cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What will a partly protective malaria vaccine mean to mothers in Africa

An effective vaccine would have tremendous benefit for the estimated 3 billion people living at risk of malaria. In todays Lancet John Aponte and colleagues report that the candidate malaria vaccine RTSS/AS02D is safe immunogenic and partly protective against infection in an infant population. The primary endpoint was safety. Efficacy against infection a secondary endpoint was assessed during a 3-month follow-up after the last dose of vaccine. Apontes report represents the next step in the systematic clinical evaluation of this recombinant protein vaccine with adjuvant which started more than 15 years ago and has included studies in adults in the USA and in The Gambia in children aged 1-4 years in Mozambique and now in infants in Mozambique. The teams that began working on this vaccine and its forerunners in the mid-1980s and brought the vaccine to this point in development deserve our praise and respect for their dedication perseverance and accomplishments. (excerpt)
A SIMS And IR Study Of Hydrogen Motion And Relaxation Processes In rf Sputtered a-Si:H and a-Ge:H

The motion of hydrogen and deuterium in undoped multilayers of rf sputter deposited a-Si:H, was recently studied by IR absorption and SIMS profiling of the annealed films. It was shown that in films containing significant SiH 2 and SiH 3 bonding configurations, as determined by IR absorption spectra and usually associated with microvoids, the connected network providing the H diffusion path is disrupted below the percolation threshold. Measurements of the index of refraction of these films were shown to be indeed consistent with this assignment of SiH2 and SiH3 configurations. In films containing essentially only isolated monohydride type bonding, the smearing of the interfaces exhibited a power law time dependence of the diffusion constant, D ∝ t -∝ . Yet the value of ∝, 0.75±0.1, is considerably higher than that found by Kakalios, Street, and coworkers on p- and n-doped a-Si:H films deposited by rf glow discharge decomposition of silane and correlated with electronic transport decay processes. The results thus introduce a complicating factor in the suggested correlation between the hydrogen motion and the formation and annealing of light induced defects which degrade the photoconductivity of these films. The diffusion in a-Ge:H appears to be qualitatively similar, but considerably faster. Yet annealing processes in a-Ge:H apparently introduce additional complicating factors which may be related to the poor device quality of a-Ge:H based alloys.
Use of microbial risk assessment in setting US drinking water standards

The paper outlines the U.S. EPA's general strategy for using microbial risk assessment to support the development of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. It discusses specifically the use of such risk assessment in the development of upcoming regulations for disinfection of groundwater and for control of disinfectants and their chemical byproducts, and possible amendments to the current Surface Water Treatment Rule.
The LLNL flash x-ray induction linear accelerator (FXR)

The FXR is an induction linear accelerator used for high-speed radiography at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Experimental Test Site. It was designed specifically for the radiography of very thick explosive objects. Since its completion in 1982, it has been very actively used for a large variety of explosives tests, and has been periodically upgraded to achieve higher performance. Upgrades have addressed machine reliability, radiographic sensitivity and resolution, two-frame imaging by double pulsing -- improvements that are described in detail in the paper. At the same time, the facility in which it was installed has also been extensively upgraded, first by adding space for optical and interferometric diagnostics, and more recently by adding a containment chamber to prevent the environmental dispersal of hazardous and radioactive materials. The containment addition also further expands space for new non-radiographic diagnostics. The new Contained Firing Facility is still in the process of activation. At the same time, FXR is continuing to undergo modifications aimed primarily at further increasing radiographic resolution and sensitivity, and at improving double-pulsed performance.
New vistas in the nuclear shell model

Abstract The general problems and goals of modern shell-model calculations are briefly reviewed. They are illustrated by the application to three questions current interest. (1) How is the angular momentum in a nucleus distributed between the orbital and the intrinsic spin degrees of freedom? (2) What are the orbital occupations and spacial extent of the neutrons in nuclei near the neutron drip line? and (3) Can we understand two-neutrino double beta decay in nuclei?
Adaptable digital delta-sigma modulator for multiband frequency synthesizer

In this paper, we propose an adaptable-order single-loop digital DeltaSigma modulator which offers flexible noise shaping performance to maximize hardware sharing and power efficiency in multi-band frequency synthesizer applications. The proposed architecture utilizes feedback coefficients that allow computationally efficient digital implementation and also yield good noise shaping. Fixed-magnitude quantizer dithering is employed to eliminate idle channel tones and also to suppress in-band noise more efficiently than input dithering structures. MATLAB simulation was carried out. Finally, the proposed architecture was implemented and verified in an FPGA device.
Buried refractive microlenses formed by selective oxidation of AlGaAs

The authors demonstrate a novel method of fabricating buried refractive microlenses formed by selective oxidation of AlGaAs epitaxial layers on a GaAs substrate. By appropriate tailoring of the Al mole fraction in the vertical direction, a lens-shaped oxidation shape was achieved. Performance of the microlenses formed in this way was experimentally evaluated at 980 nm, and modelled theoretically.
Hormonal modulation in the treatment of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women worldwide. It is estimated that 207,090 women were diagnosed with and 39,840 women died of breast cancer in 2010. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data predict that 12% of women born today, or 1 in 8 women, will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Long-term survival rates are closely linked to breast cancer stage at presentation. Sixty percent of women are diagnosed when the cancer is confined to the breast (without lymph node involvement), and these women have an excellent 5-year relative survival of 98%. Thirty-three percent of women with breast cancer present with disease that has spread to local/regional lymph nodes and for this group, 5-year relative survival is 83.6 %. Only 5% of women with breast cancer present with initial metastatic disease, and for this population 5-year relative survival is only 23.4% and close to none are cured of the cancer. 1 Breast cancer can metastasize many years after the initial diagnosis and treatment. Thus, the 5-year relative survival statistics omit recurrences that occur after 5 years, which is more common in women treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, trastuzumab, or hormonal modulation than in most other cancers. Furthermore, most of these relapses are outside the breast, leading to incurable stage IV disease. Despite recent advances in breast cancer therapy and earlier diagnosis with screening, 24% to 30%
Development of a force field for molecular simulation of the phase equilibria of perfluoromethylpropyl ether

A first step towards the development of a general, realistic potential model for perfluoroether compounds has been to parameterize a united atom model for a short chain perfluoroether perfluoromethylpropyl ether (CF3CF2CF2OCF3). The potential model takes the usual form in which separate bond bending and torsional terms describe the intramolecular interactions with the addition of van der Waals and electrostatic terms to describe the non-bonded interactions. Ab initio quantum calculations have been carried out to obtain the partial charges and intramolecular torsional and bending potentials. Phase equilibrium data were then used to optimize the van der Waals interaction parameters through Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. The resulting model reproduces vapour-liquid equilibrium densities, the critical temperature and the critical density of perfluoromethylpropyl ether, in good agreement with those from experiment.
Detection and quantification of heteroplasmic mutant mitochondrial DNA by real-time amplification refractory mutation system quantitative PCR analysis: a single-step approach.

Background: The A3243G mitochondrial tRNA leu(UUR) point mutation causes mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome, the most common mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disorder, and is also found in patients with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness syndrome (MIDD). To correlate disease manifestation with mutation loads, it is necessary to measure the percentage of the A3243G mtDNA mutation. Methods: To reliably quantify low proportions of the mutant mtDNA, we developed a real-time amplification refractory mutation system quantitative PCR (ARMS-qPCR) assay. We validated the method with experimental samples containing known proportions of mutant A3243G mtDNA generated by mixing known amounts of cloned plasmid DNA containing either the wild-type or the mutant sequences. Results: A correlation coefficient of 0.9995 between the expected and observed values for the proportions of mutant A3243G in the experimental samples was found. Evaluation of a total of 36 patient DNA samples demonstrated consistent results between PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and real-time ARMS-qPCR. However, the latter method was much more sensitive for detecting low percentages of mutant heteroplasmy. Three samples contained allele-specific oligonucleotide-detectable but RFLP-undetectable mutations. Conclusions: The real-time ARMS-qPCR method provides rapid, reliable, one-step quantitative detection of heteroplasmic mutant mtDNA.
The economics of small-scale rabbit production

Diversification into alternative enterprises appears to be gaining in popularity and economic importance as a way to supplement family income and to provide alternative sources of high-quality food. However, potential rabbit producers lack information about investment requirements and production and marketing costs. The objective of this study was to determine the most profitable operation of small-scale rabbit production by estimating the costs and returns, net present values, and payback periods of two rabbit production systems. Despite a difference in the net income generated, a cash surplus occurred for both systems at the end of the third year. This surplus was the return to land, family labor, and management. Thus, rabbit enterprises may provide economic opportunities for farm families who have limited land and capital.
Determinants of heart rate variability in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome during wakefulness and sleep

Heart rate variability (HRV) is mediated by at least three primary mechanisms: 1) vagal feedback from pulmonary stretch receptors (PSR), 2) central medullary coupling between respiratory and cardio...
Stability and equilibria of promiscuous aggregates in high protein milieus.

At micromolar concentrations, many molecules form aggregates in aqueous solution. In this form, they inhibit enzymes non-specifically leading to false positive “hits” in enzyme assays, especially when screened in high-throughput. This inhibition can be attenuated by bovine serum albumin (BSA); the mechanism of this effect is not understood. Here we present evidence that BSA, lysozyme, and trypsin prevent inhibition when incubated at milligram per millilitre concentrations with aggregates prior to the addition of the monitored enzyme. These solutions still contained aggregates by dynamic light scattering (DLS), suggesting that inhibition is prevented by saturating the aggregate, rather than disrupting it. For most combinations of aggregate and protein, inhibition was not reversed if the competing protein was added after the incubation of aggregates with the monitored enzyme. In the one exception where modest reversal was observed, DLS and flow cytometry indicated that the effect was due to the disruption of aggregates. These results suggest that aggregate-bound enzyme is not in dynamic equilibrium with free enzyme and that bound enzyme cannot be displaced by a competing protein. To further test this hypothesis, we incubated aggregate-bound enzyme with a specific, irreversible inhibitor and then disrupted the aggregates with detergent. Most enzyme activity was restored on aggregate disruption, indicating no modification by the irreversible inhibitor. These results suggest that enzyme is bound to aggregate so tightly as to prevent any noticeable dissociation and that furthermore, aggregates are stable at physiologically relevant concentrations of protein.
Uniaxial compression in carbon fiber-reinforced cement, sensed by electrical resistivity measurement in longitudinal and transverse directions

Uniaxial compression of carbon fiber-reinforced cement pastes in the elastic regime caused reversible decreases in both longitudinal and transverse electrical resistivities. In contrast, uniaxial tension had been previously reported to cause reversible increases in both resistivities. The fractional change in resistivity per unit strain is higher in magnitude for carbon fiber silica fume cement paste than carbon fiber latex cement paste.
Early gray-matter and white-matter concentration in infancy predict later language skills: a whole brain voxel-based morphometry study.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain scans were obtained from 19 infants at 7 months. Expressive and receptive language performance was assessed at 12 months. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) identified brain regions where gray-matter and white-matter concentrations at 7 months correlated significantly with children’s language scores at 12 months. Early gray-matter concentration in the right cerebellum, early white-matter concentration in the right cerebellum, and early white-matter concentration in the left posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC)/cerebral peduncle were positively and strongly associated with infants’ receptive language ability at 12 months. Early gray-matter concentration in the right hippocampus was positively and strongly correlated with infants’ expressive language ability at 12 months. Our results suggest that the cerebellum, PLIC/cerebral peduncle, and the hippocampus may be associated with early language development. Potential links between these structural predictors and infants’ linguistic functions are discussed.
Centralized Lightwave Radio-over-Fiber System with High-Frequency Optical Millimeter-Wave Generation by Low-Frequency and Low-Bandwidth Optical and Electrical Sources

We have proposed a novel radio-over-fiber (ROF) architecture to reduce the system cost at both central office (CO) and base station (US). In this architecture, by incorporating the proper DC bias and optical filtering techniques in CO, the optical millimeter-wave (mm-wave) carriers are generated with four times frequency of the local oscillator (LO) signal. The BS is simplified by using the separated optical carrier along with downlink mm-wave signals to carry the upstream data.
Muslim education in the 21st century: Asian perspectives

In the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on the United States, there was a blizzard of research on the culture and politics of Islamic education. Much of the subsequent literature was preoccu...
Vault Nanoparticles Packaged with Enzymes as an Efficient Pollutant Biodegradation Technology

Vault nanoparticles packaged with enzymes were synthesized as agents for efficiently degrading environmental contaminants. Enzymatic biodegradation is an attractive technology for in situ cleanup of contaminated environments because enzyme-catalyzed reactions are not constrained by nutrient requirements for microbial growth and often have higher biodegradation rates. However, the limited stability of extracellular enzymes remains a major challenge for practical applications. Encapsulation is a recognized method to enhance enzymatic stability, but it can increase substrate diffusion resistance, lower catalytic rates, and increase the apparent half-saturation constants. Here, we report an effective approach for boosting enzymatic stability by single-step packaging into vault nanoparticles. With hollow core structures, assembled vault nanoparticles can simultaneously contain multiple enzymes. Manganese peroxidase (MnP), which is widely used in biodegradation of organic contaminants, was chosen as a model enzyme in the present study. MnP was incorporated into vaults via fusion to a packaging domain called INT, which strongly interacts with vaults' interior surface. MnP fused to INT and vaults packaged with the MnP-INT fusion protein maintained peroxidase activity. Furthermore, MnP-INT packaged in vaults displayed stability significantly higher than that of free MnP-INT, with slightly increased Km value. Additionally, vault-packaged MnP-INT exhibited 3 times higher phenol biodegradation in 24 h than did unpackaged MnP-INT. These results indicate that the packaging of MnP enzymes in vault nanoparticles extends their stability without compromising catalytic activity. This research will serve as the foundation for the development of efficient and sustainable vault-based bioremediation approaches for removing multiple contaminants from drinking water and groundwater.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The 2003 Nobel Prize in Medicine went to Paul Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield for the invention of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the 1970s. Since its invention MRI has rapidly changed the world of medicine; there are currently more than 20,000 MRI scanners in the world and many millions of images are generated by them each year. In the early 1990s, Ogawa et al. (1992), Belliveau et al. (1991) and Kwong et al. (1992) showed that MRI could be used for the detection of brain function.
Evil, wrongdoing, and concept distinctness

Philosophers theorizing about ‘evil’ usually distinguish evil actions from acts of ordinary wrongdoing. They either attempt to isolate some quality or set of qualities shared by all evil actions that is not found in other wrongful actions, or they concede that their account of evil is only distinguished by capturing the very worst acts on the scale of moral wrongness. The idea that evil is qualitatively distinct from wrongdoing has recently been under contention. We explore the grounds for this contention, and argue that there is a third option that might be useful for a variety of philosophical accounts of evil. The alternate form of distinctness we propose is called quality of emphasis distinctness (QE distinctness). We illustrate this form of concept distinctness with a modified version of Hillel Steiner’s account of evil. We then explain how QE distinctness could also be applied to more complex theories of evil, such as the theories proposed by Claudia Card, John Kekes, and Todd Calder.
Developmental States and the Legal Order: Towards a New Political Economy of Development and Law

The emergence of "new developmental states" has important implications for law. The term "developmental state" was used to describe the role of the state in the development of Latin America and Asia. In both regions states played an active role in stimulating and directing economic growth. These policies fell out of fashion during the hegemony of neo-liberalism and the "Washington consensus" Today, however, new practices and new theories of development are emerging and some countries are returning to a more active role in promoting both growth and equity. These new developmental states are experimenting with new modes of legal action. This paper looks at recent theoretical work on the political economy of development, showing that these new developments require a rethinking of the role of law in development; outlines some of the new legal and governance processes and practices that are emerging, and discusses what would be needed construct a robust theory of the role of law in a new developmental state.
Morphologic Features of the "Athlete's Heart" in Children: A Contemporary Review

Recognizing the cardiac features of athletically trained children bears importance for health care providers and exercise physiologists alike. This literature review reveals that ventricular enlargement and/or hypertrophy are commonly observed in studies of pre- and early-adolescent endurance athletes, yet the magnitude of these features is less than that described in adult athletes. Moreover, the upper range of values in child athletes is sufficiently small that clinical confusion with findings mimicking those in individuals with heart disease should not be expected to occur. In contrast to sex differences in the "athlete's heart" in adults, cardiac structural findings in child athletes are similar in males and females. The extent that cardiac features observed in trained child athletes reflect a response to training or are influenced by genetic preselection remains uncertain.
Risk of intracranial hemorrhage and cerebrovascular accidents in non-small cell lung cancer brain metastasis patients

7671 Background: Brain metastases confer significant morbidity and a poorer survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted antiangiogenic therapies (AAT...
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study of membrane fouling characterization at a conductive sub-stoichiometric TiO2 reactive electrochemical membrane: Transmission line model development

Abstract This work presents a non-invasive and non-destructive electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method for studying membrane fouling at a sub-stoichiometric TiO 2 reactive electrochemical membrane (REM). An asymmetric, ceramic, ultrafiltration REM is studied through EIS simulations, that are based on a mathematical transmission line model (TLM). The TLM is developed to interpret EIS data and is shown to be sensitive to fouling at multiple interfaces of the REM (outer surface, active and support layers). Mathematical interpretation of penetration depth of the alternating voltage signal allows a determination of the characteristic frequencies associated with different layers of the membrane. The simulation results of membrane fouling mechanisms, such as monolayer adsorption and pore constriction at either active or support layer, and intermediate pore blockage at the outer surface produce distinguishable EIS spectra. Simulation results suggest that interpreting EIS spectra by the TLM is a useful technique for spatially characterizing membrane fouling and determining prevalent fouling mechanisms at a conductive membrane surface.
Introduction: Making the Southern Margin of Laurentia

Continental crust is very long-lived but continents themselves are ephemeral. Earth9s inventory of continental crust changes slowly but how this material is partitioned into separate aggregations is always changing. We call these distinct aggregations of buoyant, felsic crust "continents" and now there are 6 of them: North America, South America, Antarctica, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. There are many smaller minicontinents like Arabia, Madagascar, and Greenland. From the human perspective, these names have great significance as the sites of our nations, civilizations, and cultures, but the names of continents are not useful in the long run because continents gain and lose mass, such that over time their sizes and shapes change greatly. Heraclitus noted that you cannot step twice into the same river, for new waters are ever flowing around you. In this sense, a continent is like a river, forever changing. This themed issue of Geosphere, "Making the Southern Margin of Laurentia," looks at how the margins of part of our continent were shaped.
Exit, voice, constrained loyalty, and entrapment: migrant farmworkers and the expression of discontent on New York dairy farms

AbstractThis paper analyzes how undocumented migrant farmworkers on New York dairies respond to workplace grievances. In the absence of meaningful recourse to formal labor protections, undocumented Mexican and Guatemalan farmworkers express their dissatisfaction on a moral terrain. Building on Hirschman’s “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” framework, I argue that their responses reveal a gradation of agency, from entrapment on farms with unsupportive employers, constrained loyalty to paternalistic farmers, exit from farms and the dairy sector, to the private and public use of voice. Immigration enforcement pressures, farmer paternalism, and transnational economic obligations to their families at home limit the use of exit and voice. Nevertheless, some farmworkers are re-scaling their use of voice beyond the farm, calling on the public and policy-makers to implement systemic changes that improve their precarious conditions of work and life.
Stigma Vitality of Four CMS Lines of Glutinous Sorghum

The intensity and duration of stigma vitality in sorghum CMS line is the main factor infl uencing the sorghum seeds production. To fi nd out characteristics of glutinous sorghum CMS lines, the stigma vitality of four glutinous sorghum CMS lines was studied. The results showed that within 6 d after fl owering, the stigma vitality of the four CMS lines was all strong, which can reach more than 80.0% of the pollination rate; 7 d after fl owering, the stigma vitality of 45A and 18A fell sharply, while L407A and 3268A had no signifi cant changes. The stigma vitality of L407A and 3268A was stronger than 45A and 18A, which can maintain more than 60.0% of the pollination rate until the 11th days after fl owering. The stigma vitality of the four CMS lines can remained more than 13 d, and the duration ranged from long to short as 3268A, L407A, 45A, 18A. The stigma viability was different among CMS lines, indicating that there is a certain relationship between the stigma viability and genetic characteristics of materials.
Comparison of Foliar Insecticide Alternatives for Control of Lepidopterous Larvae in Head Lettuce, 2014

The objective of this trial was to compare the efficacy of foliar insecticide alternatives currently used in conventional lettuce production under fall growing conditions. Head lettuce “El Guapo” was direct seeded into double row beds on 42-inch centers on 6 Sep 2014. Plots were two beds wide by 40 ft long and bordered by two untreated beds. Stand establishment was achieved using overhead sprinkler irrigation, and irrigated with furrow irrigation thereafter. Four replications of each treatment were arranged in a RCB design. Formulations and rates for each compound are provided in the tables. Three foliar sprays were applied on 5, 17 Oct, and 12 Nov with a CO2 …
Osmoregulation of GPC:choline phosphodiesterase in MDCK cells: different effects of urea and NaCl

The organic osmolyte, glycerophosphocholine (GPC), accumulates in renal cells in response to high concentrations of either NaCl or urea, despite the very different effects of these solutes on cell ...
Variation of within‐crop microhabitat use by Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in blackberry

Drosophila suzukii Matsumara (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive vinegar fly that infests ripe and ripening soft skinned fruits. In the south-eastern United States, blackberry (Rubus spp.) crops are heavily impacted by D. suzukii, and current management tactics rely on the use of broad-spectrum insecticides targeted to adult populations. An improved understanding of D. suzukii biology and ecology are necessary to create sustainable management options. Knowledge of how D. suzukii interacts with resources will enable targeted management actions in the future. In this present study, we monitored larval infestation throughout the blackberry canopy and found that infestation was highest in the inner portion of the canopy and lower in more exposed locations. We also documented higher humidity within the cane canopy relative to the edge of the field. A difference in abiotic conditions may create within-crop microhabitats that D. suzukii is able to exploit. Future research will explore how to take advantage of these microhabitats in pest management programs.
The stuff irony is made of: Translators as scholars

Though barely known in the United States, Achille Campanile (1900-19 77) is considered one of Italy ’s major humorists of the twentieth century. In one of his most memorable short pieces entitled “La lettera di Ramesse” (Campanile, 1984), Campanile takes his cue from the traditional comedy of errors and gives it an original twist by setting it in ancient Egypt and creating a series of misunderstandings of a love letter written in hieroglyphics. He then tops it off by introducing a renowned scholar who, centuries later, discovers the message and publishes it in a highly acclaimed translation which, ironically, is yet another misinterpretation. This paper examines “Ramses's Letter” as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on interpretation and translation, a translation where subjectivity and desire prevail over content. It also discusses how, by rising to the empyrean of scholars, the translator becomes the target of the same irony that Campanile directs against all men of letters, and against writers in particular. Finally, since “Ramses ’s Letter” has never been available to an English-language audience, the paper features my own translation of the piece and a brief examination of the challenges I faced in approaching the ironical aspects of this text.
In Vitro Dissolution of Infection-Induced Urinary Calculi

Urologic G solution and Renacidin are the two agents commonly used in dissolving infection-induced calculi. Kinetic studies comparing the relative effectiveness of the two solutions are lacking. Acetylcysteine has been shown to be effective in the dissolution of uric acid and cystine calculi. Its potential use in the dissolution of infection-induced calculi is unknown. We have studied the in vitro dissolution of infection-induced calculi using the above three solutions.
In-place Repair for Resistive Memories Utilizing Complementary Resistive Switches

Recent advances in resistive memory technologies have demonstrated their potential to serve as next generation random access memories (RAM) which are fast, low-power, ultra-dense, and nonvolatile. However, owing to their stochastic filamentary nature, several sources of hard errors exist that could affect the lifetime of a resistive RAM (ReRAM).In this paper, we propose a novel mechanism to protect resistive memories against hard errors through the exploitation of a unique feature of bipolar resistive memory elements. Our solution proposes an unorthodox use of complementary resistive switches (a particular implementation of resistive memory elements) to provide an "in-place spare" for each memory cell at negligible extra cost. The in-place spares are then utilized by our repair scheme to extend the lifetime of a resistive memory. Our repair scheme detects data errors during regular memory accesses and triggers repair using the in-place spares at a page-level granularity. We show that in-place spares can be used along with other memory reliability and yield enhancement solutions, such as error correction codes (ECC) and spare rows.We develop a statistical model to evaluate our method's effectiveness on extending ReRAM's lifetime. Our analysis shows that the in-place spare scheme can roughly double the lifetime of a ReRAM system. Alternatively, our method can yield the same lifetime as a baseline ReRAM, with either significantly fewer spare rows or a lighter-weight ECC, both of which can save on energy consumption and area.
The Red Atlantic: Travelling Debates

By applying the concept of the “Red Atlantic,” partially inspired by that of “the Black Atlantic,” the chapter shows how the mobility and interchange between Europeans and the indigenous populations of the Americas is a quintessential example of “traveling theory.” It discusses diverse cultural and historical materials telling of the transnational flow of ideas around the figure of the Indian and the multifaceted encounters among various linguistic/cultural zones. It is suggested that the dialogue between European and indigenous thought has become part of such varied progressive causes as Jacobin and socialist revolutions, confederation and the separation of powers, class, gender and sexual equality, communal property, ecology, jouissance, anti-productivism, and alter-globalization.
Linoleic Acid: A Nutritional Quandary

Over the course of the twentieth century, there was a 20-fold increase in consumption of vegetable oils resulting both from their increased availability and from recommendations to consume these oils as an aid to lower blood cholesterol levels. This dietary change markedly increased the consumption of linoleic acid to current levels of approximately 6% of total dietary energy. While considerable research has focused on the effects of dietary linoleic acid on cardiovascular health, questions about optimum dietary levels remain. For example, meta-analyses disagree about the role of dietary linoleic acid in atherosclerosis, and recent publications indicate that linoleic acid’s reduction of blood cholesterol levels does not predict its effect on the development of atherosclerosis. Further, there are also detrimental effects of elevated dietary linoleic acid on human health related to its role in inflammation and its activity as a promoter of cancer in animals. Current data do not allow determination of the level of dietary linoleic acid needed for optimum health. Studies of the effects of a wide range of linoleic acid consumption may help determine dietary recommendations that are optimal for human health.
The effect of celebrity health disclosures on demand for health care: Trends in BRCA testing in 2013 and subsequent health services use.

e13106Background: Celebrity health disclosures through the media increase awareness of important health issues and may increase health services use. In May 2013 an internationally-renowned celebrit...
Incumbency Surge: Examining the 1996 Margin of Victory for U.S. House Incumbents

In 1996, the American public reelected 357 members to the United States House of Representatives; of those running for reelection, 95% succeeded. Several congressmen received a large margin of victory over their political opponents, similar to election results of the past. Trends in American politics have been the overwhelming reelection rates of House incumbents as well as large margins of victory over challengers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing incumbents’ margin of victory in the 1996 Congressional elections. This article is available in Res Publica Journal of Undergraduate Research: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/respublica/vol2/iss1/7
The Elusiveness of Equity: Evolution of Instructional Rounds in a Superintendents Network

The practice of instructional rounds is a recent innovation in educational administration, intended to support administrators’ understanding of instruction through the development of common language. This longitudinal study examines the rounds practice of a network of superintendents over 6 years to understand how rounds serves as a vehicle for addressing inequities in students’ educational experiences. Using Scott’s concept of normative, regulative, and cultural-cognitive pillars, we investigate the practice to see how the network addressed issues of equity in 21 visits. Findings demonstrate that increased attention to equity in the protocol and visit expectations resulted in increased attention to equity. However, conversations manifested three patterns that functioned to curtail a focus on equity: understating race, the “culture of nice,” and following the protocol. We conclude with implications for how rounds can be structured to bring equity into sustained focus, with an understanding of regulative, ...
TCT-592 Primary Left Ventricular Unloading Infarct Size by Increasing Myocardial Levels of Stromal Derived Factor One Alpha (SDF1a) in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Stromal derived factor 1 alpha (SDF1a) is a constitutively expressed cardioprotective chemokine that is rapidly degraded by proteases. We reported that compared to Primary Reperfusion (PR), first reducing myocardial demand by activating a trans-valvular pump while delaying coronary reperfusion (
Comparing Moral Education Models at a Military Academy in Taiwan

This study compared the effects of three education models, namely, the bag-of-virtues (BV), values clarification (VC), and virtue ethics (VE) models, through qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the quantitative study (Study 1), a between-subjects design was adopted in sampling 120 freshman cadets from a Taiwanese military academy. For the qualitative study (Study 2), focus group interviews were conducted with 10 freshman cadets. The results show that the VC model was the most effective among the three moral education models, followed by the VE and BV models.
Inflammation arising from obesity reduces taste bud abundance and inhibits renewal.

Despite evidence that the ability to taste is weakened by obesity and can be rescued with weight loss intervention, few studies have investigated the molecular effects of obesity on the taste system. Taste bud cells undergo continual turnover even in adulthood, exhibiting an average life span of only a few weeks, tightly controlled by a balance of proliferation and cell death. Recent data reveal that an acute inflammation event can alter this balance. We demonstrate that chronic low-grade inflammation brought on by obesity reduces the number of taste buds in gustatory tissues of mice—and is likely the cause of taste dysfunction seen in obese populations—by upsetting this balance of renewal and cell death.
Simulating the Fidelity of Data for Large Stimulus Set Sizes and Variable Dimension Estimation in Multidimensional Scaling

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a statistical technique commonly used to model the psychological similarity among sets of stimulus items. Typically, MDS has been used with relatively small stimul...
Radiative Processes in Discharge Plasmas: Questions and Issues

When a gas is heated to a sufficiently high temperature, it becomes ionized; when the ion density is high enough to ensure approximate neutrality, the ionized gas is called a plasma. In addition to electrons and ions, a plasma may be composed of atomic and molecular species in various states of excitation. Excited atoms and molecules are continually produced by collisions with other particles and by absorption of photons, and continually destroyed by collisions with other particles and by emission of photons. Depending on the spatial extent of the plasma and the density of photon-absorbing species, the average photon may be emitted and absorbed many times before reaching the edge of the plasma. In some applications, such as a fusion plasma escaping photons represent an energy sink which cools the plasma, perhaps preventing the proper fusion temperature from being reached. In other applications, such as the plasma of a discharge light source, photons escaping in the wavelength range detectable by the human eye, i.e., between 400 and 700 nm, are not only desirable, but are necessary for proper functioning of the light source. In either case, fundamental understanding of photon emission, migration, and absorption processes in plasmas is indispensable to the researcher. By charter, this Advanced Study Institute is devoted to the study of radiation from discharge plasmas.
Renal vasodilatory influence of endogenous carbon monoxide in chronically hypoxic rats

Chronic hypoxia (CH) attenuates systemic vasoconstriction to a variety of agonists in conscious rats. Recent evidence suggests that similarly diminished responses to vasoconstrictors in aortic ring...
Harnessing the power of mobile technology to bridge the digital divide: a look at U.S. cities’ mobile government capability

As more U.S. citizens utilize mobile capabilities, mobile government is increasingly seen as a way for cities to provide government services and opportunities for citizen participation. M-governmen...
Hyperacusis and social media trends

Purpose: In recent years, social media has taken on a new role of helping spread awareness about numerous health conditions, including hyperacusis. Individuals with hyperacusis, which is an atypica...
The aeroponic rhizosphere microbiome: community dynamics in early succession suggest strong selectional forces.

In the last decade there has been increased interest in the manipulation of rhizosphere microbial communities in soilless systems (hydroponics) through the addition of plant growth promoting microbes (PGPMs) to increase plant nutrition, lower plant stress response, and control pathogens. This method of crop management requires documenting patterns in communities living in plant roots throughout the growing season to inform decisions on timing of application and composition of the supplemental PGPM consortium. As a contribution to this effort, we measured changes in the bacterial community through early succession (first 26 days) in plant root biofilms growing in an indoor commercial aeroponic system where roots were sprayed with a mist of nutrient-amended water. By 12 days following seed germination, a root-associated community had established that was distinct from the source communities found circulating in the system. Successional patterns in the community over the following 2 weeks (12–26 days) included changes in abundance of bacterial groups that have been documented in published literature as able to utilize plant root exudates, release plant hormones, or augment nutrient availability. Six bacterial families/genera (Hydrogenophilaceae, Rhizobium, Legionellaceae, Methylophilus, Massilia, or Herbaspirillum) were the most abundant in each root sample, comprising 8–37% of the microbiome. Given the absence of soil-associated microbial communities in hydroponic systems, they provide an ideal design for isolating plant–microbial interactions and identifying key components possibly contributing to plant health.
Surface-potential-based compact model of dynamically depleted SOI MOSFETs

The transition between the partial depletion (PD) and full depletion (FD) modes of operation is encountered in modern SOI MOSFET with the reduced silicon film thickness. This effect is referred to as dynamic depletion (DD) operation and needs to be included in advanced SOI MOSFET models. The feasibility of developing the surface-potential-based model of SOI MOSFET operating in the DD regime has been demonstrated in [1]. In the present work we develop complete DD SOI MOSFET model based on the industry standard bulk MOSFET model PSP [2] and the equations for the inversion charge originally developed for the thin-film transistor [3]. From a more general point of view, this development adopts the symmetric linearization method [2] to the DD SOI operation while retaining the highly developed description of the small geometry effects in the PSP models of bulk and PD SOI devices [2], [4]. The new model is verified using TCAD simulations of DD SOI devices.
Chapter 4 – Autoimmune Hepatitis

This chapter describes perturbations in the signaling, apoptotic, and regulatory pathways within the innate and adaptive immune systems that favor the development of autoimmune hepatitis. Molecular mimicry, neoantigens, epitope spread, and promiscuous targeting by activated lymphocytes are discussed, and the genetic predispositions implicated in the occurrence and severity of autoimmune hepatitis are presented. Cytokine pathways that support a proinflammatory response and the chemokines that influence the trafficking of immune cells are reviewed. Receptor-mediated and mitochondrial-induced apoptosis are identified as principal mechanisms of hepatocyte loss, and apoptotic bodies that are incorporated into self-amplification loops strengthen the adaptive immune response, activate hepatic stellate cells, and increase the production of reactive oxygen species. Dendritic cells, natural killer cells, natural killer T lymphocytes, gamma delta lymphocytes, and regulatory T lymphocytes are identified as key cell mediators, and the pathogenic mechanisms are interwoven into a counter-regulatory network that affords opportunities for site-specific therapeutic interventions.
Computational Assessment of Thermokinetics and Associated Microstructural Evolution in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Manufacturing of Ti6Al4V Alloy.

Although most of the near non-equilibrium microstructures of alloys produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing (AM) are being reported at a rapid rate, the accountable thermokinetics of the entire process have rarely been studied. In order to exploit the versatility of this AM process for the desired properties of built material, it is crucial to understand the thermokinetics associated with the process. In light of this, a three-dimensional thermokinetic model based on the finite element method was developed to correlate with the microstructure evolved in additively manufactured Ti6Al4V alloy. The computational model yielded the thermal patterns experienced at given location while building a single layer through multiple laser scans and a whole part through multiple layers above it. X-ray analysis of the resultant microstructure confirmed the presence of acicular martensitic (α′) phase of (002) texture within the build-plane. Computationally predicted magnitude of the thermal gradients within the additively manufactured Ti6Al4V alloy in different directions (X, Y, and Z) facilitated the understanding about the evolution of grain morphology and orientation of acicular martensite in prior β grains. The scanning electron microscopy observations of the alloy revealed the distinct morphology of phase precipitated within the martensitic phase, whose existence was, in turn, understood through predicted thermal history.
Perspective by incongruity: Law and rhetoric in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission was decided on the narrow ground that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated the First Amendment’s Free...
Development of a limited-water soaking method on the fortification of rice with calcium and iron by parboiling

Abstract Fortifying rice using parboiling has been shown to have a higher retention rate of nutrients and acceptable sensory characteristics. However, the conventional soaking step employs excess water and therefore generates large amounts of wastewater containing nutrients that, when discarded without treatment, can lead to nutrient overload in soil. A limited-water soaking method to fortify rice with calcium and iron by parboiling was developed and evaluated. Fortified rice quality attributes, mineral contents, the amount of wastewater, total solids in wastewater, washing-retention and bioavailability of calcium and iron were determined and compared with properties of rice that was fortified in excess-water soaking. The limited-water soaking method on average reduced the amount of effluent by 89% and the amount of total solids in wastewater by up to 85%. Rice fortified by the limited-water soaking method showed similar color and head rice yield, and slightly lower mineral uptakes compared to conventional soaking. Rice fortified simultaneously with calcium and iron in limited-water soaking contained about 999 mg Ca and 33 mg Fe per kg milled rice, and approximately 66% of calcium and 71% of iron remained in the rice after simulated washing. Calcium and iron dilute HCl-solubility was not affected by the soaking condition. Therefore, the limited-water soaking method can reduce the cost of fortification and wastewater treatment without affecting rice quality attributes.