cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atoms in a Magnetic Field

The focusing scheme described in this work depends crucially on the interactions of atoms with magnetic fields. We introduce this concept with a classical picture, then proceed with a more realistic description. After considering the quantization of angular momentum and adiabatic following, we discover that the quantum mechanical perspective is actually simpler than its classical counterpart.
Validation of uncertainty estimation in engine cold start

The engine cold start period produces the majority of harmful hydrocarbon emissions during engine operation, and, therefore, the reduction of such emissions is key to maintaining ultra low emission vehicle standards. Emissions reduction can be achieved by the design and implementation of controllers with effective tracking performance and estimation of uncertain parameters in the system. Effective tracking performance can be achieved by driving down error in the tracking of desired engine state trajectories. Estimation of uncertainty can be achieved through the use of an adaptive controller. In this work, an adaptive sliding controller is designed in order to achieve both goals, and implemented on an engine test cell. Experimental results show the reduction of the tracking error as well as estimation of model uncertainty in the engine test cell.
Tailoring ultra-thin MoS2 films via post-treatment of solid state precursor phases

Abstract The control of ultra-thin MoS2 film growth via annealing of thin film MoO3 precursor films was investigated. Through analysis by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, it was demonstrated that there is significant competition between sublimation and surface diffusion, resulting in little to no grain growth at annealing temperatures of 250 °C–550 °C. At annealing temperatures above the MoO3 melting point (801 °C) and subsequent cooling, grain growth does occur. MoO3 decomposition products (Mo4O11 and MoO2) and a reaction product between the MoO3 film and Al2O3 substrate were also detected at annealing temperatures of 500 °C and above. The formation of the Al2(MoO4)3 phase at the film-substrate interface and the subsequent decomposition of the Al2(MoO4)3 producing MoO3 precursor at 850 °C yielded the largest grain 2D MoS2 films after sulfidation. This three step (physical vapor deposition, precursor annealing, and sulfidation) process yielded fully coalesced films of 1.5 layers thick, demonstrating the viability of high temperature annealing to obtain an interface layer that decomposes to produce MoO3 precursors resulting in very thin 2D MoS2 films.
Glycine transporter-1 inhibitors: a patent review (2011-2016).

Introduction: Numerous research groups have developed GlyT-1 inhibitors in the pursuit of providing a novel antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia. Despite multiple compounds advancing into clin...
Accidental Orientalists: Modern Italian Travelers in Ottoman Lands

Not all Orientalist narratives are alike. The most familiar ones have often appeared as articulations of confident Western imperial or national identities. However, writers from the Italian peninsu...
“The Public Doesn’t Understand”: The Self-reinforcing Interplay of Image Discrepancies and Political Ideologies in Law Enforcement:

Drawing on information processing theory, I revisit prior assumptions that not being understood raises challenges for employees, examining how political ideologies powerfully affect how employees w...
Combinatorial Complexity of Signed Discs (Extended Abstract)

Let C+ and C− be two collections of topological discs of arbitrary radii. The collection of discs is ‘topological’ in the sense that their boundaries are Jordan curves and each pair of Jordan curves intersect at most twice. We prove that the region ∪C+−∪C− has combinatorial complexity at most 10n-30 where p=¦C+¦, q=¦C−¦ and n=p+q≥5. Moreover, this bound is achievable. We also show bounds that are stated as functions of p and q. These are less precise.
The Sources of Overbreadth

This brief comment, forthcoming in the Criminal Law Conversations volume, responds to William Stuntz's article, The Pathological Politics of Criminal Law.
A Close Reading of an Excellent Distant Reading of Heller in the Courts

This invited Comment examines the quantitative analysis of post-District of Columbia v. Heller common law performed by Professors Eric Ruben and Joseph Blocher in From Theory to Doctrine: An Empirical Analysis of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms After Heller. Their groundbreaking and provocative work seeks to advance Second Amendment scholarship in two important ways. First, it aims to describe Second Amendment doctrine by quantifying aspects of that constitutional provision’s common law. Second, it challenges the view that lower courts have deliberately and systematically undercut both the right to bear and the right to keep arms as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Heller and officially declared fundamental and applicable to the states in McDonald v. City of Chicago. Professors Ruben and Blocher present a “distant reading” of post-Heller Second Amendment doctrine: An examination of Heller’s impact — and the particular proposition that courts are defying that landmark decision — based on scientific analysis of aggregate hard data on judicial rulings, rather than a parsing of the language of individual opinions. Scholars and practitioners alike would do well to pay close attention to the authors’ descriptive findings. They perform a valuable service by both confirming conventional wisdom and upending common misapprehensions. But the authors’ secondary, albeit generally tentative, implication that courts are not under-enforcing Heller requires further analysis. This conclusion is driven primarily by the authors’ decision not to measure the final outcomes of Second Amendment challenges. It is heightened by the limitations of empirical studies, the knowledge that judges with even a modicum of self-control are capable of masking their hostility to arms rights, and my desire for information to complement that which is reported in the study. Professor Ruben and Professor Blocher’s study also presents evidence of judicial defiance that merits further investigation.
My Season for Editing.

For the past two decades, I have had the privilege of being the Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (JAAPL). I will vacate that post at the end of December 2018. The work has been exciting and even exhilarating at times. I thank all those who have supported my
Light-Weight RetinaNet for Object Detection

Object detection has gained great progress driven by the development of deep learning. Compared with a widely studied task -- classification, generally speaking, object detection even need one or two orders of magnitude more FLOPs (floating point operations) in processing the inference task. To enable a practical application, it is essential to explore effective runtime and accuracy trade-off scheme. Recently, a growing number of studies are intended for object detection on resource constraint devices, such as YOLOv1, YOLOv2, SSD, MobileNetv2-SSDLite, whose accuracy on COCO test-dev detection results are yield to mAP around 22-25% (mAP-20-tier). On the contrary, very few studies discuss the computation and accuracy trade-off scheme for mAP-30-tier detection networks. In this paper, we illustrate the insights of why RetinaNet gives effective computation and accuracy trade-off for object detection and how to build a light-weight RetinaNet. We propose to only reduce FLOPs in computational intensive layers and keep other layer the same. Compared with most common way -- input image scaling for FLOPs-accuracy trade-off, the proposed solution shows a constantly better FLOPs-mAP trade-off line. Quantitatively, the proposed method result in 0.1% mAP improvement at 1.15x FLOPs reduction and 0.3% mAP improvement at 1.8x FLOPs reduction.
Need for additional anesthesia after single injection spinal analgesia for labor: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background There is little information about the use and efficacy of single injection spinal blocks for labor analgesia; specifically, how frequently subsequent analgesia or anesthesia is needed. This study determined how frequently an additional anesthetic intervention was needed in women who received single injection spinal analgesia. Methods This retrospective study examined electronic medical records to find all single injection spinal analgesic blocks for labor analgesia over a 14-year (2003–2016) period. Patient and block characteristics and patient outcomes were recorded. The primary outcome was need for an additional anesthetic intervention following single injection spinal for labor analgesia. Results Four-hundred-and-twenty-eight patients received single injection spinal blocks for labor and 60 (14.0%) needed an additional anesthetic either for labor analgesia (n=49) or an unexpected procedure (n=11). Two of these (0.5%) required general anesthesia. Parity of zero (nulliparous), a low cervical dilation at the time of the spinal injection, and induction of labor status, were associated with an increased risk of needing an additional anesthetic intervention. Conclusions This retrospective review provides evidence that single injection spinal anesthesia may be used for multiparous women with spontaneous labor and more advanced cervical dilation.
Fourier spectral exponential time differencing methods for multi-dimensional space-fractional reaction–diffusion equations

Abstract In this paper, we propose two numerical methods for solving the space-fractional reaction–diffusion equations, which are based on a Fourier spectral approach in space and exponential time differencing schemes in time. The advantages of the approaches are that they attain spectral convergence, produce a full diagonal representation of the fractional operator, and the extension to multiple spatial dimensions is the same as the one-dimensional space. That can overcome the constraints associated with many of the numerical schemes for these equations such as the computational efficiency caused by the non-locality of the fractional operator, which results in full, dense matrices. Moreover, the proposed schemes are second-order convergent, unconditionally stable, and highly efficient due to the predictor–corrector feature when comparing them with the existing method. It is observed that the scheme based on using Pade(1,1) approximations to the matrix exponential function introduces oscillations with non-smooth initial data for some time steps due to high frequency components present in the solution which diminish as the fractional order decreases. However, the scheme based on Pade(0,2) approximations to the matrix exponential function is oscillation-free for any time step. Numerical experiments for well-known models from the literature are performed to show the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Model Reference Adaptive Control

A derivative-free, delayed weight update law is developed for model reference adaptive control of continuous-time uncertain dynamical systems, without assuming the existence of constant ideal weights. Using a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional it is proven that the error dynamics are uniformly ultimately bounded, without the need for modification terms in the adaptive law. Estimates for the ultimate bound and the exponential rate of convergence to the ultimate bound are provided. We also discuss employing various modification terms for further improving performance and robustness of the adaptively controlled system.
Complexation of Gold Nanoparticles with Radiolytically Generated Thiocyanate Radicals ((SCN)2

Pulse radiolytically generated (SCN)2•- radicals bind strongly to the gold nanoparticle surface, with an apparent equilibrium constant of 4.7 × 103 M-1. The resultant complex has a strong absorption band at 390 nm which quickly undergoes chemical changes to yield an oxidation product, [Au(SCN)2]-, with an absorption maximum at 320 nm. The spectral changes associated with the chemical interaction between SiO2/Al2O3-stabilized gold nanoparticles and (SCN)2•- are elucidated using time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy.
Validity testing of a three‐dimensionally printed endoscopic sinonasal surgery simulator

Objectives/hypothesis To assess the face, content, construct, and concurrent validity of the PHACON Sinonasal Surgery Simulator (SNSS). Study design Prospective cohort study. Methods A total of 12 otolaryngology residents were recruited to perform sinonasal surgery on the simulator followed by cadaveric heads. Resident performances were recorded and de-identified. Face and content validities were evaluated based on 5-point Likert scale questionnaires. The recordings were evaluated by extramural expert rhinologists based on a validated Global Rating Scale (GRS). These results were analyzed and compared to assess construct and concurrent validity. Results The appearance of anatomic structures was rated as realistic by 75% of all participants, while only 30% and 41.7% rated the mucosal and bony tissues as realistic, respectively. A total of 91.7% of participants found the model useful for teaching anatomy, while 66.7% said it was useful for teaching operative technique. Construct validity was confirmed by showing significant differences in performance between the novice and experienced groups. Concurrent validity was confirmed by showing significant correlation between performance on the model and gold standard (i.e. cadaver head). Conclusions This study demonstrates the face, content, concurrent, and construct validity of a 3D-printed SNSS. Although this model has the potential to be a valuable tool in endoscopic sinus surgery training for otolaryngology residents, improvements are required with respect to the quality of simulated mucosal tissue as well as the simulated anatomy of the fronto-ethmoid compartment Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 2019.
The Speech/Language Pathologist

Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCF) is a genetic condition involving palate abnormalities, cardiac anomalies, characteristic facies, and learning disabilities. This autosomal dominant malformation patt...
Hypoxia modulation of HIF-1α in ovarian cancer cell lines is associated with cisplatin resistance

709 Chemoresistance in cancer is thought to be due in part to hypoxia-mediated stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α). Under hypoxic conditions, formation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species results in stabilization of HIF-1α. HIF-1α, in complex with HIF-1β and other cell-specific transactivating factors, modulates the expression of more than 70 downstream genes, some of which have been shown to suppress cancer cell apoptotic potential. We therefore set out to determine if hypoxia-related HIF stabilization would cause cisplatin resistance. Three ovarian cell lines were studied: CAOV3, OVCAR5, and OVCA433. Cells were exposed to low oxygen conditions (0.5% O2) or 100 uM of cobalt chloride (CoCl2) to mimic tumor hypoxia and stabilize HIF1α protein. Cobalt chloride stabilization of HIF-1α was used to modulate drug resistance in cell lines. Cells were plated in 96 well plates and pre-treated with 100uM cobalt chloride for 24 hours and treated with various doses of cisplatin. Cell line dose response to cisplatin after 72 hours was determined using the XTT assay. The OVCAR5 cell line showed a two fold increase in cisplatin resistance in the presence of cobalt chloride treatment (IC50=17uM) compared to cell lines without cobalt chloride treatment (IC50=8.5uM). Other cell lines showed comparable changes in cisplatin dose response in the presence of cobalt chloride. Topotecan is an agent which targets topoisomerase I (Topo I) and is used in the treatment of platinum-resistant and/or recurrent ovarian cancer. Our previous studies in ovarian cancer cell lines demonstrated topotecan’s ability to knock down HIF-1α protein expression in a Topoisomerase I dependent- manner. We thus hypothesize that low dose topotecan will knockdown HIF-1α protein and sensitize cell lines to cisplatin treatment. The Topoisomerase I levels in the three cell lines were determined using western blots and HIF1α levels were determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cell lines were then treated with topotecan and HIF-1α levels were determined by IHC. Topotecan knockdown of HIF-1α in these cell lines was dose-dependant. We are currently evaluating the effect of topotecan on HIF-mediated cisplatin resistance. HIF-1α silencing RNA will also be used to modulate chemosensitization. Downregulation of HIF1α after topotecan treatment may be of clinical benefit when used in combination with chemotherapy agents.
Characteristic Mode Analysis of a straight and an L-probe fed Microstrip Patch

In this paper, a straight probe fed and an L-probe fed rectangular patch antenna in the ultrahigh frequency region have been investigated. The 2:1 VSWR bandwidths of 38.49% and 46.17% have been achieved using the straight probe and the L-probe fed patches, respectively. Characteristic Mode Analysis (CMA) of the designs have been performed using the EM solver FEKO to identify the contributing modes for the wide band behavior of these antennas.
Banking Deregulation and Discrimination in Mortgage Lending

This paper examines how interstate banking deregulation affects mortgage lending to minorities. I find that the mortgage approval rates for African Americans, compared with other borrowers, decrease after interstate banking deregulation. I also find that the effect is only present in out-of-state banks, but not in in-state banks or non-bank lenders, suggesting that the effect is driven by the strengthening of the bank balance sheet after deregulation, but not by the increased competition. Further analyses show that the effect is stronger for banks with weaker balance sheets before deregulation.
Tamoxifen for the treatment of etonogestrel implant associated bleeding in an adolescent gynecology practice.

Background The majority of early etonogestrel (ENG) implant removals occur in the first 12 months after placement and the most common reason for discontinuation is unscheduled and bothersome bleeding. Approximately 65% of adolescent patients with bothersome bleeding receive medication management to address this side effect. Recent studies on adult ENG implant users suggest that a 7-day treatment course of tamoxifen reduces unscheduled bleeding over placebo. Because bothersome bleeding is a common complaint that results in discontinuation of the ENG contraceptive implant, it is important to find safe and effective therapies in the adolescent gynecology population. The goal of this study is to describe outcomes in a cohort of adolescents using tamoxifen to address bothersome implant bleeding. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on adolescent patients ages 12-21 who were seen at Children's Hospital Colorado between 8/2016 – 8/2019 with an ENG implant in place and a prescription for tamoxifen 10 mg twice daily for 7 days given for the indication of implant-associated bleeding. De-identified demographic, clinical, and prescription data was abstracted and stored in a secure REDCAP database. REDCAP data was exported into Stata 16 for analysis, including descriptive statistics and survival analysis using Kaplan Meier curve. IRB approval was obtained from the University of Colorado Anschutz (#20-2349). Results A total of 67 patients met inclusion criteria. For those with follow-up data, the continuation rates for the ENG implant were 86% at 12 months, 65% at 24 months, and 44% at 36 months. The average time from implant insertion to initial tamoxifen prescription was 9.3months (± 7.9) with 69.1% (n=47) of patients presenting with symptoms of recurrent bleeding within one year. The average time from tamoxifen prescription to repeat patient visit/call was 3.9mo (± 4.9), while the average time from tamoxifen prescription to implant removal was 12.1mo (± 11.0). Among those who discontinued the implant (n=29), bleeding was the primary reason for discontinuation (66.7%; n=24). No side effects from tamoxifen use were reported. Conclusions In this retrospective chart review of 67 adolescents prescribed tamoxifen to manage to bothersome implant bleeding, continuation rates for the ENG implant were comparable or higher than continuation rates reported in the literature. Tamoxifen was well-tolerated among this cohort of patients without any adverse effects reported. Future studies are needed to determine efficacy of tamoxifen compared to other treatments for management of bleeding in adolescent ENG users.
Weakening-induced Snap Instability as a Novel Reusable Force Protection Mechanism

Abstract We present a novel reusable force protection mechanism equipped with snap instability that is induced by weakening boundary conditions. The geometry of the proposed structure comprises one column and two flanges attached to its ends, and it allows the structural end conditions can alter between fixed supports and pinned supports. Switching between the fixed and the pinned supports results in elastic snap instabilities and it enables the structure to possess asymmetric equilibrium paths, whose loading and unloading paths are different. These snap instabilities induce hysteresis in the load-displacement curve, and external energy is converted in form of dynamic motion. After removing the external force, the structure elastically recovers to its initial configuration so that it can repeat the same force protection process. We report a combination of desktop-scale experiments, finite element simulations, and the Elastica analysis to explore the underlying mechanism of the unique structural behavior of the proposed structure. Given that the proposed reusable force protection mechanism exploits elastic instability, our study opens the possibility for practical applications over a wide range of length scales.
Combined Longitudinal and Lateral Control of Autonomous Vehicles based on Reinforcement Learning

In this paper, in order for the autonomous vehicle to keep a desired distance from the preceding vehicle and stay in the lane, a data-driven optimal control approach is proposed. Firstly, the dynamics of the autonomous vehicle is derived. In order to overcome the cutting-edge limitation, a virtual preceding vehicle is defined which is perpendicular to the preceding vehicle. The tracking error is defined as the deviation between the look ahead point of the autonomous vehicle and the virtual preceding vehicle. Then, the error system is derived. Secondly, based on the error system, in order to minimize the cost determined by the tracking error and the energy consumption, the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation is established. A model-based policy iteration technique is proposed to solve the HJB equation. Thirdly, a two-phase data-driven policy iteration algorithm is proposed and implemented by using adaptive dynamic programming (ADP). The efficacy of the proposed data-driven optimal control approach is validated by computer simulations.
Nutrition Practitioner Perceptions of Nutrition Education with Pregnant Clients.

Abstract Objective Nutrition education during pregnancy is associated with improved maternal and fetal outcomes. This study explored nutrition practitioner perceptions of providing nutrition education to this population and examined gaps in current practices. Methods North Carolina nutrition practitioners (n = 73) working with pregnant women were asked to complete a survey about their provision of nutrition services to pregnant clients. Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics. Results Cost (91%) and lack of time to cook (83%) were perceived as the largest barriers for clients to making dietary changes. Topics most requested by clients paralleled those practitioners identified as needs: weight gain (69%), lactation (63%), and general nutrition information (57%). Pamphlets (97%), posters (66%), telehealth (42%), and texting (38%) were accepted education methods. Conclusions and Implications Evidence-based education on weight, lactation, and general nutrition, using time and cost-efficient approaches, and embracing technology were desired by pregnant clients when receiving nutrition education from nutrition and other health care practitioners and may result in improved maternal and fetal outcomes.
Inflow boundary conditions and nonphysical solutions to the Wigner transport equation

We investigate the emergence of nonphysical solutions to the steady-state Wigner transport equation on finite-sized simulation domains with inflow boundary conditions. We find that inflow boundary conditions are generally valid, but the wave number uncertainty of injected wave packets has a lower bound that can be significantly higher than usually assumed. Large values of the so-called quantum evolution term (which captures spatial nonlocality in the Wigner transport equation) near simulation-domain boundaries are the cause of spurious reflections, the often-reported discontinuity of the Wigner function at zero wave vector, and negative probabilities. We offer a simple relationship between the lower bound of the wave number uncertainty and simulation parameters that will ensure physical results with inflow boundary conditions.
Improved Reaction Rate Tracking and Fission Product Yield Determinations for the Monte Carlo-Linked Depletion Capability in MCNPX

As advanced reactor concepts challenge the accuracy of current modeling technologies, a higher-fidelity depletion calculation is necessary to model time-dependent core reactivity properly for accurate cycle length and safety margin determinations. The recent integration of CINDER90 into the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code provides a completely self-contained Monte Carlo-linked depletion capability. Two advances have been made in the latest MCNPX capability based on problems observed in prereleased versions: continuous-energy collision density tracking and adequate fission yield selection. Prereleased versions of the MCNPX depletion code calculated the reaction rates for (n,2n), (n,3n), (n,p), and (n, a) by matching the MCNPX steady-state 63-group flux with 63-group cross sections inherent in the CINDER90 library and then collapsing to one-group collision densities for the depletion calculation. The accuracy of this procedure is therefore dictated by the adequacy of the 63-group energy structure of the cross-section set to accurately capture the spectrum of a specific model. Different types of models would therefore require different types of cross-section energy group structure. MCNPX 2.6.A eliminates this dependency by using the continuous-energy reaction rates determined during the MCNPX steady-state calculation to calculate energy-integrated collision rates to be used by CINDER90 . MCNPX 2.6.A now also determines the proper fission yield to be used by the CINDER90 code for the depletion calculation. The CINDER90 code offers a thermal, fast, and high-energy fission yield for each fissile isotope contained in the CINDER90 data file. MCNPX 2.6.A determines which fission yield to use for a a specified problem by calculating the integral fission rate for the defined energy boundaries (thermal, fast, and high energy), determining which energy range contains the majority of fissions, and then selecting the appropriate fission yield for the energy range containing the majority of fissions. The MCNPX depletion capability enables complete, relatively easy-to-use depletion calculations in a single Monte Carlo code. This study focuses on the methodology development of the two improvements described here. Further improvements are under development to enhance the usefulness of this new capability.
A subjective evidence model for influence maximization in social networks

This paper introduces the notion of subjective evidence, which fuels a new parallel cascade influence propagation model. The model sheds light on the phenomena of belief reinforcement and viral spread of innovations, rumors, opinions, etc., in social networks. Network actors are assumed to be testing a Bayesian hypothesis, e.g., for making judgment about the superiority of some product(s) or service(s) over others, or (dis)utility of a given program/policy. The model-based influence maximization solutions inform the strategies for market niche selection and protection, and identification of susceptible groups in political campaigning. The NP-Hard problem of influential seed selection is first solved as a mixed-integer program. Second, an efficient Lagrangian Relaxation heuristic with guaranteed bounds is presented. In small, medium and large-scale computational investigations, we analyze: (1) how the success of an influence cascade triggered in a (sub)community, long exposed to an opposite belief, depends on the structural properties of the underlying social network, (2) to what extent growing (increasing the density of) a consumer network within a market niche helps a company protect the niche, (3) given a competitor׳s strength, when a company should counter the competitor on “their turf”, and when and how it should look for limited-time opportunities to maximally profit before eventually surrendering the market.
Immunological Factors in Pompe Disease Management: Clinical Experience and Implications for Newborn Screening.

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with alglucosidase alfa has improved clinical outcomes and prolonged survival for patients with infantile Pompe disease (IPD). However, patients characterised as Cross-Reactive Immunological Material (CRIM)negative (CN) mount an immune response against ERT resulting in clinical decline and, ultimately, death. A prophylactic immune tolerance induction (ITI) protocol has been successful in preventing the development of antibody titres for these patients. A subset of (CP) patients also mount an immune response with poor clinical outcomes, these at-risk patients are diffi cult to identify. With the advent of newborn screening for Pompe disease, preventative treatment to circumvent an immune response is warranted; therefore, our study aimed to assess the safety and effi cacy of prophylactic ITI in the naive setting for both CP and CN IPD patients.
Prevention of Folic Acid‐Preventable Spina Bifida and Anencephaly

The results of the British Medical Research Council's randomized controlled trial proved that folic acid can prevent spina bifida and anencephaly. The trial provided critical scientific data upon which to base public health policy for preventing folic acid-preventable spina bifida and anencephaly. Within weeks of publication of the results, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US developed and issued guidelines for women who had had a pregnancy affected by spina bifida or anencephaly. A year later, the US Public Health Service issued the recommendation that all women of child-bearing age who are capable of becoming pregnant should consume 0.4 mg of folic acid per day. The Public Health Service needed a year to make inferential judgements about dose, target groups, safety, timing of ingestion, and existing and proposed vitamin and drug policies and regulations. Current policy discussions concern whether to permit manufacturers of vitamins or food products to claim that folic acid will prevent folic acid-preventable spina bifida and anencephaly and whether to allow a food staple to be fortified with folic acid.
Oscillatory Neural Networks Based on TMO Nano-Oscillators and Multi-Level RRAM Cells

In massively parallel computational tasks, such as pattern recognition, conventional computing architectures have insufficient power efficiency for energy constrained environments. This has made alternative architectures, such as neuromorphic computing, increasingly attractive. Oscillatory neural networks (ONNs) are one promising architecture, but efficient hardware implementations have been limited by shortcomings in CMOS technology, specifically in the efficient implementation of oscillators and synaptic weights. The authors have recently demonstrated that metal-oxide based resistive switching (RRAM) structures can be engineered to create low-power, scalable, voltage-controlled oscillators that utilize inherent meta-stability in the device. This work proposes an RRAM-based ONN that couples oscillatory “neurons” through weighted “synapses” using oscillator phase as the state-variable. This paper demonstrates a robust architecture using only a few logic gates per neuron to implement phase initialization and locking of these oscillators, and demonstrate their capability to identify stored patterns from noisy inputs. Using measured characteristics of RRAMs as oscillators and programmable resistors, compact models are derived and used to simulate both an 8-neuron and 20-neuron network.
The TSIMMIS Approach to Mediation: Data Models and Languages

TSIMMIS—The Stanford-IBM Manager of Multiple Information Sources—is a system for integrating information. It offers a data model and a common query language that are designed to support the combining of information from many different sources. It also offers tools for generating automatically the components that are needed to build systems for integrating information. In this paper we shall discuss the principal architectural features and their rationale.
Epstein-Barr virus infection induces expression in B lymphocytes of a novel gene encoding an evolutionarily conserved 55-kilodalton actin-bundling protein.

Abstract A novel human mRNA whose expression is induced over 200-fold in B lymphocytes by latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection was reverse transcribed, cloned, and sequenced. The mRNA is predicted to encode a protein containing four peptides which precisely match amino acid sequences from a previously identified 55-kDa actin-bundling protein, p55. In vitro translation of the cDNA results in a 55-kDa protein which binds to actin filaments in the presence of purified p55 from HeLa cells. The p55 mRNA is undetectable in non-EBV-infected B- and T-cell lines or in a myelomonocytic cell line (U937). Newly infected primary human B lymphocytes, EBV-transformed B-cell lines, latently infected Burkitt tumor cells expressing EBNA2 and LMP1, a chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line (K562), and an osteosarcoma cell line (TK143) contain high levels of p55 mRNA or protein. In EBV-transformed B cells, p55 localizes to perinuclear cytoplasm and to cell surface processes that resemble filopodia. The p55 mRNA is detected at high levels in spleen and brain tissues, at moderate levels in lung and placenta tissues, and at low levels in skeletal muscle, liver, and tonsil tissues and is undetectable in heart, kidney, pancreas, and bone marrow tissues. Immunohistochemical staining of human brain tissue demonstrates p55 localization to the perinuclear cytoplasm and dendritic processes of many, but not all, types of cortical or cerebellar neurons, to glial cells, and to capillary endothelial cells. In cultured primary rat neurons, p55 is distributed throughout the perinuclear cytoplasm and in subcortical filamentous structures of dendrites and growth cones. p55 is highly evolutionarily conserved since it shows 40% amino acid sequence identity to the Drosophila singed gene product and 37% identity to fascin, an echinoderm actin-bundling protein. The evolutionary conservation of p55 and its lack of extensive homology to other actin-binding proteins suggest that p55 has specific microfilament-associated functions in cells in which it is differentially expressed, including neural cells and EBV-transformed B lymphocytes.
Nanomechanical Characterization of Temperature-Dependent Mechanical Properties of Ion-Irradiated Zirconium with Consideration of Microstructure and Surface Damage

Zirconium alloys for nuclear applications with different microstructures were produced by manufacturing processes such as chipping, rolling and annealing. The two Zr samples, rolled and rolled-annealed were subjected to different levels of irradiation, 1 keV and 100 eV, to study the effect of irradiation dosages. The effect of microstructure and irradiation on the mechanical properties (reduced modulus, hardness, indentation yield strength) was analyzed with nanoindentation experiments, which were carried out in the temperature range of 25°C to 450°C to investigate temperature dependence. An indentation size effect analysis was performed and the mechanical properties were also corrected for the oxidation effects at high temperatures. The irradiation-induced hardness was observed, with rolled samples exhibiting higher increase compared to rolled and annealed samples. The relevant material parameters of the Anand viscoplastic model were determined for Zr samples containing different level of irradiation to account for viscoplasticity at high temperatures. The effect of the microstructure and irradiation on the stress–strain curve along with the influence of temperature on the mechanisms of irradiation creep such as formation of vacancies and interstitials is presented. The yield strength of irradiated samples was found to be higher than the unirradiated samples which also showed a decreasing trend with the temperature.
High-resolution, large dynamic range field map estimation.

Purpose We present a theory and a corresponding method to compute high-resolution field maps over a large dynamic range. Theory and Methods We derive a closed-form expression for the error in the field map value when computed from two echoes. We formulate an optimization problem to choose three echo times which result in a pair of maximally distinct error distributions. We use standard field mapping sequences at the prescribed echo times. We then design a corresponding estimation algorithm which takes advantage of the optimized echo times to disambiguate the field offset value. Results We validate our method using high-resolution images of a phantom at 7T. The resulting field maps demonstrate robust mapping over both a large dynamic range, and in low SNR regions. We also present high-resolution offset maps in vivo using both, GRE and multiecho gradient echo sequences. Even though the proposed echo time spacings are larger than the well known phase aliasing cutoff, the resulting field maps exhibit a large dynamic range without the use of phase unwrapping or spatial regularization techniques. Conclusion We demonstrate a novel three-echo field map estimation method which overcomes the traditional noise-dynamic range trade-off. Magn Reson Med 71:105–117, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Identification of Lithocholic Acid and Measurement of Other Bile Acids in Serum of Healthy Humans

Combined gas—liquid chromatography mass-spectroscopy was used to identify lithocholic acid and confirm the presence of other bile acids in serum of a healthy fasting subject. GLC was used to measure deoxycholic (DCA), chenodeoxycholic (CDCA), and cholic (CA) acids in sera. Before analysis, serum bile acids were purified by ( a ) enzymatic hydrolysis of conjugates, ( b ) anion-exchange chromatography, ( c ) alumina adsorption chromatography, and (d) GLC of methyl trifluoroacetate derivatives on QF-1. Recovery of bile acids (determined by adding [14C]cholic acid to each sample), after correction for loss during purification, was 63-83%. Fasting values for 28 healthy subjects were: 1.4-46.5 (av 7.1), 1.4-49.6 (12.8), and 1.4-46.0 (16.0) µg/100 ml for DCA, CDCA, and CA, respectively. Traces of lithocholic acid were found in 20% of the cases studied. The smaller ranges we found for serum bile acid concentrations in a healthy fasting population are attributed to the careful health-screening of subjects and improved techniques.
The tomato gene Pti1 encodes a serine/threonine kinase that is phosphorylated by Pto and is involved in the hypersensitive response

Abstract The Pto gene encodes a serine/threonine kinase that confers resistance to bacterial speck disease in tomato. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we identified a second serine/threonine kinase, Pto-interacting 1 (Pti1), that physically interacts with Pto. Crossphosphorylation assays revealed that Pto specifically phosphorylates Ptil and that Ptil does not phosphorylate Pto. Fen, another serine/threonine kinase from tomato that is closely related to Pto, was unable to phosphorylate Ptil and was not phosphorylated by Pti1. Expression of a Pti1 transgene in tobacco plants enhanced the hypersensitive response to a P. syringae pv. tabaci strain carrying the avirulence gene avrPto . These findings indicate that Pti1 is involved in a Ptomediated signaling pathway, probably by acting as a component downstream of Pto in a phosphorylation cascade.
Implications of the X-ray structure of deamino-oxytocin to agonist/antagonist-receptor interactions

Abstract A recent Science article demonstrating the X-ray structure of an oxytocin analog indicates low-energy interconversion of the disulfide between a right-handed and left-handed helicity, as well as conformational flexibility for the side-chain Asn 5 and Ile 3 residues. These results and other corresponding biological data support a hypothesis which, Victor Hruby explains, suggests that oxytocin antagonist analogs interact with the oxytocin receptor in a different manner to the interaction of oxytocin agonists. This may have general implications for agonist/antagonist interactions and may aid rational analog design.
Axial (central) downward herniation of the brain as a complication of intra-thecal drug delivery system (IDDS) implant – A case report

There are several reports of subdural hematoma formation ssociatedwith development of spontaneous intracranial hypotenion after neuroaxial anesthetic procedures including intra spinal nd epidural anesthesia, spinal surgeries and implantation of ntra-thecal drug delivery system (IDDS) [1–3]. The recommended reatment for this condition is epidural blood patch injection [4]. e report a case in which the patient developed chronic subdural ematoma, signs of severe intracranial hypotension, axial (cenral) downward herniation of the brain leading to coma following DDS implantation. Thepatient failed to improve followingmultiple pidural blood patch and only transiently improved after evacuaion of the subdural clot; but did respond positively to removal of he IDDS. This is probably the first report of such a presentation.
A methodology for drought preparedness

Drought is a normal, recurrent feature of climate that affects virtually all countries to some degree. The number of drought-induced natural disasters has grown significantly since the 1960s, largely as a result of increasing vulnerability to extended periods of precipitation deficiency rather than because of an increase in the frequency of meteorological droughts. This increase in drought-induced natural disasters has resulted in a considerable growth of interest in drought mitigation and preparedness worldwide. The purpose of a national preparedness plan is to reduce societal vulnerability to drought through the adoption of preventive, anticipatory policies and programs. This paper describes a ten-step planning process that nations can follow to develop a drought preparedness plan. This process, originally developed in 1987, has been the basis of discussions at training seminars on drought preparedness for developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It has also been adopted, with appropriate modifications, by state or provincial governments and by municipalities. The process is intended to be flexible so that governments can add, delete, or modify the suggested steps, as necessary.
Micrometer-scale machining of metals and polymers enabled by focused ion beam sputtering

This work combines focused ion beam sputtering and ultra-precision machining for microfabrication of metal alloys and polymers. Specifically, micro-end mills are made by Ga ion beam sputtering of a cylindrical tool shank. Using an ion energy of 20keV, the focused beam defines the tool cutting edges that have submicrometer radii of curvature. We demonstrate 25 {micro}m diameter micromilling tools having 2, 4 and 5 cutting edges. These tools fabricate fine channels, 26-28 microns wide, in 6061 aluminum, brass, and polymethyl methacrylate. Micro-tools are structurally robust and operate for more than 5 hours without fracture.
Classification of BPSK and QPSK Signals Using an Antenna Array

We propose in this paper the use of a uniform linear array to improve the classification accuracy of two phase-shift keying (PSK) signals at different multiplicities, in particular, binary PSK (BPSK) and quadrature PSK (QPSK) signals. The proposed modulation classifier is based on the likelihood ratio test, where an additive white Gaussian noise with direct line-of-sight transmission is assumed. The likelihood functions of the two PSK signals depend on an unknown phase shift due to the signal arrival angle and the spatial separation of the antenna elements. A computationally efficient two-step processing is proposed to estimate the phase shifts to be used in the likelihood ratio test. The proposed phase shift estimation method reduces the computation significantly compared to the maximum likelihood solution, which requires numerical exhaustive search, and has an estimation accuracy reaching the Cram\'er-Rao lower bound at moderate signal-to-noise ratios. The proposed classifier improves the performance considerably compared to a single element receiver. Furthermore, the proposed classifier demodulates the transmitted symbol sequence in conjunction with the classification process, and no separate demodulation for the data symbol is needed after classification. Simulation results for BPSK and QPSK classification are provided.
Reactivity of tetrahydrobiopterin bound to nitric-oxide synthase.

Abstract Levels of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) bound to nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) were examined during multiple turnovers of the enzyme in the presence of an NADPH-regenerating system. Our findings show that NOS-bound BH4 does not remain in a static state but undergoes redox reactions. Under these experimental conditions, the redox state of BH4 was determined by the balance between calcium/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM)-dependent oxidation of BH4 mediated by the uncoupled formation of superoxide/hydrogen peroxide on the one hand and by reductive regeneration of BH4 on the other hand. BH4oxidation was appreciably increased in the presence of arginine. Levels of NOS-bound BH4 were also examined under single turnover conditions in the absence of an NADPH-regenerating system and in the presence of added superoxide dismutase and catalase to suppress the accumulation of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. BH4oxidation was again dependent on Ca2+/CaM. The insensitivity to superoxide dismutase and catalase suggested that the single turnover oxidation of BH4 did not proceed through superoxide/peroxide, although the involvement of these oxidants could not be definitively excluded. The amount of BH4 oxidized was highest in the presence of arginine, and this oxidation significantly exceeded that in the presence ofN G-hydroxy-l-arginine. The findings that single turnover oxidation of BH4 is stimulated by arginine in the presence of Ca2+/CaM and that BH4 is regenerated are consistent with a role for the pterin as an electron donor in product formation; this role remains to be defined.