cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Proxy-Based Integrated Cache Consistency and Mobility Management Scheme for Mobile IP Systems

In this paper, we investigate a proxy-based integrated cache consistency and mobility management scheme in mobile IP systems. Our scheme is based on a stateful strategy by which cache invalidation messages are asynchronously sent by the server to a mobile host (MH) whenever data objects cached at the MH have been updated. We use a per-user proxy to buffer invalidation messages to allow the MH to disconnect arbitrarily and to reduce the number of uplink requests when the MH is reconnected. Moreover, the MH's proxy serves as a gateway foreign agent (GFA) as in the MIP Regional Registration protocol to keep track of the address of the MH in a region. The proxy migrates with the MH when the MH crosses a regional area. We identify the optimal regional area size under which the overall network traffic cost, due to cache consistency management, mobility management, and query requests/replies, is minimized. We demonstrate that the integrated cache consistency and mobility management scheme outperforms both no-proxy and/or no-cache schemes in Mobile IPv6 environments.
Identifiability of the AR parameters of an ARMA process using cumulants

The problem of estimating the autoregressive (AR)-order and the AR parameters of a causal, stable, single input single output (SISO) autoregressive moving average (ARMA) (p,q) model, excited by an unobservable i.i.d. process, is addressed. The observed output is corrupted by additive colored Gaussian noise, whose power spectral density is unknown. The ARMA model may be mixed-phase, and have inherent all-pass factors and repeated poles. It is shown that consistent AR parameter estimates can be obtained via the normal equations based on (p+1) 1-D slices of the mth-order (m>2) cumulant. It is shown via a counterexample that consistent AR estimates cannot, in general, be obtained from a subset of these p+1 slices. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a full-rank slice are also derived. >
Modeling Dual-Arm Coordination for Posture: An Optimization-Based Approach

In the field of human modeling, there is an increasing demand for predicting human postures in real time. However, there has been minimal progress with methods that can incorporate multiple limbs with shared degrees of freedom (DOFs). This paper presents an optimization-based approach for predicting postures that involve dual-arm coordination with shared DOFs, and applies this method to a 30-DOF human model. Comparisons to motion capture data provide experimental validation for these examples. We show that this optimization-based approach allows dual-arm coordination with minimal computational cost. This new approach also easily extends to models with a higher number of DOFs and additional end-effectors.
Spiritual Practices: The True Test of Spirituality

“Spirituality” may be the most loaded word in conversations on religion today. In this article I want to examine the current tensions between spirituality and religion and also suggest that “spiritual practices” are the key to authentic spirituality.
Evaluation of left ventricular filling in dilated cardiomyopathy using digitized M-mode echocardiograms.

Digital M-mode echocardiography describes a characteristic alteration in the pattern of left ventricular filling when a dilated cardiomyopathy is present. The peak rates of early diastolic dimension change (dD/dt and dD/dt/D) are uniformly reduced but remain unchanged in time of occurrence (time to dD/dt). The rapid filling period is slightly shortened compared to normals, but the %AD taking place during rapid filling is not different than normals. This pattern is distinct from characteristic alterations seen in other cardiac diseases that have preserved systolic performance. While M-mode indices of left ventricular filling may be altered by several factors, the most significant factors in dilated cardiomyopathy are the severity of systolic dysfunction and preload. Left-sided conduction delays and associated right ventricular enlargement have no demonstrable effect on very early portions of diastole, but the conduction delay does prolong the rapid filling period and reduce the extent of filling during this period. Combined use of digitized M-mode echocardiograms and Doppler analysis of transmitral flow may allow a more complete description of left ventricular filling in future studies. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 8, March 1991)
PRODUCT QUALITY AND ENERGY USE IN HIGH TEMPERATURE SMOKING OF FISH

A process for heating smoked fish was developed such that the lethality of the heating process is equivalent to a 12 decimal reduction of spores of Clostridium botulinum Type E. This lethality is similar to the specifications in the Food & Drug Administration smoked fish Good Manufacturing Practice regulations. The requirements for a fish smoking oven that would be necessary to carry out the process were also determined. The staged temperature process, which started at 160°F (71.1°C) dry bulb and 140°F (60°C) wet bulb, with wet and dry bulb temperatures increases of 10°F (5.6°C) in 10 min increments until the internal temperature of the fish reached 194°F (90°(Z), minimized undesirable defects in the smoked fish product when compared with other smoking (process) schedules. The energy consumption of the recirculating air oven, for the high temperature staged process (186.482 MJ) was found to be twice that for a constant temperature 71.1°C process (92.337 MJ) with most of the energy used attributed to the generation of steam used for humidification, and heat losses through the un insulated ductwork. A heat balance on an oven with steam humidification and a heating element capacity of 35.5 kW showed that only 45.5 kg of product can be processed effectively using the staged temperature process.
Tailoring software for multiple processor systems

Multiple processor systems are becoming increasingly common. However, their use remains difficult due to a lack of knowledge concerning the development of parallel application programs. In addition, contrary to popular predictions of "cheap and plenty" resources, efficient management of distributed processor and memory resources remains of critical importance to the successful use of these systems. The contributions of this thesis are twofold. First, we design and implement a programming environment for multiple processor applications, called the TASK system. Second, we discuss the integration of policies and mechanisms for resource management into the TASK system. In TASK, application programs are written in terms of the abstractions offered by the operating system used for program execution. As a result, once an application program is written, its execution requires few additional efforts by the application's programmer. Programs are written in two languages. The TASK language, designed and implemented as part of this thesis, is used to describe the logical structure of an application program, and an existing, algorithmic language is employed to implement the application's algorithms. The construction of an executable version of an application from the TASK and algorithmic language programs is automated. Such construction includes automatic linking and loading as well as the automatic allocation of resources to the individual components of the application program. Programmers guide the allocation of hardware resources to program components by stating high-level directives in TASK programs. To identify suitable directives and to develop procedures that automatically perform resource allocation based on these directives, we develop a model of multiple processor software and hardware, called the proximity model. The model, the directives, and the resource allocation procedures are tested by experimentation with application programs on the Cm* multiprocessor.
Analysis of Constrained Optimization Variants of the Map-Seeking Circuit Algorithm

The map-seeking circuit algorithm (MSC) was developed by Arathorn to efficiently solve the combinatorial problem of correspondence maximization, which arises in applications like computer vision, motion estimation, image matching, and automatic speech recognition (Arathorn, D.W. in Map-Seeking Circuits in Visual Cognition: A Computational Mechanism for Biological and Machine Vision, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2002). Given an input image, a template image, and a discrete set of transformations, the goal is to find a composition of transformations which gives the best fit between the transformed input and the template. We imbed the associated combinatorial search problem within a continuous framework by using superposition, and we analyze a resulting constrained optimization problem. We present several numerical schemes to compute local solutions, and we compare their performance on a pair of test problems: an image matching problem and the challenging problem of automatically solving a Rubik's cube.
WhoseFault: automatic developer-to-fault assignment through fault localization

This paper describes a new technique, which automatically selects the most appropriate developers for fixing the fault represented by a failing test case, and provides a diagnosis of where to look for the fault. This technique works by incorporating three key components: (1) fault localization to inform locations whose execution correlate with failure, (2) history mining to inform which developers edited each line of code and when, and (3) expertise assignment to map locations to developers. To our knowledge, the technique is the first to assign developers to execution failures, without the need for textual bug reports. We implement this technique in our tool, WhoseFault, and describe an experiment where we utilize a large, open-source project to determine the frequency in which our tool suggests an assignment to the actual developer who fixed the fault. Our results show that 81% of the time, WhoseFault produced the same developer that actually fixed the fault within the top three suggestions. We also show that our technique improved by a difference between 4% and 40% the results of a baseline technique. Finally, we explore the influence of each of the three components of our technique over its results, and compare our expertise algorithm against an existing expertise assessment technique and find that our algorithm provides greater accuracy, by up to 37%.
Bioinformatics-driven discovery of rational combination for overcoming EGFR-mutant lung cancer resistance to EGFR therapy.

Motivation: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been widely and successfully used in treating NSCLC patients with activating EGFR mutations. Unfortunately, the duration of response is short-lived, and all patients eventually relapse by acquiring resistance mechanisms. Result: We performed an integrative systems biology approach to determine essential kinases that drive EGFR TKI resistance in cancer cell lines. We employed a series of bioinformatics methods to analyze and integrate the functional genetics screen and RNA-seq data to identify a set of kinases that are critical in survival and proliferation in these TKI resistant lines. By connecting the essential kinases to compounds using a novel kinase connectivity map (KMap), we identified and validated bosutinib as an effective compound that could inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in TKI resistant lines. A rational combination of bosutinib and gefitinib showed additive and synergistic effects in cancer cell lines resistant to EGFR TKI alone. Conclusions: We have demonstrated a bioinformatics-driven discovery roadmap for drug repurposing and development in overcoming resistance in EGFR-mutant NSCLC, which could be generalized
Examination of the decline in fear and disgust during exposure to threat-relevant stimuli in blood–injection–injury phobia

In the present study, participants (N = 22) displaying marked fear of blood-injection-injury (BII) stimuli were provided 30 min of in vivo exposure to threat-relevant stimuli, during which time their fear and disgust levels were repeatedly assessed. Growth curve analyses were then conducted to examine the decay slopes in both fear and disgust and their relationship. Results indicated that exposure led to significant declines in fear and disgust across trials. However, the decay slope observed for fear was significantly greater than that for disgust. Further analyses revealed that the decline in fear across trials remained significant after accounting for the changes in disgust. However, the effect of trial on disgust was no longer significant after controlling for the reduction in fear. Global disgust sensitivity levels prior to exposure did not moderate the level of fear activation or fear reduction during exposure. BII-specific digust sensitivity was also not associated with intial levels of fear. However, levels of BII-specific disgust sensitivity were independently negatively associated with fear decline. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
Perceptions of Tax Evasion as a Crime

This paper considers on aspect of the deficit faced by the U. S. economy. It considers the contribution to this deficit made by the taxpayers that do not fully report taxable income and/or do not pay taxes on their income. The gap between what is owed in tax and the amount of tax actually paid is estimated at $310 billion. What portion can be attributed to underreporting and non filing? The study reported in this paper attempted to measure the perceptions of US citizens as to the seriousness of tax evasions relative to other crimes and violations. The results show that tax evasion ranked 11th among the twenty-one offences surveyed. This means that the average person views tax evasion as only somewhat serious. Compared to other white collar crimes it ranked below accounting fraud, violation of child labour laws and insider trading, and equal to welfare fraud and higher than violation of minimum wage laws.
Inviscid instability of a skewed compressible mixing layer

In this paper we study the inviscid instability of a skewed compressible mixing layer between streams of different velocity magnitude and direction. The mean flow is governed by the three-dimensional laminar boundary-layer equations and can be reduced to a sum of a uniform flow and a two-dimensional shear flow. In the stability analysis, the amplification direction is assumed to be normal to the homogeneous direction of the mean flow. The results show that skewing enhances the instability by a factor of three for the incompressible mixing layer with velocity ratio 0.5 and uniform temperature. Under compressible conditions, skewing still increases the maximum amplification rate for a medium convective Mach number, but the enhancement is smaller. A scaling of the skewing effect is introduced which quantitatively explains the linear stability behaviour. Similarly, a suitably defined convective Mach number explains the compressibility effect.
National Cinema and Intertextuality in Alejandro Amenábar: From Hollywood to Julio Cortázar

This essay explores the cinematic work of Spanish filmmaker, Alejandro Amenabar, within the contemporary critical framework that comprehends recent cinema as being part of a globalized culture dominated by Hollywood models as opposed to representing a particular national cinema. The article argues that Amenabar's postmodern films, which assimilate varied sources, are instead better understood as fitting a specific cultural and literary tradition. To show this, the analysis draws intertextual links between the Spanish director's well-known Abre los ojos (1997) and a canonical Argentine short-story from the 1950s by Julio Cortazar, ‘La noche boca arriba’, a foundational text of the Latin-American avant-garde. Both narratives use a formal and visual structuring of time and space to challenge our notions of reality. More importantly, they are concerned with the absence of historical consciousness in modern and postmodern times, and explore how the loss of historical memory affects both subjective and collecti...
Differential Cross Sections for Neutron Elastic and Inelastic Scattering on 23Na

Measurements of neutron elastic and inelastic scattering from 23 Na have been performed for sixteen incident neutron energies above 1.5 MeV with the 7-MV University of Kentucky Accelerator using the 3 H(p,n) reaction as the neutron source. These measurements were complemented by γ-ray excitation functions using the (n,n'γ) reaction. The time-of-flight technique is employed for background reduction in both neutron and γ- ray measurements and for determining the energy of the scattered neutrons. Cross section determinations support fuel cycle and structural materials research and development. Previous reaction model evaluations (1) relied primarily on total cross sections and four (n,n0) and (n,n1) angular distributions in the En = 5 to 9 MeV range. The inclusion of more inelastic channels at lower neutron energies provides additional information on direct couplings between elastic and inelastic scattering as a function of angular momentum transfer. Reaction model calculations examining direct collective and statistical properties were performed.
A cost effective battery bank for I/sup 2/t testing and evaluation of electrical switchgear

The electrical design and mechanical construction of a 50-kA step-switched battery bank is described. Individual fuses protect each of the 40 parallel isolated strings of three series (12-V) batteries. Step current waveforms of 12.5 kA, 25 kA, 37.5 kA, and 50 kA are produced by eight sets of pneumatically driven 20-pole step switches and current-limiting stainless steel trombone resistors. Group 65 Motorcraft car batteries are used to give an I/sup 2/t capability of better than 5*10/sup 9/. The battery bank has well over 1500 shots, with testing of commercial switchgear continuing. In addition to the battery-bank engineering data, results of repetitive testing of vacuum interrupters at their I/sup 2/t limit will be provided. >
Glass Hydration Mechanisms with Application to Obsidian Hydration Dating

Chemical analysis of typical obsidians place them with a group of silica- and alumina-rich glasses constructed of a three dimensional framework of silica and alumina tetrahedra with nearly all tetrahedra sharing corners. Raman and infrared spectra of unweathered obsidians confirm the high degree of polymerization as well as some additional structural disorder. Analysis of dissolution rates of various glasses shows obsidian to be among the most stable, comparable to the most durable synthetic glasses. Surface layers on glasses can be chemically characterized by depth-profiling techniques such as SIMS and SIPS that give depth-concentration profiles for individual elements. Hydration rinds on glasses can be structurally characterized by infrared spectroscopy which shows both hydration and re-polymerization as the rinds age. Because obsidians are already completely polymerized glasses, their hydration rinds are mainly a result of hydrolysis and alkali exchange.
Identification of novel microRNA signatures linked to acquired aplastic anemia

Emerging evidence indicates that microRNA control and modulate immunity. MicroRNA have not been investigated in acquired aplastic anemia, a T-cell-mediated immune disease. Analysis of 84 microRNA expression levels in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells of patients with aplastic anemia revealed concurrent down-regulation of miR-126-3p, miR-145-5p, miR-223-3p, and miR-199a-5p (>3-fold change, P 2-fold change, P<0.05). In CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in aplastic anemia patients, MYC and PIK3R2 were up-regulated and proved to be targets of miR-145-5p and miR-126-3p, respectively. MiR-126-3p and miR-145-5p knockdown promoted proliferation and increased interferon-γ and granzyme B production in both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Our work describes previously unknown regulatory roles of microRNA in T-cell activation in aplastic anemia, which may open a new perspective for development of effective therapy. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT 01623167.
The Physiology of Cry and Speech in Relation to Linguistic Behavior

The study of the linguistic behavior of human infants addresses one of the central questions of human biology and evolution: To what extent does human linguistic ability follow from innate, species-specific biological mechanisms? The research of the past 30 years has demonstrated that human speech is an integral part of human linguistic ability. The premise that I will develop in this chapter is that many of the linguistically salient aspects of human speech begin to develop and can be seen in the vocal behavior of infants. These data indicate to me that the biological substrate of human speech involves an interplay between biological mechanisms that have other vegetative functions and neural and anatomical mechanisms that appear to have evolved primarily for their role in facilitating human vocal communication. These data thus refute Chomsky’s theory that human linguistic ability follows from the presence of a unique, species-specific “language organ” that yields linguistic behavior disjoint from other aspects of human cognitive behavior or the social communications of other animals.
An Energy-Independent Pro-longevity Function of Triacylglycerol in Yeast

Intracellular triacylglycerol (TAG) is a ubiquitous energy storage lipid also involved in lipid homeostasis and signaling. Comparatively, little is known about TAG’s role in other cellular functions. Here we show a pro-longevity function of TAG in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast strains derived from natural and laboratory environments a correlation between high levels of TAG and longer chronological lifespan was observed. Increased TAG abundance through the deletion of TAG lipases prolonged chronological lifespan of laboratory strains, while diminishing TAG biosynthesis shortened lifespan without apparently affecting vegetative growth. TAG-mediated lifespan extension was independent of several other known stress response factors involved in chronological aging. Because both lifespan regulation and TAG metabolism are conserved, this cellular pro-longevity function of TAG may extend to other organisms.
Tort Reform and Regulation of the Insurance Industry: Medical Malpractice Liability Proposals in 1986

Tort reform was a key issue for state legislatures in 1986. It pitted powerful interests against other powerful interests; it raised basic questions about common law; and it threatened to alter the federal system by having the federal government claim greater control over tort law and insurance regulation. In this article we set the background that led to this flurry of attention, review the major proposals for reform, and outline the actions of both the federal government and state governments. The federal government did little in 1986; it still faces the question of whether to preempt traditional state authority in these areas. At the same time, virtually every state acted in 1986. Early in the year, the insurance industry (and physicians) set the debate-its topic, tone, and terms. By thetime other interested parties got organized, many states had acted generally following the recommendations of the insurance industry. Later in the year, the debate became more heated, and the insurance industry had much more difficulty securing desired state action. As a result, many issues were carried forward to 1987.
Ovipositional Response of Tobacco Budworm Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Tobacco Introduction 1112 and NC 2326 in Cage Tests

When female Heliothis virescens (F.) moths were given a choice between a typical flue-cured tobacco, NC 2326. and a primitive tobacco introduction. TI 1112, in screened oviposition cage tests, 74 to 91% of the eggs were laid on NC 2326. In no-choice tests, moths deposited over twice as many eggs on NC 2326 as on TI 1112 plants. The relative attractiveness of tobacco leaves, as measured by eggs oviposited per cm2 of leaf, decreased for both plant types with an increase in leaf number, as measured from the plant bud. Over 87% of the eggs were found on the upper five leaves of both plant types, and 75% (TI 1112) and 79% (NC 2326) of the eggs were laid on the lower surface of the leaves.
Compound Semiconductor Surfaces and Interfaces: Whence Fermi Level Pinning?

Except for a few special cases, the electrical and optical properties of most III-V semiconductor surfaces and interfaces can be explained in terms of surface Fermi level pinning. However, despite years of research there is no universal agreement on the origin of this pinning. This problem is of more than just academic interest since pinning affects optoelectronic device performance via surface recombination losses, and high speed device performance through uncontrollable ohmic and Schottky contact properties for MESFETs and through a high interface trap density for MISFETs. This talk reviews some of the approaches to the pinning problem and presents some recent results on the role of misfit dislocations in pinning. In particular it will be shown that there are are several models which can explain the usually observed pinning positions. However, we have developed a modified work function model capable of explaining both the usual pinning positions and the experimentally observed exceptions in Schottky barrier height for some metal/semiconductor interfaces. The electrical properties of lattice mismatched GaInAs/GaAs heterojunctions suggest that Fermi level pinning occurs at misfit dislocations.
Saint-Simon and America

HE founder of Saint-Simonism is more celebrated than known," is the regretful remark of the brilliant Frenchman, George Weil, who is the outstanding authority on this nineteenth century thinker. And, indeed, if the world knows little of Saint-Simon himself, it knows still less of the universal and enduring influence of his ideas. It is an absorbing study to trace the odyssey of his ideas, their expansion and destiny, their distortion and adaptation, their deathless vitality and power, their migrations and vicissitudes during the past hundred years. Such a survey cannot help impressing one with the wonder of this movement. Not only Europe, but the two Americas, North and South, were and still are consciously and unwillingly repeating, following, and developing Saint-Simon's ideas. In general, all the social sciences were fertilized by his writing, and the high-capitalism of our day is a fulfillment of his dream. To be sure, Saint-Simon's work did not die with its creator. He strove to combine two worlds, those of theory and of practice, Utopia and actuality, dreams and life. And he himself lived in both. This fascinating figure, whose friend was Rouget de Lisle, and whose secretary was Auguste Comte, engaged in the selfappointed task of a wholesale and unlimited reorganization of human life. His far-flung vision constituted the great passion of his life. Yet, despite his zeal for "reorganization," this builder of system could not convert his own theories into a complete and orderly system, for they were soon submerged in the flood of new ideas which they provoked. "My life has been a series of experiments" said Saint-Simon, presenting the biographer with a mixture of philosopher and man of affairs, aristocrat and sans-culotte, pupil of d'Alembert and pensioner of Louis XVI. The influence of Saint-Simon is universal. He affected philosophy through Auguste Comte; socialism through his embryonic theory of class struggle; history through Augustin Thierry; politics through his interpretation of it as a reflection of the modes of production, and his sketch in I8I4 of a League of Nations; theology through his theories on the New Christianity; and in sociology he may be represented as one of the chief founders. His scientific writings and his pronunciamentos, his unique versatility of interest and knowledge and his talent for combining them, make Saint-Simon as modern in present-day Europe as he was in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. His psychology is still in agreement with the modern Zeitgeist. "Society," he wrote, "is based entirely on industry. Industry is the sole guarantee of its existence, the sole source of all wealth and prosperity. That estate of things most favorable to industry is, therefore, for this reason alone, most favorable to society. At the time that is both the point of departure and the goal of all our efforts. "1 Saint-Simon was not "le dernier gentilhomme et le premier socialiste," as is the verdict of his biographer Hubbart, who appears to have been influenced by Rodrigues. He was not "das Bindeglied zwischen den vagen Utopien eines Morelli
Salmonella prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility from the National Animal Health Monitoring System Swine 2000 and 2006 studies.

Concern about Salmonella contamination of food is compounded by fear that antimicrobials traditionally used to combat the infection will become useless due to rising antibiotic resistance. Livestock, in particular swine, often are blamed for illnesses caused by Salmonella and for increasing antibiotic resistance due to use of antibiotics in pigs. As part of the National Animal Health Monitoring System Swine 2000 and 2006 studies, swine fecal samples were cultured for Salmonella. These samples were collected from 123 operations in 17 states in 2000 and from 135 operations in 17 states in 2006. At each operation, 50 and 60 fecal samples were collected from late finisher pig pens in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Salmonella isolates were characterized to determine serogroup and serotype and were tested for susceptibility to a panel of 17 and 15 antimicrobial drugs in 2000 and 2006, respectively. A total of 5,470 and 7,788 samples were cultured for Salmonella in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Overall, 6.2% of the...
Perspectives of Wastewater Irrigation in the Shijiazhuang Area

To ensure the sustainable development of wastewater irrigation districts, The key factors of water quality related to wastewater irrigation practices were studied in the pilot area of Shijiazhuang wastewater irrigation district. The water quality and quantity in this area were analyzed and predicted for the next 30 years. Under different wastewater irrigation schemes, the concentrations of heavy metals in the soils and crops using the environment capacity method were evaluated. This study provided useful information for wastewater irrigation practices and wastewater irrigation managements.
WE‐D‐BRB‐04: Clinical Applications of CBCT for Proton Therapy

The goal of this session is to review the physics of proton therapy, treatment planning techniques, and the use of volumetric imaging in proton therapy. The course material covers the physics of proton interaction with matter and physical characteristics of clinical proton beams. It will provide information on proton delivery systems and beam delivery techniques for double scattering (DS), uniform scanning (US), and pencil beam scanning (PBS). The session covers the treatment planning strategies used in DS, US, and PBS for various anatomical sites, methods to address uncertainties in proton therapy and uncertainty mitigation to generate robust treatment plans. It introduces the audience to the current status of image guided proton therapy and clinical applications of CBCT for proton therapy. It outlines the importance of volumetric imaging in proton therapy. Learning Objectives: 1.Gain knowledge in proton therapy physics, and treatment planning for proton therapy including intensity modulated proton therapy. 2.The current state of volumetric image guidance equipment in proton therapy. 3.Clinical applications of CBCT and its advantage over orthogonal imaging for proton therapy. B. Teo, B.K Teo had received travel funds from IBA in 2015.
All-digital linear regulators with proactive and reactive gain-boosting for supply droop mitigation in digital load circuits

This paper explores microarchitecture controlled proactive gain boosting as a means of lowering the effects of supply voltage droop in digital circuits powered by embedded, all-digital linear regulators. A behavioral power supply rejection model for all-digital linear regulator is presented. The presented regulator shows enhanced power supply rejection under increased operating frequency. Test-chip measurements in a 130nm CMOS process reveal more than 2X (4X) reduction in voltage droop (settling time) over purely reactive gain boosting.
Distributed control design for damping inter-area oscillations in cyber-physical power networks

The next generation of the electricity grid, also known as `Smart Grid', is one of the most complex cyber-physical systems (CPS) due to its extreme dimension, geographic reach, and high reliability requirements. One of the main concerns for secure and reliable operation of power systems is the small signal stability problems caused by inter-area oscillations. In the future grid, enhancing the transfer capability while maintaining system stability requires damping these oscillations. In this chapter, we proposed a distributed optimal control framework using group sparse regularization functions. The proposed control aims to optimize a standard cost criterion while penalizing the number of communication links. The group sparse regularization approach is used to induce a desired communication structure and encode prior information about the underlying system into the control design. We present two applications of the proposed algorithm for damping inter-area modes in power networks. Our results suggest that the proposed method provides flexibility in designing wide-area type controls by allowing for a predefined communication structure. It can also act as an alternative approach to modal analysis methods in finding effective measurement-control loops in the system. The ability to encode system constraints in the control design objective is another major advantage of the method.
An assessment of mercury emissions and health risks from a coal-fired power plant

Title III of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) directed the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the rate and effect of mercury emissions in the atmosphere and technologies to control such emissions. In response to this and other forthcoming analyses the US DOE sponsored a risk assessment project at Brookhaven (BNL) to evaluate health risks of mercury emissions from coal combustion. Methylmercury (MeHg) is the compound predominantly responsible for human exposures to atmospheric mercury in the United States, through the fish ingestion pathway. In the BNL study, health risks to adults resulting from Hg emissions from a hypothetical coal-fired power plant were estimated using probabilistic risk assessment techniques. This study showed that the effects of emissions of a single large power plant may double the background exposures to MeHg resulting from consuming fish obtained from a localized area near the power plant. Even at these more elevated exposure levels, the attributable incidence in mild neurological symptoms (paresthesia) was estimated to be quite small, especially when compared with the estimated background incidence in the population.
Bifidobacterium animalis spp. lactis

Abstract The species Bifidobacterium animalis populates the mammalian colon and grows well in milk; as a consequence, strains from these species have been isolated from milk cultures. Its resistance to acid and oxidative stress renders strains from these species ideally suited to their formulation in fermented milk products. Laboratory studies have identified a number of properties that could be clinically relevant: immune modulation, epithelial adherence, and enhancement of gut barrier function. Two commercially available strains have been studied extensively: B. animalis spp. lactis BB-12 and B. animalis spp. lactis DN-173 010. The latter has been shown to accelerate gut transit in man and to provide symptom relief to individuals with common gastrointestinal symptoms, irritable bowel syndrome and constipation, while the former has shown some promise in boosting the immune response in man.
Workshop on Interactive Systems in Healthcare

The Workshop on Interactive Systems in Healthcare (WISH) will take place Sunday, April 11th, 2010 in conjunction with the ACM CHI 2010 Conference on Human Factors and Computing Systems, at the CHI conference site, the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The workshop is open to all CHI attendees. To attend, please register separately for the workshop. When you register for CHI, add WISH as a one day workshop. If you’ve already registered for CHI, you can log back in to the registration site and add the workshop to your program. WISH will be an event-filled workshop lasting the entire day. See the program for more details.
M1 muscarinic activation induces long-lasting increase in intrinsic excitability of striatal projection neurons

The dorsolateral striatum is critically involved in movement control and motor learning. Striatal function is regulated by a variety of neuromodulators including acetylcholine. Previous studies have shown that cholinergic activation excites striatal principal projection neurons, medium spiny neurons (MSNs), and this action is mediated by muscarinic acetylcholine subtype 1 receptors (M1) through modulating multiple potassium channels. In the present study, we used electrophysiology techniques in conjunction with optogenetic and pharmacological tools to determine the long-term effects of striatal cholinergic activation on MSN intrinsic excitability. A transient increase in acetylcholine release in the striatum by optogenetic stimulation resulted in a long-lasting increase in excitability of MSNs, which was associated with hyperpolarizing shift of action potential threshold and decrease in afterhyperpolarization (AHP) amplitude, leading to an increase in probability of EPSP-action potential coupling. The M1 selective antagonist VU0255035 prevented, while the M1 selective positive allosteric modulator (PAM) VU0453595 potentiated the cholinergic activation-induced persistent increase in MSN intrinsic excitability, suggesting that M1 receptors are critically involved in the induction of this long-lasting response. This M1 receptor-dependent long-lasting change in MSN intrinsic excitability could have significant impact on striatal processing and might provide a novel mechanism underlying cholinergic regulation of the striatum-dependent motor learning and cognitive function. Consistent with this, behavioral studies indicate that potentiation of M1 receptor signaling by VU0453595 enhanced performance of mice in cue-dependent water-based T-maze, a dorsolateral striatum-dependent learning task.
On the effect of Lyman α trapping during the initial collapse of massive black hole seeds

One viable seeding mechanism for supermassive black holes is the direct gaseous collapse route in pre-galactic dark matter halos, producing objects on the order of $10^4 - 10^6$ solar masses. These events occur when the gas is prevented from cooling below $10^4$ K that requires a metal-free and relatively H$_2$-free medium. The initial collapse cools through atomic hydrogen transitions, but the gas becomes optically thick to the cooling radiation at high densities. We explore the effects ofLyman-$\alpha$ trapping in such a collapsing system with a suite of Monte Carlo radiation transport calculations in uniform density and isotropic cases that are based from a cosmological simulation. Our method includes both non-coherent scattering and two-photon line cooling. We find that Lyman-$\alpha$ radiation is marginally trapped in the parsec-scale gravitationally unstable central cloud, allowing the temperature to increase to 50,000 K at a number density of $3 \times 10^4$ cm$^{-3}$ and increasing the Jeans mass by a factor of five. The effective equation of state changes from isothermal at low densities to have an adiabatic index of 4/3 around the temperature maximum and then slowly retreats back to isothermal at higher densities. Our results suggest that Lyman-$\alpha$ trapping delays the initial collapse by raising the Jeans mass. Afterward the high density core cools back to $10^4$ K that is surrounded by a warm envelope whose inward pressure may alter the fragmentation scales at high densities.
Interleukin-36 cytokines may overcome microbial immune evasion strategies that inhibit interleukin-1 family signaling

Gloss Cytokines are essential signals that promote immune responses against microorganisms. To establish infections, pathogens have developed strategies to block these signals. The interleukin-1 (IL-1) family comprises seven immune-activating cytokines. Three of these, IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-18, are known to be inhibited by viruses that cause skin diseases in humans. The physiological functions of the remaining four cytokines in this family, IL-33, IL-36α, IL-36β, and IL-36γ, are poorly understood, yet evidence suggests they could play important roles in immunity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Using viruses that target the IL-1 family—herpes simplex, Kaposi’s sarcoma–associated herpesvirus, measles, papilloma, and pox—as examples, this review, with six figures, one table, and 146 citations, discusses the hypothesis that IL-36α, IL-36β, and IL-36γ may have evolved to counteract microbial inhibition of IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-18.
Under-Actuated Systems

Techniques for the kinematics, dynamics and control of robotic systems largely focus on fully-actuated manipulators. Every degree of freedom is an active degree of freedom for these manipulators. That is, for each degree of freedom, there is an independent generalized force that can be applied by a control actuator. However, important applications involve manipulators with passive degrees of freedom, i.e., degrees of freedom with no corresponding control actuators. A passive degree of freedom can arise by design, due to actuator failure, during manipulation of artic- ulatable objects or due to modes of operation that avoid the use of some actuators [7]. We refer to manipulators with passive degrees of freedom as under-actuated manipulators, and for these systems the number of available control actuators (or, more specifically, the number of independent generalized forces) is less than the number of degrees of freedom.
Perspectives on Euler angle singularities, gimbal lock, and the orthogonality of applied forces and applied moments

Coordinate singularities and gimbal lock are two phenomena that present themselves in models for the dynamics of mechanical systems. The former phenomenon pertains to the coordinates used to parameterize the configuration manifold of the system, while the latter phenomenon has a distinctive physical manifestation. In the present paper, we use tools from differential geometry to show how gimbal lock is intimately associated with an orthogonality condition on the applied forces and moments which act on the system. This condition is equivalent to a generalized applied force being normal to the configuration manifold of the system. Numerous examples, including the classic bead on a rotating hoop example and a gimbaled rigid body, are used to illuminate the orthogonality condition. These examples help to offer a new explanation for the elimination of gimbal lock by the addition of gimbals and demonstrate how integrable constraints alter the configuration manifold and may consequently eliminate coordinate singularities.
Functional muscle recovery with nanoparticle-directed M2 macrophage polarization in mice.

Persistence of inflammation, and associated limits in tissue regeneration, are believed to be due in part to the imbalance of M1 over M2 macrophages. Here, we hypothesized that providing a sustained source of an antiinflammatory polarizing cytokine would shift the balance of macrophages at a site of tissue damage to improve functional regeneration. Specifically, IL-4–conjugated gold nanoparticles (PA4) were injected into injured murine skeletal muscle, resulting in improved histology and an ∼40% increase in muscle force compared with mice treated with vehicle only. Macrophages were the predominant infiltrating immune cell, and treatment with PA4 resulted in an approximately twofold increase in the percentage of macrophages expressing the M2a phenotype and an approximately twofold decrease in M1 macrophages, compared with mice treated with vehicle only. Intramuscular injection of soluble IL-4 did not shift macrophage polarization or result in functional muscle improvements. Depletion of monocytes/macrophages eliminated the therapeutic effects of PA4, suggesting that improvement in muscle function was the result of M2-shifted macrophage polarization. The ability of PA4 to direct macrophage polarization in vivo may be beneficial in the treatment of many injuries and inflammatory diseases.
Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for Antennaria corymbosa (Asteraceae) and close relatives.

Premise The genus Antennaria has a complex evolutionary history due to dioecism, excessive polyploidy, and the evolution of polyploid agamic complexes. We developed microsatellite markers from A. corymbosa to investigate genetic diversity and population genetic structure in Antennaria species. Methods and results Twenty-four novel microsatellite markers (16 nuclear and eight chloroplast) were developed from A. corymbosa using an enriched genomic library. Ten polymorphic nuclear markers were used to characterize genetic variation in five populations of A. corymbosa. One to four alleles were found per locus, and the expected heterozygosity and fixation index ranged from 0.00 to 0.675 and -0.033 to 0.610, respectively. We were also able to successfully amplify these markers in five additional Antennaria species. Conclusions These markers are promising tools to study the population genetics of sexual Antennaria species and to investigate interspecific gene flow, clonal diversity, and parentage of Antennaria polyploid agamic complexes.
Smoking Cessation Behavior in Male Portuguese Californians

The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of smoking cessation in a sample of male Portuguese Californians using data from the Portuguese Study, a dissertation thesis study with a crosssectional design that assessed 141 smokers and 67 ex-smokers of Portuguese origin residing in Southern and Central California recruited from Portuguese community clubs. Socio-demographics, acculturation, health beliefs, stress, and social support for smoking cessation were assessed and measured in this population. Bivariate predictors of becoming an ex-smoker were being married (p=.01), having a high support index for not smoking (p<.01), having a nonsmoking close friend (p<.01), perception that doctors control health (p=.02), disagreement with the belief that health occurs by chance (p=.01), and belief that it is easy to stop smoking (p<.01). In a multivariate analysis - after controlling for demographic variables, acculturation, and stress variables - ex-smoking status remained associated with having a high support index for not smoking (p<.01), having a nonsmoking close friend (p=.05), disagreement with the belief that health occurs by chance (p<.01) and belief that it is easy to stop smoking (p<.01). Conclusion: Social support, the belief that health does not occur by chance and self-efficacy were associated with being an ex-smoker in Portuguese Californian males. Smoking cessation programs in this population should address these determinants.
A Hebbian learning algorithm for training a neural circuit to perform context-dependent associations of stimuli

We propose a biologically plausible learning algorithm to train a neural circuit model to perform context-dependent associations of stimuli with correct responses. The specific cognitive task we consider requires the ability to learn a context-dependent association rule and generalize beyond what has been seen during training. We analyze the learning algorithm using a Markov chain framework and establish its convergence. Using numerical simulation, we validate the performance of the learning algorithm and the generalization ability of the neural circuit model.