cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of EMCs on the high current reliability of Cu wirebonds operating in harsh environments

Copper (Cu) wire bonding, which is a newer alternative to Gold (Au) wire bonding, gets affected greatly by the variety of operating conditions. Selection of different materials, such as epoxy molding compound (EMC) used in the molding process plays key role in defining lifetime for wirebond system. Higher ionic contamination adversely affects the reliability of Cu wirebonds. Interaction of the EMCs with different properties with the Cu wirebond under harsh environment in presence of bias has not been fully understood. Quantification of the acceleration of the wirebond degradation under bias conditions is yet to be established. Previous research mainly investigates failure mechanisms upon failure, however does not report progression of damage which is leading to the failure. This information and understanding of the progression mechanism can yield into development of prognostics based life prediction models. In this paper, Cu wire bonded parts were subjected to high temperature aging conditions. One set of packages was subjected to unbiased test, and another set was subjected to biased condition. Change in electric response of both sets was monitored and was correlated with degradation of Cu-Al interface using ball shear test. Effect of EMC properties as well as voltage bias on the wirebond was then established and discussed in details.
Operating Systems for Small/Medium Commercial Buildings

While the previous chapter presented an industrial perspective and a broad overview of building management systems in general, this chapter focuses on a specific aspect of the small and medium commercial buildings, namely, the Building Operating System. Traditionally controlled by simple thermostats, timers, and manual controllers, these buildings are frequently operated suboptimally. Several studies suggest that improved controls can afford energy and cost savings for building owners. With the diffusion of networked devices, such as smart thermostats, there is now an opportunity to inexpensively retrofit these buildings. As the market rapidly evolves, both commercial and open-source software platforms have emerged. In the academic literature, this software is frequently called the building operating system (BOS). In this chapter, we review previous recent work on BOS and describe one common architecture and its features. Since most of the research has not focused on controls, we propose an extension that aims at facilitating the task of writing, testing, and deploying control sequences. We illustrate the design and development of such software and present preliminary test results. Finally, we discuss the lessons learned during implementation, and the challenges and future work necessary to advance this area of research.
Institutional experience with SRS VMAT planning for multiple cranial metastases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This study summarizes the cranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) procedure at our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS Volumetric modulated arc therapy plans were generated for 40 patients with 188 lesions (range 2-8, median 5) in Eclipse and treated on a TrueBeam STx. Limitations of the custom beam model outside the central 2.5 mm leaves necessitated more than one isocenter pending the spatial distribution of lesions. Two to nine arcs were used per isocenter. Conformity index (CI), gradient index (GI) and target dose heterogeneity index (HI) were determined for each lesion. Dose to critical structures and treatment times are reported. RESULTS Lesion size ranged 0.05-17.74 cm3 (median 0.77 cm3 ), and total tumor volume per case ranged 1.09-26.95 cm3 (median 7.11 cm3 ). For each lesion, HI ranged 1.2-1.5 (median 1.3), CI ranged 1.0-2.9 (median 1.2), and GI ranged 2.5-8.4 (median 4.4). By correlating GI to PTV volume a predicted GI = 4/PTV0.2 was determined and implemented in a script in Eclipse and used for plan evaluation. Brain volume receiving 7 Gy (V7 Gy ) ranged 10-136 cm3 (median 42 cm3 ). Total treatment time ranged 24-138 min (median 61 min). CONCLUSIONS Volumetric modulated arc therapy provide plans with steep dose gradients around the targets and low dose to critical structures, and VMAT treatment is delivered in a shorter time than conventional methods using one isocenter per lesion. To further improve VMAT planning for multiple cranial metastases, better tools to shorten planning time are needed. The most significant improvement would come from better dose modeling in Eclipse, possibly by allowing for customizing the dynamic leaf gap (DLG) for a special SRS model and not limit to one DLG per energy per treatment machine and thereby remove the limitation on the Y-jaw and allow planning with a single isocenter.
Growing Wealth Gaps in Education

Prior research on trends in educational inequality has focused chiefly on changing gaps in educational attainment by family income or parental occupation. In contrast, this contribution provides the first assessment of trends in educational attainment by family wealth and suggests that we should be at least as concerned about growing wealth gaps in education. Despite overall growth in educational attainment and some signs of decreasing wealth gaps in high school attainment and college access, I find a large and rapidly increasing wealth gap in college attainment between cohorts born in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. This growing wealth gap in higher educational attainment co-occurred with a rise in inequality in children's wealth backgrounds, although the analyses also suggest that the latter does not fully account for the former. Nevertheless, the results reported here raise concerns about the distribution of educational opportunity among today's children who grow up in a context of particularly extreme wealth inequality.
Family level processes associated with outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A scoping review

Abstract Background Families of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face distinct challenges, and there is a need for research that attends specifically to the family. Despite the recognition of reciprocal influences in the family, research on families of individuals with ASD has tended to focus on child effects within a dyadic subsystem and not necessarily family effects. Thus, this review focuses on whether and how family processes are associated with the behavioral, social, and/or emotional development of individuals with ASD. Method A scoping review was conducted to synthesize existing empirical literature regarding links from family functioning to individual outcomes. Family systems approaches are used along with ecological models to provide an inclusive, guiding framework for research design and interpretation of findings in family-based ASD research. Results Results suggest that family-wide factors such as adaptability, cohesion, social support, dynamics, and functioning may be important for child development. However, the heterogeneity of the body of literature reviewed makes definitive conclusions difficult. Conclusions Recommendations for future research, including the need for theoretically grounded, developmentally appropriate, models that highlight the unique strengths, challenges, and cultural influences of families of an individual with ASD are discussed.
Comparative Approach to Mechanisms in the Maintenance of Early Pregnancy

The sexually mature female pig (Sus scrofa, domestica) has recurring estrous cycles of 18–21 days that are not affected by season. The onset of behavioral estrus is characterized by elevated plasma levels of luteinizing hormone (LH surge) and elevated plasma estrogen (estradiol and estrone) concentrations that precede onset of estrus by 24–48 hr. Ovulation occurs 38–42 hr after onset of estrus, with gilts (virgin females) releasing 10–16 ova. Corpora lutea (CL) are well formed by day 4 or 5 of the estrous cycle, and plasma progesterone concentrations increase from about 5 ng/ml on day 4 to 30–40 ng/ml between days 12 and 14. Luteal regression begins on about day 15 in nonpregnant females, and plasma progesterone concentrations decline to basal levels (1 ng/ml or less) by day 17–18. This cycle repeats itself unless interrupted by pregnancy or events leading to endocrine dysfunction. These general comments concerning the porcine estrous cycle are based on data presented by Guthrie et al. (1972) and Anderson (1974).
EFFECTIVENESS OF FRUCTOSE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME IN MAN

Comparative effectiveness of fructose, glucose, sucrose or alanine was investigated in treating the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, and on the rates of blood ethanol and acetaldehyde clearance in man. Orally administered fructose was found to be most effective in decreasing the symptoms of ethanol withdrawal. The undernourished patients showed more severe symptoms of withdrawal compared to well-fed patients. Although fructose administration did not result in a significant change in the levels of blood acetaldehyde, it increased the rate of blood alcohol clearance by about 100 per cent. Orally administered fructose significantly alleviated the hypoglycemic symptoms observed during ethanol withdrawal. It also exerted the most pronounced antiketogenic effect and lowered the levels of circulating free fatty acids. Studies with rats showed that fructose administration inhibited the acetaldehyde-mediated changes in the hepatic cytoplasmic redox-state. Experiments conducted to establish a causal relationship between the levels of blood acetaldehyde and the intensity of withdrawal syndrome in man showed that acetaldehyde is not involved in elevating the intensity of ethanol withdrawal symptoms.
The Energy Driven Hot Carrier Model

The so-called “Energy Driven Model” for hot carrier effects in MOS devices was first proposed in 2005 as a replacement for the ubiquitous Lucky Electron Model (LEM) in the short channel regime (especially at or below the 130 nm node) [1]. As MOSFET size and voltage are scaled down, the carrier energy distribution becomes increasingly dependent only on the applied bias, because of quasi-ballistic transport over the high field region. The energy driven model represents a new paradigm of MOSFET hot carrier behavior in which the fundamental driving force is available energy, rather than peak lateral electric field as it is in the LEM. The model predictions are shown to be consistent with experimental impact ionization results. Experimental hot carrier degradation results for a wide range of technologies support the concept of a nearly universal carrier energy dependent cross section of hot carrier damage (Sit).
Morphological and Functional Differences Between HLA-DR+ Peripheral Blood Dendritic Cells and HLA-DR+ FN-Alpha Producing Cells

Several cell types, including B cells, NK cells, and monocytes have been proposed to be the cells responsible for IFN-α production in-vitro in response to herpesviruses and other viruses. When Perussia et al1 described IFN-α producing cells as HLA-DR+ nonadherent, non-monocyte, non-B peripheral blood cells, dendritic cells (DC) became an attractive candidate cells for this function. Subsequently, Bandyopadhyay et al2,3 showed that the major leukocyte subset in human peripheral blood responsible for IFN-α production upon culture with herpesvirus-infected target cells consists of nonadherent HLA-DR+ cells, which bear no surface markers of B, or T cells, monocytes or NK cells and that these cells also serve as accessory cells for NK cell-mediated lysis of the herpesvirus and HIV-infected targets. Later, Chehimi et al4 reported that human peripheral blood mononuclear cells contain at least two distinct HLA-DR+ cell subsets, both of which lack any B and T cell, monocyte and NK cell surface markers. One HLA-DR+ cell subset is plastic nonadherent, produces IFN-α in response to herpesvirus and HIV and provides accessory help to NK cells for lysis of virus-infected targets, but does not induce mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). The other population has the morphology of dendritic cells (DC), is loosely adherent to plastic, stimulates T cells in the MLR, but neither produces IFN-α when exposed to virus-infected targets nor provides accessory help to NK cells. In this report, we show for the first time morphological, as well as new functional differences, between HLA-DR+ IFN-α producing cells (IPC) and HLA-DR+ DC.
Nucleic Acid Photolysis by UV254 and the Impact of Virus Encapsidation.

Determining the influence of higher order structure on UVC photolysis will help inform predictions of nucleic acid fate and microorganism inactivation. We measured the direct UV254 photolysis kinetics of four model viral genomes composed of single-stranded and double-stranded RNA (ssRNA and dsRNA, respectively), as well as single-stranded and double-stranded DNA (ssDNA and dsDNA, respectively), in ultrapure water, in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and encapsidated in their native virus particles. The photolysis rate constants of naked nucleic acids measured by qPCR (RT-qPCR for RNA) and normalized by the number of bases measured in a particular sequence exhibited the following trend: ssDNA > ssRNA ≈ dsDNA > dsRNA. In PBS, naked ssRNA bases reacted, on average, 24× faster than the dsRNA bases, whereas naked ssDNA bases reacted 4.3× faster than dsDNA bases. Endogenous indirect photolysis involving 1O2 and ·OH was ruled out as a major contributing factor in the reactions. A comparison of our measured rate ...
Design and Development of a Biocultural Ontology for Personalized Diabetes Self-Management of American Indians

In this paper we present the design and development of an ontology model to assist personalized self-management for American Indian diabetes users. The most important part of this ontology is a biocultural user profile modeling that presents various characteristics of American Indian users. We describe the overall ontology development life cycle including six well defined development stages that were employed by ontology engineers and developers to plan for, design, implement, evaluate, and deliver ontology. The ontology development process is iterative, as each phase can be cyclically and incrementally repeated. The proposed ontology has been evaluated with different approaches, standards, and use case scenarios. The ontology is ready to be used as a knowledge base for semantically intelligent personalized diabetes self-management for American Indians.
Drug delivery in stealth mode

Zwitterionic polypeptides with high chemical specificity and “stealth”-like behavior have superior pharmacokinetics compared with uncharged polypeptides in mice.
First Transistor Demonstration of Thermal Atomic Layer Etching: InGaAs FinFETs with sub-5 nm Fin-width Featuring in situ ALE-ALD

For the first time, thermal atomic layer etching (ALE) on InGaAs-based III-V heterostructures is demonstrated. Also, we report the first transistors fabricated by the thermal ALE technique in any semiconductor system. We further highlight one unique advantage of thermal ALE: its integration with atomic layer deposition (ALD) in a single vacuum chamber. Using in situ ALE-ALD, we have fabricated the most aggressively scaled self-aligned In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As n-channel FinFETs to date, featuring sub-5 nm fin widths. The narrowest FinFET with $\mathrm{W_{f}}=2.5$ nm and $\mathrm{L_{g}} =60$ nm shows $\mathrm{g}_{\mathrm{m}}=0.85\ \text{mS}/\mu \mathrm{m}$ at $\mathrm{V}_{\text{ds}}=0.5$ V. Devices with $\mathrm{W_{f}}=18$ nm and $\mathrm{L_{g}}=60$ nm demonstrate $\mathrm{g_{m}}=1.9\ \ \text{mS}/\mu \mathrm{m}$ at $\mathrm{V}_{\text{ds}}=0.5$ V. Subthreshold swings averaging $\mathrm{S}_{\text{lin}}=70$ mV/dec and $\mathrm{S}_{\text{sat}}=74$ mV/dec across the entire range of W f , at minimum $\mathrm{L_{g}}=60$ nm have been obtained. These are all record results. The transistors demonstrated here show an average 60% gm improvement over devices fabricated through conventional techniques. These results suggest a very high-quality MOS interface obtained by the in situ ALE-ALD process.
From “Painstaking” to “Open and Loose”: Using a Discursive-Cognitive Lens to Ease a Frustrated Adolescent Writer’s Process

This case study of teacher research explores the utility of framing the writing development of adolescent writers in terms of their discursive identities and strategic behaviors. By merging our und...
Correction to: Association between dietary acid load and the risk of hypertension among adults from South China: result from nutrition and health survey (2015-2017).

It was highlighted that in the original article [1] the data on categorical variables was wrongly arranged in Table 1 and there was an incorrect statement in the fourth paragraph of the Discussion section.
The Quinone Connection

The concept that the long-chain quinones in energy-transducing membranes (Fig. 5.1 A and B) act as mobile carriers of electrons and protons is partly based on the high concentration of quinone in all energy-transducing membranes (Table 5.1). This quinone can be readily extracted with organic solvent. In spite of the apparent excess of quinone in all these systems, most of it is needed to maintain a normal respiratory flow, because partial extraction of mitochondrial quinone results in loss of activity (Schneider et al., 1985). Quinone analogue inhibitors block electron transfer by competing for the quinone binding sites located on electron transport protein complexes (Fig. 5.1C). The compounds 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) and atrazine inhibit plant and algal photosynthetic electron transport at the site (the quinone-binding D1 polypeptide) of reduction of the plastoquinone pool by photosystem II (PS II). Piericidin and rotenone inhibit at the site of reduction of the ubiquinone (UQ) pool on the NADH dehydrogenase (Fig. 4.25), and several inhibit effectively on the p-side of the membrane (toward which protons are translocated, positive 1 ) at the cytochrome b6f (2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropylbenzoquinone, stigmatellin) or bc1 (stigmatellin, 5-n-undecyl-6-hydroxy-4,7-dioxobenzothiazole, myxathiazol) complexes, preventing oxidation of the plasto- or ubiquinone pool. Antimycin A inhibits the bc1 complex on the n-side of the membrane.
Thermodynamic analysis of a solar thermal facilitated membrane seawater desalination process

Abstract Seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination is an attractive but energy-intensive process used to produce freshwater. A reduction in high-grade energy (electricity) consumption during the seawater RO desalination process can be achieved by utilizing renewable energy sources and harvesting osmotic energy during the desalination process. This study proposes a novel method to reduce the energy consumption of RO desalination by incorporating solar thermal energy into the reverse osmosis-pressure retarded osmosis (RO-PRO) hybrid system (medium capacity of 5000 m3/day). Osmotic energy is harvested by mixing seawater and tertiary wastewater in PRO at an elevated temperature before the RO desalination step. Solar thermal energy is used to heat the solutions to enhance the energy production of the PRO. The hybrid system can achieve wastewater reclamation and RO brine management simultaneously. Energy analysis shows that the net specific energy (electricity) consumption of the hybrid system is as low as 0.39 kWh/m3, which is much lower than that of conventional RO desalination systems (∼1.1 kWh/m3). Exergy analysis is conducted on the system to determine the second law efficiency of the system. In addition, the analytic hierarchy process shows that the overall system operation benefits from a high PRO operating temperature.
Multiple Dimensions of Governance

Over that last 10 years, “governance” has become a catchword capturing the attention not only of civil society organizations, local, and international nongovernmental organizations but also of some mainstream social scientists and policymakers in developed as well as developing countries. Barclay (2006) views governance as a concept that is widely used in the development literature with a variety of meanings and interpretation. The various contributions to the democratic governance debate have led to different and sometimes conflicting definitions of the “governance” phenomenon. While some narrowly conceive governance as a positive force to foster economic growth, Fukuyama (2013) sees governance as a government’s ability to make and enforce rules and to deliver services, regardless of whether that government is democratic or not. He further argues that the current orthodoxy in the development community considers democracy and good governance as mutually supportive.
Role of Divalent Cations in HIV-1 Replication and Pathogenicity

Divalent cations are essential for life and are fundamentally important coordinators of cellular metabolism, cell growth, host-pathogen interactions, and cell death. Specifically, for human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), divalent cations are required for interactions between viral and host factors that govern HIV-1 replication and pathogenicity. Homeostatic regulation of divalent cations' levels and actions appear to change as HIV-1 infection progresses and as changes occur between HIV-1 and the host. In people living with HIV-1, dietary supplementation with divalent cations may increase HIV-1 replication, whereas cation chelation may suppress HIV-1 replication and decrease disease progression. Here, we review literature on the roles of zinc (Zn2+), iron (Fe2+), manganese (Mn2+), magnesium (Mg2+), selenium (Se2+), and copper (Cu2+) in HIV-1 replication and pathogenicity, as well as evidence that divalent cation levels and actions may be targeted therapeutically in people living with HIV-1.
BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY OF TRITERPENOID AND STEROID SYNTHESIS

Recent studies of the basic biological sequence: farnesyl pyrophosphate → squalene → steroids and triterpenoids, are summarized.
Aerobic biological degradation of organic matter and fracturing fluid additives in high salinity hydraulic fracturing wastewaters

Abstract Reuse of hydraulic fracturing wastewaters depends on effective tailored treatment to prepare the water for the intended end use. Aerobic biological treatment of hydraulic fracturing produced water was examined to degrade dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and polyethylene glycols (PEGs). Biological treatment experiments of three produced water samples with DOC concentrations ranging from 22 to 420 mg/L and total dissolved solids (TDS) levels ranging from 26 to 157 g/L were conducted in 48–240 h batches. Samples were not pretreated to remove suspended solids and were inoculated with activated sludge and acclimated over several weeks. Results show that between 50% and 80% of DOC was removed in 12–24 h but a sizeable portion, on a mass basis, remained in the samples with higher DOC concentrations. PEGs were also shown to readily biodegrade into singly- and doubly-carboxylated metabolites, but were not shown to degrade past that point, leading to accumulation of PEG-dicarboxylates (PEG-diCs) in the batch reactors. Possible explanations include residence times that were too long, resulting in starved microbial populations (and thus, a stopping of PEG degradation) or the presence of other ethoxylated additives that degraded into PEGs and PEG-diCs and fed this accumulation. This work demonstrates that a well-acclimated microbial culture is capable of degrading a large portion of DOC in hydraulic fracturing wastewaters across a wide spectrum of TDS concentrations, indicating that biological treatment is a viable option for enabling reuse of produced water.
Toward connectivity of a disconnected cluster in partitioned wireless sensor network for time-critical data collection:

Reliable network connectivity is one of the major design issues in the context of wireless sensor networks. These networks have diverse communication patterns due to non-uniform sensing activities ...
Interventions to reduce polypharmacy and optimize medication use in older adults with cancer

The use of polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is an increasingly common, concerning public health issue in older adults, and a concurrent cancer diagnosis only further escalates the prevalence and complexity. Polypharmacy and PIM use has been associated with negative patient outcomes, including falls, chemotherapy toxicities and other adverse events, postoperative complications, frailty, functional impairment, and shortened survival. Despite the recognition of the harms, the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIM use continues to rise due to a lack of standardized identification and intervention methods. Efforts to reduce the prevalence have included use of explicit PIM screening tools (e.g., Beers criteria), comprehensive medication reviews, and deprescribing algorithms. However, these efforts are not widespread and the research on the effectiveness of such interventions is limited. To better understand what is known, this paper summarized available studies evaluating the effect of interventions on reducing the burden of polypharmacy/PIMs and provided recommendations to guide further practice models to reduce the negative consequences associated with polypharmacy and PIM use. Furthermore, we aim to establish a framework for clinical practice and to highlight areas for future intervention-based research to improve outcomes for older adults with cancer.
Visual Summarization of Lecture Video Segments for Enhanced Navigation

Lecture video is an increasingly important learning resource. However, the challenge of quickly finding the content of interest in a long lecture video is a critical limitation of this format. This paper introduces visual summarization of lecture video segments to improve navigation. A lecture video is divided into segments based on the frame-to-frame similarity of content. The user navigates a lecture video assisted by single frame visual and textual summaries of segments. The paper presents a novel methodology to generate the visual summary of a lecture video segment by estimating the importance of each image in the segment, computing similarities between the images, and employing a graph-based algorithm to identify the most representative images. The summarization framework developed is integrated into a real-world lecture video management portal called Videopoints. An evaluation with ground truth from human experts established that the algorithms presented are significantly superior to random selection as well as clustering based selection, and only modestly inferior to human selection. Over 65% of automatically generated summaries were rated at Good or better by the users. Overall, the methodology introduced in this paper was shown to produce good quality visual summaries that are practically useful for lecture video navigation.
Optimization of battery swapping infrastructure for e-commerce drone delivery

Abstract Drone delivery is widely-researched to alter the current e-commerce delivery convention for providing short delivery lead times. Yet, flight range of drones, constrained by the available battery technology, sets a milestone toward realizing the sole-drone delivery. To tackle with the flight range limitation, locating automated battery swapping machines (ABSM) have been proposed and a few studies modeled the problem. Using the ABSMs, drones can be loaded with fully-charged batteries along the route to a demand location. In this study, we introduce a mixed-integer nonlinear program to model the problem. The objective of the program is to optimally select ABSM locations, determine the delivery-mode choices (drone-only, truck-only, and mixed delivery) of demand locations, find drone delivery routes, and approximate the baseline requirements for the number of drones and batteries needed. The program minimizes the overall delivery system costs including: ABSM, delivery, drone ownership, battery inventory, and service congestion. A cutting-plane method is developed to find exact solutions in finite iterations. Computational experiments showed that the method quickly yields the optimal solution to instances with less than 60 ABSM candidates and 20 demand locations. A case study shows that the optimal drone delivery infrastructure can save almost 20% cost compared to the conventional truck-only delivery. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to reveal the impact of key parameters in the decision-making and found that a decrease in the ABSM and drone costs highly affect the system cost. Code to solve the case study is publicly available at https://gitlab.com/tcokyasar/optimization-of-battery-swapping .
Visual voices and aural (auto)ethnographies: the personal, political, and polysemic value of storytelling and/in communication

This themed issue speaks to the political significance and power of stories and epistemological privileges, and the impact and influence of identity, technology, and culture in our storied communic...
Immunometabolites Drive Bacterial Adaptation to the Airway

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are both opportunistic pathogens that are frequently associated with chronic lung infections. While bacterial virulence determinants are critical in initiating infection, the metabolic flexibility of these bacteria promotes their persistence in the airway. Upon infection, these pathogens induce host immunometabolic reprogramming, resulting in an airway milieu replete with immune-signaling metabolites. These metabolites are often toxic to the bacteria and create a steep selection pressure for the emergence of bacterial isolates adapted for long-term survival in the inflamed lung. In this review, we discuss the main differences in the host immunometabolic response to P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, as well as how these pathogens alter their own metabolism to adapt to airway metabolites and cause persistent lung infections.
Replay Analysis in Open-Ended Educational Games

Designers of serious games have an interest in understanding if their games are well-aligned, i.e., whether in-game rewards incentivize behaviors that will lead to learning. Few existing serious games analytics solutions exist to serve this need. Open-ended games in particular run into issues of alignment due to their affordances for wide player freedom. In this chapter, we first define open-ended games as games that have a complex functional solution spaces. Next, we describe our method for exploring alignment issues in an open-ended educational game using replay analysis. The method uses multiple data mining techniques to extract features from replays of player behavior. Focusing on replays rather than logging play-time metrics allows designers and researchers to run additional metric calculations and data transformations in a post hoc manner. We describe how we have applied this replay analysis methodology to explore and evaluate the design of the open-ended educational game RumbleBlocks. Using our approach, we were able to map out the solution space of the game and highlight some potential issues that the game’s designers might consider in iteration. Finally, we discuss some of the limitations of the replay approach.
Establishing a Group for Testing Mathematical Programs

Provided here is a summary of the comments made during this panel discussion. While every attempt was made to insure accuracy, J. Mulvey, who functioned as chairman during this discussion, claims full responsibility for any inaccuracies or misrepresentations which may persist. Names and addresses of all contributors to the discussion appear in the Appendix.
Fibroblast growth factor and its involvement in developmental processes.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the role of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) in early development and its putative role in the developmental and functional aspects of various organs that have been shown to contain predominantly basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The bioactivity of both bFGF and acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) can be positively or negatively regulated by TGF- β , depending on the cell type. Therefore, the ability of various tissues to synthesize FGFs, or TGF- β , and the relative concentrations of these growth factors in the microenvironment would determine whether cell proliferation and differentiation were selectively enhanced or repressed by FGF. A number of growth factors have recently been isolated and characterized, their roles in vivo, as well as their physiological relevance, are still largely conjectural. In most cases identification of their biological roles rests on the correlation between their mRNA expression in various tissues at various stages of development, rather than on a direct causality between growth factor expression and morphogenetic events.
Cross-reactivity of cell-selective CRRETAWAC peptide with human and porcine endothelial cells.

We report on the cross-reactivity of the cell adhesive peptide CRRETAWAC between human and porcine endothelial cells (ECs). CRRETAWAC is a phage display derived peptide which has been shown to bind the α5β1 receptor on human ECs, but does not bind platelets and thus could be incorporated into a coating for cardiovascular biomaterials that resists platelet adhesion and thrombosis, while allowing for endothelialization. To determine the cross-reactivity of the peptide, attachment and growth of human and porcine ECs on CRRETAWAC fluorosurfactant polymer (FSP) coated surfaces was explored. CRRETAWAC FSP was synthesized and characterized by mass spectrometry, NMR, and IR spectroscopy. pEC attachment and growth on CRRETAWAC FSP was similar to the positive controls, human fibronectin and RGD FSP, achieving confluence in 72 h. Initial adhesion on CRRETAWAC FSP was also similar for porcine and human ECs. Blocking with soluble CRRETAWAC peptide reduced adhesion to CRRETAWAC coated surfaces by over 50%, indicating that the pECs specifically bind CRRETAWAC peptide. With this study, we have demonstrated that CRRETAWAC peptide coated surfaces are capable of binding porcine ECs in a specific manner and supporting a confluent layer of pECs. In vitro validation of the porcine model was critical for ensuring the best chance of success for the in vivo testing of CRRETAWAC coated ePTFE vascular grafts. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 2857–2863, 2014.
Evaluation of aggregated igg in mice as an fc receptor specific probe of the hepatic mononuclear phagocyte system.

In experimental models of immune complex diseases the hepatic mononuclear phagocyte system removes circulating immune complexes (CIC) by interaction with Fc receptors, and the spleen has a relatively insignificant role in this function. We have used heat-aggregated human IgG (AHGG) to detect altered hepatic mononuclear phagocyte system activity in an acute immune complex model in mice in order to evaluate its suitability for possible use in humans. Immune complexes inhibited the clearance of AHGG, as a function of the dose and of the time after injection of complexes. The delayed clearance resulted from decreased hepatic uptake of the AHGG. Alterations in the comparatively small splenic uptake of AHGG did not correlate with changes in the clearance or the hepatic uptake that were produced by the complexes. Studies with Rose Bengal showed that the complexes caused a small but definite decrease in hepatic blood flow. Immune complexes also inhibited the clearance and hepatic uptake of aggregated mouse albumin and aggregated ovalbumin. The aggregated albumins, however, were cleared very rapidly, indicating high extraction ratios, so their clearance was more affected by the decreased blood flow than the clearance of AHGG. We conclude that a small dose of AHGG is a sensitive probe for hepatic Fc receptor function and has potential for human use.
The Stoplight Task: A Procedure for Assessing Risk Taking in Humans

The Stoplight Task, a procedure involving a computer analog of a stoplight, was evaluated for assessing risk taking in humans. Seventeen participants earned points later exchangeable for money by completing a response requirement before the red light appeared on a simulated traffic light. The green light signaled to start responding; it changed to yellow at different points into the response requirement. The yellow light, which varied unpredictably in duration, was eventually replaced with a red light. Participants could stop or continue responding when the yellow light appeared. Stopping protected earnings; completing the response requirement before the red light earned money; continuing but failing to complete the response requirement before the red light appeared could result in money loss with 12.5% or 100% probability. The probability of risk taking (running the yellow) was lower when the probability of monetary loss was 100% and when the yellow light appeared early in the completion of the response requirement. Participants scoring higher on risk-taking and impulsivity personality rating scales behaved 'riskier' in the stoplight task. Potential applications of the Stoplight Task are suggested.
Expression, localization, and functional analysis of polychlorinated biphenyl degradation genes cbpABCD of Pseudomonas putida.

into a chloro derivative ofbenzoic acid was foundinEscherichia coli harboring chimeric plasmid pAW540.Expression ofcbpA(biphenyl dioxygenase, 6.2U/mgofprotein) andcbpC (3-phenylcatechol dioxygenase, 611.00 U/mgofprotein) genes was alsofoundinE.coli containing thehybrid plasmid pAW540.These enzyme activities were up to10-fold higher thanthosefoundinP.putida OU83.These results ledustoconclude thatcbpABCDgenesofP.putida OU83were encoded on clonedDNA andexpressed inE.coli. Whethertheexpression ofcbpABCDgenes ofP.putida OU83was drivenbyits own promoters located on thecloned DNA or bythelacZpromoterofpUCl9was examined bysubcloning a 8.0-kb DNA fragment encoding thecbpABCDgenes,inbothorientations, intheHindIlI site ofthepromoterprobevector pKK232-8. Theresulting recombinant plasmids, pAW560andpAW561,expressed cbpABCDgenes and conferred chloramphenicol resistance onlyinE.coli harboring pAW560,indicating thattheexpression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase isindependent ofcbpABCD gene expression. Physical mapping, subcloning, anddeletion mutantplasmids allowed us toidentify DNA regions encoding thecbpBCDgenes on the2.3-kb SalI-HindIll fragment andthecbpAgene on the2.8-kb Sall fragment ofpAW540.Thelocations ofcbpAand cbpBCDgeneswere foundtobe3.0kbaparton thecloned DNA.Thestructural organization ofthecbpABCD geneswas alsodetermined byTnSinsertional inactivation ofthegenes.
Nonlinear alfven waves in high speed solar wind streams

A nonlinear proton distribution function that is an exact stationary solution of the nonlinear Vlasov equation and Maxwell's equations and which supports a single nonlinear transverse Alfven (ion cyclotron) wave that is circularly polarized and nondispersive is proposed for most of the observations during high-speed solar wind streams. This nonlinear distribution removes the strong Alfven wave instability, inconsistent with the persistence of the observed proton distribution functions in high-speed streams, found by the linear stability analysis. Model temperature anisotropies and drift velocities of the two spatially inhomogeneous bi-Maxwellian components are consistent with typical proton velocity distributions measured in high-speed streams at 1 AU. Two derived relations for each of the wave number and the phase velocity of the wave are obeyed within experimental uncertainties by two typical proton measurements. Our model also predicts that the alpha particle bulk flow velocity exceeds the proton particle bulk flow velocity, as is observed.
Effect of dietary fat upon aflatoxicosis in rats fed torula yeast containing diet.

This study was designed to study the possible interrelationships between Torula yeast, vitamin E, and the dietary fat source on aflatoxin-induced tumors. Rats were fed Torula yeast-containing basal diets which included 1.7 ppm aflatoxin B1 with either lard, corn oil or no fat, and with or without vitamin E supplements for 3 months. Thereafter, the respective diets without aflatoxin were fed for ca. 9 months. Animals receiving the vitamin E-deficient diets had a high mortality. Although the vitamin E-deficient, aflatoxin-treated rats had lower wt gains than did the vitamin E-deficient controls, they lived twice as long. In addition, regardless of the dietary fat source, the kidneys and adrenals of these vitamin E-deficient, aflatoxin-supplemented rats were found to be significantly heavier than the controls, and plasma cholesterol levels were elevated. Increased amounts of liver lipid were observed in response to aflatoxin in both corn oil-fed and fat-deficient rats. No such differences were observed in the responses of the vitamin E-supplemented groups to aflatoxin. On the corn oil diet, aflatoxin administration resulted in an increased deposition of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cholesteryl ester and phospholipid fractions in livers of vitamin E-deficient rats and the phospholipid fraction of vitamin E-sufficient rats. The vitamin E-deficient rats exhibited necrosis of the liver, which was alleviated when aflatoxin was included in the diet, and calcification of the kidneys, which was potentiated by the dietary aflatoxin. No tumors were observed in these animals. In animals maintained on vitamin E-sufficient diets for 1 year, growth was depressed as a result of aflatoxin administration with the greatest depression occurring in the group fed corn oil. Spleen wt were decreased in all groups given aflatoxin. However, there were no changes in either plasma or liver cholesterol or total liver lipids which could be attributed to aflatoxin administration. When aflatoxin was fed with lard, the cholesteryl ester, triglyceride, and free fatty acid fractions of plasma had decreased amounts of the C20:4 acid. In the cholesteryl ester fraction only, this change was accompanied by increased levels of C16:0, C18:0, and C18:1 acids. In the liver phospholipids, there were increased levels of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and decreases in the saturated fatty acids. All of the animals receiving aflatoxin exhibited severe necrosis and tumor formation in the kidneys; the animals fed lard had the highest level of involvement and those in the fat-free group the least. Liver pathology was the least marked among the rats fed the fat-free diet. Since aflatoxin-induced tumors are rich in lipids, the fat-free diet may be protective to the animal.
Determinants of abnormal gonadotropin secretion in clinically defined women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder of reproductive age women characterized in its broadest definition by the presence of oligoamenorrhea and hyperandrogenism and the absence of other disorders. Defects of gonadotropin secretion, including an elevated LH level, elevated LH to FSH ratio, and an increased frequency and amplitude of LH pulsations have been described, but the prevalence of these defects in a large, unbiased population of PCOS patients has not been determined. Sixty-one women with PCOS defined by oligomenorrhea and hyperandrogenism and 24 normal women in the early follicular phase had LH samples obtained every 10 min for 8–12 h. Pool LH levels from the frequent sampling studies were within the normal range in the 9 PCOS patients (14.8%) who were studied within 21 days after a documented spontaneous ovulation. Excluding these post-ovulatory patients, 75.0% of the PCOS patients had an elevated pool LH level (above the 95th percentile of the normal controls), and 94% had ...
High temperature allotropy and thermal expansion of the rare-earth metals

Abstract By means of high temperature X-ray techniques the crystal structure of lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, ytterbium, and possibly gadolinium was found to be body-centered cubic at temperatures near their respective melting points. For ytterbium a hexagonal close-packed structure was also observed, which was shown to be stabilized by atmospheric impurities. Evidence for possible high temperature crystalline transformations in gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, and lutetium was obtained by means of electrical resistance measurements; erbium gave no such evidence. X-ray data were used to derive empirical equations which describe thermal expansion coefficients of scandium, yttrium and the rare-earth metals. Europium exhibits a rapidly decreasing coefficient of expansion with increasing temperature, which may be a consequence of a gradual promotion of one of the 4f electrons into the conduction band. The hexagonal rare-earth metals were found to have nearly the same axial ratio at their respective transformation temperatures.
Routinization of job context and job content as related to employees' quality of working life: A study of Canadian nurses

The literature on routinization of work is both ambiguous and equivocal when its impact on quality of working life is considered. The classical management literature suggests that routinization of work has a positive influence on individual performance and by implication on the quality of working life resulting from the overall prosperity generated. However, more recent literature on job characteristics and job design argues that routinization of work has a negative impact on individual performance as it suppresses creative expression on the job. This paper suggests that these mixed findings are due to an inadequate theoretical grasp of the concept of routinization and presents empirical evidence which attempts to clarify the ambiguity. Data were collected from 1148 nurses working in anglophone hospitals in the greater Montreal area in the form of a field survey questionnaire. The results indicated that nurses who worked routine shifts perceived higher levels of quality of working life compared to those on non-routine shifts. The results also indicated that nurses who experienced high routinization in job content perceived lower levels of quality of working life compared to those nurses who experienced low routinization in job content. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.
The impact of dental impairment on ring‐tailed lemur food processing performance

During mastication, foods are reduced into particles suitable for swallowing and digestion. Smaller particles possess a greater surface area per unit of volume on which digestive enzymes and bacteria may work than relatively larger particles, and are thus more readily digested. As dental morphology facilitates the breakdown of diets with specific mechanical properties, extensive dental wear and/or tooth loss may impede an individual's ability to break down and exploit foods. We present data demonstrating a relationship between dental impairment and particle size in 43 fecal samples from 33 ring-tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar. All fecal samples were sifted through three sieves of decreasing size (11.2 mm, 4.75 mm, and 1.0 mm). The resulting fraction in each sieve was then weighed and assessed in relation to individual dental impairment status. With increasing wear, the percentage of each sample within the 1.0 mm sieve decreases, whereas that in the 11.2 mm sieve increases with increasing postcanine wear, although these effects are not present when limited to individuals without tooth loss. Individuals with tooth loss also demonstrate larger proportions of fecal material 1.0-4.75 mm in size. Dental impairment results in larger food particles and potentially less efficient utilization of foods. When fecal material was examined by leaf vs. fruit content, individuals with tooth loss demonstrated reduced proportions of fruit in the 1.0 mm and 11.2 mm sieves. These data suggest individuals with tooth loss consume less fruit than those without loss, potentially reflecting a reduced ability to process tamarind fruit, a key fallback resource at BMSR.