cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endogenous sex hormones impact the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in women during the menopausal transition

Abstract Objective To determine whether endogenous sex hormones (estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)) are longitudinally associated with progression of atherosclerosis among women at midlife. Methods 249 Pre- or early peri-menopausal women (42–57 years) from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) were followed for up to 9 years (median = 3.7 years) and had up to 5 repeated measures of common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and adventitial diameter (AD). Linear mixed models were used for statistical analysis. Final models included age at baseline, time since baseline, cycle day of blood draw, race, income, SBP, BMI, insulin resistance index, lipids, C-reactive protein and co-morbidity. Results In final models for IMT, each one log unit decrease in SHBG was associated with a 0.005 mm/year increase in IMT progression ( P = 0.003). E2, T, and FSH were not associated with level or progression of IMT. For AD, each one log unit decrease in E2 was associated with a 0.012 mm/year increase in AD progression ( P = 0.04) and each one log unit increase in FSH was associated with a 0.016 mm/year increase in AD progression ( P = 0.003). T and SHBG were not associated with progression or level of AD. Conclusions Independent of SBP, BMI, lipids and other covariates, lower E2 and SHBG, and higher FSH were associated with increased subclinical atherosclerosis progression in women at midlife.
An environment for the development of microcode for pipelined architectures

An environment for the development of microcode for parallel and pipelined machines is presented. The system is based on a set of low-level transformations called pipelined percolation scheduling (PPS). The PPS transformations are integrated into a system which does automatic code compaction, but also allows interactive control of the parallelization process, while the system deals with the burdensome details of architecture, correctness-preservation and synchronization. The atomicity, generality and modularity of PPS permit the integration of new, user-defined higher-level transformations on top of the core transformations, to achieve the best performance for the target architecture. >
Bridging the Chasm: A Professional College's Role in Quality

Objective: To review the role of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry (RANZCP) in ensuring quality and to suggest ways to enhance that role.Methods: Literature relating to medical error and quality of health care was reviewed and the performance of the RANZCP assessed against that literature.Results: Considerable evidence exists regarding the risk of medical practice to health. The ‘Quality Chasm’ report is a useful analytic framework for planning quality improvement.Conclusion: The RANZCP is on target with a number of quality initiatives. We need to strengthen the partnership with patients and their families in the design of initiatives.
Optimization in Multimodal Interpretation

In a multimodal conversation, the way users communicate with a system depends on the available interaction channels and the situated context (e.g., conversation focus, visual feedback). These dependencies form a rich set of constraints from various perspectives such as temporal alignments between different modalities, coherence of conversation, and the domain semantics. There is strong evidence that competition and ranking of these constraints is important to achieve an optimal interpretation. Thus, we have developed an optimization approach for multimodal interpretation, particularly for interpreting multimodal references. A preliminary evaluation indicates the effectiveness of this approach, especially for complex user inputs that involve multiple referring expressions in a speech utterance and multiple gestures.
Stable myocardial-specific AAV6-S100A1 gene therapy results in chronic functional heart failure rescue.

Background— The incidence of heart failure is ever-growing, and it is urgent to develop improved treatments. An attractive approach is gene therapy; however, the clinical barrier has yet to be broken because of several issues, including the lack of an ideal vector supporting safe and long-term myocardial transgene expression. Methods and Results— Here, we show that the use of a recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV6) vector containing a novel cardiac-selective enhancer/promoter element can direct stable cardiac expression of a therapeutic transgene, the calcium (Ca2+)-sensing S100A1, in a rat model of heart failure. The chronic heart failure–rescuing properties of myocardial S100A1 expression, the result of improved sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ handling, included improved contractile function and left ventricular remodeling. Adding to the clinical relevance, long-term S100A1 therapy had unique and additive beneficial effects over β-adrenergic receptor blockade, a current pharmacological heart failure tr...
Teacher-child relationships as dynamic systems.

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine factors associated with the quality of the teacher–child relationship from first through fifth grade using data from phases I, II and III of the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a prospective study of 1364 children from birth through sixth grade. On average, children evidenced moderately high quality relationships with teachers in fifth grade. However, there was extensive variation in fifth grade relationship quality across children. Children who received more support and stimulation at home and whose parents had higher quality interactions with the school had higher quality relationships. Additionally, children in classrooms with more positive environments and better management had higher quality relationships. Lastly, females, European-American children, children with lower levels of behavior problems and children who had higher quality relationships with their teachers in kindergarten also had higher quality relationships with teachers. On average, children evidenced decreases in the quality of their relationships with teachers from first through fifth grade. Interestingly, children whose parents had more contact with their schools, who were in schools where teachers received higher salaries and in classrooms that had more positive emotional climates and that were better managed evidenced slower rates of decline in relationship quality. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
The apprentice challenge

We describe a mechanically checked proof of a property of a small system of Java programs involving an unbounded number of threads and synchronization, via monitors. We adopt the output of the javac compiler as the semantics and verify the system at the bytecode level under an operational semantics for the JVM. We assume a sequentially consistent memory model and atomicity at the bytecode level. Our operational semantics is expressed in ACL2, a Lisp-based logic of recursive functions. Our proofs are checked with the ACL2 theorem prover. The proof involves reasoning about arithmetic; infinite loops; the creation and modification of instance objects in the heap, including threads; the inheritance of fields from superclasses; pointer chasing and smashing; the invocation of instance methods (and the concomitant dynamic method resolution); use of the start method on thread objects; the use of monitors to attain synchronization between threads; and consideration of all possible interleavings (at the bytecode level) over an unbounded number of threads. Readers familiar with monitor-based proofs of mutual exclusion will recognize our proof as fairly classical. The novelty here comes from (i) the complexity of the individual operations on the abstract machine; (ii) the dependencies between Java threads, heap objects, and synchronization; (iii) the bytecode-level interleaving; (iv) the unbounded number of threads; (v) the presence in the heap of incompletely initialized threads and other objects; and (vi) the proof engineering permitting automatic mechanical verification of code-level theorems. We discuss these issues. The problem posed here is also put forth as a benchmark against which to measure other approaches to formally proving properties of multithreaded Java programs.
Interpretation after Kant

After tracing the rise in interest in the phenomenon of interpretation to events in the early post-Kantian period, I argue that this development is highly relevant to understanding contemporary philosophy's methodological status and its relation to fields such as science and literature. I argue that much of recent philosophy is best understood in terms of an "interpretive turn" that has now provided philosophy with a modest but valuable and distinctive role. I illustrate the procedure of philosophy in this key by critically appropriating ideas about interpretation advanced by Harold Bloom and Richard Rorty, and by using hints about the role of history that arise from discussions of Kant's notion of genius.
Canonical Decompositions and Invariants for Data Analysis

Publisher Summary This chapter developed the regular invariants for S 3 and S 4 and obtained their interpretations within the context of data indexed by these two groups. These regular invariants are to be understood in analogy to the usual invariants, leading to the sample mean and variance that are obtained under the action of the full symmetric group shuffling the sample labels {1, 2,…., n}. The regular action shuffles the experimental labels by multiplication and introduces a degree of arbitrariness. The interpretation of the regular invariants, in data analytic applications, should be better understood so that the corresponding parametric hypotheses can be formulated and scientific explanations suggested. It is also observed that symmetry studies of regular (hence transitive) actions are simpler to interpret.
IMRT Reirradiation of Head and Neck Cancer—Disease Control and Morbidity Outcomes

Purpose Institutional and cooperative group experience has demonstrated the feasibility of reirradiation for head and neck cancer. Limited data are available regarding the use of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for this indication. We reviewed our initial experience using IMRT for previously irradiated head and neck cancer patients. Methods and Materials Records of 78 consecutive patients reirradiated with IMRT for head and neck cancer between 1999 and 2004 were reviewed; 74 cases were analyzed. Reirradiation was defined as any overlap between original and new radiation treatment volumes regardless of the time interval between initial and subsequent treatment. Severe reirradiation-related toxicity was defined as toxic events resulting in hospitalization, corrective surgery, or patient death. Longitudinal estimates of survival were calculated by Kaplan-Meier technique. Results Twenty (27%) patients underwent salvage surgical resection and 36 (49%) patients received chemotherapy. Median follow-up from reirradiation was 25 months. Median time interval between initial radiation and reirradiation was 46 months. Median reirradiation dose was 60 Gy. Median lifetime radiation dose was 116.1 Gy. The 2-year overall survival and locoregional control rates were 58% and 64%, respectively. Severe reirradiation related toxicity occurred in 15 patients (20%); one treatment-related death was observed. Conclusions The use of IMRT for reirradiation of recurrent or second primary head and neck cancers resulted in encouraging local control and survival. Reirradiation-related morbidity was significant, but may be less severe than previously published reports using conventional techniques.
Stable vision-aided navigation for large-area augmented reality

In this paper, we present a unified approach for a drift-free and jitter-reduced vision-aided navigation system. This approach is based on an error-state Kalman filter algorithm using both relative (local) measurements obtained from image based motion estimation through visual odometry, and global measurements as a result of landmark matching through a pre-built visual landmark database. To improve the accuracy in pose estimation for augmented reality applications, we capture the 3D local reconstruction uncertainty of each landmark point as a covariance matrix and implicity rely more on closer points in the filter. We conduct a number of experiments aimed at evaluating different aspects of our Kalman filter framework, and show our approach can provide highly-accurate and stable pose both indoors and outdoors over large areas. The results demonstrate both the long term stability and the overall accuracy of our algorithm as intended to provide a solution to the camera tracking problem in augmented reality applications.
Effects of age at introduction of complementary foods to breast-fed infants on duration of lactational amenorrhea in Honduran women

Lactational amenorrhea (LA) is associated with postpartum infertility and is known to be related to breast-feeding frequency and duration but the exact role of complementary feeding of the infant has not been clearly defined. Data on LA were collected during and after a 2-month intervention trial in which low-income Honduran women who had breast-fed fully for 4 months were randomly assigned to one of three groups: continued full breast-feeding until 6 months (FBF n = 50) introduction of complementary foods at 4 months with ad libitum breast-feeding from 4 to 6 months (SF n = 47) or introduction of complementary foods at 4 months with maintenance of baseline breast-feeding frequency from 4 to 6 months (SF-M n = 44). Women were followed up until the infant was 12 months of age or later if menses had not occurred by then. All but 6 of the women continued to breast-feed for 12 or more months. With the exclusion of those whose menses returned before 18 weeks postpartum (which could not have been due to the intervention) the proportion of women who were amenorrheic at 6 months was 64.5% in the SF group 80.0% in the FBF group and 85.7% in the SF-M group (chi-square test = 4.13 P = 0.02; one-tailed test with the latter two groups combined). The total duration of LA did not differ significantly among groups. The most significant determinant of LA was time spent breast-feeding (minutes/day) which was in turn negatively associated (P = 0.06) with the infants energy intake from complementary foods in regression analyses. These results indicate that there is a significant effect of introducing foods at 4 months on the likelihood of amenorrhea at 6 months postpartum but not thereafter and that this effect is not seen in mothers who maintain breast-feeding frequency. (authors)
Examining trait entitlement using the self-other knowledge asymmetry model

Abstract Entitlement can be a particularly insidious personality trait that manifests itself as an expectation of getting more than one gives or deserves. Entitled persons tend to be dissatisfied with rewards regardless of level and tend to be less-than-helpful unless comparatively over-rewarded. In this study, the self-other knowledge asymmetry model (Vazire, 2010) is applied to data collected from 126 dyads of employees and their immediate supervisors. Supervisors and subordinates assessed the subordinate's level of entitlement. Subordinates also self-reported their job satisfaction and supervisors assessed subordinate's contextual performance or extra-role behaviors. Consistent with the hypotheses, self-reported employee entitlement measured with an equity (Adams, 1963) theory-based instrument was a stronger predictor than was other-reported entitlement of self-reported job satisfaction. Further, other-reported entitlement was a stronger predictor than was self-reported entitlement of two forms of contextual performance (interpersonal facilitation and job dedication).
IS THE PRECISION OF RADIOSTEREOMETRIC ANALYSIS (RSA) MEASUREMENTS OF ACETABULAR CUP STABILITY AND POLYETHYLENE WEAR IMPROVED BY ADDING TANTALUM BEADS TO THE LINER

Introduction RSA is widely accepted as a precise method to asses wear and migration early in the postoperative period. In traditional RSA, one segment defines both the acetabular shell and the polyethylene liner. However, inserting beads into the liner permits employment of the shell and liner as two separate segments, thus enabling distinct analysis of the precision of three measurement methods in determining wear and acetabular shell migration. The purpose of this in vivo follow-up study was to determine if assigning the shell and liner as one combined, or two individual segments affected the precision of RSA measurements of wear and shell stability. Methods The UmRSA program was used to analyze the double examinations of 51 hips to determine if there was a difference in precision among 3 measurement methods: the shell only, the liner only, and the shell + liner combined segment. Tantalum beads were inserted into the liner and pelvic bone surrounding the shell intraoperatively for the purpose of RSA. Polyethylene wear was measured using point motion of the center of the head with respect to 3 different segments: 1) liner only, 2) the shell only and, 3) shell + liner segment. Cup stability was measured by segment motion comparing the stable pelvic segment to 1) the liner segment, 2) the shell only segment, and 3) the shell + liner segment. The Wilcoxon paired signed-ranks test was used to determine differences in condition number and bead counts among the 3 measurement methods (p ≤0.05). Results The 95% confidence interval, calculated from double examinations, established the precision of each method. The shell + liner and liner only methods had a precision of 0.03mm when measuring both wear and shell migration. The shell only method precision was 0.07mm when measuring wear and 0.08mm when measuring shell migration, making it the least desirable method. In both the wear and migration analyses, the shell + liner condition number was significantly lower and the bead count was significantly higher than those of the shell only and liner only methods, indicating a superior RSA analysis on all counts compared to the shell only and liner only methods. Discussion Insertion of beads in the polyethylene improves the precision of wear and shell migration measurements. A greater dispersion and number of beads when combining the liner with the shell generated more reliable results in both analyses by engaging a larger portion of the radiograph. The liner beads also allow measurement of cup rotation of the shell + liner segment, which is not possible when using the shell segment alone, due to the 2D nature of the program9s algorithm to detect the edge of the cup. As the prediction of implant survivorship in the early postoperative period relies heavily upon RSA, it is crucial to use the most precise system to monitor these implants and the shell+ liner method meets that standard.
Controlled vocabularies for scientific data: users and desired functionalities

Controlled vocabularies have great applicability for organizing and providing access to scientific data. This paper presents research examining the controlled vocabulary use and desired application features specific to scientific data. A survey was conducted, gathering data from U.S. DataNet participants and other data stakeholder communities. Results indicate that participants see controlled vocabularies as valued tools. Participants also reported an interest in repository technology that provides access to multiple vocabularies for scientific data.
The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory in history

St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) was designed and built under the direction of a dedicated individual, Lorenz G. Straub. Straub had been a Freeman Fellow and observed several laboratories in Germany during the year of his fellowship. He came to the University in 1930 and promptly set to work to establish his own laboratory. His vision came to fruition through a WPA grant to the University of Minnesota and construction started in 1936. Straub came to be known as the “River Doctor” for his many studies at SAFL on several aspects of river engineering.
Nutrition and Growth in Neonates Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Growth failure is a widespread health problem in infants with congenital heart disease, specifically infants with single ventricle heart lesions, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Optimizing nutrition delivery for neonates undergoing cardiac surgery is challenging given environmental and physiologic barriers. Concomitant with nutrition delivery challenges, wide practice variations exist among clinicians. Malnutrition and poor growth are associated with poor wound healing, increased infection risk, prolonged hospitalizations, and long-term neurodevelopmental disability, including worse school performance. The cause of early postnatal growth failure is multifactorial and related to the delay in onset of enteral feedings, increased metabolic stress of cardiac surgery, cyanosis, low cardiac output, increased energy expenditure, altered splanchnic perfusion, and gastrointestinal morbidities. In addition, cardiac infants are susceptible to unique complications, including chylothorax, vocal cord dysmotility, and swallowing dysfunction.
Analysis on Combining Ability of Parents of Japonica Hybrid Rice in the Northern China in NaCl Stress Condition

In the paper,combining ability for yield and its relative traits of 6 Japonica male sterile lines and 5 restorer lines was studied on 30 crosses made with them by the way of NCⅡ design,planted in the condition with high NaCl concentration and accustomed condition.The results showed that in the 2 conditions,the yield of hybrid rice was significantly positively correlated with biological yield,economic coefficient,seed setting rate,number of panicles per plant,number of grains per panicle,spikelet density,plant height, the correlation between yield and its relative traits had a consistent trend,and is only different at significant level in both conditions.In the condition with high NaCl concentration,the restorer line C52,H34,male sterile line 11A,9214A had larger GCA effects.The cross 14A/C852、9214A/H3、150A/H30、9214A/H30、66A/H34 had all larger SCA effects on yield and its relative traits in 2 conditions.Additionally,in different conditions,GCA effect and SCA effect showed relative independence.Besides,the yield tiaits had high broad-sense heritability and narrow-sense heritability,which got lower in NaCl condition than accustomed condition.
Statistical Analysis of the Quality of FDI in Central Region of China

The paper analyses the quality of utilization of FDI with statistical indicators in central region.The result shows that the quality of utilization of FDI is being continuously improved over time judging by economic growth,employment growth,human capital contribution to the industrial structure and export,but significantly lower than the quality of FDI in entire country.While the quality of utilization of FDI in central China is higher in other indicators than in entire country,but the quality of utilization of FDI as a whole is low.
The Effect of Historical Pact Making and Civic Associations on Democratic Outcomes

Scholarship in comparative democratization finds that dialogue between the opposition and the old regime before the advent of democratic elections has consistently produced stable democracies least susceptible to reversals. This is because such “pacted” transitions promote values such as conciliation, compromise building, and consensus seeking. Yet the debate concerning how historical pact making affects the quality of democracy remains mainly anecdotal. Using a dataset of transitional states, I find that not all variants of pacted transitions facilitate consolidation. Pacted transitions initiated by the ancien regime are susceptible to democratic reversal, while transitions where the balance of power between the ancien regime and civic forces is equal in initiating regime change are associated with better democratic outcomes least susceptible to democratic collapse. The article also shows that regime transitions are very much influenced by other historical path-dependent factors—specifically the role of civic associations and coalitions during the transitional process. Related Articles Sarquis, David. 2012. “Democratization after the Arab spring: The Case of Egypt's Political Transition.” Politics & Policy 40 (5): 871–903. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00381.x/full Beal, Amanda, and Leah Graham. 2014. “Foundations for Change: Rule of Law, Development, and Democratization.” Politics & Policy 41 (3): 311–345. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12077/full Luckhurst, Jonathan. 2012. “Governance and Democratization since the 2008 Financial Crisis.” Politics & Policy 40 (5): 958–977. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00386.x/full Related Media National Endowment for Democracy. 2013. “Reconsidering Democratic Transitions 2 Francis Fukuyama, Donald Horowitz, Larry Diamond.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDUwmxcx_UI TU8964. 2015. “Transitions from above Pacted Transitions.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-GPhuDWb3w Coleman, Isobel. 2014. “Democracy Can Still Deliver.” Council on Foreign Relations. http://blogs.cfr.org/coleman/category/democratization/
Migrant Preschool Children's School Readiness and Early Elementary School Performance.

ABSTRACTLittle is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school records were used for longitudinal follow-up. Children improved on age-4 school readiness domains, and although some struggled with emergent English literacy, many performed well on school readiness measures and later coursework. Children quickly became proficient in oral English, and had above-average school attendance. Many scored low on high-stakes tests; however, typically well enough for grade promotion. Students in the sample were comparable to similar students in poverty. School teachers and administrators should have high expectations for students from migrant families because many of them do stay in the public school system, and appear to be quite res...
Job preferences of agricultural students in Germany – A choice-based conjoint analysis for both genders

Knowledge of the job preferences of agricultural students is essential for the competitiveness of the industry. Yet no study is available in Germany. Other studies mostly used direct questions for the preference measurement, which raises possible concerns about a socially desirable response bias. For this reason, the present study combines a quasi-experiment (choice-based conjoint analysis) and direct questions (Likert scales) to measure the job preferences of 568 agricultural students in Germany and compares the results. In addition to finding gender differences, the study found that ‘income’ and ‘future perspective’ are the most important job characteristics for the job choice of agricultural students, and that they also prefer an increasing ‘work-life-balance’ as well as a ‘rural location’ for their future employer. Insights about job characteristics’ attractiveness lead to a more transparent environment in which employers and (potential) employees make better-informed decisions, resulting in increased...
Electron Interactions with CHF3, CF3I, and c-C4F8

In this chapter we assess and synthesize the available information on the cross sections and the rate coefficients for collisional interactions of trifluoromethane (CHF3) [1], trifluoroiodomethane (CF3I) [2], and perfluorocyclobutane (c-C4F8) [3] with low-energy electrons. Definitions of the symbols we use to describe the various collision processes for these three gases are as discussed in Ch. 1 (Table 1.3). All three gases are used in manufacturing semiconductor devices and have a number of other important applications.
A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF CARDIAC THRESHOLD VARIABILITY RELATIVE TO RESPIRATION

This investigation was undertaken to study cardiac threshold variability in dogs relative to the respiratory cycle. It was found that during certain portions of the respiration fixed amplitude threshold stimuli elicited cardiac responses whereas the same stimuli failed to pace during other phases of the breathing cycle. Although these preliminary studies show that respiration and cardiac threshold are related, there is a temporal variability between the breathing cycle and cardiac excitability from experiment to experiment (day to day) for a given dog or from animal to animal. A possible explaination for this along with further investigations will be summarized.
CLONING OF THE RIBOSOMAL RNA GENES OF YEAST

ABSTRACT We have cut DNA from yeast with either Eco RI, Sst I, or Hind III restriction enzyme and inserted the fragments into bacteriophage λ. The resulting hybrid phage were screened with labeled yeast rRNA by an in situ hybridization technique for the presence of ribosomal RNA genes. A number of phage which contain yeast rDNA were isolated and the inserted fragments analyzed. These hybrid phage contain sequences complementary to one, two, three or all four ribosomal RNAs.
Evaluation of perioperative therapy for stage II and III rectal cancer in California, 1994-2009.

1587 Background: Surgical treatment of stage II and III rectal cancer changed little during the past two decades, while ancillary therapies have undergone two evolutionary changes. We sought to evaluate changes in chemoradiation (chemoRT) practices for patients receiving radical operations for stage II and III rectal cancer in California, 1994-2009. Methods: We extracted age, sex, race/ethnicity (R/E), socioeconomic status (SES) (demographic variables) and chemoRT variables for stage II and III rectal cancer cases in California. We used unconditional logistic regression to compute independent odds ratios of receiving preoperative chemoRT (PreOP Tx) to postoperative chemoRT (PostOP Tx) during Early (1994-1999), Middle (2000-2003), and Late (2004-2009) time-periods using the late time-period as the referent group. Results: Logistic regression analyses assessing time-period and demographic variables reveal trends and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (OR; CI) for chemoRT variables. Our findings showe...
The Rise of Structural Individualism: Millennial Attitudes toward Welfare and Poverty

This article examines college student attitudes towards social policy by linking how millennials define poverty and welfare to their beliefs about redistribution and policy changes. Using a mixed methodology, we develop a theory to explain why students often use structural definitions of poverty and social policy coupled with a reliance on individualistic solutions for individuals saddled with poverty or in need of social assistance. 450 surveys and 10 interviews were conducted to examine attitudes toward poverty, welfare policy, and people receiving welfare. The results, while not generalizable, shed light on how millennials think about the link between poverty and welfare. Faculty Sponsor: JoEllen Pederson
Discrete Optical Interactions in Waveguide Lattices

We provide an overview of recent activities in the area of linear and nonlinear interactions in discrete systems like optical arrays and lattices. Both classical and quantum arrangements will be considered in this talk.
Improving airline fuel efficiency via fuel burn prediction and uncertainty estimation

Abstract Reducing fuel consumption is a unifying goal across the aviation industry. One fuel-saving opportunity for airlines is the possibility of reducing discretionary fuel loading by dispatchers. In this study, we propose a novel discretionary fuel estimation approach that can assist dispatchers with better discretionary fuel loading decisions. Based on the analysis on our study airline, our approach is found to substantially reduce unnecessary discretionary fuel loading while maintaining the same safety level compared to the current fuel loading practice. The idea is that by providing dispatchers with more accurate information and better recommendations derived from flight records, unnecessary fuel loading and corresponding cost-to-carry could both be reduced. We apply ensemble learning techniques to improve fuel burn prediction and construct prediction intervals (PIs) to capture the uncertainty of model predictions. The upper bound of a PI can then be used for discretionary fuel loading. The potential benefit of this approach is estimated to be $61.5 million in fuel savings and 428 million kg of CO2 reduction per year for our study airline. This study also builds a link between discretionary fuel estimation and aviation system predictability in which the proposed models can also be used to predict benefits from reduced fuel loading enabled by improved Air Traffic Management (ATM) targeting on improved system predictability.
RED CELL MICROINJECTION OF TRANSFER RNA MOLECULES

During hypotonic lysis transfer RNA molecules were introduced into red blood cells where they remained undegraded. Fusion of these tRNA loaded red cells and D98 culture cells resulted in the transfer of tRNA molecules to the culture cells. By this method physiologically significant amounts of tRNA molecules can be rapidly introduced into large numbers of culture cells.
426-GHz Imaging Pixel Integrating a Transmitter and a Coherent Receiver with an Area of 380×47μm 2 in 65-nm CMOS

A 426-GHz imaging pixel integrating a transmitter and a coherent receiver using three oscillators for triple-pushing within an area of 380×470μm2 is demonstrated. The radiated TX power is −17.9 dBm and the sensitivity is −89.6 dBm for a 1-kHz noise bandwidth. The sensitivity is the lowest among imaging pixels operating above 0.3 THz. The pixel consumes 52 mW from a 1.3-V V DD . The pixel can be used with a reflector with 47-dB gain to form a camera-like reflection mode image for an object 5 m away.
Designing Technological Hazard Information Programs: Towards a Model of Risk-Adaptive Decision Making

In the late Summer of 1985 the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs organized a series of informational meetings throughout the country on the siting of new nuclear power plants. The meetings were characterized by an extremely hostile response to the government’s pro-nuclear position. Most meetings were seriously disrupted by continuous demonstrations of environmental protection groups. Asked to explain the reaction of his fellow citizens, the Ministry’s director-general of Energy stated that it was due to a lack of information about the need for, the economic benefits of, and the nature of nuclear power.
Examination of pathologic features of the right atrioventricular groove in hearts with Ebstein anomaly and correlation with arrhythmias.

Background Catheter ablation of accessory pathways (APs) in patients with Ebstein anomaly (EA) has a higher recurrence rate than in subjects with normal hearts. Anatomic features could account for suboptimal ablation outcomes. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the right atrioventricular (AV) groove in autopsy hearts with EA, correlate with clinical data, and identify features relevant for catheter ablation. Methods Thirty-three specimens with EA from our Cardiac Registry were examined. The right AV groove was inspected for gross anatomic features. Limited microscopy was performed on selected specimens. Premortem clinical data were correlated with anatomic findings. Results A prominent ridge along the right AV groove was seen in 15 of 33 specimens (45%). Ten specimens had a clinical history of AP (AP+). The extent of ventricular atrialization did not differ between AP+ and AP– groups (64 ± 63 mm/m2 vs 76 ± 42 mm/m2; P = .61), nor did the presence of visible macroscopic AV tissue connections (45% vs 51%; P = .68). The single item that differed was the presence of an AV groove ridge itself, which was significantly more common in the AP+ group (70% vs 21%; P = .03). Microscopy of ridge tissue revealed a muscular bundle in 1 AP+ specimen penetrating deep into the fibrous AV annulus that was suggestive of an AP, although complete muscular continuity was not verified in the limited sections available for examination. Conclusion A prominent ridge along the inferior right AV groove is a common feature in EA and correlates with clinical history of AP. It presents a potential obstacle to catheter ablation and may contribute to recurrence rate.
Mechanics and tribology of a zwitterionic polymer blend: Impact of molecular weight.

Abstract Despite decades of biomimetic materials development, the tribological properties of articular cartilage remain unrivalled. This manuscript presents the design and material properties of a polymer blend composed of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and a zwitterionic polysulfobetaine (PMEDSAH) prepared into hydrogel form using a cyclic freeze-thaw method. The PVA hydrogel matrix provides mechanical strength while the zwitterionic polymer, PMEDSAH, is intended to act as a boundary lubricant. The formation of PVA-PMEDAH hydrogel blends was found to result in unique biomimetic system where the boundary lubricant elutes from the bulk material to the surface in response to applied pressure. This behavior is attributed to the high-water content of the PVA hydrogel matrix and the solubility of PMEDSAH in aqueous solution. In addition to characterizing the effects of boundary lubricant molecular weight on the diffusive properties of the hydrogel blend, we report the coefficient of friction, μ, versus sliding speed for the hydrogel/glass interface. Consistent with our prior findings, PMEDSAH was found to engender lubricious behavior and the dependence of μ on sliding velocity indicated a repulsive interaction with glass rather than an attractive one. This result agrees with the hydration lubrication hypothesis. Contact mechanics analyzed within the context of Hertzian biphasic theory were also investigated, revealing that the introduction of PMEDSAH enhances the hydrogel's ability to provide interstitial fluid load support.
Chapter 1 – Complex Systems

After a brief review of the evolution of thinking about systems, consisting of an ensemble of components, the chapter analyzes the nondeterminism, nonlinearity, and phase transitions in complex systems. A range of topics pertinent to complexity, such as self-organization, self-organized criticality, power law distributions, computational irreducibility, and quantitative characterization of complexity are then covered. Cybernetics and the interdisciplinary nature of complexity conclude the chapter.
Engaging with Public Art: An Exploration of the Design Space

At its best, public art can promote moral learning in individuals and societies, and digital technology can help achieve this value. As a first step in creating such systems, this paper presents a probe study exploring the design space of reflective engagement with public art. The probe took the form of a mural journal, which was distributed to participants in Philadelphia. The findings show how public art journaling can be integrated into one's life, both logistically and psychologically, and the value of art journaling for introspection, cultivating attention and having fun. This study surfaces a number of tensions in the design space that designers must navigate, such as the question of reflecting with public art on site (now) versus at home (later). This work provides designers with the grounds for informed inspiration to ideate systems that deepen people's experiences with public art.
Disciplinary Literacy and the 4Es: Rigorous and Substantive Responses to Interdisciplinary Standards:

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have described discipline-specific literacy skills needed to successfully engage with science concepts, and s...
Searching for cross-correlation between stochastic gravitational-wave background and galaxy number counts

Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo have recently published the upper limit measurement of persistent directional stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) based on data from their first and second observing runs (O1 and O2). In this paper we investigate whether a correlation exists between this maximal likelihood SGWB map and the electromagnetic tracers of matter structure in the universe, such as galaxy number counts. The method we develop will improve the sensitivity of future searches for anisotropy in the SGWB and expand the use of SGWB anisotropy to probe the formation of structure in the universe. In order to compute the cross-correlation, we used the spherical harmonic decomposition of SGWB in multiple frequency bands and converted them into pixel-based sky maps in HEALPix basis. For the electromagnetic (EM) part, we use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy catalog and form HEALPix sky maps of galaxy number counts at the same angular resolution as the SGWB maps. We compute the pixel-based coherence between these SGWB and galaxy count maps. After evaluating our results in different SGWB frequency bands and in different galaxy redshift bins, we conclude that the coherence between the SGWB and galaxy number count maps is dominated by the null measurement noise in the SGWB maps, and therefore not statistically significant. We expect the results of this analysis to be significantly improved by using the more sensitive upcoming SGWB measurements based on the third observing run (O3) of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo.
Mechanistic Study of Isotactic Poly(propylene oxide) Synthesis using a Tethered Bimetallic Chromium Salen Catalyst

Initial catalyst dormancy has been mitigated for the enantioselective polymerization of propylene oxide using a tethered bimetallic chromium(III) salen complex. A detailed mechanistic study provide...
Newspaper coverage of Colorado’s 2016 End of Life Options Act:

Since 2014, several states have introduced and passed legislation permitting aid in dying. In Colorado, Proposition 106, the End of Life Options Act, passed November 8, 2016, with 65% of Coloradans...
Mapping of Porosity Clusters in Marine Composites Using Millimeter Wave

Composites for marine applications typically are several inches thick, with a layer architecture. These composites can be tens of feet in dimensions laterally and vertically. Many are made of a polymer-based composite sheets sandwiched between a core of rigid foam or balsa wood. The manufacturing processes used are less elaborate than those used for aerospace structures. We present in this paper a noncontact technique using millimeter wave for the characterization of porosity clusters in composite specimens, using a focussed beam in E band. The measurement system consists of electronics originally designed for automobile collision avoidance purposes. We present maps of porosity clusters and make comparison with visual images. Improvements in image contrast achieved by the application of image processing techniques will be demonstrated.
States with fewer criminalizing immigrant policies have smaller health care inequities between citizens and noncitizens.

In the last thirty years, major shifts in immigrant policy at national and state levels has heightened boundaries among citizens, permanent residents, and those with other statuses. While there is mounting evidence that citizenship influences immigrant health care inequities, there has been less focus on how policies that reinforce citizenship stratification may shape the extent of these inequities. We examine the extent to which the relationship between citizenship and health care inequities is moderated by state-level criminalization policies. Taking a comparative approach, we assess how distinct criminalization policy contexts across US states are associated with inequitable access to care by citizenship status. Utilizing a data set with state-level measures of criminalization policy and individual-level measures of having a usual source of care from the National Health Interview Survey, we use mixed-effects logistic regression models to assess the extent to which inequities in health care access between noncitizens and US born citizens vary depending on states’ criminalization policies. Each additional criminalization policy was associated with a lower odds that noncitizens in the state had a usual source of care, compared to US born citizens. Criminalization policies shape the construction of citizenship stratification across geography, such as exacerbating inequities in health care access by citizenship.
Cathodoluminescence spatially resolves optical transitions in thick group-III and N-polar InGaN films

The growth of thick group-III polar InGaN films beyond the critical thickness remains a challenge due to the large miscibility gap and lattice mismatch between InN and GaN leading to phase separation and inhomogeneous distribution of indium that impacts the luminescence properties across the film. The growth of N-polar InGaN can circumvent these challenges due to the increased stability of InN, thus improving film quality. However, overall luminescence from N-polar InGaN films is consistently lower than that of group-III polar InGaN films grown under identical conditions. In this study, spatially resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements are used to reveal the optical properties of group-III and N-polar thick InGaN films. In the case of group-III polar films, predominant CL luminescence arises from the periphery of V-pits which are regions with a high accumulation of indium, while negligible CL luminescence is observed at the apex of the V-pit, indicative of centers for non-radiative recombination. Large differences in the CL luminescence intensity between the group-III polar and N-polar InGaN are a result of significant differences in the carrier lifetimes of the respective polarities (∼50–200 ps: N-polar, ∼500–700 ps: group-III polar InGaN). Since the decay behavior of the transient in N-polar InGaN is bi-exponential, it is suspected that oxygen impurities play a dominant role in the overall luminescence quenching in N-polar InGaN films.
Michigan Local Leaders Say Local Democracy Is Strong, As Their Trust in Government and Citizens Rises

This report presents local government leaders’ views regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, the State of Michigan, and the United States as a whole, as well as their levels of trust toward the federal, state, and other local governments. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Spring 2020 wave of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), conducted between March 30 and June 1, 2020. It also contains comparisons to opinions expressed in the Spring 2009, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, and Fall 2016 waves of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS).