cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Core Food Security Module Scale Measure Is Valid and Reliable When Used with Asians and Pacific Islanders

The Core Food Security Measure (CFSM) is used nationally to assess the extent and severity of household food insecurity in the previous 12 mo due to inadequate money for food. Both a scale measure and a categorical measure were developed from a national cross-sectional sample. The objective of this research was to determine whether the CFSM scale measure is a reliable and valid food security measure for use in Hawaii, where at least 50% of the population is of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. We completed an independent assessment of the robustness of the internal scale construct validity of the CSFM scale measure and hierarchical order of items using the same Rasch methods used previously to develop the CSFM. From a sample of 1664 respondents, data from 362 were used in the Rasch analysis. Item goodness-of-fit statistics indicated that responses to the "adults cut the size or skip meals" item and its follow-up item were redundant [outfit mean-square residual (MnSq) = 0.6, z = -2]. Responses to the "(un)able to eat balanced meals" item were erratic (outfit MnSq = 2.1, z = 2). Findings pertaining to goodness-of-fit of the respondents indicated an acceptable rate of misfit (4.7%). Rate of misfit did not vary with family status or with any ethnic group except the Samoans. Overall, the CFSM scale measure fit as well with the Hawaii data as it did with national data, although identified limitations may affect food security monitoring and research.
Optical conductivity of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5

The electrodynamic response of the heavy fermion compound ${\mathrm{CeCoIn}}_{5}$ is studied via infrared spectroscopy. Below 100 K the high temperature Drude-like conductivity evolves into two distinct components. At low energies a narrow mode is observed which is characteristic of the response of heavy quasiparticles. At higher energies a gap structure emerges with $2\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\sim}600 {\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ (75 meV). Examination of the fine features of the optical conductivity reveals additional absorption below the gap. This intergap resonance can be qualitatively understood as a Holstein band, where the quasiparticles are strongly coupled to a collective mode at $\ensuremath{\sim}65 {\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ (8 meV).
Bioactive peptides derived from vascular endothelial cell extracellular matrices promote microvascular morphogenesis and wound healing in vitro

Studies in our laboratory indicate that collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum promotes endothelial cell and keratinocyte responses to injury in vitro and wound healing in vivo. We postulate that matrix degradation by Clostridial collagenase creates bioactive fragments that can stimulate cellular responses to injury and angiogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we performed limited digestion of defined capillary-endothelial-derived extracellular matrices using purified human or bacterial collagenases. Immunoprecipitation with antibodies recognizing collagens I, II, III, IV, and V, followed by mass spectrometry reveals the presence of unique fragments in bacterial, but not human-enzyme-digested matrix. Results show that there are several bioactive peptides liberated from Clostridial collagenase-treated matrices, which facilitate endothelial responses to injury, and accelerate microvascular remodeling in vitro. Fragments of collagen IV, fibrillin-1, tenascin X, and a novel peptide created by combining specific amino acids contained within fibrillin 1 and tenascin X each have profound proangiogenic properties. The peptides used at 10-100 nM increase rates of microvascular endothelial cell proliferation by up to 47% and in vitro angiogenesis by 200% when compared with serum-stimulated controls. Current studies are aimed at revealing the molecular mechanisms regulating peptide-induced wound healing while extending these in vitro observations using animal modeling.
On the use of feedback in multiple antenna common information broadcasting

Common information broadcasting, or multicasting, wireless systems send the same message to multiple users simultaneously. The problem of multiple antenna multicasting using limited feedback is considered, where a transmitter with MT antennas transmits common information to K users, each equipped with a single antenna. We propose a novel optimization criterion that leads to a higher overall throughput than the traditional max-min criterion can achieve. This is made possible as we leverage channel quality fluctuations among the users by coding the common information over multiple coherence times. Doing so frees ourselves from constraining our coding rate to accommodate the worst user at every coherence time. Generally the user with the poorest channel conditions dictates the multicast throughput. Hence quantizing the channel vector's magnitude is arguably as important as quantizing the channel vector's direction, unlike the downlink broadcast channel where directional quantization is paramount to reduce interference while magnitude quantization is less important. We use a simple linear combination of separate magnitude and directional distance functions to create a minimum distance codebook. In our simulations, we show that when K is large and when coding over many coherence periods, our proposed scheme appreciably outperforms traditional Max-Min criterion.
Automatic Segmentation of Pancreatic Tumors in Computed Tomography

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States but only the tenth site for new cancer cases (estimated at 30,300 in 2002) [1,2]. The reason for this major difference is that there are no clear early symptoms of pancreatic cancer and no screening procedures or screening policy for this disease. It is usually diagnosed at a late stage and has a poor prognosis with a 1-year survival rate of 20% and a 5-year survival rate of less than 5% [3]. Complete surgical resection is the only way to significantly improve prognosis and possibly lead to a cure. Unfortunately, only 15–20% of the patients can undergo resection with median survival rates from 12 to 19 months and a 5-year survival rate of 15–20%. A large majority of patients with pancreatic cancer receives palliative care or may follow a therapeutic approach the impact of which is currently quite limited and difficult to assess quantitatively [3].
A seeding-searching-ensemble method for gland segmentation and detection

Glands are vital tissues found throughout the human body and their structure and function are affected by many diseases. The ability to segment and detect glands among other types of tissues is important for the study of normal and disease processes and is readily visualized by pathologists in microscopic detail. In this paper, we develop a new approach for segmenting and detecting intestinal glands in H&E stained histology images, which utilizes a set of advanced image processing techniques such as graph search, ensemble, feature extraction and classification. Our method computes fast, and is able to preserve gland boundaries robustly and detect glands accurately. We tested the performance of gland detection and segmentation by analyzing a dataset of 1723 glands from digitized high-resolution clinical histology images obtained in normal and diseased intestines. The experimental results show that our method outperforms considerably the state-of-the-art methods for gland segmentation and detection tasks.
3-D Numerical Simulation of Main Sieve Diaphragm with Three Types Passageway Design in a Gas Mask Canister

This paper focuses on the passageway design of the main sieve diaphragm that is the key point to reduce the pressure drop of a gas mask canister. Three types of the passageways are designed to explore the aerodynamic behaviors of the flow inside a canister. The models include the hole, rib-strip and honeycomb types. The 3-D numerical simulations of flows have been applied to determine the pressure drops in the models. The simulation results reveal the smallest pressure drops on the passageway of honeycomb type, because the structure of honeycomb type is stronger enough to avoid the deformation of the main sieve diaphragm. So the passageway of honey comb type can provide larger channel area and more uniform channel distribution to reduce the pressure drop. The analysis of the flow structure, such as the velocity profile and the distribution of dead zone in the models, is also studied.
Correction to: Comorbid Adolescent Difficulties: Social Work Prevention of Delinquency and Serious Youthful Offending

Christopher A. Mallett 2015, DOI: 10.1080/15433714.2014.942020 Correction of authorship error. This is a coauthored article, with Joshua Kirven as second author. Language: en
Closed-Loop Separation Control of Unsteady Flow on an Airfoil at Low Reynolds Number

Closed-loop separation control of an oscillating NACA 643-618 airfoil at Re = 6.4x10 4 is investigated in an effort to autonomously minimize control effort while maximizing aerodynamic performance. An off-surface hot-film sensor placed at fifty percent chord monitors the flow and initiates actuation when separation is sensed. Separation prevention at moderate angles of attack provides substantial performance improvement with the sensor appropriately responding to the hysteresis evident within this portion of the oscillation cycle. Further, leading edge stall is prevented at high angles of attack, extending the stall limit and dramatically reducing drag. However, issues of practicality, efficiency and trackability limit the quality of this approach. Consequently, in a second study, high response sensing of unsteady flow with on-surface hot-film sensors placed at zero, twenty, and forty percent chord, monitors the airfoil performance and determines the necessity of active flow control. Open-loop characterization previously identified the use of the forty percent sensor as the actuation trigger. Further, the sensor at twenty percent chord is used to distinguish between pre- and post- leading edge stall; this demarcation enables the utilization of optimal blowing parameters for each circumstance. The range of effectiveness of the employed control algorithm is explored, charting the practicality of said algorithm, with suggestions made to enhance the robustness of the algorithm.
Nature of the Pilomotor Response to Acetylcholine

SummaryExperiments are cited which indicate that the local pilomotor action following intradermal acetylcholine occurs by virtue of its nicotine-like action, and that this drug as well as nicotine and other drugs possessing nicotine-like action exert this influence through an axon reflex the receptor end of which has several properties characteristic of autonomic ganglia and the effector end of which is evidently adrenergic.
Resistance of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) to Cyhexatin and Fenbutatin-Oxide in California Pears

Twospotted spider mite, Tetranychu8 urticae Koch, sampled from ‘Bartlett’ pears in California, was established in the laboratory and tested for susceptibility to cyhexatin and fenbutatin-oxide. At LC50, the maximum difference in susceptibility between colonies to cyhexatin was 38-fold; to fenbutatin-oxide, the maximum difference was 478-fold. Field trials indicated loss of efficacy of these compounds in an orchard containing twospotted spider mites for which bioassays showed low susceptibility. Results of both the laboratory bioassays and field trials suggest that these mites were resistant. A survey showed that resistance to both chemicals was widespread in Lake and Mendocino counties. We detected no resistance in Sacramento County except for one collection with a very low frequency of resistance to fenbutatin-oxide only. When field treatment ceased, resistance frequencies to cyhexatin stayed approximately the same, but resistance to fenbutatin-oxide varied. Although correlation between resistance to cyhexatin and fenbutatin-oxide among 39 colonies was significant, lack of a change in cyhexatin resistance after fenbutatin-oxide application in the field suggests multiple resistance to these compounds.
Lower Lid Malposition: Causes and Correction

Lower lid malposition is a common yet demanding problem that both functional and cosmetic eyelid surgeons will face. It encompasses a spectrum of lower eyelid conditions ranging from lower lid retraction to frank ectropion and entropion. The causes of lower lid malposition are numerous, and the problem can be challenging to correct even for experienced surgeons. Proper treatment of lower lid malpositioning requires a clear understanding of the lower eyelid anatomy, careful preoperative assessment, and appropriate selection of surgical and nonsurgical interventions to have a successful outcome.
Expression and clinical significance of p53, E-cadherin and MMP7 in carcinoma of gallbladder

Purpose To detect the expression of p53, E-cadherin and MMP7 and to discuss the correlation of them in carcinoma of gallbladder, and then to evaluate the relationships with pathogenesis, invasion, metastasis and prognosis. Methods immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of p53, E-cadherin and MMP7 in 54 cases of primary carcinoma of gallbladder. Results The positive rate of p53, E-cadherin and MMP7 was 48.1%, 59.3% and 94.4%, respectively in 54 cases of carcinoma of gallbladder. The over-expression of p53 was correlated to the differentiation and clinical stage. The abnormal or decreased expression of E-cadherin was correlative with clinical stage, nerve invasion and lymph node metastasis. The over-expression of MMP7 was correlative with clinical stage, differentiation, liver and nerve invasion, and lymph node metastasis. The Spearman correlation analysis suggested that the expression of MMP7 and E-cadherin was negatively correlated. The survival analysis indicated that the expression of MMP7, clinical stage, liver and nerve invasion, and lymph node metastasis were associated with survival rate of post-operation. Cox regression indicated that clinical stage and nerve invasion were both correlated with prognosis of carcinoma of gallbladder patients.Conclusions p53, E-cadherin and MMP7 may be significant malignant markers for carcinoma of gallbladder. The relationship between MMP7 and E-cadherin is negatively correlated. MMP7 may be a useful prognostic marker for patients with gallbladder carcinoma, and its detection may be useful for selecting patients for anti-matrix metalloproteinase therapy.
Application of Clonal Selection Algorithm in Construction Site Utilization Planning Optimization

Abstract Various algorithms inspired by evolutionary and physical processes have been extensively applied in solving complex construction engineering optimization problems. In this paper, Artificial Immune Systems (AIS), a computational approach inspired by the processes of human immune system, is introduced in terms of its basic mechanisms and its applications in construction engineering. Specifically, Clonal Selection Algorithm (CSA), one of main algorithms that form AIS, is based on clonal selection process of the immune system which includes the selection, hypermutation, and receptor editing processes. We discuss the CSA in detail and present its application in the classic construction optimization problem, construction site utilization planning (CSUP), which is the decision making process for identifying the most optimal layout of temporary facilities designed to support the construction process. When applied to a test case published in research literature, we found that CSA shows a robust capacity to search the solution space effectively and efficiently.
“Black Power”: Public Relations and Social Change in the 1960s

Abstract The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC and pronounced “snick”) formed in 1960 to encourage one of the most important movements in American history–civil rights. This study examines SNCC's administrative history during the mid and late 1960s and how the group's communications messages and public relations efforts propelled the Black Power movement and simultaneously made a lasting impression on the social ideologies of the late 1960s that continues today. The research reveals how through the unification of many blacks, SNCC workers also intimidated many whites and political leaders, leading to the demise of the organization. Despite the fact that the controversial Black Power movement signaled the downfall of the organization, it represented a determining and essential component of American public relations historiography. During this time, the organization combined community organizing with the use of traditional communications and public relations tactics and strategies to change th...
Oil Field Mineral Scale Control

Mineral scale deposition within onshore and offshore productions is one of the major flow assurance challenges in the oil and gas industry. Due to the complex nature of the scale problem, oil field scale control treatment is not a unit operation. A successful scale control treatment typically requires deep technical knowledge and extensive operation experience. This chapter covers mainly the fundamentals of oil field scale control, including scale formation mechanisms, common oil field scales, common scale inhibitors, scale inhibition treatment, and scale removal. This chapter also introduces some recently developed techniques in scale control. This chapter is intended to make the readers aware of the common problems and considerations related to oil field mineral scale control.
Re-Setting the Agenda: Estimating Congressional Responsiveness to Fire Alarms in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals

Evaluating the effects of bureaucratic policy-making requires a systematic way to evaluate the policies that emerge over time. Such a measure would allow us to understand the substantive policy effects of agencies’ implementation choices over time. This paper raises the following core question: To what extent, and under what conditions, do congressional coalitions respond to interest group fire alarms raised through the DC Circuit by statutorily amending administrative capacity? I argue that agency losses through DC Circuit litigation should raise signals to Congress that the agency has drifted in its implementation behavior, and spur it to amend legislation to better constrain the agency’s latitude. I evaluate this in the context of the Environmental Protection Agency from 1973 to 2010 using a rich new dataset comprising the 2,000 statutory amendments to the legislation under the jurisdiction of the EPA, each of which is hand-coded to determine the magnitude of the congressional revision, as well as the DC Circuit cases in which the agency was the defendant. I find robust support for the claim that agency losses are associated with subsequent statutory constraints on the agency, but do not find strong support for the claim that executive branch vulnerability is predictive of congressional interventions.
Normal Choroidal Morphology

Recent technological advances in ophthalmic imaging, especially those in optical coherence tomography (OCT), revealed morphological changes of the choroid related to a wide number of pathological chorioretinal conditions, indicating a pivotal role in underlying disease mechanisms, in natural history of diseases, and also in response to therapeutic interventions.
Abstract 2551: Brca1-deficient ovarian cancer cells are sensitized to the DNA-strand-breaking nucleoside analog sapacitabine that synergizes with PARP inhibition

Sapacitabine is an orally bioavailable prodrug of the deoxycytidine analog, CNDAC. Sapacitabine is currently in a Phase III registration trial for elderly AML patients (NCT01303796). CNDAC (as DFP-10917) is in a Phase I/II trial for AML and ALL (NCT01702155). Sapacitabine/CNDAC-induced DNA damage, double-strand breaks converted from initial single-strand breaks, is repaired mainly by the homologous recombination (HR) pathway. Deficiency in HR components, including ATM, Rad51, Xrcc3, Brca2 and Brca1, confer sensitivity to CNDAC. Brca1 and Brca2 function is frequently compromised in ovarian cancer. To determine the role of Brca1 in DNA damage repair after sapacitabine, we used a Brca1-null ovarian carcinoma cell line, UWB1.289 and its complemented line, UWB1.289+Brca1 in this study. First, the clonogenic sensitivities of the two lines to therapeutic agents were compared. The deficient cells were 3-4 fold more sensitive to CNDAC than the repleted cells. In contrast, Brca1 repletion did not confer resistance to cytarabine, fludarabine or gemcitabine. These results confirm the unique action mechanism of CNDAC among nucleoside analogs. Second, a cytogenetic approach was taken to compare CNDAC-induced chromosome damage in both lines (N = 50 metaphases scored for each sample). We found Brca1-null cells bearing more chromosomal structural abnormalities (∼50% metaphases) than Brca1-complemented cells (∼30%), apparently due to genetic instability when lacking Brca1. UWB1.289 cells exposed to 15 nM CNDAC for 27 hr (1 cell cycle) and 54 hr (2 cell cycles) manifested massive chromosomal aberrations (>60% and >90% metaphases, respectively), nearly 40% and 70% of which could not be scored. In contrast, UWB1.289+Brca1 cells showed significantly fewer chromosome aberrations (42% and 48% metaphases, respectively), the majority of which were scorable, upon extended incubation with CNDAC under the same conditions. These results provided cytogenetic evidence for Brca1 involvement in DNA damage repair after CNDAC. Third, interaction between sapacitabine and other classes of therapeutic agents was explored using clonogenic assays. For example, CO-338, a camsylate salt of the PARP inhibitor, rucaparib, greatly sensitized Brca1-deficient cells. Despite the distinctive sensitivities of the two lines, the CO-338 - CNDAC combination showed synergistic cell killing by median-effect analysis (combination index Citation Format: Xiaojun Liu, Yingjun Jiang, Billie Nowak, Dariya Tikhomirova, William Plunkett. Brca1-deficient ovarian cancer cells are sensitized to the DNA-strand-breaking nucleoside analog sapacitabine that synergizes with PARP inhibition. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2551. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2551
A Note on k-price Auctions with Complete Information When Mixed Strategies are Allowed✩

Abstract Restricting attention to players who use pure strategies, Tauman (2002) proves that in a k -price auction ( k ≥ 3 ) for every Nash equilibrium in which no player uses a weakly dominated strategy: (i) the bidder with the highest value wins the auction and (ii) pays a price higher than the second-highest value among the players, thereby generating more revenue for the seller than would occur in a first- or second-price auction. We show that these results do not necessarily hold when mixed strategies are allowed. In particular, we construct an equilibrium for k ≥ 4 in which the second-highest valued player wins the auction and makes an expected payment strictly less than her value. This equilibrium–which exists for any generic draw of player valuations–involves only one player using a nondegenerate mixed strategy, for which the amount of mixing can be made arbitrarily small.
Moving Beyond “China in Africa”: Insights from Zambian Immigration Data

China’s growing presence in Africa is not news: the expansion of bilateral trade and investment ties has garnered intense media and political focus over the past decade. However, less is known about the people accompanying these increasingly intensive flows of goods and capital. This paper focuses on Zambia, drawing on mul­­tiple primary datasets to shed light on both the scale and nature of Chinese migration to the continent. Two years of Department of Immigration employment-permit data serve as the basis for the first quantitative analysis of the “Chinese” in “Africa,” illuminating the increasing diversity of this population flow. While the growing Chinese presence in Africa is often viewed as a coherent neocolonialist strategy planned and implemented by the Chinese state, this paper demonstrates that it is in fact typified by a multitude of both public and private actors with independent motives.
Improving orbit prediction accuracy through supervised machine learning

Abstract Due to the lack of information such as the space environment condition and resident space objects’ (RSOs’) body characteristics, current orbit predictions that are solely grounded on physics-based models may fail to achieve required accuracy for collision avoidance and have led to satellite collisions already. This paper presents a methodology to predict RSOs’ trajectories with higher accuracy than that of the current methods. Inspired by the machine learning (ML) theory through which the models are learned based on large amounts of observed data and the prediction is conducted without explicitly modeling space objects and space environment, the proposed ML approach integrates physics-based orbit prediction algorithms with a learning-based process that focuses on reducing the prediction errors. Using a simulation-based space catalog environment as the test bed, the paper demonstrates three types of generalization capability for the proposed ML approach: (1) the ML model can be used to improve the same RSO’s orbit information that is not available during the learning process but shares the same time interval as the training data; (2) the ML model can be used to improve predictions of the same RSO at future epochs; and (3) the ML model based on a RSO can be applied to other RSOs that share some common features.
The Returns to Elite Degrees: The Case of American Lawyers

The authors study the market for young attorneys. Using data from two surveys of attorneys who passed the bar exam in 2000, they find that attorneys who graduate from law schools ranked in the Top ...
Practices of self-selection in the graduate classroom: Extension, redirection, and disjunction

Abstract This study investigates the practices of student self-selection in the graduate-level American classroom. Self-selection is a crucial part of the learning process because it allows for the exchange of students’ and teachers’ views, analyses, and opinions, making these exchanges into a whole-classroom experience. Active students who make oral contributions in class are believed to learn more than those who do not (Weaver & Qi, 2005) and to enhance their critical thinking (Crone, 1997; Garside, 1996). In the graduate classroom, however, student self-selection may be challenging, as the material students tackle tends to be highly technical. Given the importance of student self-selection in this academically demanding context, more analytical attention must be devoted to uncovering the nature of participation. With 20 h of video data collected from graduate classes and analyzed through the lens of conversation analysis (CA), this study identifies three main practices employed by self-selecting speakers: extension by piling, contribution with hand-raising, and participation prefacing. Each occurs with different degrees of ‘fittedness’ to prior talk, in part evidenced in the different levels of mitigation use by the self-selectors. The findings of this study contribute to the small body of classroom discourse studies in the graduate classroom and provide a first step towards understanding how self-selections may be strategically managed or promoted.
The anatomy of congenital choanal atresia

Congenital choanal atresia is rare. Previous literature has dealt with the diagnosis and management of these patients, but there are no reports that accurately describe the nature of the deformity. This is a presentation of two patients with tomographic demonstration of the abnormality which confirms the surgical descriptions of previous authors. These abnormalities are (1) narrowing of the entire nasal chamber, (2) primary bony obstruction with an area of membranous obstruction, and (3) gross deformity of the vomer.
Classroom Coaching as a Collaborative Activity in Professional Development

This chapter reports on a study of classroom coaching as a collaborative approach to professional development. Fourteen high school mathematics teachers were coached in 17 different classes for a combined total of 210 classroom visits in one academic year. Observations were combined with debriefing sessions after each visit and final interviews. The teachers had previously participated in one or two extensive professional development programmes, and the collaborative coaching was originally intended to help determine the impact of the professional development on classroom practices. The chapter discusses teacher behaviours in seven categories that were the focus of observations: equity; multiple representations; technology; student understanding; cooperative groups; alternative assessment; and innovative curriculum. However, the teachers reported that the coaching itself was a critical extension of the professional development. We concluded that classroom coaching, while expensive in resources, can be a crucial element of professional development, because it can help teachers both implement and sustain changes in classroom practice.
Thermotropic phase transitions in totally synthetic surfactant vesicles and bilayers

the thermotropic phase transitions observed in vesicles and bilayers of totally synthetic surfactants are discussed from the physicochemical point of view. The formation, characterization and morphology of these aggregates are briefly presented. Some general trends and the behaviour of these temperature-induced phase transitions are examined.
Pentablock Copolymer from Tetracomponent Monomer Mixture Using a Switchable Dizinc Catalyst

Well-defined pentablock copolymers are prepared using a single catalyst, in one pot, from four different monomers: anhydride, epoxide, lactone, and CO2. The dizinc catalyst bridges three distinct polymerization cycles and performs a double switch in polymerization mechanism to produce pentablock copolymers. The new materials are hydroxyl-telechelic and are efficiently postfunctionalized to introduce polar and nonpolar side-chains.
GDP: GPU accelerated Detailed Placement

Placement is one of the runtime bottlenecks in an EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tool flow. Detailed placement is an important part of placement which is hard to parallelize on a large scale. In this paper, we demonstrate GPU acceleration of a dynamic programming based detailed placement algorithm which solves a generalized version of the Linear Arrangement Problem. Although we test our algorithm on FPGA benchmarks, it can also be applied to ASIC placement [12]. Similar dynamic programming algorithms have also been used for simultaneous placement and routing [6]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported GPU accelerated detailed placement algorithm other than simulated annealing. We achieve upto 7x speedup in runtime over multi-threaded CPU implementation without any loss of QoR.
Robotic concrete surface finishing: a moldless approach to creating thermally tuned surface geometry for architectural building components using Profile-3D-Printing

This paper focuses on describing a novel hybrid concrete printing/casting process we term Profile-3D-Printing. Profile-3D-Printing is an additive/subtractive manufacturing process that combines deposition of concrete for rough layup with precision tooling for surface finishing of architectural building components commonly found in the architectural precast industry. Our research team from Architecture, the Robotics Institute, and Material Science invented this novel hybrid manufacturing process for robotically printing architectural facade panels with complex surface geometries. This effort was motivated by previously validated research focused on calibrating the thermal exchange rate of vertical surface geometries for the purpose of improving both the esthetic and thermodynamic performance of passive heating and cooling systems in buildings. Our hybrid approach to concrete 3D printing is unique because it combines high-volume material deposition, multi-resolution surface finishing, and the ability for high customization without significant increases in production time. Our project will significantly advance systems integration between energy-based building performance design and advance additive manufacturing, enabling precast concrete suppliers to design and manufacture innovative architectural products with added value for end users in energy savings. This project serves as a template for other industries to adopt hybrid additive manufacturing systems to transform traditionally mold-based approaches. The goal of our project is to develop and test robotic 3D-printing systems that enable customization for high-resolution parts. Hybrid additive manufacturing (Hybrid-AM) enables automated tooling of soft and phase-changing materials to achieve fine feature resolution and finish quality independent of print nozzle size. Currently, speed of printing, control of finish quality, and flexibility of application are three of the most significant barriers for industries seeking to adopt additive manufacturing for part production. This project highlights how Hybrid-AM techniques, built on robotic work cells, address these challenges to enable customization of value-added products.
Enterococcus infections in foals

Abstract Enterococci have been increasing in prevalence in foal sepsis over the past three decades. There are no published studies in the peer-reviewed literature documenting common sites of infection, antimicrobial susceptibility, or outcome specifically associated with enterococcal infections in foals. Our objectives were to evaluate the sites of origin, antimicrobial susceptibility, and survival outcome to discharge in foals with enterococcal infections compared with foals with sepsis of another bacterial etiology. Seventy-five foals 0–30 days of age with cultures positive for Enterococcus and 170 control foals 0–30 days of age with cultures positive for other bacteria were included. Enterococcus was 2.67 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49–4.80; P = 0.0012) more likely to be isolated from the lower urogenital tract of foals than were other bacteria. Enterococci were less likely to be isolated from blood cultures than other bacteria, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.17 (95% CI 0.09−0.35; P
Using Repeated-Measures Data to Make Stronger Tests of the Association between Executive Function Skills and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptomatology in Early Childhood

Theoretical models of Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have long implicated executive function (EF) skills as contributing to the etiology, maintenance, and changes in ADHD symptomatology over time. Although there is interest making within-person inferences (i.e., deficits in EF skills give rise to ADHD behaviors), most of the evidence has been derived from studies that conflated between- and within-person sources of variance. Here, we use repeated-measures data to test within-person association between EF skills and ADHD behaviors. Participants included 1160 children from the Family Life Project, an ongoing prospective longitudinal study of child development in low-income, nonmetropolitan communities. We tested the magnitude of the association between EF skills and ADHD behaviors when children were 3, 4, and 5 years old. Consistent with meta-analyses, unadjusted bivariate associations between EF and ADHD (which reflect combined between- and within-person variation) were of moderate magnitude (rs = −0.20 to −0.30). However, after controlling for all time-invariant, between-person sources of variation, the within-person associations between EF skills and ADHD behaviors were weak (βs − 0.04 to −0.05, ps = 0.01). These results suggest that EF skills may contribute less prominently to ADHD behaviors in early childhood than is commonly assumed and provoke broader questions about developmental models of ADHD.
An Analysis of Ideal Cases of Disagreement

In the epistemology of disagreement literature, many authors use certain cases of disagreement in order to lend support to either conciliationism or non-conciliationism. Richard Feldman and David Christensen, among others, are advocates of the view that lessons from simple idealized cases of disagreement shed light on complex cases of disagreement. In this chapter I analyze some of these simple cases in order to demonstrate that while they do lend support for conciliationism, the lessons do not necessarily carry over to more complex cases of disagreement. This is important because cases of disagreement between inquirers are better understood as complex, not simple.
Assessing student competency in diversity and social justice

Assessment of student learning is a major activity of all academic programs, including social work. This manuscript reports one school’s efforts to further develop assessment measures related to di...
Use of Noninvasive Ventilation with Volume-assured Pressure Support for Treatment-refractory Myasthenia Gravis

Background: Stepwise approach to therapy and increasing use of immunosuppressive agents have led to increasingly good prognosis and survival in myasthenia gravis (MG). However, there is a small subset of patients with treatment-refractory disease who experience a higher disease burden and increased rates of myasthenic crises and exacerbations, including respiratory failure. A 54-year-old man with treatment-refractory MG on chronic plasma exchange therapy had rapidly fluctuating weakness, poor sleep quality, and worsening respiratory symptoms in between treatments. He was started on home nocturnal noninvasive ventilation with volume-assured pressure support mode and experienced marked improvement in sleep quality, dyspnea, fatigue, and daytime sleepiness.
Post-Heart Transplant Diabetes Mellitus: Incidence, Prevalence and Outcomes

Purpose De novo diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common complication of solid organ transplantation. However, studies about post-transplant DM (PTDM) following heart transplantation (HT) are scarce. This study aims to compare baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes between patients who developed PTDM and those who did not as well as investigate the incidence and prevalence of PTDM following HT. Methods 148 consecutive patients undergoing HT between 4/2014 and 12/2018 were enrolled to this retrospective study. PTDM diagnosis was made based on a HbA1c ≥6.5%, fasting blood glucose ≥ 126mg/dL or use of insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents. Results Of the 148 patients, 57 (39%) had no DM, 37 (25%) had DM prior to HT, and 54 (36%) developed PTDM. Among the patients without DM at the time of HT, cumulative incidence of PTDM was 37% at discharge, 46% at 6 months, and 48% at 1 year post-HT. The prevalence of PTDM at 6 months post-HT was 44% and decreased to 36%, 26%, and 17% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively (Figure 1A). PTDM patients had a significantly higher pre-HT HbA1c compared to those without DM (5.8 (5.6, 6.0) vs 5.5 (5.3, 5.9)%; p=0.017). There was no difference in the dose of immunosuppressive medications between the groups. PTDM patients had a higher rate of infection requiring hospitalization compared to patients with no DM post-HT (80% vs 61%; p=0.036). Infection free survival was significantly lower in the PTDM group at 2 years (16% vs 35%; p=0.046) (Figure 1B). Overall survival (96% vs 96% at 2 years; p=0.986), rejection-free survival (46% vs 51% at 2 years; p=0.410), rate of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (33% vs 22%; p=0.267), kidney function and number of hospitalizations were similar between the PTDM and no DM groups. Conclusion The incidence of PTDM after HT was high but prevalence decreased after 6 months. Patients with PTDM had increased pre-HT HbA1c and higher post-HT rates of infection compared to patients without DM. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical impact of PTDM.
The Effects of Lower BP Goals on Cognitive Function in the Elderly.

To review the research on the impact of blood pressure control on prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia. Observational evidence has shown an association between hypertension and cognitive impairment. However, clinical trial results of blood pressure lowering have been inconclusive, likely due to inadequate cognitive assessment, blood pressure difference between groups, and follow-up duration. SPRINT-MIND showed a 19% reduction in mild cognitive impairment (14.6 vs 18.3 per 1000 person-years; HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.67–0.95), the earliest manifestation of dementia, with intensive blood pressure control. There was a statistically non-significant 17% reduction in the risk of probable dementia (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.67–1.04). The progress of clinical trials testing the impact of blood pressure reduction on cardiovascular disease incidence has helped inform large trial testing of this intervention’s impact on cognitive decline and dementia. SPRINT MIND demonstrated a positive effect of intensive blood pressure control on risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and though the effect size was similar to MCI, the result was statistically non-significant possibly due to early termination of the intervention. Extension of follow-up may increase the number of new cases of dementia, producing a more conclusive result for dementia.
Corporations & Corporate Law (from Corporations in 100 Pages)

This is the first chapter of the book Corporations in 100 Pages (2020), authored by Holger Spamann, Scott Hirst, and Gabriel Rauterberg. The book is an introduction to corporate law for students and anyone else interested in the foundations of corporate law. The book provides an accessible, self-contained presentation of the field’s essentials: what corporations are, how they are governed, their interactions with their investors, and other stakeholders, major transactions (M&A), and parallels with other legal entities, including partnerships. Optional background chapters cover the investor ecosystem, contemporary corporate governance, and corporate finance. The book’s exposition of doctrine and policy is nuanced and sophisticated, yet short and simple enough for a quick read. In addition to this Chapter 1 (“Corporations & Corporate Law”), we have also made available on SSRN Chapter 5 of the book (“Fiduciary Duties”) (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3655213), and Chapter 7 (“Mergers & Acquisitions”) (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3655218). Chapter 1, “Corporations & Corporate Law,” introduces the book by addressing two questions: What are corporations? And what is corporate law? The chapter discusses the corporation as formally an abstraction to which the law assigns right and duties. Its extraordinary usefulness lies in how it allows large groups of people to organize relationships involving multiple assets, such as by pooling funds, transferring them to the corporation, and then allowing the corporation to serve as a single contracting interface with third parties. The chapter discusses how corporate law, as the subject is taught in law schools and discussed in practice, consists of the body of rules that govern the relationships among a corporation’s shareholders, its board of directors, and its managers; the relationships within each group; and the powers of each group to affect the corporation’s affairs. Corporate law is thus only a small subset of the far larger set of laws governing corporations, which includes “antitrust law,” “consumer law,” “environmental law,” and far more. Corporate law remains largely a matter of state statutory and common law, but also turns decisively on the corporation’s governing legal instruments, like the charter and bylaws, and contracts amongst its shareholders. Securities law also affects how corporations finance themselves. The chapter ends by providing examples of corporations, such as a small private corporation and a large public one, which illustrate the important legal features of the corporate form.
Lenalidomide-Associated Secondary B-Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma-A Unique Entity.

Objectives Autologous stem cell transplant with lenalidomide maintenance therapy has greatly improved the relapse-free and overall survival rates of patients with multiple myeloma but also has been associated with an increased risk of secondary B-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (B-ALL). Methods We report a comprehensive review of the clinicopathologic features of 2 patients with multiple myeloma who developed secondary B-ALL during lenalidomide maintenance. Results Our observations showed that the disease may initially present with subtle clinical, morphologic, and flow-cytometric findings. The flow cytometry findings in such cases may initially mimic an expansion of hematogones with minimal immunophenotypic variation. Both patients achieved complete remission of secondary B-ALL after standard chemotherapy; however, one patient continues to have minimal residual disease, and the other experienced relapse. Next-generation sequencing of the relapse specimen showed numerous, complex abnormalities, suggesting clonal evolution. Conclusions Our findings suggest the need for increased awareness and further study of this unique form of secondary B-ALL.
Synthesis, Radiolabeling, and Biological Evaluation of the cis Stereoisomers of 1-Amino-3-Fluoro-4-(fluoro-18F)Cyclopentane-1-Carboxylic Acid as PET Imaging Agents.

The non-natural cyclic amino acids (1S,3R,4S)-1-amino-3-fluoro-4-(fluoro-18F)cyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid ([18F]9) and (1S,3S,4R)-1-amino-3-fluoro-4-(fluoro-18F)cyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid ([18F]28) have been prepared in 10% and 1.7% decay corrected radiochemical yield, respectively, and in greater than 99% radiochemical purity. Cell assays in rat 9L glio-sarcoma, human U87 ∆EGFR glioblastoma, and human DU145 androgen-independent prostate carcinoma tumor cells indi-cated that both compounds are substrates for amino acid transport primarily by system L, with some transport taking place via system ASC. In rats with 9L gliosarcoma, [18F]9 and [18F]28 provided high tumor to normal brain tissue ratios, with maximal ratios of 3.5 and 4.1, respectively. Biodistribution studies in healthy rats confirmed that both compounds are BBB permeable, and that bladder accumulation is low until at least 5 minutes post injection.
The rapid endocytic uptake of fetuin-A by adherent tumor cells is mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4).

Fetuin-A is a serum glycoprotein synthesized and secreted into blood by the liver and whose main physiological function is the inhibition of ectopic calcification. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that it is a multifunctional protein. For example, endocytic uptake of fetuin-A by tumor cells resulting in rapid cellular adhesion and spreading has been reported. The precise uptake mechanism, however, has been elusive. The present studies were done to determine whether Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), which has been previously shown to be a receptor for fetuin-A and is commonly expressed in immune cells, could take part in the rapid uptake (< 3 min) of fetuin-A by tumor cells. Rapid uptake of fetuin-A was inhibited by the specific TLR4 inhibitor CLI-095 and also attenuated in TLR4 knockdown prostate tumor cells. Inhibition of TLR4 by CLI-095 also attenuated the rapid adhesion of tumor cells as well as invasion through a bed of Matrigel. The data suggest mechanisms by which TLR4 modulates the adhesion and growth of tumor cells.