cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electron-spin decoherence in bulk and quantum-well zinc-blende semiconductors

A theory for longitudinal ${(T}_{1})$ and transverse ${(T}_{2})$ electron spin coherence times in zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells is developed based on a nonperturbative nanostructure model solved in a fourteen-band restricted basis set. Distinctly different dependences of coherence times on mobility, quantization energy, and temperature are found from previous calculations. Quantitative agreement between our calculations and measurements is found for GaAs/AlGaAs, InGaAs/InP, and GaSb/AlSb quantum wells.
Buscando Trabajo: Social Networking among Immigrants From Mexico to the United States

The growth of the Latino population in the United States has placed a sharp focus on immigration. Previous research on immigration has taken for granted the existence of immigrant networks. This is a significant oversight given their importance in both conveying social capital and their contribution to the growth of immigrant communities. Using data collected in the summer of 2002, the author looks at the development of an immigrant network in a rural town in northeastern Oklahoma. It is determined that the immigrant network in the community under study includes three distinct yet interconnected subnetworks, a traditional subnetwork, a church subnetwork, and a contract subnetwork. Although each of these secondary networks is made up of different social arrangements, they all provide similar services in a similar manner. The services provided within the greater immigrant network have increased the size, strength, and density of the local immigrant community.
Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Adults: Can It Be Efficiently and Effectively Managed by Remote Control?

In this issue, Fine and colleagues retrospectively analyzed data from patients presenting with pharyngitis to derive a “home score” algorithm to identify whether further evaluation was needed. The ...
The role of anti-IgA antibodies in causing adverse reactions to gamma globulin infusion in immunodeficient patients: A comprehensive review of the literature

Anaphylactic reactions to immunoglobulin infusions in immunodeficient patients with undetectable IgA have been attributed in several reports to IgG or IgE anti-IgA antibodies. However, other reports have not supported an association between such antibodies and the development of severe reactions. We have reviewed the articles reporting reactions to immunoglobulin products in IgA-deficient patients, as well as those describing the presence of such antibodies in the absence of reactions to infusions. A variety of factors might influence the association of adverse reactions with anti-IgA antibodies, including the serum concentration and isotype (IgG or IgE) of the anti-IgA antibody, its specificity (class or subclass specific), the method of measurement, and the IgA content of the gamma globulin infusion and its route of administration. The role of anti-IgA antibodies in causing anaphylaxis in IgA-deficient patients receiving gamma globulin therapy is still controversial. Larger (multicenter) studies are needed to further evaluate this association.
Overcoming the effects of spurious pulses on wired-or lines in computer bus systems.

Spurious pulses can be generated on wired-OR computer bus lines under certain conditions. The letter explains how they are caused and presents two methods for overcoming their effects. The first relies on timing within the devices connected to the bus; the second, thought to be preferable, involves forming the line into a loop and arranging for each device to sense the signal at two points along it.
An LP-Rounding Algorithm for Degenerate Primer Design

In applications where a collection of similar sequences needs to be amplified through PCR, degenerate primers can be used to improve the efficiency and accuracy of amplification. Conceptually, a degenerate primer is a sequence in which some bases are ambiguous, in the sense that they can bind to more than one nucleotide. These ambiguous bases allow degenerate primers to bind to multiple target sequences. When designing degenerate primers, it is essential to find a good balance between high coverage (the number of amplified target sequences) and low degeneracy. In this paper, we propose a new heuristic, called RRD2P, for computing a pair of forward and reverse primers with near-optimal coverage, under the specified degeneracy threshold. The fundamental idea of our algorithm is to represent computing optimal primers as an integer linear program, solve its fractional relaxation, and then apply randomized rounding to compute an integral solution. We tested Algorithm RRD2P on three biological data sets, and our experiments confirmed that it produces primer pairs with good coverage, comparing favorably with a similar tool called HYDEN.
Detecting similar software applications

Although popular text search engines allow users to retrieve similar web pages, source code search engines do not have this feature. Detecting similar applications is a notoriously difficult problem, since it implies that similar high-level requirements and their low-level implementations can be detected and matched automatically for different applications. We created a novel approach for automatically detecting Closely reLated ApplicatioNs (CLAN) that helps users detect similar applications for a given Java application. Our main contributions are an extension to a framework of relevance and a novel algorithm that computes a similarity index between Java applications using the notion of semantic layers that correspond to packages and class hierarchies. We have built CLAN and we conducted an experiment with 33 participants to evaluate CLAN and compare it with the closest competitive approach, MUDABlue. The results show with strong statistical significance that CLAN automatically detects similar applications from a large repository of 8,310 Java applications with a higher precision than MUDABlue.
On the central role of studies on the kidney in the recognition, conceptual evolution, and understanding of hypertension

Elevated arterial pressure had long been surmised from the strength of the pulse. Its association with contracted kidneys and hypertrophied hearts was described by Richard Bright (1789-1858). Microscopic observations of the narrowed and obliterated vasculature initially observed in the kidneys of Bright's disease, and subsequently throughout the body, launched clinical research into hypertension. The description of these findings in the absence of symptoms of kidney disease led to the recognition of primary hypertension. Ultimately, the systematic recording of the blood pressure with a pneumatic cuff and mercury manometer established the significance of hypertension as a distinct disease entity. Subsequent experimental studies established the central role of the kidney in hypertension through the renin-angiotensin system and extracellular volume control. This finding provided the basis for the introduction of diuretics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, two of the most important and valuable antihypertertensive drugs now available. Thus, the study of kidney disease and function has played a pivotal role in the conceptual evolution of the understanding of hypertension as a disease, the identification of its mechanisms, and the development of clinically useful antihypertensive medications.
Establishing Interpretive Consistency When Mixing Approaches: Role of Sampling Designs in Evaluations

The goal of this chapter is to recommend quality criteria to guide evaluators' selections of sampling designs when mixing approaches. First, we contextualize our discussion of quality criteria and sampling designs by discussing the concept of interpretive consistency and how it impacts sampling decisions. Embedded in this discussion are challenges impacting interpretive consistency. Strategies and an integrative sampling framework comprising published frameworks are presented to facilitate evaluators' decisions about selecting sampling designs in accordance to specific criteria. We conclude by presenting an illustrative application of mixed sampling design criteria to a published mixed evaluation study as a heuristic example of a way of embedding sampling criteria in a mixed evaluation. ©Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association.
Integrating Trauma Psychology and Cultural Psychology: Indigenous Perspectives on Theory, Research, and Practice

Several scholars have called for a greater integration of trauma psychology with cultural psychology; however, challenges to successful integration exist and should be carefully considered. Indigenous scholars and researchers have successfully bridged the gap between the two fields in recent years with regard to theory, research, and clinical application. Therefore, Indigenous perspectives, informed by historical, cultural, and epistemological standpoints, are uniquely positioned to provide a transformational framework for redirecting the process and impact of integrating cultural psychology with trauma psychology. We review theoretical, empirical, and clinical intervention examples and explore implications for the integration of trauma psychology and cultural psychology within a framework that respects Indigenous communities’ sovereignty and rights to self-determination.
A modern analogue of western United States summer palaeoclimate at 6000 years before present

A modern summer-climate analogue of western United States 6 ka palaeoclimate, based on broad- scale patterns from proxy data and general-circulation-model simulations, provides details concerning its sum- mer synoptic climatology. August 1955 serves as a close analogue, featuring an amplified subtropical ridge aloft and anticyclonic flow near the surface over the central United States and stronger westerly flow along the Canadian/northwest United States border. The August 1955 summer-temperature pattern, similar to those from general-circulation-model simulations, exhibits positive anomalies throughout most of the continental interior. The August 1955 precipitation pattern corresponds very closely with patterns of effective moisture from proxy data, showing widespread aridity and some stronger monsoonal activity in the Southwest. The analogue suggests that the amplified subtropical ridge is a very important feature of 6 ka palaeoclimate, with the circulation pattern differing from that in the early Holocene, implying interactions between both Milankov- itch and sub-Milankovitch forcing factors.
Automated construction of fast and accurate system-level models for wireless sensor networks

Rapidly and accurately estimating the impact of design decisions on performance metrics is critical to both the manual and automated design of wireless sensor networks. Estimating system-level performance metrics such as lifetime, data loss rate, and network connectivity is particularly challenging because they depend on many factors, including network design and structure, hardware characteristics, communication protocols, and node reliability. This paper describes a new method for automatically building efficient and accurate predictive models for a wide range of system-level performance metrics. These models can be used to eliminate or reduce the need for simulation during design space exploration. We evaluate our method by building a model for the lifetime of networks containing up to 120 nodes, considering both fault processes and battery energy depletion. With our adaptive sampling technique, only 0.27% of the potential solutions are evaluated via simulation. Notably, one such automatically produced model outperforms the most advanced manually designed analytical model, reducing error by 13% while maintaining very low model evaluation overhead. We also propose a new, more general definition of system lifetime that accurately captures application requirements and decouples the specification of requirements from implementation decisions.
Selenoproteins regulate macrophage invasiveness and extracellular matrix-related gene expression

Background: Selenium, a micronutrient whose deficiency in diet causes immune dysfunction and inflammatory disorders, is thought to exert its physiological effects mostly in the form of seleniumcontaining proteins (selenoproteins). Incorporation of selenium into the amino acid selenocysteine (Sec), and subsequently into selenoproteins is mediated by Sec tRNA [Ser]Sec . Results: To define macrophage-specific selenoprotein functions, we generated mice with the Sec tRNA[Ser]Sec gene specifically deleted in myeloid cells. These mutant mice were devoid of the "selenoproteome" in macrophages, yet exhibited largely normal inflammatory responses. However, selenoprotein deficiency led to aberrant expression of extracellular matrix-related genes, and diminished migration of macrophages in a protein gel matrix. Conclusion: Selenium status may affect immune defense and tissue homeostasis through its effect on selenoprotein expression and the trafficking of tissue macrophages.
Comments on "Evaluation of A+B = K conditions without carry propagation

A special carry-free circuit for the evaluation of conditions of the type A+B=K is proposed by Cortadella and Llaberia (1992), and its usefulness for reducing the negative effects of conditional branches in pipelined architectures is noted. It is shown that the same advantages are offered by another equally simple circuit based on carry-save redundant numbers and (3, 2)-counters. This alternative circuit has other potential applications and much of it may in fact be already present in some ALU's. >
A multi-band single-loop PLL frequency synthesizer with dynamically-controlled switched tuning VCO

A phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer architecture for multiple-band applications is presented. A dynamically-controlled switched tuning voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is used to achieve superior frequency range and phase noise performance over a conventional PLL. Implemented in 1.4 /spl mu/m CMOS, the PLL has a 111-290 MHz range, phase noise of -92.3 dBc/Hz at a 50 kHz offset, and dissipates 9 mW from a 2.7 V supply.
Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Channel Flow With Heat Transfer for Low Prandtl and High Reynolds and Comparison With Algebraic Heat Flux Model

The flow characteristic of fluid at low Prandtl number is of continued interest in the nuclear industry because liquid metals are to be used in the next-generation nuclear power reactors. In this work we performed direct numerical simulation (DNS) for turbulent channel flow with fluid of low Prandtl number. The Prandtl number was set to 0.025, which is representative of the behavior of liquid metals. Constant heat flux was imposed on the walls to study heat transfer behavior, with different boundary conditions for temperature fluctuation. The bulk Reynolds number was set as high as 50,000, with a corresponding friction Reynolds number of 1,200, which is closer to the situation in a reactor or a heat exchanger than used in normally available databases. Budgets for turbulent variables were computed and compared with predictions from several RANS turbulence models. In particular, the Algebraic Heat Flux Model (AHFM) has been the focus of this comparison with DNS data. The comparisons highlight some shortcomings of AHFM along with potential improvements.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
YBa2Cu3O7−δ: Enhancing jc by Field Orientation

Transport properties of dense, pressed pellets of field-oriented grains of YBa2Cu3O7−δ have been studied in the superconducting phase (T=77K) as a function of current, annealing time, and magnetic field. These pellets have strikingly different annealing properties from similarly prepared but unoriented samples. The oriented samples show significant enhancements in density and degree of orientation and transport j c with length of annealing time. The best samples have less than 2% of the x-ray intensity corresponding to misoriented grains, and a density so high that excess low-T oxygen annealing is required for the best j c (currently, j c (77K) > 1500A/cm2). These values are limited by the magnetic field generated by the current itself.
EXTRACTION | Solid-Phase Extraction

Solid-phase extraction is used to isolate analytes from a gas, liquid, or fluid phase (sample) by transfer to, and retention by, a solid-phase sorbent. The method is used as a component of sample preparation for isolation, concentration, matrix simplification, and solvent exchange. It has numerous applications in industry, bioanalysis, food safety and nutrition, and environmental monitoring. Common sorbents employed for solid-phase extraction include inorganic oxides, silica-based chemically bonded phases, macroreticular porous polymers, carbon-based materials, and specialty sorbents for class or compound specific extractions. The later include ion-exchange, molecular exclusion (restricted access materials) and molecular recognition (macrocyclic ligands, immunosorbents, oligosorbents, and molecularly imprinted polymers) sorbents. Common formats used for solid-phase extraction include cartridge devices, discs, magnetic nanopartiles, and an increasing number of miniaturized sample processing devices for green chemistry applications. The selection and optimization of unit operations associated with solid-phase extraction (sorbent selection, sorbent conditioning, sample application, rinse solvents, and elution solvents) are described. Typical major applications are indicated for the different sorbent types. The possibilities for automation are also discussed.
Two-Point Seismic Ray Tracing in Layered Media Using Bending

We develop an efficient algorithm for two-point seismic ray tracing in layered media by means of the bending method based on the Fermat’s principle of stationary traveltime. We use the fact that the matrix of the second derivatives of traveltime function with respect to the points of intersection at the interfaces has a block tridiagonal structure. This feature enables efficient matrix inversion and leads to a fast implementation of the Newton-Raphson method for finding a ray path with stationary traveltime.
Development, Longevity, and Fecundity of Chelonus sp. nr. curvimaculatus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an Egg–Larval Parasitoid of Pink Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Detailed biological information is lacking on Chelonus sp. nr. curvimaculatus , an egg–larval parasitoid of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders). We conducted laboratory studies to gain new understanding of the biology of C. sp. nr. curvimaculatus reared on this economically important host. Developmental time, adult longevity, and fecundity of C. sp. nr. curvimaculatus were studied under 5 constant temperatures and 3 photoperiods. At 20°C, parasitoid development, from egg to adult, was longer for females (53.6 d) than for males (49.5 d), but at 35°C both sexes developed in a similar period (19.9 d for females and 18.8 d for males). The thermal constant for female and male C. sp. nr. curvimaculatus , from egg to adult, was 366 and 353 above a base temperature of 12.95°C and 12.47°C, respectively. Adult male (≍16.5 d) and female (≍20 d) parasitoids lived longest at 20°C, and at 35°C both lived ≍6.5 d. True and realized fecundity was highest at 25°C (≍1,034 and 420 eggs per female, respectively) and lowest at 35°C (≍119 and 67, respectively). The percentage of superparasitized host eggs was greatest at 25 and 30°C (≍55%), and lowest at 35°C (≍29%). Net reproductive rates (Ro) were variable across all conditions. Based on the realized fecundity, Ro was highest at 20°C (103.37) and lowest at 35°C (32.79). Temperature and the age of the parasitoid had the greatest influence on fecundity. Photoperiod played a minor role in influencing developmental rates, but not adult longevity or fecundity of C. sp. nr. curvimaculatus . This life history and rearing information should be useful in field release studies and the development of future biological control programs for pink bollworm.
Structural and Solvent Control of Nonadiabatic Photochemical Bond Formation: Photocyclization of o-Terphenyl in Solution

Elucidating the molecular dynamics that underlie photoinduced electrocyclization is a critical step toward controlling nonadiabatic photochemistry that enables bond formation. Here we present a comprehensive examination of the photochemical dynamics of o-terphenyl (OTP) in solution. Ultrafast transient absorption measurements demonstrate that OTP cyclizes upon 266 nm photoexcitation to form 4a,4b-dihydrotriphenylene (DHT) on a solvent-dependent time scale of 1.5-4 ps, considerably slower than the nonadiabatic cyclization of related diarylethenes. Correlations in these time scales versus bulk solvent properties reveal that mechanical rather than electrostatic solvent-solute interactions impact the excited-state relaxation rate, impeding nuclear dynamics leading toward the conical intersection for cyclization. In contrast, solvent-dependent mechanical interactions are observed to facilitate vibrational relaxation of DHT on time scales of 10-25 ps. DHT decays via thermally activated ring-opening with a lifetime of ∼46 ns in tetrahydrofuran, 12 orders of magnitude faster than dihydrophenanthrenes. We conclude that the differences in excited-state dynamics of OTP and diarylethenes and the relative stability of their cyclized products are determined by the relative strain induced by twisting the central carbon-carbon bond that bridges the terminal phenyl rings in each to enable bond formation. We relate these structure-dynamics relationships to the feasibility of photoinduced cyclodehydrogenation of o-arenes and design considerations for molecular photoswitches.
Electrochemical Attachment of Diazonium-Generated Films on Nanoporous Gold.

Nanoporous gold provides a high surface area platform for further chemistry, but the stability of the molecular linkages to the surface will limit applications. We attached aryl molecular layers to nanoporous gold electrodes through electrochemical reduction of the corresponding aryl-diazonium salt and studied the properties and stability of the resulting films in varied attachment conditions. Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to confirm the presence of the molecular layers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the molecular layer is thick and that attachment conditions can form multilayers. However, cyclic voltammetry shows that the multilayers do not block electrochemical activity at the nanoporous gold surface. The molecular layers are resistant to replacement by alkane-thiol chains and exhibit some stability with respect to applied potential. These results indicate that a thick but highly defective molecular film forms with a mixture ...
Disruption of the proximal carpal arch of the hand.

Four patients with crush injuries to the hand and wrist demonstrated rotational deformities of the fingers which proved to be secondary to disruption of the proximal transverse arch in the wrist. These rotational deformities were corrected immediately with surgical restoration of the proximal arch. Decompression of the carpal tunnel was necessary in all patients.
Preoperative Risk Factors for 30-Day Reoperation in Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resections for Malignancy

Although hepatic resections are safe, reoperation within 30 days after the index operation continues to be a serious adverse event. This study identifies preoperative risk factors predictive of reoperation following hepatic resection for malignancy. Using appropriate CPT codes, all patients undergoing liver resection were extracted from the American College of Surgeons–National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Participant Use Files between years 2005 and 2010. Subsets of patients with malignancies of the liver were identified using ICD-9 diagnosis. Primary outcome of the study was 30-day reoperations. Preoperative patient characteristics were compared by reoperations within 30 days through both univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. A total of 4812 patients who underwent hepatic resections for malignancy were extracted. Overall mortality and morbidity rates were 2.7 and 28.2 %, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed association between return to operating room and male gender (OR = 1.58, p = 0.0069), dependent functional status (OR = 3.35, p = 0.0021), intrahepatic primary biliary cancer (OR = 2.11, p = 0.0013), history of angina (OR 4.41, p = 0.023), and preoperative wound infection (OR = 3.8, p = 0.0029). Return to the operating room within 30 days after hepatic resection is an adverse event associated with significant morbidity. Identifying associated preoperative risk factors can help optimize patients and set up more appropriate expectations from resection.
Estimated combined cardiac output and laser therapy for twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

Introduction Twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is the major cause for fetal demise in monochorionic diamniotic pregnancies. Estimated combined cardiac output (CCO) has not been studied in this setting. The primary aims of this study were to compare CCO in twin donor and recipient fetuses and assess differences in CCO before and after laser coagulation therapy. A secondary aim was to evaluate the relationship of CCO with perinatal mortality, defined as intrauterine or neonatal mortality (≤30 days of age) in fetuses that underwent laser coagulation therapy. Methods We performed a retrospective review of fetuses with TTTS who received echocardiograms prior to laser therapy. Prelaser echocardiograms were performed in 66 fetuses, of which 45 (21 donor and 24 recipient) survived to the postlaser echocardiogram. Results Donor CCO increased from a mean of 487±137 mL/min/kg prelaser to 592±128 mL/min/kg postlaser (P=.025). There was no significant change in mean recipient CCO from prelaser 551±165 mL/min/kg to postlaser 575±112 mL/min/kg (P=.564). In recipient fetuses, higher prelaser CCO correlated with increasing Quintero stage (P=.010) and perinatal mortality (P=.003). Thirty-day postnatal outcome data were available for 38 fetuses, of whom 34 (89%) survived. Amongst survivors, 25 (74%) experienced an increase in CCO, while 9 (26%) experienced a decrease in CCO (P=.010). Donor fetuses had higher CCO after laser therapy. Conclusions Higher prelaser CCO in recipient fetuses may indicate more advanced disease. Fetuses who exhibit a decrease in CCO after therapy laser may be at higher risk for perinatal mortality.
FREE SPEECH AND THE MEZEY CASE

(1968). FREE SPEECH AND THE MEZEY CASE. Speech Association of America: Committee on Freedom of Speech - Yearbook: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 49-62.
Mental Health Service Utilization among Black Youth; Psychosocial Determinants in a National Sample.

Racial disparity in mental health service utilization (MHSU) persists, and youths are not an exception to the underutilization of services. Very limited research has been conducted on the determinants of MHSU among Black youth. Using a national sample of American Black youth, the current study investigated the association between demographic factors, socioeconomic status, psychiatric disorders, and self-rated health (SRH) on MHSU. We also tested the heterogeneity of the effects of SRH and psychiatric disorders based on ethnicity, gender, and their intersection. We used data from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescents supplement (NSAL-A), 2003–2004. The study enrolled 1170 Black youth between 13 and 17 years old including 810 African Americans and 360 Caribbean Blacks. Age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, SRH, 12-month psychiatric disorders (Composite International Diagnostic Interview modified version), and MHSU (last year) were measured. Logistic regressions were used for data analysis. Ethnicity (odds ratio (OR) = 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.17–0.65), subjective socioeconomic status (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.09–1.88), SRH (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.00–6.37), and psychiatric disorders (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.05–4.48) were associated with MHSU. Age, gender, and objective socioeconomic status were not associated with MHSU. Gender and ethnicity did not interact with SRH and psychiatric disorders on MHSU. Actual and perceived need both universally influence Black youths’ likelihood of MHSU, regardless of their ethnicity and gender. Ethnicity and perceived socioeconomic status also play unique roles in MHSU. Future research is needed to understand pathways to MHSU for Black youth who both have and perceive mental health needs. There is also a need to find ways to promote MHSU for those with a need for mental health services.
Editorial: New Insight for Maskless Lithography

This PDF file contains the editorial “Editorial: New Insight for Maskless Lithography” for JM3 Vol. 4 Issue 02
The Equipment Manufacturing Industry's Perspective on Tax Reform

Discussion of a survey of Association of Equipment Manufacturers members regarding various aspects of tax reform.
Multisource Networks and Superposition

In most of the treatment in the text so far there was one input and one output; for example a network was excited by a current source (single input) and we set out to figure output voltage (single output); this constituted what we refer to as the impedance transfer function. In general, however, there will be more than a single input source, and that is the topic of this chapter. We outline a very simple method how to split a multisource problem in terms of single-source ones by using superposition. For each of the input sources, we disable all other sources and figure the response due to that particular input source. Then we repeat till we have exhausted all input sources. Finally we add the response from each case and that comprises the network response to all sources enabled together. Current sources are disabled by simply opening them while voltage sources by shorting them. We illustrate the flow on a DC circuit, on an AC one and wrap with a power delivery problem. Again calculations take place in the frequency domain and inverse transforms lead back to the time domain.
Changing Epidemiology of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections in Cancer Patients

We compared the etiologic organisms of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in cancer patients with central venous catheters (CVCs) between 2 cohorts separated by more than a decade.Gram-negative organisms have become the predominant etiologic organisms of BSIs (52%); they now contribute to 41% of catheter-related BSIs (CRBSIs).Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:727-729.
An efficient FPGA matrix multiplier for linear system simulation

FPGAs are increasingly being used as a key component in cost-effective high-performance simulations. Most of these efforts have been application specific requiring a custom design. Coding an FPGA can be very challenging but simple, non-optimal configurations are possible using graphical tools such as the Simulink blockset. Greater complexity and improved performance can be gained using a Hardware Description Language (HDL) such as VHDL or Verilog.The problem of producing an FPGA-based general-purpose simulation system is considerably more demanding. The design of FPGA solutions that perform complex mathematical operations efficiently is difficult and compile times can be very long. One approach to providing this capability to simulation designers who are not expert FPGA programmers is to use pre-compiled FPGA structures driven by data representing a particular model.A first step is described which provides for the solution of systems of linear differential equations. Non-linear features will be added later. The key to this first step is a flexible, efficient FPGA implementation of a matrix multiplier. An approach is described that improves on previously published methods; that can handle matrices of any size and up to over 100*100 on a single device; that offers flexibility in the choice of FPGA resources, such as DSP (digital signal processor) slices or LUTs (look-up tables); and is linearly scalable in its use of these resources.The method is used as part of an implementation of a multi-rate benchmark representing an unmanned underwater vessel. The matrix multiplier is used in the simulation of the 3-phase induction motor drive of the vessel. Non-linear product terms are also handled in this model. Non-linear features will be added in future in the form of libraries of non-linear elements.
Changes in the Sexual Orientation of Six Heterosexual Male-to-Female Transsexuals

Researchers traditionally have assumed that sex reassignment procedures do not change sexual orientation. Of 20 transsexuals of various types that were interviewed, 6 heterosexual male-to-female transsexual respondents reported that their sexual orientation had changed since transitioning from male to female. These respondents stated that before transitioning they had been sexually orientated towards females. After transitioning, these same respondents reported that they were sexually orientated towards males. Five of the six respondents reported having various sexual encounters with males since transitioning. The respondents explained the changes in their sexual orientation as part of their emerging female gender identities. Three of the respondents claimed that the use of female hormones played a role in changing their sexual orientation. It did not appear that the respondents' post-transitional sexual attractions towards males were similar to autogynephilic images and fantasies described by Blanchard (1991).
The Role of Financial Innovations in the Current Global Financial Crisis

This paper summarizes the literature on stochastic frontier production function models. It covers the definition of technical efficiency, the basic...
Constructing Node Embeddings for Human Phenotype Ontology to Assist Phenotypic Similarity Measurement

The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) was developed to be a semantically computable vocabulary that captures the phenotypic abnormalities found in human diseases discovered through biomedical research. Usage of this ontology facilitates the translation between genotype and phenotype. Many studies have been conducted to accelerate the implementation of precision medicine into clinical practice by utilizing the informative contents provided in the HPO. No work, however, has been done in constructing a distributed representation for nodes in HPO to provide a deep insight of phenotypic similarities by analyzing its graph structure. Node2vec is a model for generating node embeddings based on large networks. In this study, we constructed node embeddings for the HPO leveraging node2vec to assist phenotypic similarity measurement. A downstream application on link prediction driven by HPO embedding achieved 0.81 ROAUC and 0.75 F-measure. A use case study was conducted on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and we demonstrated the potential possibility of using HPO embeddings in assisting phenotypic similarity measurement.
Cybersecurity for Battery Management Systems in Cyber-Physical Environments

The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing technologies are expected to advance the battery management systems (BMSs) by fully utilizing IoT wireless network, powerful computing and unlimited cloud support, resulting in providing significant value in cost reduction, extended scalability, and greater visibility in the lithium-ion battery energy storage systems. However, IoT presents a growing threat from cyber-attacks as the IoT devices are always connected on networks. The paper provides potential cyber-attack schemes and defense strategies to protect an IoTenabled BMS systems from malicious cyber-attacks, ensuring the secure utilization of the next-generation BMSs in cyberphysical environments.
Maturation of Infant Oral Feeding Skills

With the increased survival of infants born prematurely comes the awareness that many of them struggle to safely and competently feed by mouth. This is not unexpected as these infants’ functional physiological systems programmed for an in utero environment are not yet appropriate for their ex utero world. As these infants’ responses to any feeding difficulty most often fall into a nonspecific category of behaviors, e.g., feeding refusal, disorganization, or adverse events, e.g., oxygen desaturation and apnea/bradycardia, it is difficult for caregivers to identify the origins of these symptoms in order to arrive at a differential diagnosis and develop a management plan. As research on the development of infant oral feeding skills has advanced over the last two decades, this chapter is a review of our latest understanding of the maturation of infant oral feeding skills and the work that still lies ahead. Although we have gained some understanding of the maturation process of the individual functions implicated in the transport of a bolus from the oral cavity to the stomach, namely, sucking, swallowing, respiration, and esophageal function, there is a lack of understanding as to how the coordination of these functions needs to occur in order to ensure safety and efficiency for these infants during feeding.
Incorporating Workplace Structure in a Classroom Setting

Following industry standard practices in undergraduate IT education helps produce employable graduates. Classroom training of essential skill sets range from the technical skills of programming to the soft skills of communication, coordination, and collaboration. Learning activities should be organized around current work methodologies, such as agile software development led by a project manager (PM). This talk discusses our program's current attempts to institute these practices in a production-oriented classroom.
A Monolithic 3D Hybrid Architecture for Energy-Efficient Computation

The exponentially increasing performance of chip multiprocessors (CMPs) predicted by Moore's Law is no longer due to the increasing clock rate of a single CPU core, but on account of the increase of core counts in the CMP. More transistors are integrated within the same footprint area as the technology node shrinks to deliver higher performance. However, this is accompanied by higher power dissipation that usually exceeds the coping capability of inexpensive cooling techniques. This Power Wall prevents the chip from running at full speed with all the devices powered-on. This is known as the dark silicon problem. Another major bottleneck in CMP development is the imbalance between the CPU clock rate and memory access speed. This Memory Wall keeps the CPU from fully utilizing its compute power. To address both the Power and Memory Walls, we propose a monolithic 3D hybrid architecture that consists of a multi-core CPU tier, a fine-grain dynamically reconfigurable (FDR) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) tier, and multiple resistive RAM (RRAM) tiers. The FDR tier is used as an accelerator. It uses the concept of temporal logic folding to localize on-chip communication. The RRAM tiers are connected to the CPU and FDR tiers through an efficient memory interface that takes advantage of the tremendous bandwidth available from monolithic inter-tier vias and hides the latency of large data transfers. We evaluate the architecture on two types of benchmarks: compute-intensive and memory-intensive. We show that the architecture reduces both power and energy significantly at a better performance for both types of applications. Compared to the baseline, our architecture achieves an average of 43.1× and 2.5× speedup on compute-intensive and memory-intensive benchmarks, respectively. The power and energy consumption are reduced by 5.0× and 40.5×, respectively, for compute-intensive applications, and 2.0× and 4.2×, respectively, for memory-intensive applications. This translates to 1745.3× energy-delay product (EDP) improvement for compute-intensive applications and 10.5× for memory-intensive applications.
Reconceptualizing Social Movement Learning in HRD: An Evolutionary Perspective:

The ProblemWe are living in a socially polarized landscape where dualistic mind-sets govern the way we engage with social justice issues and thus failing to adequately serve all human beings.The So...
A data-driven integer programming model for soccer clubs’ decision making on player transfers

This paper presents a mathematical model that provides soccer clubs with optimal player transfer recommendations. Using publicly available data on soccer clubs and players, we create a data-driven optimization model that aids soccer clubs in making informed decisions on how to optimally allocate their multi-million dollar transfer budgets. First, some performance attributes, market value, and salary of 7377 real players from across the world are forecasted using a simple moving average method. Next, these forecasted values are input into an integer programming model that solves for the optimal transfer decisions for any club with the objective of maximizing the club’s utility. This utility is a function of the forecasted values, and increases in the market values of the club’s players. Constraints are imposed to reflect the rules and regulations of club soccer. The model focuses on the Premier League (PL), the first-division soccer league in England and Wales. Numerical results are provided for twelve selected clubs in the PL, for the transfer periods during 2016–2017 and 2017–2018. The results show that transfers recommended by the model could help the clubs achieve better market values. The model can be easily customized to fit any club from any country. Our study provides significant contributions to the literature on optimal budget allocation and team selection in sports, by addressing some important ideas that are not considered in the literature.
Multiple f0 pitch estimation for musical applications using dynamic Bayesian networks and learned priors

The identification of multiple simultaneous pitches is a challenging signal processing task and cannot at present be performed as well as trained human subjects. Moreover, it appears that successful human performance depends on skill acquisition and knowledge of musical conventions. Even human capabilities are likely fairly poor in the absence of training and musical context. We present a framework, using Dynamic Bayesian Networks, that permits the principled incorporation of models of music theory, musical instruments, and human pitch perception. A particular advantage of this approach is the ability to develop each of these models independently, relying either on expert knowledge or machine learning as necessary. Models of appropriate complexity can then be selected for a specific application. In the present work, we focus on the use of learned models of musical context, specifically Deep Markov Models, and use these to improve inferences about simultaneous pitches. The main drawback of this framework is the intractability of the inference computations and the computational expense of approximation methods. We explore particle filtering as an approach to addressing these problems with the ultimate aim of making a system useable in a musical performance system. [Work supported by NSF BCS-1539276 and IBM AIRC grant.]
Association of increased levels of stem cell marker ALDH1 with overall survival in metastatic colon cancer.

e14635 Background: The clinical relevance of cancer stem cells (CSC’s) in solid organ malignancies is unclear. ALDH1 is thought to be a universal marker of stemness and is expressed in normal and n...
Evolutionary and ecological consequences of gut microbial communities.

Animals are distinguished by having guts—organs that must extract nutrients from food yet also bar invasion by pathogens. Most guts are colonized by nonpathogenic microorganisms, but the functions ...
Structural analysis of free and liganded forms of the Fab fragment of a high-affinity anti-cocaine antibody, h2E2

A high-affinity anti-cocaine monoclonal antibody, designated h2E2, is entering phase 1 clinical trials for cocaine abuse therapy. To gain insight into the molecular details of its structure that are important for binding cocaine and cocaine metabolites, the Fab fragment was generated and crystallized with and without ligand. Structures of the unliganded Fab and the Fab fragment bound to benzoylecgonine were determined, and were compared with each other and with other crystallized anti-cocaine antibodies. The affinity of the h2E2 antibody for cocaine is 4 nM, while that of the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine is 20 nM. Both are higher than the reported affinity for cocaine of the two previously crystallized anti-cocaine antibodies. Consistent with cocaine fluorescent quenching binding studies for the h2E2 mAb, four aromatic residues in the CDR regions of the Fab (TyrL32, TyrL96, TrpL91 and TrpH33) were found to be involved in ligand binding. The aromatic side chains surround and trap the tropane moiety of the ligand in the complex structure, forming significant van der Waals interactions which may account for the higher affinity observed for the h2E2 antibody. A water molecule mediates hydrogen bonding between the antibody and the carbonyl group of the benzoyl ester. The affinity of binding to h2E2 of benzoylecgonine differs only by a factor of five compared with that of cocaine; therefore, it is suggested that h2E2 would bind cocaine in the same way as observed in the Fab–benzoylecgonine complex, with minor rearrangements of some hypervariable segments of the antibody.
Vocabulary development of young Uyghur children: Exploring trajectories of receptive and expressive vocabulary:

Recent researches of Xinjiang Uyghur young children’s bilingual development provide little empirical evidence of the relationship between Uyghur children’s first language (Uyghur) and second langua...
A Consultation in Workplace Incivility: The Deadly Inappropriate Smile

A deadly inappropriate smile is the focus in a consultation prompted by a public conflict between a heart surgeon and a patient's spouse. Following a failed heart-surgery the surgeon delivers the d...
An Unusual Presentation of Retinal Detachment and Conjunctivitis: A Case Report

Author(s): Pierce, Bailey; Alter, Scott M.; Gerakopoulos, Kyle; Parmar, Jeniel | Abstract: Introduction: Vision loss is an ophthalmologic emergency with broad differential requiring prompt medical attention.Case Report: We describe a 55-year-old male presenting to the emergency department (ED) with unilateral, painless visual field deficit with ipsilateral conjunctivitis induced by a presumed foreign body. The patient described a foreign body sensation nine days prior to developing visual changes. In the ED, the patient was diagnosed with a retinal detachment using point-of-care ultrasonography, and emergent ophthalmologic consultation was obtained.Conclusion: Concurrent retinal detachment and conjunctivitis in a patient is extremely rare. Healthcare providers should be aware that foreign body-induced conjunctivitis could lead to retinal detachment.
One-hundred-three compound band-structure benchmark of post-self-consistent spin-orbit coupling treatments in density functional theory

We quantify the accuracy of different non-self-consistent and self-consistent spin-orbit coupling (SOC) treatments in Kohn-Sham and hybrid density functional theory by providing a band-structure benchmark set for the valence and low-lying conduction energy bands of 103 inorganic compounds, covering chemical elements up to polonium. Reference energy band structures for the PBE density functional are obtained using the full-potential (linearized) augmented plane wave code wien2k, employing its self-consistent treatment of SOC including Dirac-type ${p}^{1/2}$ orbitals in the basis set. We use this benchmark set to benchmark a computationally simpler, non-self-consistent all-electron treatment of SOC based on scalar-relativistic orbitals and numeric atom-centered orbital basis functions. For elements up to $Z\ensuremath{\approx}50$, both treatments agree virtually exactly. For the heaviest elements considered (Tl, Pb, Bi, Po), the band-structure changes due to SOC are captured with a relative deviation of 11% or less. For different density functionals (PBE versus the hybrid HSE06), we show that the effect of spin-orbit coupling is usually similar but can be dissimilar if the qualitative features of the predicted underlying scalar-relativistic band structures do not agree. All band structures considered in this work are available online via the NOMAD repository to aid in future benchmark studies and methods development.