cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Productivity by Continuously Improving Standard Compact Models

The design of an integrated circuit requires the efforts of a large number of people with a wide range of skills. The compact model is a communication tool by which the designer of transistors, resistors and other circuit elements tells the designer of circuits how the circuit elements behave. Without this information the circuit design would be a trial and error process and modern electronics would be impossible. High quality, industry standard compact models enhance the productivity of the industry by enabling precise communication between any device design team, and any circuit design team, anywhere in the world. To be useful for leading edge design the compact model must keep up with the pace of semiconductor technology innovation. This is the great challenge for the Compact Model Council. It is only possible because the CMC creates collaboration between academics, semiconductor foundries, EDA vendors and circuit designers.
Experimental study of vapor bubbles in small-sized channels.

Abstract This paper investigates the effect of evaporation on the shape of liquid/vapor interfaces in small-scale systems. Vapor bubbles are generated due to localized heating in a small-sized channel (with an inner dimension of 3 × 3 × 200 mm ) filled with pentane, for which heat fluxes and temperature distributions are simultaneously measured. The length of the resulting vapor bubble is studied as a function of the power input and heater temperature, and is found to be not only repeatable but nonhysteretic. The bubble length depends nearly linearly on the power input, in qualitative agreement with an approximate theory of Ajaev and Homsy [V.S. Ajaev, G.M. Homsy, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 244 (2001) 180]. In addition, it is found that vapor bubbles oscillate very slowly due to the effect of thermal relaxation.
Determination of the general equation of the gear efficiency of planetary gear trains

On the basis of defining the general equation of torque of a planetary differential gear train, the general equation of the gear efficiency has been derived. Then, the general equation of the gear efficiency has been applied on a new automatic planetary gear transmissions as numerical examples.
Age-specific Regulation of Drug-processing Genes in Mouse Liver by Ligands of Xenobiotic-sensing Transcription Factors

The xenobiotic-sensing transcription factors (xeno-sensors) AhR, CAR, and PXR upregulate the expression of many drug-processing genes (DPGs) in liver. Previous studies have unveiled profound changes in the basal expression of DPGs during development; however, knowledge on the ontogeny of the inducibility of DPGs in response to pharmacological activation of xeno-sensors is still limited. The goal of this study was to investigate the age-specific regulation of DPGs by prototypical xeno-sensor ligands: 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) for AhR; 1,4-bis [2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)] benzene (TCPOBOP) for CAR; and pregnane-16α-carbonitrile (PCN) for PXR during mouse liver development. The basal mRNAs of most DPGs were low during neonatal age, but gradually increased to adult levels, whereas some DPGs (Cyp1a2, Cyp2b10, Cyp3a11, Gstm2, Gstm3, Papss2, and Oatp1a4) exhibited an adolescent-predominant expression pattern. The inducibility of DPGs was age-specific: 1) during neonatal age, the highest fold increase in the mRNA expression was observed for Cyp1a2, Sult5a1, and Ugt1a9 by TCDD; Cyp3a11 and Mrp2 by TCPOBOP; as well as Gstm2 and Gstm3 by PCN; 2) during adolescent age, the highest fold increase in the mRNA expression was observed for Ugt1a6 and Mrp4 by TCDD, Cyp2b10, Ugt2b34, and Ugt2b35 by TCPOBOP, as well as Gsta1, Gsta4, Sult1e1, Ugt1a1, Mrp3, and Mrp4 by PCN; 3) in adults, the highest fold increase in the mRNA expression was observed for Aldh1a1, Aldh1a7, and Ugt2b36 by TCPOBOP, as well as Papss2 and Oatp1a4 by PCN. In conclusion, the inducibility of hepatic DPGs following the pharmacological activation of xeno-sensors is age specific.
Efficient and scalable aggregate signcryption scheme based on multi-trapdoor hash functions

Secure communication in computer network systems, like clouds, requires mechanisms that, at the very least, provide confidentiality, integrity and authentication. Signcryption is one such mechanism to simultaneously provide all three features by producing encrypted and digitally signed messages using a logically single operation that is more efficient than the cumulative cost of encrypting and signing. To further improve scalability and efficiency when multiple communicating parties are involved, individual signcryptext can be aggregated into a single aggregate signcryptext. Aggregation of signcryptexts provides significant savings in bandwidth, since the resulting aggregate signcryptext is typically shorter that the combined signcryptexts, and savings in computation since unsigncryption of the aggregate signcryptext typically requires fewer operations that unsigncrypting individual signcryptexts. Unfortunately, most existing schemes do not scale well in terms of bandwidth with increasing number of entities, or signcrypters, that are generating the signcryptions . This paper introduces the first aggregate signcryption scheme in literature that produces constant-sized signcryptexts regardless of the number of signcrypters. The scheme is built using the recently proposed concept of multi-trapdoor hash functions that allows multiple entities to compute a collision with a given hash value, and decomposable encryption that allows compressing ciphertexts in a manner that allows efficient retrieval of each individual plaintext. We also provide a high-level correctness, security and performance evaluation of the proposed scheme. The security of the proposed scheme is based on the well know discrete log and decisional Diffie-Hellman assumptions, and the performance compares favorably to all other existing schemes.
Algal Systems for Hydrogen Photoproduction

Subtask 1 (Hydrogenase Function and Molecular Engineering): • Apply different mutagenesis techniques to generate O2-tolerant algal hydrogenases. • Select transformants that express recombinant hydrogenases and study their H2-production capability in the presence of varying amounts of added O2. • Genetically combine the O2-tolerance phenotype with truncated antenna (UC Berkeley) and proton channel (ORNL) mutants.
Preparation of Physical Therapists to Work with Handicapped Infants and Their Families: Current Status and Training Needs

The purposes of this study were to determine the current status of physical therapists' preparation to work with handicapped and at-risk infants and their families and to identify needs for infant- and family-focused training materials and curricula. Results of a telephone survey of 73 physical therapy programs and a follow-up mail survey of 14 physical therapy programs with infancy specialization options are presented. Students in entry-level programs and postprofessional master's degree programs with infancy specializations commonly received instruction in infancy-related topics. Many students received minimal or no exposure to family-related content. Family assessment and intervention were identified as the areas of highest priority for development of training materials and curricula. The results of this study provide direction for the design of infant- and family-focused training materials and curricula in physical therapy.
Fetal sheep adrenal blood flow responses to hypoxemia after splanchnicotomy using fluorescent microspheres

Buchwalder, Lynn F., Michelle Lin, Thomas J. McDonald, and Peter W. Nathanielsz. Fetal sheep adrenal blood flow responses to hypoxemia after splanchnicotomy using fluorescent microspheres.J. Appl. ...
Imputing Genotypes in Biallelic Populations from Low-Coverage Sequence Data

Low-coverage next-generation sequencing methodologies are routinely employed to genotype large populations. Missing data in these populations manifest both as missing markers and markers with incomplete allele recovery. False homozygous calls at heterozygous sites resulting from incomplete allele recovery confound many existing imputation algorithms. These types of systematic errors can be minimized by incorporating depth-of-sequencing read coverage into the imputation algorithm. Accordingly, we developed Low-Coverage Biallelic Impute (LB-Impute) to resolve missing data issues. LB-Impute uses a hidden Markov model that incorporates marker read coverage to determine variable emission probabilities. Robust, highly accurate imputation results were reliably obtained with LB-Impute, even at extremely low (<1×) average per-marker coverage. This finding will have implications for the design of genotype imputation algorithms in the future. LB-Impute is publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/dellaporta-laboratory/LB-Impute.
Using the activity model of inquiry to develop undergraduate students' views of the scientific inquiry process

The Activity Model of Inquiry (Harwood, 2004) is a theoretically-grounded and empirically-derived model of scientific inquiry. This research examines how undergraduate students' views of scientific inquiry shift after introduction of the Activity Model of Inquiry in a general chemistry course. Students are asked to respond to essay prompts and a pre- and post-questionnaire. Preliminary findings show shifts from a naive view to a more informed view of nature of scientific inquiry for some students.
Discontinuous Yield Behaviors Under Various Pre-Strain Conditions in Metals with Different Crystal Structures

Instrumented indentation was performed to determine the statistics of discontinuous yield behavior of Co and Ni pre-strained to various levels. In both materials, increasing pre-strain decreases the frequency of indentations that exhibit discontinuous yield. Yield events in Co occurred at nominally the same stress independent of pre-strain, suggesting dislocation nucleation dominates during contact loading and that the existing dislocations are strongly pinned in Co. However, in Ni yield occurred at lower loads with increasing pre-strain, suggesting that dislocation activation, rather than true nucleation, dominates the yield mechanism.
The U.S. media's slant

(1986). The U.S. media's slant. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 42, Chernobyl: The Emerging Story, pp. 54-56.
Evaluation of Syncope in an Emergency Department

The cause of syncope and diagnostic workup of 226 consecutive pediatric patients presenting at the emergency department were evaluated at the University of Liege, Belgium.
Impact of dialysis requirement on outcomes in tumor lysis syndrome.

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a life threatening emergency due to destruction and massive release of intracellular metabolites from cancer cells often resulting in acute kidney injury (AKI), sometimes severe enough to require dialysis (AKI-D). The impact of dialysis requirement in AKI has not been explored. We utilized data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, diagnoses codes for TLS, AKI and dialysis, evaluated the incidence, risk factors and impact of AKI-D on mortality, adverse discharge and length of stay (LOS). Survey multivariable logistic regression was used to compute adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR and 95% confidence intervals (CI). An estimated 12% (2,919) of all TLS hospitalizations (n = 22 875) develop AK-D. After adjustment for confounders, AKI-D was associated with greater odds of mortality (aOR 1.98; (95% CI 1.60-2.45)), adverse discharge (aOR 1.63 (95% CI 1.19-2.24)) and longer LOS (19 vs 14.6 days; P < 0.01) compared with those without AKI-D. Further studies to evaluate the association of AKI-D on long-term outcomes in patients with TLS are needed.
Study on the Feasibility of Wide Usage of PSS in Multi-Machine Power System

American Western System Coordinating Council(WSCC) and IEEE have suggested that Power System Stabilizer(PSS) should be widely used.In China,many PSS have already been used in the inter-connected grid.However,the feasibility of wide usage of PSS hasn’t been proved in theory,as PSS may introduce some negative damping.This paper indicates that PSS mainly transfers the damping from non-electromechanical mode to the electromechanical mode.And one generator’s PSS mainly enhances the electro-mechanical mode’s damping associated tightly with the generator,while introducing very little positive or negative damping to the electromechanical mode associated weakly with the generator.The positive effect of PSS’s wide usage is more than the negative effect.As a result,wide usage of PSS is feasible.
Optimal reliability based design for water distribution systems

The methodology presented in this paper explicitly includes availability measures that incorporate both mechanical and hydraulic unavailability of system components for a dynamic system. The methodology incorporates availability measures in the optimal design model WADSOPT developed by Lansey and Mays (1987) to produce a new model WSAVOPT, which determines optimal-reliable designs.
Cases of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis occurring in nonendemic areas: a diagnostic dilemma.

BACKGROUND Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (TTB) has been rapidly increasing in incidence since the beginning of the 21st century. Asymptomatic individuals with Babesia infection are able to donate blood in the United States because of the lack of specific blood donation testing. Blood products collected in Babesia-endemic areas are distributed nationally; thus, clinicians in nonendemic states may fail to include babesiosis in the differential diagnosis of a patient who had a recent transfusion history and a fever of unknown origin. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS We report the details of two cases of clinical transfusion-transmitted babesiosis and one asymptomatic infection identified in red blood cell recipients in two nonendemic states (South Carolina and Maryland), which, when combined with three recent additional cases in nonendemic states, totals six recipient infections in three nonendemic states. RESULTS Delayed diagnosis of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis places patients at risk for increased morbidity and mortality and may result in clinical mismanagement or unnecessary treatments. A peripheral blood smear should be reviewed in any patient with a recent transfusion and a fever of unknown origin. Prompt communication of the diagnosis among physicians is key to ensuring that patients with transfusion-transmitted babesiosis are treated expeditiously, and a transfusion service investigation is necessary to identify additional recipients from the same donor. CONCLUSION TTB is appearing in traditionally nonendemic states because of blood product distribution patterns. Clinicians should include TTB on the differential diagnosis in any patient presenting who had a recent transfusion history and a fever of unknown origin, regardless of where the transfusion took place.
Abstract2401: Comparison of Cervical Esophagus Dose-Volumes With Three Radiotherapy Techniques for Head and Neck Cancer

Purpose: This study compares the radiation dose-volume of the cervical esophagus during head and neck radiotherapy using three different techniques. Methods: Treatment plans of 58 patients from 3/04 to 1/06 treated with bilateral head and neck radiotherapy were analyzed retrospectively. A comparison of the cervical esophagus dose with three-field 3D conformal RT (3DRT, n = 34), whole-field IMRT (WF-IMRT, n = 12), and half-beam IMRT (HB-IMRT, n = 12) was performed. The volumes of esophagus receiving P50 Gy (V50), P54 Gy (V54) and P60 Gy (V60) and lengths receiving circumferential dose P50 Gy (L50) and P54 Gy (L54) were evaluated. Results: Maximum dose, V54 and L54 were greater for the first 2 cm and entire cervical esophagus with WF-IMRT than HB-IMRT or 3DRT. In patients requiring a high match, WF-IMRT was associated with a greater maximum dose, V54 and L54 than HB-IMRT and 3DRT (p < 0.05). In the low match group, WF-IMRT was associated with a greater V54 and L54 (p < 0.05). Low neck disease, low primary site, and definitive radiotherapy were associated with increased irradiation of the esophagus. Conclusion: Treatment of the lower neck with IMRT is associated with increased irradiation to the cervical esophagus, and dose constraints should be included to reduce toxicity. c 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Radiotherapy and Oncology 87 (2008) 274–280.
A Comparison of Staging Systems for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Multicenter US Cohort.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) staging guides patient prognosis and treatment allocation; however, there is no universally accepted staging system for HCC. The most widely endorsed staging system is the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system, which incorporates tumor burden, functional status, and liver function.1 We aimed to compare the discriminant ability of several staging systems for HCC in a geographically diverse multicenter United States (US) cohort.
Is symmetry of loading improved for injured runners during novice barefoot running

Abstract Background As barefoot (BF) running provides important sensory information that influence landing patterns, it may also affect loading symmetry. Research question The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether symmetry of loading in a group of injured runners would be improved in a novice, barefoot condition. Methods Cross-sectional design evaluating 67 injured RFS runners. Each subject ran on an instrumented treadmill, first with their habitual shod pattern and then in a BF condition with a FFS pattern, both at the same self-selected speed. Data were averaged over 10 footstrikes. Variables of interest included vertical average load rate, vertical instantaneous load rate, and resultant instantaneous load rate. Symmetry indices (SI) for full population and within quartiles were compared for each loadrate variable (P ≤ 0.05) to evaluate changes between conditions. Results On average, symmetry of loading was similar in a novice BF condition of injured runners compared with their habitual RFS shod condition. However, a subanalysis of quartiles revealed that the injured runners with the highest asymmetry (greatest SI values) displayed significantly lower asymmetry when running BF for all three loadrate measures. Significance The addition of sensory input during barefoot running only improves symmetry of loading when habitual loading is highly asymmetric.
Implications of Steady-State Operation on Divertor Design

As fusion experiments progress towards long pulse or steady state operation, plasma facing components are undergoing a significant change in their design. This change represents the transition from inertially cooled pulsed systems to steady state designs of significant power handling capacity. A limited number of Plasma Facing Component (PFC) systems are in operation or planning to address this steady state challenge at low heat flux. However in most divertor designs components are required to operate at heat fluxes at 5 MW/m{sup 2} or above. The need for data in this area has resulted in a significant amount of thermal/hydraulic and thermal fatigue testing being done on prototypical elements. Short pulse design solutions are not adequate for longer pulse experiments and the areas of thermal design, structural design, material selection, maintainability, and lifetime prediction are undergoing significant changes. A prudent engineering approach will guide us through the transitional phase of divertor design to steady-state power plant components. This paper reviews the design implications in this transition to steady state machines and the status of the community efforts to meet evolving design requirements. 54 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.
MIR-17 similar to 92 promotes T follicular helper cell differentiation and represses subset-inappropriate gene expression

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are the prototypic T helper cell subset specialized to enable B cells to form germinal centers (GCs) and produce high affinity antibodies. Tfh cell differentiation begins very early in the immune response, coinciding with rapid proliferation that expands the pool of responding cells. Here we show that T cells lacking all microRNAs completely failed to differentiate into Tfh cells in vivo. MicroRNA-deficient T cells exhibited impaired proliferation as expected, but they also displayed an independent defect in the induction of the functionally critical Tfh cell proteins BCL6 and CXCR5. We found that the miR-17 ∼ 92 cluster was required for robust Tfh cell differentiation and function in a cell intrinsic manner that also occurred regardless of changes in proliferation. Conversely, miR-17 ∼ 92 overexpression in T cells promoted Tfh cell differentiation and GC B cell induction. Early in the response to protein antigen, these effects were partially dependent on altered expression of the miR-17 ∼ 92 target gene Pten , a known inhibitor of Tfh cell differentiation. In a viral infection model, Tfh cells depended on the miR-17 ∼ 92 cluster to restrain the expression of Tfh subset-inappropriate genes, including Ccr6, Il1r2, Il1r1, and the cytokine Il22. Conserved regions in the RAR-related orphan receptor alpha ( Rora ) 3’ UTR were directly targeted by all 4 miRNA families in the cluster. Genetically removing one Rora allele significantly rescued the inappropriate gene expression signature in miR-17 ∼ 92-deficient Tfh cells. Our results identify the miR-17 ∼ 92 cluster as a critical regulator of T cell-dependent antibody responses, Tfh cell differentiation, and the fidelity of the Tfh cell gene expression program.
Applications to Other Atoms

For atoms beyond hydrogen, there are no exact wave functions. Interelectronic relative coordinates provide very accurate variational wave functions for helium. Such coordinates cannot easily be used even for the three-electron continuum problem of electron-helium scattering, and they present great difficulties for heavier atoms. Some compromise must be made in the accuracy of representation of a complex target atom in order to make calculations of electron scattering feasible. Even for light atoms, most existing calculations have been limited to the Hartree-Fock approximation for target atom states, while the polarization response is represented at the level of first-order perturbation theory.
The impact of task and corpus on event extraction systems

The term event extraction covers a wide range of information extraction tasks, and methods developed and evaluated for one task may prove quite unsuitable for another. Understanding these task differences is essential to making broad progress in event extraction. We look back at the MUC and ACE tasks in terms of one characteristic, the breadth of the scenario ― how wide a range of information is subsumed in a single extraction task. We examine how this affects strategies for collecting information and methods for semi-supervised training of new extractors. We also consider the heterogeneity of corpora ― how varied the topics of documents in a corpus are. Extraction systems may be intended in principle for general news but are typically evaluated on topic-focused corpora, and this evaluation context may affect system design. As one case study, we examine the task of identifying physical attack events in news corpora, observing the effect on system performance of shifting from an attack-event-rich corpus to a more varied corpus and considering how the impact of this shift may be mitigated.
Dementia, Delirium, and Depression

Concern about an older adult’s cognitive function is common, so any clinician involved in the care of older adults needs to be familiar with conditions which can affect cognitive function. Dementia, delirium, and depression can all cause memory loss and confusion, and all three conditions have different presentations and treatments. This chapter reviews the etiology, clinical evaluation and treatment options for dementia, delirium and depression in geriatric patients, and the relationship of these conditions to urologic healthcare for older adults.
Comparison of the upper and lower airway microbiota in children with chronic lung diseases

Rationale The lower airway microbiota is important in normal immunological development and chronic lung diseases (CLDs). Young children cannot expectorate and because of the uncertainty whether upper airway samples reflect the lower airway microbiota, there have been few longitudinal paediatric studies to date. Objectives To assess whether throat swabs (TS) and cough swabs (CS) are representative of the lower airway microbiota. Methods TS, CS, bronchoalveolar lavage and bronchial brushings were prospectively collected from 49 children undergoing fibreoptic bronchoscopy for CLDs. Bacterial DNA was extracted and the 16S rRNA gene V4 region sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq. Results 5.97 million high quality reads were obtained from 168 samples (47 TS, 37 CS, 42 BALF and 42 bronchial brushings). CS sequenced poorly. At a community level, no difference in alpha diversity (richness, evenness or Shannon Diversity Index) was seen between lower airway samples and TS (P > 0.05). Less than 6.31% of beta diversity variation related to sampling method for TS (P = 0.001). Variation between pathologies and individual patients was greater (20%, 54% respectively P ≤ 0.001) than between TS and lower airway samples. There was strong correlation in the relative abundance of genera between samples (r = 0.78, P < 0.001). Similarity between upper and lower airway samples was observed to be less for individuals where one sample type was dominated by a single organism. Conclusions At the community structure level, TS correlate with lower airway samples and distinguish between different CLDs. TS may be a useful sample for the study of the differences in longitudinal changes in the respiratory microbiota between different CLDs. Differences are too great however for TS to be used for clinical decision making.
AI-15 Pathogenesis of lupus dermatitis: different skin-resident dendritic cell subsets exhibit different migration patterns, utilize different mechanisms of migration, and play different roles

Background Pathogenesis of lupus dermatitis is not clear. Skin contains two subsets of dendritic cells (DC) that express langerin: Langerhans cells (LC) reside in the epidermis; they induce tolerance to skin autoantigens in lupus-prone MRL-lpr and MRL+/+mice (King et al, 2015). Another subset resides in the dermis, langerin+ dermal DCs (LangdDC). Here, we examined: a) the migration pattern, b) mechanisms of migration, and c) the effect of modulating the migration and of depletion of these two skin-DC subsets in lupus dermatitis. Methods First, we tracked the in vivo migration of skin-DCs at the steady state using Langerin-driven eGFP knock-in mice as well as by applying fluorophores (FITC/TRITC) to the skin of MRL and control mice. Second, we treated MRL mice with glycolipid αGalCer that ameliorates lupus dermatitis and determined its effect on the migration of LC and LangdDC. Third, we investigated cellular and molecular mechanisms of skin-DC migration using knockout mice and blocking antibodies. Finally, we used diphtheria toxin receptor knock-in MRL mice to conditionally ablate LC and/or LangdDC, and determined disease scores. Results At the steady state, LCs were reduced, whereas Lang+dDCs were increased in the skin-draining lymph nodes of MRL-lpr and MRL+/+mice as compared to controls. In vivo tracking of cells using both eGFP knock-in mice and fluorophore application revealed a reduced migration of LCs but increased trafficking of LangdDCs to skin-draining lymph nodes in MRL mice. Such altered pattern of migration of these two skin-DCs was corrected by αGalCer treatment. However, αGalCer did not act on LCs through its well-known target iNKT cells but increased epidermal γδ T-cells that increased LC migration in vitro. The role of γδ T-cells in modulating LC migration was confirmed using knockout animals. CD40L deficiency or antibody blockade abrogated the ability of γδ T-cells to enhance LC migration. Finally, conditional ablation of LCs worsened lupus dermatitis; this effect was abrogated when both LCs and LangdDCs were ablated together. LC depletion or αGalCer treatment does not affect kidney or lung disease. Conclusions LCs migrate less, but LangdDCs migrate more, to skin-draining lymph nodes of MRL mice that also have less epidermal γδ T-cells that regulate LC migration via CD40-CD40L interaction. αGalCer that ameliorates dermatitis corrects these defects. Ablation studies suggest that LCs play a protective role, whereas LangdDC play a pathogenic role in lupus dermatitis. Thus, the two skin-DC subsets play opposite, balancing roles in the pathogenesis of lupus dermatitis.
Joint Beamforming and Echo Cancellation Combining QRD Based Multichannel AEC and MVDR for Reducing Noise and Non-Linear Echo

The problems of echo and noise contaminating a desired talker signal in a communication or an entertainment device are considered. In the following, we propose a combined method comprising a linear echo-canceller followed by a weighted minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer designed to reduce noise and echo residues. For the echo-canceller stage we use a fast-converging multichannel Q R decomposition (QRD)-recursive least squares (RLS) method. For the beamformer stage, we adopt and modify our recently proposed method of a fast-tracking QRD based MVDR beamformer [1]. We model that the residual echo is dominated by non-linearly distorted components which undergo the same echo paths as the non-distorted component. Thereby, the MVDR beamformer is designed to minimize a weighted sum of the powers of the noise and of the non-linear echo while maintaining the desired talker undistorted. The computational and memory complexities of the proposed algorithm are sufficiently low, making it appropriate for implementation in mobile devices. The performance of the proposed method is tested using real recordings from two commercial devices, a mobile-phone and a smart-speaker.
Staufen blocks autophagy in neurodegeneration

Abstract Response to cellular stress represents a highly conserved pathway in evolution. Cells respond to stress with modified synthesis of new proteins by the formation of stress granules (SGs), inhibition of translation initiation and by increased recycling of cellular components through autophagy. One of the master regulators of this response is the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase1,2. We recently reported that Staufen1 (STAU1), a stress granule protein, was overabundant in the rare neurodegenerative disorder SCA2 and provided a link between SG formation and autophagy3. In cells harboring mutant ATXN2, STAU1 could also be increased by bafilomycin A consistent with impaired autophagosome lysosome fusion3. Here we now examine this association and show the molecular mechanism leading to autophagic block in cells with microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT), presenilin 1 (PSEN1), huntingtin (HTT), TAR DNA-binding protein-43 gene (TARDBP) or C9orf72-SMCR8 complex subunit (C9orf72) mutations underlying a great number of neurodegenerative diseases4–8. We found that STAU1 overabundance was present in all cell lines and animal models tested, that it was post-translational, and that it was associated with an increase in phosphorylated mTOR (P-mTOR) and autophagic block. Exogenous expression of STAU1 in wild-type cells was sufficient to reduce autophagic flux by itself. Mechanistically, STAU1 directly interacted with the mTOR-5’UTR and enhanced mTOR translation. As STAU1 itself is degraded by autophagy, this interaction and the resulting autophagic block results in a maladaptive amplifying response to chronic stress. Targeting STAU1 by RNAi decreased mTOR hyperactivity and normalized mTOR downstream targets in dividing cells, post-mitotic neurons and animal models of SCA2 and ALS-TDP-43 or C9orf72 associated neurodegeneration. In summary, STAU1 is necessary and sufficient to mediate a maladaptive cellular stress response and is a novel target for RNAi-mediated treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
A multi-objective optimization model for decision support in water reclamation system planning

Abstract Water reclamation and reuse not only reduce the negative impacts of wastewater to the environment, but also provide an alternative to withdrawal from natural water resources, forming a closed-loop water supply chain. The design of such a supply chain requires an appropriate sustainability assessment, which simultaneously accounts for economic, environmental, and social dimensions. In this study, a multi-objective optimization model was developed to minimize the costs and carbon footprint (as an environmental indicator), and maximize the value of resource recovery (representing a social benefit) of the water reclamation systems by locating the treatment facility, allocating the treatment capacity, selecting the treatment technology, and allocating customers (final reclaimed water users). The optimizer CPLEX 12.7 was applied and the Triangle Splitting Method was used for the optimization algorithm. The expansion of a water reclamation system in Hillsborough County, Florida was evaluated to illustrate the use of the model. The impacts of population density and elevation variation in the water service area on the model outputs were also investigated. Although the centralization of treatment facilities takes advantage of the economies of scale, the results revealed that simultaneous consideration of economic and environmental indicators favored decentralization of treatment facilities in the study area. This was mainly due to the significant decrease in water transfer requirements, especially in less populous areas. Moreover, the results revealed that contribution of population density to the optimal degree of decentralization of treatment facilities was significant.
Diastolic Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Are Independently Associated With Mortality in Chronic Aortic Regurgitation

Abstract Background The prognostic significance of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and resting heart rate (RHR) in patients with hemodynamically significant aortic regurgitation (AR) is unknown. Objectives This study sought to investigate the association of DBP and RHR with all-cause mortality in patients with AR. Methods Consecutive patients with ≥ moderate to severe AR were retrospectively identified from 2006 to 2017. The association between all-cause mortality and routinely measured DBP and RHR was examined. Results Of 820 patients (age 59 ± 17 years; 82% men) followed for 5.5 ± 3.5 years, 104 died under medical management, and 400 underwent aortic valve surgery (AVS). Age, symptoms, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), LV end-systolic diameter-index (LVESDi), DBP, and RHR were univariable predictors of all-cause mortality (all p ≤ 0.002). When adjusted for demographics, comorbidities, and surgical triggers (symptoms, LVEF, and LVESDi), baseline DBP (adjusted-hazard ratio [HR]: 0.79 [95% confidence interval: 0.66 to 0.94] per 10 mm Hg increase, p = 0.009) and baseline RHR (adjusted HR: 1.23 [95% confidence interval: 1.03 to 1.45] per 10 beat per min [bpm] increase, p = 0.01) were independently associated with all-cause mortality. These associations persisted after adjustment for presence of hypertension, medications, time-dependent AVS, and using average DBP and RHR (all p ≤ 0.02). Compared with the general population, patients with AR exhibited excess mortality (relative risk of death >1), which rose steeply in inverse proportion (p nonlinearity = 0.002) to DBP starting at 70 mm Hg and peaking at 55 mm Hg and in direct proportion to RHR starting at 60 bpm. Conclusions In patients with chronic hemodynamically significant AR, routinely measured DBP and RHR demonstrate a robust association with all-cause death, independent of demographics, comorbidities, guideline-based surgical triggers, presence of hypertension, and use of medications. Therefore, DBP and RHR should be integrated into comprehensive clinical decision-making for these patients.
Impact of Social Vulnerability on COVID-19 Incidence and Outcomes in the United States

Importance Prior pandemics have disparately affected socially vulnerable communities. Whether regional variations in social vulnerability to disasters influence COVID-19 outcomes and incidence in the U.S. is unknown. Objective To examine the association of Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), a percentile-based measure of county-level social vulnerability to disasters, and its sub-components (socioeconomic status, household composition, minority status, and housing type/transportation accessibility) with the case fatality rate (CFR) and incidence of COVID-19. Design Ecological study of counties with at least 50 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 4th, 2020. Generalized linear mixed-effects models with state-level clustering were applied to estimate county-level associations of overall SVI and its sub-component scores with COVID-19 CFR (deaths/100 cases) and incidence (cases/1000 population), adjusting for population percentage aged >65 years, and for comorbidities using the average Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) score. Counties with high SVI (≥median) and high CFR (≥median) were identified. Setting Population-based study of U.S. county-level data. Participants U.S. counties with at least 50 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Main outcomes and measures COVID-19 CFR and incidence. Results Data from 433 counties including 283,256 cases and 6,644 deaths were analyzed. Median SVI was 0.46 [Range: 0.01-1.00], and median CFR and incidence were 1.9% [Range: 0-13.3] and 1.2 per 1000 people [Range: 0.6-38.8], respectively. Higher SVI, indicative of greater social vulnerability, was associated with higher CFR (RR: 1.19 [1.05, 1.34], p=0.005, per-1 unit increase), an association that strengthened after adjustment for age>65 years and comorbidities (RR: 1.63 [1.38, 1.91], p<0.001), and was further confirmed in a sensitivity analysis limited to six states with the highest testing levels. Although the association between overall SVI and COVID-19 incidence was not significant, the SVI sub-components of socioeconomic status and minority status were both predictors of higher incidence and CFR. A combination of high SVI (≥0.46) and high adjusted CFR (≥2.3%) was observed in 28.9% of counties. Conclusions and Relevance Social vulnerability is associated with higher COVID-19 case fatality. High social vulnerability and CFR coexist in more than 1 in 4 U.S. counties. These counties should be targeted by public policy interventions to help alleviate the pandemic burden on the most vulnerable population.
Assessment of skin disease in scleroderma: Practices and opinions of investigators studying scleroderma:

Background:The modified Rodnan skin score is a common primary outcome measurement tool in clinical trials of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). However, it is unknown how often physicians perform th...
Millimeter-wave microstrip integrated circuit transceiver packaging

There has been considerable progress 1n the development of millimeter-wave hybrid integrated circuits. In program applications where low-cost and high-volume producibility are the key factors, planar microstrip technology 1s the preferred approach. The design and packaging of three fully integrated microstrip FMCW transceivers operating at 35, 60, and 94 GHz are discussed, plus a discussion on a unique low-cost, low-mass packaging approach for millimeter-wave microstrip based systems.
Short-term overnutrition induces white adipose tissue insulin resistance through sn-1,2-diacylglycerol/PKCε/insulin receptor Thr1160 phosphorylation.

Insulin-mediated suppression of white adipose tissue (WAT) lipolysis is an important anabolic function that is dysregulated in states of overnutrition. However, the mechanism of short-term high-fat diet (HFD)-induced WAT insulin resistance is poorly understood. Based on our recent studies we hypothesize that a short-term HFD causes WAT insulin resistance through increases in plasma membrane (PM) sn-1,2-diacylglycerols (DAG), which promotes protein kinase C-e (PKCe) activation to impair insulin signaling by phosphorylating insulin receptor (Insr) Thr1160. To test this hypothesis, we assessed WAT insulin action in 7-day HFD-fed versus regular chow diet-fed rats during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. HFD feeding caused WAT insulin resistance, reflected by reductions in both insulin-mediated WAT glucose uptake and suppression of WAT lipolysis. These changes were specifically associated with increased PM sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) content, increased PKCe activation and impaired insulin-stimulated InsrY1162 phosphorylation. In order to examine the role of InsrT1160 phosphorylation in mediating lipid-induced WAT insulin resistance, we examined these same parameters in short-term HFD-fed InsrT1150A knockin mice (mouse homolog for human Thr1160). Similar to the rat study HFD feeding induced WAT insulin resistance in WT control mice but failed to induce WAT insulin resistance in InsrT1150A mice. Taken together these data demonstrate that the PM sn-1,2-DAG - PKCe - InsrT1160 phosphorylation pathway plays an important role in mediating lipid-induced WAT insulin resistance and represents a potential therapeutic target to improve insulin sensitivity in WAT.
The Erroneous Foundations of Law and Economics

The fundamental originating principle of law and economics (L&E) is that legal decisions should be (and are) based on maximizing efficiency. But L&E proponents do not define 'efficiency' in the way agreed to by most economists, as Pareto Efficiency. A Pareto optimal condition is obtained when no one can be made better off without making someone worse off. Pareto Improvements are win-win changes where no losers exist. In the judicial system, however, there are always winners and losers, because under Article III § 2 of the Constitution a legal case does not exist unless there is a justiciable 'case or controversy' in need of resolution. Unable to use Pareto Efficiency, L&E scholars have been forced to adopt alternative definitions of efficiency. Most L&E scholars claim to define 'efficiency' based on the work of Kaldor and Hicks, but (perhaps unwittingly) instead use a definition of 'efficiency' derived from the 19th century idea of consumer surplus, which encompasses L&E notions such as 'wealth maximization,' and 'consumer welfare' in antitrust. Neither of these alternative definitions is viable, however. Outside of L&E, the Kaldor-Hicks approach has long been recognized to be riddled with logical inconsistencies and ethical failures, and the surplus approach is even more deficient. Remarkably, virtually none of the numerous L&E textbooks even hint at such problems. Critically, all definitions of efficiency improvements in economics are biased in favor of wealthy individuals or firms, either because they are dependent on the status quo ante distribution of assets, or because they bestow large advantages on parties with political influence or who can afford to bring lawsuits quickly. Many L&E practitioners treat efficiency improvements instead as being objectively good, an error revealing that L&E is primarily motivated by its neoliberal policy agenda.
Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma presenting as laryngotracheal invasive squamous cell carcinoma: A report of two cases and review of the literature

Abstract Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC), one of the most aggressive subtypes of thyroid cancer, is composed of undifferentiated thyroid follicular cells demonstrating ultrastructural or immunohistochemical features of epithelial differentiation. Frequently, these tumors can be shown to have originated from papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). ATC exists on a morphologic spectrum composed of three main patterns: spindle cell (sarcomatoid), giant cell, and epithelial (squamous) components. Here we discuss two cases in which patients presented with upper airway symptoms and subsequently, a laryngotracheal lesion was detected by imaging studies and bronchoscopy. In each case, biopsies taken from these lesions showed invasive squamous cell carcinoma; however, both patients had previously undergone total thyroidectomy for PTC, and immunohistochemical studies revealed that the biopsied tumor cells were of thyroid origin. Furthermore, the cells harbored the BRAFV600E mutation, suggesting anaplastic transformation from PTC. Invasion into the larynx or trachea is a known complication of aggressive forms of thyroid cancer. However, laryngotracheal presentation of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma with squamous differentiation can easily be misdiagnosed as a primary squamous cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical studies for thyroid lineage markers (e.g. PAX8) as well as squamous markers (e.g. p40, p63) should be performed, and if there is a known history of PTC, mutation analysis for BRAFV600E can support the diagnosis via molecular testing or immunohistochemistry.
Stable Radial Basis Function Selection via Mixture Modelling of the Sample Path

We consider a fully Bayesian treatment of radial basis function regression, and propose a solution to the the instability of basis selection. Indeed, when bases are selected solely according to the magnitude of their posterior inclusion probabilities, it is often the case that many bases in the same neighborhood end up getting selected leading to redundancy and ultimately inaccuracy of the representation. In this paper, we propose a straightforward solution to the problem based on post-processing the sample path yielded by the model space search technique. Specifically, we perform an a posteriori model-based clustering of the sample path via a mixture of Gaussians, and then select the points closer to the means of the Gaussians. Our solution is found to be more stable and yields a better performance on simulated and real tasks.
Writer Identification: Statistical Analysis and Dichotomizer

This paper is to determine the statistical validity of individuality in handwriting based on measurement of features, quantification and statistical analysis. In classification problems such as writer, face, finger print or speaker identification, the number of classes is very large or unspecified. To establish the inherent distinctness of the classes, i.e., validate individuality, we transform the many class problem into a dichotomy by using a "distance" between two samples of the same class and those of two different classes. A measure of confidence is associated with individuality. Using ten feature distance values, we trained an artificial neural network and obtained 97% overall correctness. In this experiment, 1,000 people provided three sample handwritings.
Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research

Ethical issues that develop in biomedical engineering are outlined with focus on biomedical research. Issues including research misconduct, conflict of interest, the development of new products, animal experimentation, and clinical trials are presented, with particular focus on stem cell research and nanotechnology. The fundamentals of research ethics are also addressed. Difficulties potentially faced by biomedical engineers are addressed, with the medical point of view contrasted to the engineering point of view. Recommendations for teaching ethics to biomedical engineers and for teaching research ethics are presented. Keywords: ethics; research; research misconduct; nanotechnology; stem cell; teaching ethics; conflict of interest; animal experimentation; clinical trials; research ethics