cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Uncertainty in Graph-Based Map Learning

For certain applications it is useful for a robot to predict the consequences of its actions. As a particular example, consider programming a robot to learn the spatial layout of its environment for navigation purposes. For this problem it is useful to represent the interaction of the robot with its environment as a deterministic finite automaton. In map learning the states correspond tolocally distinctive placesthe inputs to robot actions (navigation procedures), and the outputs to the information available through observation at a given place. In general, it is not possible to infer the exact structure of the underlying automaton(e.g.the robot’s sensors may not allow it to discriminate among distinct structures). However, even learning just thediscernible structure of its environment is not an easy problem when various types of uncertainty are considered. In this chapter we will examine the effects of only having probablistic information about transitions between states and only probablistic knowledge of the identity of the current state. Using this theoretical framework we can then determine whether it is at all possible for a given robot to learn some specific environment and, if so, how long this can be expected to take.
Macaw abundance in relation to human population density in the western amazon basin

We assess whether macaw population size varies with human population density in the western Amazon basin. Several factors, including collecting baby macaws for the pet trade, increase dramatically in areas with higher human population densities in the Amazon basin. We use a ‘quasi-experimental’ design to determine population size variation of four Ara macaw species in two regions of the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon, each having a low human population density site (~7–12 villages, 100–150 people per village) and high human population density site (30–50 villages each) for comparison. In region one, the abundances of all four species of Ara macaws were negatively related to human density. However, this trend held for only two of the four Ara species in region two. We discuss the relative importance of various factors (seasonal fruit abundance, overharvest of macaws for protein or the pet trade, and palm tree harvest) to the patterns observed, as well as the policy and management implications of these patterns.
Code Breaking with a Quantum Computer

Modern internet communications and electronic transactions rely heavily on the use of public key cryptosystems. Two famous examples are the RSA cryptosystem (RSA), and the elliptic curve cryptosystem (ECC). Such cryptosystems have the advantage that they do not require the sender and recipient of confidential messages to have met beforehand and exchanged secret key material. Instead, the person wishing to receive confidential messages creates a pair of matching public and private cryptographic keys, posts their public key for all to see, but keeps their private key secret. Anyone wishing to send the author of the public key a confidential message uses the posted public key to encrypt a message, and transmits the encrypted message via a potentially insecure classical communications channel. Upon receipt, the legitimate recipient uses his matching private key to unscramble the encrypted message.
Reducing the nicotine content of combusted tobacco products sold in New Zealand

Large reductions in nicotine content could dramatically reduce reinforcement from and dependence on cigarettes. In this article, we summarise the potential benefits of reducing nicotine in combusted tobacco and address some of the common concerns. We focus specifically on New Zealand because it may be ideally situated to implement such a policy. The available data suggest that, in current smokers, very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes decrease nicotine exposure, decrease cigarette dependence, reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day and increase the likelihood of contemplating, making and succeeding at a quit attempt. New smokers would almost certainly be exposed to far less nicotine as a result of smoking VLNC cigarettes and, consequently, would probably be less likely to become chronic, dependent, smokers. Many of the concerns about reducing nicotine including compensatory smoking, an exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms, the perception that VLNC cigarettes are less harmful, and the potential for a black market are either not supported by the available data, likely mitigated by other factors including the availability of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, or unlikely to offset the potential benefit to public health. Although not all concerns have been addressed or can be a priori, the magnitude of the potential benefits and the growing evidence of relatively few potential harms should make nicotine reduction one of the centrepieces for discussion of how to rapidly advance tobacco control. Policies that aim to render the most toxic tobacco products less addictive could help New Zealand attain their goal of becoming smokefree by 2025.
On-chip wavelength multiplexing detection of cancer DNA biomarkers in blood serum

We used spectral multiplexing produced by MMI waveguides to detect and identify two types of melanoma cancer DNA on an optofluidic platform. Cancer DNA biomarkers in blood serum were isolated using a solid-phase extraction method.
Intelligence Cloud-Based Image Recognition Service

Cloud-based vision service provide a opportunity of intelligence and programming support to meet different needs of embedded applications. To reduce the complexity of cloud-based computation, we proposed a method can be by performing Hamming distance. This approach relates in general to a method for feature description, in which a feature patch is described by using a binary string. Our method can achieve near-optimal precision and reduce the bandwidth and computation time.
Seeding Chaos: The Dire Consequences of Numerical Noise in NWP Perturbation Experiments

CapsuleStudying changes made to initial conditions or other model aspects can yield valuable insights into dynamics and predictability, but are associated with an unrealistic phenomenon called chaos seeding that can cause misinterpretations of results.
High temperature environmental resistant Mo-Si-B based coatings

Abstract For high temperature applications nickel base superalloys with aluminide coatings are reaching the service limit. Alternate materials such as refractory metal silicide alloys can extend high temperature capability, but the silica surfaces require coatings for enhanced environmental resistance. We present a review of an effective strategy to achieve the environmental resistance through the use of an integrated Mo-Si-B based coating that is applied by a co-deposition of Si and B by pack cementation. During oxidation of the (Si + B)-pack alloys, the initial MoSi2 outer layer is consumed by formation of the Mo5Si3 (T1) phase and the development of the underlying Mo5SiB2, T2 borosilicide and/or MoB boride phase layer. The T1 phase with B has excellent oxidation resistance and the loss of Si to the substrate is blocked by the underlying diffusion barrier (T2). Any damage to the outer T1 layer can be recovered from the T2 + MoB layer to yield a self-healing characteristic. The Mo-Si-B based coating on Mo based alloys exhibits robust performance up to at least 1700 °C not only to high temperature oxidation, but also to water vapor and corrosive deposit attack. Some of the applications are discussed for use of the coating strategy on ceramic materials.
A support vector machine-based ensemble algorithm for breast cancer diagnosis

Abstract This research studies a support vector machine (SVM)-based ensemble learning algorithm for breast cancer diagnosis. Illness diagnosis plays a critical role in designating treatment strategies, which are highly related to patient safety. Nowadays, numerous classification models in data mining domains are adapted to breast cancer diagnosis based on patients’ historical medical records. However, the performance of each algorithm depends on various model configurations, such as input feature types and model parameters. To tackle the limitation of individual model performance, this research focuses on breast cancer diagnosis that uses an SVM-based ensemble learning algorithm to reduce the diagnosis variance and increase diagnosis accuracy. Twelve different SVMs, based on the proposed Weighted Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Ensemble (WAUCE) approach, are hybridized. To evaluate the performance of the proposed model, Wisconsin Breast Cancer, Wisconsin Diagnostic Breast Cancer, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program breast cancer datasets have been studied. The experimental results show that the WAUCE model achieves a higher accuracy with a significantly lower variance for breast cancer diagnosis compared to five other ensemble mechanisms and two common ensemble models, i.e., adaptive boosting and bagging classification tree. The proposed WAUCE model reduces the variance by 97.89% and increases accuracy by 33.34%, compared to the best single SVM model on the SEER dataset. In practice, the proposed methodology can be further applied to other illness diagnoses, which offers an alternative to a safer, more reliable, and more robust illness diagnosis process.
Compromiso político y ficción en "Segunda vez" y "Apocalipsis de Solentiname" de Julio Cortázar

Al analizar los relatos "Segunda vez" y "Apocalipsis de Solentiname" de Julio Cortazar, la autora se propone senalar la actitud cada vez mas comprometida del autor con la realidad politica latinoamericana, y como la irrupcion de esa realidad en sus relatos da un nuevo significado a sus estrategias narrativas, lo que se traduce en un delicado equilibrio entre la dimension fantastica y la denuncia politica, dificil confluencia en la que una y otra se alimentan, sin perder su proposito ni esencia
Assessment of a High-Resolution Climate Model for Surface Water and Energy Flux Simulations over Global Land: An Intercomparison with Reanalyses

AbstractLand surface water and energy fluxes from the ensemble mean of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations of a Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) high-resolu...
Aristotle's refutation of the universal good

Etude de la critique de la forme universelle du bien developpee par Aristote dans l'«Ethique a Nicomaque» (I, 6). L'A. examine chacun des sept arguments avances par Aristote contre Platon: 1) l'argument de la priorite ontique de la substance, 2) l'argument de la polysemie de l'etre, 3) l'argument de la diversite des sciences du bien, 4) l'argument de l'economie d'explication, 5) le dilemme concernant le bien en soi, 6) l'argument de l'accessibilite au bien, 7) l'argument de la superfluite de la forme du bien et l'argument des sciences particulieres des biens. S'attaquant a l'architectonique platonicienne, Aristote souligne la necessite d'une nouvelle ethique fondee sur le bien particulier de l'homme et une approche positive du bonheur moral
Analysis of Ya-21u thermionic fuel elements

The Ya-21u unit of the Soviet-made TOPAZ-II power system has recently been tested at the Thermionic Evaluation Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A change in the unit performance was measured during these tests. In an attempt to identify the causes of this change performance, data were examined and used to estimate surface properties of electrodes of thermionic fuel elements (TFEs) of the power system. The effective emissivity was estimated at {approximately}0.03 to 0.035 higher than for as-fabricated TFE and cesiated work functions of the electrodes, which were higher than for as-fabricated TFEs. These changes in the effective emissivity and cesiated work functions, caused by gaseous impurities and air incursion in the TFEs interelectrode gap, lowered both the emitter temperature and the output load voltage thus contributing to the measured decrease in output power.
Coarse-graining simulation approaches for polymer melts: the effect of potential range on computational efficiency.

The integral equation coarse-graining (IECG) approach is a promising high-level coarse-graining (CG) method for polymer melts, with variable resolution from soft spheres to multi CG sites, which preserves the structural and thermodynamical consistencies with the related atomistic simulations. When compared to the atomistic description, the procedure of coarse-graining results in smoother free energy surfaces, longer-ranged potentials, a decrease in the number of interaction sites for a given polymer, and more. Because these changes have competing effects on the computational efficiency of the CG model, care needs to be taken when studying the effect of coarse-graining on the computational speed-up in CG molecular dynamics simulations. For instance, treatment of long-range CG interactions requires the selection of cutoff distances that include the attractive part of the effective CG potential and force. In particular, we show how the complex nature of the range and curvature of the effective CG potential, the selection of a suitable CG timestep, the choice of the cutoff distance, the molecular dynamics algorithms, and the smoothness of the CG free energy surface affect the efficiency of IECG simulations. By direct comparison with the atomistic simulations of relatively short chain polymer melts, we find that the overall computational efficiency is highest for the highest level of CG (soft spheres), with an overall improvement of the computational efficiency being about 106–108 for various CG levels/resolutions. Therefore, the IECG method can have important applications in molecular dynamics simulations of polymeric systems. Finally, making use of the standard spatial decomposition algorithm, the parallel scalability of the IECG simulations for various levels of CG is presented. Optimal parallel scaling is observed for a reasonably large number of processors. Although this study is performed using the IECG approach, its results on the relation between the level of CG and the computational efficiency are general and apply to any properly-constructed CG model.
Work Values across Generations among Construction Professionals in the United States

AbstractEmployees hold a range of attitudes and beliefs about their work life. This paper’s contribution to the overall body of knowledge is to further the understanding of how construction profess...
SAT-C: An Efficient Control Strategy for Assembly of Heterogeneous Stress-Engineered MEMS Microrobots

We present a new efficient control framework for controlling groups of heterogeneous stress-engineered MEMS microrobots for accomplishing micro-assembly. The objective is to maximize the number of controllable microrobots in the system while keeping the number of external global signals as low as possible. This work proposes a theoretical control strategy that could complete multiple-shapes microassembly from arbitrary initial configuration where all the control primitives can be accompanied with a constant number $(O(1))$ of control pulses of the power delivery waveform. We focus on microrobotic systems that can be modeled as nonholonomic unicycles. We validate the control policy with hardware experiments for implementing planar assembly using multiple macroscale robots with direct drive wheels. These results lay the foundation for developing new methods to control of a large number of MEMS microrobots.
Author Correction: A genome-wide cross-trait analysis from UK Biobank highlights the shared genetic architecture of asthma and allergic diseases.

In the version of this article originally published, there were two errors in the text of the second paragraph of the Methods section. In the sentence “To identify genetic variants that contribute to doctor-diagnosed asthma and allergic diseases (detailed phenotype information described in the Supplementary Note) and link them with other conditions, we performed GWASs using phenotype measures in UK Biobank participants (N = 487,409)” the number of participants should have been 150,509. In the sentence “Thus, a total of 110,361 European descendants with high-quality genotyping and complete phenotype/covariate data were used for these analyses, including 25,685 allergic diseases subjects (hay fever/allergic rhinitis or eczema, without doctor-diagnosed asthma), 14,085 asthma subjects and 76,768 controls for the analysis” the phrase “without doctor-diagnosed asthma” should have read “some with doctor-diagnosed asthma.” The errors have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
Optical Tweezers: A Force to Be Reckoned With

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded jointly to Arthur Ashkin for the discovery and development of optical tweezers and their applications to biological systems and to Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland for the invention of laser chirped pulse amplification. Here we focus on Arthur Ashkin and how his revolutionary work opened a window into the world of molecular mechanics and spurred the rise of single-molecule biophysics.
La justicia social en la era de las "políticas de identidad": redistribución, reconocimiento y participación

La caida del comunismo, el surgimiento de la ideologia del libre mercado, el ascenso de las "politicas de idenddad" tanto en sus formas fundamentalistas como progresistas, todos estos desarrollos han contribuido a desplazar las politicas de redistribucion. La tesis de este trabajo es que la justicia en la actualidad requiere tanto de la redistribucion como del reconocimiento, y ninguno de ellos es suficiente por si solo. En este sentido, los aspectos emancipatorios de estas dos problematicas deberian ser integrados en un unico marco comprensivo. Primero, la autora bosqueja los puntos cenffales de contraste entre los dos paradigmas politicos, tal como son comprendidos actualmente. Segundo, problematiza la actual disociacion del uno respecto del otro, introduciendo un caso de injusticia que no puede ser solucionado por ninguno de ellos por separado, sino que requiere de su integracion. Tercero, considera algunas cuestiones filosofico-normativas que aparecen cuando se considera la integracion de la redistribucion y el reconocimiento en un mismo marco comprensivo.
The complex spatial distribution of trichloroethene and the probability of NAPL occurrence in the rock matrix of a mudstone aquifer.

Abstract Methanol extractions for chloroethene analyses are conducted on rock samples from seven closely spaced coreholes in a mudstone aquifer that was subject to releases of the nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) form of trichloroethene (TCE) between the 1950's and 1990's. Although TCE concentration in the rock matrix over the length of coreholes is dictated by proximity to subhorizontal bedding plane fractures, elevated TCE concentrations in the rock matrix are not continuous along the most permeable bedding plane fractures. A complex configuration of subvertical and subhorizontal fractures appears to be responsible for the TCE distribution from prior TCE releases at land surface. Phase partitioning calculations of TCE in the rock matrix show that most TCE is adsorbed to solid surfaces because of the large fraction of organic carbon ( foc) in the mudstone. Large TCE content in some cores indicate the likely presence of the NAPL form of TCE in the rock matrix. Using average values of porosity (n) and foc in phase partitioning calculations identifies a number of locations of possible NAPL occurrence in the rock matrix. Samples of mudstone analyzed for n and foc show variability in these properties over several orders of magnitude. Accounting for this variability in phase partitioning calculations identifies a probability of NAPL occurrence, PNAPL. The spatial variability of PNAPL along coreholes identifies a configuration that may be attributed to a TCE source zone that has evolved after emplacement due to NAPL dissolution, adsorption, and matrix diffusion.
Computer Synthesis of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectra from a Parametric (Spin) Hamiltonian

A computer program has been developed for computing electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra from a spin Hamiltonian, ℋsp which is a linear combination of spin operators whose coefficients may be regarded as experimental parameters. The user supplies ℋsp, the spin number (orientation degeneracy) of each particle, and values of the parameters; output may be obtained in the form of the frequency spectrum for fixed applied magnetic-field strength, H0, or the magnetic-field spectrum for fixed radiation frequency, vmr. In addition to the line positions, the program computes first-order transition intensities in a radiation field H1 using eigenvectors generated by the calculation. Results have been obtained for (transition-metal) ions and free radicals in single crystals as a function of field orientation, and in powders and glasses (by summing over many orientations). The program can be adapted for calculation of NMR and NQR spectra of anisotropic systems, inclusion of line narrowing and broadening (relaxation) effects, and automatic adjustment of certain parameters to fit experimental spectra.
Operationalizing Ethical Becoming as a Theoretical Framework for Teaching Engineering Design Ethics.

Ethical becoming represents a novel framework for teaching engineering ethics. This framework insists on the complementarity of pragmatism, care, and virtue. The dispositional nature of the self is a central concern, as are relational considerations. However, unlike previous conceptual work, this paper introduces additional lenses for exploring ethical relationality by focusing on indebtedness, harmony, potency, and reflective thought. This paper first reviews relevant contributions in the engineering ethics literature. Then, the relational process ontology of Alfred North Whitehead is described and identified as the foundation of the ethical becoming concept. Following this, ethical becoming is imagined as comprising five components: relationality and indebtedness, harmony and potency (i.e., beauty), care, freedom and reflective thought, and ethical inquiry. Each component will be unpacked and knit together to argue that (1) becoming in all its forms is relational and, therefore, whatever becomes is indebted to all to which it relates; (2) one’s ethical engagement must be directed toward the creation of harmony and potency; (3) care practices are necessary to ensure that multiplicity is valued and safeguarded in the meeting of needs; (4) the capacity for reflective thought is necessary to fashion one’s self and others in the direction of harmony, potency, and care; and (5) ethical thought and action must operate through a cycle of ethical inquiry. This paper will close with a brief exploration of how ethical becoming could be utilized in engineering education contexts.
Distributionally Robust Portfolio Optimization

In this paper we consider the problem of portfolio optimization involving uncertainty in the probability distribution of the assets returns. Starting with an estimate of the mean and covariance matrix of the returns of the assets, we define a class of admissible distributions for the returns and show that optimizing the worst-case risk of loss can be done in a numerically efficient way. More precisely, we show that determining the asset allocation that minimizes the distributionally robust risk can be done using quadratic programming and a one line search. Effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown using academic examples.
Complexity of Curriculum Materials as Designed Artifacts: Implications and Future Directions

This chapter synthesizes and builds on findings from the previous chapters to consider what we have learned about mathematics curriculum materials as tools for teachers. Looking back at our analysis in Chaps. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, we briefly summarize our overall key findings and consider how these findings were influenced by key methodological decisions. We then discuss the complexity of curriculum materials as designed artifacts and the challenges associated with analyzing them. Using Hiebert and colleagues’ notion of a constellation of features that are needed to characterize classroom teaching, we argue that examining curriculum materials also involves considering a cluster of features. Using existing literature and our analysis in this volume, we also conceptualize curriculum materials as artifacts of design decisions comprised of multiple layers. We distinguish two main components, i.e., objectively given structures (what teachers see physically) and authors’ ideas and values, and discuss the relationship between them from curriculum authors’, the researchers’, and teachers’ perspectives. Finally, we provide some implications for teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers based on our findings and reflections on our work.
Non-mutated self protein murine TPD52 (mD52) induces anti-tumor immunity following active vaccination

2248 Tumor protein D52 (TPD52) is involved in tumor cell proliferation, trafficking and metastasis. Multiple investigators have demonstrated TPD52 over expression in various human tumors to include prostate, breast, lung and colon carcinomas. Murine TPD52 (mD52) naturally mirrors human TPD52 with respect to known function and over expression in tumor cells compared to normal cells and tissues, and thus represents a “self,” non-mutated tumor associated antigen (TAA) with direct relevance to several human cancers. Two murine cancer models, a spontaneously metastatic sarcoma and Transgenic Adeno-carcinoma of the Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) were employed to study mD52 as a target for active vaccination. To assess immunogenicity of the TAA mD52, naA−ve mice were immunized with bacterial, recombinant mD52 protein in combination with CpG/ODN as a TLR9 ligand or plasmid DNA encoding mD52 as a nucleic acid-based vaccine. Following the final immunization, mice were challenged s.c. with a lethal dose of mD52 positive, syngeneic tumor cells. Greater than 50% of mice immunized with mD52 rejected sarcoma tumor cell challenge and metastasis completely and >60% of the TRAMP-C1 challenged mice were tumor free ∼85 days post s.c. challenge with 5e6 cells. Only those mice that rejected challenge with mD52 positive tumor cells generated detectable anti-mD52-specific antibody titers and specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Though mD52 is expressed at low levels in the kidneys of mice, no auto-immune pathology was detected. Strikingly, mD52-based vaccination was able to break tolerance without inducing harmful autoimmunity and induced anti-tumor immunity in vivo. Together, these data demonstrate that mD52 is capable of inducing an immune response that results in the rejection of tumors that over express mD52 and that the vaccine induced mD52-immunity does not appear to result in potentially harmful autoimmunity. Our findings support the notion that mD52 is a promising target for anti-cancer vaccination and a relevant model for in vivo, preclinical evaluation.
A sugar-coated strategy to treat a rare neurologic disease provides a blueprint for a decoy glycan therapeutic and a potential vaccine for CoViD-19: An Editorial Highlight for "Selective inhibition of anti-MAG IgM autoantibody binding to myelin by an antigen specific glycopolymer"on page 486.

In a rare neurologic disease known as IgM monoclonal gammopathy the immune system targets a sulfated trisaccharide known as the Human Natural Killer-1 (HNK-1) epitope that comprises a constituent of the myelin sheath known as MAG (myelin-associated glycoprotein). This Editorial highlights a study by Aliu and colleagues in the current issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry, in which the investigators constructed a biodegradable poly-l-lysine backbone with multiple copies of this sulfated HNK-1 trisaccharide. This decoy, poly(phenyl disodium 3-O-sulfo-s-d-glucopyranuronate)-(1â3)-s-d-galactopyranoside, known as PPSGG, removed anti-MAG IgM autoantibodies from the blood, while not activating the immune system. These findings provide a path for the selective removal of a pathogenic set of antibodies that target the myelin sheath resulting in neuropathy. These findings are applicable to a parallel strategy for the generation of polysaccharides similar to those present in the receptor-binding domain of CoViD-19, which might inhibit viral adhesion to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) protein, thereby impairing cellular uptake of the virus itself. The deployment of complex polysaccharides that mimic actual COVID19 polysaccharides on the spike protein may also provide a feasible structural basis for a vaccine. Carbohydrate mimics, if conjugated to a carrier or backbone, might provoke an immune response to the spike protein. A vaccine that targets critical carbohydrates on COVID19, and then neutralizes the virus would recapitulate a successful strategy employed in other microbial vaccines, like the pneumococcal vaccines and the meningococcal vaccines. These vaccines direct an immune response to complex carbohydrates and successfully prevent life-threatening disease. This paper provides lessons from a rare neurologic disease that may teach us strategies applicable to a global pandemic.
Deterrence, Compellence, and Containment in the Trump Foreign Policy: Comparing Present and Past Strategies of American Leadership

What is the nature of the Trump administration’s foreign policy with respect to containment policy or the uses of force, such as deterrence or compellence? Is there a coherent “Trump Doctrine” regarding the use of force or containment in the Administration’s foreign policy? Utilizing Robert Art’s (The Four Functions of Force, in The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics, pp. 3–11, 1993) conceptualization of the four uses of force (deterrence, compellence, defense, and swaggering), Preston explores the Trump administration’s current foreign policy approach around the world and contrasts it with that of previous US administrations. How has Trump’s application of containment policy or his uses of military force been consistent and inconsistent from that of previous presidents? And what are the foreign policy implications of Trump’s approach for US security and economic interests, the impacts these will have upon our traditional allies, and the potential consequences that will result in America’s efforts to deal with adversaries around the world?
Data Augmentation via Structured Adversarial Perturbations.

Data augmentation is a major component of many machine learning methods with state-of-the-art performance. Common augmentation strategies work by drawing random samples from a space of transformations. Unfortunately, such sampling approaches are limited in expressivity, as they are unable to scale to rich transformations that depend on numerous parameters due to the curse of dimensionality. Adversarial examples can be considered as an alternative scheme for data augmentation. By being trained on the most difficult modifications of the inputs, the resulting models are then hopefully able to handle other, presumably easier, modifications as well. The advantage of adversarial augmentation is that it replaces sampling with the use of a single, calculated perturbation that maximally increases the loss. The downside, however, is that these raw adversarial perturbations appear rather unstructured; applying them often does not produce a natural transformation, contrary to a desirable data augmentation technique. To address this, we propose a method to generate adversarial examples that maintain some desired natural structure. We first construct a subspace that only contains perturbations with the desired structure. We then project the raw adversarial gradient onto this space to select a structured transformation that would maximally increase the loss when applied. We demonstrate this approach through two types of image transformations: photometric and geometric. Furthermore, we show that training on such structured adversarial images improves generalization.
Growth of pancreatic cancers with hemizygous chromosomal 17p loss of MYBBP1A can be preferentially targeted by PARP inhibitors

Here, we selectively target pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells harboring a hemizygous gene essential for cell growth. MYB binding protein 1A (MYBBP1A), encoding a chromatin-bound protein, is hemizygous in most of the PDAC due to a chromosome 17p deletion that also spans TP53 We find that hemizygous MYBBP1A loss in isogenic PDAC cells promotes tumorigenesis but, paradoxically, homozygous MYBBP1A loss is associated with impaired cell growth and decreased tumorigenesis. Poly-adenosine 5'-diphosphate-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) interacts with MYBBP1A and displaces it from chromatin. Small molecules, such as olaparib, that trap PARP1 to chromatin are able to evict the minimal pool of chromatin-bound MYBBP1A protein in MYBBP1A hemizygous cells and impair cell growth, greater than its impact on wild-type cells. Our findings reveal how a cell essential gene with one allele lost in cancer cells can be preferentially susceptible to a specific molecular therapy, when compared to wild-type cells.
Formal Languages and Automata

Study of formal languages and automata theory is a prerequisite for much of the material covered in this text. In this chapter, I will give a survey which is adequate for our purposes. The literature in the field is, however, extensive and the interested reader can gain a much deeper understanding of the topics discussed in this survey by studying some of the references cited at the end of this chapter, particularly Hopcroft and Ullman (1979) and Aho and Ullman (1972–73).
AN ECONOMETRIC STUDY OF THE DEMAND FOR ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

The increased popularity and explosive growth of the Internet have been widely tracked. A recent Business Week survey estimates that 40 million people are internet users, which is in line with an April 1997 FIND/SVP survey estimate that there are among 40-45 million adult users. 1 These numbers are up sharply from estimates obtained from surveys conducted in the fall of 1996. A November Louis Harris & Associates’ survey, for example, estimated that there were 35 million adult users, while IDC Research estimated that adult users in October 1996 were 31.4 million.2 PNR and Associates’ most recent estimate of households that use the Internet is 16%, which compares with an estimate of 14.8% in 1996. 3 These percentages are consistent with the Harris estimates. Thus, there is ample evidence to support the increased popularity of the Internet and the resulting demand in Internet applications.
Augmenting data flow criteria for class testing

A class is widely considered the basic unit of testing in object-oriented software. Although there has been much recent research on class testing, little attention has been paid to code-based class testing criteria. In this paper, we extend the traditional data flow testing techniques and propose three new code-based class testing criteria. These new criteria help overcome the problems associated with existing data flow techniques. We also show that each of the new criteria is stricter than its traditional counterpart in the subsume hierarchy.
The positive role of social networks and social networking technology in the condom-using behaviors of homeless young people

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of condom-using peers in the social networks of homeless young people differences in behaviors were assessed based on the social location of ties (home-based vs. street-based) and how those ties are maintained (face-to-face vs. via social networking technology). METHODS: "Ego-centric" social network data were collected from 103 currently sexually active homeless young people aged 16-26 years in Los Angeles California. Associations between condom use and the condom-using behaviors of social network influences were assessed using standard logistic regression. RESULTS: About 52% of respondents had a street-based peer who was a condom user. Having such a peer was associated with a 70% reduction in the odds of having unprotected sex at last intercourse. About 22% of respondents had a condom-using home-based peer with whom they communicated only via social networking technology. Having such a peer was associated with a 90% reduction in risky sexual behavior and a 3.5 times increase in safer sex behavior. CONCLUSION: The study revealed several implications for new human immunodeficiency virus-prevention interventions that mobilize these networks and social networking technologies.
M-trie: an efficient approach to on-chip logic minimization

Boolean logic minimization is being increasingly applied to new applications which demands very fast and frequent minimization services. These applications typically offer very limited computing and memory resources rendering the traditional logic minimizers ineffective. We present a new approximate logic minimization algorithm based on ternary trie. We compare its performance with Espresso-II and ROCM logic minimizers for routing table compaction and demonstrate that it is 100 to 1000 times faster and can run with a data memory as little as 16KB. It is also found that proposed approach can support up to 25000 incremental updates per seconds positioning itself as an ideal on-chip logic minimization algorithm.
Recursive calculation of geared robot manipulator dynamics

A recursive formulation is presented for the calculation of the inverse and forward dynamics of rigid robot manipulators with gear systems on each joint. The complete effects of the gear ratios and the gyroscopic effects of the spinning motor/gear are included in the recursive formulation. The forward dynamics solution recursively calculates the joint accelerations when given motor torques, and the number of computations grows linearly with the number of links. >
Somali Refugees’ Perceptions of Mental Illness

Nearly 13% of the U.S. population is comprised of foreign-born individuals, with Somalis constituting one of the largest resettled groups. Research suggests that, among Somali refugees, rates of mental illness are high. Yet research shows Somalis underutilize mental health services. Understanding their perceptions of mental illness and its cures may help practitioners to design more effective treatments for this population. Thus, this pilot study investigated Somali refugees' perceptions of mental illness and its treatments. Using purposive sampling, this qualitative study interviewed 20 Somali refugees using a semi-structured interview guide. Qualitative analysis yielded participants' perceptions of mental illness through their descriptions of physical symptoms accompanying mental illness, the stigma of mental illness, causes of mental illness, medical and non-medical treatments for mental illness, spirit possession causing mental illness, and the Qur'an as treatment for mental illness. Such information may help practitioners in the United States approach Somali clients in the most culturally coherent manner.
Response to Annealing and Reirradiation of AISI 304L Stainless Steel Following Initial High-Dose Neutron Irradiation in EBR-II

The object of this study was to measure the stability of irradiation-induced microstructure upon annealing and, by selectively annealing out some of these features and reirradiating the material, it was expected that information could be gained concerning the role of microstructural changes in the void swelling process. Transmission electron microscopic examinations of isochronally annealed (200 to 1050/sup 0/C) AISI 304L stainless steel, which had been irradiated at approximately 415/sup 0/C to a fast (E > 0.1 MeV) neutron fluence of approximately 5.1 x 10/sup 26/n/m/sup 2/, verified that the two-stage hardness recovery with temperatures was related to a low temperature annealing of dislocation structures and a higher temperature annealing of voids and solute redistribution.
Direct Administration in the Respiratory Tract Improves Efficacy of Broadly Neutralizing Anti-Influenza Virus Monoclonal Antibodies

ABSTRACT The emergence of influenza virus strains resistant to approved neuraminidase inhibitors and the time constrains after infection when these drugs can be effective constitute major drawbacks for this class of drugs. This highlights a critical need to discover new therapeutic agents that can be used for the treatment of influenza virus-infected patients. The use of broadly neutralizing anti-influenza monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has been sought as an alternative immunotherapy against influenza infection. Here, we tested in mice previously characterized broadly neutralizing anti-hemagglutinin (HA) stalk MAbs prophylactically and therapeutically using different routes of administration. The efficacy of treatment against an influenza H1N1 pandemic virus challenge was compared between two systemic routes of administration, intraperitoneal (i.p.) and intravenous (i.v.), and two local routes, intranasal (i.n.) and aerosol (a.e.). The dose of MAb required for prophylactic protection was reduced by 10-fold in animals treated locally (i.n. or a.e.) compared with those treated systemically (i.p. or i.v.). Improved therapeutic protection was observed in animals treated i.n. on day 5 postinfection (60% survival) compared with those treated via the i.p. route (20% survival). An increase in therapeutic efficacy against other influenza virus subtypes (H5N1) was also observed when a local route of administration was used. Our findings demonstrate that local administration significantly decreases the amount of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody required for protection against influenza, which highlights the potential use of MAbs as a therapeutic agent for influenza-associated disease.
Evidence of Surface Diffusion of Helium

Abstract The importance of the surface diffusion in gas separation by means of permeation through a microporous membrane was emphasized in recent publications (1,2). The significance of the surface flow of helium was stressed (2), but the experimental findings were not sufficiently pronounced to convince investigators in this particular area of study. In the present paper, positive experimental evidence of the surface diffusion of helium is given, and this fact supports the previously proposed general theory.
Electrophysiological classes of neocortical neurons

Neocortical network behavior and neocortical function emerge from synaptic interactions among neurons with specific electrophysiological and morphological characteristics. The intrinsic electrophysiological properties of neurons define their firing patterns and their input-output functions with critical consequences for their functional properties within the network. Understanding the role played by the active non-linear properties caused by ionic conductances distributed in the soma and the dendrites is a critical step towards understanding cortical function. Here I present a brief description of electrophysiological and morphological characteristics of neocortical cells that allow their classification in categories. I review some examples of differences in functional properties among different electrophysiological cell classes in the visual cortex, as well as the role played by specific ionic conductances in defining firing and accommodation properties of neocortical neurons.
Extending the Range of Microsecond-to-Millisecond Chemical Exchange Detected in Labeled and Unlabeled Nucleic Acids by Selective Carbon R1ρ NMR Spectroscopy

We present an off-resonance carbon R(1rho) NMR experiment utilizing weak radiofrequency fields and selective polarization transfers for quantifying chemical-exchange processes in nucleic acids. The experiment extends the range of accessible time scales to approximately 10 ms, and its time-saving feature makes it possible to thoroughly map out dispersion profiles and conduct measurements at natural abundance. The experiment unveiled microsecond-to-millisecond exchange dynamics in a uniformly labeled A-site rRNA and in unlabeled, damaged DNA that would otherwise be difficult to characterize by conventional methods.
Radiochemistry of Florida phosphogypsum

Abstract Phosphogypsum is the by-product of producing phosphoric acid by reacting phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. The phosphoric acid industry in Florida is the largest in the world and it is estimated that 1 × 10 9 tonnes of phosphogypsum will soon be stored in 18 subaerial sites, the so-called Florida “gyp-stacks”. Florida phosphate rock samples analyzed in this study have 238 U activities which range from approximately 250 to 2000 Bq kg −1 with 234 U, 230 Th, 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po in approximate radioactive equilibrium. During production of phosphoric acid, about 90–100% of the 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po in the phosphate rock is fractionated to the phosphogypsum. In most cases the activities of 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po in the phosphogypsum are directly and predictably proportional to the activities in the input phosphate rock. Studies carried out on the disequilibrium relationships in 74 samples of Florida phosphogypsum show that 226 Ra is relatively immobile on the unsaturated, aerobic portions of these gyp-stacks. The 210 Pb seems to be remobilized preferentially to 210 Po or 226 Ra and solutions percolating through Florida gyp-stacks have added 210 Pb to some phosphogypsum samples.
The Oregon Health Plan: predictors of office-based diabetic quality of care.

OBJECTIVE — In 1994, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) expanded basic Medicaid insurance to residents under the federal poverty limit, adopted a prioritized limited benefits package, and converted to managed care. The quality of care in predominantly Medicaid populations with diabetes has not been previously described. In OHP enrollees, we examined predictors of diabetes care based on American Diabetes Association guidelines and described OHP diabetes care compared with national benchmarks. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — Chart abstraction and Medicaid data for 1995-1996 yielded 996 nonpregnant diabetic patients who were 18-64 years of age. Using HbA lc , lipid panel, and urine protein/microalbumin documentation ordered during the study year, we constructed a standard care (SC) index: SC for all three tests, mixed care (MC) for one to two tests, or no tests documented (NTD). RESULTS — Our sample was predominantly white, 48 ± 11 years of age, 63% women, with 8 ± 5 provider visits. Providers ordered HbA lc (70%), urine microalbumin/protein (57%), and lipid panel (41%) tests. Patients distributed into SC (22%), MC (62%), or NTD (16%). Thirteen variables predicted SC. Patients had a higher likelihood of SC if they were 18-24 years of age, had more clinic visits, were on insulin daily, were in several comorbid groups, were enrolled in salaried or capitated health plans, or lived in counties with more hospital beds. Four studies were used as comparable national benchmarks. CONCLUSIONS — Care provided to OHP patients with diabetes compares favorably with national benchmarks. Yet, most OHP patients with diabetes are still not achieving optimal care. Examining predictors of SC may play an important role in further policy development.