cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of cleaning and non-cleaning situations on the reliability of flip-chip packages

A combined experimental and numerical study is conducted to investigate whether the reliability of flip-chip solder interconnects is affected by noncleaning situations, in which underfill cannot be completely filled in the corners of the solder balls because of contamination like flux residues subsisting on those parts after solder reflow. The real-time moire interferometry technique is used to measure the warpage (deformation) for the selected "cleaning" and "noncleaning" flip-chip package specimens during the test, while a nonlinear finite element technique, in which the viscoplastic material properties of solder balls and underfill are considered, is adapted to simulate the corresponding "cleaning" and "noncleaning" situations to assess the impact on solder interconnect reliability. The noncleaning situation is in contrast to the cleaning situation considered by many researchers. The results indicate that there is no obvious difference for the warpage obtained by either the test data or the numerical work between the cleaning samples and the noncleaning samples. However, the simulation results of the stresses (strains) reveal that the noncleaning situation decreases the mechanical stability and shortens the life time of those flip-chip packages to a level well below the predictions of the cleaning simulations. The fatigue life in some points of the outmost solder joint predicted by using the cleaning FE models is much higher than that predicted by using the noncleaning PE models. Since it is hard to find perfect filled layers for any real world samples, the cleaning model yields overly conservative results. In addition, the predicted deformation values of the flip-chip package obtained from the finite element analysis are also compared with the test data obtained from the laser moire interferometry technique. Good agreement is obtained. In particular, the displacement contours of the flip-chip package samples both in the s and y directions obtained from the test show similar distribution patterns compared with those modeled by the finite element method.
Molecular Weight Dependence of Polymersome Membrane Structure, Elasticity, and Stability

Vesicles prepared in water from a series of diblock copolymers“polymersomes”are physically characterized. With increasing molecular weight Mn, the hydrophobic core thickness for self-assembled bilayers of poly(ethylene oxide)−polybutadiene increases up to ∼20 nm, which is considerably greater than any previously studied lipid or polymersome system. Micromanipulation of vesicles demonstrates an interface-dominated elasticity that is independent of Mn. Furthermore, membrane stability as defined by the maximal areal strain increases with Mn, approaching a universal limit predicted by mean-field ideas and set by the interfacial tension. Nonlinear responses and memory effects also emerge with increasing Mn, indicating the onset of chain entanglements at higher Mn. The results highlight the interfacial limits and transitions to bulk responses of self-assemblies.
Exploring gene causal interactions using an enhanced constraint-based method

DNA microarray provides a powerful basis for analysis of gene expression. Bayesian networks, which are based on directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and can provide models of causal influence, have been investigated for gene regulatory networks. The difficulty with this technique is that learning the Bayesian network structure is an NP-hard problem, as the number of DAGs is superexponential in the number of genes, and an exhaustive search is intractable. In this paper, we propose an enhanced constraint-based approach for causal structure learning. We integrate with graphical Gaussian modeling and use its independence graph as an input of our constraint-based causal learning method. We also present graphical decomposition techniques to further improve the performance. Our enhanced method makes it feasible to explore causal interactions among genes interactively. We have tested our methodology using two microarray data sets. The results show that the technique is both effective and efficient in exploring causal structures from microarray data.
Intense ion beam research at Los Alamos

Two new interdisciplinary programs are underway at Los Alamos involving the physics and technology of intense light ion beams. In contrast to high-power ICF applications, the LANL effort concentrates on the development of relatively low-voltage (50 to 800 kV) and long-pulsewidth (0.1 to 1 μs) beams. The first program involves the 1.2 MV, 300-kJ Anaconda generator which has been fitted with an extraction ion diode. Long pulsewidth ion beams have been accelerated, propagated, and extracted for a variety of magnetic field conditions. The primary application of this beam is the synthesis of novel materials. Initial experiments on the congruent evaporative deposition of metallic and ceramic thin films are reported. The second program involves the development of a 120-keV, 50-kA, 1-μs proton beam for the magnetic fusion program as an ion source for an intense diagnostic neutral beam. Ultra-bright, pulsed neutral beams will be required to successfully measure ion temperatures and thermalized alpha particle energy distributions in large, dense, ignited tokamaks such as ITER.
Rotation barriers in condensed rings : an extension of Clar's stability rule

The rotation barrier for a substituent OH in systems of condensed benzene rings was studied using density functional theory. The barrier height depends on the position of the hydroxy group and the number of independent benzene rings in the condensed ring system, in agreement with Clar's π-electron sextet stability model. Investigating OH-derivatized polycenes with as many as 19 condensed rings showed that increasing the total size of the system does not contribute significantly to the rotation barrier. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Differences in Beliefs and Attitudes toward the Improvability of Writing of Gifted Students Who Exhibit Mastery-Oriented and Helpless Behaviors.

Teachers classified students enrolled in middle/junior high school gifted programs into mastery-oriented, helpless, and neither mastery-oriented nor helpless (NMO/H) groups. Mastery-oriented students consistently scored higher than the helpless group on measures of ability to improve quality of writing, motivation to write, confidence in writing, and general attitude toward writing. The mean score of the students in the NMO/H group consistently fell between the mean scores of the mastery-oriented and helpless groups. The results of the study supported the hypothesized differences between the implicit theories of intelligence held by mastery-oriented and helpless students. Implications for the field of gifted education are discussed.
Cortical-sparing adrenalectomy for patients with bilateral pheochromocytoma

Background. Bilateral pheochromocytomas are common in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) and von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). In an effort to avoid long-term steroid dependence and Addisonian crisis, we have performed cortical-sparing adrenalectomy in this patient population. Methods. Retrospective chart review was completed for patients with MEN 2- or VHL-related pheochromocytomas who underwent laparotomy at our institution for intended cortical-sparing adrenalectomy between June 1965 and March 1995. Results. Fifteen patients (MEN 2A [10], MEN 2B [2], VHL [3]) underwent laparotomy for cortical-sparing adrenalectomy. None of the tumors were malignant. Cortical-sparing adrenalectomy was possible in 14 (93%). Thirteen of these 14 patients (93%) had normal postoperative plasma cortisol measurements and did not require steroid hormone supplementation. At a median follow-up of 138 months, two patients had died of metastatic medullary thyroid cancer, no patient had suffered Addisonian crisis, and three patients (21%) had recurrent pheochromocytomas (at 118, 176, and 324 months after operation). The remaining nine patients were alive without pheochromocytomas. Conclusions. Cortical-sparing adrenalectomy can be performed successfully in MEN 2 or VHL patients with bilateral pheochromocytomas, avoiding chronic steroid hormone replacement and the risk of Addisonian crisis in most patients. Long-term follow-up is necessary because recurrence may develop many years after operation.
Pathogenesis of Prune-Belly Syndrome

To the Editor.— In their recent report, Moerman et al1 argued that the prune-belly syndrome is caused by prostatic hypoplasia which produces a functional urethral obstruction. We would like to direct attention to a case we reported that casts some doubt on this hypothesis.2 Our report concerned an 11-week-old fetus with massive megacystis, ectasia of the nephrons, and attenuation of the abdominal muscle. The "prostatic" portion of the urethra was already largely dilated at a time when the prostatic buds are first appearing and well before these buds coalesce to form a gland.
Use of Magnetorheological Fluid in a Force Feedback Glove

Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) is a smart material that has the property of changing its viscosity when exposed to a magnetic field. By placing this fluid into a sealed cylinder with an electromagnet piston as a core, a controllable resistance motion dampener can be created. A novel exoskeleton mechanical power transmission system was designed, utilizing rapid prototype parts, to transmit these resistive forces to the user's fingertips. A first iteration force feedback glove was developed and tested on human subjects for overall usability. The eventual goal of the system is to provide an alternative force producing system for exercises and rehabilitation. The entire system is lightweight, low power, and easily portable
Assessment of clone identity and sequence fidelity for 1189 IMAGE cDNA clones

This report documents the error rate in a commercially distributed subset of the IMAGE Consortium mouse cDNA clone collection. After isolation of plasmid DNA from 1189 bacterial stock cultures, only 62.2% were uncontaminated and contained cDNA inserts that had significant sequence identity to published data for the ordered clones. An agarose gel electrophoresis pre-screening strategy identified 361 stock cultures that appeared to contain two or more plasmid species. Isolation of individual colonies from these stocks demonstrated that 7.1% of the original 1189 stocks contained both a correct and an incorrect plasmid. 5.9% of the original 1189 stocks contained multiple, distinct, incorrect plasmids, indicating the likelihood of multiple contaminating events. While only 739 of the stocks purchased contained the desired cDNA clone, agarose gel pre-screening, colony isolation and similarity searching of dbEST allowed for the identification of an additional 420 clones that would have otherwise been discarded. Considering the high error rate in this subset of the IMAGE cDNA clone set, the use of sequence verified clones for cDNA microarray construction is warranted. When this is not possible, pre-screening non-sequence verified clones with agarose gel electrophoresis provides an inexpensive and efficient method to eliminate contaminated clones from the probe set.
Business Intelligence, Analytics And Data Visualization: A Heat Map Project Tutorial

Business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) initiatives are helping countless organizations harness and interpret the vast amount of information available in the world today. The explosion of BI&A in industry has fueled the high demand for knowledge workers with advanced analytical skills. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a data visualization project tutorial for Information Systems (IS) education. The applied BI&A tutorial was designed to help students learn how to create and analyze a heat map using SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). Students learn how to make decisions based on large amounts of data by presenting it in visual form. This tutorial exposes students to the decision-making power derived from data visualization. Utilizing the 5E Instructional Model, the tutorial assists in the development of BI&A professionals who can quickly make sense of mass amounts of data, identify trends buried within data sets, and are skilled in making sound decisions that add value to organizations.
Hypoxemia increases plasma catecholamine concentrations in exercising humans

To determine whether plasma catecholamine concentrations (a measure of sympathetic nervous activity [SNA]) rise above normoxic levels during exercise with hypoxemia, we exercised seven men for 15 min at three loads that required from 40 to 88% of maximal O2 uptake (VO2max). Subjects breathed room air on one day and 11-12% O2 on another with relative work loads corrected for the 24% fall in VO2max during hypoxemia. Hypoxemia caused large increments in norepinephrine (NE) concentration (radioenzyme technique) to 1.21 +/- 0.20 ng/ml (mean +/- SE), 2.79 +/- 0.38, and up to 5.90 +/- 0.75 (hypoxemia) compared with 0.89 +/- 0.06, 1.66 +/- 0.16, and 3.95 +/- 0.39 in normoxia at the three loads, respectively (P less than 0.001). Epinephrine (E) concentration approximately doubled (P less than 0.001) in hypoxemia at each load when compared with normoxic levels (i.e., 0.10 +/- 0.01 ng/ml, 0.23 +/- 0.03, and 0.46 +/- 0.06 in normoxia). However, hypoxemia did not significantly alter linear relationships between log plasma NE concentration and either heart rate (HR) or percent VO2max utilized, or between HR and percent VO2max. Thus NE concentration, like HR, appeared to reflect relative severity of exercise and overall SNA in both hypoxemia and normoxia. Above 40% VO2max during hypoxemia, circulating NE and E far exceeded levels known to have direct vasoconstrictor and metabolic effects in normoxic humans, but hypoxemia may blunt vasoconstriction in some regions.
Frequencies of Beams with Elastic Warping Restraint

The free flexural-torsional vibrations of beams of thin-walled open cross sections have been studied extensively. In previous investigations arbitrary boundary conditions on the translational displacements have been considered. However, treatment of the rational displacement which defines twist has been confined to boundary conditions where warping of the cross section is either entirely free or completely restrained. The degree to which partial fixity on warping affects the fundamental natural frequencies of the member is described herein.
Privatization in East Africa: Gaps and Omissions in The Techniques

The privatization process in East Africa has been slow and lethargic. More than a decade after the process was initiated; most of the state enterprises earmarked for privatization are still on hold. For those that the respective governments have managed to divest, the process has been bedeviled by accusations of lack of transparency in the tendering process. In most cases the direct sales have been undervalued denying government revenue, while most of the other techniques have not been very instrumental in promoting equity and broadening ownership. The stock market in Uganda and Tanzania can be considered to be relatively embryonic to be able to play a prominent role in the privatization process. It has also emerged that the institutions established to handle the privatization process do not have the capacity to handle financial and legal complexities of privatization in the international context. Though the period since half a decade ago when privatization picked momentum is not enough time to evaluate the success of a program (especially in terms of creating a competitive market), analyst, however agree that privatization has increased efficiency of most of the enterprises that have been privatized. Joint ventures especially with foreign companies have injected capital, technology and new management style in the big parastatals that were almost moribund before privatization. Examples include Tanzania Breweries, Kenya Airways, and Hima Cement in Uganda. East African countries, unlike their counterparts in Latin America have also shied away from attempting innovative privatization techniques such as equity debt swaps. Contract management is however gaining ground. This is especially in restructuring the companies for sale. This report takes you down the privatization road in East Africa since inception. A review of the process, events and policies that have shaped the process in the three countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are analyzed. An analysis of the privatization techniques used, why they were used, their impacts, the gaps and omission thereof are analyzed.
Physiological function and inflamed-brain migration of mouse monocyte-derived macrophages following cellular uptake of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles-Implication of macrophage-based drug delivery into the central nervous system.

This study was designed to use superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) as evaluating tools to study monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM)-mediated delivery of small molecular agents into the diseased brains. MDM were tested with different-configured SPIONs at selected concentrations for their impacts on carrier cells' physiological and migratory properties, which were found to depend largely on particle size, coating, and treatment concentrations. SHP30, a SPION of 30-nm core size with oleic acids plus amphiphilic polymer coating, was identified to have high cellular uptake efficiency and cause little cytotoxic effects on MDM. At lower incubation dose (25 mu g/mL), few alteration was observed in carrier cells' physiological and in vivo migratory functions, as tested in a lipopolysaccharide-induced acute neuroinflammation mouse model. Nevertheless, significant increase in monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation, and decrease in in vivo carrier MDM inflamed-brain homing ability were found in groups treated with a higher dose of SHP30 at 100 mu g/mL. Overall, our results have identified MDM treatment at 25 mu g/mL SHP30 resulted in little functional changes, provided valuable parameters for using SPIONs as evaluating tools to study MDM-mediated therapeutics carriage and delivery, and supported the concepts of using monocytes-macrophages as cellular vehicles to transport small molecular agents to the brain. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Trophic Relationships among Small Mammals in a Chilean Semiarid Thorn Scrub Community

The food habits of seven species of small mammals were analyzed for a 15-month period during a live-trapping and snap-trapping study in a semiarid thorn scrub community in north-central Chile. The species included four cricetids ( Akodon olivaceas, A. longipilis, Phyllotis darwini , and Oryzomys longicaudatus ), two caviomorphs ( Octodon degus and Abrocoma bennetti ), and a didelphid ( Marmosa elegans ). The community was characterized by a semiarid mediterranean climate with low winter precipitation and frequent fog formation. Dominant physical features included high cover of spiny evergreen and drought-deciduous shrubs, low ground cover of herbaceous plants, and open sandy areas. Year-round food habit trends indicated three functional trophic guilds and one omnivorous species. A. longipilis and M. elegans were insectivorous, O. degus and A. bennetti were herbivorous, P. darwini and O. longicaudatus were granivorous, and A. olivaceus was omnivorous. This pattern of trophic specialization agrees generally with other studies of various species in the Chilean region, and suggests contrasts with patterns in the mediterranean and desert communities of North America and Argentina.
Comparison of Feeding and Olfactory Behaviors Between Laboratory-Reared and Overwintered Native Boll Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Major differences in the feeding and olfactory behaviors of laboratory-reared and overwintered native boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, were observed. Both number of feeding punctures and damaged anthers in cotton squares (flower buds) were at least 1.5 times lower for overwintered weevils than for a laboratory-reared strain. However, overwintered females damaged a greater number of anthers with each feeding attempt (>2.5-fold). Similar to what was observed for cotton squares, decreases in the number of feeding punctures for overwintered weevils were also noted for artificial food formulations. Ingestion rates for overwintered weevils were from 1.2- to 2-fold lower for a water extract of cotton squares with and without added sucrose. However, ingestion was significantly higher (>5-fold) for overwintered weevils on a per-puncture basis; i.e., overwintered weevils appeared to ingest higher quantities of water-soluble plant material per feeding attempt. Olfactory behavior also differed significantly; overwintered weevils were 14.4–28.8% more responsive to the volatiles of cotton squares in choice olfactory studies.
In vitro analysis of the participation of oxytocin and vasopressin in the gonadotropin releasing hormone-induced release of LH.

SummaryThe pituitary perfusion technique was used to investigate the possible interaction between the neurohypophyseal hormones and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). The perifusion of rat anterior pituitaries with 0.2 mU/ml arginine vasopressin (AVP) resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) increase in LH release over baseline, while higher doses had no effect. When combined with GnRH, this and higher concentrations of AVP did not alter the GnRH-induced release of LH. Three concentrations of oxytocin (OT): 0.02, 0.2 and 20 mU/ml, increased baseline secretion of LH (P < 0.05) while 2 mU/ml OT did not. When added to GnRH-containing perifusion media, 0.02 mU/ml OT caused significant (P < 0.05) enhancement and prolongation of the LH response to GnRH. All higher concentrations of OT and one concentration that was tenfold lower, did not exhibit potentiating effects. When the pituitary tissue was pretreated with AVP or OT prior to stimulation with GnRH, only the same concentration of OT (0.02 mU/ml) was effecti...
Regiospecific formation of cobamide isomers is directed by CobT.

Cobamides, which include vitamin B12 (cobalamin), are a class of modified tetrapyrroles synthesized exclusively by prokaryotes that function as cofactors for diverse biological processes. Cobamides contain a centrally bound cobalt ion that coordinates to upper and lower axial ligands. The lower ligand is covalently linked to a phosphoribosyl moiety through an alpha-glycosidic bond formed by the CobT enzyme. CobT can catalyze the phosphoribosylation of a variety of substrates. We investigated the ability of CobT to act on either of two nitrogen atoms within a single, asymmetric benzimidazole substrate to form two isomeric riboside phosphate products. Reactions containing asymmetric benzimidazoles as substrates for homologues of CobT from different bacteria resulted in the production of distinct ratios of two isomeric products, with some CobT homologues favoring the production of a single isomer and others forming a mixture of products. These preferences were reflected in the production of cobamide isomers ...
Computation of Microsegregation and Microstructure in Solidification with Fluid Convection

The effects of fluid flow on the dendritic solidification morphology of pure materials is studied using a computational methodology based on a two-dimensional front tracking/finite difference method. A general single-field formulation is presented for the full coupling of phase change, fluid flow, and heat transport in both the solid and liquid phases. This formulation accounts for interfacial rejection/absorption of latent heat, interfacial anisotropies, discontinuities in material properties between the liquid and solid phases, shrinkage/expansion upon solidification and motion and deformation of the solid. Numerical results are presented for the dendritic solidification of pure succinonitrile in a shear flow. Comparison with solidification into a quiescent liquid indicates that fluid convection increases the overall rate of solidification while the growth rate of the leading dendrite tip is unchanged.
Bronchoscope in the treatment of refractory fever lobar pneumonia in children

Objective To study the curative effect of bronchoscopic bronchial alveolar lavage( BAL) on persistent fever of lobar pneumonia in children. Methods From March 20l2 to February 20l4,46 children with persistent fever of lobar pneumonia were selected. The cases were randomly divided into two groups,with 25 cases in bronchoscopy group and 21 cases in routine treatment group. Azithromycin and ceftriaxone were used to resist infection,and ambroxol were used to dissolve phlegm,physical or drug cooling was given to reduce the fever in both groups. On the basis of conventional therapy,bronchoscopic bronchial alveolar lavage( BAL) were used in bronchoscopy group. After then,the fever reducing time of the two groups were observed.Results Patients' body temperature decreased to normal after the treatments in both groups. However,the average defervescence time was( 4. 6 ± 1. 2) days in bronchoscopy group and( 6. 5 ± 2. 8) days in routine treatment group. There was significant difference in defervescence time between the two groups( t = 3. 56,P 0. 05). Conclusion Bronchoscopic bronchial alveolar lavage( BAL) for persistent fever of lobar pneumonia can apparently shorten the defervescence time.
Machine design for self-sensing

This paper provides a review of key concepts for concurrent design for different machine types that are suitable for self-sensing at both zero to low speed and high speed operation. The impact of modifying the machine design to be suitable for self-sensing on power conversion properties (Average, cogging and ripple torque) is presented for several classical and advanced machine types. General recommendations to yield both self-sensing performance and good power conversion properties are provided for induction machines, surface permanent magnet machines, flux-intensifying interior permanent magnet machines, and variable flux machines with variable magnetization state and variable leakage flux.
John Bernoulli and L’hôpital (1958)

What did the Bernoullis give to mathematics and mechanics? To answer this question, look in the standard histories. You will find tags such as “brachistochrone” and a few odd details, mostly trivial, associated with the names of James I, John I, and Daniel, besides some generalities to the effect that they were great men. For their personal relations, everyone has heard vaguely of the quarrel between the great brothers, but even a best-seller featuring gossip about mathematicians gives us beyond that only its author’s musings on the Bernoulli family as material for a study of heredity and environment. No considerable biography of any Bernoulli has ever been published.
Proactive learning with multiple class-sensitive labelers

Proactive learning extends active learning by considering multiple labelers with different accuracies and costs, thus optimizing labeler selection as well as instance selection. In this paper, we propose a novel method to estimate labeler accuracy per class and to select labelers based on both cost and estimated accuracy, combined with an ensemble approach called multi-class information density (MCID) as a selection criterion. Our approach relaxes the common assumption found in past work that labeler accuracy is independent of class for multi-class learning, and by estimating the class-conditional accuracy better assigns instances to labelers. Results on several datasets with both real and simulated experts strongly demonstrate the efficacy of these methods.
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion as a marker of right ventricular dysfunction in pediatric patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background Right ventricular systolic dysfunction (RVSD) is a predictor of outcomes in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in adults, but little is known in children. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) has emerged as a reliable tool to assess RVSD. We sought to determine the prevalence and prognostic significance of RVSD using TAPSE in children with DCM. Methods The first echocardiogram at the time of diagnosis with DCM was analyzed to obtain left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and 2D TAPSE. RVSD was defined as TAPSE age-based z-score ≤−2. The association of a composite primary endpoint including death, mechanical support, or transplantation with RVSD was analyzed using LVEF and TAPSE. Results Of the 96 patients, RVSD was noted in 84 (88%). During a median follow-up of 17.5 months (IQR 1.4, 76.2), the primary endpoints were reached in 59%. There was a lower LVEF in patients with RVSD (P=.016). Moderate or severe RVSD showed a significant association with the composite primary endpoint (unadjusted OR 2.7 [95% CI: 1.15–6.33], P=.023). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the event-free survival was significantly lower in patients with LVEF ≤30% and TAPSE z-score ≤−4. Conclusion Children with DCM have a high prevalence of RVSD based on reduced TAPSE, and those with moderate or severe RVSD have worse clinical outcomes.
Instrument Response and Self‐Noise Analysis of Dataloggers at the Idaho National Laboratory

ABSTRACT This article describes the performance tests of three different digitizers that are currently in use by the Idaho National Laboratory seismic network and other seismic networks worldwide. The three digitizers are the PAR4CH from Symmetric Research, and the DAQ24USB‐5V and DAQ24USB‐XR from DAQSystems Inc. The theoretical response of each digitizer is discussed, followed by a description of how the filter coefficients were calculated. The empirically determined sensitivities are compared with the sensitivities reported by the manufacturers. Noise measurements were conducted to better understand the limitations of these digitizers. The digital filters used by all three digitizers are a combination of various sinc N filters; therefore, the filter coefficients were calculated by the convolution of N unit rectangle functions. The sensitivity as a function of the gain was measured and compared with the reported manufacturer’s sensitivities. The DAQ24USB‐5V and DAQ24USB‐XR boards are highly accurate ( 1%) for the higher gain settings of 32 and 64. The PAR4CH board is the least accurate (∼5%) of the three boards in this study. Noise measurements indicate that at lower sampling rates, 100 samples per second, the DAQ24USB‐5V shows the lowest self‐noise and is flat from 1 to 20 Hz, whereas the DAQ24USB‐XR has higher self‐noise at lower frequencies but is flat after 10 Hz. The PAR4CH has the flattest noise model, but the self‐noise is about 30 dB greater than that of the DAQ24USB‐5V. At higher sample rates, around 500 samples per second, the DAQ24USB is very flat up to about 200 Hz, after which it begins to drop, whereas the DAQ24USB‐XR is relatively flat from 10 Hz till Nyquist, thus indicating that the DAQ24USB‐XR is more suitable for applications that require higher sampling rates.
A Simple Computerized Quantification of Gait Measures before and after CSF Removal in Evaluation of NPH (P07.261)

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively evaluate the effects of cerebrospinal fluid tap test (TT) on walking and turning in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). BACKGROUND: Gait impairments are often the most pronounced symptoms in NPH. Predicting those with suspected NPH who are most likely to improve with cerebrospinal fluid shunting remains a challenge. The most commonly used tool to select patients for shunt surgery is pre- and post-TT evaluation. The subjective nature of this evaluation may be an important reason for its low sensitivity in predicting success of shunt surgery. DESIGN/METHODS: Eight patients with MRI and clinical features suspecting NPH were studied (mean age: 75.5 ± 4.6 years, range 70-84 years, 5 females). Sensors were placed on the patients9 wrists, ankles, lumbar region, and sternum. Each sensor allowed 3-D acceleration and angular measurements as a function of time. During pre- and post-TT evaluation, patients performed 3 trials of Timed Up and Go test (TUG) that involved getting up from a chair, 25-foot walk, turn around, walk back to the chair, and sit down, during which patients movements were recorded and gait and turning indices were calculated. The pre-TT and post-TT trials were performed one week prior to TT and a few hours after TT procedure, respectively. The pre- and post- TT performances were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: Of the various indices, cadence (4/8 subjects), double support duration (6/8), swing time (6/8), stance time (4/8), peak velocity during turning (6/8), and turn duration (6/8) improved following TT (p CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative gait evaluation may be a rapid, simple, and objective method of identifying patients who improve with TT that may improve identification of patients with definite response to TT. This may in turn lead to better selection of patients with suspected NPH for shunt surgery. Disclosure: Dr. Krishnamurthi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Fife has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shi has nothing to disclose.
Actual total hospital costs of primary localized prostate cancer treatments analyzed by risk group.

e15164 Background: Radical prostatectomy (RP) and radiotherapy (RT) provide comparable HRQOL and oncologic outcomes of localized prostate cancer (PCa), yet no studies have evaluated their relative ...
Roles of Ihh signaling in chondroprogenitor function in postnatal condylar cartilage.

Abstract Condylar articular cartilage in mouse temporomandibular joint develops from progenitor cells near the articulating surface that proliferate, undergo chondrogenesis and mature into hypertrophic chondrocytes. However, it remains unclear how these processes are regulated, particularly postnatally. Here we focused on the apical polymorphic layer rich in progenitors and asked whether the phenotype and fate of the cells require signaling by Indian hedgehog (Ihh) previously studied in developing long bones. In condyles in newborn mice, the apical polymorphic/progenitor cell layer was ~10 cell layer-thick and expressed the articular matrix marker Tenascin-C ( Tn-C ), and the underlying thick cell layer expressed Tn-C as well as the chondrogenic master regulator Sox9 . By 1 month, condylar cartilage had gained its full width, but became thinner along its main longitudinal axis and displayed hypertrophic chondrocytes. By 3 months, articular cartilage consisted of a 2–3 cell layer-thick zone of superficial cells and chondroprogenitors expressing both Tn-C and Sox9 and a bottom zone of chondrocytes displaying vertical matrix septa. EdU cell tracing in juvenile mice revealed that conversion of chondroprogenitors into chondrocytes and hypertrophic chondrocytes required about 48 and 72 h, respectively. Notably, EdU injection in 3 month-old mice labeled both progenitors and maturing chondrocytes by 96 h. Conditional ablation of Ihh in juvenile/early adult mice compromised chondroprogenitor organization and function and led to reduced chondroprogenitor and chondrocyte proliferation. The phenotype of mutant condyles worsened over time as indicated by apoptotic chondrocyte incidence, ectopic chondrocyte hypertrophy, chondrocyte column derangement and subchondral bone deterioration. In micromass cultures of condylar apical cells, hedgehog (Hh) treatment stimulated chondrogenesis and alkaline phosphatase (APase) activity, while treatment with HhAntag inhibited both. Our findings indicate that the chondroprogenitor layer is continuously engaged in condylar growth postnatally and its organization and functioning depend on hedgehog signaling.
Identifying Chromosomal Recombinations in Beef Cattle from Genotyped Parent-Offspring Pairs

This study investigated meiotic recombination in two breeds of cattle by comparing phased SNP haplotypes in sire-offspring pairs. The positions and number of recombination events were identified. The number of recombination events varies between individuals and is a heritable trait. A genome-wide association analysis identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with variation in the number of recombination events. Regions that had more recombination events than expected were identified in both breeds, and many of these hotspots were in common. Recombination is important biologically because it is the mechanism for reassembling paternal and maternal alleles. Recombination impacts the accuracy of imputation, a commonly-used approach to infer the genotypes of some individuals based on genotypes of others.
Repeated social-defeat stress, cocaine or morphine. Effects on behavioral sensitization and intravenous cocaine self-administration "binges".

Rationale: Repeated social stress experiences engender "behavioral sensitization" and may also increase the potential for abuse of psychomotor stimulants, particularly cocaine use during "binges." Objective: Experimental protocols were designed to induce behavioral sensitization through exposures to social-defeat stress or injections of cocaine or morphine. The impact of stress, cocaine or morphine sensitization on cocaine self-administration was assessed using several protocols. Methods: Behavioral sensitization was induced in male Long-Evans rats by four social-defeat stress episodes, each separated by 72 h. Expression was assessed following a challenge of D-amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) or cocaine (7.5 mg/kg or 10.0 mg/kg), 10–15 days after the last defeat. Sensitization to cocaine (15.0 mg/kg) or morphine (10.0 mg/kg) was induced via daily administrations for 10 days and later assessed by challenges with cocaine or morphine. Subsequently, i.v. self-administration of cocaine was analyzed for (i) rates of acquisition, (ii) sensitivity to various doses, (iii) "breaking points" during a progressive ratio schedule of cocaine reinforcement, and (iv) patterns of intake during a 24-h binge, in sensitized and control rats. Results: Social-defeat stress, cocaine or morphine administrations increased the locomotor response to stimulant challenges. During 24-h cocaine self-administration binges, sensitization to social-defeat stress or to cocaine prolonged responding, resulting in more cocaine intake. In addition, cocaine sensitization increased the rate of acquisition to cocaine self-administration and the breaking point during a progressive ratio schedule. Conclusion: The process of sensitization to social-defeat stress or cocaine intensifies cocaine intake during a binge, supporting the hypothesis that sensitization may facilitate the transition to compulsive drug taking.
How Random Are Random Walks

Steps of random walks in the real world are not independent, but, rather, depend on hidden variables acting in a complicated manner that is not feasible to deterministic analysis. Proposed is a continuous scale of random walks with interdependent steps, which is calibrated by combinatorial measurements. In the limit, modeling continuous time, this scale of random walks becomes a scale of chaos processes, which is calibrated by tail-probability estimates.
Linear Genomes for Structured Programs

In most genetic programming systems, candidate solution programs themselves serve as genome upon which variation operators act. However, because of the hierarchical structure of computer programs and the syntactic constraints that they must obey, it is difficult to implement variation operators that affect different parts of programs with uniform probability. This lack of uniformity can have detrimental effects on evolutionary search, such as increases in code bloat. In prior work, structured programs were linearized prior to variation in order to facilitate uniform variation. However, this necessitated syntactic repair after variation, which reintroduced non-uniformities. In this chapter we describe a new approach that uses linear genomes that are translated into hierarchical programs for execution. We present the new approach in detail and show how it facilitates both uniform variation and the evolution of programs with meaningful structure.
Ergot alkaloid exposure during gestation alters. I. Maternal characteristics and placental development of pregnant ewes1.

Tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Scheyreb.) Darbysh] is the primary cool season forage grass in the Southeastern United States. Most tall fescue contains an endophytic fungus (Epichloe coenophiala) that produces ergot alkaloids and upon ingestion induces fescue toxicosis. The objective of this study was to assess how exposure to endophyte-infected (E+; 1.77 mg hd-1 d-1 ergovaline and ergovalinine) or endophyte-free (E-; 0 mg hd-1 d-1 ergovaline and ergovalinine) tall fescue seed fed during 2 stages of gestation (MID, days 35-85/LATE, days 86-133) alters placental development. Thirty-six, fescue naive Suffolk ewes were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 fescue treatments: E-/E-, E-/E+, E+/E-, or E+/E+. Ewes were individually fed the same amount of E+ or E- seed mixed into total mixed ration during MID and LATE gestation. Terminal surgeries were conducted on day 133 of gestation. Ewes fed E+ fescue seed had elevated (P 0.05). Total fetal weight per ewe was reduced (P = 0.01) for ewes fed E+ seed during LATE gestation compared with E-; however, feeding E+ seed during MID gestation did not alter (P = 0.70) total fetal weight per ewe. These results suggest that exposure to ergot alkaloids during LATE (days 86-133) gestation has the greatest impact on placental development by reducing uterine and placentome weights. This, in turn, reduced total fetal weight per ewe by 15% in ewes fed E+ seed during LATE gestation (E-/E+ and E+/E+).
The Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry of the Universe

I will give here an overview of the present observational and theoretical situation regarding the question of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe and the related question of the existence of antimatter on a cosmological scale. I will also give a simple discussion of the role of CP violation in this subject.
Commentary to Thacker: A Consideration of the Mechanisms of Induction of Mutations in Mammalian Cells by Low Doses and Dose Rates of Ionizing Radiation

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a general hypothesis for the mechanism of induction of mutations by ionizing high- and low-LET radiations at different dose rates. The spectrum of DNA damage varies with radiation quality such that with low-LET radiation, indirect effects are predominant, whereas with high-LET radiations, direct effects constitute a majority of the radiation event. The nature of the DNA damage induced at low doses or low-dose rates of high- or low-LET radiations is generally speculative, because it is technically difficult to obtain such data. The chapter discusses the possible role of all types of radiation-induced-DNA damage in the formation of mutations. The spectrum of DNA damage induced by high-LET radiations is quite different from that produced by low-LET radiations, particularly in the increased proportion of double-strand breaks. In addition, the dose-response curve for chromosome aberrations is linear. The greater effectiveness of high-LET radiations compared to low-LET radiations is the higher probability of misrepair of double-strand breaks, either as a result of kinetics of repair or distribution of initial lesions or both.
Ultra-efficient frequency conversion in a periodically poled thin film lithium niobate microring resonator

We demonstrate second-harmonic generation in a dual-resonant, periodically poled lithium niobate microring with an efficiency of 250,000%/W, a state-of-the-art value reported among current integrated photonics platforms.
i-SRAM : Interleaved Wordlines for Vector Boolean Operations Using SRAMs

The generic approach toward SRAM based in-memory computations has been to activate multiple memory rows simultaneously and read out a logic function of the constituent rows. In general, these schemes introduce errors in computations due to their analog nature, limiting their usage to error-resilient applications such as machine learning. In contrast, in-memory bulk bit-wise Boolean computations are suitable not only for error-resilient applications, but also those that require accurate computations like encryption. Prior works have indeed accomplished such bit-wise computations, however, they require modifications to the normal SRAM read operations leading to degraded read-stability or lower sense-margin. In this paper, we propose interleaving the word-lines (i-SRAM) as the basic approach for embedding bit-wise computations in SRAM arrays. Further, our i-SRAM read operation is identical to the normal memory read operation without loss of read-robustness or sense-margin. Even at deeply scaled nodes, as long as normal SRAM read stability is ascertained, the presented proposal works equally well. As opposed to prior works, this is a key benefactor in allowing the proposal to be seamlessly integrated in state-of-the-art SRAM compilers. We propose different configurations of i-SRAM for 6T and 8T-bit-cells, with minimal area overhead. We further demonstrate upto $\sim 2 \times $ improvement in energy and $\sim 8 \times $ improvement in throughput for a binary neural network (BNN) and $\sim 3.5 \times $ improvement in energy and $\sim 3 \times $ improvement in throughput for AES encryption using the proposed i-SRAM in a modified von-Neuamnn machine.
Etonogestrel contraceptive implant uptake and safety among solid organ transplant recipients.

Abstract Objectives To determine the safety of etonogestrel contraceptive implant use among reproductive-age women who are solid organ transplant recipients. Study design We conducted a retrospective cohort study with matching of reproductive-age women (14–45 years) who were solid organ transplant recipients and received care at a tertiary medical center in Denver, Colorado between 2011 and 2019. We identified cases who used an etonogestrel contraceptive implant post-transplant and then matched controls (no hormonal contraceptive use) in a 1:1 ratio according to age, transplant type, and institution. We compared pregnancy patterns, post-transplant infections, immunosuppressant therapy adjustments, and graft complications between cases and controls. We also evaluated implant-related side effect profiles and continuation rates among cases only. Results We identified 24 cases and 24 matched controls. When compared to age and transplant organ-matched controls, contraceptive implant users were not at increased risk for adverse transplant-related outcomes. Graft rejection was the most common transplant-related complication in both groups (n = 11, 45.8% cases; n = 10, 41.7% controls). Additionally, outcomes concerning pregnancies, infections and immunosuppressant therapy changes showed no statistically significant difference between either group. Conclusions This study provides the first data that the etonogestrel contraceptive implant is likely a safe contraceptive option for reproductive-age women who are solid organ transplant recipients. Given the solid organ transplant recommendations to avoid pregnancy during the first 1 to 2 years post-transplant, healthcare providers should continue to counsel solid organ transplant recipients at risk of pregnancy on the etonogestrel contraceptive implant as an effective and safe method of pregnancy prevention. Implications Reproductive age women who are solid organ transplant recipients face additional health risks with unintended pregnancies. The etonogestrel contraceptive implant remains a safe and effective method of contraception for this specific population, with no increase in graft-related complications among contraceptive implant users.