cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid trench initiated recrystallization and stagnation in narrow Cu interconnect lines

Understanding and ultimately controlling the self-annealing of Cu in narrow interconnect lines has remained a top priority in order to continue down-scaling of back-end of the line interconnects. Recently, it was hypothesized that a bottom-up microstructural transformation process in narrow interconnect features competes with the surface-initiated overburden transformation. Here, a set of transmission electron microscopy images which captures the grain coarsening process in 48 nm lines in a time resolved manner is presented, supporting such a process. Grain size measurements taken from these images have demonstrated that the Cu microstructural transformation in 48 nm interconnect lines stagnates after only 1.5 h at room temperature. This stubborn metastable structure remains stagnant, even after aggressive elevated temperature anneals, suggesting that a limited internal energy source such as dislocation content is driving the transformation. As indicated by the extremely low defect density found in 48 nm trenches, a rapid recrystallization process driven by annihilation of defects in the trenches appears to give way to a metastable microstructure in the trenches.
Mapping to Support Fine Scale Epidemiological Cholera Investigations: A Case Study of Spatial Video in Haiti

The cartographic challenge in many developing world environments suffering a high disease burden is a lack of granular environmental covariates suitable for modeling disease outcomes. As a result, epidemiological questions, such as how disease diffuses at intra urban scales are extremely difficult to answer. This paper presents a novel geospatial methodology, spatial video, which can be used to collect and map environmental covariates, while also supporting field epidemiology. An example of epidemic cholera in a coastal town of Haiti is used to illustrate the potential of this new method. Water risks from a 2012 spatial video collection are used to guide a 2014 survey, which concurrently included the collection of water samples, two of which resulted in positive lab results "of interest" (bacteriophage specific for clinical cholera strains) to the current cholera situation. By overlaying sample sites on 2012 water risk maps, a further fifteen proposed water sample locations are suggested. These resulted in a third spatial video survey and an additional "of interest" positive water sample. A potential spatial connection between the "of interest" water samples is suggested. The paper concludes with how spatial video can be an integral part of future fine-scale epidemiological investigations for different pathogens.
Designing Self-Tuning Split-Map-Merge Applications for High Cost-Efficiency in the Cloud

Cloud platforms are attractive for executing large concurrent applications that require access to a pool of resources for concurrently executing the partitions of their workloads. Historically, application designers have tuned concurrent applications for specific hardware and platforms. But such approaches are not viable in cloud platforms as applications can be deployed on a variety of platforms and the operating environments can vary in each deployment. In this work, we argue and demonstrate that concurrent applications in cloud platforms must be self-tuning. First, we show that applications must incorporate a model of the overheads of operation. Second, we show that applications must determine their resource requirements and tune their operation to the operating conditions using estimations from the model. We build two self-tuning applications, E-Sort and E-MAKER, and demonstrate their ability to achieve high cost-efficiency by determining the right scale of partitions and resources to use for operation and adapting their behavior according to the characteristics of the deployed environment.
XI. Sources of ‘chronology bias’ in cohort statistics

In the previous paper of this series,13 a cohort was defined as a group of people who are followed forward in time to observe the effects of a maneuver to which they have been exposed. The results are usually expressed statistically as a ratio, or rate, in which the denominator of the cohort contains the number of people exposed to the maneuver, and the numerator contains the number of those people who later developed a particular target event.
The Leader-Mentor-Learner Role of Faculty in Business Student Education

The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles of the business faculty member as leader, mentor, and learner in the faculty-student relationship, calling upon insights from informed scholars in clarifying these roles. Section One provides a literature review summary of the key ideas of scholars about these three roles and integrates those roles into the faculty/student relationship. Section Two identifies five specific benefits for students when faculty adopt an expanded leader-mentor-learner role and provides a framework for business faculty to expand those roles. Section Three identifies the contributions of this paper and challenges business school faculty to examine how they can become more effective by incorporating leader-mentor-learner roles in their own teaching approach.
Interfacing bioinstruments with computers for data collection in nursing research

Nurse researchers gain many advantages over manual collection and recording of data when they interface bioinstruments with computer technology for data collection. This article describes both the advantages and disadvantages of such technology, and uses examples from a study evaluating the effects of parent touch on preterm infants to illustrate strategies to overcome potential disadvantages.
Everyday Problem Solving and Decision Making

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews evidence for each of the three questions guiding the study of everyday problem solving and decision making. With regard to age differences and age changes, the picture from at least midlife through old- age appears to be one of negative effects; these effects seem to be stronger in instrumental, well-structured tasks than in interpersonal, ill-structured tasks. These negative age effects may not always reflect deficits. Reduced fluency in social problem-solving tasks may reflect greater focus or a qualitatively different style of processing. Evidence suggests that everyday problem solving and traditional measures of intelligence and cognition are related. As with the age difference patterns, there seems to be a dissociation between instrumental and interpersonal problems, with the former more strongly related to intellectual abilities, particularly fluid and crystallized intelligence.
Electromigration Studies on 6 µm Solid Cu TSV (Via last) in 32 nm SOI Technology

Through Silicon Vias (TSV) is a key enabler for interposer and 3Di technologies. As the TSV process integration is maturing, reliability is a key parameter to be studied. One such reliability wear-out mechanisms is electro-migration (EM). In this paper, we report on experimental electromigration studies of TSVs used in 3-Dimensional integration (3Di). While TSV themselves can carry large currents, the connection to on-chip wiring -- so called capture levels on both sides of the thinned die are the weakest link from an EM perspective. EM performance of the TSV element itself, the TSV/capture level and TSV/redistribution level (RDL) is investigated using dedicated structures with the respective elements as the weakest link. 300mm 3Di wafers were used using a 32 nm CMOS process with a 6 µm solid Cu TSV integrated at the fat wire levels and our results suggest that this integration scheme exhibits robust EM performance. With the right capture metallizations on both sides of the TSV, we estimate a DC current of 1A per TSV can be sustained for a 10KPOH product. Design methodologies to further improve and better redistribute the current to improve EM performance will be presented.
The taxonomic placement of three fossil Fundulus species and the timing of divergence within the North American topminnows (Teleostei: Fundulidae).

The fossils species † Fundulus detillae , † F. lariversi , and † F. nevadensis from localities in the western United States are represented by well-preserved material with date estimations. We combined morphological data for these fossil taxa with morphological and DNA-sequence data to conduct a phylogenetic analysis and a tip-based divergence-time estimation for the family Fundulidae. The resultant phylogeny is largely concordant with the prior total-evidence phylogeny. The fossil species do not form a monophyletic group, and do not represent a discrete western radiation of Fundulus as previously proposed. The genus Fundulus diverged into subgeneric clades likely in the Eocene or Oligocene (mean age 34.6 mya, 53–23 mya), and all subgeneric and most species-group clades had evolved by the middle Miocene. † Fundulus lariversi is a member of subgenus Fundulus in which all extant species are found only in eastern North America, demonstrating that fundulids had a complicated biogeographic history. We confirmed † Fundulus detillae as a member of the subgenus Plancterus . † F. nevadensis is not classified in a subgenus but likely is related to the subgenera Plancterus and Wileyichthys .
Relation Algebras, Idempotent Semirings and Generalized Bunched Implication Algebras

This paper investigates connections between algebraic structures that are common in theoretical computer science and algebraic logic. Idempotent semirings are the basis of Kleene algebras, relation algebras, residuated lattices and bunched implication algebras. Extending a result of Chajda and Langer, we show that involutive residuated lattices are determined by a pair of dually isomorphic idempotent semirings on the same set, and this result also applies to relation algebras. Generalized bunched implication algebras (GBI-algebras for short) are residuated lattices expanded with a Heyting implication. We construct bounded cyclic involutive GBI-algebras from so-called weakening relations, and prove that the class of weakening relation algebras is not finitely axiomatizable. These algebras play a role similar to representable relation algebras, and we identify a finitely-based variety of cyclic involutive GBI-algebras that includes all weakening relation algebras. We also show that algebras of down-closed sets of partially-ordered groupoids are bounded cyclic involutive GBI-algebras.
Thrombolytic Therapy of Acute Massive Pulmonary Embolism Using Swan-Ganz Pulmonary Artery Catheter

Acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with high fatality, and catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy has been shown to be an efficacious treatment for this condition. We herein report a patient who developed acute massive PE but could not undergo the conventional catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy. A Swan-Ganz pulmonary artery catheter was placed at bedside to initiate immediate thrombolytic infusion, which resulted in dramatic clinical improvement. This report underscores a potential role of thrombolytic therapy via a transjugular pulmonary artery catheter in patients with acute massive PE who could not undergo the conventional catheter-based thrombolytic intervention.
Uses of video in understanding and improving mathematical thinking and teaching

This article characterizes my use of video as a tool for research, design and development. I argue that videos, while a potentially overwhelming source of data, provide the kind of large bandwidth that enables one to capture phenomena that one might otherwise miss; and that although the act of taping is in itself an act of selection, there is typically enough shown in a video that it rewards multiple watching and supports the kinds of arguments over data that are essential for theory testing and replication. In pragmatic terms, video presents phenomena in ways that have an immediacy that is tremendously valuable. I discuss ways in which videos help students and teachers focus on phenomena that might otherwise be very hard to grapple with. This article begins with a brief review of my uses of video, almost 40 years ago, for research and development in problem solving. It then moves to the discussion of very fine-grained research on learning and decision making. The bulk of the article is devoted to a discussion of the teaching for robust understanding (TRU) framework, which was derived in large measure from the extensive review of classroom videotapes, and which serves as the basis for an extensive program of pre-service and in-service professional development. The professional development relies heavily on the use of videos to convey the key ideas in TRU, and to help teachers plan and review instruction.
Evaluation of nitrous oxide as a substitute for sulfur hexafluoride to reduce global warming impacts of ANSI/HPS N13.1 gaseous uniformity testing

Abstract The ANSI/HPS N13.1–2011 standard requires gaseous tracer uniformity testing for sampling associated with stacks used in radioactive air emissions. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), a greenhouse gas with a high global warming potential, has long been the gas tracer used in such testing. To reduce the impact of gas tracer tests on the environment, nitrous oxide (N2O) was evaluated as a potential replacement to SF6. The physical evaluation included the development of a test plan to record percent coefficient of variance and the percent maximum deviation between the two gases while considering variables such as fan configuration, injection position, and flow rate. Statistical power was calculated to determine how many sample sets were needed, and computational fluid dynamic modeling was utilized to estimate overall mixing in stacks. Results show there are no significant differences between the behaviors of the two gases, and SF6 modeling corroborated N2O test results. Although, in principle, all tracer gases should behave in an identical manner for measuring mixing within a stack, the series of physical tests guided by statistics was performed to demonstrate the equivalence of N2O testing to SF6 testing in the context of stack qualification tests. The results demonstrate that N2O is a viable choice leading to a four times reduction in global warming impacts for future similar compliance driven testing.
Fundamentals of Fluid Flow Applicable to the Citrus Industry

Many technical processes such as the ones found in the Citrus Industry involve the flow of fluids. The flow of these fluids must be closely controlled to achieve the desired results. To be able to do this it is essential to understand the characteristics of the flowing fluids and to recognize the basic laws of nature governing this flow. With this information and knowledge it is then possible to accomplish the objectives with nature helping the process.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
Identity and Unification

How do identity explanations explain? I suggested earlierl that one can develop alternatives to the DN model that vary in either the concept of explanation or the notion of explanatory connection. Identity explanations are just like causal explanations: in either case, if you hold to certain views about the explanations, they will turn out to be nothing but a subset of DN models. That is, they will explain by way of an inferential connection that relies on a concept of explanation as expectation. But this is not the only way to approach identity explanations. In this chapter I want to examine a view of identity explanation as relying on an explanatory concept of necessity. Identity explanation explains by showing that (in some sense) things had to be the way they were. But in trying to spell this out as a feature of all identity explanation I will argue that it shades into a completely different (but related) concept of explanation: unification.
TOPOLOGY AND TOPOLOGICAL DISORDER IN SILICA

In this contribution, we define silica generically as comprising all compounds of silicon and oxygen with the composition SiO2. These compounds are among the most abundant on the earth’s surface and adopt a large number of possible polymorphic forms, among them the seven compact crystalline polymorphs cristobalite, tridymite, moganite, keatite, quartz, coesite and stishovite (the last two high-pressure forms); a family of porous framework structures (e.g. silicalite); vitreous silica obtained by cooling molten silica without crystallization through a glass transition; aperiodic metamict silicas formed by radiation-induced disordering; and other non-crystalline forms produced by application of pressure, oxidation of silicon, vapor deposition or dehydration of gels [1]. All of these solid forms of silica share a common composition, a common chemistry and even (with the exception of stishovite) a common structural element: a substantially covalent [SiO4] tetrahedral unit; but they are all structurally very different (Table 1).
Plant catechols prevent lipid peroxidation in human plasma and erythrocytes.

The antioxidant activity of several plant catechol derivatives was tested in buffer, plasma, and human erythrocytes. In buffer, chlorogenic acid (CGA), caffeic acid (CA), and dihydrocaffeic acid (DCA) reduced ferric iron equally well in the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Low concentrations of the polyphenols enhanced the ability of plasma to reduce ferric iron by about 10%. In plasma, lipid hydroperoxide and F2-isoprostane formation induced by a water-soluble free radical initiator were reduced by CGA at concentrations as low as 20 μM. During incubation at 37°C, human erythrocytes took up DCA, but not CGA, and intracellular DCA enhanced the ability of erythrocytes to reduce extracellular ferricyanide. When intact erythrocytes were exposed to oxidant stress generated by liposomes containing small amounts of lipid hydroperoxides, extracellular CGA at a concentration of 5 μM decreased both lipid peroxidation in the liposomes, and spared α-tocopherol in erythrocyte membranes. These results suggest that the catechol structure of these compounds convey the antioxidant effect in plasma and in erythrocytes.
SUITABILITY OF METHANOGENIC SUBSTRATES, HEALTH HAZARDS, AND TERRESTRIAL CONSERVATION OF PLANT NUTRIENTS

The desirability of initiating programs for microbial production of methane for fuel cannot be determined solely on the basis of suitable substrates, microbes and digestors. All of the many schemes for deriving energy from organic matter depend on ultimate oxidation to carbon dioxide and water. With substrates highly diluted with water, methanogenesis is advantageous because of its easy separation, but for most dry substrates direct combustion may be advisable. Regardless of how organic matter is used for energy, attention to recovery on land of the mineral plant nutrients is highly desirable in order to avoid dispersion of needed elements to a very low energy level in the oceans. Human and animal wastes seem most suitable for methanogenesis, but their use involves health hazards and potential losses of mineral elements unless suitable safeguards are instituted.
Dibromochloropropane and its Effect on Testicular Function in Man

This study represents the largest series to date documenting the gonadotoxic effect in humans of dibromochloropropane, a widely used pesticide. Three semen analyses, serum hormonal determinations (luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and testosterone) as well as genital examinations were completed for 228 workers at 2 chemical production sites and consisting of a dibromochloropropane-exposed and non-exposed cohort. Parameteric and non-parametric statistical analyses of the data sets of the sperm densities from the 2 subpopulations demonstrated statistical significance (p less than 0.10) at the short-term (1.5 years) manufacturing plant. Log transformation of the sperm count and hourly exposure data were necessary to develop meaningful statistical conclusions. The serum concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone as a group mean was significantly greater at both production sites for the exposed cohort when compared to the non-exposed participants but decreased by 10 levels of magnitude when the group demonstraing shorter but more recent exposure was compared to those from the plant with longer chemical production. Finally, a dose-response model suggested significant changes in sperm density at the short-term but more recently operated production site when more than 100 adjusted hours of exposure were exceeded, while the longer operated but longer closed facility demonstrated a significant impairment only when more than 1,000 adjusted hours of dibromochloropropane exposure were surpassed. This difference in exposure data may reflect regenerative changes in the tests once the gonadotoxic substance had been removed but exact nature of the dibromochloropropane effect and the possibility of a "no effect" concentration remain to be defined clearly.
Boosting the Local Economy of Ashland Ohio

This article summarizes an initiative to engage citizens in issues of building and supporting a local economy. It includes reasons for engaging the public; steps that were taken; and results of deliberative efforts.
Emergency Department-Based Palliative Interventions: A Novel Approach to Palliative Care in the Emergency Department.

Background: Patients with cancer and palliative care needs frequently use the emergency department (ED). ED-based palliative services may extend the reach of palliative care for these patients. Objective: To assess the feasibility and reach of an ED-based palliative intervention (EPI) program. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study of ED patients with active cancer from January 2017 to August 2017. Subjects: Patients with palliative care needs were identified using an abbreviated 5-question version of the screen for palliative and end-of-life care needs in the ED (5-SPEED). Patients with palliative care needs were then automatically flagged for an EPI as determined by their identified need. Measurements: The primary outcome was the prevalence of palliative care needs among patients with active cancer. Secondary outcomes were the rate of EPI services successfully delivered to ED patients with unmet palliative care needs, ED length of stay (LOS), and repeat ED visits within the next 10 days. Categorical variables were evaluated using chi-squared or Fischer's exact test as appropriate. Continuous variables were evaluated using analysis of variance. Results: Of the 1278 patients with active cancer, 817 (63.9%) completed the 5-SPEED screen. Of the patients who completed the screen, 422 patients (51.7%) had one or more unmet palliative care needs and 167 (39.6%) received an EPI. There were no differences in ED LOS or 10-day repeat ED visit rates between patients who did or did not receive an EPI. Conclusion: This ED-based intervention successfully screened for palliative needs in cancer patients and improved access to specific palliative services without increasing ED LOS.
A 4-Chamber Model Heart with 3D Printed Silicone Aorta and Peripheral Arteries to Simulate the Human Cardiovascular System in a Mock Circulatory Loop

Purpose Mock circulatory loops (MCL) provide an in vitro platform to evaluate hemodynamic performance of cardiovascular (CV) medical devices. Designing a tunable MCL that mimics patient-specific physiology could both accelerate evaluation of medical devices prior to in vivo studies, and provide patient-specific testing in vitro. We developed an MCL that mimics human CV physiology with a 4-chamber model heart and 3D printed silicone vasculature based on patient-specific images. Methods The model heart is composed of the left/right atria & ventricles, and atrioventricular and aortic/pulmonary valves. The atrial/ventricular septa are designed as circular silicone-membranes to simulate physiologic septal deformations which occur in the native heart with a pressure differential between chambers. Each of the four chambers is made of acrylic and driven by linear motor. A displacement transducer connected to each linear motor can measure the volume change in each chamber while pressure is simultaneously recorded. A systemic vasculature model is fabricated out of 3D printed silicone based on patient-derived images. The compliance of the silicone selected is designed to match the arterial stiffness of the human vascular system. Results The assembled model heart contains atria, ventricles, and systemic vasculature. Each atrial and ventricular chamber can accommodate a maximum volume of 98 mL and 192 mL, respectively. The area and thickness of the silicone septum between the atria are 890 mm2, and 1.8 mm. The ventricular septal area and thickness are 1590 mm2 and 4.5 mm. Changes in pressure differential between the ventricular chambers affect septal configuration to incorporate ventricle-ventricle interaction effects. The linear motors are driven based on the elastance functions derived from pressure-volume (PV) loops obtained in the 4 chambers to enable the 4-chamber heart to physiologically respond to preload and afterload changes -in a similar fashion to the native heart. Conclusion This is the first MCL system that mimics human heart size, complexity and physiology and contains a human vascular circuit that can be tuned to patient-specific parameters. By including a physiologic control system governing the linear motors we can evaluate patient-specific hemodynamics, including the Frank-Starling mechanism in this MCL.
Thermal degradation of flame-retardant compounds derived from castor oil

Castor oil is a non-edible plant oil produced in a large quantity annually. It is a triglyceride of primarily (approximately 90%) ricinoleic acid. The acid residues contain both a hydroxyl group and a double bond which permit ready functionalization. The hydroxyl group may be converted to phosphorus esters of varied structure while the unsaturation readily undergoes addition of bromine. Derivatives of castor oil containing phosphorus, bromine, or phosphorus and bromine have been prepared and fully characterized using spectroscopic and thermal methods. The thermal stability and mode of degradation for these compounds have been assessed using thermogravimetry and infrared spectroscopy. The primary mode of degradation for the phosphorus esters is elimination of the corresponding phosphorus acid (phosphates more readily than phosphonates). Brominated castor oil undergoes thermally induced dehydrobromination at relatively modest temperatures and this promotes dehydration (at temperatures well below that required for dehydration of unmodified castor oil). Brominated phosphorus esters of castor oil undergo degradation initiated by dehydrobromination.
Young adult reflections on the impact of parental incarceration and reentry

Little is known about the continuing effects of childhood parental incarceration into young adulthood. Fourteen young adults who experienced parental incarceration during adolescence shared their e...
Substantial Confusion about "Substantial Burdens"

As the Supreme Court rev1s1ts the clash between religious belief and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the Zubik case, it is worth mulling over a key phrase in the law that governs that clash: '·substantial burden." According to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the government must-provided it does not meet certain other conditions, such as showing a compelling interest-make an accommodation if it places a ''substantial burden'' on a person's religious exercise. If the question in the Hobby Lobby case was whether a for-profit corporation could be a ''person" that ''exercised religion," the question the Court now faces is whether the government has in fact ''substantially burdened" some religious non-profits in trying to accommodate their objection to the contraceptive mandate. But what is a ''substantial burden"? Or to put it another way, what makes a burden substantial? What follows is my best effort to provide clarity-in the form of a primer-as to the meaning of "substantial burden" under RFRA.
Laughing With Science: The Influence of Audience Approval on Engagement:

While there is mounting evidence that humor can be an effective means of engaging publics, much remains to be learned about the contextual factors that shape how audiences receive and process humor...
Salvage prostatectomy for prostate cancer (CaP): Data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database

4622 Recent randomized data have established adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) as a standard of care approach for appropriately selected high-risk CaP patients after radical prostatectomy (RP). Howev...
A Cross-Sectional Exploration of Cytokine-Symptom Networks in Breast Cancer Survivors Using Network Analysis.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to (a) visualize the symptom–cytokine networks (perceived stress, fatigue, loneliness, perceived cognitive impairment, daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, and 13 ...
Elementary Linear Algebra and Geometry via Linear Equations

SINCE the early sixties the fact that the study of structure is the essence of mathematics has been reflected, to a de gree, in school mathematics curricula. However, some mathematicians and edu cators would still argue that the role of structure has not been adequately in terpreted in the new school curricula. Howard Fehr, emphasizing the importance of structures, has said that "basic to all secondary mathematics, are the algebraic structures?the group, the ring or integral domain, and the field. All of these ele ments and structures should be centered on and headed toward the algebraic-ge ometric (or geometric-algebraic) structure of vector spaces" (Papy 1968, p. vi). But too often these structures have been in cluded in the high school curriculum in an unnatural way. A structure is introduced by its definition, unmotivated, and con sequently uninteresting to many students. Fortunately, the definition is usually fol lowed by some examples of the structure. Even there, however, the student is not necessarily convinced of the intrinsic worth of the structure. But this need not be the ease. All of the aforementioned
Dual-Modified Liposome for Targeted and Enhanced Gene Delivery into Mice Brain

The development of neuropharmaceutical gene delivery systems requires strategies to obtain efficient and effective brain targeting as well as blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. A brain-targeted gene delivery system based on a transferrin (Tf) and cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) dual-functionalized liposome, CPP-Tf-liposome, was designed and investigated for crossing BBB and permeating into the brain. We selected three sequences of CPPs [melittin, Kaposi fibroblast growth factor (kFGF), and penetration accelerating sequence-R8] and compared their ability to internalize into the cells and, subsequently, improve the transfection efficiency. Study of intracellular uptake indicated that liposomal penetration into bEnd.3 cells, primary astrocytes, and primary neurons occurred through multiple endocytosis pathways and surface modification with Tf and CPP enhanced the transfection efficiency of the nanoparticles. A coculture in vitro BBB model reproducing the in vivo anatomophysiological complexity of the biologic barrier was developed to characterize the penetrating properties of these designed liposomes. The dual-functionalized liposomes effectively crossed the in vitro barrier model followed by transfecting primary neurons. Liposome tissue distribution in vivo indicated superior ability of kFGF-Tf-liposomes to overcome BBB and reach brain of the mice after single intravenous administration. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using strategically designed liposomes by combining Tf receptor targeting with enhanced cell penetration as a potential brain gene delivery vector. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Rational synthesis of efficient brain-targeted gene carrier included modification of liposomes with a target-specific ligand, transferrin, and with cell-penetrating peptide to enhance cellular internalization. Our study used an in vitro triple coculture blood-brain barrier (BBB) model as a tool to characterize the permeability across BBB and functionality of designed liposomes prior to in vivo biodistribution studies. Our study demonstrated that rational design and characterization of BBB permeability are efficient strategies for development of brain-targeted gene carriers.
Searching for Chevron in Muddy Watters: The Roberts Court and Judicial Review of Agency Regulations

In April 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Watters v. Wachovia. The majority opinion did not invoke the classic administrative law analysis prescribed by the Two-Step Chevron Doctrine, which for more than twenty years has been the foundation of determining judicial deference to agency regulations. The Watters case presented a golden opportunity to clarify the Chevron Doctrine. Instead of taking that expected path, the Supreme Court dodged Chevron altogether - raising serious issues about why and what may be next. This article identifies and examines ten Supreme Court decisions, in addition to the Watters case, which have been decided during the first two terms of the "Roberts Court." The question is whether these cases demonstrate a consistent standard by which the Roberts Court distinguishes a case of appropriate exercise of federal administrative authority to interpret statute from a case in which the courts should strike down an agency's statutory interpretation.To answer that question, this article first outlines the Chevron Doctrine as generally understood at the end of the Rehnquist Court era and the beginning of the Roberts Court. This includes highlighting disputed areas of the doctrine that could benefit from Supreme Court clarification. The second step is to analyze the Watters opinion itself. Third, to put the Watters case in perspective, I review ten other cases in which the Roberts Court examined a federal agency interpretation of statute. This case review yields conclusions about the Roberts Court's track record on judicial review of agency interpretation. Finally, I consider the implications for federal government agencies and their interaction with the courts in the future. Because legal outcomes frequently depend on the analytical framework selected, lawyers need to know the most current model to use in analyzing whether agency interpretations of statute will stand or fall.
Volumetric chemical imaging in vivo by a deformable mirror-based remote-focusing stimulated Raman scattering microscope

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy enables the imaging of molecular events on a human subject in vivo, such as filtration of topical drugs through the skin and intraoperative cancer detection. A typical approach for volumetric SRS imaging is through piezo scanning of an objective lens, which often disturbs the sample and offers a low axial scan rate. To address these challenges, we have developed a deformable mirror-based remote-focusing SRS microscope, which not only enables high-quality volumetric chemical imaging without mechanical scanning of the objective but also corrects the system aberrations simultaneously. Using the remote-focusing SRS microscope, we performed volumetric chemical imaging of living cells and captured in real time the dynamic diffusion of topical chemicals into human sweat pores.
Differences in Perinatal Outcomes of Birthing People in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marriages

It is unknown whether people in same-sex relationships who give birth have different perinatal outcomes than people in different-sex relationships, despite differences in risk factors such as use of assisted reproductive technologies, obesity, smoking, and poor mental health. Marriage equality has established birth certificates as a promising new source of population-based data on births to same-sex married parents. We used birth certificate data from Massachusetts for 201,873 singletons born to married parents from 2012 to 2016. We estimated the associations of several birth outcomes with having a birth parent in a same-sex marriage using propensity score-matched and -unmatched samples. We also tested whether these associations were modified by the use of assisted reproductive technologies. People in same-sex marriages who gave birth had perinatal outcomes related to decreased fetal growth and preterm birth that were similar to those of their peers in different-sex marriages. Use of assisted reproductive technology was associated with decreased fetal growth and increased risk of preterm birth for infants with different-sex parents but not for infants with same-sex parents. More research is needed across other states and to understand why use of assisted reproductive technology is not a risk factor for poor birth outcomes for those in same-sex marriages.
RHOA signaling defects result in impaired axon guidance in iPSC-derived neurons from patients with tuberous sclerosis complex

Patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) show aberrant wiring of neuronal connections formed during development which may contribute to symptoms of TSC, such as intellectual disabilities, autism, and epilepsy. Yet models examining the molecular basis for axonal guidance defects in developing human neurons have not been developed. Here, we generate human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines from a patient with TSC and genetically engineer counterparts and isogenic controls. By differentiating hiPSCs, we show that control neurons respond to canonical guidance cues as predicted. Conversely, neurons with heterozygous loss of TSC2 exhibit reduced responses to several repulsive cues and defective axon guidance. While TSC2 is a known key negative regulator of MTOR-dependent protein synthesis, we find that TSC2 signaled through MTOR-independent RHOA in growth cones. Our results suggest that neural network connectivity defects in patients with TSC may result from defects in RHOA-mediated regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics during neuronal development.
Scaffolding Game Design: Towards Tool Support for Planning Open-Ended Projects in an Introductory Game Design Class

One approach to teaching game design to students with a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds is through team game projects that span multiple weeks, up to an entire term. However, open-ended, creative projects introduce a gamut of challenges to novice programmers. Our goal is to assist game design students with the planning stage of their projects. This paper describes our data collection process through three course interventions and student interviews, and subsequent analysis in which we learned students had difficulty expressing their creative vision and connecting the game mechanics to the intended player experience. We present these results as a step towards the goal of scaffolding the planning process for student game projects, supporting more creative ideas, clearer communication among team members, and a stronger understanding of human-centered design in software development.
Using Focus Groups to Listen, Learn, and Lead in Higher Education

Using Focus Groups to Listen, Learn, and Lead in Higher Education is an excellent addition to the bookshelf of anyone looking to expand their research and assessment toolbelt. Danner, Pickering, and Paredes serve as excellent guides on the structured method to conducting focus groups that their institution has honed over the years. The resources, checklists, and reference materials in the back of the book alone are worth a read, as they provide structure and guidance to a process that may intimidate those unfamiliar with the implementation of focus groups on a college campus. The book is a quick and thorough read that allows one to feel prepared and equipped to use this method in their own research and assessment processes.
Ultradian Rhythms as the Dynamic Signature of Life

In this chapter we first define ultradian rhythms and offer a brief tutorial on spectroscopic methods to extract them from data, including some cautionary comments regarding false positive identifications. We then contrast features of ultradian rhythms with those of circadian rhythms and conjecture that the former are the basic rhythmic signature of life. To justify that conjecture we introduce a physical heuristic – homeodynamics – that presents quantized, cyclic action (the product of energy × time) as an essential thermodynamic characteristic of open systems that persist over times that are long compared to their internal process times. From that perspective we argue that the start-up of terrestrial life began with energetics (metabolism) as dynamics manifested by ultradian rhythms, only later acquiring informational molecular memories and constraints as relatively static codes.
Indivisibility of Class Numbers of Real Quadratic Fields

Let D denote the fundamental discriminant of a real quadratic field, and let h(D) denote its associated class number. If p is prime, then the ‘Cohen and Lenstra Heuristics’ give a probability that p∤h(D). If pgt;3 is prime, then subject to a mild condition, we show that $$\# \left\{ {0 < D < X|p\nmid h(D)} \right\} \gg _p \frac{{\sqrt X }}{{\log X}}.$$ This condition holds for each 3<p<5000.
Chapter 10 – Insights from Experimentation

Theory and experimentation play important roles in estimating the biological effects of climate change, especially the direct effects of CO2 on plants and ecosystems. Theory suggests possible direct effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations that have been increasingly tested in laboratory and field settings. Experimentation informs understanding of complex processes during warming and of the interactions of warming, changes in precipitation, and direct influences of CO2. Simple enhancement effects seen in theory and laboratory settings have been shown to be reduced or complicated in more realistic multi-species settings and Free Air CO2 Enhancement (FACE) experiments.
Exploring Deep and Recurrent Architectures for Optimal Control.

Sophisticated multilayer neural networks have achieved state of the art results on multiple supervised tasks. However, successful applications of such multilayer networks to control have so far been limited largely to the perception portion of the control pipeline. In this paper, we explore the application of deep and recurrent neural networks to a continuous, high-dimensional locomotion task, where the network is used to represent a control policy that maps the state of the system (represented by joint angles) directly to the torques at each joint. By using a recent reinforcement learning algorithm called guided policy search, we can successfully train neural network controllers with thousands of parameters, allowing us to compare a variety of architectures. We discuss the differences between the locomotion control task and previous supervised perception tasks, present experimental results comparing various architectures, and discuss future directions in the application of techniques from deep learning to the problem of optimal control.
Imaging Cytoskeleton Components by Electron Microscopy.

The cytoskeleton is a complex of detergent-insoluble components of the cytoplasm playing critical roles in cell motility, shape generation, and mechanical properties of a cell. Fibrillar polymers-actin filaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments- are major constituents of the cytoskeleton, which constantly change their organization during cellular activities. The actin cytoskeleton is especially polymorphic, as actin filaments can form multiple higher order assemblies performing different functions. Structural information about cytoskeleton organization is critical for understanding its functions and mechanisms underlying various forms of cellular activity. Because of the nanometer-scale thickness of cytoskeletal fibers, electron microscopy (EM) is a key tool to determine the structure of the cytoskeleton.This article describes application of rotary shadowing (or metal replica) EM for visualization of the cytoskeleton. The procedure is applicable to thin cultured cells growing on glass coverslips and consists of detergent extraction of cells to expose their cytoskeleton, chemical fixation to provide stability, ethanol dehydration and critical point drying to preserve three-dimensionality, rotary shadowing with platinum to create contrast, and carbon coating to stabilize replicas. This technique provides easily interpretable three-dimensional images, in which individual cytoskeletal fibers are clearly resolved, and individual proteins can be identified by immunogold labeling. More importantly, replica EM is easily compatible with live cell imaging, so that one can correlate the dynamics of a cell or its components, e.g., expressed fluorescent proteins, with high resolution structural organization of the cytoskeleton in the same cell.
Measurement of Optically Pumped ${{\rm CH}_{3}}^{18}{\rm OH}$ Laser Frequencies Between 3 and 9 THz

The CH318OH isotopic form of methanol has been reinvestigated as a source of far-infrared (FIR) radiation using an optically pumped molecular laser system designed for wavelengths below 100 μm. With this system, four FIR laser emissions have been discovered, ranging in wavelength from 33.15 to 51.97 μm. The 33.15-μm line is the shortest known laser wavelength generated by optically pumped CH318OH. These lines are reported with their operating pressure, polarization relative to the CO2 pump laser, and their relative strength. The frequencies of these new laser emissions, along with eight previously reported lines, were measured using heterodyne techniques and are reported with fractional uncertainties up to ±2 × 10-7. The offset frequency of the CO2 pump laser was measured with respect to its center frequency for each FIR laser emission.
The effect of phase change materials on the frontal polymerization of a triacrylate

Abstract The production of smoke and fumes is a major obstacle to the practical use of thermal frontal polymerization. The front temperature and the amount of smoking can be reduced by adding inert fillers, such as clay and silica, to the reactive mixture. Here we investigate the possibility of incorporating inert materials that melt (so-called phase change materials) to the mixture. By performing both experiments and mathematical modeling, we demonstrate that, in addition to the standard parameters of frontal polymerization, the front temperature and velocity depend on the melting point and heat of fusion of the phase change material. We use the method of matched asymptotic expansions to develop an explicit expression for the velocity of the reaction front. The expression demonstrates that the behavior of the front is determined by the difference between the reaction temperature and the melting temperature, with the front being slower and cooler if melting occurs farther ahead of the reaction front. The theoretical trends are hard to confirm directly because different characteristics of the phase change material cannot be varied separately.
Automated development of neural net analysis and optimization expert

Abstract The envisioned role of an Automated Intelligent Designer Associate (AIDA) is to help the creative designer to conveniently explore his design concepts. Such a capability should be able to learn and improve its performance by accumulating experience. As a step towards an AIDA capability, Artificial Neural Nets are shown to capture structural analysis and optimization domain expertise and provide quick estimates of structural behavior and of optimum designs within the domain of their training. In the approach discussed here, an automated procedure generates random instances of structural analysis or optimization “experiences” within a design domain, extracts training patterns, constructs and trains an appropriate network architecture. The final product is a trained neural net that can estimate analysis or optimization results for given design conditions within the domain of its “expertise”.