cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Towards Resilient Deployment of In-Memory Neural Networks with High Throughput

Resistive computing systems (RCSs) promise exascale computing capabilities to inference engines for deep learning. However, the classification accuracy of the accelerated neural networks may be degraded by defects. While hardware-aware training schemes can restore the accuracy of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with low throughput, the schemes are rendered futile when weights are replicated to improve throughput. On the other hand, we discover that weight replication provides new opportunities for data layout organization. In this paper, we propose a framework for resilient deployment of high throughput CNNs to RCSs. The framework is based on integrating a data layout organization step and a distribution guided training step into the flow for mapping CNNs to RCSs. The data layout organization step involves modifying the weight matrix to crossbar assignments using channel, pixel, and hybrid channel-pixel data layout transformations. The distribution guided training is focused on training CNNs with weights that are amenable for data layout organization. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed techniques expand the average solution space for data layout organization with 1.4× 1014X. This translates into that CNNs with high throughput can be deployed onto RCS with up to 10% defects and still attain high classification accuracy.
Can Condoms Be Compelling? Examining the State Interest in Confiscating Condoms from Suspected Sex Workers

Confiscating condoms from suspected sex workers leaves them at risk for HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unwanted pregnancy. Yet, police officers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles collect condoms from sex workers to use against them as evidence of prostitution. Sometimes, the condoms are taken solely for the purpose of harassment. These actions put sex workers at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases because they may continue to engage in sex work without using protection. In the landmark case of Griswold v. Connecticut, the U.S. Supreme Court established a fundamental privacy right in the use and access of contraceptive devices. While this right has been examined in the context of married couples and individuals, it has not been applied to the confiscation of condoms, a contraceptive device, by police officers. This Note shows that by taking condoms from suspected sex workers, police officers and departments are actually violating sex workers’ constitutional right to privacy, and, therefore, the practice must be abandoned.
Summary of astronaut inputs on automation and robotics for Space Station Freedom

Astronauts and payload specialists present specific recommendations in the form of an overview that relate to the use of automation and robotics on the Space Station Freedom. The inputs are based on on-orbit operations experience, time requirements for crews, and similar crew-specific knowledge that address the impacts of automation and robotics on productivity. Interview techniques and specific questionnaire results are listed, and the majority of the responses indicate that incorporating automation and robotics to some extent and with human backup can improve productivity. Specific support is found for the use of advanced automation and EVA robotics on the Space Station Freedom and for the use of advanced automation on ground-based stations. Ground-based control of in-flight robotics is required, and Space Station activities and crew tasks should be analyzed to assess the systems engineering approach for incorporating automation and robotics.
Determining the electrical mechanism of the surface resistivity property of doped polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the pyroelectric property of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) thin films

Previously, we have reported measurements of the temperature-dependent surface resistivity of pure and multi-walled carbon nanotubes doped Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) thin films. In the temperature range from 22 °C to 40 °C, with a humidity-controlled environment, we found the surface resistivity to decrease initially but to rise steadily as the temperature continued to increase. Correspondingly, we have measured the temperature-dependent pyroelectric coefficient of doped polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) thin films, very well. While the physical mechanism of the pyroelectric phenomenon in PVDF thin films is quite well known, the surface resistivity behavior of PVA thin films is not so well known. Here, we address this concern by reporting the electrical mechanistic phenomena that contribute to surface resistivity of pure and doped PVA thin films, and give preliminary surface resistivity detectivity and other relevant quality factors for infrared (IR) and motion sensors. Regarding the pyroelectric effect of doped PVDF thin films, we give materials Figures-of-Merit based on our measurements. In addition, pyroelectric and surface resistivity infrared fundamentals, IR sensor uniqueness, and innovative techniques are presented.
Professional Training for Corporate Wellness Personnel: Survey Results from Practicing Professionals

(1986). Professional Training for Corporate Wellness Personnel: Survey Results from Practicing Professionals. Health Education: Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 71-74.
Target Naming and Service Apoptosis

The volume of traffic on security mailing lists, bulletin boards, news forums, et cetera has grown so sharply in recent times that it is no longer feasible for a systems administrator to follow all relevant news as a background task; it has become a full-time job. Even when relevant information does eventually reach the systems administrator, there is, often a dangerous window between public knowledge of a vulnerability and the administrators ability to correct it. Automated responses mechanisms are the key to closing these vulnerability windows. We propose a database of likely areas of vulnerability, called targets, in a machine readable and filterable manner so that administrators can greatly reduce the amount of security mail to be read. We then propose a cryptographically secure service with which semi-trusted third parties can act in a manner limited by the system administrator, say shutting down a specific service while not allowing general access, to diminish the window of vulnerability.
Usefulness of Placement-Weight Data in Forecasting Fed Cattle Marketings and Prices

In 1996, the USDA began reporting cattle-on-feed placements in various weight groups, which should provide information regarding expected slaughter timings and improve fed cattle price forecasts and marketing strategies. Private data were collected to obtain the necessary degrees of freedom to test statistical relationships between placement weight distributions, beef supply, and fed cattle prices. Use of placement weights improved beef supply forecasts only at a one-month horizon; it contributed nothing to price forecast accuracy or returns from selectively hedging.
Scientist, Technologist, Proto-Feminist, Superstar

Although Marie Curie is known primarily for her discovery of radium, her true gift to science was her realization that radioactivity is an intrinsic atomic property of matter rather than the result of chemical processes. She was one of the few Nobel laureates to win the prize twice (physics and chemistry). During her career and as one of the first prominent women scientists, she became increasingly aware of the need for funding for research and of the scientific freedom that money can bring. By nature shy and reserved, Marie's fame, as both a scientist and as an exemplar of a liberated professional woman of the roaring twenties, grew to superstar proportions.
Event-related potential studies of cerebral specialization during reading: I. Studies of normal adults☆

Abstract A number of methodological features were incorporated in a paradigm designed to maximize the likelihood of finding reliable event-related potential (ERP) signs of functional specializations between and within the cerebral hemispheres. Every subject was more accurate in identifying words presented to the right than to the left visual field. The morphology of the ERPs elicited by these words varied considerably as a function of electrode position both within and between the hemispheres. Amplitude asymmetries of ERP components recorded from occipital regions of the two hemispheres varied systematically with the position of the word in the visual field. On the other hand, ERPs from more anterior (temporal and frontal) regions displayed large asymmetries which were in the same direction regardless of the visual field of word presentation. The most prominent such asymmetry was in the negativity in the region 300–500 msec (N410) which was larger in the left than the right hemisphere in every subject. These results demonstrate that in this paradigm which demands specialized language processing ERPs are sensitive to aspects of cerebral organization both within and between the two hemispheres.
Numerical modeling of the proposed WFIRST-AFTA coronagraphs and their predicted performances

The WFIRST-AFTA 2.37 m telescope will provide the opportunity to host a coronagraph for the imaging and spectroscopy of planets and disks in the next decade. The telescope, however, is not ideal, given its obscured aperture. Only recently have coronagraph designs been thoroughly investigated that can efficiently work with this configuration. Three coronagraph designs, the hybrid Lyot, shaped pupil, and phase-induced amplitude apodization complex mask coronagraph have been selected for further development by the Astrophysics Focused Telescope Asset project. Real-world testbed demonstrations of these have just begun, so for now, the most reliable means of evaluating their potential performance comes from numerical modeling incorporating diffraction propagation, realistic system models, and simulated wavefront sensing and control. Here, we present the methods of performance evaluation and results for the current coronagraph designs.
Modern motor milestones

In child development circles, a motor milestone is a discrete event in a person9s progressive mastery of control over the body9s movements. To most parents, each milestone-sitting up without support, grasping a raisin between thumb and forefinger, holding a cup, taking the first step all by herself—is a joyous occasion in their child9s life. Children of the seventies, however, exhibit a new set of motor milestones made possible by our affluent society. None of these is cause for celebration. The modern milestones are discrete events marking the child9s progressive involvement with engine-driven vehicles. As early as 4 years of age, children may ride their first minibike.
Sister chromatid exchange in xeroderma pigmentosum cells that are defective in DNA excision repair or post-replication repair.

The formation of sister chromatid exchanges has been postulated to depend upon the action of DNA repair enzymes. Our experiments with various human cell lines show that the yield of sister chromatid exchanges is within normal limits in both excision-repair-defective and post-replication-repair-defective cells from the autosomal recessive disease, xeroderma pigmentosum. These results indicate that hypotheses invoking known DNA repair processes to account for the recombination of sister chromatids are inadequate and that the exact enzymatic processes are as yet unknown.
Magnetic Helicity in a Two-Flux Partitioning of an Ideal Hydromagnetic Fluid

A primitive form of magnetic helicity is constructed that (1) recovers the classical helicity of a wholly contained magnetic field, as well as the Berger-Field relative helicity of a partially contained magnetic field, and (2) generalizes the infinity of global, helicity-like invariants derived by Bhattacharjee & Dewar for a plasma approaching toroidal magnetostatic equilibrium. This construction is based on a general partitioning of an ideal hydromagnetic fluid into disjoint, infinitesimally thin, toroidal subvolumes using a two-flux description of the embedded magnetic field. Each of these toroidal subvolumes of fluid is endowed with a gauge-independent magnetic helicity conserved during its ideal Lagrangian evolution. This conservation law constitutes an equivalent statement of the frozen-in condition. The Chandrasekhar-Kendall solenoidal representation of a magnetic field is conceptually related to the two-flux description in the basic theory developed. Magnetic helicity-related phenomena in the solar corona are briefly discussed to provide an astrophysical context for this basic development, postponing proper applications to the papers to follow.
Automated reporting of safety bundles: streamlining the performance improvement process

Safety checklists, long used in aviation, have migrated to the critical care setting in an effort to reduce complications and improve patient outcomes. We developed an automated system to provide real-time feedback to the healthcare team on safety bundle compliance in the ICU.
Dynamics of survival following the Cenomanian-Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) mass extinction event

Abstract High-resolution stratigraphic data across the Cenomanian-Turonian (C-T) boundary suggest that the rate and the diverse ways repopulation occurred following the C-T mass extinction is far too rapid to be accommodated solely by the evolution of new species from ecological generalist or opportunistic stocks. Therefore, the degree of survivorship of more specialized species and lineages, including advanced ones, was far more pervasive than commonly believed. This may have been largely accomplished through various survival mechanisms and/or reflect diverse refugia in many common habitats. An attempt is made to utilize the stratigraphic and biogeographic range patterns and distributions of various C-T macroinvertebrate lineages (primarily molluscan) to determine which survival mechanisms may have been employed. These mechanisms span a variety of taxonomic groups and allowed the survival through and/or seeded the evolution of new taxa following the perturbations associated with the C-T mass extinction event.
Ecology of the redfin darter and a potential emerging threat to its habitat

The basic biologies and ecologies of most freshwater fishes throughout the world are poorly understood. But such knowledge may be critical for conservation decisions. The redfin darter (Etheostoma whipplei), a poorly understood fish species, is an excellent model for highlighting this situation. Much of the limited range of this species is experiencing nontraditional natural gas extraction activities including hydraulic fracturing, which may be a significant source of silt input for streams. We investigated aspects of the ecology and metrics of reproductive success of redfin darters in central Arkansas. We examined habitat occupation through quantitative surveys of fish assemblages and habitat variables, and reproductive life history through field and laboratory surveys in Cypress Creek, Arkansas. We also examined the proportion of young fishes in populations relative to intensity of natural gas extraction activity. Ordination analysis found habitat gradients relating primarily to stream size. Redfin darters had the highest relative abundance in samples in small, high gradient streams. Redfin darters reproduce in the spring, peaking with the rainy season, using larger substrate than their close relatives. Reproductive success appears to be negatively related to natural gas extraction intensity. Redfin darters reproduce at both a time and in a habitat which may be especially susceptible to siltation from natural gas extraction activities, which may be reflected in fewer young fishes in populations. Our research highlights the importance of life history data in understanding responses to novel disturbances in freshwater fishes.
Adaptive quadrature for sharply spiked integrands

A new adaptive quadrature algorithm that places a greater emphasis on cost reduction while still maintaining an acceptable accuracy is demonstrated. The different needs of science and engineering applications are highlighted as the existing algorithms are shown to be inadequate. The performance of the new algorithm is compared with the well known adaptive Simpson, Gauss-Lobatto and Gauss-Kronrod methods. Finally, scenarios where the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing ones are discussed.
Designing products that are robust to the environment

Professor Genichi Taguchi has emphasized the use of designed experiments in several novel and important applications. In this paper, we focus on the use of statistical experimental designs in designing products to be robust to environmental conditions. The engineering concept of robust product design is very important since it is frequently impossible or prohibitively expensive to control or eliminate sources of variation due to environmental conditions. Robust product design enables the experimenter to discover how to modify the design of the product to minimize the effect due to variation from environmental sources. In experiments of this kind, Professor Taguchi's total experimental arrangement consists of a cross-product of two experimental designs, an inner array containing the design factors and an outer array containing the environmental factors. Except in situations where both of these arrays are small, this arrangement may involve a prohibitively large amount of experimental work. One of the objec...
Focal denervation alters cellular phenotypes and survival in the rat olfactory bulb: a developmental analysis.

Our previous work (Couper Leo et al. [2000] J. Comp. Neurol. 417:325–336) introduced a technique for focally denervating the olfactory bulb soon after birth and described the pattern of changes incurred by this procedure by postnatal day (P) 30. The current study extends these findings with a developmental analysis of the effects of focal denervation in P10 and P20 rats. The results suggest that denervation begins to affect bulb architecture and cell survival soon after the procedure is performed, but that alterations within the bulb occur over an extended time period. For example, at P10, bulb and laminar sizes and mitral/tufted cell profile number had begun their decline, and nearly all measurements were significantly reduced by P20. Furthermore, a superficial-to-deep gradient of alterations in bulb architecture and a temporal separation of the effects on mitral/tufted cell dendrites vs. somata were observed. Immunohistochemical analyses of olfactory marker protein (OMP)-, calretinin- calbindin-, parvalbumin-, tyrosine hydroxylase-, and glutamic acid decarboxylase-stained sections indicated that: 1) denervation alters the interaction between olfactory axons and their targets in a developmentally significant manner; 2) the fine structure of denervated cells is altered; 3) cell phenotypes are differentially affected by loss of afferent contact, perhaps due to the age-dependent expression of their defining antigens; and 4) specific cell populations may be lost as a result of denervation. J. Comp. Neurol. 425:409–421, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Serum ionized magnesium and calcium in women after menopause: inverse relation of estrogen with ionized magnesium

Abstract Objective: To study the serum concentrations of the sex steroid hormones and free divalent cations Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ in healthy women at or past menopause and to compare them with the serum concentrations of healthy, cycling women of child-bearing age at different stages of the menstrual cycle. Design: Controlled clinical study. Setting: An academic medical center. Patient(s): Women of varying age and duration of menopause, and healthy, cycling women. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Serum levels of the sex steroids (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) and of Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ were measured in menopausal and postmenopausal women, and in healthy, cycling women at five different stages of the menstrual cycle. Result(s): The Mg 2+ and total Mg levels of the postmenopausal women were inversely related to the serum level of estrogen and were similar to the levels present during the early follicular phase of healthy women of child-bearing age. The Ca 2+ level was unrelated to the sex steroid hormones present, but it was increased compared with that of younger women in both the follicular phase and the luteal phase. Conclusion(s): Serum levels of Mg 2+ and total Mg were inversely correlated with the estrogen concentration in menopausal women. Serum levels of Ca 2+ were significantly elevated in menopausal women compared with younger women, but the ratio of Ca 2+ to Mg 2+ , a measure of cardiovascular problems, was not elevated in the postmenopausal women.
Thermoelectric power generation materials: Technology and application opportunities

Thermoelectric power sources have consistently demonstrated their extraordinary reliability and longevity for deep space missions (67 missions to date, more than 30 years of life) as well as terrestrial applications where unattended operation in remote locations is required. The development of new, more efficient materials and devices is the key to improving existing space power technology and expanding the range of terrestrial applications. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory is leading collaborative research and development on novel advanced bulk materials capable of long-term operation at temperatures up to 1,300 K at more than 20% conversion efficiency. The research areas include refractory rare earth compounds and bulk three-dimensional nanostructures that emulate results obtained on low dimensional superlattices through “force engineering” and “self-assembling” techniques. Recent experimental results will be highlighted, and progress in transitioning thermoelectric technology to a more flexible, lower-cost modular array configuration suitable for various application opportunities will be discussed.
Colorectal Cancer Screening Differential Costs for Younger Versus Older Americans

Results: As screening uptake increased, CRC incidence and mortality decreased, and annual costs related to CRC care and testing increased for younger persons, but decreased for older persons. Compared with current screening uptake of 40%, screening 75% of the U.S. population aged 50 to 80 increased annual costs related to CRC care and testing from $3.6 billion to $5.0 billion for 50- to 64-year-olds, but decreased annual costs from $5.9 billion to $5.6 billion for those aged 65 years and older. Sensitivity analyses suggest that future costs for other diseases could offset CRC care savings in older Americans that are attributable to screening. However, even without net cost savings for any age group, screening remained relatively cost-effective. Conclusions: Investments in screening and polypectomy in younger persons may decrease CRC-related costs, including screening and surveillance, for healthcare payers for older Americans, including Medicare. While these savings could potentially be offset by future health costs for other diseases, screening would still be cost-effective. Widespread CRC screening
Bioerosion In An Equatorial Middle Jurassic Coral-Sponge Reef Community (Callovian, Matmor Formation, Southern Israel)

Abstract The Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian, 165–161 mya) in southern Israel contains abundant coral–sponge patch reefs and large crinoids which have been extensively bioeroded by bivalves, worms, barnacles, phoronids, and others producing eight ichnospecies. It is significant for the evolutionary history of bioerosion because this is the first equatorial Middle Jurassic boring ichnofauna to be documented. When compared to contemporaneous ichnofaunas, this assemblage is of average diversity and abundance but has only rare sponge borings and contains abundant specimens of Oichnus paraboloides as shallow pits on crinoid stems. The Matmor Formation surprisingly lacks carbonate hardgrounds, which are otherwise abundant in subtropical and temperate equivalents.
A Simple Confidence Testing Format

Abstract : The paper presents the development of scoring functions for use in conjunction with standard multiple-choice items. In addition to the usual indication of the correct alternative, the method requires that the examinee indicate his personal probability of the correctness of his response. Both linear and quadratic polynomial scoring functions are examined for suitability. Unique quadratic scoring functions are found such that a score of zero is assigned when complete uncertainty is indicated. Furthermore, the examinee can expect to do best if he reports his personal probability accurately. A table of simple integer approximations to the scoring function is supplied.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Modulates the Function of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium In Vivo

Purpose. Retinal edema, the accumulation of extracellular fluid in the retina is usually attributed to inner blood retina barrier (BRB) leakage. Vascular endothelial growth factor plays an important role in this process. The effects of VEGF on the outer BRB, the RPE, however, have received limited attention. Here, we present a methodology to assess how VEGF modulates the integrity of the RPE barrier in vivo.
Using similarity measures in benthic impact assessments

Eleven similarity measures were used to assess the impacts of clam digging on the infauna of one intertidal mud-flat. When the similarity matrices were clustered using a divisive polythetic algorithm two different conclusions were possible from the dendograms produced. Dendograms generated by 3 coefficients indicated digging had an impact on areas dug more than once, while the 8 others did not. In addition, existing data from an impact analysis of a power plant effluent were re-analyzed using 5 different coefficients. In this case, three of the five coefficients gave results which indicated that the benthic community at the effluent pipe was different from that present at the control. Two coefficients gave the opposite conclusion - the populations were not different.These results indicate that the objectivity of cluster analysis, as it has come to be used in impact studies, is only apparent, not real. Too many subjective choices are made in selecting algorithms and methods of interpretation. Objective criteria need to be developed for the choices made, based on the intrinsic and ecological properties of the quantitative methods. Some criteria that have been developed are discussed, and used to determine which coefficients are best suited for the two data sets analyzed. To reduce the number of subjective choices made an analysis of variance of the similarity matrix is presented as an alternative to clustering.
Pioneers in Optics: James Clerk Maxwell and Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman

James Clerk Maxwell was one of the greatest scientists of the nineteenth century. He is best known for the formulation of the theory of electromagnetism and for making the connection between light and electromagnetic waves. He also made significant contributions in the areas of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and engineering. He is considered by many to be the father of modern physics.
The effect of mycoplasma on the autocrine stimulation of human small cell lung cancer in vitro by bombesin and β-endorphin

Abstract The tumor stem cell clonogenic assay was utilized to investigate the autocrine growth response of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) to bombesin (BN) and β-endorphin (β-E). Mycoplasma contamination was detected in the human SCLC cell line NCI-H345 by a nucleic acid hybridization assay which detects mycoplasma ribosomal RNA. Clonogenic assays of mycoplasma (+) cells were compared to assays of the same cell line following treatment for mycoplasma. Concentrations of β-E ranging from 0.1nM to 25nM or BN (0.1nM–100nM) were added to cells, media and agarose and applied to prepared base layers. Following incubation for 12–14 days at 37°C, the degree of clonal growth stimulation was determined by colony counts ⩾42μ. The non-infected cell population grew in the presence of 25nM BN up to 69% over control growth. The infected cells, however, did not grow more than 27% above control. In the presence of 10nM β-E, colony counts of non-infected cells exceeded the control values by up to 187% whereas the mycoplasma (+) colonies did not grow more than 20% over the control values. These results indicate a marked reduction in the response of SCLC cell lines to the peptides BN and β-E when infected with mycoplasma. Since infecting mycoplasma typically adhere to cellular membranes, these adherent mycoplasma may interfere with membrane receptors or alter signal transduction, thus, inhibiting the development of the autocrine response.
Chemical analysis of human teeth.

THE dental literature contains numerous articles concerning the chemical analysis of human teeth.1-9 Most of this work was done in the early 1930's. Naturally, in these analyses the common chemical methods and procedures known at the time were used. Recently, a request was received for an analysis of some Greek teeth to compare their chemical compositions with that of domestic teeth. In recent years new methods in analytical chemistry have been developed which make the analysis of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus easier, faster, and more accurate. In this investigation some of these new methods have been applied. It is the purpose of this report to describe these methods and the compositions obtained. Some investigators" have shown that the composition of enamel and dentine of the teeth of one person may vary as much as that obtained from the teeth of several individuals. Others2 have shown that even the difference between the chemical compositions of well-developed and hypoplastic enamel is of the same order as the difference between one individual and another. Thus, the sampling of human teeth for chemical analysis is quite important. In this analysis, 10 domestic and 10 Greek teeth were crushed separately and the results reported represent an average value for each group. The human tooth is made up largely of inorganic material, and many investigators have analyzed only this portion of enamel and dentin. However, teeth contain organic as well as inorganic components, and some investigators, such as Deakins and Volker,3 have reported the organic content of the enamel of human teeth. This report describes only the determination of the inorganic content of enamel and dentin. After analyzing the inorganic part of human teeth, different investigators tried to assign a chemical formula to this structure. As a result, 3 rather important formulas have been given to tooth structure.
Experimental Study of Gate-First FinFET Threshold-Voltage Mismatch

In this brief, threshold voltage mismatch of fully integrated n-type FinFETs based on a gate-first process was studied experimentally. Significantly improved threshold voltage mismatch due to undoped FIN body was confirmed with the experimental data. By comparing mismatch values of thin- and thick-oxide nMOS, we found that factors, which do not scale with gate oxide thickness, including line edge roughness and metal-gate granularity (MGG), can explain ~ 60% of total mismatch of thin-oxide devices. Moreover, we report a convex shape of threshold voltage mismatch following the increase of the number of FINs and propose a possible explanation of the abnormal behavior. Due to channel width quantization, two competing contributors impact mismatch: as FIN number becomes smaller mismatch due to MGG likely play an important role which increases threshold voltage mismatch, whereas FIN number becomes larger, systematic variation becomes the main factor, which also increases threshold voltage mismatch.
Structural stability of the quantum Fourier transform

While it is important to investigate the negative effects of decoherence on the performance of quantum information processors, Landauer was one of the first to point out that an equally basic problem, i.e., the effects of unavoidable hardware flaws in the real-world implementations of quantum gates, needs to be investigated as well. Following Landauer's suggestion, we investigated the structural stability of the quantum Fourier transform (QFT) via significantly changing the analytical form of its controlled rotation gates, thus modeling structural flaws in the Hamiltonian of the QFT. Three types of modified rotation gates were investigated, numerically and analytically, changing the exact QFT rotation angles $$\pi /2^j$$?/2j to (1) $$\pi /\alpha ^j$$?/?j, (2) $$\pi /2 j^{\beta }$$?/2jβ, and (3) $$\pi /\log _{\gamma }(j+1)$$?/log?(j+1), where $$\alpha $$?, $$\beta $$β, and $$\gamma $$? are constants and $$j$$j is the integer distance between QFT qubits. Surprisingly good performance is observed in all the three cases for a wide range of $$\alpha $$?, $$\beta $$β, and $$\gamma $$?. This demonstrates the structural stability of the QFT Hamiltonian. Our results also demonstrate that the precise implementation of QFT rotation angles is not critical as long as the angles (roughly) observe a monotonic decrease in $$j$$j (hierarchy). This result is important since it indicates that stringent tolerances do not need to be imposed in the actual manufacturing process of quantum information hardware components.
Sorption mechanisms of lanthanum on oxide minerals

The retention of hazardous species, including many of the lanthanides, on soils and sediments is vital for maintaining environmental quality. In this study, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was used to identify surface precipitates of La and their degree of atomic ordering on oxides of Mn (birnessite), Fe (goethite) and Ti (rutile) over a pH range of 3 to 8. At pH >5.5, the aqueous concentration of La was fully depleted by all three metal-oxides. On birnessite, surface precipitation of La-hydroxide occurred at pH = 5 and appears to be the dominant sorption mechanism on this mineral. Surface precipitation was not observed on rutile or goethite until much higher pH values, 6.5 for rutile and 8.0 for goethite. Precipitation is thus correlated with the points of zero charge (PZC) of the minerals, 6.3 for rutile and 7.8 for goethite, and in each case was observed only at pH values above the PZC. Although La sorption was extensive on all of the minerals at the higher pHs, the depletion of La from solution by rutile and goethite at pH values well below the PZC indicates that the sorption mechanism differs from that on birnessite. While surface precipitation was found to be the dominant sorption mechanism of La on birnessite, surface complexation of monomelic or small multinuclear species appears to predominate in La retention on rutile and goethite at most commonly encountered pH values.
Detection of MDR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms C3435T and G2677T using real-time polymerase chain reaction: MDR1 single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assay.

The objective of this study was to develop a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect MDR1 (human multidrug resistance gene) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) C3435T and G2677T. C3435T and G2677T are linked to MDR1*2, which is associated with enhanced efflux activity in vitro. Using the Smart Cycler, an allele-specific real-time PCR-based genotyping method was developed to detect C3435T and G2677T. The MDR1 genotype of human genomic DNA templates was determined by direct DNA sequencing. PCR reactions for genotyping C3435T and G2677T by using allele-specific primers were conducted in separate tubes. An additional nucleotide mismatch at the third position from the 3′ end of each allele-specific primer was used to abrogate nonspecific PCR amplification. The fluorescence emitted by SYBR Green I was monitored to detect formation of specific PCRproducts. PCR growth curves exceeding the threshold cycle were considered positive. Fluorescence melt-curve analysis was used to corroborate results from PCR growth curves. Using PCR growth curves, our assay accurately determined hetero- and homozygosity for C3435T and G2677T. Genotype assignments based on PCR growth curve, melt-curve analysis, agarose gel electrophoresis, and direct DNA sequencing results of PCR products were in perfect agreement. We have developed a rapid MDR1 genotyping method that can be used to assess the contribution of MDR1*2 to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability of P-glycoprotein substrates.
A Spectral Deferred Correction Method Applied to the Shallow Water Equations on a Sphere

AbstractAlthough significant gains have been made in achieving high-order spatial accuracy in global climate modeling, less attention has been given to the impact imposed by low-order temporal discretizations. For long-time simulations, the error accumulation can be significant, indicating a need for higher-order temporal accuracy. A spectral deferred correction (SDC) method is demonstrated of even order, with second- to eighth-order accuracy and A-stability for the temporal discretization of the shallow water equations within the spectral-element High-Order Methods Modeling Environment (HOMME). Because this method is stable and of high order, larger time-step sizes can be taken while still yielding accurate long-time simulations. The spectral deferred correction method has been tested on a suite of popular benchmark problems for the shallow water equations, and when compared to the explicit leapfrog, five-stage Runge–Kutta, and fully implicit (FI) second-order backward differentiation formula (BDF2) time...
Normative contexts and moral decision

This paper attempts to explain the significance of the ‘ideologies’ — or ‘middle-level’ normative discourse — described by Kenneth Goodpaster in his paper ‘Business Ethics, Ideology, and the Naturalistic Fallacy’. It is argued that the propositions constitutive of this discourse are not invokable moral principles (i.e. principles which generate solutions to actual moral problems). Rather, they are characterizations of the normative contexts in which moral decisions are made. As such, they place limits on the ways in which the abstract moral principles of traditional moral theory may be applied or interpreted in making real-life moral decisions.
Use of limited transthoracic echocardiography in patients with traumatic cardiac arrest decreases the rate of nontherapeutic thoracotomy and hospital costs.

OBJECTIVES Limited transthoracic echocardiography (LTTE) has been introduced as a hemodynamic tool for trauma patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of LTTE during the evaluation of nonsurviving patients who presented to the trauma bay with traumatic cardiac arrest. METHODS Approval by the Institutional Review Board was obtained. All nonsurviving patients with traumatic cardiac arrest who reached the trauma bay were evaluated retrospectively for 1 year. Comparisons between groups of patients in whom LTTE was performed as part of the resuscitation effort and those in whom it was not performed were conducted. RESULTS From January 2012 to January 2013, 37 patients did not survive traumatic cardiac arrest while in the trauma bay: 14 in the LTTE group and 23 in the non-LTTE group. When comparing the LTTE and non-LTTE groups, both were similar in sex distribution (LTTE, 86% male; non-LTTE, 74% male; P = .68), age (34.8 versus 24.1 years; P= .55), Injury Severity Score (41.0 versus 38.2; P= .48), and percentage of penetrating trauma (21.6% versus 21.7%; P = .29). Compared with the non-LTTE group, the LTTE group spent significantly less time in the trauma bay (13.7 versus 37.9 minutes; P = .01), received fewer blood products (7.1% versus 31.2%; P = .789), and were less likely to undergo nontherapeutic thoracotomy in the emergency department (7.14% versus 39.1%; P < .05). The non-LTTE group had a mean of $3040.50 in hospital costs, compared with the mean for the LTTE group of $1871.60 (P = .0054). CONCLUSIONS In this study, image-guided resuscitation with LTTE decreased the time in the trauma bay and avoided nontherapeutic thoracotomy in nonsurviving trauma patients. Limited TTE could improve the use of health care resources in patients with traumatic cardiac arrest.
The role of soil moisture, salinity, and oxygen on the growth of Helianthus paradoxus (Asteraceae) in an inland salt marsh of west Texas

Abstract Helianthus paradoxus (Pecos sunflower) is a threatened annual sunflower endemic to salt marshes in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America. From year to year, the location of this species within the marsh changes as edaphic factors such as soil moisture and soil salinity change. In this paper, the relationship of above-ground dry mass of this species and soil surface water, subsurface water, surface salinity, subsurface salinity, and oxygen content was evaluated. H. paradoxus was found where surface water was higher, but this was dependent on the time of year. In quadrats where H. paradoxus was found, both surface and subsurface soil salinity were significantly lower than those quadrats where H. paradoxus was not found. H. paradoxus was also found in quadrats where soil oxygen content was higher later in the growing season. Regression analyses indicated that soil salinity was the most important determinant of H. paradoxus above-ground dry mass, except later in the growing season when surface moisture was the most important factor. While soil salinity appears to be the most important factor early in the growing season, the role of water may be important later in the growing season for removal and redistribution of salts in the soil profile.
Brain Plasticity Following Early Life Brain Injury: Insights From Neuroimaging

The developing human brain possesses a superior capacity to reorganize after focal lesions. This review describes mechanisms of reorganization following pre- and perinatally-acquired, unilateral brain lesions for motor, somatosensory, and language functions. In the motor system, unilateral damage to the corticospinal tract can lead to the maintenance of normally-transient ipsilateral corticospinal projections from the contralesional hemisphere. In some patients, this type of corticospinal (re)organization can achieve an active grasp function of the paretic hand, while in others no useful hand function develops although such projections exist. In the somatosensory system, periventricular lesions can be compensated by outgrowing thalamocortical projections forming "bypasses" around the defective white matter to reach the postcentral gyrus. By contrast, lesions in the postcentral gyrus often lead to marked somatosensory deficits. Finally, language functions can be taken over by the right hemisphere in cases of left hemispheric damage, often with excellent functional outcome. Knowledge of these mechanisms is necessary for establishing a "prognostic corridor" of development derived from neuroimaging in newborns with brain lesions.
Dietary Selenium and Arsenic Additions to Diets for Chickens Over a Life Cycle

Abstract PREVIOUS studies with poultry in which arsenic salts were shown to overcome the toxic effects of selenium involved only short periods (Carlson et al., 1954, 1962; Krista et al., 1961; Moxon, 1938, 1941; and Olson et al., 1958). It seemed desirable to determine, over a life cycle period, what the long term as well as short term effects of arsenic might be in counteracting selenium toxicity. This report summarizes results of two such studies with chickens, the first using practical diets and the second involving purified type diets. Included in these studies were treatments involving selenium additions at a sub-toxic level, i.e. 2 p.p.m., which Poley et al. (1941) had found to improve the growth rate of chicks on a practical diet. This level is 100 times that of the nutritional requirement shown by Thompson and Scott (1969) when their diet contained 10 p.p.m. vitamin E. EXPERIMENTAL Experiment 1: Two…
Cerebral metabolism in brains of rats infected with neuropathogenic murine leukemia viruses.

Friend murine leukemia virus A8 and PVC211 cause spongiform neurodegeneration in rat brains. Glutamate is an important neurotransmitter synthesized from α-ketoglutaric acid, an intermediate product of the citric acid cycle, and glutamine is synthesized from glutamate. To examine the brain metabolism of rats infected with neuropathogenic viruses, the amount of glutamate and glutamine in the brains of rats infected with A8, PVC211, and non-neuropathogenic 57 was measured using high performance liquid chromatography, and the 13C-label incorporation into the C4 position of glutamate and glutamine from [1-13C] glucose was measured with 13C nuclear magnetic resonance. In the cerebral hemisphere and region containing the brain stem and basal ganglia of rats infected with A8 and PVC211 at 8-9 weeks post-infection (wpi), the amount of glutamine was decreased compared with the 57-infected rats. The amount of glutamate was decreased in the cerebral hemisphere of the A8-infected rats and the region containing the brain stem and basal ganglia of PVC211-infected rats at 8-9 wpi. The amount of [4-13C] glutamine and [4-13C] glutamate in the cerebral hemisphere and region containing the brain stem and basal ganglia of rats infected with A8 and PVC211 at 8-9 wpi was equivalent to that of the 57-infected rats. These results suggest that in the brains of rats infected with neuropathogenic viruses, de novo synthesis of glutamate and glutamine is not decreased, but the ability to maintain quantitative levels of glutamate and glutamine is decreased compared with the brains of rats infected with non-neuropathogenic virus.
Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements and Stimulus Predictability in Children: A Reply to Haishi and Kokubun

This reply to Haishi and Kokubun's study of smooth pursuit in young children points out that the quality of pursuit as it pertains to predictability is confounded with the immaturity of visual system structure. Two possible solutions to the confounding are discussed.
The surprising effect of partner flaws and qualities on romantic affect

We examined whether the intensity of romantic affect is a function of deterrence to that affect (i.e., a reason for not feeling the affect) and explored the effect of deterrents that are relevant to the stimulus instigating the emotion. In line with the Emotional Intensity Theory, we found that positive affect toward the romantic partner was reduced by a minor salient partner flaw, was maintained intense by a moderately important flaw, and was reduced by a very important partner flaw. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1. In Study 3, romantic negative affect in the form of anger at the romantic partner was a nonmonotonic function of the importance of a salient positive partner characteristic. Anger was reduced by a minor partner quality, was maintained intense by a moderately important quality, and was reduced by a very important partner quality. Theoretical and practical implications for romantic relationships are discussed.