cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
First-order quasilinear canonical representation of the characteristic formulation of the Einstein equations

We prescribe a choice of 18 variables in all that casts the equations of the fully nonlinear characteristic formulation of general relativity in first--order quasi-linear canonical form. At the analytical level, a formulation of this type allows us to make concrete statements about existence of solutions. In addition, it offers concrete advantages for numerical applications as it now becomes possible to incorporate advanced numerical techniques for first order systems, which had thus far not been applicable to the characteristic problem of the Einstein equations, as well as in providing a framework for a unified treatment of the vacuum and matter problems. This is of relevance to the accurate simulation of gravitational waves emitted in astrophysical scenarios such as stellar core collapse.
Tilting of adjacent laser-induced liquid jets

The effects of time delay and spatial separation between two adjacent laser pulses in blister-actuated laser-induced forward transfer are studied experimentally and computationally. Each laser pulse creates a blister that expands into a liquid film, forming liquid jets to transfer material from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate. For a fixed separation between the two laser pulses, time-resolved imaging reveals a tilting of the second liquid jet toward or away from the first jet, depending on the time delay between pulses. Simulations of the same process reveal that the first jet perturbs the ink−air interface around it, and the initial angle of the liquid−air interface below the second laser pulse is shown to be a good predictor of the angle of the second jet. The time evolution of the initial interface angle at a fixed separation is then investigated analytically in terms of a viscously damped cylindrical capillary wave, initiating once the jet retracts or pinches off. This two-jet setup can be considered as a model system for high repetition rate printing, so these results reveal limits on the repetition rate and separation between pulses for LIFT such that materials are printed in desired patterns.
Consumer Behavior toward Recycled Textile Products

Numerous surveys show that consumers are concerned about the environment hut that their concern does not always lead to actions, such as the purchase of environmentally responsible products. It is the intent of this study to assess the impact of extrinsic cues such as price and environmental-labeling information on consumer-purchase decisions. A simulated retail setting was used for data collection. Price had a major influence on the purchase of the recycled textile products. The patterns of purchase varied by gender. No effects were found for level of income or attitudes. The results reinforce evidence of the limited effectiveness of labeling and suggest that manufacturers may need to find a more effective means of encouraging consumers to purchase recycled textile products.
Layered vanadium and molybdenum oxides: batteries and electrochromics

The layered oxides of vanadium and molybdenum have been studied for close to 40 years as possible cathode materials for lithium batteries or electrochromic systems. The highly distorted metal octahedra naturally lead to the formation of a wide range of layer structures, which can intercalate lithium levels exceeding 300 Ah/kg. They have found continuing success in medical devices, such as pacemakers, but many challenges remain in their application in long-lived rechargeable devices. Their high-energy storage capability remains an encouragement to researchers to resolve the stability concerns of vanadium dissolution and the tendency of lithium and vanadium to mix changing the crystal structure on cycling the lithium in and out. Nanomorphologies have enabled higher reactivities to be obtained for both vanadium and molybdenum oxides, and with the latter show promise for electrochromic displays.
Intravenous Lipid Emulsion to Reverse Acute Drug Toxicity in Pediatric Patients

OBJECTIVETo identify and summarize published cases in which intravenous lipid emulsion was used to treat pediatric patients with acute drug toxicities.DATA SOURCESPubMed, SCOPUS, and EMBASE were searched up to December 2012 for relevant publications using the terms fat emulsion, lipid emulsion, Intralipid, Liposyn, Medialipide, Medialipid, lipid rescue, ILE, IVLE, IFE, IVFE, or lipid and intoxication, overdose, poisoning, toxicity, resuscitation, antidote, and rescue that were limited to reports in humans aged 18 years or younger.STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTIONA publication was included if an intravenous lipid emulsion was used to treat acute-onset drug toxicity as reported in prospective or retrospective observational studies, case reports, and abstracts for patients aged 18 years or younger.DATA SYNTHESISFourteen case reports were identified in which intravenous lipid emulsion was used to treat toxicities due to local anesthetics and other medications (amitriptyline, diltiazem, bupropion, dosulepin,...
Relationship between the components of product/service quality and the customers’ emotions and satisfaction

The purpose of this paper is to study the links between quality and consumers’ emotions and eventually with their satisfaction. There is mounting evidence that, while quality evaluation may be strictly cognitive, satisfaction gauges customers’ emotions towards the product/service provider’s performance. The existing approaches used in measuring quality have certain limitations. This study introduces two components of total quality structure – quality of design and quality of conformance – for analysis of the link between quality and customer emotions. Undergraduate college students were surveyed in regard to four scenarios for food establishments. Respondents were asked to select, from a pre-tested list of emotions, those arising from these scenarios. The equality of means of the valence and the intensity of emotions among the four scenarios were tested using ANOVA and Scheffe paired comparisons. The results show that there is a significant relationship between possible combinations of two quality dimensions and customers’ affective responses in terms of both their valence and intensity. Important managerial implications are discussed.
Todd R. Risley: A Man Who Didn't like Counting Angels

He dwelt no place, and gathered to himself neither wealth nor followers. Warm and eager was his spirit opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles and succors; but only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within. Merry he could be, and kindly to the young and simple; and yet quick at times to sharp speech and the rebuking of folly; and thus far and wide he was beloved among all those that were not themselves proud. Mostly, he would at times work wonders among them, loving especially the beauty of the fire; and yet such marvels he wrought mostly for mirth and delight, and desired not that any should hold him in awe or take his counsels out of fear. (A very liberal adaptation describing Gandalf in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings)
Automatic synthesis and the cost of testing

Retiming has been postulated as an optimization technique which increases performance at the expense of area. This paper shows that a relationship exists between performance and testability. Designers must be aware of this relationship as the blind use of synthesis tools may yield unexpected and dramatic results. This paper demonstrates that retiming can increase the test generation time required to attain a given fault efficiency by more than two orders of magnitude, and cause a considerable decrease in the fault coverage which is attained. >
Linda: some current work

The authors briefly outline the Linda tuple space model and then comment on current work. This includes recent experiments involving Linda programs on a 64-node hypercube, the development of an improved version of C-Linda, and research which will culminate in a multiple tuple space system. >
Pharmacogenetics and analgesic effects of antidepressants in chronic pain management

Antidepressants are widely administered to chronic pain patients, but there is large interindividual variability in their efficacy and adverse effect rates that may be attributed to genetic factors. Studies have attempted to determine the impact of genetic polymorphisms in enzymes and transporters that are involved in antidepressant pharmacokinetics, for example, cytochrome P450 and P-gp. The impacts of genetic polymorphisms in the targets of antidepressants, such as the serotonin receptor or transporter, the noradrenaline transporter and the COMT and monoamine oxydase enzymes, have also been described. This manuscript discusses the current knowledge of the influence of genetic factors on the plasma concentrations, efficacy and adverse effects of the major antidepressants used in pain management.
Ultrasonic Continuous-Wave Beam-Power Measurements; International Intercomparison.

... Some quartz transducers designed and fabricated at the National Bureau of Standards as transmitters of ultrasonic power appear to be sufficiently stable and linear to serve as standards. Therefore, an international intercomparison of measurements of the continuous-wave (cw) power emitted by these standards was arranged. Each of the seven participating laboratories performed such measurements using one or more methods representing its practice and reported the results to the National Bureau of Standards which served as the pilot laboratory. We present the results mostly in the form of tables. Some remarks on stability are appended.
Exceptional economic returns on investments in medical research.

■ The United States will invest nearly US$70 billion (US$260 per capita) on medical research this year, more than half of which will be sponsored by the biopharmaceutical industry. ■ This investment has been shown to provide major gains in basic, disease-oriented and patient-oriented research. It also provides a huge economic return on investment — whether measured in terms of jobs created, health costs saved, or the dollar value of lives saved. ■ Australia, whose investment in medical research is less than 10% that of the United States, should increase its
Mutational analysis of Ctnnb1 and Apc in tumors from rats given 1,2-dimethylhydrazine or 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline: Mutational 'hotspots' and the relative expression of β-catenin and c-jun

There is growing interest in beta-catenin and its role in various human cancers. We recently reported that 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ)- and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon tumors in the rat contain mutations in Ctnnb1, the gene for beta-catenin, but the mutation spectrum was influenced by postinitiation exposure to chlorophyllin (CHL) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) [Blum et al., Carcinogenesis 2001;22:315-320]. The present paper describes a follow-up study in which all of the target organs for IQ- and DMH-induced tumorigenesis were screened; Ctnnb1 mutations were found in 44 of 119 DMH-induced colon tumors, six of 13 IQ-induced colon tumors, 28 of 81 DMH-induced small intestine tumors, none of five IQ-induced small intestine tumors, four of 106 IQ-induced liver tumors, none of 14 DMH-induced Zymbal's gland tumors, none of 24 IQ-induced Zymbal's gland tumors, and none of 29 IQ-induced skin tumors. In tumors from rats given carcinogen alone, or carcinogen plus CHL or I3C, Ctnnb1 mutations frequently substituted amino acids adjacent to Ser33, a critical Ser/Thr residue in the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta regulatory domain of beta-catenin. However, substitution of critical Ser/Thr residues themselves was detected in only three of 24 (12.5%) of the tumors from rats given carcinogen alone, compared with 23 of 58 (40%) of the tumors from rats given carcinogen and treated postinitiation with I3C or CHL (P < 0.02). More than 50 of the colon tumors with wild-type beta-catenin were examined further for their Apc status; the overall frequency of Apc mutations was <10%, and these genetic changes occurred exclusively in the 'Mutation Cluster Region' of Apc. A subset of colon tumors also was examined for expression of beta-catenin and c-jun; these proteins were overexpressed in all tumors containing Ctnnb1 mutations, but the expression was highest in tumors with Ctnnb1 mutations affecting Thr41 and Ser45 residues in the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta region of beta-catenin. Thus, Ctnnb1 mutations occurred more frequently than Apc mutations in colon and small intestine tumors of the rat, and certain mutations upregulated beta-catenin/T-cell factor target genes more effectively than others, perhaps influencing the response to phytochemicals administered postinitiation.
QUASISTABLE GRADIENT AND HAMILTONIAN SYSTEMS WITH A PAIRWISE INTERACTION RANDOMLY PERTURBED BY WIENER PROCESSES

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Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective

1. For several decades now, Donald Davidson has been steadily producing an amazingly rich and?even though it has been presented in self-contained papers?systematic body of work. In this volume, we have another install ment of his creative output, the fruits of his reflections on central topics in epistemology and metaphysics, shaped by his distinctive and influential approach to issues in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind. It goes without saying, but I shall say it anyway: it is a fine thing to have these vintage essays in easily accessible and portable form, to put beside the first two volumes, with a place of honour reserved on the shelves for the eagerly awaited fourth and fifth. But I think the best way to celebrate Davidson's work is not to praise it, but to find it controversial. Nobody gets everything exactly right, and what is most fruitful in philosophy is work that is worth taking issue with.
In-vivo human liver tissue differentiation

A pattern-recognition algorithm and the required instrumentation to apply it for in vivo human liver tissue differentiation are discussed. The algorithm has been tested successfully, with a confidence interval of 68.27%, on 25 subjects with no history of liver diseases and 15 subjects with different types of abnormalities. Differentiation between normal and abnormal liver tissue is accomplished by calculating the Euclidean distance between a reference vector and a pattern vector. The elements of the reference vector are the precalculated values of the average attenuation and backscattering coefficients of normal liver tissue at each frequency interval in the range from 1.5 to 4.5 MHz. Elements of the pattern vector are the average values of the two coefficients for the liver tissue under consideration at each frequency interval. This distance is a measure of the probability that the liver under consideration is normal. An empirical threshold is selected such that if the distance is less than the threshold, then the liver is declared normal otherwise it is abnormal. The instrumentation implemented is a high speed microprocessor-based data acquisition and analysis system. The system digitizes the backscattered ultrasound signal and stores the digitized data in a microcomputer where it is analyzed. >
Experimental Evaluation of a Portable Neutron-Based Gamma-Spectroscopy System for Chloride Measurements in Reinforced Concrete

A portable prompt gamma neutron activation (PGNA) spectroscopy system has been developed to analyze the elemental composition (Ca, Si, Al, etc.) of reinforced concrete and to measure chloride contamination. The portable PGNA system consists of a high purity germanium (HPGe) gamma detector with a 70% relative efficiency, a 252Cf neutron source and moderator subsystem, and a portable multichannel analyzer system integrated with a laptop computer. Two types of activation experiments were performed to evaluate the device: first, a detector calibration using a Cl gamma standard provided by a PGNA facility; second, an evaluation of the actual performance of the complete system with the 252Cf source using full scale test slabs containing known amounts of chloride. Both methods indicate that it is feasible to use this device to measure the chloride content of reinforced concrete in the field. The chloride level for the corrosion threshold can be measured with a precision of 10% for a counting time of roughly 6 minutes. This makes the PGNA method competitive with the conventional destructive method.
Generating daily changes in market variables using a multivariate mixture of normal distributions

The mixture of normal distributions provides a useful extension of the normal distribution for modeling of daily changes in market variables with fatter-than-normal tails and skewness. An efficient analytical Monte Carlo method is proposed for generating daily changes using a multivariate mixture of normal distributions with arbitrary covariance matrix. The main purpose of this method is to transform (linearly) a multivariate normal with an input covariance matrix into the desired multivariate mixture of normal distributions. This input covariance matrix can be derived analytically. Any linear combination of mixtures of normal distributions can be shown to be a mixture of normal distributions.
First astronomical application of a cryogenic transition edge sensor spectrophotometer

We report on the first astronomical observations with a photon-counting pixel detector that provides arrival time (δt = 100 ns) and energy (δEγ ≤ 0.15 eV) resolved measurements from the near-IR through the near UV. Our test observations were performed by coupling this transition edge sensor device to a 0.6 m telescope; we have obtained the first simultaneous optical near-IR phase-resolved spectra of the Crab pulsar. A varying infrared turnover gives evidence of self-absorption in the pulsar plasma. The potential of such detectors in imaging arrays from a space platform is briefly described.
SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging: Poststress, End Systolic Images and the Ongoing Effort to Improve Diagnostic Accuracy

It is fair to state that interpretation of SPECT myocardial perfusion images, as with most scintigraphic studies, reflects a mixture of art and science. Increasingly, efforts have been, and are being, made to improve the diagnostic accuracy of SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) by enhancing
The Bacterial Cell: Peptidoglycan

Publisher Summary Most bacteria possess an external skeleton composed of peptidoglycan. As the name implies, peptidoglycan consists of glycan chains to which short peptide stems are bound. Peptidoglycan is insoluble in non-hydrolysing solvents and it is referred to as the material, which gives the cell wall its rigidity. When the stems are cross-linked, the peptidoglycan becomes an insoluble, mat-like organelle that gives the cell its characteristic shape. Numerous cell wall antibiotics, such as penicillin and its analogues, prevent peptidoglycan synthesis and assembly. The peptidoglycan is thus weakened, resulting in either cell lysis or cessation of growth. In Gram-positive bacteria, the peptidoglycan may comprise up to 50% of the dry weight of the cell. The wall layer of Gram-positive bacteria is 20–40 nm thick, and is usually exposed to the environment. Some Gram-positive bacteria may, however, possess protein. The wall of Gram-positive bacteria is thus capable of interaction with antibiotics, antibody, complement proteins and enzymes. In Gram-negative bacteria, an outer membrane typically covers the peptidoglycan containing layer. The peptidoglycan layer of the Gram-negative cell comprises only 1–10% of the cellular dry weight and is just a few nanometres thick. Peptidoglycan can be purified by bursting bacterial suspensions, centrifuging and treating the insoluble materials with hot detergents such as sodium dodecvl sulphate (SDS). Peptidoglycan is indispensable for the structural integrity of virtually all bacteria, and for this reason it is once considered merely as an inert corset surrounding the cell without significance for bacterial virulence and the pathogenesis of infection. Indeed, peptidoglycan can by itself reproduce most of the major clinical manifestations of bacterial infection, including inflammation, pus formation, fever, leucocytosis, sleepiness, decreased appetite, hypotension and arthritis.
Embodied experiences within an engineering curriculum

Although simple mechanisms are commonplace, reasoning about how they work---mechanistic reasoning---is often challenging. To foster mechanistic reasoning, we engaged students in the third- and sixth-grades in the design of kinetic toys that consisted of systems of linked levers. To make the workings of these systems more visible, students participated in forms of activity that we conjectured would afford bodily experience of some of the properties of these mechanisms: constraint and rotary motion. Students progressively re-described and inscribed these embodied experiences as mathematical systems. We report a microgenetic study of one case study student, tracing how embodying and mathematizing motion supported the development of reasoning about how levered systems work.
Book Review: Measuring Poverty: A New Approach

Professor Spain reviewing MEASURING POVERTY: A NEW APPROACH (National Academy Press, 1995).
The long and strong tradition of state protection of freedom of the press

Abstract The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution did not initiate protection of the press, even in the United States, nor is it on the cutting edge of press freedom today. Freedom of the press was first conceived and stated in the constitutions of most of the original states, all enacted before Independence. Most of them stated an affirmative right to publish, and today nearly all state constitutions do. The First Amendment, adopted years later than those original constitutions, was comparatively weak. Not until the middle of the twentieth century did the Supreme Court interpret the First Amendment as guaranteeing a right to publish, and today federal law still lags behind the states' in its failure to protect journalists from revealing confidential sources in legal proceedings.
Factors Related to the Virgina Vote on Segregation

O ^ N JANUARY 9, 1956, the citizens of Virginia voted on a proposal to call a convention. The convention was to vote on a constitutional amendment which would enable the state to provide finances to families who wished to send their children to private schools. The interpretation of the vote was that a vote for the proposal was a vote indicating approval of segregation of Negroes and whites in schools. This interpretation of the vote may, though, be too simple. Some may have voted against the proposal not because they opposed segregation in the schools of the two races, but because they wished to follow the directive of the Supreme Court. Others may have voted for it not so much because of the segregation issue, but to register an opposition to interference in Virginia's own internal affairs by outsiders. Others felt segregation would lower school standards for white children; and still others that abolishing public schools would lower standards. There are various motivations of voters. The proposal to call a convention was approved by a vote of 304,154 for and 146,164 against. Of the 98 counties, out of Virginia's total of 100 counties, for which we have votes, 90 voted for and eight against; and of the 32 "independent" cities, i.e., those with over 5,000 inhabitants, 26 voted for and six voted against. Of the counties which voted against the proposal, two were Fairfax and Arlington which adjoin the District of Columbia, and Charles City which adjoins the county in which Richmond is located and whose population is 81 percent non-white. The other six counties were in the mountainous areas of the western part of the state where there are few Negroes. Of the cities that voted against the proposal, two were Falls Church and Alexandria, suburbs of Washington. The four others were in the mountainous western part of the state and none of these had more than 8 percent of the population non-white. The other counties and cities voted in varying degrees for the proposal, but all voted more than 50 percent for it.
Structural Control of Nonadiabatic Photochemical Bond Formation: Photocyclization in Structurally Modified ortho-Terphenyls.

Understanding how molecular structure impacts the shapes of potential energy surfaces and prospects for nonadiabatic photochemical dynamics is critical for predicting and controlling the chemistry of molecular excited states. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy was used to interrogate photoinduced, nonadiabatic 6π cyclization of a collection of ortho-terphenyls (OTP) modified with alkyl substituents of different sizes and electron-donating/withdrawing character positioned on its central and pendant phenyl rings. OTP alkylated at the 4,4″ and 4′,5′ positions of the pendant and central rings, respectively, exhibiting biphasic excited-state relaxation; this is qualitatively similar to relaxation of OTP itself, including a fast decrease in excited-state absorption (τ1 = 1–4 ps) followed by formation of metastable cyclized photoproducts (τ2 = 3–47 ps) that share common characteristic spectroscopic features for all substitutions despite variations in chemical nature of the substituents. By contrast, ano...
Fuzzy Control of the Blender Density

In hydraulic fracturing process,the blender density directly affects the quality of hydraulic fracturing.A fuzzy control method is introduced in the paper to control the blender fluid density.The simulation results show that the response of the fuzzy control is fast with small oscillations.It is more effective than the conventional PID control.
The first great financial crisis of the 21st Century: A retrospective

The global financial crisis of 2007 to –2010 is the subject of a lot of attention and scrutiny as governments, politicians, bankers, and other researchers figure out which components of the crisis ...
Demonstrated paternity in spite of severe idiopathic oligospermia

In this study we report on a successful pregnancy in the spouse of a man who, on repeated occasions, spaced over 3 years, presented with a mean sperm concentration of less than 200,000 sperm/ml. Serum was drawn from the father, mother, and daughter for polymorphic gene marker analysis. The calculation of relative probability of paternity with the use of gene frequencies for whites gave a figure of 99.9% that our patient is the father of the child.
An Automated High-throughput Array Microscope for Cancer Cell Mechanics

Changes in cellular mechanical properties correlate with the progression of metastatic cancer along the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Few high-throughput methodologies exist that measure cell compliance, which can be used to understand the impact of genetic alterations or to screen the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. We have developed a novel array high-throughput microscope (AHTM) system that combines the convenience of the standard 96-well plate with the ability to image cultured cells and membrane-bound microbeads in twelve independently-focusing channels simultaneously, visiting all wells in eight steps. We use the AHTM and passive bead rheology techniques to determine the relative compliance of human pancreatic ductal epithelial (HPDE) cells, h-TERT transformed HPDE cells (HPNE), and four gain-of-function constructs related to EMT. The AHTM found HPNE, H-ras, Myr-AKT, and Bcl2 transfected cells more compliant relative to controls, consistent with parallel tests using atomic force microscopy and invasion assays, proving the AHTM capable of screening for changes in mechanical phenotype.
Modeling Epileptic Disorders in Mice

Epilepsy can be defined generally as intermittent neuronal dysfunction resulting from sudden, disorderly discharges of central nervous system (CNS) neurons. With the exception of cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy is the most prevalent human neurological disorder. Seizures are a symptom of epilepsy and can be either convulsive (with overt motor manifestations) or nonconvulsive (without motor involvement). The classification of epilepsy based on seizure phenotype is complex and often ambiguous. A plethora of epilepsy phenotypes may arise from seizures originating in cortical or subcortical brain regions. The seizures are often described as generalized, involving the cortex of both hemispheres, or as partial, involving a specific cortical region. Partial seizures can be further categorized as simple (without loss of consciousness) or complex (consciousness impaired). Seizure phenotypes can also be modified significantly by age (Delgado-Escueta et al., 1982). Because the seizure behavioral phenotype is removed from its biochemical or physiological cause, epilepsy classification based on seizure phenotype is controversial.
Goniometric and hemispherical reflectance and transmittance measurements of fused silica diffusers

Fused silica diffusers, made by forming scattering centers inside fused silica glass, can exhibit desirable optical properties, such as reflectance or transmittance independent of viewing angle, spectrally flat response into the ultraviolet wavelength range, and good spatial uniformity. The diffusers are of interest for terrestrial and space borne remote sensing instruments, which use light diffusers in reflective and transmissive applications. In this work, we report exploratory measurements of two samples of fused silica diffusers. We will present goniometric bidirectional scattering distribution function (BSDF) measurements under normal illumination provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)’s Goniometric Optical Scatter Instrument (GOSI), by NIST’s Infrared reference integrating sphere (IRIS) and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Diffuser Calibration Laboratory. We also present hemispherical diffuse transmittance and reflectance measurements provided by NIST’s Double integrating sphere Optical Scattering Instrument (DOSI). The data from the DOSI is analyzed by Prahl’s inverse adding-doubling algorithm to obtain the absorption and reduced scattering coefficient of the samples. Implications of fused silica diffusers for remote sensing applications are discussed.
Influences on ransomware’s evolution and predictions for the future challenges

ABSTRACTThe inception of malware disguised as a solution to fix a problem to the current sophisticated malware demanding huge money, ransomware has attained significant proliferation through various advancements in information technologies. As a result of this development, cybercriminals have become adept and highly successful in compromising advanced information systems. Computer and network systems infected with ransomware are also often infected with various forms of malicious software. Ransomware targets have become more educated, aware and cautious of malware, motivating cybercriminals to respond with innovative attacks. In this paper, we analyse the evolution of ransomware from the perspective of what makes an individual or an organisation susceptible to the succumbing demands of ransomware. Finally, we conclude with few suggestions about the predictions of future trends of ransomware.
Validation of a Novel Cognitive Simulator for Orbital Floor Reconstruction

Purpose The increasing focus on patient safety in current medical practice has promoted the development of surgical simulation technology in the form of virtual reality (VR) training designed largely to improve technical skills and less so for nontechnical aspects of surgery such as decision making and material knowledge. The present study investigated the validity of a novel cognitive VR simulator called Touch Surgery for a core maxillofacial surgical procedure: orbital floor reconstruction (OFR). Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on 2 groups of participants with different experience levels. Novice graduate dental students and expert surgeons were recruited from a local dental school and academic residency programs, respectively. All participants completed the OFR module on Touch Surgery. The primary outcome variable was simulator performance score. Post-module questionnaires rating specific aspects of the simulation experience were completed by the 2 groups and served as the secondary outcome variables. The age and gender of participants were considered additional predictor variables. From these data, conclusions were made regarding 3 types of validity (face, content, and construct) for the Touch Surgery simulator. Dependent-samples t tests were used to explore the consistency in simulation performance scores across phases 1 and 2 by experience level. Two multivariate ordinary least-squares regression models were fit to estimate the relation between experience and phase 1 and 2 scores. Results Thirty-nine novices and 10 experts who were naive to Touch Surgery were recruited for the study. Experts outperformed novices on phases 1 and 2 of the OFR module ( P Conclusion Construct, content, and face validities were observed for the OFR module on a novel cognitive simulator, Touch Surgery. Therefore, OFR simulation on the smart device platform could serve as a useful cognitive training and assessment tool in maxillofacial surgery residency programs.
Silicon Heat Switches for Electrocaloric Cooling

This paper presents two versions of a silicon mechanical heat switch designed for electrocaloric cooling. The first design, which consists of two 10-mm-by-12.8-mm micromachined silicon parts, allows investigation of the performance of a reciprocating solid thermal shunt device. This heat switch has a measured thermal contrast ratio in the range of 34-59. The second design adds self-alignment features that constrain the motion of the switch to facilitate fabrication and integration. The self-aligned heat switch has a thermal contrast ratio >28. It has been successfully operated for >18 000 cycles and employed in an electrocaloric cooler. Design, fabrication, and characterization of both heat switches are reported.
Using High Level GPU Tasks to Explore Memory and Communications Options on Heterogeneous Platforms

Heterogeneous computing platforms that use GPUs for acceleration are becoming prevalent. Developing parallel applications for GPU platforms and optimizing GPU related applications for good performance is important. In this work, we develop a set of applications based on a high level task design, which ensures a well defined structure for portability improvement. Together with the GPU task implementation, we utilize a uniform interface to allocate and manage memory blocks that are used by both host and device. In this way we can choose the appropriate types of memory for host/device communication easily and flexibly in GPU tasks. Through asynchronous task execution and CUDA streams, we can explore concurrent GPU kernels for performance improvement when running multiple tasks. We developed a test benchmark set containing nine different kernel applications. Through tests we can learn that pinned memory can improve host/device data transfer for GPU platforms. The performance of unified memory differs a lot on different GPU architectures and is not a good choice if performance is the main focus. The multiple task tests show that applications based on our GPU tasks can effectively make use of the concurrent kernel ability of modern GPUs for better resource utilization.
State of Fitness: Overview of the Clinical Consequences of Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness

The United States is unfit for optimal health with its low level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Low CRF clinically translates to markedly higher rates of type 2 diabetes (T2D). While the percentages of obesity (13%) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) (1.6%) were too large in 1960, they have both increased manyfold in the past half century to 36% and 7%, respectively, in 2013 in the United States. Historically, type 2 diabetes (T2D) was rare in youth. In contrast, T2D was an adult disease, appearing after 30 years of age. Around 1990, T2D accounted for less than 3% of adolescent diabetes. Ten years later, it accounted for 45% of youth cases. Physical inactivity decreases CRF, and decreases in CRF increase mortality in T2D. This chapter considers (a) CRF’s association with morbidity and mortality, (b) factors determining CRF, and (c) clinical implications associated with low CRF. Also discussed are associations of low CRF with (a) glucose metabolism, (b) metabolic syndrome, (c) increased prevalence with cardiovascular diseases, and (d) increases in multiple risk factors for increased mortality. The relationship of changes in CRF on changes in the relative risk of death is presented. CRF’s inverse relationships are given with various pathological mechanisms (insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, body composition, obesity, and inflammation). CRF is not fixed at an inheritable level but can be modulated up (by increased physical activity) or down (by physical inactivity, such as sedentary lifestyle). However, genes fix a decline in CRF beginning as early as adolescence.
Introduction, Symposium National Health Care Reform: The Legal Issues

Introduction to the Symposium: National Health Care Reform: The Legal Issues, Cleveland, Ohio, 1995.
Abstract P189: Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Adolescence and Young Adulthood Predict Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Early and Middle Adult Life

Introduction: Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors measured in childhood and adulthood are positively associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) later in life. In particular, body ...
Shortest Distance From Fovea to Subfoveal Hemorrhage Border Is Important in Patients With Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration

Purpose To identify factors influencing visual outcome in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) and subfoveal hemorrhage (SFH) treated with anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents. Design Retrospective case series. Methods Anti-VEGF-treated eyes with SFH > 1 disc area (DA) were identified (n = 16) and changes in visual acuity (VA) and central subfield thickness (CST) from baseline to last follow-up, along with SFH area, thickness, minimum distance from fovea to SFH border, and time to resolution, were determined. Results At baseline, mean (± standard error of the mean) size and thickness of SFH were 14.9 ± 2.8 DA and 386.6 ± 46.9 μm, and mean Snellen VA and CST were 20/250 and 591.7 ± 57.0 μm. Median follow-up was 47.6 months. While more than 50% of patients had VA ≤ 20/200 at baseline and all time points through week 48, the percentage of patients with VA ≥ 20/50 increased to 30%–40% at months 6 and 12 and remained stable through month 48. Spearman rank correlation demonstrated 2 independent variables that correlated with good visual outcome, smaller area of SFH at baseline (r = −0.630; P = .009), and high frequency of anti-VEGF injections (r = 0.646; P = .007). In exceptional patients with good visual outcome despite large baseline SFH, shortest distance between the fovea and hemorrhage border significantly correlated with baseline VA (r = −0.503, P = .047) and final VA (r = −0.575, P = .02). Conclusions Patients with NVAMD and thick SFH, but short distance between fovea and uninvolved retina, can have good visual outcomes when given frequent anti-VEGF injections.
Personal Equity Investment and Small Business Financial Difficulties

Theory suggests that entrepreneurs’ private information about the likelihood of the success of their enterprise is revealed by their personal equity investment in the firm. This paper tests this ar...
Differing Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Inbreeding in Two Rare Serpentine Monardellas in the Northern Sierra Nevada

Monardella follettii (Jeps.) Jokerst and M. stebbinsii Hardham and Bartel are two rare endemic mints restricted to patchy ultramafic (serpentine) soil exposures in the northern Sierra Nevada. These species are rare because of small population sizes, low numbers of total populations, and limited availability of their specialized habitat. We collected samples from populations across the range of both species, and assessed genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic distance among populations. In the relatively more widespread M. follettii, we found low genetic diversity, little differentiation among populations, and no evidence of inbreeding. In contrast, we found significant inbreeding, higher genetic diversity, and high population differentiation over short distances in M. stebbinsii. We suggest continued protection and monitoring for M. follettii, but do not recommend any action intended solely for genetic management. To alleviate inbreeding in M. stebbinsii, we suggest pollen transfer from other conspecific populations.
Leader Election and Centers and Medians in Tree Networks

We give a weak leader election algorithm, which elects a leader or two neighboring co-leaders of an anonymous tree network, as well as give distributed algorithms for finding centers and medians of anonymous tree networks. All algorithms are in the comparison model, are self-stabilizing and silent under the unfair daemon. Each of the three problems is solved in O(Diam) rounds with step complexity O(n·Diam). The per process space complexity is O(1) for weak leader election, O(logDiam) for finding centers, and O(logn) for finding medians. These are the minimum possible space complexities for self-stabilizing silent algorithms. The main innovation is the introduction of the constant space implementation of parent pointers using the finite Abelian group i¾?5.
Mit Java ins Internet der Dinge aufbrechen

Dieses Kapitel befasst sich mit den Rahmenbedingungen fur mobile Anwendungen, Plattformen und Infrastrukturen, die durch den revolutionaren Wandel zum „Internet der Dinge“ hervorgerufen werden. Er beschaftigt sich mit der Frage, wie die rasante technologische Entwicklung stetig neue Generationen mobiler Anwendungen hervorbringt und welche Rolle das „Internet der Dinge“ dabei spielt. Fragen der Sicherheit stehen dabei genauso im Mittelpunkt, wie die Moglichkeit, neuartige und innovative Geschaftsmodelle zu entwickeln. Welche Auswirkungen zieht diese anstehende Transformation nach sich und auf welche Art verandern sich dadurch Geschaftsmodelle und Zielgruppen? Was wird uns das Internet der Dinge bringen? Welche Moglichkeiten erwachsen daraus fur unsere Gesellschaft? Welches sind die zentralen technologischen Anforderungen eines „Internet der Dinge“ und welche IT-Service-Infrastruktur ist dazu erforderlich? Wie kann eine flexible und in jeder Hinsicht agile IT-Service-Architektur aufgebaut werden? Worauf gilt es zu achten? Welche Rolle kann Java in einem „Internet der Dinge“ spielen? Und wie konnte ein Okosystem fur mobile Dienste der nachsten Generation aussehen? All diese Fragen werden in dem folgenden Beitrag beleuchtet.
Patient-Centered Strategies for Effective Weight Management

Although the treatment of both adult and pediatric obesity in primary care is in its infancy, there is a growing base of evidence that patient-centered strategies, used by clinicians alone or in combination with other health-care professionals or community programs, can be effective. This paper presents, using the 5 As framework (Ask, Advise, Agree/Assess, Assist, and Arrange), behavioral strategies that assist patients making lifestyle changes for weight management.
The geometry of consciousness

Abstract Conscious experience implies a reference-frame or vantage, which is often important in scientific models. Control models of ball-interception are used as an example. Models that use viewer-dependent egocentric reference-frames are contrasted with viewer-independent allocentric ones. Allocentric reference-frames serve well for models like Newtonian physics, which utilize static coordinate-systems that allow forces and object-movements to be compartmentalized. In contrast, egocentric reference-frames are natural for modeling mobile organisms or robots when controlling perception-action behavior. Lower-level perception-action behavior is often characterized using egocentric coordinate-systems that optimize processing-speed, while higher-level cognitive-processes use allocentric frames that provide a stationary spatial reference. Brain-behavior models like the Ventral-Stream What System, and Dorsal-Stream Where-How System, also respectively utilize allocentric and egocentric reference-frames. Reference-frame clarification can resolve disputes about models of control-tasks like running to catch baseballs, and can provide insights for biomimetic-robots. Confusion regarding geometry and reference-frames contributes to a lack of clarity between how and when egocentric versus allocentric geometries are imposed, with perception-actions generally being more egocentric and conscious experience more allocentric.
Nietzsche’s Power Ontology and Transhumanism: Or Why Christians Cannot Be Transhumanists

Transhumanism traces its roots to Enlightenment humanism and claims to be the harbinger of the next phase of humanistic activity through designer evolution. In this essay, I briefly trace medicine’s relationship with transhumanist philosophy to the philosophy of medicine and show that each accepts a kind of ambiguity of the body at the heart of its metaphysical assumptions. I show that these metaphysical assumptions are committed to a power ontology, and that this power ontology is fundamentally at odds with the traditional Christian lifeworld.
“How I Want to Teach the Lesson”: Framing Children’s Multiple Mathematical Knowledge Bases in the Analysis and Adaptation of Existing Curriculum Materials

We consider how prospective elementary teachers think about multiple mathematical knowledge bases as they consider adapting existing mathematics curriculum materials to meet the needs of culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students. Multiple mathematical knowledge bases include both children’s mathematical thinking and the cultural-, home-, and community-based funds of knowledge that children inevitably bring into the classroom. We explored how prospective elementary teachers attended to multiple mathematical knowledge bases as they used a lesson analysis tool, the Curriculum Spaces Table, to evaluate existing curriculum materials and identify spaces for adapting these curriculum materials to more efficiently meet the needs of all students. Our analysis examined 47 written reflections on the analysis of and adaptations for a Grade 3 lesson. Findings showed that prospective teachers paid considerable attention to children’s mathematical thinking and gave some attention to funds of knowledge, but they considered these knowledge bases largely in isolation of each other. Attention to integrating children’s mathematical thinking with funds of knowledge was rare. Nonetheless, prospective teachers overwhelmingly found the Curriculum Spaces Table useful for analyzing an existing lesson and identifying spaces for adaptations to more effectively build on children’s mathematical knowledge bases. Thus, we argue that a lesson analysis tool that draws attention to multiple mathematical knowledge bases offers a promising start for prospective elementary teachers’ development of pedagogical practices that integrate children’s mathematical thinking with diverse cultural-, home-, and community-based funds of knowledge.