients at the facility of 1 of the 6 evaluators where the percentages of heifers pregnant after the transfer of Grade 1, 2 and 3 embryos, by embryo source, were 76, 65 and 54% (in vivo), and 59, 45 and 30% (in vitro). Within most grades, the proportion of embryos selected for transfer differed (P 0.10) were found among evaluators in the proportion of recipients pregnant after transfer within any embryo grade, there was substantial variation among evaluators in the proportion of recipients becoming pregnant, especially for embryos produced in vitro. Estimated percentages of heifers becoming pregnant for embryos classified as Grade 1, 2 or 3 were 66 to 76, 62 to 69, and 54 to 60%, respectively, for in vivo-produced embryos; and, 39 to 59, 15 to 45, and 24 to 32%, respectively, for in vitro-produced embryos. Approximately twice as many transfers were needed per pregnancy for embryos produced in vitro as for those produced in vivo regardless of the grade.
Mosfet and MOS Capacitor Responses to Ionizing Radiation

The ionizing radiation responses of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors (FETs) and MOS capacitors are compared. It is shown that the radiation-induced threshold voltage shift correlates closely with the shift in the MOS capacitor inversion voltage. The radiation-induced interface-state density of the MOSFETs and MOS capacitors was determined by several techniques. It is shown that the presence of "slow" states can interfere with the interface-state measurements.
The aortic ring model of angiogenesis: a quarter century of search and discovery

The aortic ring model has become one of the most widely used methods to study angiogenesis and its mechanisms. Many factors have contributed to its popularity including reproducibility, cost effectiveness, ease of use and good correlation with in vivo studies. In this system aortic rings embedded in biomatrix gels and cultured under chemically defined conditions generate arborizing vascular outgrowths which can be stimulated or inhibited with angiogenic regulators. Originally based on the rat aorta, the aortic ring model was later adapted to the mouse for the evaluation of specific molecular alterations in genetically modified animals. Viral transduction of the aortic rings has enabled investigators to overexpress genes of interest in the aortic cultures. Experiments on angiogenic mechanisms have demonstrated that formation of neovessels in aortic cultures is regulated by macrophages, pericytes and fibroblasts through a complex molecular cascade involving growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, axonal guidance cues, extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules and matrix-degrading proteolytic enzymes. These studies have shown that endothelial sprouting can be effectively blocked by depleting the aortic explants of macrophages or by interfering with the angiogenic cascade at multiple levels including growth factor signalling, cell adhesion and proteolytic degradation of the ECM. In this paper, we review the literature in this field and retrace the journey from our first morphological descriptions of the aortic outgrowths to the latest breakthroughs in the cellular and molecular regulation of aortic vessel growth and regression.
Estimation of material elastic moduli in elastography: a local method, and an investigation of Poisson's ratio sensitivity

The local material stiffness of tissues is a well-known indicator of pathology, with locally stiffer tissue related to the possible presence of an abnormal growth in otherwise compliant tissue. Elastography is a non-invasive technique for measuring displacement distributions in loaded tissues within a medical imaging context. From these measured displacement fields, estimated for local strain have been made using well-studied techniques, but the calculation of elastic modulus has been difficult. In this study we show a method for estimating local tissue elastic modulus that gives numerically stable and robust results in test cases, and that is numerically efficient. The method assumes the tissue is isotropic and it requires an independent estimate of tissue Poisson's ratio, but the method reaches a stable result when the estimated Poisson's ratio is in error, and the resulting estimates are not very sensitive to the assumed value.
Nursing considerations of bevacizumab use in multiple tumor types

Purpose/objectives To update information concerning the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab, discuss side effects, and provide information on nursing management of the side effects. Data sources Published articles, abstracts, and research data. Data synthesis In clinical trials, the addition of bevacizumab to standard chemotherapy increased survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and advanced non-small cell lung cancer and increased progression-free survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Bevacizumab also is being evaluated in combination with other targeted agents in various tumor types. Commonly reported side effects associated with bevacizumab include hypertension, proteinuria, and minor bleeding. Conclusions The value of bevacizumab in treating metastatic colorectal cancer has long been established. Clinical trial data have demonstrated the benefit of using bevacizumab in combination with standard chemotherapy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic breast cancer. Because of bevacizumab's expanding role in cancer treatment, nurses need to know how to use it, be aware of possible side effects, and anticipate interventions. Implications for nursing Nurses play an important role in the identification and management of adverse events associated with bevacizumab.
Gastrointestinal effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory therapy

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely prescribed for the treatment of many conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gouty arthritis, the joint and muscle discomfort associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, and other musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, their benefits, which are believed to be a result of their ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), are accompanied by considerable toxicity. NSAIDs' untoward effects are attributed to their inhibition of the constitutively expressed enzyme cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), with attendant suppression of the synthesis of prostanoids, substances that mediate key homeostatic functions. Side effects include suppression of hemostasis through inhibition of platelet aggregation, adverse effects in patients with heart failure and cirrhosis, and those with certain renal diseases, as well as complicating antihypertensive therapies involving diuretics or beta-adrenoceptor blockade. Perhaps most importantly, NSAIDs disrupt the gastrointestinal mucosal-protective and acid-limiting properties of prostaglandins, frequently leading to upper gastrointestinal erosions and ulceration, with possible subsequent hemorrhage and perforation. These complications can be reduced through identification of patients at risk, with circumspect use of NSAIDs, careful functional monitoring, and, in the case of gastrointestinal toxicity, co-administration of such agents as misoprostol or omeprazole. However, these strategies introduce complexity into the treatment paradigm. Moreover, side effects and adverse events may be significantly reduced through the use of COX-2-specific inhibitors, new agents that alleviate pain and inflammation without the liability for adverse events caused by COX-1 inhibition.
A new key in breast cancer metastasis

Abstract Unlocking the mysteries of cell metastasis, a major cause of cancer mortality, is essential in the development of novel therapies. In this issue of Cancer Cell , Li et al. (2004) identify a link between HER2 and CXCR4, two receptors previously implicated in breast cancer progression and metastasis. HER2 enhances the expression of CXCR4 by stimulating CXCR4 translation and attenuating CXCR4 degradation. Importantly, coexpression of HER2 and CXCR4 occurs in ∼22% of human breast tumors and correlates with poor survival of breast cancer patients.
Wideband electromagnetic finite‐difference modeling for 3D cylindrical geometries

A finite-difference modeling method has been developed to simulate direct current (DC) and electromagnetic (EM) fields in a complex borehole environment over a wide range of frequencies. The finite-difference method is formulated with mixed, scalar-vector potentials in cylindrical coordinates to enable the accurate simulation of cylindrical geometries such as a metal tool body. By properly handling the singularity in the Laplacian operator in a cylindrical coordinate, a general three-dimensional (3D) EM well logging problem can be accurately solved. Examples ranging from DC to mega Hertz propagation problems for both galvanic (electrode) and induction (coil) sources are demonstrated in the paper.
Epidemiologic review of the calcium channel blocker drugs. An up-to-date perspective on the proposed hazards.

In the setting of soaring popularity, postmarketing studies of calcium channel blockers came to suggest an increase in a variety of major adverse end points. The evidence, however, was largely observational, and large-scale trials capable of addressing the concerns were wanting. Clinical trials now support the safety and efficacy of the long-acting dihydropyridines for patients with both uncomplicated and diabetic hypertension, although conventional therapies and, in the latter case, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have superior proof of benefit. By contrast, short-acting dihydropyridines should be avoided. In the acute coronary syndromes, β-blockers remain the treatment of choice; the evidence for nondihydropyridines remains inconclusive. Stable angina calls for β-blockers as first-line therapy and nondihydropyridines as second-line therapy, whereas in ventricular dysfunction, safety data for nondihydropyridines are lacking. Initial reports of cancer, bleeding, and suicide have been contradicted by subsequent data, making the associations uncertain or unlikely. Remaining questions await completion of ongoing trials to better define the indications for these agents.
Implicit associations with social status: the effects of relationship involvement

The study tested the proposition that relationship involvement influences the implicit responses of women to high- and low-status professions. It was hypothesized that when a high-involvement context was primed, women would have more positive implicit associations with high-status occupations than when a low-involvement context was primed. In contrast, when a high-involvement context was primed, women would have more negative associations with low-status occupations than when a low-involvement context was primed. To test the hypothesis, 123 female participants received a high or low relationship involvement prime. Then the participants completed a single category implicit associations test designed to measure the participants' associations with either high- or low-status occupations. As predicted, the relationship involvement prime influenced the positivity of associations made with high- and low-status occupations. The study pointed to the possibility that persons possess evolutionary-based implicit associations.
Time-inconsistent preferences and time-inconsistent policies

Abstract Social security is commonly viewed as a commitment device for hyperbolic consumers. We argue that such common intuition is not consistent with formal economic theory. In a model where the government can choose either time-consistent or time-inconsistent policies to govern its social security arrangement and credit markets are complete, only a time-inconsistent policy achieves true commitment by hyperbolic consumers. This rules out a traditional social security program as a commitment device.