cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Formal Verification of Firewall Policies

Firewalls are the mainstay of enterprise security and the most widely adopted technology for protecting private networks. The quality of protection provided by a firewall directly depends on the quality of its policy (i.e., configuration). Due to the lack of tools for verifying firewall policies, most firewalls on the Internet have been plagued with policy errors. A firewall policy error either creates security holes that will allow malicious traffic to sneak into a private network or blocks legitimate traffic and disrupts normal business processes, which in turn could lead to irreparable, if not tragic, consequences. We propose a firewall verification tool in this paper. Our tool takes as input a firewall policy and a given property, then outputs whether the policy satisfies the property. Despite of the importance of verifying firewall policies, this problem has not been explored in previous work. Due to the complex nature of firewall policies, designing algorithms for such a verification tool is challenging. In this paper, we designed and implemented a verification algorithm using decision diagrams, and tested it on both real-life firewall policies and synthetic firewall policies of large sizes. The experimental results show that our algorithm is very efficient. In practice, our firewal verification algorithm can be used in the iterative process of firewall policy design, verification, and maintenance. Note that the firewall policy verification algorithm proposed in this paper is not limited to firewalls. Rather, they can be potentially applied to other rule- based systems as well.
Living with Depression: Illness and Identity Turning Points

This article reports on an in-depth interview investigation of 2O persons who have been diagnosed and treated for unipolar depression. The article proceeds from the observation that although a great deal of survey research has been directed at trying to understand the causes for depression, very little writing has explored the subjective experience of depression. The depression experience is conceived as a moving perspective or career through which persons try to make sense of their inherently ambiguous life condition. Analysis focuses on the major benchmarks in this career process. The key points in the career process are (a) having inchoate feelings of distress, (b) coming to feel that something is "really wrong," (c) having a crisis, (d) coming to grips with an illness identity, and sometimes (e) defining depression as a condition one can get past. Each of these stages corresponds to transformations in persons' self-conceptions.
MojaveComm: A Robust Group Communication Library for Grid Environments

This paper introduces a fault-tolerant group communication protocol that is aimed at grid and wide area environments. The protocol has two layers. The lower layer provides a total order of messages in one group, while the upper layer provides an ordering of messages accross groups. The protocol can be used to implement sequential consistency. To prove the correctness of our protocol we have used a combination of model checking and mathematical proofs. The paper also presents the behavior of our implementation of the protocol in a simulated environment.
Echocardiography, a non-invasive method for the investigation of heart morphology and function in laboratory dogs: 2. Effects of minoxidil and quinidine on the left ventricle function

We used echocardiography to investigate the changes in the cardiac function of dogs treated with minoxidil (a vasodilator, administered at doses which can produce mild lesions in the myocardium of the left ventricle) and quinidine (an antiarrhythmic at doses up to 8 times the upper limit of the therapeutic range in dogs). Groups of three beagles received a single administration of minoxidil at doses of 0.5 or 2 mg/kg. Two groups of two dogs received a single administration of quinidine at doses of 80 or 160 mg/kg. Two groups of three control dogs were treated concurrently with the vehicle alone. M-mode echocardiography was performed under two-dimensional echocardiography guidance on three occasions the day before treatment, immediately before dosing and 1, 3 and 24 h after dosing. We measured or calculated end diastolic, end systolic, and stroke volumes (EDV, ESV and SV), fractional shortening (FS), ejection fraction (EF), the percentage of thickening of the septum and of the left ventricle posterior wall...
Sketching Under the Influence? Winsor McCay and the Question of Aesthetic Convergence Between Comic Strips and Film

The formal similarities between comic strips and film have often sparked a contentious debate about aesthetic intersections between the two mediums as well as discussions of influence. Comic histor...
A general study of the Wigner coefficients of SU(1, 1)

Abstract : The Wigner coefficients which couple any two irreducible unitary representations of the noncompact group SU(1,1) are derived by means of the second-order difference equation which defines them. It is found that whenever at least one of the three representations being coupled is discrete, then the two solutions are degenerate, but two linearly independent non-trivial solutions exist, in general, when all three representations are continuous. For this case two orthonormal solutions are found. Some elementary symmetries of the solutions are examined. The integral over the group manifold is regularized by means of a convergence factor in order to make all the irreducible unitary representation functions (the Bargmann functions) mutually orthonormal. This regularization is used for the investigation of the resolvent of the Laplace-Beltrami operator in the space of the Bargmann functions. (Author)
Placentation in garter snakes: scanning EM of the placental membranes of Thamnophis ordinoides and T. sirtalis.

Surface topography and cross-sections of the placental membranes were examined by scanning electron microscopy in two species of Thamnophis. The chorionic epithelium of the chorioallantoic placenta consists of broad, squamous cells that lack surface specializations. The apposed uterine epithelium contains ciliated cells and larger, nonciliated cells. Neither the epithelium of the chorion nor that of the uterus is eroded; thus, underlying capillaries are not exposed to the luminal surface. In both the omphaloplacenta and the omphalallantoic placenta, epithelium of the omphalopleure consists of brush-border cells bearing prominent microvilli, interspersed with cells bearing minuscule microvilli. These surface epithelial cells are joined at their apices and their lateral surfaces are extensively sculpted by intercellular channels, presenting the appearance of an epithelium specialized for absorption. Deep to the epithelium lie the yolk spheres of the isolated yolk mass, interspersed with endodermal cells. Surface topography of the uterine epithelia of the omphaloplacenta and omphalallantoic placenta is relatively unspecialized. The acellular shell membrane separates maternal and fetal tissues in each of the three placental types. Marked differences in surface features of the chorioallantois and omphalopleure probably reflect different roles of these membranes in gas exchange and transfer of water and nutrients. J. Morphol. 252:263–275, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Successful Prevention and Treatment of Babesiosis with Atovaquone

Atovaquone was evaluated for the prevention and treatment of babesiosis in hamsters. When atovaquone was administered before inoculation of 10(6) Babesia microti and continued for 8 days thereafter, 9 of 10 hamsters survived beyond 54 days, but all untreated controls died within 12 days after inoculation. Quantitation of parasitemia showed a mean of 75% erythrocytes parasitized by day 5 in controls, but atovaquone recipients never exceeded 0.7% of parasitized erythrocytes over 54 days of observation. Clindamycin plus quinine was also effective but less so than atovaquone. When treatment was not started until parasitemia became established, atovaquone in doses of 300, 150, and 80 mg/kg/day was effective in the recovery of all animals compared with 50% of those receiving 10 mg/kg/day and 10% of untreated controls. With its remarkable safety record, atovaquone offers promise for clinical trials in babesiosis of both humans and lower animals.
SMALL‐SCALE MASS CULTURE OF Daphnia magna Straus

Daphnia magna Straus 1820 was reared on a defined medium in 4-liter flasks under controlled conditions of light, temperature and species of algal food. Adult D. magna were found to be tolerant of high levels of ammonia, up to 108 μM, at high pH (>10), although parthenogenic reproduction may be inhibited at these high levels. Scenedesmus quadricauda and Ankistrodesmus sp. were found to be satisfactory food sources. Densities of greater than one animal per ml in culture were attained utilizing Ankistrodesmus sp. as a food source at a pH of 7.7. Maintenance of pH at around 7–8 appears to be important to successful D. magna culture.
The Sunburn UV Network and its Applicability for Biological Predictions

Since 1973 a global network of Meters has been measuring the half-hourly dose of sunburn ultraviolet. From the original 10 stations there had been an increase by 1980 to almost 30 providing a Sunburn UV (SUV) climatology at a wide variety of latitudes from 38° S to 71° N, at altitudes from sea level to 3.4 KM., and in climates ranging from cold wet to hot arid. (Fig. l)
The challenge to improve citizen participation in public budgeting: a discussion

This article considers the recent emphasis on the importance and value of citizen participation, involvement, and engagement in local government and how active participation extends to public budgeting. The inclusion of citizen participation in local government budget processes challenges the traditional budget discourse between managers and representatives. Active citizen participation provides valuable comments and insight as well as complexity and challenges to administrative processes. This article discusses the themes, opportunities, techniques and strategies developed in this symposium to expand citizen participation in public budgeting. Continued discussion and innovation in active citizen participation in budgeting is encouraged.
Study on the Vitrification of Tube-Cultured Seedlings of Tetraploidy Black locust

[Objective] The purpose of the study was to explore the methods preventing the vitrification in the batch tissue culture of rapid propagation.[Method] With tetraploidy Black locust as material,the factors influencing the vitrification of tube-cultured seedlings were studied through a lot of standardized and systematic experiments.[Result] The difference between treatments with nitrate and amino nitrogen was not significant.After hydrolytic lactalbumin was added into media,the vitrified seedlings reduced,but the contamination rate was always very high.Sealing with cotton plug and gauze had significant effects on reducing vitrified seedlings.When KT was used,the vitrification was lightened to some extent,but the propagation coefficient was only 1.5.When 6-BA was used,though the proportion of vitrified seedlings was higher,the propagation coefficients of non-vitrified tube-cultured seedlings were higher than 3.5.Both sucrose and algar concn.could change vitrifying frequency,among them the effect of sucrose was more significant,but it reduced growth velocity.The best combination of temperature and light for reducing vitrification was temperature of 23 ℃ and light time of 14 h/d.[Conclusion] The study provided some feasible measures for preventing the vitrification of tube-cultured seedlings of tetraploidy Black locust.
Ipsilateral Corticospinal Projections from Noninfarcted Cortex in Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to characterize corticospinal tract development from each hemisphere over the first 2 years in 13 patients with perinatal stroke compared to 46 healthy controls, in a study at University of Newcastle, Newcastle on Tyne, UK; and University of Pisa, Italy.
The Technician of Desire

This chapter deals with the theories of Ernest Dichter, the father of motivation research. It considers his methods, mainly depth analysis, to find what motivates people, and his notion that motivation research can be used for socially positive functions, such as fighting racism and anti-Semitism. An example of his thinking is shown in a discussion of the different reasons people use cigarette lighters, which are related to their conscious, preconscious, and unconscious motivations. Dichter argues that marketers often make false assumptions about how rational people are and neglect irrational elements in their psyches, generally buried deep in the unconscious realms of their psyches. He stresses the importance of analyzing the objects people own as a means to understanding them and their behavior. He offers an analysis of the reasons people like horror stories and suggests that the media are useful since they teach people about life and provide various gratifications. He argues that the function of motivation research is not to convince people to buy things they don’t need but to serve as a bridge between consumers and manufacturers and to be used in a positive way for socially constructive goals.
Customs and Duty: Indigenous Hip Hop and the US–Canada Border

ABSTRACTThe production of Indigenous hip hop on both sides of the 49th parallel reveals a cultural complexity far beyond a stereotypical melting pot to the south and mosaic to the north. This article demonstrates multiple similarities in Canadian and USAmerican Indigenous hip hop through a parallel analysis of recent music videos by Canadian Cree and Saulteaux rapper Drezus and USAmerican Lakota rapper Frank Waln. Like earlier hip hop that inspires it, Indigenous hip hop on both sides of the border uses place as a central part of its messaging. These videos, with parallel visual narratives, demonstrate how place-based meanings are expressed around the borderlands through the fusion of traditional music into rap music. Building from hip hop scholarship on racially-coded evocations of place, this article argues that referencing place entails more than naming geographies. I analyze three overlapping functions of place: establishing a sense of connection between artist and land, conveying a specific type of a...
IS PROFICIENCY IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

This paper examines the role of IS proficiency, the ability of users to interact easily with an information system, in a social network of multiple users and multiple information systems. Using survey data from 557 members of 40 healthcare groups in a large HMO, this paper explores three aspects of the group’s user -system relationshi ps: average IS use of the group, average IS proficiency of the group, and the centrality of the IS proficiency in the users’ social network. At least some support is found for all the hypotheses, but the centrality of IS proficiency is the only measure th at is fully supported. From additional qualitative data, I find evidence that the more central the IS proficiency is in a group, the better that group can work together to interact with the information systems.
Evolving strategies for the development and evaluation of a computerised melanoma image analysis system

AbstractThe rising incidence of melanoma has increased demand for early detection tools, which enable an objective decision and prevent the need for biopsies, the current gold standard in lesion diagnosis. In this study, we report the development of such a tool, a melanoma image analysis system (MIAS), designed to improve the standard of care and classify suspicious skin lesions as benign or malignant. In addition, our methodological approach to curate an image data-set (107 benign lesions and 94 melanomas) and subsequently divide into five balanced sets in order to create a quadratic discriminant analysis classifier, allowed us to determine the causes of weaknesses within our classifier. We identified the classifier’s weaknesses by analysing for which benign images the system failed and the reasons for being so. Further analysis also determined which benign categories were more difficult to classify and identified which features were useful for classification. Our classification system resulted in averag...
Patients of doctors further from medical school graduation have poorer outcomes.

Context There is an apparent contradiction between the findings of studies indicating that patient outcomes are better when physicians have a greater volume of practice and those that find outcomes to be worse with increased time since training, which implies greater volume. Objectives This study was designed to estimate the adjusted relationships between physicians’ characteristics, including recent practice volume and time since medical school graduation, and patient outcomes. Methods This is a retrospective observational study based on all Pennsylvania hospitalisations over 7 years for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, hip fracture and pneumonia. It refers to 694 020 hospitalisations in 184 hospitals attended by 5280 internists and family physicians. Patient severity of illness at admission and in-hospital mortality, hospital location and volume, and the physician's recent practice volume, time since medical school graduation, board certification, and citizenship or medical school location were analysed. Results After adjustment, recent practice volume did not have a statistically significant association with in-hospital mortality for all of the conditions combined. By contrast, each decade since graduation from medical school was associated with a 4.5% increase in relative risk for patient mortality. Conclusions Recent practice volume does not mitigate the increase in patient mortality associated with physicians’ time since medical school graduation. These findings underscore the need to finds ways to support and encourage learning.
The Origins of Social Categorization

Forming conceptually-rich social categories helps people to navigate the complex social world by allowing them to reason about the likely thoughts, beliefs, actions, and interactions of others, as guided by group membership. Nevertheless, social categorization often has nefarious consequences. We suggest that the foundation of the human ability to form useful social categories is in place in infancy: social categories guide the inferences infants make about the shared characteristics and social relationships of other people. We also suggest that the ability to form abstract social categories may be separable from the eventual negative downstream consequences of social categorization, including prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping. Although a tendency to form inductively-rich social categories appears early in ontogeny, prejudice based on each particular category dimension may not be inevitable.
The enteric immune response to shigella antigens.

The optimal regimen for stimulating a secretory IgA response in the intestine has yet to be determined. It is well known that parenteral administration of antigen will result in the formation of a systemic immune response directed to specific determinants on that antigen. Depending on the characteristics of the antigen, its dose, and the genetic capabilities of the animal, a humoral and/or cellular immune responses will result. While similar mechanisms must occur to stimulate immunity to antigens which are present in mucosal surfaces, including the gastrointestinal tract, less is known about the specific form or dose of antigens which would best elicit the production of immunity in the mucosa itself. It has been known for over a century that oral administration of antigens can elicit protection to some enteric infections. The discovery that IgA is the main antibody on mucosal surfaces provided the key for beginning definitive work to understand the biology of the mucosal immune system (Tomasi et al. 1965). While many tissues (bronchial mucosa, mammary glands, conjunctiva, genitourinary tract, biliary tract, etc.) are involved with the mucosal immune response, the gastrointestinal tract is overwhelmingly the major site of antigenic stimulation and immune response for secretory IgA (Brandtzaeg 1985). Recent studies indicate that a combination of parenteral and oral administration of antigens may enhance the initial secretory IgA response to Shigella flexneri (Keren et al. 1988). This review explores the mechanism for stimulation of the secretory IgA memory response to shigella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to Shiga toxin.
Oxidatively Damaged DNA and Inflammation

Chronic inflammation has long been associated with diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, with infectious processes playing a causal role in many types of cancer. One potential link between chronic inflammation and human disease involves the release of highly reactive oxygen and nitrogen species by macrophages and neutrophils in inflamed tissues. In addition to their intended targets, these species also attack surrounding host tissue cells, with damage to virtually all cellular components, including DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. This chapter addresses the role of inflammatory processes in DNA damage in cells and tissues, whether by direct attack on DNA or by indirect mechanisms involving generation of electrophiles that subsequently react with DNA to form adducts.
The Conservation Easement Tax Expenditure: In Search of Conservation Value

Federal tax law has long provided a tax benefit for charitable contributions of easements for conservation purposes. A fundamental problem with this conservation easement tax expenditure is that the measure for the tax benefit – lost economic development value – is erroneous. Use of such an erroneous measure obscures the conservation benefits of the program by focusing attention and resources on divining a largely extraneous and unhelpful number. Further, to a considerable extent, the easement program is reflexively justified and understood based on this false measure, as if it represented the conservation value of the program. The Article argues that, in theory, the measure for the tax benefit should be changed to one that better approximates conservation value. This would help ensure that the program is efficient, in the sense that conservation benefits would exceed program costs. However, the theory must account for the fact that conservation value is not, at least not yet, readily susceptible to quantification for tax purposes. Accordingly, the Article also argues that a second-best approach would be to change the measure of the tax benefit to a more objective number – the fair market value of the underlying fee interest – not only to provide greater certainty but more importantly to shift administrative and legal resources and attention to where it should be: on the conservation benefits of the program. Finally, the Article argues that serious consideration should be given to converting the deduction to a credit, both to make the tax benefit more equitable and also to provide greater flexibility, by more easily allowing for different levels of tax benefit to be provided based on satisfaction of conservation criteria, which could and should evolve over time to account for society’s changing needs. In any event, irrespective of the details, the conservation easement tax expenditure should be designed to promote a concept of conservation value – an affirmative value – that represents the best use of the land. The value of the tax expenditure should no longer be defined by what is lost, but rather by what is gained.
Degradation rate quantification of solid oxide fuel cell performance with and without Al2TiO5 addition

Abstract Degradation rates of electrical current during constant voltage operation of SOFCs with anodes made using NiO precursor powders from two different manufacturers with and without the addition of aluminum titanate (ALT) added by either mechanical mixing or anode infiltration have been quantified using a novel MATLAB algorithm. Because the algorithm has been used to quantify degradation rates for many different SOFC tests, it is thought that the method can be applied to most measured SOFC data to quantify the instantaneous cell degradation rate as a function of time for the entire SOFC performance measurement. Degradation rates determined at different times have been plotted against varying concentrations of ALT addition, facilitating the estimation of optimum ALT concentration for SOFC anodes made with NiO from a specific manufacturer. The algorithm used to determine degradation rates is available upon request to the corresponding author.
Imperfect Recall: The Politics of Subnational Office Removals:

Why do some citizens remove the same politicians that they elected from office? This article examines the use of recall referenda, an increasingly prevalent process in which citizens organize a vot...
Ultrafast epithelial contractions provide insights into contraction speed limits and tissue integrity.

By definition of multicellularity, all animals need to keep their cells attached and intact, despite internal and external forces. Cohesion between epithelial cells provides this key feature. To better understand fundamental limits of this cohesion, we study the epithelium mechanics of an ultrathin (∼25 μm) primitive marine animal Trichoplax adhaerens , composed essentially of two flat epithelial layers. With no known extracellular matrix and no nerves or muscles, T. adhaerens has been claimed to be the “simplest known living animal,” yet is still capable of coordinated locomotion and behavior. Here we report the discovery of the fastest epithelial cellular contractions known in any metazoan, to be found in T. adhaerens dorsal epithelium (50% shrinkage of apical cell area within one second, at least an order of magnitude faster than other known examples). Live imaging reveals emergent contractile patterns that are mostly sporadic single-cell events, but also include propagating contraction waves across the tissue. We show that cell contraction speed can be explained by current models of nonmuscle actin–myosin bundles without load, while the tissue architecture and unique mechanical properties are softening the tissue, minimizing the load on a contracting cell. We propose a hypothesis, in which the physiological role of the contraction dynamics is to resist external stresses while avoiding tissue rupture (“active cohesion”), a concept that can be further applied to engineering of active materials.
Molecular Bridge Thermal Diode Enabled by Vibrational Mismatch

$T\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}h\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}m\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}l$ $d\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}d\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}s$ are attractive for applications in harvesting waste heat and phonon manipulation, but a sufficient rectification ratio has yet to be achieved. Here nonequilibrium simulations of ``molecular bridges'' covalently bonding a carbon nanotube to gold reveal asymmetric heat flux across these nanostructures, resulting in significant thermal rectification. This is due the mismatch of vibrational modes between neighboring sulfur and carbon atoms. The results show a path toward $e.g.$ high-efficiency chip cooling, and molecular phononics.
No Evidence for Long-Term Persistence of HHV-6 Viremia after Cord Blood Transplantation

HHV-6 reactivation is common after cord blood transplantation (CBT). However, the ability of the new immune system to clear HHV-6 viremias is unknown. A previous study of 23 CBT recipients suggested that ∼50% of patients had detectable HHV-6 by whole blood PCR over a year after transplant (Illiaquer et al. J Infect Dis 2014; 567-570). We studied HHV-6 persistence in a larger cohort using serum. We reviewed CBT recipients at the University of Minnesota (2011-2017) who reactivated HHV-6 (whole blood quantitative PCR > 500 copies/mL on at least 1 occasion) by 1 year post-transplant. A subset (n = 59) had an available research serum sample at 1 year (+/- 4 weeks) on an IRB-approved biorepository protocol; we tested these samples by quantitative PCR for HHV-6A and B (Rotor-Gene, Qiagen) in a CLIA-certified laboratory. Median (range) age was 44 (1-72) years; 40 (68%) were male. The most common underlying diseases were acute leukemia (n = 29), lymphomas (n = 10), and non-malignant disorders (n = 9). 33 patients were CMV seropositive. ATG or alemtuzumab were used in 16 patients. Conditioning was reduced-intensity in 31 patients. GVHD prophylaxis was cyclosporine/MMF in 41 and sirolimus/MMF in 18. Grade II-IV acute GVHD occurred in 25 patients and chronic GVHD by 1 year in 12. Twelve (20%) patients cleared viremia (based on whole blood PCR) before the research sample was collected. This clearance occurred at median (range) of 64 (13-244) days after HCT. One (2%) patient cleared HHV-6 at 538 days after HCT. 46 (78%) patients continued to have detectable whole blood PCR until a median (range) of 127 (15-1441) days after HCT with no subsequent negative sample. Among research serum samples collected at 1 year, only 1 had HHV-6A (14,556 copies/mL) and 1 had HHV-6B (below the lower limit of quantification). The patient with detectable HHV-6A had chromosomal integration. The patient with detectable HHV-6B had previous whole blood levels ranging 9,900-164,800 copies/mL. Late persisting HHV-6 viremia was rare in our 59 CBT recipients. Using serum in our study permitted exclusive detection of cell-free HHV-6 DNA, which is a more specific test for HHV-6 reactivation. We suggest no defect in cord blood allograft's ability to clear HHV-6 viremia.
Mental Health Outcomes Among Homeless, Runaway, and Stably Housed Youth

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Runaway youth and homeless youth are at risk for adverse mental health outcomes. These 2 populations are frequently pooled together in both research and interventions yet may have unique health needs. We sought to assess differences in mental health outcomes among these populations. METHODS: We conducted a secondary data analysis of ninth- and 11th-graders in the 2016 minnesota Student Survey (n = 68 785). We categorized youth into 4 subgroups based on housing status in the previous year: (1) unaccompanied homeless youth (0.5%), (2) runaway youth (4%), (3) youth who had both run away and been homeless (0.6%), and (4) stably housed youth (95%). We performed multivariable logistic regression to compare 4 mental health outcomes (self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and depressive symptoms) across groups, controlling for demographics and abuse history. RESULTS: Unstably housed youth had poorer mental health outcomes when compared with their stably housed peers (P CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that runaway and homeless youth represent unique populations with high levels of mental health needs who would benefit from targeted clinical and community interventions. Pediatric clinicians represent one potential point of screening and intervention.
Breast Reconstruction with the Robotic-Assisted Latissimus Dorsi Harvest

Surgeons have spent the better part of four decades attempting to do more with less, evolving from large open surgical procedures to laparoscopic approaches and now finally to robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery. Robotic-assisted technology has allowed for significant advances in tumor ablation while minimizing surgical morbidity, essentially freeing physicians from the physical limitations of their own hands. Robotic techniques have been successfully integrated into urology, surgical oncology, gynecology, and thoracic surgery, but plastic surgical indications remain a relatively novel frontier.
Probing the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 Interface Upon Lithium Uptake by Operando Small Angle Neutron Scattering

The formation of a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the surface of Li4 Ti5 O12 (LTO) has become a highly controversial topic, with arguments for it and against it. However, prior studies supporting the formation of an SEI layer have typically suggested that a layer forms upon cycling of a cell, although the layer is probed after disassembling. In this study, cubic mesostructured LTO is synthesized with crystallite domain sizes between 3 and 4 nm and uniform pores with diameters ≤8 nm. The mean pore size is controlled between 4-8 nm through the use of a triblock amphipathic copolymer with a tunable hydrophobic block as template and by thermal treatment. The LTO morphology obtained is spherical and evolves upon heat treatment. These materials show excellent electrochemical performance, including high rate capability and capacity retention. The LTO material is subjected to operando small-angle neutron scattering and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments, which reveal that the highly debated SEI forms at potentials as high as 2.2 V, first as a LiF-rich layer and subsequently by the growth of a carbonaceous layer. These SEI products form first on the smaller pores before forming on the mesopores.
Unsupervised Sparse-view Backprojection via Convolutional and Spatial Transformer Networks.

Many imaging technologies rely on tomographic reconstruction, which requires solving a multidimensional inverse problem given a finite number of projections. Backprojection is a popular class of algorithm for tomographic reconstruction, however it typically results in poor image reconstructions when the projection angles are sparse and/or if the sensors characteristics are not uniform. Several deep learning based algorithms have been developed to solve this inverse problem and reconstruct the image using a limited number of projections. However these algorithms typically require examples of the ground-truth (i.e. examples of reconstructed images) to yield good performance. In this paper, we introduce an unsupervised sparse-view backprojection algorithm, which does not require ground-truth. The algorithm consists of two modules in a generator-projector framework; a convolutional neural network and a spatial transformer network. We evaluated our algorithm using computed tomography (CT) images of the human chest. We show that our algorithm significantly out-performs filtered backprojection when the projection angles are very sparse, as well as when the sensor characteristics vary for different angles. Our approach has practical applications for medical imaging and other imaging modalities (e.g. radar) where sparse and/or non-uniform projections may be acquired due to time or sampling constraints.
Deep Learning Approach to Detect Potholes in Real-Time using Smartphone

Detection, and mapping of potholes in a precise and punctual manner is an essential task in avoiding road accidents. Today, roadway distresses are manually detected, which requires time and labor. In this paper, we introduce a system which uses deep learning algorithms and is integrated with smartphones to detect potholes in real-time. The user interface of the system is a smartphone application which maps all potholes on a route that the user is traveling. Simultaneously, deep learning object detection algorithm: Single Shot Multi-box Detector (SSD) looks for potholes using a mobile camera in the background. As soon as an unregistered pothole is detected by SSD, coordinates of the pothole are updated to the database in real-time. Accelerometer and gyroscope readings are continuously taken and assessed by a Deep Feed Forward Neural Network model to detect unregistered potholes. This dual mechanism of camera-based as well as accelerometer-gyroscope based detection not only cross validates detections but also provides stable results even if one mechanism fails. The pothole co-ordinates are rendered on the map user interface that can be accessed in the same application. This system with map/navigation feature as front end and two-fold deep learning pothole detection algorithm in backend is an efficient and a zero cost solution for real-time pothole detection.
Clarifying identity in information behavior research: A conceptual analysis

Abstract Using a conceptual analysis approach, how identity has been theorized in the information behavior literature was explored. Findings indicate that researchers have employed five approaches when conceptualizing identity: identity as personal project, identity and social groups, identity as self-presentation, fragmented discursive subjects, and intersectional, hybrid and global identities. Structure and clarity are brought to a complicated concept often used to understand people's information behaviors. The findings contribute to the identification of the key factors of information behavior and suggest areas for future research.
High Ethanol Concentration (77 g/L) of Industrial Hemp Biomass Achieved Through Optimizing the Relationship between Ethanol Yield/Concentration and Solid Loading

In this study, the relationships between ethanol yield/concentration and solid loading (6–21%) were investigated to enhance ethanol titer and avoid a random choice of solid loading for simultaneous...
The urgent need for more research on influencer marketing

Journal editors are often asked at ‘Meet the Editor’ sessions at conferences to identify what current hot topics in the field are. It is true that as editors, we have some inside information on wha...
Argument marking and phonological alignment: an alternative explanation for the retention of morphological complexity in Ket

This paper investigates the alignment of morphological and phonological structure in the Yeniseian language Ket from Central Siberia. Argument marking involves several lexicalized configurations of combined allomorphs. While none of the patterns are fully predictable, the specific allomorphs that make up the configurations show different predictabilities in expressing argument functions (intransitive subject, transitive subject, transitive object). The typological literature mentions language-external factors (population size, geography, subject of acquisition) for the emergence and stability of complex morphological patterns like the ones in Ket; evidence for structural properties favoring the acquisition and retention of morphology is mostly found in experimental studies. This study shows that Ket verbs exhibit a rising-falling tone contour comprising properties known to facilitate language acquisition. The comparison of 40 verbs from different argument marking patterns shows that the allomorphs with a lower function predictability have a predictable alignment with the rising-falling-tone contour; allomorphs that are more predictable in function show a less predictable alignment with the contour. This clear correlation suggests that the syllables with the rising-falling tone contour play a role in the conservation of morphological complexity in Ket.
Fragile Foundations: A Report on America's Public Works

The quality of a nation's infrastructure is a critical index of its economic vitality. Reli­able transportation. clean water. and safe disposal of wastes are basic elements of civilized society and a productive economy. Their absence or failure introduces an intolerable dimen­sion of risk and hardship to every­day life. and a major obstacle to growth and competitiveness. The Erie Canal: the transcontinental rail­roads: the great dams and water sys­tems of the west: the airports. seaports. and transit systems that serve our cities: our network of modern highways and soaring bridges ­all these are part of this country's great public works inheritance from the genera­tions of Americans who built before us. These massive and sometimes daring achievements supported the growth of the greatest economic power the world has ever known. They have been the envy of other countries and the model for our competi­tors. Now that inheritance is in danger. After two years of study. the National Coun­cil on Public Works Improvement (the "Council") has found convincing evidence that the quality of America's infrastructure is barely adequate to fulfill current require­ments, and insufficient to meet the demands of future economic growth and development. And unless we dramatically enhance the capacity and performance of the nation's public works. our own generation will for­feit its place in the American tradition of commitment to the future. Without such an effort. our legacy will be modest at best. At worst. we will default on our obligation to the future. and succeeding generations will have to compensate for our failures.
Judicial Interpretation of Legislative Silence Gone Too Far: The Case for a Separation of Powers Amendment

While the philosophies of originalism and textualism are concerned, respectively, with the Constitution’s original public meaning and a statute’s ordinary meaning, deriving that meaning where the Constitution or Congress passing a statute have remained silent on a particular matter is exceptionally difficult. This difficulty in interpreting constitutional and congressional silence, combined with the J.W. Hampton decision of 1928, the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946, and the doctrine of Chevron deference, have collectively functioned to significantly weaken the doctrine of separation of powers in American government, in particular by weakening the powers of the legislative branch. This paper argues in favor of a constitutional amendment James Madison proposed in the first Congress to spell out the terms by which each branch of government relates to the others. It proceeds to argue that placing regulatory authority back under the legislative umbrella in this way would not be at odds with the goal of promoting efficient policy-making, which facilitated the legislative branch’s delegation of power to regulatory authorities in the first place.
The Reverse Relationship between the Choice of Exchange Rate Regime and the Macro-Variables

The exchange rate regime is an issue which continuously captures academic interests. Since the exchange rate regime affects all macroeconomic variables in every national economy, the choice - whether fixed or flexible, is quite a sensitive and significant decision. Both, fixed and flexible exchange rate regime, have their advantages and disadvantages. The latter are closely related with a certain level at which the monetary and real variables appear under the one or the other regime. Even though a consensus was reached regarding the positive impact of the fixed regime on the monetary discipline (i.e., low inflation), contradictory arguments still exist for its influence on the economic growth.
Personality and Motivation: Replication, Extension, and Replication

Previous work examines the relationships between personality traits and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation. We replicate and extend previous work to examine how personality may relate to achievement goals, efficacious beliefs, and mindset about intelligence. Approximately 200 undergraduates responded to the survey with a 150 participants replicating the study two weeks later. When comparing data from the first and second collections, three of the five pathways for personality and achievement goals were replicated: neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness. For personality and efficacy three of the eight pathways remained significant from the first collection to the second. Openness was the only personality factor that significantly predicted participants’ mindset about their intelligence. Results suggest certain personality traits may correspond with different motivational self-beliefs, but these results were neither reliable nor consistent.
Inscribed in Stone: Historic Inscriptions and the Cultural Heritage of Railroad Workers

Historic inscriptions accompany rock art panels and sandstone cliffs throughout Montana and the North American plains. The two historic inscription locations described here emphasize the cultural and historical value of these provocative archaeological signatures. One of these includes a cliff face incised with Chinese characters near the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, & Pacific Railroad in southeastern Montana. The Chinese characters are among other historic inscriptions associated with a coal mining district established by that railroad to supply the fuel for its engines, underscoring the inherent connections between extractive industries and railroad rights-of-way. The second location includes a collection of Japanese words and names, as well as Irish and Norwegian names, incised into a sandstone cliff face adjacent to a section of the Northern Pacific Railroad. These inscribed archaeological sites represent text-aided resources that may be some of the only written accounts available to better understand the lives and identities of people in transnational work camps of railroads and associated extractive industries in the American West.
Beyond TIFF and JPEG2000: PDF/A as an OAIS submission information package container

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce PDF/A to replace TIFF as the preferred file format for digitization of textual documents. In addition, PDF/A can be used as an open archival information system (OAIS) submission information package (SIP) container to reduce digitization and digital preservation costs. , – The author first reviewed the current digitization guidelines, the OAIS model and provides on an overview of the development PDF and PDF/A as international standards. Then literature review of the uses of PDF/A is presented. The author analyzed pitfalls of TIFFs as the preferred format for digitization, and showed how to use PDF/A to code digitization SIP. , – TIFF file format has been the preferred master file format by Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative digitization guidelines for the past 20 years. However, there are drawbacks of TIFF format. Literature reviews show that PDF/A has been the preferred standard for coding born-digital documents in court, government and business sectors. PDF/A-2 and PDF/A-3 are relatively new standards released after 2010. However, few understood the standards and have utilized the full potentials in digitization. The author shows that PDF/A can be used as an OAIS SIP container. , – In order to delivery OAIS SIPs, current practices require a combination of files, directories and various types of metadata. The author shows that PDF/A (PDF/A-2 and/or PDF/A-3) can be a better file format for textual document digitization with coding various types of metadata in extensible metadata platform and arbitrary file/data can be coded in PDF/A-3. These features in PDF/A provide much better ways to deliver SIPs in a cost-efficient manner. , – PDF/A has been recognized as the preferred standard for born-digital documents, but it has not been used as the preferred file format for digitized materials. The author recommends that: PDF/A with lossless JPX compressions as the preferred file format; and PDF/A with lossless JPX compressions along with metadata/data as the preferred OAIS SIP container. As a result, the uses reduce costs in digitization and digital preservation and also increase productivity. The author recommends to update the national and international digitization practices using PDF/A.
The US Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: Progress and Promise for the Future at the 10-Year Mark

In April 2004, President Bush signed Executive Order 13335, which called for the establishment of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within the US Department of Health and Human Services. The President charged ONC with the critical responsibility of ensuring that every American had access to his or her electronic health information and establishing connectivity of health information technology.
Some iron(III) complexes with polydentate Schiff base ligands

Abstract The iron(III) complexes of three Schiff base ligands are studied as their chloride or perchlorate salts and their electronic spectra, EPR spectra, and electrochemical behavior reported. Two of these ligands are formed from reaction between salicylaldehyde and 9 or 12-membered tri- or tetraazalkanes. EPR evidence indicates that one of the complexes, [1,12-bis(2-hydroxybenzylidene)-(1,4,9,12-tetraazadodec- 6-ene)iron(III)]perchlorate-1,5-water, is a spin-crossover species containing both high-spin and low-spin iron(III) in equilibrium. The third ligand comes from pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde and a tetraazadodecane.