cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recent advances in near-field optics: instrumental and applications

We present a recently constructed near field scanning optical microscope. This microscope features an ultrafine tip/sample approach using a 4:1 mechanical gear reduction of an 80 pitch thread giving an effective pitch of 320. The piezo-driven 12 /spl mu/m x-y scan range is complimented by a generous 4 mm coarse mechanical translation range in each direction. The construction materials used in the feedback loop have been carefully chosen for thermal compatibility to reduce differential expansion and contraction between the tip and sample. A novel pressure-fit sample mounting allows for quick and reliable sample exchange.
Macrophages in resistance to candidiasis.

Candida albicans, an increasingly common opportunistic pathogenic fungus, frequently causes disease in immunodeficient but not immunocompetent hosts. Clarifying the role of the phagocytic cells that participate in resistance to candidiasis not only is basic to understanding how the host copes with this dimorphic pathogen but also will expedite the development of innovative prophylactic and therapeutic approaches for treating the multiple clinical presentations that candidiasis encompasses. In this review, we present evidence that a diverse population of mononuclear phagocytes, in different states of activation and differentiation and from a variety of host species, can phagocytize C. albicans blastoconidia via an array of opsonic and nonopsonic mechanisms and can kill C. albicans blastoconidia and hyphae by means of oxygen-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Reactive nitrogen intermediates should now be added to the well-established candidacidal reactive oxygen intermediates of macrophages. Furthermore, what were thought to be two independent pathways, i.e., nitric oxide and superoxide anion, have now been shown to combine to form a potent macrophage candidacidal molecule, peroxynitrite. In contrast to monocytes and neutrophils, which are important in resistance to early stages of C. albicans infections, more differentiated macrophages activated by cytokines such as gamma interferon participate in the acquired resistance of hosts with C. albicans-specific, cell-mediated immunity. Evidence presented in this review demonstrates that mononuclear phagocytes, in some instances in the absence of other professional phagocytes such as neutrophils, play an import role in resistance to systemic and mucosal candidiasis.
Comparative analysis of statistical tools to identify recruitment–environment relationships and forecast recruitment strength

Megrey, B. A., Lee, Y-W., and Macklin, S. A. 2005. Comparative analysis of statistical tools to identify recruitmenteenvironment relationships and forecast recruitment strength. e ICES Journal of Marine Science, 62: 1256e1269. Many of the factors affecting recruitment in marine populations are still poorly understood, complicating the prediction of strong year classes. Despite numerous attempts, the complexity of the problem often seems beyond the capabilities of traditional statistical analysis paradigms. This study examines the utility of four statistical procedures to identify relationships between recruitment and the environment. Because we can never really know the parameters or underlying relationships of actual data, we chose to use simulated data with known properties and different levels of measurement error to test and compare the methods, especially their ability to forecast future recruitment states. Methods examined include traditional linear regression, non-linear regression, Generalized Additive Models (GAM), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Each is compared according to its ability to recover known patterns and parameters from simulated data, as well as to accurately forecast future recruitment states. We also apply the methods to published Norwegian spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus L.) spawnererecruiteenvironment data. Results were not consistently conclusive, but in general, flexible non-parametric methods such as GAMs and ANNs performed better than parametric approaches in both parameter estimation and forecasting. Even under controlled data simulation procedures, we saw evidence of spurious correlations. Models fit to the Norwegian spring-spawning herring data show the importance of sea temperature and spawning biomass. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) did not appear to be an influential factor affecting herring recruitment.
Salivary gland tumors of the oral cavity

Between 1961 and 1985, 62 patients with malignant salivary gland tumors of the oral cavity underwent surgery with curative intent at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical center. All patients had a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Fifty of 62 (81%) patients presented with T1-2 primary tumors. The tumors arose from the palate in 41/62 (66%) patients. The most common histologic type was adenoid cystic carcinoma comprising 34 of 62 (55%) cases. Radical resection was performed in 46 cases and wide local excision in 16 patients. Postoperative radiation therapy was used in 24 cases due to advanced stage and/or positive surgical margins. Results of treatment were analyzed by stage of disease, modes of treatment, histology, and surgical extent. Local control of small lesions reached 100% at 10 years with either radical resection alone or local excision. With residual tumor at the surgical margins, the incidence of local recurrence was 4/14 (29%) for those who received adjuvant radiation therapy and 5/10 (50%) for those who did not. The vast majority of mucoepidermoid carcinomas were early stage and low grade. These lesions had an excellent prognosis with a control rate of 100%. In contrast, there was a 29% (10/34) failure rate for adenoid cystic carcinoma. The 5-, 10-, and 15-year actuarial survivals for the whole group were 94%, 84%, and 73%, respectively. Our results indicate that for early stage disease, wide local excision may offer patients the chance to avoid the cosmetically and functionally debilitating effects of radical surgery without compromising treatment outcome. Adjuvant radiation therapy appears to reduce the local recurrence for those with residual tumor at the surgical margins.
Costume and Identity

Clothing is a bundle of cultural symbols that has been dealt withsomewhat eclectically and indiscriminately in the anthropological wash.Some writers have speculated on the origins of clothing, stressing suchqualities in human nature as modesty and vanity; others, more materiallyoriented, have emphasized utility; others again have listed separategarments, the materials of which they were made, and the techniquesemployed; and some have paid attention to broader historical and sociological dimensions. In a pioneering study, Kroeber used documentary evidence to correlate fluctuations in women's fashions (using indices of skirt length, width of waist, and depth of decolletage) with major social and political upheavals (Kroeber, 1919, 1940), but perhaps because of the nature of his data, as well as his particular orientation, he made no reference to the persons involved, and overlooked internal cultural variations and conflicts of style. These issues received more attention from scholars trained in the Malinowski tradition of fieldwork, and they described clothing worn by different persons in different situations; those who worked in areas where people of different cultures were brought in contact in the colonial situation indicated the meaning of changes in style of clothing over time. General textbooks draw attention to the correlation between clothing and social status and to such facts as the cost of clothing, its technology and its aesthetics.
Freeform Optical Surface Metrology: Challenges and Capabilities

Recent advances in optical fabrication methods enable production of an extended range of surface shapes. General purpose metrology methods, however, are more limited. This talk reviews available and emerging methods and highlights challenges. Article not available.
Effects of Chilling Time and Belt Flattening on Physical Characteristics, Yield and Tenderness of Broiler Breasts

Abstract Removing the large breast muscle from broiler carcasses prior to the resolution of rigor mortis results in tough cooked meat. However, the practice of holding carcasses or front halves 8 to 24 hr after chilling prior to deboning to ensure tenderness in the cooked meat is costly with regard to refrigerated space, equipment, and labor. This study determined the effect of extending the chilling time (1, 2, or 3 hr) and subjecting the deboned breast muscles to belt flattening on subsequent physical dimensions (length and width), yield, and tenderness of the cooked meat. Maximum length, width, and weight of each muscle were recorded before and after flattening, and cooked yield and objective texture (tenderness) were evaluated to determine if a combination of the two treatments would eliminate the need to age carcasses for prolonged times prior to deboning. For objective texture, increasing the chilling time resulted in less force necessary to shear the cooked meat, and flattened breasts required less force to shear than did the unflattened breasts. Belt flattening resulted in a loss in weight and an increase in surface area (length and width) of the raw muscle. The combination of carcass chilling for 2 hr followed by belt flattening resulted in cooked meat that would be considered “very tender.”
Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer by Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Systematic Biopsies

Systematic biopsies are a useful, sensitive means to detect carcinoma of the prostate. However, multiple biopsies pose a risk for detecting clinically insignificant prostate cancer, that is those cancers less than 0.5 cc in volume, which occur in approximately 32% of all white men more than 50 years old. Systematic biopsies were positive for cancer in 442 of 816 patients and 60 (14%) demonstrated only a minute focus of cancer (3 mm. or less) in 1 of the 6 biopsy specimens. In 27 patients with these minute foci who underwent radical prostatectomy a wide range of cancer volumes was observed; 30% of these 27 cancers were less than 0.5 cc (15% less than 0.2 cc) and may not have required therapy. Thus, the overall risk of detecting an insignificant cancer is 4.0% with systematic biopsies. Performance of confirmatory biopsies in patients with a minute focus (3 mm. or less) of cancer on initial systematic biopsies resulted in cancers less than 0.5 cc being removed in only 1 of 10 radical prostatectomies (10%, none was less than 0.2 cc). Thus, with the addition of confirmatory biopsies the risk of detecting insignificant cancer is 1.4%. Conservative management is recommended for patients without significant cancer on repeat biopsies in whom initial biopsies have revealed only a minute focus of cancer in 1 of the biopsy cores. We believe that concern is also warranted for patients who have 3 mm. or less of cancer demonstrated by several nonsystematic biopsies directed at a suspicious hypoechoic lesion in whom the digital rectal examination is normal.
Mud Volcano Eruptions and Flame Hazards

From almost prehistoric times, records are available of eruptions of mud volcanoes associated with gas ignition, high flame, ejection of masses of mud, thrown masses of rock (sometimes of significant size), explosions and ground-motion trembles. In old manuscripts one can find descriptions of such natural phenomena. From the last century more or less periodic observations have been recorded in journals and guidebooks. By the middle of the 19th century geologists came to the conclusion that those explosions were associated with mud volcanoes (Abikh, 1939; Sjogren, 1887 and 1885–87). More and more facts on volcanic eruptions in this area were published. Later, mud volcanoes became, and still are, the objects of special attention of the Geological Institute of Azerbaijan. Field trips were arranged every year in order to observe volcanic activity. Hundreds of papers were published devoted to the analysis of activity and eruptions of specific volcanoes.
On-line diagnosis of ominous fetal heart rate patterns: a warning device.

A warning device has been developed for the on-line detection of ominous fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns. The FHR’s present with 1,600 contractions were studied in 20 patients. When no ominous FHR deceleration patterns are present, the instrument diagnoses agreed with those of a trained observer over 93 per cent of the time. When ominous FHR deceleration patterns are present, some type of FHR deceleration pattern was diagnosed in a high percentage of instances: variable deceleration, 71 of 73; late-deceleration episodes (2 or more late decelerations), 57 of 57; mixed variable and late deceleration, 146 of 147.
Mating disruption of diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and cabbage looper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in cabbage using a blend of pheromones emitted from the same dispenser.

Experiments were conducted in commercial plantings of cabbage in spring 1994 and 1995 to evaluate the efficacy of a blend of pheromones for diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), and cab...
Exploring Overparenting within the Context of Youth Development Programs

While normative parenting styles can result in positive youth outcomes such as adjustment and competence, overparenting may lead to a variety of negative youth outcomes including poor self-regulation and childhood anxiety. Conceptualizations of overparenting vary and an opportunity exists to clarify the construct and consider the implications for youth development settings. This paper synthesizes what is known about overparenting and its sub-dimensions, proposes an overparenting model built on prior research, and explores the influence of overparenting on youth development programs. An agenda for further overparenting research is proposed.
Mössbauer Studies of Fe(II)-nitrosyl Porphyrin Model Compounds

We have studied the temperature-dependent Mossbauer spectra of polycrystalline samples of several five-coordinate Fe(II)-NO model compounds: octaethylporphyrin (OEP), tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP), tetramesitylporphyrin (TMP), and tetratolylporphyrin (TTP). The OEP model shows a single symmetric quadrupole doublet, while for all the other species, the quadrupole double is asymmetric, with the lower-velocity line significantly broadened. X-ray structure determinations of Fe(TPP)NO show significant disorder of the Fe-N-O plane, and we believe the broadened Mossbauer spectra also reflect this disorder. Data on OEP and TPP at 4.2K in fields of 4T and 9T are fit well by a paramagnetic S=l/2 model. While the temperature variation of the quadrupole splitting and isomer shift values for these species is weak, the compounds exhibit an unusually rapid drop in absorption area with temperature, consistent with Debye temperatures of 81K(OEP), 64K(TMP), 55K(TPP) and 47K(TTP).
The Radial Aspect of the Distal Radial Metaphysis/Diaphysis as a Source of Cortical Bone Graft.

Cortical bone grafting is commonly required in the finger, hand, and carpus when managing bony trauma. A donor site that can provide a small or large amount of cortical bone graft that is easily accessible and within the same surgical field would be the ideal donor site. In high-energy injuries, a long cortical graft may be needed to reconstruct massive bony defects. In low-energy injuries such as scaphoid nonunions in which a wedge graft is needed, a reliable and easily accessible source of bone grafting would be beneficial. Although the traditional iliac bone grafting can be used, this option requires a separate sterile field to be prepared and may lead to donor site pain and morbidity. We propose an option that places the donor source close to the hand and wrist. The radial aspect of the distal radius metaphysis/diaphysis is superficial, which makes access and closure simpler than other alternatives. Furthermore, the technique only partly violates 1 of the 3 surfaces of the radius so that there is minimal weakening of the integrity of the bone and the likelihood of fracture is low. In this article, we describe the indications, contraindications, surgical technique, and postoperative management of the radial aspect of the distal radius metaphysis/diaphysis as a source of bone grafting.
Disinhibition of CA1 pyramidal cells by low-dose ketamine and other antagonists with rapid antidepressant efficacy

Low-dose ketamine, an open-channel N-methyl d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, mediates rapid antidepressant effects in humans that are mimicked in preclinical rodent models. Disinhibition of pyramidal cells via decreased output of fast-spiking GABAergic interneurons has been proposed as a key mechanism that triggers the antidepressant response. Unfortunately, to date, disinhibition has not been directly demonstrated. Furthermore, whether disinhibition is a common mechanism shared among other antagonists with rapid antidepressant properties in humans has not been investigated. Using in vitro electrophysiology in acute slices of dorsal hippocampus from adult male Sprague–Dawley rats, we examined the immediate effects of a clinically relevant concentration of ketamine to directly test the disinhibition hypothesis. As a mechanistic comparison, we also tested the effects of the glycine site NMDAR partial agonist/antagonist GLYX-13 (rapastinel), the GluN2B subunit-selective NMDAR antagonist Ro 25-6981, and the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) antagonist scopolamine. Low-dose ketamine, GLYX-13, and scopolamine reduced inhibitory input onto pyramidal cells and increased synaptically driven pyramidal cell excitability measured at the single-cell and population levels. Conversely, Ro 25-6981 increased the strength of inhibitory transmission and did not change pyramidal cell excitability. These results show a decrease in the inhibition/excitation balance that supports disinhibition as a common mechanism shared among those antagonists with rapid antidepressant properties. These data suggest that pyramidal cell disinhibition downstream of NMDAR antagonism could serve as a possible biomarker for the efficacy of rapid antidepressant therapy.
The vulnerability of spinal motoneurons and soma size plasticity in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Key points Motoneuron soma size is a largely plastic property that is altered during amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression. We report evidence of systematic spinal motoneuron soma size plasticity in mutant SOD1-G93A mice at various disease stages and across sexes, spinal regions and motoneuron types. We show that disease-vulnerable motoneurons exhibit early increased soma sizes. We show via computer simulations that the measured changes in soma size have a profound impact on the excitability of disease-vulnerable motoneurons. This study reveals a novel form of plasticity in ALS and suggests a potential target for altering motoneuron function and survival. Abstract α-Motoneuron soma size is correlated with the cell's excitability and function, and has been posited as a plastic property that changes during cellular maturation, injury and disease. This study examined whether α-motoneuron somas change in size over disease progression in the G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease characterized by progressive motoneuron death. We used 2D- and 3D-morphometric analysis of motoneuron size and measures of cell density at four key disease stages: neonatal (P10 - with earliest known disease changes); young adult (P30 - presymptomatic with early motoneuron death); symptom onset (P90 - with death of 70-80% of motoneurons); and end-stage (P120+ - with full paralysis of hindlimbs). We additionally examined differences in lumbar vs. sacral vs. cervical motoneurons; in motoneurons from male vs. female mice; and in fast vs. slow motoneurons. We present the first evidence of plastic changes in the soma size of spinal α-motoneurons occurring throughout different stages of ALS with profound effects on motoneuron excitability. Somatic changes are time dependent and are characterized by early-stage enlargement (P10 and P30); no change around symptom onset; and shrinkage at end-stage. A key finding in the study indicates that disease-vulnerable motoneurons exhibit increased soma sizes (P10 and P30). This pattern was confirmed across spinal cord regions, genders and motoneuron types. This extends the theory of motoneuron size-based vulnerability in ALS: not only are larger motoneurons more vulnerable to death in ALS, but are also enlarged further in the disease. Such information is valuable for identifying ALS pathogenesis mechanisms.
Quantum Zeno effect in correlated qubits

Near-term quantum hardware promises to achieve quantum supremacy. From a quantum dynamical point of view, however, it is not unambiguously clear whether fundamental peculiarities of quantum physics permit any arbitrary speedups in real time. We show that an only recently unveiled property of the quantum Fisher information has profound implications for the rate of possible quantum information processing. To this end, we analyze an exemplary and pedagogical example for a quantum computer consisting of a computational qubit and a quantum memory. We find that frequent interaction between memory and device exhibit the quantum Zeno effect. In a second part, we show that the Zeno effect can be prevented by carefully designing the correlations and interaction between single elements of the quantum memory.
Fluorinated paramagnetic complexes: Sensitive and responsive probes for magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging

Fluorine magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of chemical and physiological processes is becoming more widespread. The strength of this technique comes from the negligible background signal in in vivo19F MRI and the large chemical shift window of 19F that enables it to image concomitantly more than one marker. These same advantages have also been successfully exploited in the design of responsive 19F probes. Part of the recent growth of this technique can be attributed to novel designs of 19F probes with improved imaging parameters due to the incorporation of paramagnetic metal ions. In this review, we provide a description of the theories and strategies that have been employed successfully to improve the sensitivity of 19F probes with paramagnetic metal ions. The Bloch-Wangsness-Redfield theory accurately predicts how molecular parameters such as internuclear distance, geometry, rotational correlation times, as well as the nature, oxidation state, and spin state of the metal ion affect the sensitivity of the fluorine-based probes. The principles governing the design of responsive 19F probes are subsequently described in a "how to" guide format. Examples of such probes and their advantages and disadvantages are highlighted through a synopsis of the literature.
Degenerative Arthritis of the Hand and Wrist

Degenerative arthritis (OA) of the hand and wrist is commonly encountered and can involve the interphalangeal, carpometacarpal (CMC), midcarpal, radiocarpal, and distal radioulnar articulations. In all cases of degenerative arthritis, it is key to assess the functional impairment and pain that a patient is experiencing when deciding treatment; one must not succumb to treating a patient based on a radiograph. Both the operative and nonoperative treatment options for these conditions are numerous. Nonoperative modalities include splinting, corticosteroid injections, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs). Surgical treatment options for interphalangeal (PIP, DIP) and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint OA arthritis include fusion and several athroplasty options. Similarly, there are a multitude of procedures for thumb CMC OA, with trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (LRTI) being the most common. In terms of the radiocarpal joint, the student must be aware of the commonly encountered patterns of degenerative wrist OA, i.e., scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC) and scaphoid non-union advanced collapse (SNAC). Finally, the management of DRUJ OA includes several reconstructive options, which will be reviewed.
Zonally Asymmetric Features of the Tropics

This chapter covers the zonally asymmetric climatology of the tropics. Seasonal or monthly mean weather maps are particularly important in the tropics. The following example illustrates this point. Over the North American continent, the January mean sea level isobar map consists of a large continental anticyclone extending southwards from the Arctic and Canada towards the southern United States. This monthly mean pattern does not reveal any of the migrating polar front cyclones that cause much of the weather there during the winter season. The reason for this is that climatological charts in middle latitudes do not display the transient disturbances. A similar exercise carried out over the global tropical belt shows that daily as well as monthly mean charts both carry much the same information. The subtropical highs, the equatorial troughs, the monsoon troughs, the trades of the two hemispheres are common in both the daily and the monthly mean charts. Another way of expressing this is that climatological means carry much of the variance of the total motion field in the tropics. Thus an understanding of the maintenance of the time averaged zonally asymmetric features of the tropics is important.
Death or dialysis? The risk of dialysis-dependent chronic renal failure after trauma nephrectomy.

Although renal trauma is increasingly managed nonoperatively, severe renovascular injuries occasionally require nephrectomy. Long-term outcomes after trauma nephrectomy are unknown. We hypothesized that the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is minimal after trauma nephrectomy. We conducted a retrospective review of the following: 1) our university-based, urban trauma center database; 2) the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB); 3) the National Inpatient Sample (NIS); and 4) the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS). Data were compiled to estimate the risk of ESRD after trauma nephrectomy in the United States. Of the 232 patients who sustained traumatic renal injuries at our institution from 1998 to 2007, 36 (16%) underwent a nephrectomy an average of approximately four nephrectomies per year. The NTDB reported 1780 trauma nephrectomies from 2002 to 2006, an average of 356 per year. The 2005 NIS data estimated that in the United States, over 20,000 nephrectomies are performed annually for renal cell carcinoma. The USRDS annual incidence of ESRD requiring hemodialysis is over 90,000, of which 0.1 per cent (100 per year) of renal failure is the result of traumatic or surgical loss of a kidney. Considering the large number of nephrectomies performed for cancer, we estimated the risk of trauma nephrectomy causing renal failure that requires dialysis to be 0.5 per cent. National data regarding the etiology of renal failure among patients with ESRD reveal a very low incidence of trauma nephrectomy (0.5%) as a cause; therefore, nephrectomy for trauma can be performed with little concern for long-term dialysis dependence. Language: en
Development of a Kalman filter estimator for simulation and control of particulate matter distribution of a diesel catalyzed particulate filter

The knowledge of the temperature and particulate matter mass distribution is essential for monitoring the performance and durability of a catalyzed particulate filter. A catalyzed particulate filte...
Conserved spin current for the Mott relation

The conserved bulk spin current [Shi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 076604 (2006)], defined as the time derivative of the spin displacement operator, ensures automatically the Onsager relation between the spin Hall effect (SHE) and the inverse SHE. Here, we reveal another desirable property of this conserved spin current: the Mott relation linking the SHE and its thermal counterpart, the spin Nernst effect (SNE). According to the Mott relation, the SNE is known once the SHE is understood. In a two-dimensional Dirac-Rashba system with a smooth scalar disorder potential, we find a sign change of the spin Nernst conductivity when tuning the chemical potential.
Ultra-Thick Electroplated CoPt Magnets for MEMS

This paper reports the fabrication and magnetic characterization of very thick ( $50+ \mu \text{m}$ ) and high-performing (coercivity up to 850 kA/m; energy products up to $75 \text{kJ}/\text{m}^{3}$ ) electroplated permanent magnets microfabricated on silicon substrates. Intended for MEMS applications, the fabrication process yields higher areal magnetic energy density ( $5.6 \text{J}/\text{m}^{2}$ ) and faster plating rates ( $42~\mu \text{m}/\text{h}$ ) compared with previously published work. The magnetic CoPt alloy is co-plated in single electroplating bath and subsequently annealed at 675 °C for 30 min to induce a phase transformation to the high-coercivity $\text{L}1_{0}$ CoPt phase. Compared with the previous literature on electroplated CoPt films, four main accomplishments are reported: 1) optimization of the underlying seed layer metallurgy to improve film adhesion and inhibit interfacial diffusion/reactions; 2) development of a warm-bath (50 °C), high-current-density (300–2000 mA/cm2) electroplating process that dramatically increases plating rate while maintaining good magnetic properties; 3) study of the electroplating bath longevity; and 4) exploration of the nanostructure of the electroplated magnets by TEM/STEM. [2018-0222]
Lifetime Estimation Using Ring Oscillators for Prediction in FinFET Technology

Lifetime testing of circuits is challenging because of the need to design circuit-specific test structures and test patterns. The goal of this work is to find a ring oscillator that matches a circuit’s wearout behavior limited by time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), electromigration (EM), and stress-induced voiding (SIV) lifetime distributions, which can be used to foreworn circuit breakdown. The equivalent ring oscillator is easier to test, enabling the collection of more experimental lifetime data. Therefore, this paper aims to find the appropriate ring oscillator for a target circuit by mapping the lifetime of a circuit to a ring oscillator using analytical equations that involve layout parameters (area, length, width of device and interconnect) and operating conditions (supply voltage, temperature, probability of stress, current). Practical ring oscillator equations for lifetime estimation were derived, which describe relationships between stage number, oscillation frequency, characteristic lifetime, and Weibull parameters. The methodology is illustrated with example circuits that were implemented with 14nm FinFET technology.
Not Looking Ridiculous Is Overrated

Download : Download high-res image (124KB) Download : Download full-size image After completing his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Cornell University, Dr. Benjamin R. Elling attended Stanford University, where he was Professor Yan Xia’s first graduate student and developed techniques for sequence-controlled polymerizations. He is currently a post-doctoral scholar at Northwestern University in Professor William Dichtel’s lab, where he is designing reprocessable crosslinked polymers.
Influence of body mass and environmental conditions on winter mortality risk of a northern ungulate: Evidence for a late-winter survival bottleneck.

A relationship between winter weather and survival of northern ungulates has long been established, yet the possible roles of biological (e.g., nutritional status) and environmental (e.g., weather) conditions make it important to determine which potential limiting factors are most influential.Our objective was to examine the potential effects of individual (body mass and age) and extrinsic (winter severity and snowmelt conditions) factors on the magnitude and timing of mortality for adult (>2.5 years old) female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus [Zimmerman, 1780]) during February-May in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA.One hundred and fifty deer were captured and monitored during 2009-2015 in two areas with varying snowfall. February-May survival ranged from 0.24 to 0.89 (mean = 0.69) across years. Mortality risk increased 1.9% with each unit increase in cumulative winter severity index, decreased 8.2% with each cumulative snow-free day, and decreased 4.3% with each kg increase in body mass. Age and weekly snow depth did not influence weekly deer survival. Predation, primarily from coyote (Canis latrans [Say, 1823]) and wolves (Canis lupus [L., 1758]), accounted for 78% of known-cause mortalities.Our results suggest that cumulative winter severity, and possibly to a lesser degree deer condition entering winter, impacted deer winter survival. However, the timing of spring snowmelt appeared to be the most influential factor determining late-winter mortality of deer in our study. This supports the hypothesis that nutrition and energetic demands from weather conditions are both important to northern ungulate winter ecology. Under this model, a delay of several weeks in the timing of spring snowmelt could exert a large influence on deer survival, resulting in a survival bottleneck.
Antipsychotics and the microbiota.

Purpose of review The gut microbiota has been speculated to underpin metabolic changes associated with chronic antipsychotic use. The change in the gut microbiota can also cause abnormal absorbtion from the gut into the blood stream (leaky gut syndrome) that can lead to inflammatory reactions, and thus, secondary damage to the brain and central nervous system. Our article aims to highlight relevant research on antipsychotic's effect on the microbiota and to point out future directions. Recent findings Antipsychtoic use can result in specific microbiota changes, and it is important to differentiate this from the innate microbiota of the patient. It is important to treat these microbiota changes, as they are correlated with obesity, which is a negative contributor to the cardiovascular health of those suffering with schizophrenia. Ways to prevent antipsychotic-induced side-effects include antibiotic treatment, histamine 3 receptor blockade and metformin use. Summary Given the dearth of current literature, more research is needed, however, to determine, which comes first in people with schizophrenia--an abnormal gut microbiota that elevates one's risk for schizophrenia or psychopharmacologic treatment of schizophrenia leading to secondary microbiota abnormalities or the negative symptoms of schizophrenia leading to obesity and its associated microbiota changes.
Celebrating transness: Tangerine and the iPhone

Filming with unconventional apparatuses and techniques is one way to intervene in and complicate cisnormative visual grammars. In employing the iPhone as a filming device for depicting trans charac...
Learners’ Perspectives on Learning Programming from Interactive Computer Tutors in a MOOC

With the increasing demand for technology workers, more people are now learning to code. Many of these learners are turning to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) due to their low cost and accessibility, especially compared to attending in-person courses. However, little is known about who these users are, and what they think about the instruction provided by these systems. In this study, we conducted a qualitative analysis on 218 responses (stemming from 62 questions) on Quora about a popular MOOC called Codecademy. We found that 1) learners are primarily composed of beginners, 2) Codecademy is good at delivering web development/front end courses, 3) an interactive environment increases engagement, and 4) learners largely criticize courses as being too rigid and impractical. Based on these findings, we discuss the importance of interactive computer tutors as programming instructors and propose design features that can potentially improve learning with MOOCs.
Optimal Cash Management with Payables Finance

Problem definition: Payables finance, also known as reverse factoring or supply chain finance, is a form of trade finance arrangement that provides a supplier with the option to receive a buyer's payables early while allowing the buyer to extend its payment due date. Its recent adoption of the blockchain technology has made the process more efficient and secure. In this paper, we study the supplier's optimal cash management policy under such a "frictionless" payables finance arrangement, based on which we quantify the value of payables finance to the supplier and also determine the equilibrium payment term extension for the buyer. Academic/Practical Relevance: Our work presents one of the first rigorous analyses of the optimal cash management policy with payables finance by extending the classic cash management models to allow all interest gains and costs to accrue together with the cash balance. Methodology: We develop a finite-horizon random cash management model and transform it into a cash flow cost minimization problem with a dynamic program formulation. Results: Our analysis reveals that the optimal cash policy has a cash balance-dependent (L, M, U) structure, which differs from the threshold policies found in the classic cash management models. We show that it is the cash liquidity enabled by payables finance to hedge cash flow uncertainty that generates value to the supplier. Such value increases with a lower payables finance interest rate and/or a higher payables finance amount. We further show that the equilibrium payment term extension for the buyer increases with a lower payables finance interest rate, but not necessarily with a higher payables finance amount. To tackle the computational challenge of the problem, we show that the myopic policy for this problem has a simple threshold policy structure. For performance evaluation purposes, we also derive an easy-to-compute cost lower bound based on a system with slightly modified cash balances. Our numerical study shows that both the myopic policy and the optimal policy of the modified system achieve near-optimal performance in the original problem. Managerial Implications: Our study provides theoretical support for the wide adoption of payables finance for small suppliers with poor credit ratings and tight cash constraints. Our model analysis also suggests that the adoption of the blockchain technology can offer greater value to such suppliers. The computational methods developed in the paper can be used as a means to evaluate the value of payables finance and the payment term extension, especially in a frictionless blockchain setting.
Validation of Photogrammetry-Based Method to Determine the Absolute Volume of Unsaturated Soils

Although many engineering practices are based upon a simplifying assumption that all soils are fully saturated, most pavement and geotechnical projects are typically constructed on compacted soils that are usually unsaturated. Triaxial tests are widely used to investigate the stress–strain behavior of both saturated and unsaturated soils. Many image-based methods have been developed to overcome the limitation of conventional triaxial testing methods. Recently, a photogrammetry-based method was proposed to measure the saturated and unsaturated soil volume change during triaxial tests. The triaxial test results and validation tests proved that this method is highly accurate, simple, and cost-effective. However, all previously suggested methods have a major limitation associated with their inability to determine top and bottom boundaries between the soil specimen, and the top and bottom pedestals. Although a simple and very precise approach has been proposed to determine the top and bottom boundaries in triaxial tests, the absolute soil volume calculation during triaxial testing included the volume of the membrane. This paper proposes a photogrammetry-based approach to overcome this limitation by developing a simple and precise method to calculate the membrane volume during triaxial testing and thus to accurately determine the absolute volume of soils. In this paper, the detailed procedures are presented, and the validation test was performed to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method. The results proved that the proposed method could determine the membrane volume for the calculation of the absolute volume of saturated and unsaturated soils with 0.062% error.
Risk of Secondary Breast Cancer in Female Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors: 40 Years of Follow-Up Assessed by Treatment Modality.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are at increased risk of treatment associated secondary malignancies. We quantified the risk of developing a secondary breast cancer (SBC) in female NHL survivors with over 40 years of follow-up, and evaluated differences in risk by treatment modality. MATERIALS/METHODS Standardized incidence ratios (SIR, observed-to-expected [O/E] ratio), which accounts for patient years at risk, and absolute excess risk of SBC were assessed in 65,123 female patients diagnosed with NHL as a first malignancy between 1975 and 2016 in the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Only invasive disease was considered SBC, ductal carcinoma in situ was excluded. Follow up was available through 2016. SIRs were also evaluated for patients stratified by age at and latency from diagnosis. RESULTS In all, 7,010 (10.8%) patients received radiotherapy alone (RT), 30,393 (46.7%) received chemotherapy alone (CT), and 7,845 (12.0%) received chemotherapy and radiation (CRT). In total, there were 1,480 female SBCs with NHL survivors having a lower incidence of SBC than the endemic rate (O/E 0.91, 95 % CI 0.87-0.96, P 10 years from NHL diagnosis (O/E 1.12) compared to 10 years from NHL diagnosis were associated with higher risk of developing an SBC. Importantly, women diagnosed with NHL < 25 yrs of age had a higher rate of SBCs regardless of RT use. These results may help inform breast cancer screening protocols for women with a history of NHL.
A Life Disrupted: Still Lived

This research illustrates the experience of living with hallucinations from the perspective of being, and sought to answer the questions: what is the meaning of hallucinations and how do hallucinations connect to one's sense of self? A phenomenological Heideggerian hermeneutic approach was used to guide data collection and analysis. In this study, 12 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders were asked to describe their experience of hallucinations within the context of being. An overarching constitutive pattern emerged with four themes. The constitutive pattern, "A Life disrupted: Still lived," described a pattern of survival and perseverance on one's own terms; a common thread that emanated throughout the other themes. For these participants the four themes that epitomized living a life with hallucinations were: (a) Are they who they are? (b) A not so certain life, (c) Finding strength in the broken places, and (d) I am still me. Are they who they are described both a cognitive search and emotional appraisal of the structure of the hallucinatory experience. Who and what is it? The confusion and fear participants articulated, and attempting to make some sense out of the experience bore a close resemblance to the mechanism of order emerging from chaos. A not so certain life illustrated a picture of living with a chronic illness. Participants described the same waxing and waning of the disease, the lifelong picture of living with a disease, and the same ambiguous perspective of treatment. Participants also spoke of living a life of loss. This loss and subsequent grief in the face of stigma and selfperceived stigma were analogous to disenfranchised loss. Nonetheless, participants referred to making small and daily gains as a way of deriving meaning from this experience. Finding strength in the broken places was this process of lending a different kind of meaning to this experience as integral to surviving mental illness. There was some disparity with the literature concerning the usefulness of language that emphasized mastery and self-empowerment. This language served to be more overwhelming than helpful and clients visualized "getting better" in small ways with small daily gains. Heidegger's language of care as leaping in and leaping ahead more closely depicted nursing's goal of intervening in the day-to-day needs, as well as the long-range goal of self-empowerment. Additionally, despite literature that conceptualizes a lost or disintegrating self, almost all participants agreed that hallucinations were not expressive of their intrinsic being, rather, "who they were" their "being" remained separate from their hallucinations. I am still me described apersistent sense ofselJ; defined as a sense of being that remained consistent throughout. CHAPTER
Laboratory Study of Transport of Fine Sand

Laboratory tests were conducted to define the relationships between the transport of fine sand and the flow variables. Data from 105 experiments with sand bed material having a median sieve diameter of 0.1 mm in a 100-ft (30.48 m)-long by 4-ft (1.22 m)-wide recirculating flume show that the concentration of the transported material depends in a rather complex, but consistent way on the basic flow variables. A graphical relationship between the concentration and the flow discharge per unit of channel width defines consistent curves of equal depth and readily delineates the various bed form regimes. A similitude analysis of published transport data for coarser sands suggests a single curve for concentration versus Froude number for each median sediment size. However, the data for the 0.1-mm material suggest separate curves of concentration versus Froude number for the different bed form regimes. The data for depths less than or equal to 0.7 ft (0.21 m) define a continuous relationship like that for coarser sands, but the data for deeper depths define an extended plane bed curve segment that has not been observed for coarser material.