cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental Evidence on Interventions to Improve Educational Attainment at Community Colleges

America’s community colleges play a major role in increasing access to higher education and, as open access institutions, they are key points of entry to postsecondary education for historically underrepresented populations. However, their students often fall short of completing degrees. Policymakers, scholars, and philanthropists are dedicating unprecedented attention and resources to identifying strategies to improve retention, academic performance, and degree completion among community college students. This chapter reviews experimental evidence on their effectiveness, finding that they often meet with limited success because they typically target just one or two aspects of students’ lives, are of short duration, and fail to improve the institutional context. They also rarely address a serious structural constraint: limited resources. We discuss new directions for future interventions, research and evaluation.
Millimeter wave imaging for fixed wing zero visibility landing

In 2019, landing in zero visibility conditions remains an unresolved, dangerous problem for commercial aircraft for both regional and transport markets. Common sensor solutions such as Infrared or LIDAR offer selective, limited obscurant penetration (i.e. rain, fog, snow, smoke). Honeywell’s active millimeter wave radar platform presents a sensor solution capable of seeing through all types of weather, while generating a meaningful, actionable image in real time. Results from recent field testing with the active mmW radar on approaches to multiple small municipal airports are presented and discussed, validating the application of this sensor to this need. While smaller airstrips challenge the performance of even high resolution radar sensors given reduced detectable features of prominence, the active millimeter wave radar produces real-beam imagery at the necessary angular resolutions and relevant approach ranges to support real time imaging of runways and a variety of prominent identifying guide-features. Recorded data is combined in an output with a synthetic 3D environment, supplementing the image with available a priori information. An integrated visual result is proffered that can feed into a heads-up display (HUD), with discussion about sensor improvements and additional image processing to perhaps eventually produce a comprehensive solution to the fixed wing, zero visibility landing problem.
Ferroelectric domain structures and temperature-misfit strain phase diagrams of K1-xNaxNbO3 thin films: A phase-field study

Potassium-sodium niobate K1-xNaxNbO3 (KNN) is one of the most promising lead-free piezoelectric materials. While there have been many studies on the microstructures and properties of KNN ceramics, the phase transitions and ferroelectric domain structures of KNN thin films are not well understood. In this work, we employ three-dimensional (3D) phase-field simulations to obtain the ferroelectric domain structures of KNN (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) thin films under a range of temperatures (0 K to 1300 K) and equiaxial misfit strains (–1.5% to 1.5%), based on which we establish the misfit strain-temperature phase diagrams of KNbO3 and K0.5Na0.5NbO3 thin films. We identify a wide variety of complex domain structures with coexisting ferroelectric phases, implying enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric properties. We expect this work to provide guidance for the strain engineering of domain structures and properties of KNN thin films.
Therapeutic potential of the Akt inhibitor perifosine in combination with tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) for metastatic head and neck cancer.

2405 Lymph node metastases remain a long-term problem in the treatment of head and neck sqaumous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In an effort to understand the biology of metastasis of HNSCC and to develop effective therapeutic regimens against metastatic HNSCC, we established highly metastatic HNSCC cell lines through in vivo selection (Zhang et al, Clin Exp Metastasis, 2006). Using gene array and Western blot analysis, we found that highly metastatic HNSCC cell lines exhibit increased levels of death receptor 5 (DR5), Fas-associated death domain (FADD), caspase-8, caspase-9, and the short form of c-FLIP (FLIPS). Moreover, these metastatic cell lines had decreased levels of the long form of c-FLIP (FLIPL) and undetectable levels of TRAIL. Accordingly, the metastatic HNSCC cell lines are relatively more sensitive than their parental non-metastatic cell line to exogenous TRAIL treatment. These results suggest that metastatic HNSCC cells retain the capacity to undergo death receptor-mediated apoptosis. Perifosine is the first oral alkylphospholipid with Akt-inhibitory activity and is being tested in phase II cancer clinical trials. We found that perifosine further upregulated DR5 expression and reduced c-FLIP levels in the metastatic HNSCC cell lines. Interestingly, the metastatic HNSCC cell lines were much more sensitive than their parental cell line to perifosine-induced apoptosis. Moreover, the combination of perifosine and TRAIL augmented induction of apoptosis in the metastatic HNSCC cells. Collectively, these data suggest that targeting activation of TRAIL/death receptor-mediated apoptosis by the combination of perifosine and TRAIL has therapeutic potential against metastatic HNSCC, thus warranting in vivo evaluation of the efficacy of the combination of perifosine and TRAIL for treatment of metastatic HNSCC. (Supported in part by GCC Distinguished Cancer Scholar award and DOD grant DAMD17-01-1-0689-BESCT)
Monitored Anesthesia Care Is Associated With a Decrease in Morbidity After Endovascular Angioplasty in Aortoiliac Disease.

Objectives Few studies have evaluated the association between anesthesia type and outcomes after endovascular angioplasty/stents for aortoiliac occlusive disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between primary anesthesia type and postprocedural complications for endovascular angioplasty of aortoiliac occlusion. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Multi-institutional. Participants The study comprised 3,110 patients undergoing endovascular angioplasty of aortoiliac occlusive disease, with 1,974 and 1,136 patients who underwent monitored anesthesia care (MAC) and general anesthesia (GA), respectively. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database for the years 2012 to 2016 was used for the present study. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results The final analysis included 3,110 patients, 63% of whom received MAC and 37% of whom received GA. The mean age was 64 years among the GA group, of whom 57.2% were male. The mean age among that MAC group was 65 years, 55.8% of whom were male. After adjusting for demographic factors and preoperative comorbidities, there was a statistically significant lower odds of postoperative complications (ie, pulmonary complications, infection, intraoperative/postoperative transfusion, reoperation, and amputation) and shorter length of stay in the MAC group compared with the GA group (p Conclusions Although larger observational studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to further evaluate the potential effect of MAC versus GA, MAC anesthesia should be considered for patients undergoing endovascular angioplasty for aortoiliac occlusion.
HMCES safeguards replication from oxidative stress and ensures error-free repair

Replication across oxidative DNA lesions can give rise to mutations that pose a threat to genome integrity. How such lesions, which escape base excision repair, get removed without error during replication remains unknown. Our PCNA-based screen to uncover changes in replisome composition under different replication stress conditions had revealed a previously unknown PCNA-interacting protein, HMCES/C3orf37. Here, we show that HMCES is a critical component of the replication stress response, mainly upon base misincorporation. We further demonstrate that the absence of HMCES imparts resistance to pemetrexed treatment due to error-prone bypass of oxidative damage. Furthermore, based on genetic screening, we show that homologous recombination repair proteins, such as CtIP, BRCA2, BRCA1, and PALB2, are indispensable for the survival of HMCES KO cells. Hence, HMCES, which is the sole member of the SRAP superfamily in higher eukaryotes known so far, acts as a proofreader on replication forks, facilitates resolution of oxidative base damage, and therefore ensures faithful DNA replication.
COVID-19 incidence trends between April and June 2020: A global analysis

The study sought to investigate how the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have evolved in the most recent three months across the world, and what insights the trends may provide about the second half of the pandemic9s first year using a situation analysis approach based on national income, temperature, trade intensity with China, and location defined by longitude and latitude. The study confirmed the negative relationship between COVID-19 cases and temperature. It contributed to the resolution of the conflicting results about latitude after organizing it into a categorical variable instead of its continuous form. This approach works because the average temperature in the 15 degrees S to 15 degrees N region remains similar to the average temperatures in both the Above 15 degrees N region and the Below 15 degrees S region during their summer months because the 15 degrees S to 15 degrees N region does not experience the marked seasonal changes in temperature. Given the negative association between temperature and case numbers, this suggests that countries in the 15 degrees S to 15 degrees N region might continue exhibiting the low numbers they have thus far exhibited through the second half of this year, even as numbers climb in the Below 15 degrees S region. To succeed, their policymakers must control importation of the disease by implementing effective testing, quarantining, and contact tracing for people entering their borders. Policymakers in countries Below 15 degrees S region may manage their inherent risks by applying lessons learned from countries in the Above 15 degrees N region during these past months. Such preventative measures may allow the world to avoid the drastic lockdown policies and facilitate rapid global economic recovery from this pandemic.
Enhanced mechanical performance via laser induced nanostructure formation in an additively manufactured lightweight aluminum alloy

Abstract To date, the primary focus of metal additive manufacturing (AM) research has been the development of strategies for fabricating complex architectures, reducing internal stress and optimizing microstructure. Traditional Al alloys have presented further challenges in this effort due to solidification cracking and complex laser coupling dynamics. To overcome these limitations, identification of novel alloys that exploit the rapid solidification conditions inherent in laser-based AM is required. In this work, laser-induced melting of an Al-8Ce-10Mg alloy is revealed to generate a nanoscale microstructure which results in improved hardness, tensile strength, and mitigated solidification cracking (e.g., hot tearing) in single laser tracks in as-cast material and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF)-fabricated components. In situ X-ray imaging shows the nanostructure arises from laser-induced melting of intermetallic particles embedded into the alloy during casting and then rapid resolidification of the molten material in ~ 400 µs. The formed Ce-rich nanostructures are highly resistant to thermal coarsening at 300 °C, as confirmed by microscopy and retention of tensile properties. These results pave the way for development of AM-specific Al alloys that possess the ability to form mechanically favorable nanostructures in fabricated components due to the rapid cooling inherent in LPBF.
Exposure-Based Models of Trail User Crashes at Roadway Crossings:

Multi-use trails are popular for transportation and recreation, but pedestrians and bicyclists are exposed to motor vehicle traffic at trail crossings (locations where trails cross roadways), creat...
Does Worrying Mean Caring Too Much? Interpersonal Prototypicality of Dimensional Worry Controlling for Social Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

Worry, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms are dimensions that have each been linked to heterogeneous problems in interpersonal functioning. However, the relationships between these symptoms and interpersonal difficulties remain unclear given that most studies have examined diagnostic categories, not accounted for symptoms’ shared variability due to general distress, and investigated only interpersonal problems (neglecting interpersonal traits, interpersonal goals, social behavior in daily life, and reports of significant others). To address these issues, students (Study 1; N = 282) endorsed symptoms and interpersonal circumplex measures of traits and problems, as well as event-contingent social behaviors during one week of naturalistic daily interactions (N = 184; 7,036 records). Additionally, depressed and anxious patients (N = 47) reported symptoms and interpersonal goals in a dyadic relationship, and significant others rated patients’ interpersonal goals and impact (Study 2). We derived hypotheses about prototypical interpersonal features from theories about the functions of particular symptoms and social behaviors. As expected, worry was uniquely associated with prototypically affiliative tendencies across all self-report measures in both samples, but predicted impacting significant others in unaffiliative ways. As also hypothesized, social anxiety was uniquely and prototypically associated with low dominance across measures, and general distress was associated with cold-submissive tendencies. Findings for depressive symptoms provided less consistent evidence for unique prototypical interpersonal features. Overall, results suggest the importance of multimethod assessment and accounting for general distress in interpersonal models of worry, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms.
A Wafer-scale Manufacturing Pathway for Fine-grained Vertical 3D-IC Technology

Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D-ICs) provide a feasible path for scaling CMOS technology in the foreseeable future. IMEC and IRDS roadmaps project that 3D integration is a key avenue for the IC industry beyond 2024. They project that some form of 3D-IC technology based on nanosheets/nanowires is likely to become mainstream soon. SkyBridge-3D-CMOS (S3DC) is one among the first vertical nanowire-based fine-grained 3D-IC directions which offers paradigm shift in technology scaling as well as design. Rather than die-die and layer-layer stacking, S3DC’s core aspects, from device to circuit style to interconnect, are co-architected in a 3D fabric-centered manner building on a uniform 3D nanowire template. Nanowire-based 3D-IC technologies such as S3DC solve most of the traditional scaling issues of 2D-CMOS but present new manufacturing challenges because of their complex 3D geometry. Therefore, for these directions to become mainstream, a robust wafer-scale manufacturing pathway that addresses these challenges is vital. In this paper, we propose a wafer-scale manufacturing pathway aimed at developing and optimizing the manufacturing process flows of S3DC. Using physics-driven virtual process integration functionalized with design and process parameters, we obtained realistic 3D structures for all the underlying IC elements and finally combined them to build 3D standard cells in S3DC. Electrical characterization of resultant structures using process and device simulations were performed while considering the material properties and nanoscale physics effects. Circuit-level simulations accounting for device behavior using SPICE-compatible compact model and circuit interconnect parasitics were carried out to study the impact of variations in process steps such as patterning, lithography, etch, deposition on device and interconnect performance. Our bottom-up simulation results indicate that the proposed pathway is robust enough to be adopted for large-scale production thus paving the way for wide-spread adoption of vertical fine-grained 3D-IC technologies.
Leveraging Individual and Collective Regularity to Profile and Segment User Locations from Mobile Phone Data

The dynamic monitoring of home and workplace distribution is a fundamental building block for improving location-based service systems in fast-developing cities worldwide. Inferring these places is...
Palliative Care During a Pandemic

In this chapter, we address the timely and critical issue of palliative care delivery during pandemics, highlighting the relevance of palliative care in lung disease. We begin with an overview of previous pandemics from the recent past, identifying challenges to palliative care delivery and reviewing potential solutions. Using Downar and Etkind’s modified palliative care Surge Framework, we describe challenges to palliative care delivery related to the “system”, “stuff”, “staff”, and “space” domains using examples from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 virus pandemic, a respiratory pathogen with particular relevance to patients with chronic lung diseases. We next examine how pandemics may upend patient autonomy and then highlight symptomatic management approaches and ethical considerations to ensure palliative-related principles are accessible to a wide group of providers during a pandemic. We also address the increased burdens faced by family caregivers and suggest strategies for healthcare providers to continue to assess their coping and resilience during such particularly trying times. We conclude with a discussion about palliative communication and the need to advance shared decision-making as a means of mitigating the complexities that arise in lung disease care under pandemic conditions.
Machine Learning-enabled Adaptive Air Traffic Recommendation System for Disaster Evacuation

Extreme weather conditions, such as floods, hurricanes and wildfires, cause large-scale human population movements and evacuations in the world. Taking flights to evacuate the area before a disaster approaches is mostly preferred because of the much higher efficiency than driving or taking trains. However, how to make effective flight plans serving evacuation before these natural disasters occur is a significant challenge because it relies heavily on many dynamic factors including human resources, environments, and traffic loads. In this paper, we proposed an adaptive flight recommendation schema that aims to coordinate available resources such as aircraft and airports to transport people from evacuated areas to safe places. We formulate the evacuation flight dispatch as a weighted graph matching problem where weights indicating the dynamics of the air route network are inferred by machine learning approaches. In particular, the problem is resolved in a two-phase manner: (a) in the offline phase, a predictive model based on random forest and value functions indicating the expected gain of an evacuation flight in a certain state are learned using historical flight data; (b) in the online dispatching phase, several flight candidates are generated with estimated "values" based on predicted air mobility factors from the trained model in the first phase. Kuhn–Munkres (KM) algorithm is then employed to get the best evacuation flight plans (aircraft-route pairs). Our schema is evaluated using data collected during Hurricane Irma, and the experimental results demonstrate its effectiveness in the real-world application that is likely to play a vital role in future disaster evacuation worldwide.
Ancient Teotihuacan: Early Urbanism in Central Mexico

1. Preliminaries 2. Situating Teotihuacan 3. Urbanism begins in central Mexico: 500-100 BCE 4. Teotihuacan takes off: 100-1 BCE 5. Teotihuacan supremacy in the basin of Mexico: 1-100 CE 6. Great pyramids and early grandeur: 100-250 CE 7. Teotihuacan at its height: 250-550 CE 8. Teotihuacan ideation and religion: imagery, meanings, and uses 9. 'Interesting times': Teotihuacan comes apart and a new story begins: after 550 CE 10. Teotihuacan in a wider perspective.
The Impact of Minimum Wages on Unemployment Duration: Estimating the Effects Using the Displaced Worker Survey

This paper examines the impact of minimum wages on unemployment duration. Our estimates suggest that higher minimum wages are associated with shorter unemployment duration for older males and those with at least a high school diploma, but longer unemployment spells for male high school dropouts and females who are older and in lower-skilled occupations. The results are consistent with other studies in generating concerns about the distributional impact of minimum wages.
Alternative Bounding Approximations for the Global Optimization of Various Engineering Design Problems

This paper presents a general overview of the global optimization algorithm by Quesada and Grossmann [6] for solving NLP problems involving linear fractional and bilinear terms, and it explores the use of alternative bounding approximations. These are applied in the global optimization of problems arising in different engineering areas and for which different relaxations are proposed depending on the mathematical structure of the models. These relaxations include linear and nonlinear underestimator problems. Reformulations that generate additional estimator functions are also employed. Examples from structural design, batch processes, portfolio investment and layout design are presented.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adolescents and young adults

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) population is a difficult clinical problem. The AYA population, generally regarded as patients aged 15 to 39 years, currently draws a good deal of attention, particularly in the area of therapy selection. The current trend is to treat this group of patients with leukemia regimens based on pediatric protocols, and results comparing pediatric approaches versus adult approaches to treatment are maturing. Results are pending from a large US trial in which pediatric-based treatment is given to AYA patients with ALL. In tandem with these new clinical trials, researchers have reported disease features in the AYA group that may explain some of the differences in response to treatment observed in the AYA population compared with the pediatric population. In addition, unique social factors in this age group add to the complexity of ALL therapy in the AYA population. AYA patients are developing independence and separating from their parents. They tend to be noncompliant. Young adults suffer from a lack of health care insurance and poor access to clinical trials, and have specific concerns regarding toxicities, in particular fertility. Cancer 2017;123:2398-403. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Graph Embedding for Speaker Recognition

This chapter presents applications of graph embedding to the problem of text-independent speaker recognition. Speaker recognition is a general term encompassing multiple applications. At the core is the problem of speaker comparison—given two speech recordings (utterances), produce a score which measures speaker similarity. Using speaker comparison, other applications can be implemented—speaker clustering (grouping similar speakers in a corpus), speaker verification (verifying a claim of identity), speaker identification (identifying a speaker out of a list of potential candidates), and speaker retrieval (finding matches to a query set).
Unsupervised learning of brain states from fMRI data

The use of multivariate pattern recognition for the analysis of neural representations encoded in fMRI data has become a significant research topic, with wide applications in neuroscience and psychology. A popular approach is to learn a mapping from the data to the observed behavior. However, identifying the instantaneous cognitive state without reference to external conditions is a relatively unexplored problem and could provide important insights into mental processes. In this paper, we present preliminary but promising results from the application of an unsupervised learning technique to identify distinct brain states. The temporal ordering of the states were seen to be synchronized with the experimental conditions, while the spatial distribution of activity in a state conformed with the expected functional recruitment.
ICME Identification from Solar Wind Ion Measurements

Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), the interplanetary counterpart of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), are most commonly identified by their enhanced magnetic field strengths and rotating magnetic field orientation. However, there are other frequent signatures in the plasma. We use a pair of these signatures, a linearly decreasing plasma bulk velocity and a cool (< 20 km s−1) ion thermal speed, to identify candidate ICMEs. Many ICMEs, identified through their magnetic signatures, are also found by their ion signatures alone. However, many are not. These missed ICMEs appear not to be expanding, even when they are accompanied by leading shocks. The ICMEs with both the magnetic and ion signatures appear to be expanding as judged from either set of observations. The most clearly defined ICMEs have transit times from the Sun and growth times to the observed size that are equal. These ropes fit the paradigm of compact magnetic structures arising low in the corona and expanding uniformly in time, as they travel at constant center of mass speed toward 1 AU.
Vasopressin neuromodulation in the hippocampus

This study explored an effector mechanism associated with the arginine vasopressin (AVP) recognition site in the hippocampus, namely, potentiation of norepinephrine (NE)-induced cAMP accumulation in the surviving hippocampal slice. The biochemical mechanisms that underlie the AVP potentiation were investigated as follows: First, the actions of AVP upon NE-induced accumulation of cAMP in hippocampal slices from rat brain were specific to AVP and not shared by other closely related peptides, namely, oxytocin and AVP4–9. Second, the AVP-induced neuromodulation involved beta-adrenergic receptors, with AVP having no effect on cAMP levels in the absence of NE. Third, the potentiation by AVP was biphasic, with lower AVP concentrations potentiating NE-induced cAMP accumulation, while higher concentrations did not potentiate. Fourth, an antagonist of V1-type AVP receptors blocked AVP potentiation. Fifth, AVP potentiation was dependent upon extracellular calcium concentrations. Sixth, AVP potentiation was blocked by 50 microM trifluoperazine, which is consistent with a calcium-calmodulin involvement but which might also implicate protein kinase C. These alternatives and the nature of the calcium involvement are discussed. AVP actions thus appear to involve interactions between several second- messenger systems and suggest a biochemical mechanism by which AVP exerts its centrally mediated behavioral effects.
Measuring Web Advertising Effectiveness in China

ABSTRACT This study examines Chinese consumers9 perceptions and responses to web banner advertising. Results suggest that just one additional banner exposure improves Chinese users9 brand recall, changes their attitude toward the brand, and increases their purchase consideration. Although clickthrough was found to be a significant predictor for banner recall, there was no evidence that clickthrough affects brand recall, attitude toward the brand, or purchase consideration.Most of the findings in this study are congruent with those reported in the 1997 IAB Study.
Identifying Consumption Differences between Social Groups

Defining material differences between social groups has been a prevalent research topic among historical archaeologists. Previous artifact studies devoted to this subject typically adopt a qualitative approach, in which the extent of expensive consumer goods, such as porcelain or transfer-printed tableware, is viewed as a reliable indicator of socioeconomic status. In this article, an alternative method of exploring material differences between social groups, based on consumption levels, is proposed. Archaeological data from a sample of study sites suggest that the basic quantity, rather than quality, of material consumed and discarded by households in the past is a useful, although overlooked, measure of material differences between social groups.
Logarithmic Output Active Illumination Microscopy

We present an improved technique to enhance the dynamic range of multiphoton microscopy using real time feedback to control illumination power. Our system provides simultaneous improvement in weak-signal sensitivity and immunity to strong-signal saturation.
Phonon-assisted tunneling and two-channel Kondo physics in molecular junctions

The interplay between vibrational modes and Kondo physics is a fundamental aspect of transport properties of correlated molecular conductors. We present theoretical results for a single molecule in the Kondo regime connected to left and right metallic leads, creating the usual coupling to a conduction channel with left-right parity even. A center-of-mass vibrational mode introduces an additional phonon-assisted tunneling through the antisymmetric odd channel. A non-Fermi-liquid fixed point, reminiscent of the two-channel Kondo effect, appears at a critical value of the phonon-mediated coupling strength. Our numerical renormalization-group calculations for this system reveal non-Fermi-liquid behavior at low temperatures over lines of critical points. Signatures of this strongly correlated state are prominent in the thermodynamic properties and in the linear conductance.
Thickness effect of sputtered ZnO seed layer on the fabrication of ZnO nanorods on flexible polyimide films and their ethanol gas sensing properties

Controlled ZnO nanostructures were grown on a flexible substrate for the future development of smart sensing tags. Thermolysis-assisted chemical solution deposition was used to grow ZnO nanorods at 85°C from 0.01mol of Zinc nitrate hexahydrate and HMT (Hexamethyltetramine) solution. To promote and modulate the ZnO nanorods, R.F. sputtered ZnO seed layers were deposited on polyimide substrates at various film thicknesses in the range of 8 to 160 nm. The optimum processing conditions to fabricate ZnO nanostructures have been investigated to examine the growth behaviors and to correlate the process parameters with the morphological characteristics. When the ethanol gas sensitivities were measured at different thickness of ZnO seed layers before growing ZnO nanorods, the highest sensitivity was obtained at 40 nm thick ZnO film at 300°C where the film thickness is similar to the Debye length. When ZnO nanorods were grown on such a ZnO seed layer, the sensitivities were more heavily influenced by the ZnO nanostructures rather than the thickness of the seed layer probably due to the dominant proportion of carrier density involved with the gas absorption.
A comprehensive model of process variability for statistical timing optimization

As technologies scale, the impact of process variations to circuit performance and power consumption is increasingly significant. In order to improve the efficiency of statistical circuit optimization, a better understanding of the relationship between circuit variability and process variation is needed. Our work proposes a hierarchical variability model, which addresses both systematic and random variations at wafer, field, die, and device level, and spatial correlation artifacts are captured implicitly. Finally, layout dependent effects are incorporated as an additive component. The model is verified by applying to 90nm ring oscillator measurement data and can be used for variability prediction and optimization.
Attention Spans of Children for Experimentally Designed Toys

(1955). Attention Spans of Children for Experimentally Designed Toys. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Vol. 87, No. 2, pp. 187-201.
ABSORPTION AND EXCRETION OF MERCURY IN MAN. VII. SIGNIFICANCE OF MERCURY IN BLOOD.

A literature review is presented of mercury in the blood of humans. New findings are described on various aspects of human exposure to mercury. From these findings, the only conclusions that can be drawn are that as a group exposed persons will have more mercury in their blood than unexposed persons, and that some unexposed individuals may have more than some who are exposed. Selected data are presented illustrating mercury blood levels in relation to exposure. Studies on the relationship of mercury in blood and urine indicate that a statistically significant correlation is shown between blood and urine on a group basis. There is no evidence, in these groups, that analysis of blood for mercury yields information of greater significance than that found in studying the urine. The results of studies on mercury in blood and duration of exposure indicate that there is no evidence of accumulation of mercury in the blood with prolongation of exposure. This does not rule out the possibility of a build-up of mercury in the body.
Acyl-CoA Synthetase 1 Is Induced by Gram-negative Bacteria and Lipopolysaccharide and Is Required for Phospholipid Turnover in Stimulated Macrophages

The enzyme acyl-CoA synthetase 1 (ACSL1) is induced by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and PPARγ in insulin target tissues, such as skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, and plays an important role in β-oxidation in these tissues. In macrophages, however, ACSL1 mediates inflammatory effects without significant effects on β-oxidation. Thus, the function of ACSL1 varies in different tissues. We therefore investigated the signals and signal transduction pathways resulting in ACSL1 induction in macrophages as well as the consequences of ACSL1 deficiency for phospholipid turnover in LPS-activated macrophages. LPS, Gram-negative bacteria, IFN-γ, and TNFα all induce ACSL1 expression in macrophages, whereas PPAR agonists do not. LPS-induced ACSL1 expression is dependent on Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its adaptor protein TRIF (Toll-like receptor adaptor molecule 1) but does not require the MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88) arm of TLR4 signaling; nor does it require STAT1 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 1) for maximal induction. Furthermore, ACSL1 deletion attenuates phospholipid turnover in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Thus, the regulation and biological function of ACSL1 in macrophages differ markedly from that in insulin target tissues. These results suggest that ACSL1 may have an important role in the innate immune response. Further, these findings illustrate an interesting paradigm in which the same enzyme, ACSL1, confers distinct biological effects in different cell types, and these disparate functions are paralleled by differences in the pathways that regulate its expression.
Kinetic study of the gas-phase reaction of OH with Br2.

An experimental, temperature-dependent kinetic study of the gas-phase reaction of the hydroxyl radical with molecular bromine (reaction 1) has been performed by using a pulsed laser photolysis/pulsed-laser-induced fluorescence technique over a wide temperature range of 297−766 K, and at pressures between 6.68 and 40.29 kPa of helium. The experimental rate coefficients for reaction 1 demonstrate no correlation with pressure and exhibit a negative temperature dependence with a slight negative curvature in the Arrhenius plot. A nonlinear least-squares fit with two floating parameters of the temperature-dependent k1(T) data set using an equation of the form k1(T) = ATn yields the recommended expression k1(T) = (1.85 × 10-9)T-0.66 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 for the temperature dependence of the reaction 1 rate coefficient. The potential energy surface (PES) of reaction 1 was investigated with use of quantum chemistry methods. The reaction proceeds through formation of a weakly bound OH···Br2 complex and a PES saddle p...
Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) Alters Cerebral Vasoreactivity to Endothelin-1 (Et-1) Administration

Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) Alters Cerebral Vasoreactivity to Endothelin-1 (Et-1) Administration
Source identification of PCBs in sediments from the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary, USA

This work focuses on the determination of PCB source profiles and their contributions to sediments in the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary by a principal component analysis (PCA) model. The model was recently developed and, for the first time, applied to apportion pollutant sources in sediments. Factor loadings and scores were computed, rotated via nonnegative constraints, and matched with candidate Aroclor profiles. Contamination by Aroclors 1016, 1242, 1254, and 1260 were identified for cores VC 6, 9, and 12 based on a log Q2 criterion. The majority of PCB contribution was from a combination of Aroclors 1016 and 1242. Similarity between Aroclors 1016 and 1242 obscured resolution between the two profiles. Results from a chemical mass balance (CMB) model with known Aroclor profiles were in good agreement with the prediction from the PCA model.
A Comparison of Accuracy Rates Between Open Biopsy, Cutting‐Needle Biopsy, and Fine‐Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Breast: A 3‐Year Experience

: The diagnostic accuracy of excisional biopsy is used as the “gold standard” for the diagnosis of breast nodules. In comparison studies involving the diagnostic accuracies of fine-needle aspiration cytology and cutting needle biopsy, the accuracy rate of open biopsy is often assumed to be 100%. While diagnostic accuracy rates are well reported for fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and large-gauge core needle biopsy, little data has been published documenting the accuracy of excisional biopsy. Hence, valid comparisons of relative diagnostic precision between the techniques are difficult to achieve. We report our experience with the sensitivity and specificity of open biopsy, cutting-needle biopsy and fine-needle aspiration biopsy over a three-year period. Between January 1992 and December 1994, histologic specimens from 412 open breast biopsies, and 17 non image guided Tru-cut® biopsies of palpable breast nodules were reviewed. These cases had either histologic follow-up (n= 388) or at least 2 years clinical follow-up (n= 25). Similarly, 450 FNAs were performed of which 215 had histologic study or cytologic follow-up. Within the 388 open biopsies with histologic follow-up, two false-negatives (sensitivity 99%) and one false-positive (specificity 99.5%) were detected based on subsequent biopsies or review of the initial material. No erroneous diagnoses were found in the 25 patients having only clinical follow-up. Among the 17 cutting needle-biopsies, two false-negatives (sensitivity 85%) were detected; no false-positives occurred (specificity 100%). One false-positive and five false-negatives were detected on follow-up of the 215 FNAs. This yielded a sensitivity of 96.2% and a specificity of 99.6%. Fine-needle aspiration compares favorably with both of these techniques, being inferior to open biopsy but of greater accuracy than cutting needle biopsy. These results demonstrate that care must be taken in using the histopathologic findings of open biopsy as the standard with which other methods of diagnosis are compared.
3D Quantitative Imaging of Unprocessed Live Tissue Reveals Epithelial Defense against Bacterial Adhesion and Subsequent Traversal Requires MyD88

While a plethora of in vivo models exist for studying infectious disease and its resolution, few enable factors involved in the maintenance of health to be studied in situ. This is due in part to a paucity of tools for studying subtleties of bacterial-host interactions at a cellular level within live organs or tissues, requiring investigators to rely on overt outcomes (e.g. pathology) in their research. Here, a suite of imaging technologies were combined to enable 3D and temporal subcellular localization and quantification of bacterial distribution within the murine cornea without the need for tissue processing or dissection. These methods were then used to demonstrate the importance of MyD88, a central adaptor protein for Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) mediated signaling, in protecting a multilayered epithelium against both adhesion and traversal by the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa ex vivo and in vivo.
ESR studies of carbonization and coalification processes part I: Carbonaceous compounds

A rapid and reliable experimental technique developed through the years has been used for a comparative study of the appearance and subsequent decay of stable radicals in carbonization process. A number of simple compounds and other carbonaceous materials were submitted to heat treatment and their ESR investigated in the range 400 to 1000°C. All materials show surprising similarities in behavior, the spin concentration reaching a maximum of (1.8 ±1.0) × 1020spin/gm at HTT of 680 to 750°C, with the exception of PVDC for which HTTmax = 500°C. Studies of the kinetics of formation and destruction of the C radicals (time-temperature relationship) lead to the conclusion that both the formation and the subsequent mutual annihilation of radicals by fusion represent an essential step in a local transformation of the semiconductive molecular solid into a conductive carbon. The formation of these large radical structures of not less than about 60 carbon atoms each starts to occur at similar stages of molecular condensation irrespective of the chemical composition of the starting material.
Electrophysiological Mapping of Cat Primary Auditory Cortex with Multielectrode Arrays

The present study employs simultaneous multielectrode recording techniques to study the feline primary auditory cortex (AI) to characterize its functional architecture. High electrode-count microelectrode arrays provide a high spatial and temporal view of AI, but at the potential cost of significant cortical insult. However, the number of electrodes that record single- and multiunit action potentials shown in this study suggest that the implantation of high electrode-count microelectrode arrays allows for reliable recordings from the cortex and that the neurons abutting the electrode tips appear to be spared from significant insult. Using these recordings, we have constructed a functional model of AI that best specifies the distribution of characteristic frequencies (CF's), and have reaffirmed that CF is logarithmically distributed across the cortical surface with a principal CF axis perpendicular to generally straight isofrequency contours. In four cats, we found that the average CF gradient was 0.53 ± 0.08 octave per millimeter. This study demonstrates the use of high electrode count, microelectrode array recordings in characterizing the spatial distribution of acoustic information in the feline AI.
Total synthesis of (±)-pulo'upone

Abstract The first total synthesis of the Hawaiian mollusk metabolite pulo'upone (2) has been achieved, wherein a novel retro hetero Diels-Alder/intramolecular Diels-Alder tandem process established the trans -fused hydrindene nucleus.
Mysteries of the yeast

Abstract Yeasts in Natural and Artificial Habitats edited by J.F.T. Spencer and D.M. Spencer Springer-Verlag, 1997. DM198.00 hbk (viii+381 pages) ISBN 3 540 56820 4
Green's function theory of the surface properties of II–VI compounds†

Abstract Surface electronic properties of the II–VI semiconducting compound CdTe are calculated using the Green's function method of Kalkstein and Soven. Calculations carried out for the (100) surface indicate the existence of a surface state in the band gap even for the plain, unreconstructed surface. Surface perturbations alter the postion and strength of the surface state.
Formation of a silicon layer by electroreduction of SiO2 nanoparticles in CaCl2 molten salt

Abstract We observe the electrochemical formation of a silicon layer on a molybdenum (Mo) electrode at 850 °C in a CaCl2 melt containing silicon oxide (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs). A stable electrochemical cell for high temperature molten salt was fabricated from a sealed quartz tube, with a glassy carbon counter electrode and a Ca/Ca2+ dynamic reference electrode. When SiO2 NPs are added into the CaCl2 melt, the reduction current and the generation of a new redox couple relating to the reduced silicon were observed in a cyclic voltammogram at Mo. Spectroscopic analyses confirmed the formation of a silicon layer from the reduction of SiO2 NPs. Although the deposit was not continuous, XPS shows that it is silicon of good purity and XRD shows the pattern of crystalline silicon. We also investigated the dissolved silicon species generated after the oxidation of electrodeposited silicon in CaCl2 melt, which produces a redox couple at potentials positive of the deposition potential. We tentatively attribute it to the oxidation and re-reduction of an insoluble Si–Cl surface species.
Termination of messenger RNA translation in a temperature-sensitive mutant of Escherichia coli☆

Abstract A temperature-sensitive mutant of Escherichia, coli K12 is defective in a previously uncharacterized component essential for protein synthesis. The lesion in the mutant is expressed in vivo at 36 °C as the appearance of the capacity to suppress UAA and UGA nonsense mutations, and in cell-free extracts as the temperature-sensitive capacity to release newly formed R17 phage coat protein from the ribosome. 70 s ribosomes from extracts of the mutant are unable to participate in any R17 RNA-directed protein synthesis whereas the native subunits have limited polymerization activity at 43 °C. A non-ribosomal component (designated Z factor) which rescues the protein-synthesizing activity of the mutant crude extract has been partially purified from a parental strain. Z factor is shown to be distinct from G and T translocation factors. Evidence is also presented which indicates that Z factor is not one of the initiation factors, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, the release factor R 2 , or the S factor. The inference presented is that the mutant is defective in a previously uncharacterized activity which is essential for completion of messenger RNA translation during or subsequent to recognition of the signal for polypeptide chain termination.
Meredith Minkler and Carroll L. Estes (eds.). Critical Perspectives on Aging: The Political and Moral Economy of Growing Old . Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing, 1991, pp. 362.

Ce livre off re un cadre pour l'etude des relations entre les institutions sociales, politiques et economiques qui creent collectivement le contexte dans lequel le processus de vieillissement se deroule. Il aborde en outre la question des obligations morales, des responsabilites collectives et des principes de justice sociale qui forment la facon dont lespersonnes âgees sont traitees dans un milieu social particulier. Afin d'atteindre ces buts, le livre vise trois objectifs: (1) elargir l'application de l'economiepolitique au vieillissement; (2) etendre et perfectionner les concepts de base de cette perspective en gerontologie; (3) developper l'approche de l'economie morale, approche qui met en lumiere les croyances culturelles et les valeurs sous-tendant les politiques et programmes sociaux touchant les personnes âgees. Dans l'ensemble, les principales contributions de cet ouvrage sont les suivantes: (1) mettre en lumiere l'importance de comprendre le contexte social et historique dans lequel le vieillissement est vecu par chaque personne; (2) attirer l'attention sur signification fondamentale de la capacite a definir l'experience personnelle du vieillissement et a determiner la facon dont les personnes âgees sont percues par la societe; et (3) creer la base d'une gerontologie comparative afin d'analyser comment les differences au sein des societes peuvent avoir une incidence importante sur la facon dont le vieillissement est defini, vecu et compris.