cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sketch Guided Sampling - Using On-Line Estimates of Flow Size for Adaptive Data Collection

Monitoring the traffic in high-speed networks is a data intensive problem. Uniform packet sampling is the most popular technique for reducing the amount of data the network monitoring hardware/software has to process. However, uniform sampling captures far less information than can be potentially obtained with the same overall sampling rate. This is because uni- form sampling (unnecessarily) draws the vast majority of samples from large flows, and very few from small and medium flows. This information loss on small and medium flows significantly affects the accuracy of the estimation of various network statistics. In this work, we develop a new packet sampling methodol- ogy called "sketch-guided sampling" (SGS), which offers better statistics than obtainable from uniform sampling, given the same number of raw samples gathered. Its main idea is to make the probability with which an incoming packet is sampled a decreasing sampling function f of the size of the flow the packet belongs to. This way our scheme is able to significantly increase the packet sampling rate of the small and medium flows at slight expense of the large flows, resulting in much more accurate estimations of various network statistics. However, the exact sizes of all flows are available only if we keep per-flow information for every flow, which is prohibitively expensive for high-speed links. Our SGS scheme solves this problem by using a small (lossy) synopsis data structure called counting sketch to encode the approximate sizes of all flows. Our evaluation on real-world Internet traffic traces shows that our sampling theory based the approximate flow size estimates from the counting sketch works almost as well as if we know the exact sizes of the flows.
Optical data link using a CD laser

A 266 Mb/s optical link card based on a 780 nm compact disc (CD) laser has been designed by IBM Rochester to provide a fast data link for interconnecting computer systems. This design not only met the performance and cost objectives of the data communications environment, it also overcame key challenges in the areas of laser safety, laser reliability, and modal noise. The 266 Mb/s data rate was selected to conform to the new American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Fiber Channel Standard (FCS).
"White coat" versus "sustained" borderline hypertension in Tecumseh, Michigan.

During a survey of young subjects not receiving treatment for hypertension in Tecumseh, Michigan, clinic and self-monitored blood pressures taken at home (14 readings in 7 days) were obtained in 737 subjects (387 men, 350 women, average age 31.5 years). Hypertension in the clinic was diagnosed if the clinic blood pressure exceeded 140 mm Hg systolic or 90 mm Hg diastolic. In the absence of firm criteria for what constitutes hypertension at home, subjects whose average home blood pressure was in the upper decile of the whole population were considered to have hypertension at home. By these criteria, 7.1% of the whole population had "white coat" hypertension (i.e., high clinic but not elevated home readings). The prevalence of "sustained" hypertension (i.e., high readings in the clinic and at home) was 5.1%. Subjects with white coat and sustained borderline hypertension in Tecumseh were very similar. Both groups showed, at previous examinations (at ages 5, 8, 21, and 23 years), significantly higher blood pressure readings than the normotensive subjects. As young adults (average age 33.3 years), the parents of both hypertensive groups had significantly higher blood pressure readings than the parents of normotensive subjects. Both hypertensive groups had faster heart rates, higher systemic vascular resistance, and higher minimal forearm vascular resistance. Both hypertensive groups were more overweight, had higher plasma triglycerides, insulin, and insulin/glucose ratios than normotensive subjects. The white coat hypertensive group also had lower values of high density lipoprotein than the normotensive group. White coat hypertension is a frequent condition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Island isolation and habitat heterogeneity correlate with DNA variation in a marine snail (Littorina saxatilis)

The null assumption of molecular variation is that most of it is neutral to natural selection. This is in contrast to variation in morphological traits that we generally assume is maintained by selection, and therefore often by selection coupled to environmental heterogeneity in time and space. Examples of molecular variation that vary over habitat-shifts, particularly in allozymes, show that the relative impact of non-neutral variation as compared to neutral variation might be substantial in some systems. To assess the importance of habitat-generated variation in relation to variation generated by random processes in nuclear DNA markers at small spatial scales, we compared the effects of island isolation and habitat heterogeneity on genetic substructuring in a rocky shore snail (Littorina saxatilis). This species has a restricted migration among islands owing to the lack of free-floating larvae. Earlier studies show that allozymes vary extensively as a consequence of isolation by water barriers among islands, but also as a consequence of divergent selection among different microhabitats within islands. In the DNA markers we observed genetic differentiation owing to island isolation at three of nine loci. In addition, variation at three loci correlated with habitat type, but the correlation for two of the loci was weak. Overall, isolation contributed slightly more to the genetic variation among populations than did habitat-related factors but the difference was small. It is concluded that both island isolation, which interrupts gene flow, and a heterogeneous habitat cause genetic substructuring at the DNA level in L. saxatilis in the studied area, and thus in this species we need to be somewhat concerned about habitat heterogeneity also at DNA loci. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 82, 377–384.
Correlated neuronal activity and the flow of neural information.

For years we have known that cortical neurons collectively have synchronous or oscillatory patterns of activity, the frequencies and temporal dynamics of which are associated with distinct behavioural states. Although the function of these oscillations has remained obscure, recent experimental and theoretical results indicate that correlated fluctuations might be important for cortical processes, such as attention, that control the flow of information in the brain.
The customer-centric, multi-commodity vehicle routing problem with split delivery

We introduce the Customer-centric, Multi-commodity Vehicle Routing Problem with Split Delivery.We propose two mathematical models of the problem and compare.Several optimality conditions are proved.A hybrid metaheuristic is proposed and used to solve large scale problems. In this paper, we present the Customer-centric, Multi-commodity Vehicle Routing Problem with Split Delivery (CMVRPSD) whose objective is to minimize total waiting time of customers in distributing multiple types of commodities by multiple capacitated vehicles. It is assumed that a customer's demand can be fulfilled by more than one vehicle. Two classes of decisions are involved in this problem: routing vehicles to customers and quantifying commodities to load and unload. The CMVRPSD can be applied to distributing commodities in customer-oriented distribution problems for both peacetime and disaster situations. The problem is formulated in two Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) models, and a heuristic method is proposed by adapting and synthesizing Simulated Annealing (SA) and Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) for large-scale problems. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm outperforms other applicable algorithms such as SA, VNS, and Nearest Neighborhood heuristic.
The Immune System in Reptiles

Despite differences in morphology, life history, behavior, and ecology, reptiles tend to have a similar strategy of immune defense. Reptiles typically have a strong, broad innate response followed by a more moderate adaptive response. The innate response involves nonspecific leukocytes, proteins, and physiological processes such as fever. The adaptive response involves both B cells and T cells; however, the lack of lymph nodes and germinal centers may play a role in the weaker adaptive response of reptiles. It was also recently discovered that B cells in reptiles are phagocytic. Further study of the reptilian immune response may yield insights into a wide range of fields including human medicine, conservation, and ecological immunology.
Evaluation and grading of rat liver foci in carcinogenicity tests.

The significance of rat liver foci in carcinogenesis testing received major attention following their description in the National Cancer Institute workshop of 1974. However, the biological nature o...
How Institutionalized Is Distance Learning? A Study of Institutional Role, Locale and Academic Level.

The purpose of this study was to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses in the institutionalization of distance learning at colleges and universities. To accomplish this goal, 30 factors found to influence the institutionalization of innovations were identified from the literature of several area. These factors were rated by distance learning professionals on how successfully each of the individual factors was being implemented at their respective institutions. Results were analyzed and compared according to institutional role (distance learning administrators or distance learning faculty), academic level of the institution (associate, masters or doctorate) and institutional locale (rural, suburban or urban).
Validation of the Model of Anhysteretic Magnetisation Curve of Isotropic Soft Magnetic Materials

Anhysteretic magnetization curve is the fundamental concept for Jiles-Atheton model of magnetic hysteresis loop. However, this connection between anhysteretic magnetization curve parameters and physical parameters of soft magnetic materials is not obvious. Paper presents the attempt to validate the parameters of anhysteretic magnetization curve for soft magnetic materials—soft Mn-Zn ferrites. On the base of experimental measurements of saturated magnetic hysteresis loops, the parameters of Jiles-Atherton model of anhysteretic magnetization curve were calculated. Parameters were also analysed from the point of view of connection with microscopic parameters of Mn-Zn ferrite structure.
Limits and Basic Smoothness

In this chapter, various concepts of smoothness are introduced Using the ideas from the viability selection models. These include limits, continuity, derivatives and integration.
Personality characteristics of barefoot runners: openness and conscientiousness as the defining traits

Personality traits may play a part in whether a person chooses to run (or not run) barefoot. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to characterize the personality variables of this population and compare them to shod runners and to the general population. An online survey was administered to runners who had completed a race of at least 13.1 miles in the previous 2 years. Participants were asked about their running experience and were classified as either barefoot or shod. The Big Five Inventory was used to assess the five dimensions of personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Independent samples t tests were used to compare the means of the two groups on the five personality dimensions. The mean age of the respondents was 39.8 ± 11.3 years (range 18–80). Of the 692 runners who completed the survey, 238 reported they had run barefoot. These runners scored significantly higher on the trait of openness and lower on conscientiousness. There were no differences between the groups in agreeableness, extraversion or neuroticism. These results suggest that runners who have attempted barefoot running tend to be more open (imaginative, unconventional, curious) and less conscientious (responsible, dependable, orderly) than shod runners.
Nanoscale defect engineering of lithium–sulfur battery composite cathodes for improved performance

For lithium–sulfur batteries to surpass the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, sulfur-containing cathodes require high sulfur loading (>70 wt%) relative to all inactive components, anchoring sites to prevent polysulfide shuttling, high capacity (>1000 mA h g−1), and stable cycling performance. Here we demonstrate a nanomanufacturing route to produce low-density hybrid nanomaterial electrodes that synergize the mechanical and electrical integrity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with the chemical defect properties of carbon nanohorns (CNHs) to produce carefully optimized properties for binder-free lithium–sulfur battery cathodes. High sulfur loadings (>75%) are achieved through a brief (<20 minute) vapor phase treatment at 155 °C, with sulfur infiltration kinetics that increase with defect content of the hybrid composite. By controlling the relative concentration of CNHs to CNTs, and hence defect engineering the composite, we determine an optimized hybrid structure with a 7 : 3 relative weight ratio that exhibits a reversible capacity of more than 1200 mA h gsulfur−1 when operated at 0.1C and a capacity retention of over 85% after 100 cycles. The excellent cyclability and high capacity of these electrodes is one of the best reported to date for binder-free carbon composites and we demonstrate this to be due to the role of defects in promoting the retention of high order polysulfides for subsequent conversion to the insoluble low-order polysulfide reaction product. Our work highlights the critical intersection between controllably manufactured compositions of hybrid nanostructures and improved performance in batteries capable of surpassing the energy storage capability of conventional Li-ion.
Halper's Continuing Double Jeopardy Implications: A Thorn by Any Other Name Would Prick as Deep

This article makes these arguments for Halper's implications in three parts. Section I analyzes the Halper rationale and implications, noting that Austin broadened and clarified Halper's impact, and that Kurth Ranch therefore was an easy and necessary extension of Halper's message. Realizing Halper's breadth, the Kurth Ranch dissenters have started to shy away from some of Halper's implications, and have correctly pointed out contradictions and tensions in the Halper logic. The proper response to these criticisms is to make Halper consistent with larger double jeopardy principles rather than to abandon the case. Halper's implications should be explicitly acknowledged, and contradictions removed from this aspect of double jeopardy law. Interpreting Halper to mean defendants cannot twice be put in jeopardy of punishment for the same actions, regardless of whether the punisher wears a civil or criminal hat, is consistent with the text and prevention-of-harassment purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause.Part II analyzes the closer calls Halper thus has forced lower appellate courts to make regarding when civil sanctions should be considered punishment for double jeopardy purposes. Because even minor punishments trigger double jeopardy protection, they cannot be winked at if the Double Jeopardy Clause is to have credibility. The task for courts confronted by Halper's implications is to define what punishment is, not to contrive attempts or presumptions which avoid this inquiry. Contrary to Justice Scalia's Kurth Ranch doubts, Part II demonstrates that some lower courts are capable of fleshing out the Halper case-law about punishments, once it becomes clear to them that the case not only will not go away, but may have its strongest force outside Halper's particular factual context.Part III concludes by briefly suggesting how civil and criminal prosecutors can avoid the jeopardy of having parts of their prosecutions declared invalid. I also briefly consider in Part III how the Halper double jeopardy message intersects with related Blockburger and resjudicata doctrines, and reemphasize that the linchpin for any future unified double jeopardy theory should be preventing government punishment harassment.
Pimelic acid, the first precursor of the Bacillus subtilis biotin synthesis pathway, exists as the free acid and is assembled by fatty acid synthesis

Summary Biotin synthetic pathways are readily separated into two stages, synthesis of the seven carbon α, ω-dicarboxylic acid pimelate moiety and assembly of the fused heterocyclic rings. The biotin pathway genes responsible for pimelate moiety synthesis vary widely among bacteria whereas the ring synthesis genes are highly conserved. Bacillus subtilis seems to have redundant genes, bioI and bioW, for generation of the pimelate intermediate. Largely consistent with previous genetic studies we found that deletion of bioW caused a biotin auxotrophic phenotype whereas deletion of bioI did not. BioW is a pimeloyl-CoA synthetase that converts pimelic acid to pimeloyl-CoA. The essentiality of BioW for biotin synthesis indicates that the free form of pimelic acid is an intermediate in biotin synthesis although this is not the case in E. coli. Since the origin of pimelic acid in Bacillus subtilis is unknown, we carried out 13C-NMR studies to decipher the pathway for its generation. Our data provided evidence for the role of free pimelate in biotin synthesis and the involvement of fatty acid synthesis in pimelate production. Cerulenin, an inhibitor of the key fatty acid elongation enzyme, FabF, markedly decreased biotin production by B. subtilis resting cells whereas a strain having a cerulenin-resistant FabF mutant produced more biotin. In addition, supplementation with pimelic acid fully restored biotin production in cerulenin-treated cells. These results indicate that pimelic acid originating from fatty acid synthesis pathway is a bona fide precursor of biotin in B. subtilis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Spherically Punctured Reed–Muller Codes

Consider a binary Reed–Muller code RM $(r,m)$ defined on the $m$ -dimensional hypercube $\mathbb {F}_{2}^{m}$ . In this paper, we study punctured Reed–Muller codes $P_{r}(m,b)$ , whose positions are restricted to the $m$ -tuples of a given Hamming weight $b$ . In combinatorial terms, this paper concerns $m$ -variate Boolean polynomials of any degree $r$ , which are evaluated on a Hamming sphere of some radius $b$ in $\mathbb {F}_{2}^{m}$ . Codes $P_{r}(m,b)$ inherit some recursive properties of RM codes. In particular, they can be built from the shorter codes, by decomposing a spherical $b$ -layer into sub-layers of smaller dimensions. However, these sub-layers have different sizes and do not form the classical Plotkin construction. We analyze recursive properties of the spherically punctured codes $P_{r}(m,b)$ and find their distances for the arbitrary values of parameters $r,m$ , and $b$ . Finally, we describe recursive (successive cancellation) decoding of these codes.
Impact Of The YMCA Of The USA Diabetes Prevention Program On Medicare Spending And Utilization

The YMCA of the USA received a Health Care Innovation Award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide a diabetes prevention program to Medicare beneficiaries with prediabetes in seventeen regional networks of participating YMCAs nationwide. The goal of the program is to help participants lose weight and increase physical activity. We tested whether the program reduced medical spending and utilization in the Medicare population. Using claims data to compute total medical costs for fee-for-service Medicare participants and a matched comparison group of nonparticipants, we found that the overall weighted average savings per member per quarter during the first three years of the intervention period was $278. Total decreases in inpatient admissions and emergency department (ED) visits were significant, with nine fewer inpatient stays and nine fewer ED visits per 1,000 participants per quarter. These results justify continued support of the model.
Behavior of Riveted Truss-Type Connections

The tests reported herein were performed to provide information on the general behavior of large, truss-type, riveted steel connections. The variables of the test program included specimen configur...
An Elementary Derivation of the Numerical Integration Bounds in Beginning Calculus

Best error bounds are given for the trapezoidal, midpoint, and Simpson methods of numerical integration using only elementary techniques that a beginning calculus student can comprehend.
NixPt1-xSi/n-Si contacts with sub-0.1eV effective Schottky barrier heights obtained by sulfur segregation

We demonstrate tuning of the Schottky barrier height, @f"B of nickel-platinum alloy silicide (Ni"xPt"1"-"xSi) contacts on n-type silicon by segregating sulfur at the silicide/Si interface. It is shown that while there is negligible effect of sulfur on the thermal stability and silicide resistance, extremely small barrier height values of 0.05-0.07eV at the silicide/Si interface can be achieved by sulfur segregation.
Japan: Language Situation

Japanese is spoken by 126 million people in Japan. Most people understand the standard form of the language based on a variety of Tokyo dialect, but many also speak a regional dialectal form. A series of reforms has been proposed to streamline the use of kanji (Chinese characters) and kana (phonetic based symbols), the use of honorific language, and the increasing number of loanwords from English. The numbers of native speakers of the Ryukyu dialect, an older variety of Japanese, and of Ainu, unaffiliated with Japanese, has been diminishing, as is the number of native speakers of Korean and Chinese. English is taught at junior high and high schools, but its use as a communication tool is limited.
Cyclic Stress Response and Fatigue Fracture Characteristics of 7150 Aluminium Alloy

A study has been made to understand the cyclic stress response and fatigue fracture characteristics of aluminum alloy 7150 in the T77 condition. Specimens of the alloy were cycled using tension-compression loading over a range of cyclic strains giving lives of more than 104 cycles to failure. The alloy displayed softening at all cyclic strain amplitudes. The observed softening behavior is ascribed to concurrent and competing influences of an interaction of mobile dislocations with the strengthening precipitates, and mutliple crack initiation culminating in macroscopic crack growth. Fracture of the alloy was largely intergranular with tortuous crack paths. The cyclic stress response and fracture behavior are briefly interpreted in terms of plastic strain amplitude, response stress, and deformation behavior.
Brief Report: Studies on Subcellular Platelet Particles

The phospholipids of subcellular platelet particles are very similar to those of the intact platelet. However, they contain a higher proportion of long-chain, highly unsaturated fatty acids, which confers upon them physical characteristics suggesting a dynamic biological system.
Diagnostic and Prognostic Decision-Making Systems: A Survey of Recent Developments in the United States

Over a decade ago, D. J.CROFT [1] wrote a review article, asking ‘Is Computerized Diagnosis Possible?’. His sentiments were echoed in a 1977 editorial by R.B. FRIEDMAN and D.H. GUSTAFSON [2] stating: ‘Successful applications in many other areas have been reported but the overall impact of computers on health care delivery has been less than was expected as recently as 5 years ago’. There are still no major successes to report in the realm of computerized diagnosis, but progress has been made. Two ‘second-generation’ artificial intelligence programs for medical diagnosis — ABEL and CADUCEUS — are reviewed below. Both are in the early stages of development. At this time, the prognosis for computerization remains unclear.
Genetics of Human Longevity and Healthy Aging

Genetic factors contribute to human aging and longevity through the modulation of biologic pathways, but few longevity-gene associations have been replicated to date. Participants in prospective epidemiologic studies provide an opportunity to investigate the genetics of many age-related phenotypes, but large discovery and replication samples are needed for genetic discovery. Today’s genome-wide genotyping of centenarians and participants in longitudinal cohort-based and family-based studies provide the opportunity to assemble these large samples, as does today’s unprecedented collaboration among investigators in the United States, Europe and around the world. This collaboration will make it necessary to standardize the definitions of aging phenotypes, and to assess potential sources of bias and confounding when planning a study and interpreting results. To date, the vast majority of genetic association studies have used populations of European descent. It is essential that in the future, such studies examine other worldwide populations to determine whether gene and allelic effects are heterogeneous across various genetic and environmental backgrounds. The collaboration of international scientists may aid in the translation of genetic associations, and thus uncover the functions of gene variants in the biologic mechanisms that lead to human aging.
NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE AND DIVERSITY IN 16S RIBOSOMAL RNA FROM FRANKIA

Frankia is the diverse bacterial genus that fixes nitrogen within root nodules of actinorhizal trees and shrubs. Systematic and ecological studies of Frankia have been hindered by the lack of morphological, biochemical, or other markers to readily distinguish strains. Recently, nucleotide sequence of 16 S RNA from the small ribosomal subunit has been used to classify and identify a variety of microorganisms. We report nucleotide sequences from portions of the 16 S ribosomal RNA from Frankia strains AcnI1 isolated from Alnus viridis ssp. crispa (Ait.) Turrill and PtI1 isolated from Purshia tridentata (Pursh) DC. The number of nucleotide base substitutions and gaps we find more than doubles the previously reported sequence diversity for the same variable regions within other strains of Frankia.
Montel’s Theory of Normal Families

The key to understanding the behavior under iteration of an arbitrary point in the complex plane lies in understanding the set of points whose orbits do not converge to an attracting or neutral orbit. Fatou’s note [1906a] described this set, often denoted J, in detail for a class of complex rational functions possessing a unique attracting fixed point. Although his technique of examining the intersection of the preimages under ∅ n (z) of the complement of a neighborhood of an attracting fixed point led to his discovery that when ∅(z) has a unique attracting fixed point the set J can be a totally disconnected perfect set, this technique did not reveal enough about J when ∅(z) has more than one attracting orbit.
A Non‐Proxied Empirical Investigation of Cultures Effect on Corruption

We empirically examine the effect of two measures of culture, the World Values Survey and Hofstede's six dimensions, on three measures of corruption, Transparency International's CPI, the International Country Risk Guide, and the World Bank's Corruption Index. By adopting three measures of corruption and using a large data set covering many countries over many years, we offer more robust results as to the effects of aspects of culture on corruption. Using the World Values Survey, we find that Trust in society, Control over one's destiny and Respect for others decrease corruption while Obedience increases corruption. We find strong evidence that societies characterized by high Power Distance and Masculinity are more corrupt. Some evidence is found to indicate Long Term Orientation, Indulgence, and Individualism have a negative effect on corruption. The effect of Uncertainty Avoidance on corruption is unclear. The results have implications for international business leaders as well as policy makers.
170. Preeclamptic decidual stromal cells fail to decidualize during co-culture with placental villous explants

Introduction Sustained stromal cell decidualization at the maternal fetal interface is vital to the development of placenta and fetus. Recent reports suggest that defective decidualization of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) may contribute to the development of preeclampsia (PE). We hypothesize that there may be defective communication between the placenta and stromal cells in PE that contribute to suboptimal decidualization. Our aim is to study the interaction between placenta and decidual cells in an ex vivo co-culture model with respect to decidualization and sFlt1 production. Methods Primary decidual stromal cells (DSCs) were isolated from term placentas of normotensive (n = 4; NT-DSCs) and preeclamptic (n = 3; PE-DSCs) pregnant women. Villous explants (VE) were prepared from NT placenta (n = 3) and stored in liquid nitrogen by the process of vitrification. DSCs were subjected to co-culture with VE for 72 h. Prolactin (PRL) and sFLT1 mRNA expression in VE and DSCs were determined by qRT-PCR. Group means were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. p ⩽ 0.05 is considered significant. Results Co-culturing VE with NT-DSC induced a significant increase in the DSC PRL expression (4.78 ± 1.64-fold against control 1.0, p = 0.005) compared to 1.93 ± 0.40 in PE-DSCs. VE co-cultured with NT-DSCs showed a significant downregulation of DSC sFlt1 expression (0.34 ± 0.10; p = 0.02) but not when co-cultured with PE-DSCs (0.37 ± 0.17, p = 0.07). PRL mRNA levels did not significantly change in VE. However, VE co-cultured with NT-DSCs showed a significant downregulation of sFlt1 mRNA expression. Conclusion VE interaction with NT-DSC induced decidualization and downregulation of sFlt1 in the DSCs as well as sFlt1 expression in the VE. This effect was not observed in co-cultures of VE with PE-DSCs. These findings suggest that in addition to being defective to hormone-induced decidualization, PE-DSCs are defective in their interaction with placenta that is necessary for optimal post-implantation decidualization and downregulation of sFtl1.
A scalable framework for large-scale 3D multimaterial topology optimization with octree-based mesh adaptation

Abstract Advancements in multimaterial additive manufacturing have the potential to enable the creation of topology optimized structures with both shape and material tailoring. However, multimaterial topology optimization methods that use Discrete Material Optimization (DMO) face three technical challenges for large-scale high-resolution problems: 1) the large-scale design space, since selection variables must be added for each additional candidate material; 2) the treatment of numerous sparse partition of unity constraints required in some DMO parametrizations; and 3) the multimaterial design space that has more local minima than an equivalent single material design space. This paper addresses these issues by presenting a parallel, scalable analysis and design optimization framework for multimaterial topology optimization that optionally uses local mesh refinement using semi-structured octree meshes. The advantages of this framework are demonstrated by showcasing its solution and design scalability and by efficiently solving large 3D multimaterial compliance-minimization problems with both isotropic and orthotropic material options on meshes with up to 329 million elements. For the largest case, the adaptive strategy is shown to achieve a compliance objective within 1.86% with roughly 1/4 the mesh size.
Utility of plain abdominal radiography in adult ED patients with suspected constipation.

Abstract Background Abdominal radiographs are often obtained in ED patients with suspected constipation, although their utility in adults is not well understood. We sought to compare ED management when an abdominal radiograph is and is not obtained. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review study of adult ED patients with a chief complaint of constipation from 2010 through 2016. Trained abstractors recorded radiologic tests ordered, treatments received, and final diagnosis. We determined the physician interpretation of the abdominal radiograph and its use in clinical decision making. Results Of 1142 eligible patients, 481 (42%) patients underwent abdominal radiography. Stool burden rated moderate or large was observed in 271 patients (46%). Sixteen patients (3%) were diagnosed with small bowel obstruction; 15/16 of these patients had high risk features such as old age, complex surgical history, history of small bowel obstruction, abdominal malignancy, or presented with vomiting or inability to pass flatus. Of the 197 patients with no or mild stool burden or normal radiograph, 109 (55%) were diagnosed with constipation and 89 (45%) received constipation treatment in the ED. Conversely, of the 271 patients with moderate or greater stool burden, 114 (42%) received no treatment for constipation in the ED and 104 (38%) were prescribed no discharge medications for constipation; 77 of these 271 patients (28%) were diagnosed with something other than constipation. Conclusion Plain abdominal radiography did not appear to significantly affect the ED management of patients presenting with constipation; it was common for patients to receive treatment that was in direct opposition to radiographic findings. Though a small number of patients had concerning diagnoses identified on plain radiography, the history and physical examination should have sufficiently excluded simple constipation, prompting an alternate diagnostic approach. Fecal loading on radiography does not preclude a more serious diagnosis. In conclusion, abdominal radiography appears to have low value in patients with constipation.
Fifty years of local growth management in America

Abstract This article looks at the efficacy of a diverse set of local growth management programs undertaken in the United States since the early 1970s. Organized into three sections, it begins with a brief history of growth management milestones, tracing the evolution of growth management programs from Ramapo, New York’s original 1969 ordinance to the emergence of the Smart Growth movement in the mid-1990s. A second part organizes and summarizes the growth management efficacy and adverse effect literatures. A third part takes a fresh look at the success of local growth management programs by comparing population growth, sprawl, and fiscal and housing price outcome measures across eight pairs of communities, one of which (i.e., “case study community”) adopted a growth management program, and the other (i.e., “peer community”) which did not. It concludes with a summary assessment of fifty years of local growth management experiences, along with some lessons for how planners might best deal with forthcoming rounds of suburban growth.
Comparison of Interventions Made in an Ambulatory Pharmacist-Managed Refill Model to Usual Physician Care:

Background: With the current practice model, there is less time for physicians to address refill authorization requests (RARs) while performing consistent quality care, which creates an opportunity...
The general factor of personality and creativity: Diverging effects on intrapersonal and interpersonal idea evaluation

Abstract The general factor of personality (GFP) has been found to promote social adaptiveness in a variety of contexts. However, GFP may exhibit both positive and negative effects on creative processes. In the present experiment, 178 undergraduates were asked to critique their own ideas or a fictional peer's ideas. The quality of these critiques was appraised by external judges based on five markers of idea evaluation—number, range, depth, specificity, and usefulness. In line with research on self-enhancement bias, results showed that participants who evaluated their own ideas produced lower quality critiques compared with those who evaluated peer ideas. However, this effect was moderated by GFP, such that individuals higher in GFP provided lower quality critiques when evaluating their own ideas. In contrast, participants higher in GFP tended to produce higher quality critiques of peer ideas. Thus, GFP appears to facilitate interpersonal idea evaluation while hindering intrapersonal idea evaluation.
The Social Science of the Death Penalty: Before, during, and after Trial

The death penalty is a controversial topic that has attracted attention broadly, from diverse groups including lawmakers, religious leaders, and the general public. Social scientists have also been intrigued by the phenomenon and have studied many aspects related to the penalty. Several of these bodies of research are the focus of this chapter. First, the chapter begins with a discussion of the social science-based explanations for the changes in practice and sentiment that the death penalty has experienced. Over time, the death penalty has become less frequently used, and by fewer and fewer jurisdictions. While many people object to the penalty, others defend its use. Scholars have explained these trends. Second, social science has suggested a number of human tendencies that are adaptive in general life, but inadvertently affect sentiment toward criminals and the death penalty. For instance, people have stereotypes, heuristics, and attributions that facilitate quick decision-making, but could also lead to biased decisions. Third, social scientists have studied the trial itself. The very process of selecting a jury can affect the trial outcome, as can jurors’ consideration of both legal and extralegal factors. Both the prosecutor and defense attorney can also affect the trial outcome in many ways. Fourth, the chapter discusses the roles and research related to offenders’ experiences on death row. Psychologists assess offenders’ competency to be executed, study their well-being, and provide them with mental health services. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the possible future of death penalty law and accompanying research.
Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright

Review of: Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright, by Paul Hendrickson
High-Grade Stenosis of a Traumatic Brachiocephalic Pseudoaneurysm and the Change in Cerebral Blood Flow Assessed With Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound:

This is a case report of a 35-year-old female pedestrian struck by a semi-truck. computed tomographic angiography (CTA) revealed a pseudoaneurysm at the proximal brachiocephalic artery measuring 1....
Measuring 5-year-old Mexican-heritage Children's Ethnic-Racial Identity Attitudes, Centrality, and Knowledge.

Abstract Young children are aware of ethnicity-race, yet the field lacks measures to assess ethnic-racial identity (ERI) in early childhood. Thus, the goals of the current study were: (a) to describe three adapted measures that can be used to assess aspects of Mexican-heritage children's ERI (i.e., attitudes, centrality, and knowledge), and (b) to test the psychometric properties of each measure among 182 five-year-old Mexican-heritage children. Results from confirmatory factor analyses supported a 2-factor solution characterizing positive and negative ERI attitudes; the subscales demonstrated adequate reliability and findings provided preliminary support for construct validity. Findings for ERI centrality revealed significant variability among children and initial support for convergent and divergent validity. Support for ERI knowledge was more limited and suggests further development of this measure is needed. Overall, the current study calls attention to the importance of assessing ERI in early childhood, and provides developmentally appropriate assessments to stimulate growth in this area.
A New Measure of Overlap: An Alternative to the p--value

In this paper we present a new measure for the overlap of two density functions which provides motivation and interpretation currently lacking with benchmark measures based on the proportion of similar response, also known as the overlap coefficient. We use this new measure to present an alternative to the $p$--value as a guide to the choice of treatment in a comparative trial; where a current treatment and a new treatment are undergoing investigation. We show that it is possible to reject the null hypothesis; i.e. the new treatment is significantly different in response to the old treatment, while the proposed new summary for the same experiment indicates that as low as one in ten individuals subject to the new treatment behave differently to individuals on the old one.
A new technique for forecasting pore pressure in two oil wells in North Rumaila field based on specific energy concept

Forecasting the pore or formation pressure is crucially significant in every well drilling operation to determine whether the pore pressure gradient is abnormal or subnormal. Abnormal pore pressure gradient means that the pore pressure gradient exceeds the gradient of the normal pressure, while when the opposite happens it means that the pore pressure is subnormal. Both cases required high care with special control of the mud weight to overcome the vital situation. Accurate pore pressure determination is rigorous in drilling engineering to plan for drilling hydrocarbon wells with appropriate mud program with less effort and cost. Precise forecasting of formation pore pressure prevents occurring various drilling hazards such as lost circulation, stuck pipe and well kick as a result of abnormal pore pressure. In the present work, a new technique was proposed to predict the pore or formation pressure from the specific energy. A new formula of specific energy was used involving the rock properties and the drilling parameters. The new specific energy formula is functioned later in Eaton’s equation to obtain a new suggested formula of pore pressure. There is a lack of researches in the literature that determine the real-time pore pressure without depending on well logs. Abnormal and subnormal pressure zones can be determined accordingly based on the fact that abnormal pressure intervals possess low effective stress and require less energy to drill than the intervals that have normal pressure at the same depth. The new proposed formula of pore pressure was tested in two oil wells in North Rumaila field (N14 and N15) in Basrah province south of Iraq. The obtained pore pressure from the new technique based on the suggested specific energy formula that involves the physical properties of the rock being excavated and the drill bit is compared with the actual (measured) pore pressure derived from other wells in North Rumaila field using measurements while drilling logs, drill stem test and real formation test. There was a good rapprochement between the predicted and the measured pore pressure. The present approach depends mainly on the value of the slope (m) which is determined and varied from one place to another. The new method could provide an alternative method for estimating the pore pressure especially for wells being planned to be drilled where the actual pore pressure is unknown and there is shortage in well logs and formation tests, where most of the previous articles in the literature depend mainly on well logs of adjacent wells in predicting the pore pressure of a specific well. The findings of this study can help for better understanding the prediction of formation or pore pressure that helps to choose the appropriate mud weight to control the well without collapsing and preventing well kick that might occur.
Near-Optimal Decremental Hopsets with Applications

Given a weighted undirected graph $G=(V,E,w)$, a hopset $H$ of hopbound $\beta$ and stretch $(1+\epsilon)$ is a set of edges such that for any pair of nodes $u, v \in V$, there is a path in $G \cup H$ of at most $\beta$ hops, whose length is within a $(1+\epsilon)$ factor from the distance between $u$ and $v$ in $G$. We show the first efficient decremental algorithm for maintaining hopsets with a polylogarithmic hopbound. The update time of our algorithm matches the best known static algorithm up to polylogarithmic factors. All the previous decremental hopset constructions had a superpolylogarithmic (but subpolynomial) hopbound of $2^{\log^{\Omega(1)} n}$ [Bernstein, FOCS'09; HKN, FOCS'14; Chechik, FOCS'18]. By applying our decremental hopset construction, we get improved or near optimal bounds for several distance problems. Most importantly, we show how to decrementally maintain $(2k-1)(1+\epsilon)$-approximate all-pairs shortest paths (for any constant $k \geq 2)$, in $\tilde{O}(n^{1/k})$ amortized update time and $O(k)$ query time. This significantly improves (by a polynomial factor) over the update-time of the best previously known decremental algorithm in the constant query time regime. Moreover, it improves over the result of [Chechik, FOCS'18] that has a query time of $O(\log \log(nW))$, where $W$ is the aspect ratio, and the amortized update time is $n^{1/k}\cdot(\frac{1}{\epsilon})^{\tilde{O}(\sqrt{\log n})}$. For sparse graphs our construction nearly matches the best known static running time/ query time tradeoff.
Structural Exploration of Rift Valley Fever Virus L Protein Domain in Implicit and Explicit Solvents by Molecular Dynamics

The structural conduct and preference of a protein are highly sensitive to the environment accommodating it. In this study, the solvation effect of the structure and dynamics of a domain in the C-terminal of RVFV L protein was explored by molecular dynamics using implicit and explicit water. The force field parameters of explicit waters were taken from the TIP3P, TIP4P, SPC/E, SPCE/Fw, and OPC water models, and those of the peptide were taken from the AMBER ff14SB force field. The behavior of the peptide was also investigated in an implicit solvent environment using the generalized Born (GB) model by setting the dielectric constant to match that of experimental measurements of water. Several properties including the interaction energy between the peptide and solvent molecules are calculated. Structural characterization and clustering of the atomic trajectories enable a better understanding of the structural and dynamical behavior of the RVFV domain along time.
Cognition in Psychoanalysis

In a paper published in 1965 in Volume 8 of Science and Psychoanalysis, edited by Masserman, I wrote: Cognition is or has been, up to now, the Cinderella of psychoanalysis and psychiatry. No other field of the psyche has been so consistently neglected by clinicians and theoreticians alike. Isolated studies and manifestations of interest have not so far developed into a definite trend. (Arieti, 1965)
What You Should Have Known Can Hurt You: Knowledge, Access, and Brady in the Balance

In the iconic case of Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court required prosecutors to turn over exculpatory information to the defendant. Brady and its progeny carefully balance our desire for a robust adversarial system against a fundamental promise of fairness to the criminal defendant. An emerging rule threatens that balance. The rule, which has been adopted by a majority of circuit courts, releases the government from its obligation to turn over exculpatory information where the defendant “knew or should have known” the essential facts of the exculpatory information. In adopting the "knew or should have known" rule, courts are wrongly valuing a defendant’s knowledge of exculpatory information over his access to that information. In this Article I identify this problematic distinction between knowledge and access, and expose critical problems that the distinction creates. First, the rule places an unfair burden on the criminal defendant for two reasons. It ignores the realities of the modern criminal justice system, where obtaining independent access to exculpatory information can be difficult or impossible for defendants. It also imposes an unfair and unconstitutional burden on the defendant’s right not to testify at trial by putting him in an “impossible predicament.” Second, the rule weakens the integrity and efficiency of our adversarial system by affecting the decision-making capacity of both defendants and prosecutors, particularly given the central role of plea bargaining as a means of resolving cases. In this way, the rule undermines the balancing act between a healthy adversarial system and protection of the rights of the defendant at the heart of Brady.