cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Cost of an Epidemic over a Complex Network: A Random Matrix Approach

In this paper we quantify the total economic impact of an epidemic over a complex network using tools from random matrix theory. Incorporating the direct and indirect costs of infection, we calculate the disease cost in the large graph limit for an SIS (Susceptible - Infected - Susceptible) infection process. We also give an upper bound on this cost for arbitrary finite graphs and illustrate both calculated costs using extensive simulations on random and real-world networks. We extend these calculations by considering the total social cost of an epidemic, accounting for both the immunization and disease costs for various immunization strategies and determining the optimal immunization. Our work focuses on the transient behavior of the epidemic, in contrast to previous research, which typically focuses on determining the steady-state system equilibrium.
Network security: design, analysis and tradeoff evaluation

Energy efficiency is an essential requirement for all wireless devices. Recent developments in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), wireless local area networks (WLANs) and wireless personal area networks (WPANs) have raised a demand for energy-efficient algorithms and energy-efficient medium access control (MAC) protocols. When considering security in this context, additional overhead is added to the network and efforts must to be made to minimize the extra load while at the same time achieving the desired level of security. Security attacks in the Internet are linked to a different set of vulnerabilities. The complex architecture of the Internet spanning over different administrative domains and legal systems makes it easy for attackers to conceal the source of the attack and preserve their anonymity. This dissertation addresses several important issues in network security and performance including intrusion detection, cipher design, security overhead analysis and tracing, as follows. We first propose a model for intrusion detection in WSNs, which optimizes network coverage and detection while minimizing the number of sensors and energy consumption. We then integrate a security mechanism into the sensor network in order to achieve secure communication. Specifically, we propose a lightweight block cipher based on a multiple recursive generator (MRG) which is suitable for WSN and RFID where power consumption, bandwidth, memory and storage space are critical. Next, we consider security in WLANs and WPANs and we apply the advanced encryption standard (AES) cipher to ensure secure transmission of frames. We integrate AES encryption at the MAC layer of 802.11 WLANs and 802.15.3 UWB WPANs, respectively, and study the overhead introduced by AES in this context. Finally, we analyze a type of security attack in the Internet where the intruder uses a chain of host machines before attacking the target. We discuss two mechanisms for tracing intruders in the Internet, one based on thumbprinting, and the other on a timestamping technique of transmission activities.
Metaphors of Identity and Professional Practice Learning From the Scholar–Practitioner

Historically, professional identity was viewed as a singular construct, and the boundary-spanning dynamics of subidentities remained unexamined. More recently, identity scholars have paved the way to consider the multiple personal and social identities that comprise an individual’s professional identity. These dynamics are exemplified by the unique challenges that scholar–practitioners regularly encounter. To deepen understanding of variations in how scholar–practitioners enact their professional identity, we interviewed young scholar–practitioners who completed their doctorates in the past 7 years, as well as seasoned scholar–practitioners with at least 20 years of experience. We elicited metaphors from the interviewees to explore the complexities of their professional identity and subidentities and the challenges that scholar–practitioners face at different stages of career development. We offer implications for the future socialization of scholar–practitioners and others in boundary-spanning roles.
Winner-Take-All Politics: Public Policy, Political Organization, and the Precipitous Rise of Top Incomes in the United States:

The dramatic rise in inequality in the United States over the past generation has occasioned considerable attention from economists, but strikingly little from students of American politics. This has started to change: in recent years, a small but growing body of political science research on rising inequality has challenged standard economic accounts that emphasize apolitical processes of economic change. For all the sophistication of this new scholarship, however, it too fails to provide a compelling account of the political sources and effects of rising inequality. In particular, these studies share with dominant economic accounts three weaknesses: (1) they downplay the distinctive feature of American inequality –namely, the extreme concentration of income gains at the top of the economic ladder; (2) they miss the profound role of government policy in creating this “winner-take-all” pattern; and (3) they give little attention or weight to the dramatic long-term transformation of the organizational landscape of American politics that lies behind these changes in policy. These weaknesses are interrelated, stemming ultimately from a conception of politics that emphasizes the sway (or lack thereof) of the “median voter” in electoral politics, rather than the influence of organized interests in the process of policy making. A perspective centered on organizational and policy change –one that identifies the major policy shifts that have bolstered the economic standing of those 1
Investigation of Gallium Nitride devices benefits on LLC resonant DC-DC converter

This paper investigates the Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices benefits on the LLC resonant DC-DC converter. First, the relationship between the device parameters and converter current based on an analytical loss model of LLC resonant converter has been established. After that, the loss analysis and comparison between Si-based and GaN-based converter is presented. The GaN-based design demonstrates about 40% loss reduction compared with the Si-based design. An insight on the extra winding loss due to the asymmetrical primary side and secondary side current is presented. The extra winding loss is reduced by 18% with GaN device application. The overall loss breakdown and the experimental result show the 20% overall loss reduction of the GaN-based LLC converter compared with the Si-based LLC converter.
Introduction of handheld computing to a family practice residency program.

BACKGROUND Handheld computers are valuable practice tools. It is important for residency programs to introduce their trainees and faculty to this technology. This article describes a formal strategy to introduce handheld computing to a family practice residency program. METHODS Objectives were selected for the handheld computer training program that reflected skills physicians would find useful in practice. TRGpro handheld computers preloaded with a suite of medical reference programs, a medical calculator, and a database program were supplied to participants. Training consisted of four 1-hour modules each with a written evaluation quiz. Participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire after the program to determine their ability to meet each objective. RESULTS Sixty of the 62 participants successfully completed the training program. The mean composite score on quizzes was 36 of 40 (90%), with no significant differences by level of residency training. The mean self-ratings of participants across all objectives was 3.31 of 4.00. Third-year residents had higher mean self-ratings than others (mean of group, 3.62). Participants were very comfortable with practical skills, such as using drug reference software, and less comfortable with theory, such as knowing the different types of handheld computers available. CONCLUSION Structured training is a successful strategy for introducing handheld computing to a residency program.
Multiple cell types distinguished by physiological, pharmacological, and anatomic properties in nucleus HVc of the adult zebra finch.

Dutar, Patrick, Huan M. Vu, and David J. Perkel. Multiple cell types distinguished by physiological, pharmacological, and anatomic properties in nucleus HVc of the adult zebra finch. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 1828–1838, 1998. Nucleus HVc of the songbird is a distinct forebrain region that is essential for song production and shows selective responses to complex auditory stimuli. Two neuronal populations within HVc give rise to its efferent projections. One projection, to the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), serves as the primary motor pathway for song production, and can also carry auditory information to RA. The other projection of HVc begins a pathway through the anterior forebrain, (area X → medial portion of the dorsolateral nucleus of the thalamus (DLM) → lateral portion of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (L-MAN) → RA) that is crucial for song learning but, although active during singing, is not essential for adult song production. To test whether these different projection ...
Thermal Change of Calcium Deficient Apatite Obtained by Mechanochemical Treatment

As a basic research for the synthesis of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) powder to be suitable for sintering, thermal change in the calcium deficient apatite mechanochemically synthesized (CDA) have been studied. The results were as follows: (1) the apparent activation energy of dehydration of tightly bound water in CDA, (2) the apparent activation energy of dehydration of essential water and phase transformation of CDA, and (3) the apparent activation energy of grain growth of β-TCP were found to be 20-30kcal/mol, 74.5kcal/mol, and 68.6kcal/mol respectively. The optimal calcination temperature and time of CDA to obtain fine and low aggregate β-TCP powder were concluded to be 720°C and 12h.
Riemannian Geometry of Conical Singular Sets

In this paper, we study a class of singular Riemannian manifolds. The singular set itself is a smooth manifold with a cone-like neighborhood. By imposing a reasonable convergence condition on the metric, we can determine the local geometrical structure near the singular set. In general, the curvature near the singular set is unbounded. We prove that a bounded curvature assumption would have a strong implication on the geometrical and topological structures near the singular set. We also establish the Gauss–Bonnet–Chern formula, which can be applied to the study of singular Eistein 4-manifolds.
Adaptive Perfectionism, Maladaptive Perfectionism and Statistics Anxiety in Graduate Psychology Students.

The current study examined if correlations between statistics anxiety and dimensions of perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive) were present amongst a sample of psychology graduate students (N = 96). Results demonstrated that scores on the APS-R Discrepancy scale, corresponding to maladaptive perfectionism, correlated with higher levels of statistics anxiety with several subscales of the Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS). Results also demonstrated negative correlations between bilingualism and dimensions of statistics anxiety. Implications for future research and practical implications are presented.
Enhancing managerial effectiveness in dietetics

Environmental pressures from such sources as economic conditions, the government, third-party payers, and inter-institutional competition create managerial challenges. Although cost-containment has received considerable attention, long-term cost-effectiveness is probably the significant issue. Dietitians must become more cost-conscious and effective in resource management to attain desired performance outcomes. Some of the skills and characteristics essential to managerial effectiveness are a marketing orientation, systems design skill, quantitative operations management techniques, financial expertise, and leadership. These abilities facilitate decision-making and achievement of long-term cost-effectiveness. Curriculum enhancement and continuing education are two strategies for improving managerial competency in the dietetics profession. In dietetics education, study of management topics should be enhanced to provide more advanced coverage of management theories and quantitative models so that managerial performance can be at a higher level of sophistication and competency. To assure the viability of the dietetics profession, the emphasis on management must be more comprehensive and rigorous.
Explorating the Abbe sine conditions by Snell's law

The Snell's law and Abbe sine condition are analysised.Then the verification of Snell's law and Abbe sine condition are discussed.Finally the Abbe sine condition is solved by the Snell's law,and the relations between them are analyz and the conclusions is obtained.
The significance of serum endotoxin levels in postoperative children with biliary atresia

Objective To investigate the serum endotoxin(ET),hyaluronic acid(HA) levels in postoperative biliary atresia(BA) children and their relationships with liver damage and fibrosis.Methods The children after Kasai surgery were selected as the BA group(n = 38),children from normal physical examination(n = 12) as the control group.BA group divided into jaundice subgroup(n = 14) and non-jaundice subgroup(n = 24) according to the level of bilirubin.All children's liver function was measured by automatic biochemical analyzer,the serum level of ET was measured by Limulus chromogenic tripeptide substrate assay,and the level of HA was measured by radioimmunoassay.Results Liver damage was observed in BA group,the serum levels of ET and HA were higher than the control group(P 0.05).In BA group,the liver damage of Jaundice subgroup was severer compared with non-jaundice subgroup,serum levels of ET and HA in jaundice subgroup were also higher than that of non-jaundice subgroup(P 0.05).There was a positive correlation between serum level of ET and total bilirubin,glutamic-oxal acetic transaminase and HA(P 0.05).Conclusions Serum ET level is closely associated with liver damage and liver fibrosis in postoperative patients with BA.It can be a useful biomarker in monitoring the clinical outcomes of postoperative patients with BA.
Structural and Gating Changes of the Sodium Channel Induced by Mutation of a Residue in the Upper Third of IVS6, Creating an External Access Path for Local Anesthetics

Membrane-impermeant quaternary amine local anesthetics QX314 and QX222 can access their binding site on the cytoplasmic side of the selectivity filter from the outside in native cardiac Na(+) channels. Mutation of domain IV S6 Ile-1760 of rat brain IIA Na(+) channel or the equivalent (Ile-1575) in the adult rat skeletal muscle isoform (mu 1) creates an artificial access path for QX. We examined the characteristics of mutation of mu 1-I1575 and the resulting QX path. In addition to allowing external QX222 access, I1575A accelerated decay of Na(+) current and shifted steady-state availability by -27 mV. I1575A had negligible effects on inorganic or organic cation selectivity and block by tetrodotoxin (TTX), saxitoxin (STX), or mu-conotoxin (mu-CTX). It exposed a site within the protein that binds membrane-permeant methanethiosulfonate ethylammonium (MTSEA), but not membrane-impermeant methanethiosulfonate ethyltrimethylammonium (MTSET) and methanethiosulfonate ethylsulfonate (MTSES). MTSEA binding abolished the QX path created by this mutation, without effects on toxin binding. The mu-CTX derivative R13N, which partially occluded the pore, had no effect on QX access. I1575A exposed two Cys residues because a disulfide bond was formed under oxidative conditions, but the exposed Cys residues are not those in domain IV S6, adjacent to Ile-1575. The Cys mutant I1575C was insensitive to external Cd(2+) and MTS compounds (MTSEA, MTSET, MTSES), and substitution of Ile with a negatively charged residue (I1575E) did not affect toxin binding. Ile-1575 seems to be buried in the protein, and its mutation disrupts the protein structure to create the QX path without disturbing the outer vestibule and its selectivity function.
Pectus excavatum: echocardiographic, pathophysiologic, and surgical insights

Patients with pectus excavatum (PEX) may be referred for echocardiographic examination for a variety of complaints including exercise intolerance, dyspnea, palpitations, or chest pain. It is therefore important for the echocardiographer to have an appreciation of the various abnormalities associated with this disorder. Echocardiographic imaging may reveal a number of structural alterations of the right ventricle as well as a reduction in right ventricular systolic function. Interestingly, a number of these abnormalities have also been described in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, although patients with PEX do not share a predilection for malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Additional echocardiographic abnormalities associated with PEX include prolapse of the mitral and/or tricuspid valves, Marfan's aortopathy, pericardial effusion, prominence of the crista terminalis, and possibly a number of congenital cardiac anomalies. This review discusses the echocardiographic abnormalities associated with PEX and their pathophysiologic significance. The effects of corrective orthopedic surgery on cardiac function are also discussed.
On dynamics of Out(Fn) on PSL2(ℂ) characters

We introduce and study an open set of PSL2(ℂ) characters of a nonabelian free group, on which the action of the outer automorphism group is properly discontinuous, and which is strictly larger than the set of discrete, faithful convex-cocompact (i.e. Schottky) characters. This implies, in particular, that the outer automorphism group does not act ergodically on the set of characters with dense image. Hence there is a difference between the geometric (discrete vs. dense) decomposition of the characters, and a natural dynamical decomposition.
Endothelin-1 production by rat inner medullary collecting duct: effect of nitric oxide, cGMP, and immune cytokines

Nitric oxide (NO), guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), and endothelin-1 (ET-1) inhibit collecting duct sodium reabsorption. Because the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) synthesizes NO and ET-1, we examined NO and cGMP regulation of IMCD ET-1 production. S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, 6 h) increased NO and cGMP and modestly reduced ET-1 release in cultured rat IMCD. Atrial natriuretic peptide or dibutyryl cGMP (6 h exposure to each) also mildly decreased IMCD ET-1 release. In long-term exposure studies, IMCD cells were incubated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon-gamma (IFN) up to 72 h. IFN/TNF increased NO and cGMP production while reducing ET-1 release by 84%; N-monomethyl-L-arginine inhibited this effect only marginally, suggesting NO was not primarily involved. IFN alone greatly reduced IMCD ET-1 release and ET-1 mRNA levels. These data indicate that short- and long-term increases in NO and cGMP modestly reduce IMCD ET-1 production. Additionally, IFN potently inhibits IMCD ET-1 release by an undetermined mechanism.
Reversible dissolution/formation of polymer nanoparticles controlled by visible light

Noncovalent crosslinking between polyvinyl pyridine and a copolymer of acrylic acid led to the formation of a polymer nanoparticle. In the presence of a metastable-state photoacid, reversible dissolution and formation of the nanoparticle can be controlled by visible light. Photo-induced proton transfer from the photoacid to the polymers broke the hydrogen bonding and ionic bonding and led to the dissolution of the nanoparticle. Cycles of dissolution and formation were controlled by turning on and off irradiation, and were demonstrated by the transmittance change.
9 – Defect chemistry of ternary oxides

Publisher Summary The defect chemistry of oxides has been studied for several decades, with significant success on binary compounds, such as zirconia (ZrO2) and ceria (CeO2) based materials. The ternary compounds (ABO3), also known as the perovskite family of oxides, have been extensively studied from the early 1950s, particularly on BaTiO3, LaCrO3, LaMnO3, LaFeO3 and LaCoO3. Perovskite-type oxides are of great interest in energy conversion devices. This family of oxides has been tailored to be used as dielectrics, mixed ionic and electronic conductors superionic conductors and superconductors. Defect chemistry is the most important technique involved in gaining an understanding of the mass and charge transfer properties because it determines the defect type, density, defect associations, and carrier mobility. Understanding the defect chemistry in these systems allows searching for the novel materials used in fossil energy conversion systems, which requires a sufficient vacancy density, a mixed ionic and electronic conductivity, catalytic activity, and thermodynamic stability.
Production: The Formation of Organic Matter

Primary producer organisms can form organic matter by acquiring and metabolically making use of energy and carbon (plus a variety of other essential elements). In terms of energy and carbon acquisition, some definitions may be useful. Obligate autotrophs carry out photosynthesis; hence they need light as the energy source (and will not grow in the dark) and fix carbon dioxide as the source of carbon. Facultative autotrophs may carry out photosynthesis, using light and CO2, as well as use organic carbon compounds as energy and carbon sources (so may grow in the dark if organic compounds are available). Some autotrophs may carry out chemosynthesis, in which a reduced compound is the source of energy. Heterotrophs can only use organic compounds as energy and carbon sources; these are basically consumers of materials fixed by primary producers, and are treated in other chapters below.
Starting almost from scratch: Developing special collections as a teaching tool in the small academic library

ABSTRACTThis article presents strategies on how small academic libraries—where instructional efforts are often limited to information literacy initiatives—can expand their pedagogical efforts by way of book history instruction by developing a small but capable rare books collection used solely as a teaching tool. Discussed are methods for locating hidden collections and the removal of materials from general stacks to rare book shelving, the advantages and limitations of the one-shot instructional session, methods of earning administrative buy-in that can lead to small rare book acquisitions budgets, and promotional and collaborative strategies to build university-wide support. The article concludes with strategies on how to develop a three-credit undergraduate course on book history taught by a librarian using a rare books teaching collection acquired by modest expenditure and careful selection.
Iris matching by crypts and anti-crypts

Iris recognition is one of the most reliable biometric technologies for identity recognition and verification. Most iris recognition methods represent the iris texture using the output of band-pass filters, and compare irises by matching the filter outputs. In this paper we explore iris recognition based on two visible features, crypts and anti-crypts. The experiments demonstrate that crypts and anti-crypts are stable, consistent, and have good discriminatory ability over different eyes. The visible feature-based iris representation and matching are easily recognizable to human eyes and have the potential to be used in in the field of forensics.
Wit, bookishness, and the epistemic impact of note-taking:

This article sheds new light on the material history of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg’s proverbial wit and demonstrates how the note-taking technique that he called »sudeln« aided his inventiveness. The epistemic effect of the Sudelbucher, or waste-books, lies in the interaction between conflicting modes of knowledge production. While the waste-books stand in the tradition of reformed commonplace books – notebooks intended to be discovery devices that encouraged unlikely combinations of entries – they were at the same time modeled upon strictly codified early-modern methods of notation (e.g. »learned bookkeeping«). This tension increased the waste-books’ epistemological effectiveness, turning sudeln into an experimental procedure that reliably led to »sagacious combinations of thought« and thus the production of witty ideas. In this function, sudeln informed both Lichtenberg’s own research and his pedagogy as a physics instructor. The Sudelbucher should therefore be seen not as a collection of aphorisms, but as media with an epistemic impact and intellectual tools of writing.
Aftershocks of an M = 4.2 earthquake in Hawaii and comparison with long-term studies of the same volume

Abstract Study of the aftershocks recorded in a 3-hr period after a 4.2 magnitude event on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, on 12 April 1982 shows that the aftershocks occurred on different planes than the main shock, probably as a result of stress redistribution; the aftershock locations are probably controlled by preexisting structures. This study also suggests that these relatively small aftershocks occurred in the same seismicity patterns as larger events recorded in the same volume over a period of 10 yr. Slips on most of the aftershocks and the main shock are in the same direction, perpendicular to the East Rift Zone, as has been found in studies of other, larger earthquakes. However, fault-plane solutions varied more, as did the tensional axes, and several of the smaller events showed movement in the opposite direction from the main shock and the rest of the aftershocks, suggesting some rebound was occurring near the edges of the aftershock zone. Because ten times as much energy was released in the aftershocks in a narrow linear region as elsewhere, and since the main shock epicenter was oceanward of all the aftershocks, we suggest that rupture began at the main shock hypocenter and propagated landward, implying an almost “one-dimensional” fault. For the aftershocks, the relationship between moment and magnitude was: log M 0 = (1.18 ± 0.17) M L + (17.3 ± 0.17). Differences in amplification lead to site differences of up to 0.8 units in local magnitude and 1.5 orders of magnitude in energy release. These correlated somewhat with station time corrections in that the stations with the longest delay times also had greatest amplification.
Efficient Algorithms for Analyzing Cascading Failures in a Markovian Dependability Model

We devise efficient algorithms to construct, evaluate, and approximate a Markovian dependability system with cascading failures. The model, which was previously considered by Iyer et al. , represents a cascading failure as a tree of components that instantaneously and probabilistically fail. Constructing the Markov chain presents significant computational challenges because it requires generating and evaluating all such possible trees, but the number of trees can grow exponentially in the size of the model. Our new algorithm reduces runtimes by orders of magnitude compared to a previous method devised by Iyer et al. Moreover, we propose some efficient approximations based on the idea of most likely paths to failure to further substantially reduce the computation time by instead constructing a model that uses only a subset of the trees. We also derive two new dependability measures related to the distribution of the size of a cascade. We present numerical results demonstrating the effectiveness of our approaches. For a model of a large cloud-computing system, our approximations reduce computation times by orders of magnitude with only a few percent error in the computed dependability measures.
Differential host gene responses from infection with neurovirulent and partially-neurovirulent strains of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an alphavirus in the family Togaviridae. VEEV causes a bi-phasic illness in mice where primary replication in lymphoid organs is followed by entry into the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS phase of infection is marked by encephalitis and large scale neuronal death ultimately resulting in death. Molecular determinants of VEEV neurovirulence are not well understood. In this study, host gene expression response to highly neurovirulent VEEV (V3000 strain) infection was compared with that of a partially neurovirulent VEEV (V3034 strain) to identify host factors associated with VEEV neurovirulence. Whole genome microarrays were performed to identify the significantly modulated genes. Microarray observations were classified into three categories i.e., genes that were similarly modulated against both V3000 and V3034 infections, and genes that were uniquely modulated in infection with V3034 or V3000. Histologic sections of spleen and brain were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin stains from all the mice. V3000 infection induced a greater degree of pathology in both the spleen and brain tissue of infected mice compared to V3034 infection. Genes commonly modulated in the spleens after V3000 or V3034 infection were associated with innate immune responses, inflammation and antigen presentation, however, V3000 induced a gene response profile that suggests a stronger inflammatory and apoptotic response compared to V3034. In the brain, both the strains of VEEV induced an innate immune response reflected by an upregulation of the genes involved in antigen presentation, interferon response, and inflammation. Similar to the spleen, V3000 was found to induce a stronger inflammatory response than V3034 in terms of induction of pro-inflammatory genes and associated pathways. Ccl2, Ccl5, Ccl6, and Ly6 were uniquely upregulated in V3000 infected mouse brains and correlated with the extensive inflammation observed in the brain. The common gene profile identified from V3000 and V3034 exposure can help in understanding a generalized host response to VEEV infection. Inflammatory genes that were uniquely identified in mouse brains with V3000 infection will help in better understanding the lethal neurovirulence of VEEV. Future studies are needed to explore the roles played by the genes identified in VEEV induced encephalitis.
Development of a multifunction prototype for the carrier profiling of semiconductors by scanning frequency comb microscopy

Summary form only given, as follows. We have described a method to generate a microwave frequency comb (MFC) which has hundreds of measurable harmonics in the tunneling junction of a scanning tunneling microscope with a metal sample electrode. With semiconductor samples the harmonics have an attenuation that varies inversely with the local carrier density at the tunneling junction. Three methods for carrier profiling that are based on the MFC, and a fourth method where terahertz radiation is generated within the tunneling junction, are already implemented virtually in the prototype. Parallel and deterministic operation of two or more of these methods with simulations is made possible by basing this system on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Thus, different types of information about the semiconductor could be obtained in a fast and efficient manner with optimization and analysis in real time. The unique combination of simulations and measurement tools in a single instrument will facilitate maintenance and debugging as well as the optimization and characterization of each component and the full system. User-friendly LabVIEW software will be used with subpanel and tab control to access and combine the various functions. At present, in the development stage, each component that will later be attached to the FPGA is simulated but the physical parts may be switched in and out with the simulated components.
Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator (DIEP) Flap Breast Reconstruction

The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap method is the preferred method for autologous breast reconstruction. The primary advantage is that no donor muscle tissue is transferred. This chapter describes indications, essential steps, variations, and complications of this procedure. It provides a detailed template operative note for the procedure.
A community-based intervention for low-income families to reduce children’s blood lead levels between 3–9.9 μg/Dl

Introduction: In 2012, the Center for Disease Control announced children’s blood lead levels (BLLs) above 5 μg/dL should be provided assistance, as no level of lead exposure is safe.Method: A commu...
Use of Activity Boxes with Young Children Who Are Blind, Deaf-Blind, or Have Severe Learning Disabilities and Visual Impairments.

This article describes the use of activity boxes with young children in the United Kingdom who are blind, deaf-blind, or have severe learning disabilities and visual impairments. It then discusses ...
Getting Inside the

Critics of Head Start contend that many programs spend too much money on programs extraneous to education. On the other hand, Head Start advocates argue that severely disadvantaged children need a broad range of services. Given the available evidence, it has been impossible to assess the validity of these claims. In this study, we match detailed administrative data with data on child outcomes from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, including test scores, behavior problems, and grade repetition. We find that former Head Start children have higher reading scores and are less likely to have been retained in grade where Head Start spending was higher. Holding per capita expenditures constant, children in programs that devoted higher shares of their budgets to education and health have fewer behavior problems and are less likely to have been retained in grade. However, when we examine specific educational inputs holding per capita expenditures constant, only pupil/teacher ratios matter.
Data Privacy Marketing Audits, Benchmarking, and Metrics

As the previous chapters make clear, privacy issues and strategies cannot be left to legal and IT departments. They are critical issues for marketing managers. A firm’s policies and actions regarding the collection and use of big data (e.g., sales to third parties), customer targeting, advertising, and privacy policies all have significant impacts on customers’ attitudes and behaviors, as well as vast financial implications. Even if a firm’s legal department works to ensure that it is in compliance with privacy laws and regulations (Chapter 3), in-house lawyers often ignore the effects of the resulting policies on customers’ perceptions—or at least they weight the potential legal consequences much more heavily than they do any customer and marketing effects.
Pregnancy in Women With Lupus: We Have Come So Far and Have So Far to Go

Using the National Inpatient Sample database, Mehta and colleagues identified improvements over 18 years in both maternal and fetal mortality among pregnant women with systemic lupus erythematosus....
Using mechanoluminescence as a low-cost, non-destructive diagnostic method for transient polymer impact processes

Abstract At ballistic velocities, certain polymers such as nylon and polyethylene have been shown to exhibit mechanoluminescence (ML) upon impact. This ML event results in the emission of photons in the visible wavelength spectrum and may occur on transient timescales as short as a sub-microsecond. In this study, we take advantage of this ML phenomenon to design a low-cost diagnostic tool by recording the ML emissions. The design consists of photodiodes of spectral range in the near-infrared to visible spectrum located radially in order to record the luminescence emissions around the circumference of the ML footprint during impact. Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene rods were fired at velocities between 200 and 450 m/s as preliminary proof of concept experiments. Recorded signals were post-processed to yield information such as the projectile’s time-of-arrival, approximate impact location, and approximate attitude during initial impact. The experimental setup, measurement and post-processing techniques, and reconstruction results are detailed and discussed in this work.
Does asymptomatic bacteriuria affect the response to intravesical bacillus Calmette–Guérin?

OBJECTIVE To determine the initial response to intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin and the 3-year recurrence rate of high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer in patients who have asymptomatic bacteriuria. METHODS Response and recurrence rates were investigated in 505 patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer after treatment with induction bacillus Calmette-Guerin (TICE strain) therapy. Initial response was determined after 3 months and patients were followed every 3-6 months for 3 years. Before bacillus Calmette-Guerin and each follow-up cystoscopy, urine cultures were obtained, stratified as no growth, 104 or >105 colony-forming unit/mL. Any degree of bacteriuria on culture was classified as asymptomatic bacteriuria. RESULTS Of the 505 cases, 270 (53%) had asymptomatic bacteriuria. A total of 89% of patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria showed a complete response to bacillus Calmette-Guerin versus 76% of uninfected patients (P = 0.001), and 75% of bacteriuric patients survived tumor-free for 3 years versus 65% of uninfected patients. CONCLUSIONS Chronic bacteriuria might enhance the response of high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer to intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin and result in longer tumor-free survival than uninfected patients.
13 – Ischemic Demyelination

Publisher Summary The finding of white matter signal changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan is being increasingly recognized as of potential clinical significance, but the pathogenesis, clinical correlation, and prognostic implications remain ill defined. They are recognized with increasing frequency in patients with risk factors for small vessel occlusive disease, including age, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. In a longitudinal study of hypertension and the evolution of white matter hyperintensities, there was a definite relationship between severe white matter hyperintensities and the duration of the hypertension. In addition, the white matter changes correlated with cognitive impairment. The most commonly recognized clinical manifestation of small vessel occlusive disease is lacunar stroke. The most common lacunar syndromes include pure motor stroke, pure sensory stroke, sensorimotor stroke, clumsy hand dysarthria, and hemiparesis–hemiataxia. Patients with ischemic white matter disease are at enhanced risk for stroke. In addition, white matter hyperintensities on MRI in elderly normal volunteers correlate with subtle cognitive deficit with reduced speed of complex mental processing. Lacunar-type stroke has been reported to have a recurrence rate of up to 12% per year, and one can hypothesize that asymptomatic small vessel disease is presumably associated with at least some heightened risk when compared with an age-matched population without evidence of ischemic demyelination on brain scan.
Rose Mosaic Virus Disease: A Disease Caused by a Virus Complex and Symptoms on Roses and Management Practices

Rose mosaic virus disease is one of the most economically important diseases affecting roses, because a single symptomatic leaf can result in the rejection of complete shipments for wholesale or retail rose producers. It continues to be a problem in nursery production and landscapes. This 5-page document discusses the causes, symptoms, and management of this disease. Written by Susannah da Silva, Binoy Babu, Mathews L. Paret, Gary Knox, Fanny Iriarte, Barron Riddle, Matt Orwat, Shawn T. Steed, E. Vanessa Campoverde, and Svetlana Y. Folimonova and published by the UF/IFAS Plant Pathology Department, August 2018. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp338/
Nonopioid Management of Chronic Pain

Abstract Chronic pain is a reality for many patients. In an effort to help patients manage their chronic pain, opioids have been prescribed but often are not a safe solution. Instead, opioids fall short of adequate pain control and have contributed to opioid use disorder, overdoses, and death. Other modalities for pain control exist including nonopioid medications, topical treatments, physical modalities, and complementary and alternative medicine. Combining treatments can provide optimum relief with fewer adverse risks than opioids. This article will review a number of evidence-based treatments that can be used in a multimodal approach to chronic pain management.
Considering Needle Phobia among Adult Patients During Mass COVID-19 Vaccinations.

As mass vaccination is underway to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve herd immunity, healthcare professionals need to recognize the fear and phobia of needles among their patients. Approximately 11.5 to 66 million U.S. adults may suffer from this condition. This population often avoids seeking medical care including vaccinations. The exact number of people suffering from this phobia is unknown, and the potential years of life lost in the American health care system cannot be estimated accurately. The resistance to vaccinations among this population may delay achieving herd immunity to end this current pandemic. An overview of needle phobia, vaccinations, and current treatments are explored. The use of telemedicine could prove critical for reaching this population as well as those who are hesitant about vaccinations. Providing education to healthcare providers to identify and manage these patients during the pandemic is necessary.
Modulation of Cholesterol Metabolism Improves Response to Enzalutamide Treatment in Prostate Cancer

Objectives Prostate cancer (PCa) growth is mediated by androgens via activation of androgen receptor (AR). Accordingly, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the gold standard for the treatment of advanced PCa, but progression to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) follows. Enzalutamide (ENZ) is an AR antagonist used for the management of CRPC. However, patients acquire resistance to the drug in a short period. As cholesterol metabolism is dysregulated in PCa and lipogenesis is upregulated by AR signaling, we hypothesized that inhibition of cholesteryl ester formation and suppression of lipogenesis by blockage of sterol-O-acyltransferase 1 (SOAT1) could enhance the response to ENZ.
Recent advances in tuning redox properties of electron transfer centers in metalloenzymes catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction and H2 oxidation important for fuel cell design

Current fuel-cell catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and H2 oxidation use precious metals and, for ORR, require high overpotentials. In contrast, metalloenzymes perform their respective reaction at low overpotentials using earth-abundant metals, making metalloenzymes ideal candidates for inspiring electrocatalytic design. Critical to the success of these enzymes are redox-active metal centers surrounding the enzyme active sites that ensure fast electron transfer (ET) to or away from the active site, by tuning the catalytic potential of the reaction as observed in multicopper oxidases but also in dictating the catalytic bias of the reaction as realized in hydrogenases. This review summarizes recent advances in studying these ET centers in multicopper oxidases and heme-copper oxidases that perform ORR and hydrogenases in carrying out H2 oxidation. Insights gained from understanding how the reduction potential of the ET centers effects reactivity at the active site in both the enzymes and their models are provided.
A methodology for assessing driver perception-response time during unanticipated cross-centerline events.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to present a methodology that utilizes naturalistic driving data to measure the driver response to an unanticipated driving scenario, a cross-centerline event. METHODS Forward-facing video from naturalistic driving was used to determine when the cross-centerline event occurred. Then, the recorded acceleration and yaw rate data were used to identify the start of braking and steering evasive actions, respectively. A deceleration threshold of -0.1 g was defined as the braking onset, and a yaw rate of 2 deg/s was defined as the steering onset. Perception-response times (PRTs) were derived using these inputs. RESULTS 17 cross-centerline events were identified from the naturalistic driving database. The drivers in all analyzed events applied the brakes, and 11 of the 17 drivers performed a steering maneuver. However, the average steering PRT (0.39 s) was faster than the average braking PRT (0.84 s). CONCLUSIONS Based naturalistic data from cross-centerline encroachment scenarios, the average driver steering PRT was faster than the average driver braking PRT. Both the driver's median braking and steering PRT was faster in these real-world scenarios than in similar test track or simulator studies. Future analyses should investigate which action is attempted first and the effect of time to contact on driver response.
Commentary: “Autonomous” agents? What should we worry about? What should we do?

Let me begin by saying that “avoiding adverse autonomous agent actions” seems like a very important goal! We all know about HAL and Skynet, right? Or maybe we were reassured by Asimov’s Three Laws ...
Trajectory and atmospheric structure from entry probes: Feasibility study of a real-time reconstruction technique using a radio link

Abstract Many recent planetary entry vehicles have maintained radio links to receivers on either Earth or a nearby spacecraft during their risky atmospheric entries. The trajectory and the associated atmospheric structure of a descending entry vehicle are traditionally reconstructed from onboard accelerometer data, but they can in principle be reconstructed from the Doppler shift in a radio link instead. However, such methods have only been explored at the proof-of-concept level. Here we develop an improved radio-based reconstruction method and use it to simulate reconstruction of the trajectories and atmospheric structures of Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, Phoenix, and Curiosity, validating the simulated results against those obtained by traditional means. Due to a singularity in the underlying equations, the radio-based reconstruction method may fail badly if the velocity vector of the transmitting entry vehicle with respect to the atmosphere is perpendicular to the line of sight between the transmitter and the receiver. A simple plot of the rate of change of the received frequency is also helpful for indicating the likely applicability of this method. Agreement between simulated and actual trajectories and atmospheric structures is very good for Spirit and Opportunity and for receivers on Earth and an orbiter, which establishes the validity and potential value of this method. The root-mean-square temperature error is no greater than 5 K at radial distances between 3410 km and 3470 km, a range of six scale heights. Agreement is less good for Pathfinder due to limitations in the available data and for Phoenix due to geometrical reasons. The method assumes a lift-free trajectory, which is a valid assumption for the first four landers, but not for Curiosity. Nevertheless, the results of this method are reasonable for Curiosity before its period of horizontal flight, which was not reconstructed adequately by this method at all. Sensitivity studies found that results are satisfactory for thermal noise of less than 1 part in 10 8 and frequency drift of less than 1 part in 10 9 per second. A frequency offset has no impact on the results. The radio-based reconstruction method is ready to be applied to the upcoming atmospheric entries of several Mars landers.
Nonlinear Time Series Forecasting

Having gone through Chapters 8 and 9, you may justifiably get the feeling that subjective judgment may be required in order to determine the existence of an underlying chaotic attractor dictating the dynamics of an observable. Limitations of the algorithms, data requirements, and other problems discussed in these chapters often make the interpretation of the results a rather complicated issue. What can we possibly do in order to assist the search for low-dimensional attractors?