cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning comparative user models for accelerating human-computer collaborative search

Interactive Evolutionary Algorithms (IEAs) are a powerful explorative search technique that utilizes human input to make subjective decisions on potential problem solutions. But humans are slow and get bored and tired easily, limiting the usefulness of IEAs. Here we describe our system which works toward overcoming these problems, The Approximate User (TAU), and also a simulated user as a means to test IEAs. With TAU, as the user interacts with the IEA a model of the user's preferences is constructed and continually refined and this model is what is used as the fitness function to drive evolutionary search. The resulting system is a step toward our longer term goal of building a human-computer collaborative search system. In comparing the TAU IEA against a basic IEA it is found that TAU is 2.5 times faster and 15 times more reliable at producing near optimal results.
Convergence of iterative restoration methods

Many iterative signal restoration methods have been shown to converge in a mathematical sense but lack a practical criterion for halting the iterative process. The residual signal can be used to define such a criterion. The results of applying this criterion show a definite advantage over the simple method of examining successive iterations.
Alteration of the Incorporation of Iodine-131 in the Chicken Egg

Abstract IT HAS been reported that chicken eggs accumulate I-131 (Roche et al., 1951; Blanquet et al., 1957; Nozaki and Oshima, 1960; Okonski et al., 1961). There are no reports on the application of prophylactic or therapeutic agents to alter this incorporation. Several agents have been tested for use as either blocking agents or metabolic accelerators in other species. The effect of iodine carrier on the deposition of I-131 was studied in dairy cattle (Lengemann and Swanson, 1957; Lengemann, 1965), in goats (Reineke, 1961), in sheep (Bustad et al., 1958), and in guinea pigs (Graul et al., 1963). Potassium perchlorate was shown to be effective in blocking the uptake of I-131 by the thyroid of the guinea pig (Graul et al., 1963), and in reducing the I-131 content of milk in rabbits (Brown-Grant, 1957), rats (Grosvenor, 1963), and dairy cattle (Lengemann, 1965). Setala and Kuikka (1963) used pilocarpine nitrate to increase …
Nonlinear viscoelastic contact mechanics of long rectangular membranes

A theoretical and numerical analysis of a long rectangular nonlinear viscoelastic membrane in adhesionless contact with a rigid substrate is presented. Computations are carried out for the case whe...
Engineering smooth muscle tissue with a predefined structure.

Nonwoven meshes of polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibers are attractive synthetic extracellular matrices (ECMs) for tissue engineering and have been used to engineer many types of tissues. However, these synthetic ECMs lack structural stability and often cannot maintain their original structure during tissue development. This makes it difficult to design an engineered tissue with a predefined configuration and dimensions. In this study, we investigated the ability of PGA fiber-based matrices bonded at their fiber crosspoints with a secondary polymer, poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), to resist cellular contractile forces and maintain their predefined structure during the process of smooth muscle (SM) tissue development in vitro. Physically bonded PGA matrices exhibited a 10- to 35-fold increase in the compressive modulus over unbonded PGA matrices, depending on the mass of PLLA utilized to bond the PGA matrices. In addition, the bonded PGA matrices degraded much more slowly than the unbonded matrices. The PLLA bonding of PGA matrices had no effect on the ability of cells to adhere to the matrices. After 7 weeks in culture, the bonded matrices maintained 101 +/- 4% of their initial volume and an approximate original shape while the unbonded matrices contracted to 5 +/- 1% of their initial volume with an extreme change in their shape. At this time the bonded PGA matrices had a high cellularity, with smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and ECM proteins produced by these cells (e.g., elastin) filling the pores between PGA fibers. This study demonstrated that physically bonded PGA fiber-based matrices allow the maintenance of the configuration and dimensions of the original matrices and the development of a new tissue in a predefined three-dimensional structure. This approach may be useful for engineering a variety of tissues of various structures and shapes, and our study demonstrates the importance of matching both the initial mechanical properties and the degradation rate of a matrix to the specific tissue one is engineering.
Unit commitment with flexible generating units

In today's volatile environment of restructured power markets, and with the passage of more stringent Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990, competitive generation units must have the ability for operating under flexible conditions to respond to various market driving forces. Among generating units with flexible operating conditions, those with fuel switching and fuel-blending capabilities, as well as combined cycle units, are commonly considered for responding to volatile market environments. For a detailed modeling of flexible operating conditions, we consider fuel types and limitations along with operating constraints such as unit configuration, min up/down time, ramping, generating capacity, and start-up characteristics, which could make unit commitment (UC) calculations even more cumbersome. In this paper, we consider network constraints in security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC). The SCUC problem is decomposed into two coordinated problems, based on Benders decomposition, which include a master problem for optimizing UC and a subproblem for minimizing network violations. We apply Lagrangian relaxation to UC for modeling various types of generation units. Several numerical examples demonstrate the impact of flexible generating units on power system operation and the potential impact of volatile fuel prices and network constraints on the performance of these units.
Clinical Experience with a Sensitive Immunoradiometric Assay for Serum Thyrotropin (TSH): Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications for Hyperthyroid and Thyroid Cancer Patients

A few patients with subtle signs or symptoms of mild hyperthyroidism, concurrent with consistently normal serum thyroid hormone levels, prompted us to adapt highly sensitive TSH measurements (1–4) to routine clinical use. TSH results in over 300 patients were found to be highly consistent with the clinical impressions and of value in several clinical situations. This account will focus on specific clinical applications, while a more complete report will be published separately (5).
Comments on “the buffer behavior in computer communication systems”

Heines1 recently analyzed the buffer behavior in computer communication system under: 1) Poisson arrivals, 2) periodic opportunities for service, 3) random blocking of service, and 4) averaging queue length and delay time observed at customer departure times. Heines' analysis revealed a different result to that of Hsu's [1]. This is because the probability distribution of the buffer content derived by Hsu corresponds to the epochs of "end of service intervals," while that in Heines' corresponds to the buffer content just after a customer departure. Using a (recently introduced) discrete state level crossing analysis [2], Heines' result can be derived from that of Hsu's. The intent of this letter, however, is to point out an alternate viewpoint of this model and to relate Heines' result to some previously published results. It was observed by Heines that if a data packet arrives when the system is idle, service to this data packet may be attempted only at the end of that service interval. This phenomenon may be interpreted as follows: every time the buffer becomes empty the output channel is closed for a length of a slot time. If no data packet arrives during this slot time, the channel is once again closed down for the following slot time. This is continued until at least one data packet arrives. Then the channel will be opened for service at the end of the slot time following the data packet arrival. This model is indeed an M/G/1 queue with geometric service times and "multiple server vacations." The results for this M/G/1 are easily obtained from that of Welch's [3] and are available in [4] and [5]. Using a straightforward translation of the results in [4] and [5] we get the Laplace Stieltjes transform W(s) of the waiting time distribution for this model as (see [6]) $\tilde{W}(s) = {(f-\lambda) \exp (-s) (1- \exp (-s)) \over (\lambda - s + sf) \exp (-s)-(\lambda - s)}, \quad Re(s) > 0$ where f = Pr {channel available during a slot time} and λ is the data packet arrival rate. Now one may use this viewpoint of this model and the level crossing analysis discussed in [5] to extent this model to accomodate bulk arrival with multitype of customers.
An assessment of mechanical reliability of a die-bonded chip package during chip encapsulation and accelerated thermal cycling

Thermo-mechanical stresses induced during encapsulation and accelerated thermal cycling (ATC) of a chip solder die bonded to a card consisting of a thermal carrier and a thick heat sink has been analyzed using a two-dimensional linear elastic finite element (FE) model. The FE model is first verified against the displacement fields measured using laser moire interferometry. A parametric study of the effect of encapsulant thickness, Young's modulus, coefficient of thermal expansion, and chip size, on die and encapsulant stresses has been carried out. Potential for die and encapsulant cracking, and delamination at the die/encapsulant interfaces have been assessed. The results are useful in selecting a suitable encapsulant material to minimize the risk of die cracking. Thermo-mechanical strain induced in the solder bond during ATC has also been computed using an elasto-plastic FE analysis. Number of ATC cycles to failure of the solder bond have been estimated by combining FE results with Coffin-Manson equation for solder. >
Anderson Lattice Model of High-Tc Superconductors

An accurate Anderson lattice model, solved using slave boson techniques, gives a remarkably quantitative picture of the thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties of the normal state. The proposed pairing mechanism, based on the exchange Jpd to order 1/U, gives an order parameter of the correct symmetry and explains several trends in Tc.
Integration of a graphite/poly(methyl‐methacrylate) composite electrode into a poly(methylmethacrylate) substrate for electrochemical detection in microchips

Traditional fabrication methods for polymer microchips, the bonding of two substrates together to form the microchip, can make the integration of carbon electrodes difficult. We have developed a simple and inexpensive method to integrate graphite/PMMA composite electrodes (GPCEs) into a PMMA substrate. These substrates can be bonded to other PMMA layers using a solvent-assisted thermal bonding method. The optimal composition of the GPCEs for electrochemical detection was determined using cyclic voltammetry with dopamine as a test analyte. Using the optimized GPCEs in an all-PMMA flow cell with flow injection analysis, it was possible to detect 50 nM dopamine under the best conditions. These electrodes were also evaluated for the detection of dopamine and catechol following separation by MCE.
Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.)

A somatic embryogenesis protocol for plant regeneration of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) was established from immature cotyledon explants. Embryogenic callus cultures were induced on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) containing 3% sucrose, 0.24% Phytagel™, and various concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-d) after 4 weeks of culture in darkness. A higher response (66%) of embryogenic callus was induced on 0.45 μM 2,4-d. Higher numbers of globular- (31), heart- (17), torpedo- (12), and cotyledon-stage (8) embryos per explant were obtained by culturing embryogenic callus on MS with 3% sucrose, 0.24% Phytagel™, and devoid of growth regulators after 8 weeks culture in darkness. Continuous sub-culturing of embryogenic callus on medium containing 2,4-d yielded only compact callus. Desiccation of embryos for 3 days in darkness at 25 ± 2°C followed by cold storage at 4°C in darkness for 8 weeks favored embryo germination and development of plantlets. Cotyledon-stage embryos subjected to desiccation and chilling treatment cultured on MS with 3% sucrose, 0.24 Phytagel™, 0.44 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), and 0.29 μM gibberellic acid germinated at a higher frequency (61%) than with 0.44 μM BA alone and control cultures. Germinated plantlets developed a shoot and root, were acclimatized successfully, and maintained in a growth room for plantlet development.
Blood Acylpeptide Hydrolase Activity Is a Sensitive Marker for Exposure to Some Organophosphate Toxicants

Acylpeptide hydrolase (APH) unblocks N-acetyl peptides. It is a major serine hydrolase in rat blood, brain, and liver detected by derivatization with (3)H-diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) or a biotinylated fluorophosphonate. Although APH does not appear to be a primary target of acute poisoning by organophosphorus (OP) compounds, the inhibitor specificity of this secondary target is largely unknown. This study fills the gap and emphasizes blood APH as a potential marker of OP exposure. The most potent in vitro inhibitors for human erythrocyte and mouse brain APH are DFP (IC(50) 11-17 nM), chlorpyrifos oxon (IC(50) 21-71 nM), dichlorvos (IC(50) 230-560 nM), naled (IC(50) 370-870 nM), and their analogs with modified alkyl substituents. (3)H-diisopropyl fluorophosphate is a potent inhibitor of mouse blood and brain APH in vivo (ED(50) 0.09-0.2 mg/kg and 0.02-0.03 mg/l for ip and vapor exposure, respectively). Mouse blood and brain APH and blood butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) are of similar sensitivity to DFP in vitro and in vivo (ip and vapor exposure), but APH inhibition is much more persistent in vivo (still >80% inhibition after 4 days). The inhibitory potency of OP pesticides in vivo in mice varies from APH selective (dichlorvos, naled, and trichlorfon), to APH and BChE selective (profenofos and tribufos), to ChE selective or nonselective (many commercial insecticides). Sarin administered ip at a lethal dose to guinea pigs inhibits blood acetylcholinesterase and BChE completely but erythrocyte APH only partially. Blood APH activity is therefore a sensitive marker for exposure to some but not all OP pesticides and chemical warfare agents.
Testing of Critical Features of Polysilicon MEMS

The behavior of MEMS devices is limited by the strength of critical features such as thin ligaments, oxide cuts joining layers, pin joints and hinges. Devices fabricated at Sandia's Microelectronic Development Laboratory have been successfully tested to investigate these features. A series of measurements were performed on samples with gage lengths of 15 to 1000 microns, using conventional and tungsten coated samples as well as samples that include the critical features of standard components in the test section. Specimens have a freely moving pin joint on one end that anchors the sample to the silicon die to allow rotation to reduce effects of bending. Each sample is loaded in uniaxial tension by pulling laterally with a flat tipped diamond in a computer-controlled Nanoindenter. Load is calculated by resolving the measured lateral and normal forces into the applied tensile force and frictional losses. The specimen cross section and gage length dimensions were verified by measuring against a standard in the SEM. Multiple tests can be programmed at one time and performed without operator assistance allowing the collection of significant populations of data.
Online Multidimensional Load Balancing

Energy efficient algorithms are becoming critically important, as huge data centers and server farms have increasing impact on monetary and environmental costs. Motivated by such issues, we study online load balancing from an energy perspective. Our framework extends recent work by Khuller, Li, and Saha (SODA 2010) to the online model. We are given m machines, each with some energy activation cost c i and d dimensions (i.e., components). There are n jobs which arrive online and must be assigned to machines. Each job induces a load on its assigned machine along each dimension. We must select machines to activate so that the total activation cost of the machines falls within a budget B and the largest load over all machines and dimensions (i.e., the makespan) by assigning jobs to active machines is at most Λ.
Galaxy surveys, inhomogeneous re-ionization and dark energy

We examine the effect of inhomogeneous re-ionization on the galaxy power spectrum and the consequences for probing dark energy. To model feedback during re-ionization, we apply an ansatz setting the galaxy overdensity proportional to the underlying ionization field. Thus, inhomogeneous re-ionization may leave an imprint in the galaxy power spectrum. We evolve this imprint to low redshift and use the Fisher-matrix formalism to assess the effect on parameter estimation. We show that a combination of low-redshift (z= 0.3) and high-redshift (z= 3) galaxy surveys can constrain the size of cosmological H ii regions during re-ionization. This imprint can also cause confusion when using baryon oscillations or other features of the galaxy power spectrum to probe the dark energy. We show that when bubbles are large, and hence detectable, our ability to constrain w can be degraded by up to 50 per cent. When bubbles are small, the imprint has little or no effect on measuring dark energy parameters.
Product Costing: A Comparison of Conventional and Activity-based Costing Methods

SUMMARY Product costs are calculated by many different departments in a company: cost engineering, industrial engineering, design, manufacturing, etc. The aims of these groups, the methods used by them and the uses to which their results are put are different. Cost engineering provides cost estimates based on finished designs. Industrial/manufacturing engineering groups calculate costs with a high emphasis on processing costs. Management uses these figures for making decisions on quantities and the product mix to be produced. Designers use (or should use) models to predict costs at the various design stages. These results help in making decisions during designing—where they are most effective. Most of the cost tools today address the problem only in the final design stages, whereas the major portion of the product cost is set much earlier. Generally, however, the designer often does not have sufficient knowledge of the manufacturing processes and the costs incurred therein. Design decisions influence all ...
A software system for enabling real-time voice communication over existing ZigBee networks

The ZigBee wireless protocol specification, based on the IEEE 802.14.5 standard, is used in many low cost, distributed wireless sensor networks. It is widely used in various embedded applications, such as for industrial, medical, and home automation. Its popularity has spawned an increasing interest in the capability of the protocol to support multimedia applications, including real-time voice transmission. Several vendors have developed hardware codecs for developers to implement 'voice over ZigBee' solutions. However, given the already wide-spread deployment and use of ZigBee sensor nodes, we propose a system for voice transmission over a ZigBee star network using a purely software-based solution, such that it can be applied to existing commercial ZigBee network nodes without additional hardware. A voice detection system optimised for embedded systems is also proposed in order to reduce network load. The proposed system is implemented onboard a common wireless sensor network node, the Freescale MC1322x. The voice quality of the system is measured via a mean opinion score test and compared to other common voice over internet protocol solutions.
Wavelength-Based Sub-Carrier Multiplexing and Grooming for Optical Networks Bandwidth Virtualization

We demonstrate, for the first time, a novel optical network architecture based on orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) over WDM via experiments, and its benefits including cost-reduction and service transparency through analysis and simulation.
Retrieval of Semantically Similar Healthcare Questions in Healthcare Forums

Healthcare forums are popular platforms for patients to communicate with other patients who have similar conditions. Retrieving similar post to a user's question is valuable as the question might have been already answered in similar threads. ICHI 2015 organized a challenge with a corpus of ninety-five selected questions and a query set of ten questions from various diabetes related online forums. The task in this challenge is that given the corpus, a system should be developed to generate the most three similar questions for each question in the query set. In order to accomplish the challenge, we utilized Elastic search to built and search an index based on tokens, UMLS concepts, and semantic types, and finally combined the ranking results with LDI, a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) based ranking method. The experimental results showed that a mean average precision of 0.72 was achieved on the manually created gold standard.
A primer on school‐based mental health practice: Lessons from the literature

This comprehensive review identifies school‐based mental health as a growing area of clinical social work practice. The empirical literature relevant to school‐based mental health practice is criti...
Syntheses of Uranyl Diphosphonate Compounds Using Encapsulated Cations as Structure Directing Agents

Five new uranyl phenyldiphosphonate compounds have been synthesized using cations encapsulated by a variety of crown ethers (18-crown-6, 15-crown-5, and 12-crown-4) as structure directing agents under mild hydrothermal conditions. These compounds, [(H3O)@C12H24O6]{(UO2)2[C6H4(PO3H)2]2F}·2H2O (U18C6-1), [K@C12H24O6]{(UO2)2[C6H4(PO3H)2]2F}·4H2O (U18C6-2), [(H3O)@C10H20O5]{(UO2)2[C6H4(PO3H)2]2F}·4H2O (U15C5-1), and [(H3O)C8H16O4][(UO2)(PO3HC6H4PO3H0.5)]2 (U12C4-1) are all layered, while [(H3O)C8H16O4]{(UO2)3[(PO3HC6H4PO3H0.5)2C6H4(PO3H)2]} (U12C4-2) adopts a three-dimensional channel structure. U18C6-1, U18C6-2, and U15C5-1 are constructed from UO6F pentagonal bipyramids, whereas U12C4-1 and U12C4-2 have UO7 and UO6 units, respectively. The crystal structures corroborate the proposed C3v and D3d conformational symmetries observed in H3O+ and K+ crown ether inclusion complexes, respectively. These compounds fluoresce at room temperature and display a red shift of 35 nm compared to the luminescence spectrum of...
The Shopping Matrix and Marketing Strategy

Before purchasing, consumers may examine one brand or a number and shop one store or several. Their behavior can be described in a “shopping matrix.” Investigation of such patterns revealed differe...
Symmetries in the kinematic wave model and a parameter-free representation of traffic flow

This paper identifies a family of linear transformations where conservation laws are invariant. In the case of a triangular fundamental diagram, it is shown that for a subset of these transformations, flow, total distance traveled and total delay are invariant. This means that for capacity or delay computations one may choose the transformation—i.e., the shape of the triangular diagram—that simplifies the problem the most, which does not require knowing the actual fundamental diagram. This is appealing also for delay-optimizing control problems since they may be solved using an isosceles fundamental diagram, which provides the most efficient numerical methods. Examples are given.
General purpose graphics processing unit based large-scale pulse compression for a Costas signal

This paper presents a general purpose graphics processing unit(GPGPU) based pulse compression processing model for parallel Costas signals.Our experiments demonstrate its performance and effectiveness.The processing model will provide a better reference for the design of a high-performance radar signal processing system.
Impact of a clinical pharmacokinetic service on patients treated with aminoglycosides for gram-negative infections

The present study was a retrospective, case-control design aimed at evaluating whether the clinical pharmacokinetic service (CPS) is cost-effective, as assessed by lengths of hospital stay and aminoglycoside therapy, incidence of a decrease in renal function, and time for resolution of infection as determined by vital signs. Forty-six patients were entered into this study, and were matched by defined criteria. The results of the study demonstrated a six-day difference in hospital stay for the CPS group (p < 0.05). Length of aminoglycoside therapy was 33 hours shorter for the CPS group. Additionally, the time necessary for resolution of the infection was significantly shorter for this group, as assessed by vital signs returning to normal or baseline. Three patients in each group expired. Two patients in the CPS group and five in the control group developed aminoglycoside-associated increases in serum creatinine. No significant difference was found between the two groups in age, weight, or APACHE II score. ...
Quantitative resolution of beta-adrenergic receptor subtypes by selective ligand binding: application of a computerized model fitting technique.

Frog myocardium appears to possess both beta1 and beta2 receptors, based on the potency order of several adrenergic agonists to compete for [3H]dihydroalprenolo1 binding. Selective beta blocking agents are able to distinguish two receptor subtypes in frog myocardium, but only one site in rat ventricle. Computer modeling using a PDP 11/45 indicates that all rat beta receptors are beta1, whereas only 15%-25% of frog ventricular beta receptors are of the beta1 subtype. Computerized curve fitting can provide a more accurate estimate of receptor parameters than currently available graphical methods of analysis.
Home exercise program adherence strategies in vestibular rehabilitation: a systematic review

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate for effective strategies to improve home exercise program (HEP) adherence in vestibular rehabilitation (VR). Design: Systematic review. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify effective strategies used to improve HEP adherence of patients in VR. Six databases, Academic Search Premier, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PUBMED, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched from their inception to December 31, 2015. The keywords used for search were `home program`, `home intervention`, `compliance`, `adherence`, `vestibular rehabilitation`, `motion sickness`, and `motion sensitivity`. Results: A total of eight studies were selected to be included in the review. There was 95.2% agreement between the two reviewers who reviewed the studies using a quality assessment tool. The overall inter-rater agreement (
Nuclear Orphan Receptors: The Search for Novel Ligands and Signaling Pathways

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on recent accomplishments and future directions in the nuclear orphan receptor field. The subsequent identification of ligands and activators for other orphan receptors has implicated the involvement of these novel regulators in a myriad of signaling pathways not previously known to involve nuclear receptors. Many of these orphan receptors are also associated with metabolic and inherited disorders and they may be ideal targets for the development of improved pharmacologic agents for therapeutic use. Nuclear receptors are classically defined as ligand-activated transcription factors that share several common structural features that allow for DNA binding and transcriptional activation. Members of the nuclear receptor superfamily fall into two distinct evolutionary and functional groups: the steroid hormone receptors and the nonsteroid hormone receptors. In addition to the successful cell-based assays that have been used, recent progress in the disciplines of X-ray crystallography and NMR have begun to provide insights on the mechanism of DNA and ligand binding, as well as transcriptional activation by the nuclear receptors. In addition to the successful cell-based assays that have been used, recent progress in the disciplines of X-ray crystallography and NMR also provide insights on the mechanism of DNA and ligand binding as well as transcriptional activation by the nuclear receptors.
A Virus-Associated Immunopathological Theory of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a clinical syndrome which is increasingly considered to be a neurological disease with behavioral symptoms that primarily manifest as dysfunction of frontal and limbic brain areas. Hypotheses of the etiology or etiologies of schizophrenia have tended to be limited to intrinsic central nervous system (CNS) processes, such as neurotransmitter dysregulation or neuroanatomical models. These models have a correspondingly limited predictive validity. An alternate and potentially more useful perspective of the disease would be one that takes into account its pleomorphic nature. Schizophrenia has a broad spectrum of associated findings suggesting involvement of developmental processes and a pathophysiology that may be systemic in nature. Viral hypotheses have been one way that the issue of pleomorphism has been addressed.
Understanding the fault-tolerance properties of large-scale storage systems

Modern storage systems continue to increase in scale and complexity as they attempt to meet the increasing storage needs of our society. Additionally, increased requirements to comply with government regulation and consumer expectations have increased the need to make data more available and reliable for longer periods of time. The design of modern and next-generation storage systems is a difficult task that requires high storage capacity and efficiency while also maintaining the data integrity. The rapid advancement of storage system technologies brings with it a level of uncertainty as to the fitness of new designs and methods for meeting the complex requirements. New technologies, like deduplication, promise improved storage efficiency, but their impact on reliability measures is unclear due to the complex relationships inherent to the systems that employ these technologies. Additionally, as systems scale up, they become subject to faults and errors that previous-generation systems may never have encountered due to the rare nature of these faults. Because of the stiffness of the represented systems, and the complex relationships involved, it can be difficult to analyze these environments correctly and efficiently. In this dissertation, we propose a method to analyze storage system reliability by using component-based models coupled with realistic fault models. We solve these complex systems by identifying fault, fault propagation, and mitigation events; by identifying dependence relationships between state variables, events, and rewards; and by decomposing our model at various points during model solution to improve the efficiency of our solution while maintaining the correctness of our reward measures. In particular, we discuss building scalable component-based models of large-scale systems that employ modern reliability methods, such as RAID, and state-of-the-art storage efficiency methods such as deduplication. We present detailed fault models for these systems, including a novel model for undetected disk errors. To enable efficient solution of these models we propose a method to analyze the dependence relationships that underlie storage systems and propose a way to solve these models by identifying and exploiting these relationships when solving for reliability measures. We apply our methods to real-world systems, detail the consequences for the reliability of deduplication, and suggest and evaluate methods to improve reliability while still maintaining improved storage efficiency.
Healthcare Commercialization Programs: Improving the Efficiency of Translating Healthcare Innovations From Academia Into Practice

Academic investigators are generating a plethora of insights and technologies that have the potential to significantly improve patient care. However, to address the imperative to improve the quality, cost and access to care with ever more constrained funding, the efficiency and the consistency with which they are translated into cost effective products and/or services need to improve. Healthcare commercialization programs (HCPs) are described and proposed as an option that institutions can add to their portfolio to improve translational research. In helping teams translate specific healthcare innovations into practice, HCPs expand the skillset of investigators and enhance an institution’s innovation capacity. Lessons learned are shared from configuring and delivering HCPs, which build on the fundamentals of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program, to address the unique challenges in supporting healthcare innovations and innovators.
From the Cover: Arsenic Induces Accumulation of α-Synuclein: Implications for Synucleinopathies and Neurodegeneration

Synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD), are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by accumulation of α-synuclein (SYN), a small neuronal protein with prion like properties that plays a central role in PD pathogenesis. SYN can misfold and generate toxic oligomers/aggregates, which can be cytotoxic. Environmental arsenic (As)-containing pesticide use correlates with increased incidence of PD. Moreover, because As exposure can lead to inhibition of autophagic flux we hypothesize that As can facilitate the accumulation of toxic SYN oligomers/aggregates and subsequent increases in markers of autophagy. We therefore examined the role of As in the oligomerization of SYN, and the consequences thereof. Chronic exposure of SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing SYN to As caused a dose-dependent oligomerization of SYN, with concomitant increases in protein ubiquitination and expression of other stress markers (protein glutathione binding, γ-GCS, light chain 3 (LC3)-I/II, P62, and NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1), indicative of an increased proteotoxic stress. Immunocytochemical analyses revealed an accumulation of SYN, and it's colocalization with LC3, a major autophagic protein. Mice exposed to As (100 ppb) for 1 month, exhibited elevated SYN accumulation in the cortex and striatum, and elevations in protein ubiquitination and LC3-I and II levels. However, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), an indicator of dopaminergic cell density, was upregulated in the As exposed animals. Because SYN can inhibit TH function, and As can decrease monoamine levels, As exposure possibly leads to compensatory mechanisms leading to an increase in TH expression. Our findings suggest that susceptible individuals may be at higher risk of developing synucleinopathies and/or neurodegeneration due to environmental As exposure.
Using Passion and Experience to Deal with Challenges

Dr. Yang Zou received his PhD degree from Wuhan University under the supervision of Prof. Chuluo Yang, with whom he studied the synthesis and application of organic light-emitting materials. He continued his research career as a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Lei Fang's group at Texas A&M University, where he worked on ladder-type conjugated molecules. Yang became an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Guangdong University of Technology in October 2016. Yang's main research interest involves π-functional materials, especially large conjugated systems for optical and electronic applications.
Environmental‐Assisted Vehicular Data in Smart Cities

This chapter discusses the concept of location proof for vehicular trajectory data in smart cities. Compared to location‐based services or mobile social networks, the moving trajectories of vehicles within a region are more predicable due to traffic restrictions. Regarding the aspects of security and privacy, this unique feature makes the construction of verifiable vehicular data indexes become cheaper than that of a series of location proofs in a mobile social network, which is strongly dependent on the cryptographic keys among different participants. The chapter also presents a detailed framework by using the wireless signals from roadside units (RSUs) to generate the location proof. It then discusses the use of environmental factors to develop “evidence of presence” for the intelligent vehicle system. It further considers how to use the measured wireless signal from RSUs to verify and index data, and also discusses the optimal RSU placement problem and the location‐time synchronization problem among RSUs.
Designing for uniform mobility using holonomicity

Holonomic systems are often complex and expensive with poor terrain handling capabilities. This paper introduces HAMR, a platform that is simple and low-cost with good terrain handling capabilities which was designed using a new method for characterizing mobility. A mobility ellipsoid (analogous to a manipulability ellipsoid) is introduced as a design tool. A metric called holonomicity measures the extent to which a vehicle can move equally in all directions. The holonomicity of HAMR is measured experimentally. It is shown that non-holonomic vehicles can have relatively high holonomicity as well.
Lea Proteins and the Desiccation Tolerance of Seeds

Some characteristics of four families of Lea proteins, collated from the numerous protein primary sequences obtained from a large number of plant species, are presented here. Sequence motifs that are the basis for classification of the proteins into each of the four families are described as well as the numerous instances of interspecies sequence diversity that exists within each family. The probably secondary and tertiary structure implications of these sequence motifs are discussed as are the implications of the sequence diversity with regard to the possible functions of these protein families.
Abstract TP436: Native American Veterans With Vascular Risk Factors Have High Rates of Vascular Cognitive Impairment

Background: Rates of cardiovascular disease and stroke are elevated in Native Americans, and a greater propensity to develop vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) rather than Alzheimer-type dementia ...
Enzyme-Instructed Self-assembly of Small Peptides In Vivo for Biomedical Application

With the development of technology, there have developed many methods to treat diseases. Among them, precision medicine is in an urgent need for public healthcare. In the past several decades, the rapid development in nanotechnology significantly improves the realization of precision nanomedicine. Comparing to well-established nanoparticle-based strategy, in this chapter, we focus on the strategy using enzyme-instructed self-assembly (EISA) in biological milieu for biomedical application. Generally speaking, the principles of designing small molecules for EISA require two aspects: (1) the substrate of enzyme of interest; (2) self-assembly potency after enzymatic conversion. This strategy has shown its irreplaceable advantages in nanomedicine, specific for cancer treatments and Vaccine Adjuvants. Up to now, all the reported examples rely on only one kind of enzyme-hydrolase. Therefore, we envision that the application of EISA strategy just begins and will lead a new paradigm in nanomedicine.
How smart are the smart toys?: children and parents' agent interaction and intelligence attribution

Intelligent toys and smart devices are becoming ubiquitous in children's homes. As such, it is imperative to understand how these computational objects impact children's development. Children's attribution of intelligence relates to how they perceive the behavior of these agents [6]. However, their underlying reasoning is not well understood. To explore this, we invited 30 pairs of children (4--10 years old) and their parents to assess the intelligence of mice, robots, and themselves in a maze-solving activity. Participants watched videos of mice and robots solving a maze. Then, they solved the maze by remotely navigating a robot. Solving the maze enabled participants to gain insight into the agent's mind by referencing their own experience. Children and their parents gave similar answers for whether the mouse or the robot was more intelligent and used a wide variety of explanations. We also observed developmental differences in childrens' references to agents' social-emotional attributes, strategies and performance.
Classification of audio scenes using Narrow-Band Autocorrelation features

Multiple single sound events of very different characteristics might coincide in a given space and time, thus composing complex audio scenes. In that context, defining signal features capable of effectively analyzing the holistic audio scenes is a challenging task. This paper introduces a set of features that consider the temporal, spectral and perceptual characteristics of the audio scene signals. Specifically, the features are obtained from the autocorrelation function of band-pass signals computed after applying a Mel filter bank. The so-called Narrow-Band Autocorrelation (NB-ACF) features are compared to state-of-the-art signal features on a corpus of 4 hours composed of 15 audio scenes. Regardless of the learning algorithm employed, the NB-ACF attains the highest averaged recognition rates: 2.3 % higher than Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients and 5.6 % higher than Discrete Wavelet Coefficients.
Micro-computed tomography of pupal metamorphosis in the solitary bee Megachile rotundata.

Insect metamorphosis involves a complex change in form and function. In this study, we examined the development of the solitary bee, Megachile rotundata, using micro-computed tomography (μCT) and volume analysis. We describe volumetric changes of brain, tracheae, flight muscles, gut, and fat bodies in prepupal, pupal, and adult M. rotundata. We observed that individual organ systems have distinct patterns of developmental progression, which vary in their timing and duration. This has important implications for commercial management of this agriculturally relevant pollinator.
Advanced Combustion Modification

Stationary combustion sources, particularly those fired with coal and oil, are major sources of NOX and SOx emissions. The commercially available combustion modification technology is relatively low cost; however, it gives a limited degree of control. Advanced combustion modification techniques are being developed which have the potential for greater NOX control effectiveness. The development of new or improved combustion systems is based on an understanding of the basic processes of NOX formation and control. This paper describes recent developments of advanced combustion techniques for control of NOX and/or SOx for coal, oil, and gas fired systems.
The Ceremony of Innocence: Physics, Metaphysics, and the Dialog between Science and Religion

In the history of science, there are many ironies, but perhaps the greatest of these concern the origins, evolution, and ultimate demise of classical epistemology and the doctrine of positivism. For reasons that should soon become obvious, belief in the seventeenth presupposition of metaphysical dualism, more formally known as ontological dualism, was critically important during the first scientific revolution and there are good reasons to believe that this revolution may not have occurred in its absence.
On the Bulk Density of Boiling Liquid Oxygen

Liquid-fueled rockets often utilize one or more cryogenic fluids as propellants. For maximum efficiency it is necessary that the mass of propellants loaded aboard the missile be known with considerable accuracy. One means of achieving this end is to know both the volume of the propellant present and its mean specific weight or, as it will be called here, its bulk density.
DESIGN OF A SIMPLIFIED TEST TRACK FOR AUTOMATED TRANSIT NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

A scaled test platform has been developed for the purpose of testing, validating, and demonstrating key concepts of Automated Transit Networks (ATN). The test platform is relatively low cost, easily expandable, and it will allow future research and development to be done on control systems for ATN. The test platform and reference vehicle were designed to adhere to a requirements document that was constructed to specify the necessary features of a fully functioning design. The work described in this thesis adheres to the phase one implementation of the requirements document. The vehicle and track were designed using commercially available computer aided design software. The prototype track was then assembled, and the vehicles were manufactured using a finite deposition three-dimensional printer. A control system was designed to control the velocity and position of the vehicle. This was accomplished using the feedback of a linear encoder that was designed and laid along the length of the track. The vehicle functioned successfully according to the design requirements document. Testing showed that the vehicle is able to move to a specified position at a predetermined speed. Additionally, testing showed that a vehicle can maintain a specified following distance behind another vehicle within twenty millimeters. The vehicle and track can be used in the future to evaluate and validate specific questions regarding the implementation of an ATN system.
Tensile Response of Ceramics at the Microscale

The tensile strength of ceramic materials are well known to be highly size dependent, arising from the sampling of intrinsic flaws. As such, determining the true tensile strength of ceramics remains a challenge. Here, we investigate the distribution of tensile properties in armor ceramics (SiC, B4C, and SiC-B4C composite) at the microscale. By employing high throughput femtosecond laser based machining, tensile bars with critical dimensions less than 100 μm are fabricated. The specimens are tested in a custom micromechanical testing apparatus in order to create a statistically significant failure distribution. The fracture surfaces are further characterized to assess the failure mechanisms. Together these observations provide a clear picture of the intrinsic tensile response of armor ceramics.
Attachment and perceived authenticity across relationship domains: A latent variable decomposition of the ECR-RS

Abstract Although prior studies have investigated authenticity and attachment across a variety of relationships, published research has yet to simultaneously investigate these constructs across multiple domains. American adults (N = 391) responded to a modified version of the Relationship Structures Questionnaire assessing four relationships (mother, father, romantic partner, friend) that included measures of attachment, self and perceived other authenticity, as well as interpersonal trust, need satisfaction and social support. A novel application of latent variable modeling provided more precise estimates of the role-specific regressions. As expected, self and other authenticity contributed to positive relationship outcomes, independent of attachment, suggesting that although the attachment system continues to shape interactions with close others across adult relationship domains, perceived authenticity often uniquely predicts relationship outcomes.