cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Predictably Low-Leakage ASIC Design Style

In this paper, we describe a new low-leakage standard cell based application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design methodology. This design is based on the use of modified standard cells, designed to reduce leakage currents (by almost two orders of magnitude) in standby mode and also allow precise estimation of leakage current. For each cell in a standard cell library, two low-leakage variants of the cell are designed. If the inputs of a cell during the standby mode of operation are such that the output has a high value, we minimize the leakage in the pull-down network, and similarly we minimize leakage in the pull-up network if the output has a low value. In this manner, two low-leakage variants of each standard cell are obtained. While technology mapping a circuit, we determine the particular variant to utilize in each instance, so as to minimize leakage of the final mapped design. We have performed experiments to compare placed-and-routed area, leakage and delays of this new methodology against Multithreshold CMOS (MTCMOS) and a regular standard cell based design style. The results show that our new methodology (which we call the "HL" methodology) has better speed and area characteristics than MTCMOS implementations. The leakage current for HL designs can be dramatically lower than the worst-case leakage of MTCMOS based designs, and two orders of magnitude lower than the leakage of traditional standard cells. An ASIC design implemented in MTCMOS would require the use of separate power and ground supplies for latches and combinational logic, while our methodology does away with such a requirement. Another advantage of our methodology is that the leakage is precisely estimable, in contrast with MTCMOS. Our primary contribution in this paper is a new low leakage design style for static CMOS designs. In addition, we also discuss techniques to reduce leakage in dynamic (domino logic) designs
Effects of current limitation through the dielectric in atmospheric pressure glows in helium

The influence of the dielectric barrier on the discharge regime of a uniform atmospheric pressure glow discharge is studied through fast, time-resolved imaging of the discharge optical emission and by a one-dimensional fluid model. The experiments show that the discharge regime can be adjusted over a wide range from a glow-like regime with a pronounced Faraday dark space and positive column to a Townsend-like discharge regime in which those features are absent. The determining factor for the discharge regime is the current limitation through the dielectric. Results of the one-dimensional fluid model confirm this observation. The fluid model also indicates that metastable helium atoms generated during a discharge pulse contribute significantly to the pre-ionization of the gas before the next breakdown through Penning ionization of nitrogen impurities.
Pharmacological interventions to treat or prevent neurocognitive decline after brain radiation

After surgery, radiation is the most effective treatment for the majority of brain tumors in both children and adults. Although improvements in radiotherapy delivery and targeting have resulted in reduction in neurologic morbidity, radiotherapy is still associated with acute and late toxicities that are dependent on a variety of treatment- and patient-specific variables. Variables of treatment include radiation dose, fractionation, volume, technique, photons or protons, and concomitant or adjuvant chemotherapy. Patient- and tumor-specific variables include tumor type, location and patient age. Side effects of treatment are also variable and can range from mild fatigue to significant memory difficulties and even death. This review will focus on the hypothesized mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction after radiation therapy and will discuss possible intervention strategies including behavioral and pharmacological prevention and treatment.
Characterization of Polyethylene-Graft-Sulfonated Polyarylsulfone Proton Exchange Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Applications

This paper examines polymer film morphology and several important properties of polyethylene-graft-sulfonated polyarylene ether sulfone (PE-g-s-PAES) proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for direct methanol fuel cell applications. Due to the extreme surface energy differences between a semi-crystalline and hydrophobic PE backbone and several amorphous and hydrophilic s-PAES side chains, the PE-g-s-PAES membrane self-assembles into a unique morphology, with many proton conductive s-PAES channels embedded in the stable and tough PE matrix and a thin hydrophobic PE layer spontaneously formed on the membrane surfaces. In the bulk, these membranes show good mechanical properties (tensile strength >30 MPa, Young's modulus >1400 MPa) and low water swelling (λ 3 mmol/g in the s-PAES domains. On the surface, the thin hydrophobic and semi-crystalline PE layer shows some unusual barrier (protective) properties. In addition to exhibiting higher through-plane conductivity (up to 160 mS/cm) than in-plane conductivity, the PE surface layer minimizes methanol cross-over from anode to cathode with reduced fuel loss, and stops the HO• and HO₂• radicals, originally formed at the anode, entering into PEM matrix. Evidently, the thin PE surface layer provides a highly desirable protecting layer for PEMs to reduce fuel loss and increase chemical stability. Overall, the newly developed PE-g-s-PAES membranes offer a desirable set of PEM properties, including conductivity, selectivity, mechanical strength, stability, and cost-effectiveness for direct methanol fuel cell applications.
Depth-Vision Coordinated Robust Architecture for Obstacle Detection and Haptic Feedback

The lightweight and low-cost 3-dimensional depth sensors have gained much attention in the computer vision and gaming industry. While its performance has been proven successful in the gaming industry, these sensors have not been utilized successfully for assistive devices. Leveraging on this gap, this paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a depth-vision coordinated robust architecture for obstacle detection and haptic feedback system for the blind. The proposed system scans the scene in front, converts it into depth matrix, processes the information, to identify obstacles including physical objects and humans, and provide relevant haptic feedback for navigation of the blind. Through design and evaluation, the proposed system has shown to successfully identify objects and humans, perform real-time distance measurements, and provide a working solution.
Experiential Learning Theory: An Application with Individualized Problems on Foreign Currency Restatement

Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates the experiential learning theory, an application with individualized problems on foreign currency restatement. Learning occurs when the student perceives the message the instructor communicates. It is found that to be effective, the communication media should be adapted to the interest of each student. A Lotus 1-2-3 template was developed to accept variables specified by students. The software has the capability to generate a unique foreign currency accounting set of problem data. Students are asked to provide an amount for total assets and total stockholders' equity for their individualized foreign currency subsidiary. They are also asked to provide an assumed income tax rate and a direct exchange rate, and are asked to make an assumption as to whether the US Dollar is weakening, or strengthening. The software allows the students to view the problem they have generated before printing and to select one of the two translation methods. Students are required to think analytically how the strengthening or weakening of the US dollars affects the translated net asset position of the subsidiary under the current rate method.
Active eye-tracking for an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope

We demonstrate a system that combines a tracking scanning laser ophthalmoscope (TSLO) and an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) system resulting in both optical (hardware) and digital (software) eye-tracking capabilities. The hybrid system employs the TSLO for active eye-tracking at a rate up to 960 Hz for real-time stabilization of the AOSLO system. AOSLO videos with active eye-tracking signals showed, at most, an amplitude of motion of 0.20 arcminutes for horizontal motion and 0.14 arcminutes for vertical motion. Subsequent real-time digital stabilization limited residual motion to an average of only 0.06 arcminutes (a 95% reduction). By correcting for high amplitude, low frequency drifts of the eye, the active TSLO eye-tracking system enabled the AOSLO system to capture high-resolution retinal images over a larger range of motion than previously possible with just the AOSLO imaging system alone.
Total synthesis of the aristolochic acids, their major metabolites, and related compounds.

Plants from the Aristolochia genus have been recommended for the treatment of a variety of human ailments since the time of Hippocrates. However, many species produce the highly toxic aristolochic acids (AAs), which are both nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. For the purposes of extensive biological studies, a versatile approach to the synthesis of the AAs and their major metabolites was devised based primarily on a Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction. The key to success lies in the preparation of a common ring-A precursor, namely, the tetrahydropyranyl ether of 2-nitromethyl-3-iodo-4,5-methylendioxybenzyl alcohol (27), which was generated in excellent yield by oxidation of the aldoxime precursor 26. Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of 27 with a variety of benzaldehyde 2-boronates was accompanied by an aldol condensation/elimination reaction to give the desired phenanthrene intermediate directly. Deprotection of the benzyl alcohol followed by two sequential oxidation steps gave the desired phenanthrene nitrocarboxylic aci...
Computational elucidation of mechanisms of alkaline hydrolysis of nitrocellulose: dimer and trimer models with comparison to the corresponding monomer.

Density functional theory (DFT) investigation has been undertaken to explore alkaline hydrolysis mechanisms for nitrocellulose in the gas phase and in bulk water solution by considering the dimer and trimer forms of 2,3,6-trinitro-β-d-glucopyranose in the 4C1 chair conformation and by comparing the computed results with the monomer. Ground and transition state geometries were optimized using the B3LYP functional and the 6-311G(d,p) basis set both in the gas phase and in the bulk water solution. The nature of respective potential energy surfaces was ascertained through harmonic vibrational frequency analysis. Intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations were performed to ensure that computed transition state connects to the respective reactants and products. Single-point energy calculations were also performed using the recently developed M06-2X functional and the cc-pVTZ basis set using the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) optimized geometries. Effect of the bulk water solution was modeled using the polarizable continuum ...
Duration of in vivo endotoxin tolerance in horses

Endotoxemia models are used to study mechanisms and treatments of early sepsis. Repeated endotoxin exposures induce periods of endotoxin tolerance, characterized by diminished proinflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and modulated production of proinflammatory cytokines. Repeated measure designs using equine endotoxemia models are rarely performed, despite the advantages associated with reduced variability, because the altered responsiveness would confound study results and because the duration of equine endotoxin tolerance is unknown. We determined the interval of endotoxin tolerance, in vivo, in horses based on physical, clinicopathologic, and proinflammatory gene expression responses to repeated endotoxin exposures. Six horses received 30 ng/kg LPS in saline infused over 30 min. Behavior pain scores, physical examination parameters, and blood for complete blood count and proinflammatory gene expression were obtained at predetermined intervals for 24h. Horses received a total of 3 endotoxin exposures. The first exposure was LPS 1, followed 7 days later by LPS 7 or 14-21 days later by LPS 14-21. Lipopolysaccharide exposures were allocated in a randomized, crossover design. Lipopolysaccharide produced clinical and clinicopathologic signs of endotoxemia and increased expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, P<0.001. Horses exhibited evidence of endotoxin tolerance following LPS 7 but not following LPS 14-21. Horses had significantly lower pain scores, heart rates, respiratory rates and duration of fever, after LPS 7 compared to LPS 1 and LPS 14-21, P<0.001, and expression of TNFα was lower in the whole blood of horses after LPS 7, P=0.05. Clinical parameters and TNFα gene expression were similar or slightly increased in horses following LPS 14-21 compared to measurements made in horses following LPS 1, suggesting that endotoxin tolerance had subsided. A minimum of 3 weeks between experiments is warranted if repeated measures designs are used to assess in vivo response to endotoxin in horses.
Assessment of the contralesional corticospinal tract in early-onset pediatric hemiplegia: Preliminary findings

While pediatric hemiplegia results from a unilateral lesion, the immature state of the brain at the time of injury increases the likelihood of observing changes in the non-lesioned hemisphere as well. The purpose of this preliminary study was to use diffusion tensor imaging to evaluate the contralesional corticospinal tracts in individuals with early-onset pediatric hemiplegia. Twelve individuals with pediatric hemiplegia and ten age-matched controls underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Corticospinal projections were reconstructed using probabilistic tractography for both the lesioned and contralesional side in pediatric hemiplegia as well as the dominant and non-dominant sides in control subjects. The contralesional tract was found to have decreased white matter integrity relative to control subjects. Compared to controls, the contralesional tract also showed increased tract volume. The increase in volume suggests the presence of ipsilateral corticospinal projections from the contralesional hemisphere that are maintained during development to control the paretic extremities. Decreases in integrity may be explained by diffuse damage or incomplete maturation. The findings of this study support the notion of bilateral motor involvement in pediatric hemiplegia, and the need to address bilateral neural changes as well as motor deficits in this population.
Histopathology of Catostomus commersoni (White Sucker) Infected with the Acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus bulbocolli

Abstract This study was undertaken to assess the damage caused by Pomphorhynchus bulbocolli to Catostomus commersoni (white sucker). Three specimens of C. commersoni were collected during early September 2014 via gill net from Canadarago Lake (Otsego County, New York), then dissected and examined for intestinal parasites. One C. commersoni, collected from a tributary of Otsego Lake (Otsego County, New York), was used as a control in this study because it was not infected with intestinal helminths. Upon dissection, damage to the fish intestine was macroscopically visible, with the intestine perforated when infected with P. bulbocolli. Intestines observed to be infected with P. bulbocolli were opened with a longitudinal incision and fixed in neutral buffered formalin with the acanthocephalans remaining attached. Histological sections of intestine with P. bulbocolli attached were compared with histological sections of intestine in which no worms were present. Examination of sections revealed full penetration...
Stack Structure and Stack Ownership

This chapter discusses stack structure and stack ownership. A task family and a treelike stack structure that represents the records of execution are depicted in a diagrammatic from in the chapter. The statically linked set of activation records defining the accessing environment of any one offspring task extends over two or more separate stacks. The highest display-level portion of the environment for an off-spring task depicted in the figure is found in the stack associated with that task. These access regions connect to access regions at lower display levels through as many separate stacks as are required to include the root or main stack of this job. Only the first of these stacks, for which the display level is highest, is directly associated with the given task. It is the one that uniquely identifies or associates with the virtual processor that executes this task. Not all of each stack owned by an ancestor need to be a part of a given task's accessing environment.
Houses and Cultural Betrayal in Elizabeth Bowen’s Fiction

In 1924 in ‘Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown’, Virginia Woolf used one of Arnold Bennett’s elaborate descriptions of houses as her principal example of an outdated convention in her argument for a new fictional focus on the interiority of human character. She charged that Bennett ‘is trying to hypnotise us into the belief that, because he has made a house, there must be a person living there’. Although she acknowledged the skill of Bennett, Wells and Galsworthy—‘To give them their due, they have made that house much better, worth living in’—she thought them materialists, unable or unwilling to represent deeper qualities of human nature: ‘But if you hold that novels in the first place are about people, and only in the second about the houses they live in, that is the wrong way to set about it’.1 For Bennett, the ‘first place’ and the ‘second place’ were not so easy to separate; nor were they for the later Woolf, who, apart from the brilliantly and successfully propagandistic focus on the newness of her generation and her techniques, exploited, in her own fiction, the representative function of the houses people constructed and used. For later novelists as well, those modernistic writers who, like Elizabeth Bowen, respected Woolf and her achievements enormously, the house, present or past, and the people who lived or had lived there were always connected in complicated ways.
Late Presentation of HIV Infection: Prevalence, Trends, and the Role of HIV Testing Strategies in Guangzhou, China, 2008–2013

Background. The prevalence, trends, and the role of different HIV testing strategies in late presentation of HIV infection in China were unknown. Methods. Data of newly reported HIV cases in Guangzhou between 2008 and 2013 was analyzed to examine the prevalence, trends, and characteristics of late presentation of HIV infection by three types of HIV testing strategies. Results. Overall, 53.2% (1412/2653) and 27.3% (724/2653) met the criteria of late presentation and presentation with advanced HIV disease. The overall trend of late presentation of HIV infection within the study period was declining. Late presentation was 62.9% in 2008 and dropped to 43.3% in 2013 (P < 0.001); presentation with advanced HIV disease was 40.3% in 2008 and dropped to 15.2% in 2013 (P < 0.001). Of the three testing strategies, PITC presented higher odds of both late presentation [AOR (95% CI): PITC versus VCT: 1.37 (1.09, 1.73); PITC versus MHT: 3.09 (2.16, 4.42)] and presentation with advanced HIV disease [AOR (95% CI): PITC versus VCT: 1.65 (1.29, 2.11); PITC versus MHT: 13.14 (8.47, 20.39)]. Conclusions. Although the late presentation of HIV infection was declining, it was still high in Guangzhou. The worse situation among PITC cases urges the policy adjustment in medical settings to increase early HIV diagnosis.
Overview of Wound Healing and Management

Wound healing is a highly complex chain of events, and although it may never be possible to eliminate the risk of experiencing a wound, clinicians' armamentarium continues to expand with methods to manage it. The phases of wound healing are the inflammatory phase, the proliferative phase, and the maturation phase. The pathway of healing is determined by characteristics of the wound on initial presentation, and it is vital to select the appropriate method to treat the wound based on its ability to avoid hypoxia, infection, excessive edema, and foreign bodies.
Achieving The Promise of Translational Genomics In Psychiatric Care

Background Genomics has the potential to play a central role in 21st century research and clinical practice. Over the past decade, medical researchers have built powerful genomic tools and generated enormous sets of data, but have not yet developed strategies to overcome the many barriers to their use in treating patients. To fully implement genomic data into clinical practice will require overcoming numerous barriers, including lack of clinician and scientist knowledge about the potential uses of genomic information, lack of a standardized platform for using genomic data, disjointed access to genomics data, and concerns with appropriate informed consent for both primary and incidental genomic findings. Our goal is to identify the most pressing barriers to implementation of genomic findings. Methods We performed stakeholder meetings with physicians, scientists, and community members to identify barriers to implementation of genomics science and developed an implementation plan to address these barriers. Results We found that physicians are unaware of many genomic resources that can advance clinical care, and most clinicians are unprepared to select, interpret, explain, or apply genomic test results. Evidence of clinical validity, utility, and uptake of genomic information is limited, and there is no consensus on what (if anything) clinicians and researchers should do with “incidental” genomic findings that arise as a result of whole exome or whole genome sequencing. Finally, large-scale sequencing will present a methodological challenge to clinical efficacy studies, which have historically focused on single-gene tests. Based on these findings we developed institutional plans to make genomic resources more accessible and useful to a wide variety of researchers, facilitate formation of multidisciplinary teams who will use genomics in translational research, and educate researchers, clinicians, patients, and the public about the use of genomics. Patient and participant engagement supports the critical interplay between basic and translational researchers that will be required to make the clinical use of genomics a reality. Discussion Research has greatly increased our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of psychiatric illnesses and many other disorders. Making use of genomic data to improve health will require an integrated, inclusive, and dynamic approach to incorporate expanding genomic knowledge into clinical care and will require psychiatric genetic research to move from discovery to implementation. Enhancing the education of health care providers at all levels as well as communication with patients and communities will be required to achieve the full potential of precision medicine. Genomic scientists must collaborate closely with clinical and translational researchers and members of the public to foster clinically relevant genomic discovery and to initiate the translation of such discovery into effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric illnesses.
Interview with Roxy Peck

(2012). Interview with Roxy Peck. Journal of Statistics Education: Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. null.
Deciphering the religious orientation of a sacred space: Disparate impressions of worship settings by congregants and external observers

Abstract Although existing research has assessed the factors associated with judgments of novel sacred spaces, comparatively little work has investigated how these environmental properties relate to the beliefs, emotions, and satisfaction of the congregants who worship there. In this study, individuals from 23 churches evaluated their worship space, and an online sample provided their impressions of these settings and the type of people they believe worship there. A series of linear mixed-effects models revealed that (a) worship spaces that offer exploration were associated with greater satisfaction, feelings of restoration, and more positive emotions among congregants, particularly for those high in quest orientation, (b) external raters' explicit judgments of a congregation's religious orientation from observations of their worship space were highly inaccurate, but (c) an external rater's similarity to the congregation's actual religious attitudes, even when it was unknown to the perceiver, predicted greater liking of that congregation's worship space.
Technology Requirements for Commercial Applications of Inertial Confinement Fusion

Current inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research is directed primarily at physics experiments intended to provide confidence in the scientific feasibility of the basic concept. In conjunction with these experiments, a variety of laser and particle beam drivers having potential for eventual use in fusion power plants is being developed. Expectations are that the scientific feasibility of ICF will be demonstrated in the latter part of the 1980s. At that time, the emphasis of the program will shift to engineering, economic, environmental, and licensing issues with the necessary technology development effort continuing into the early part of the next century. This paper discusses the technology requirements for the successive phases of engineering development leading to commercial application of ICF. The engineering areas requiring significant effort for ICF application include high average power driver development; pulsed high-energy power supply development; reactor cavity and heat transport system design; tritium extraction and control; commercial pellet development; pellet injection, tracking, and targeting systems design; materials radiation, fatigue, and corrosion behavior; and reactor plant systems integration and demonstration.
PERMEABILITY OF THE BLOOD–GAS BARRIER

Two continuous membranes separate the blood and gas phases of alveoli: the endothelium and the epithelium. Gases readily dissolve in cellular membranes of both layers and rapidly exchange between blood and air. Carbon monoxide is generally used to monitor gaseous diffusion. Electrolytes and water can cross intercellular junctions, but water molecules can also traverse a variety of specific water channels (aquaporins) in cell membranes. The endothelium restrains the movement of proteins but is relatively permeable to electrolytes. Transcapillary edema formation is governed by hydrostatic and protein osmotic gradients (Starling forces). The epithelium resists passive movement of both electrolytes and proteins, and airspace edema formation is primarily restrained by osmotic buffering of electrolytes. Capillary injuries, including elevations in capillary pressures, can result in leakage of proteins and red cells into the interstitium, from where they can make their way into the airspaces if the epithelium is ruptured by increases in interstitial pressure. Edema fluid is normally reabsorbed from the airspaces by active sodium transport. Uncertainty persists regarding the osmolality of airway fluid, and methods of collecting respiratory fluid (bronchoalveolar lavage and exhaled breath condensates) have been complicated by uncertainty regarding dilution. Increased epithelial permeability to solutes can be detected by accelerated clearance of radioaerosols from the lungs.
Split hand and foot deformity and the syndrome of ectrodactyly, ectodermal dysplasia, and clefting (EEC)

Five new cases of ectrodactyly are described. Two patients have the syndrome of ectrodactyly, extodermal dysplasia, and clefting (EEC). In one patient with the EEC syndrome, the disorder seems to represent a new mutation. One woman with isolated ectrodactyly has a daughter with the EEC syndrome. The variation in the clinical expression of this disorder among affected members of the same family makes it difficult to determine whether there may be several mutant alleles responsible for ectrodactyly and its related manifestations.
Detection of sub-500-μm cracks in multicrystalline silicon wafer using edge-illuminated dark-field imaging to enable thin solar cell manufacturing

Abstract High capital expenditures associated with manufacturing thin silicon wafers make it difficult for the industry to scale up and prevent novel technologies from entering the market. Thin wafers fail largely due to breakage during solar cell processing and handling. One of the root causes for breakage is sub-mm edge cracks in the silicon wafer, and these cracks cannot be reliably detected by most commercially-available crack detection tools. In this work, we first investigate the correlation between wafer thickness and critical crack length, and explain the importance of detecting sub-500-μm edge cracks as the wafer thickness is reduced. Secondly, we extend our previous work of micro-crack detection to demonstrate an edge illumination technique using a near-infrared laser to image edge cracks less than 500 μm in length in multicrystalline silicon. Thirdly, we investigate two fundamental edge illumination mechanisms based on dark-field imaging; namely, direct and vicinal illumination. We will then compare these methods to a state-of-the-art rear illumination method. The advantages and disadvantages of both illumination methods are presented and provide an in-depth analysis of light-crack interaction. In particular, we find that the robustness of vicinal illumination is due to diffuse reflectance. The diffuse reflectance has less dependence on crack configurations, while direct illumination has more dependence on the crack configurations because it utilizes specular reflectance. Our results show that our proposed prototype can detect sub-mm edge cracks in multicrystalline silicon wafers, which is an important step in enabling thin silicon wafer manufacturing.
Interaction effects in a two-dimensional electron gas in a random magnetic field: Implications for composite fermions and the quantum critical point

We consider a clean two-dimensional interacting electron gas subject to a random perpendicular magnetic field, h({\bf r}). The field is nonquantizing, in the sense, that {\cal N}_h-a typical flux into the area \lambda_{\text{\tiny F}}^2 in the units of the flux quantum (\lambda_{\text{\tiny F}} is the de Broglie wavelength) is small, {\cal N}_h\ll 1. If the spacial scale, \xi, of change of h({\bf r}) is much larger than \lambda_{\text{\tiny F}}, the electrons move along semiclassical trajectories. We demonstrate that a weak field-induced curving of the trajectories affects the interaction-induced electron lifetime in a singular fashion: it gives rise to the correction to the lifetime with a very sharp energy dependence. The correction persists within the interval \omega \sim \omega_0= E_{\text{\tiny F}}{\cal N}_h^{2/3} much smaller than the Fermi energy, E_{\text{\tiny F}}. It emerges in the third order in the interaction strength; the underlying physics is that a small phase volume \sim (\omega/E_{\text{\tiny F}})^{1/2} for scattering processes, involving {\em two} electron-hole pairs, is suppressed by curving. Even more surprising effect that we find is that {\em disorder-averaged} interaction correction to the density of states, \delta\nu(\omega), exhibits {\em oscillatory} behavior, periodic in \bigl(\omega/\omega_0\bigr)^{3/2}. In our calculations of interaction corrections random field is incorporated via the phases of the Green functions in the coordinate space. We discuss the relevance of the new low-energy scale for realizations of a smooth random field in composite fermions and in disordered phase of spin-fermion model of ferromagnetic quantum criticality.
Why do biomedical researchers learn to program? An exploratory investigation.

Objective: As computer programming becomes increasingly important in the biomedical sciences and more libraries offer programming classes, it is crucial for librarians to understand how researchers use programming in their work. The goal of this study was to understand why biomedical researchers who enrolled in a library-sponsored workshop wanted to learn to program in R and Python. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed with fourteen researchers registered for beginning R and Python programming workshops at the University of California, San Francisco Library. A thematic analysis approach was used to extract the top reasons that researchers learned to program. Results: Four major themes emerged from the interviews. Researchers wanted to learn R and Python programming in order to perform their data analysis independently, to be an informed collaborator, to engage with new forms of big data research, and to have more flexibility in the tools that they used for their research. Conclusions: Librarians designing programming workshops should remember that most researchers are hoping to apply their new skills to a specific research task such as data cleaning, data analysis, and statistics and that language preferences can vary based on research community as well as personal preferences. Understanding the programming goals of researchers will make it easier for librarians to partner effectively and offer services that are critically needed in the biomedical community.
Understanding the landscape of scientific software used on high-performance computing platforms:

Scientific discovery increasingly relies on computation through simulations, analytics, and machine and deep learning. Of these, simulations on high-performance computing (HPC) platforms have been ...
Room-Temperature Mid-Infrared Detection via Resonant Microwave Circuits

We demonstrate a room-temperature mid-wave infrared ( $\text {MWIR} ) photoconductive detection architecture utilizing a compact, Ku -band microwave split-ring resonator (SRR) loaded with a micrometer-scale indium arsenide antimonide (InAsSb) pixel. The resonant microwave photoconductor (RMPC) does not require the fabrication of ohmic contacts or the need for dc current collection. We compare the RMPC architecture with a traditional dc photoconductor (DCPC) and evaluate the conditions in which the overall sensitivity of the RMPC exceeds that of the DCPC. Time-domain simulations suggest that the resonator can shape and suppress the fundamental Johnson thermal noise of the semiconductor photon-absorbing element, resulting in decreased total noise and thus increased detectivity, with the SRR circuit itself being the primary generator of thermal noise. For this material system, we calculate that the RMPC has a factor of three improvement in the overall Johnson-limited detectivity ( ${D}^\ast $ ) when compared to the standard DCPC and discuss both the situations for which this improvement could be significantly larger as well as practical system noise considerations.
Yield effects of climate-smart agriculture aid investment in southern Malawi

Abstract Binding resource constraints in many low- and middle-income countries aggravate food insecurity risk in the face of climate change. To help mitigate such risk and increase food security, international development agencies have invested billions of dollars in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) programs over the past decade. However, rigorous evidence on the food security impacts of CSA aid through crop yields remains scant generally, and specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. Most studies have not explicitly linked CSA adoption and yield impacts with CSA aid interventions among smallholder farmers. Here, we respond to this knowledge gap by estimating the impact of a major CSA aid effort (the United States Agency for International Development-funded Wellness and Agriculture for Life’s Advancement (WALA) project) on agricultural yields in Southern Malawi. Based on primary survey data from a sample of 808 households in the project area, we use endogenous switching regression and a control function approach to estimate CSA adoption and impacts on maize yield in 2016, controlling for potential program placement bias, selection bias in CSA adoption, and endogeneity issues. We found a 53% increase in maize yield among CSA adopters in the drought year of 2016. Results demonstrate that policies and funding streams supporting CSA in low-income, dryland contexts such as southern Malawi can have important impacts on food security by boosting crop yields in the face of increasing climate uncertainty and extreme weather shocks.
Evaluating the Long-Term Impact of a Cooperative Group Trial on Radiation Use and Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Adherence Among Older Women.

Using long-term survival data from the C9343 trial as a temporal reference point, this study aimed to determine radiation therapy (RT) treatment trends for older patients with early-stage breast cancer. The study also examined rates of adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET). The surveillance, epidemiology, and end results–medicare database was used to identify women with a diagnosis of breast cancer from 2007 through 2016. Bivariate associations were calculated to determine variable characteristics by time frame (group 1: 2007–2012 vs. group 2: 2013–2016). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of group on the RT use and AET adherence. The temporal rates for both RT and AET adherence over time were plotted. The final study cohort included 12,210 Medicare beneficiaries. Use of RT differed significantly between the groups, with a higher proportion omitting RT in the later period (25% of group 2 vs. 20% of group 1; p < 0.001). In both groups, after adjustment for covariates, the patients with RT omitted were statistically less likely to adhere to AET [group 1: odds ratio (OR), 0.74; p < 0.001 vs. group 2: OR, 0.66; p < 0.001]. This study, 15 years after publication of the of the C9343 trial results, showed minimal change in practice, with most older women receiving RT. Importantly, AET adherence was significantly lower in the non-RT group. For women who meet the criteria to have adjuvant RT omitted, nonadherence to AET could result in undertreatment of their breast cancer, and RT should not be considered overtreatment.
National and State Estimates of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

U.S. national and state population-based estimates of adults living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are nonexistent due to the lack of existing surveillance systems funded to address this need. Therefore, we estimated national and state prevalence of adults 18–84 years living with ASD using simulation in conjunction with Bayesian hierarchal models. In 2017, we estimated that approximately 2.21% (95% simulation interval (SI) 1.95%, 2.45%) or 5,437,988 U.S. adults aged 18 and older have ASD, with state prevalence ranging from 1.97% (95% SI 1.55%, 2.45%) in Louisiana to 2.42% (95% SI 1.93%, 2.99%) in Massachusetts. Prevalence and case estimates of adults living with ASD (diagnosed and undiagnosed) can help states estimate the need for diagnosing and providing services to those unidentified.
Accelerated Biodegradation of the Agrochemical Ametoctradin by Soil-Derived Microbial Consortia.

Pesticide-resistant plant pathogens are an increasing threat to the global food supply and have generated a need for novel, efficacious agrochemicals. The current regulatory process for approving new agrochemicals is a tedious but necessary process. One way to accelerate the safety evaluation process is to utilize in vitro systems to demonstrate pesticide degradation by soil microbes prior to ex vivo soil evaluations. This approach may have the capability to generate metabolic profiles free of inhibitory substances, such as humic acids, commonly present in ex vivo soil systems. In this study, we used a packed-bed microbial bioreactor to assess the role of the natural soil microbial community during biodegradation of the triazolopyrimidine fungicide, ametoctradin. Metabolite profiles produced during in vitro ametoctradin degradation were similar to the metabolite profiles obtained during environmental fate studies and demonstrated the degradation of 81% of the parent compound in 72 hours compared to a half-life of 2 weeks when ametoctradin was left in the soil. The microbial communities of four different soil locations and the bioreactor microbiome were compared using high throughput sequencing. It was found that biodegradation of ametoctradin in both ex vivo soils and in vitro in the bioreactor correlated with an increase in the relative abundance of Burkholderiales, well characterized microbial degraders of xenobiotic compounds.
Outcome of Bridge to Lung Transplantation With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Pediatric Patients 12 Years and Older.

Background There is a reluctance to using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a bridge to lung transplantation in the pediatric population. Pediatric patients between ages 12 and 18 years are eligible for acuity-based lung transplantation using the Lung Allocation Score and may be suitable for adult allografts, increasing the donor pool and thus leading to a successful bridge to lung transplantation. Methods The United Network for Organ Sharing dataset was queried for primary lung transplantation in pediatric patients (12-18 years) from 2005 to 2016. Groups were divided into those who were on ECMO (bridged [BG]) and not on ECMO (nonbridged [NBG]) at the time of listing for lung transplant. Results The groups comprised 16 BG and 375 NBG patients. Fourteen BG patients (88%) survived the first 30 days. One-year (83.3% vs 86.2%, P = .78) and 3-year (66.7% vs 55.1%, P = .57) survivals were similar in the BG and NBG groups, respectively. Donors in the BG group were more likely to be adults. The median wait-list times were shorter (10.5 [interquartile range {IQR}, 11] vs 93 [IQR, 221] days, P Conclusions ECMO as a bridge to lung transplantation is a reasonable strategy in pediatric patients aged ≥ 12 years with acceptable operative mortality and similar 1- and 3-year survival compared with nonbridged patients despite higher acuity. Bridged patients were more likely to receive adult donor lungs.
Formation of Coherent 1H-1T Heterostructures in Single-Layer MoS2 on Au(111).

Heterojunctions of semiconductors and metals are the fundamental building blocks of modern electronics. Coherent heterostructures between dissimilar materials can be achieved by composition, doping...
Uremia Coupled with Mucosal Damage Predisposes Mice with Kidney Disease to Systemic Infection by Commensal Candida albicans.

Infections are the second major cause of mortality in patients with kidney disease and accompanying uremia. Both vascular access and non–access-related infections contribute equally to the infection-related deaths in patients with kidney disease. Dialysis is the most common cause of systemic infection by Candida albicans in these patients. C. albicans also reside in the gastrointestinal tract as a commensal fungus. However, the contribution of gut-derived C. albicans in non–access-related infections in kidney disease is unknown. Using a mouse model of kidney disease, we demonstrate that uremic animals showed increased gut barrier permeability, impaired mucosal defense, and dysbiosis. The disturbance in gut homeostasis is sufficient to drive the translocation of microbiota and intestinal pathogen Citrobacter rodentium to extraintestinal sites but not C. albicans. Interestingly, a majority of uremic animals showed fungal translocation only when the gut barrier integrity is disrupted. Our data demonstrate that uremia coupled with gut mucosal damage may aid in the translocation of C. albicans and cause systemic infection in kidney disease. Because most of the individuals with kidney disease suffer from some form of gut mucosal damage, these results have important implications in the risk stratification and control of non–access-related opportunistic fungal infections in these patients.
A cost-effective system for automated early antimicrobial susceptibility testing using deep learning

We demonstrate an automated, cost-effective system that delivers early antimicrobial-susceptibility-testing results, minimizing incubation time and eliminating human errors, while remaining compatible with standard clinical workflow. A neural network processes the time-lapse intensity information from a fiber-optic array to detect growth in each well of a 96-wellplate. Our blind testing on clinical Staphylococcus aureus infections reveals that 95.03% of all the wells containing growth were correctly identified, with an average incubation time of 5.72-h. This deep learning-based optical system met the FDA-defined essential and categorical agreement criteria for all 14 antibiotics tested, after an average of <7-h of incubation time.
E-cigarette Solvent Ratio and Device Power Influence Ambient Air Particulate Matter.

Objectives Electronic cigarette (ECIG)-generated aerosol contains particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). Particles of this size may be injurious to the health of those who inhale them. Few studies have assessed the relationship between ECIG aerosol PM2.5 and ECIG liquid ingredients or ECIG device power. Methods Two studies were conducted in which participants generated aerosols with ECIGs: in one, ECIG liquids contained various vegetable glycerin/propylene glycol ratios and in the other, ECIG devices varied by electrical power output. Results Results indicate that, in general, PM2.5 increases as the ratio of vegetable glycerin to propylene glycol increases, or as device power increases. Conclusions Regulating ECIG PM2.5 emissions to protect non-users requires an understanding of all the factors that influence these emissions.
The New Privacy Law

We are in a second wave of privacy law. The first wave was characterized by privacy policies, self-regulation, and notice and choice. But in the last three years, nine proposals for comprehensive privacy legislation have been introduced in the United States Congress and 42 have been introduced in the states. From the perspective of practice, almost all of these proposals are roughly the same—they require individuals to exercise control rights and rely on internal corporate compliance for ongoing monitoring. This second wave of privacy law is undoubtedly different from the first, but how? This essay provides a new taxonomy to understand changes in U.S. privacy law, distinguishing between two “waves” along three metrics: their practices, theories of governance, and underlying ideologies. A first wave was characterized by privacy policies, self-regulation, and limited regulatory enforcement. Its practices were focused on notice, its governance was self-regulatory, and its ideology was laissez faire. A second wave almost uniformly relies on internal corporate compliance structures to manage data collection, processing, and use. Its practices are focused on compliance, its governance is managerial, and its underlying ideology is neoliberal. This taxonomy offers privacy law scholars a new way to understand and critique the current state of the field. The essay concludes with four research questions for scholars to pursue.