cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Barrier Height Reduction at the Pd-Ge/n-GaAs Interface

We present the first direct measurements showing changes in the Schottky barrier height for ohmic Pd-Ge contacts to n-type GaAs. The barrier height and interface chemistry were investigated with high resolution synchrotron ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy. Interfaces were formed by the deposition of one layer each of Pd and Ge on the GaAs substrate, where the deposition sequence was varied to allow a more quantitative determination of the role of each element. A reduction of 0.35 eV in the barrier height occurred in the case where Pd was deposited first. This reduction can be described by a model in which interface states are compensated by charge from As n-type doping of the Ge layer in the Ge-GaAs heterojunction. The dramatic change in barrier height seen when Pd is deposited first contrasts sharply with the stable barrier height observed for the case where the Ge was deposited first, a constant barrier of 0.75 eV was found after every deposition and annealing step. This stability was correlated with constant Ga and As concentrations in the Ge and a relatively low overall As concentration in the overlayer.
Block Exchange in Graph Partitioning

In a seminal paper (An efficient heuristic procedure for partitioning graphs, Bell System Technical Journal, 49 (1970), pp. 291–307), Kernighan and Lin propose a pair exchange algorithm for approximating the solution to min-cut graph partitioning problems. In their algorithm, a vertex from one set in the current partition is exchanged with a vertex in the other set to reduce the sum of the weights of cut edges. The exchanges continue until the total weight of the cut edges is no longer reduced. In this paper, we consider a block exchange algorithm in which a group of vertices from one set is exchanged with a group of vertices from the other set in order to minimize the sum of the weights of cut edges. An optimal choice for the exchanged vertices is the solution to a quadratic programming problem.
Effects of Age, Sex and Stimulus Parameters upon Vestibulo-ocular Responses to Sinusoidal Rotation

We evaluated the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in 50 normal human subjects, uniformly distributed in age 20-59 years, and evenly distributed in sex by decade, using sinusoidal rotation over the frequency range of 0.005 to 1.0 Hz and three peak amplitudes of 25, 50, and 100 deg/sec. Age variations. The gain magnitude of the normal human VOR appears to decrease with increasing age. This trend becomes statistically significant at p less than 0.05 for the 0.005 and 0.01 Hz test points. Sex-related variations. There were no statistically significant differences in gain magnitude between the sexes but females had higher average gains than males for the lowest test frequencies. The phase data showed a trend with the average phase points for females being less than those for males. This difference was statistically significant at p less than 0.05 for the 0.005 Hz test frequency. Dynamic range. Increasing the stimulus amplitude by a factor of four yielded a small but statistically significant decrease in gain magn...
Spectral efficiency of up to 1.6 bit/sec/Hz in binary NRZ WDM systems using electronic signal processing

We propose and analyze a novel use of electronic-signal-processing to enhance spectral efficiency of 10 Gb/s binary NRZ systems. Our analysis shows that up to 1.6 bits/sec/Hz of spectral efficiency is achievable using proposed technique.
Herbicides for Establishing Switchgrass in the Central and Northern Great Plains

Weed interference limits switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) establishment from seed. Our objectives were to determine the effect of selected post-plant, preemergence herbicides on stand establishment and subsequent biomass yields of adapted upland switchgrass cultivars grown in three environments in the Central and Northern Great Plains. A separate experiment was conducted in eastern Nebraska to determine if there were any differences among switchgrass ecotypes for herbicide tolerance to the optimal herbicide combination. Herbicides applied immediately after planting were different concentrations of atrazine [Aatrex 4L®; 6-chloro-N-ethyl-N′-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], quinclorac (Paramount®; 3,7-Dichloro-8-quinolinecarboxylic acid), atrazine+quinclorac, imazapic {Plateau®; 2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-5-methyl-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid}, and quinclorac+imazapic. Herbicide efficacy was determined by measuring stand frequency of occurrence and biomass yield the year after establishment. The application of quinclorac plus atrazine resulted in acceptable stands and high biomass yields. Imazapic often reduced switchgrass stands in comparison to the nontreated control and is not recommended for switchgrass establishment. In the multi-state trials, the herbicide by cultivar interaction was not significant for stands or biomass yields, indicating that the effects of herbicides on switchgrass stands and biomass yields were consistent over the upland cultivars used in the trials. No differences were detected among switchgrass lowland and upland ecotypes for tolerance to atrazine and quinclorac. Quinclorac, which provides effective control of grassy weeds, and herbicides such as atrazine which provide good broadleaf weed control are an excellent herbicide combination for establishing switchgrass for biomass production in the Great Plains and the Midwest.
A Means to Alleviate the Bushmeat Crisis? The Feasibility of Establishing Sustainable Grasscutter Farms in Kenya

In Africa, the unsustainable, illegal hunting of wild animals for food, commonly referred to as the bushmeat crisis, causes multiple problems for ecosystems and human health. Given the lack of management of bushmeat hunting and rapidly expanding human population densities, the potential for overharvesting, driving populations of native species to local extinction, is of major concern unless effective and feasible alternatives can be developed. The farming of desirable native species offers one solution to reducing the demand for bushmeat, but farms must be economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially acceptable. This research uses Geographic Information Systems to examine the feasibility of establishing large native rodent (Thyronomys swinderianus) farms in Kenya. Given their high protein content, these rodents, commonly known as grasscutters, are a highly sought bushmeat species and have been successfully farmed in West and Central Africa. I performed an extensive literature review and consulted with grasscutter and sustainable livestock farm experts located in sub-Saharan Africa to determine physical and socio-political geographic factors most likely to constrain the development of sustainable grasscutter farms in Kenya, before using ArcGIS to map these criteria and a weighted overlay analysis to identify potentially favorable locations for establishing future farms. These maps identified three suitable geographic locations: the Western and Nyanza provinces; the Central province; and the southeastern tip of the Coastal province. The majority of Kenya reflects moderately suitable locations that are feasible for establishment as grasscutters are adaptive, low-intensity livestock, and previous studies have identified some of these moderately suitable locations as accepted livestock centers. These results are encouraging for the implementation of sustainable grasscutter farming in Kenya and the diversification of protein sources and economic development opportunities for rural dwellers. While the maps created are specific to Kenya, the methodology developed in this study is useful to global stakeholders attempting to alleviate the bushmeat crisis, combat food insecurity in a sustainable manner, and/or provide means of economic development to developing countries.
A Three-Dimensional Lnverse Method for Supersonic and Hypersonic Body Design

An inverse method for fully three-dimensional supersonic and hypersonic bodies is developed using the Euler equations. The method is designed to be easily incorporated into existing analysis codes, and provides the aerodynamic designer with a powerful tool for design of aerodynamic shapes of arbitrary cross section. These shapes can correspond to either “wing like” pressure distributions or to “body like” pressure distributions. Examples are presented illustrating the method for a non-axisymmetric fuselage type pressure distribution and a cambered wing type application. The method performs equally well for both nonlifting and lifting cases.
A phase I study of LR-103 (1,24α(OH)2D2) in patients with refractory malignancies

14608 Background: Preclinical studies of calcitriol and vitamin D analogs demonstrate potent growth inhibition of tumor cell lines. The clinical development of calcitriol and other analogs have bee...
Microsatellite Instability as a Biomarker for PD-1 Blockade

Initial results by Le and colleagues, which were published in the June 25, 2015 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, report significant responses of cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI) to anti-PD-1 inhibitors in patients who failed conventional therapy. This finding fits into a broader body of research associating somatic hypermutation and neoepitope formation with response to immunotherapy, with the added benefit of relying on a simple, widely used diagnostic test. This review surveys the pathogenesis and prognostic value of MSI, diagnostic guidelines for detecting it, and the frequency of MSI across tumors, with the goal of providing a reference for its use as a biomarker for PD-1 blockade. MSI usually arises from either germline mutations in components of the mismatch repair (MMR) machinery (MSH2, MSH6, MLH1, PMS2) in patients with Lynch syndrome or somatic hypermethylation of the MLH1 promoter. The result is a cancer with a 10- to 100-fold increase in mutations, associated in the colon with poor differentiation, an intense lymphocytic infiltrate, and a superior prognosis. Diagnostic approaches have evolved since the early 1990s, from relying exclusively on clinical criteria to incorporating pathologic features, PCR-based MSI testing, and immunohistochemistry for loss of MMR component expression. Tumor types can be grouped into categories based on the frequency of MSI, from colorectal (20%) and endometrial (22%-33%) to cervical (8%) and esophageal (7%) to skin and breast cancers (0%-2%). If initial results are validated, MSI testing could have an expanded role as a tool in the armamentarium of precision medicine.
Identifying frequent flows in large datasets through probabilistic bloom filters

In many network applications, accurate traffic measurement is critical for bandwidth management with QoS requirements, and detecting security threats such as DoS (Denial of Service) attacks. In such cases, traffic is usually modeled as a collection of flows, which are identified based on certain features such as IP address pairs. One central problem is to identify those "heavy hitter" flows, which account for a large percentage of total traffic, e.g., at least 0.1% of the link capacity. However, the challenge for this goal is that keeping an individual counter for each flow is too slow, costly, and non-scalable. In this paper, we describe a novel data structure called the Probabilistic Bloom Filter (PBF), which extends the classical bloom filter into the probabilistic direction, so that it can effectively identify heavy hitters. We analyze the performance, tradeoffs, and capacity of this data structure. Our study also investigates how to calibrate this data structure's parameters. We also develop two extensions of the basic form of the PBF for more flexible application needs. We use real network traces collected on a web query server and a backbone router to test the performance of the PBF, and demonstrate that this method can accurately keep track of all objects' frequencies, including websites and flows, so that heavy hitters can be identified with constant time computational complexity and low memory overhead.
Visual Trap for Monitoring Pear Psylla (Homoptera: Psyllidae) Adults on Pears

Several daylight fluorescent-painted rectangles, 15 by 20 cm, effectively monitored pear psylla adults on pears. Both hue and intensity of reflection appear to be important for eliciting positive response by pear psylla adults to visual traps. The greatest captures occurred for hues with reflection peaks in the 520 to 600-nm range of the spectrum, which is the same range of pear foliage itself. Captures of adult pear psylla on visual traps of most hues or shades were significantly greater than those obtained by standard limb-jarring methods. In addition, captures of pear psylla adults on lightning yellow and arc yellow traps were beller correlated with the occurrence of eggs and nymphs on pear spurs and sooty-mold blemishing on fruits than counts obtained by limb jarring.
The appearance of malignant fibrous histiocytoma on a three-phase bone scan.

The author describes the case of a 58-year-old woman who had fever and acute onset of right hip pain and was referred for a bone scan to exclude osteomyelitis. Using the three-phase technique with Tc-99m MDP, scintigraphy demonstrated increased flow, soft-tissue uptake, and bone uptake of the radiopharmaceutical at the level of the right iliac wing. This appearance was consistent with an acute infection. However, a subsequent CT scan showed a large soft-tissue mass with bony destruction, questioning the scintigraphic interpretation. A biopsy proved this lesion to be a malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
New Nebraska Spiders.

Recent collections of spiders in the state of Nebraska have revealed the following new species. Brachybothrium lincolnianum n. sp. Male. In life, black or fuscous in color, the venter lighter than the dorsum and the carapace somewhat lighter than the abdomen. In alcohol, this color changes to a yellow or brown, the cephalothorax then being yellowish and the abdomen darker, a soft brown or tan. Eye area twice as wide as long; anterior median eyes separated from each other by an interval equal to more than twice the diameter of one of them and from the anterior lateral eyes by a space only slightly greater; the latter have a diameter two and one-half times that of the former. The posterior median eyes are as far apart as are the anterior lateral eyes, while the posterior lateral eye, the posterior median eye, and the anterior median eye of each side are in a row and form almost a straight line. The posterior lateral eyes have a diameter two-thirds as great as that of the posterior median eyes, while the posterior median eyes have a diameter about three-fourths that of the anterior lateral eyes, which are by far the largest eyes; posterior row slightly longer than the anterior.
ID: 81: NANOFORMULATED COPPER/ZINC SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE CAUSES MUSCLE METABOLIC ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVES SYSTEMIC INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN MICE

Oxidative stress mediates mitochondrial dysfunction and impairment of glucose metabolism in muscle thereby leading to systemic insulin resistance. In vivo studies have demonstrated that copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/ZnSOD)-deficient mice show oxidative damage in various organs including skeletal muscle. The objective of this study is to determine the role of nanoformulated Cu/ZnSOD (nanoSOD) in improving insulin sensitivity through effects inherent to muscle. Wild type mice were fed a standard chow diet for 10 weeks. A cohort of these mice received nanoSOD intraperitoneally at 1000 U/kg body weight once in two days for a period of 15 days. We noted that the fasting blood glucose level was significantly reduced in nanoSOD treated mice compared to control (P Moreover, insulin tolerance test (ITT) revealed that nanoSOD treated mice showed improved glucose handling in response to insulin (0.75 U/kg body weight) compared to control mice. However, the response of these mice to acute glucose challenge as analyzed by glucose tolerance test was not different between groups. We next analyzed the muscle mRNA samples for genes involved in fatty acid metabolism. Interestingly, we noted that the expression of FASN and SREBP1 , genes promoting fatty acid synthesis was significantly reduced in nanoSOD treated mice suggesting that de novo lipogenesis which can promote insulin resistance is reduced upon nanoSOD treatment. Further, the mRNA expression of PCX which promotes both gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis was significantly reduced (P in nanoSOD treated mice compared to controls. Regarding genes regulating fatty acid metabolism, we noted that the expression of ACOX1, CPT1a , and CPT2 , genes involved in mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation was reduced in nanoSOD treated mice. Interestingly, these metabolic changes were associated with reduced mRNA levels of inflammatory markers including TNFα, MMP12 , and VCAM-1 in visceral adipose tissue in nanoSOD treated mice. However, in the liver, the mRNA level of genes involved in de novo lipogenesis and mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation was not altered upon nanoSOD treatment Taken together; our data demonstrate that nanoSOD improves systemic glucose handling which was associated with a reduction in de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation in muscle. Because fatty acid oversupply is a key mediator of muscle insulin resistance primarily via accumulation of fatty acid metabolites, our data suggest that changes in muscle fatty acid metabolism may play a role in mediating the effects of nanoSOD in improving systemic glucose handing and insulin resistance. .
Research on Adaptive Fuzzy Inference Modeling Method Based on Gaussian-type Membership Function

For traditional fuzzy inference modeling methods,model parameters are selected based on experience,the model is also determined,which has the different dynamic tracking capability for different systems,so has bad generalization ability.Considering the limitations of conventional fuzzy inference modeling,here a kind of Gaussian-type membership function is proposed,and that adaptive fuzzy inference system based on Gaussian-type membership can approximate nonlinear systems at arbitrary precision is proved.Design of adaptive fuzzy inference system structure and parameters adjustment program,adopt gradient decent algorithm to study model parameters,and then combine with simulation experiments show its universal approximation.Finally,fuzzy inference model applies to nonlinear dynamic system identification and further verifies its feasibility.
Innovations in ventral hernia repair.

Abstract There is a renewed interest in the surgical repair of ventral hernias due to new meshes and new techniques to use these meshes. The standard of care for ventral hernia repair, the Rives-Stoppa repair, is now more commonly done in the USA. Originally, only polypropylene mesh (PPM) or polyester meshes were available for this technique and they had to be placed extraperitoneally. With development of the laparoscopic approach for ventral hernia repair using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), newer coated meshes for intraperitoneal placement were developed. Companies have also combined polypropylene mesh (PPM) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into a unique mesh and numerous biologic meshes are being introduced. All of these meshes have led to several new methods for ventral hernia repair (including parastomal hernia) and in those cases where mesh is not indicated, one non-mesh repair, the components separation, has received renewed attention.
Urogenital Involvement by Malignant Lymphomas

AbstractRecords of 1,068 patients with malignant lymphomas were reviewed from a more than 10-year interval for any evidence of lymphomatous involvement of the urogenital tract. Of the 1,068 patients 72 (6.7 per cent) had urologic findings related to lymphoma either at autopsy, radiographically or at operation. Of 400 cases 23 (5.8 per cent) with Hodgkin’s and 49 of 668 cases (7.3 per cent) with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma had some evidence of urogenital involvement at some point in the course of the disease.In the total group reviewed the rate of involvement was low (6.7 per cent) and was essentially equal for patients with Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. We herein illustrate various forms of urogenital tract problems encountered in patients with solid lymphatic tumors.
Institutions, Institutional Changes and Modernization: A Conceptual Framework

The history of human civilization has been a history of organized human behavior. How are people organized? What are their goals or objectives? What are their mental and physical capabilities? What is the natural environment? These are questions of essential relevance to a good understanding of any specific human behavior, including economic activities, social and political changes, modernization, and the development of human civilization in general. If we accept the presumption that all humans have similar behavioral goals since they have universally similar needs and largely similar desires, and if we believe that different peoples potentially have essentially equal mental and physical capabilities, then variations in human behavior and their consequences can be sufficiently explained by variations in their organizational structures or their institutional arrangements.1 Basic questions in the study of modernization — What is the goal of modernization? How does a nation get there? — can, therefore, be adequately addressed if we can ascertain the domestic organizational structure of a group of people or a nation.
pFUTURES: A Parallel Framework for Cellular Automaton Based Urban Growth Models

Simulating structural changes in landscape is a routine task in computational geography. Owing to advances in sensing and data collection technologies, geospatial data is becoming available at finer spatial and temporal resolutions. However, in practice, these large datasets impede land simulation based studies over large geographic regions due to computational and I/O challenges. The memory overhead of sequential implementations and long execution times further limit the possibilities of simulating future urban scenarios. In this paper, we present a generic framework for co-ordinating I/O and computation for geospatial simulations in a distributed computing environment. We present three parallel approaches and demonstrate the performance and scalability benefits of our parallel implementation pFUTURES, an extension of the FUTURES open-source multi-level urban growth model. Our analysis shows that although a time synchronous parallel approach obtains the same results as a sequential model, an asynchronous parallel approach provides better scaling due to reduced disk I/O and communication overheads.
Prognosis of Neonatal Seizures

The value of standard and ambulatory electroencephalography in the prediction of continuing neonatal seizures was investigated in the Department of Neurology, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
Improving NoC performance under spatio-temporal variability by runtime reconfiguration: a general mathematical framework

Real-world applications exhibit time varying traffic volumes and patterns (structures). However, regular or application specific networks-on-chip (NoC) optimized at designtime are predominantly developed either under the assumption of time independent application structures and dynamics, or without considering them at all. The limited adaptability of the monolithic NoCs to spatio-temporal application variability results in poor performance and power inefficient designs. Most of prior reconfiguration approaches are evaluated and validated through a subset of experimental instances out of the entire problem space, resulting in a constrained applicability to general cases. Towards this end, we propose a general mathematical framework for reconfigurable NoC design and runtime optimization under spatio-temporal varying workloads. Our proposed mathematical modeling framework can be applied to NoCs of arbitrary topologies, sizes and routing protocols. More precisely, we first propose the general mathematical modeling for reconfigurable NoC systems. Then, as a case study, we formulate the runtime NoC reconfiguration as an optimization problem assuming applications modeled via time dependent graphical models. We show this problem is NP-hard and prove its submodularity. This submodularity property provides guarantees that our proposed greedy algorithms attaints optimality region. To further justify the mathematical framework, we investigate a reconfigurable NoC architecture and evaluate it under real-world applications. Experimental results demonstrate a 52.3% latency improvement and a 30.2% energy reduction compared to baseline design.
Performance Analysis of a Robust BFSK FH-SS Communication System in Partial-Band Noise Jamming

A new diversity combining technique is proposed for frequency hop spread spectrum communicators operating in the presence of partial-band interference. The method is based on replacing the noncoherent integration in a linear combining receiver with an outlier-resistant estimator based on order statistics. It is applicable to MFSK modulation, at the expense of sorting and linear combining in each of the M channels. We present a probability of error analysis for a special case of this system; namely, BFSK with selection of only a single order statistic. The technique is most useful when the jamming occurs independently in the Mark and Space channels. Here, we assume noncontiguous Mark and Space filters to assure independent jamming.
Reperfusion Therapy with Rapamycin Attenuates Myocardial Infarction through Activation of AKT and ERK

Prompt coronary reperfusion is the gold standard for minimizing injury following acute myocardial infarction. Rapamycin, mammalian target of Rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, exerts preconditioning-like cardioprotective effects against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We hypothesized that Rapamycin, given at the onset of reperfusion, reduces myocardial infarct size through modulation of mTOR complexes. Adult C57 male mice were subjected to 30 min of myocardial ischemia followed by reperfusion for 1 hour/24 hours. Rapamycin (0.25 mg/kg) or DMSO (7.5%) was injected intracardially at the onset of reperfusion. Post-I/R survival (87%) and cardiac function (fractional shortening, FS: %) were improved in Rapamycin-treated mice compared to DMSO (survival: 63%, FS: %). Rapamycin caused significant reduction in myocardial infarct size (IS: %) and apoptosis (%) as compared to DMSO-treated mice (IS: %; apoptosis: %). Rapamycin induced phosphorylation of AKT S473 (target of mTORC2) but abolished ribosomal protein S6 phosphorylation (target of mTORC1) after I/R. Rapamycin induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 but inhibited p38 phosphorylation. Infarct-limiting effect of Rapamycin was abolished with ERK inhibitor, PD98059. Rapamycin also attenuated Bax and increased Bcl-2/Bax ratio. These results suggest that reperfusion therapy with Rapamycin protects the heart against I/R injury by selective activation of mTORC2 and ERK with concurrent inhibition of mTORC1 and p38.
Depressive symptoms in couples living with heart failure: the role of congruent engagement in heart failure management.

Objectives: The life-threatening context of heart failure (HF), high variability of the illness and complexity of care place considerable demands on both the adult patient and his/her spouse. The c...
Next-Generation Nano-based Concrete Construction Products: A Review

Nanotechnology in the construction industry ranked eighth out of ten most significant areas of applications. Although nano-products are costly, the research in nano-technology is gaining momentum with the motivation of immediate profitable return from high value products. This chapter documents potential nano-products that can improve the performance and durability of concrete with high service life. Nano-products have the ability to manipulate structure at the nanometer scale, which leads to the generation of tailored, multifunctional, cementitious composites with superior mechanical performance and durability having a range of novel properties such as: low electrical resistivity, self-sensing capabilities, self-cleaning, self-healing, high ductility, and self-control of cracks. This chapter covers the primary areas of nano-engineering and nano-modifications of cementitious systems such as (i) incorporation of nano-scale spherical materials (e.g., nano-SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 etc.) and nano-tubes or fibers [(carbon nano-tube (CNT) and carbon nano-fibers (CNF)] and nano-clay into cementitious materials during mixing, (ii) application of nano-porous thin film on aggregate surfaces before concrete mixing in order to improve interfacial transition zone (ITZ) in concrete, (iii) nano-engineering of concrete pore solution and controlled release of chemical admixtures, (iv) improve the workability in self-consolidated concrete (SCC), (v) further improvement of reactive powder concrete (RPC), (vi) applications in building materials, (vii) nanotechnology based devices etc. The discussion for each area of application covers (i) research findings by different researchers / agencies, (ii) possible mechanisms of improvement, (iii) potential areas of applications. Finally, challenges and future direction of nano-based products in construction field is briefly described.
Accountability of government sponsored enterprises

Government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are federally chartered, privately owned institutions that benefit from the perception that the government stands behind their financial obligations. GSEs provide large amounts of credit to selected constituencies such as farmers, home buyers and students. On the other hand, GSEs lack sufficient accountability to the government and taxpayers that create and subsidize them. Three elements of accountability deserve attention: (1) assure that GSEs are well capitalized and properly supervised to protect against unnecessary financial risk; (2) authorize continuing independent analysis of their public benefits and costs; and, (3) provide for an exit strategy so that the government can withdraw its sponsorship once a GSE outlives its public purposes.
Psychological Wellbeing as an Explanation of User Engagement in the Lifecycle of Online Community Participation

This study documents users' changes in psychological wellbeing across the lifecycle of their participation in an online community. Through in-depth interviews with 30 long-term users of Everything2.com, and content analysis of their posts, we found that psychological wellbeing plays a large role in the evolution of how users participate in the community over time. Everything2 is a long-running user-generated content site framed as an open encyclopedia. Results suggested that negative psychological wellbeing, such as loneliness and low self-esteem, fueled initial participation; validation and criticism from other users on one's content motivation continued content contribution; but ultimately feelings of relatedness with the community, unrelated to content contribution, was what retained users. Absence of social connections in the online community, as well as improved wellbeing offline, led to exit.
Abstract 20734: Infliximab Mediates Functional Recovery in a Porcine Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Introduction: Myocardial infarction (MI) and resultant heart failure represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Thrombolytics and reduction in door-to-balloon times have increased rates of acute survival, however, with a subsequent increase in the incidence of ensuing ischemic cardiomyopathy. This may in large part be due to the fact that myocardial injury activates a local inflammation diminishing the innate regenerative response following MI. This study aims to evaluate the influence of TNF-α inhibition to alter the balance away from inflammation and towards regeneration in the setting of acute MI. Hypothesis: Systemic administration of Infliximab will diminish scar size and preserve myocardial function in a porcine model of acute MI. Methods: A porcine model of acute MI was generated via inflation of an angioplasty balloon catheter in the mid-LAD for 90 min (n=9). Infliximab was delivered intravenously upon reperfusion at 5 mg/kg. Hemodynamics, intracardiac/transthoracic echocardiography were monitored throughout the procedure and at one month follow-up. Hearts were harvested, cut into 1 cm thick cross sections and stained with Masson’s Trichrome to visualize and volumetrically quantify scar size. Results: Left ventricular ejection fraction of the treated group was significantly improved compared to untreated (62.1 ± 3.0 % vs. 39.9 ± 3.2 %, P Conclusion: These results demonstrate that systemic Infliximab therapy is effective in preventing structural remodeling, while preserving contractility of the heart post infarction.
SIGCSE symposium 2018 report

We were delighted to co-chair the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in Baltimore, Maryland from February 21-24, 2018, and we opened the conference with a CS riff of that iconic Hairspray song. This was the largest SIGCSE conference of all time, shattering many conference records: SIGCSE 2018 had 1,735 registrations and 953 submissions, with 1,119 volunteers participating in the reviewing and selection process to whittle it down to 161 papers, 35 panels and special sessions, 90 posters (growing from 3 to 4 sessions), 10 demos, 34 BOFs, 6 nifty assignments, 11 events, and 34 workshops. We needed a record number 17 parallel tracks to support all of this. We were inspired to see so many of these submissions innovating to engage a broader audience and to create equitable opportunities for access to computer science education.
Novel low band gap polymers based on pyrrolo[32d:45d’]bisthiazole PBTz and thienylenevinylene TV For Organic Electronic Applications

Novel low band gap polymers based on pyrrolo[3,2-d:4,5-d′]bisthiazole (PBTz) and thienylenevinylene (TV) For Organic Electronic Applications Dhananjaya Patra?,1 Hassan S. Bazzi,1 Lei Fang¬2 and Mohammed Al-Hashimi1 1Department of Chemistry, Texas AM Bradley, D. D. C.; Brown, A. R.; Marks, R. N.; Mackay, K.; Friend, R. H.; Burn, P. L.; Holmes, A. B. Nature, 1990, 347, 539. 2. Sekitani, T.; Zschieschang, U.; Klauk, H.; Someya, T. Nat. Mater.,2010, 9, 1015.3. Zhao, W.; Li, S.; Yao, H.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, Y.; Yang, B.; Hou, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017, 139, 7148. 4. Li, N.; Baran, D.; Forberich, K.; Machui, F.; Ameri, T.; Turbiez, M.; Carrasco-O., M.; Drees, M.; Facchetti, A.; Krebse, F.C.; Brabec, C. J. Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, 6, 3407. 5. Kim, J.; Lim, B.; Baeg, K. J.; Noh, Y. Y.; Khim, D.; Jeong, H. G.; Yun, J. M.; Kim, D. Y. Chem. Mater.,2011, 23, 4663. 6. Fu, B. Y.; Baltazar, J.; Hu, Z. K.; Chien, A. T.; Kumar, S.; Henderson, C. L.; Collard, D. M.; Reichmanis, E. Chem. Mater.,2012, 24, 4123 7.Al-Hashimi, M.; Han, Y.; Smith, J.; Bazzi, H. S.; Alqaradawi, S. Y. A.; Watkins, S. E.; Anthopoulos, T. D.; Heeney, M. Chem. Sci.,2016, 7, 1093. 8. Al-Hashimi, M.; Baklar, M. A.; Colleaux, F.; Watkins, S. E.; Anthopoulos, T. D.; Stingelin, N.; Heeney, M. Macromolecules, 2011, 44, 5194. 9. Patra, D.; Lee, J.; Lee, J.; Sredojevic, D. N.; White, A.J.P.; Bazzi, H. S.; Brothers, E. N.; Heeney, M.; Fang, L.; Yoon. M.-H.; Al-Hashimi, M. J. Mater. Chem. C., 2017, 5, 2247.
PRODLINE: Architecture of an Artificial Intelligence based marketing decision support system for product line designs

Product line design is one of the most important decisions for an organization in today’s hypercompetitive world. Product line designs are NP-hard, which implies that it requires an unacceptable amount of time to obtain the guaranteed optimal solution to a problem of reasonable scale. Machine learning techniques such as genetic algorithms can provide very “good” solutions to these problems. In this chapter, we describe the architecture and user interface of a multi-feature decision support system, PRODLINE, which allows the decision maker to address the decision problem of product line designs. A key feature of the system is its ability to provide users with solutions using different solution techniques as well as the ability to change easily the algorithm parameters to assess if improvements in the solution are possible. A final novel and major advantage of the PRODLINE system is that it permits the user to consider strategic competitive responses to the optimal product line design problem.
Aleukemic stem cell leukemia with polyserositis; report of case.

A case of acute leukemia is reported in which there was onset with pericardial and bilateral pleural effusions, simulating polyserositis.
Toward Rapid Integration in High Assurance Mission Systems

The rapid pace of technology change necessitates new approaches for upgrading and fielding high assurance mission systems in a timely manner. Furthermore, modern systems are often composed of multiple commercial or third-party components which must be implicitly trusted. We present an approach towards enabling rapid integration of components by employing an open system architecture that is not dependent on a trust relationship between third-party components. Our approach enables a system owner to enforce trust relationships between subsystems while taking advantage of the benefits of an open system architecture. In addition to enforcing trust, our approach allows third-party components to seamlessly interface with each other in an open system without the need to share their proprietary data. We further discuss the application of such an approach in an experimentation event and describe the benefits and limitations of adopting our approach.
Revised Versions: Poetry as Bible Reading in Three Modern Examples

This article explores how poetry can shape our biblical reading practices by examining three poems by three well-known contemporary poets—Scott Cairns, Mary Szybist, and Lucille Clifton. Paying par...
56 POSTOSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURE CARE AT A VA HOSPITAL.

Background Osteoporosis is a common disorder and an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although there are effective treatments for the treatment of osteoporosis (such as bisphosphonates), studies have shown that even in patients with osteoporotic fractures, providers do a poor job of diagnosing and treating osteoporosis. Purpose of Study To determine what percentage of patients in a large Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital who had sustained an osteoporotic fracture received postfracture evaluation and evidence-based treatment for osteoporosis. We hypothesized that less than 50% of these patients receive evidence-based postfracture evaluation and treatment. Methods Used Retrospective analysis of hip fracture data using a centralized VA database (CHIPS). Fracture cases (men and women) were identified in the years 1996-2005 using appropriate ICD-9 codes for hip fracture that were associated with radiology examinations within 30 days of the ICD-9 code. Identifying the index date of fracture as the date of the radiology examination, we determined whether DEXA scans were performed in a 6-month period following the fracture date and whether FDA-approved osteoporosis drug therapy was initiated in the same 6-month period. Summary of Results There were 438 men and 29 women with hip fractures from 1996 to 2005. Of the 467 patients with osteoporotic hip fractures, only 21 (4.5%) had A DEXA scan within 6 months of their fracture and only 5% of the patients were started on treatment for osteoporosis with either a bisphosphonate, calcitonin, or hormone replacement therapy within this time period. Conclusions The Portland VA Medical Center experience resembles published reports of osteoporosis management in the community, indicating very low rates of diagnostic and therapeutic steps taken to address a treatable condition, osteoporosis. Future efforts should be directed at determining the variables responsible for substandard provider management of these high-risk patients.
The relation between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance among school-aged students: A meta-analysis.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the relation between mathematics anxiety (MA) and mathematics performance among school-aged students, and to identify potential moderators and under...
Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Dry Mouth Among US Older Chinese Adults.

Objectives Dry mouth is a common condition among older adults that negatively influences oral health, general health, and quality of life. The role of psychosocial factors in oral health conditions and diseases remains largely unknown. We conducted a study to examine the relationship between perceived stress and dry mouth among US older Chinese adults and further investigated the potential moderating role of social support and social strain from different sources in the relationship. Design Cross-sectional analysis. Setting Baseline of the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago, a community-engaged, population-based longitudinal study of health and well-being among community-dwelling US older Chinese adults. Participants Individuals 60 years or older (N = 3157). Measurements Perceived stress was measured by the 10-item Chinese Perceived Stress Scale to evaluate the degree to which life situations were perceived as stressful during the preceding month on a 5-point scale, ranging from 0 ("never") to 4 ("very often"). Dry mouth was a binary self-reported outcome variable (1 = "dry mouth"). Social support was measured by the Health and Retirement Study's social support and strain scale from sources including spouse, other family members, and friends with a 3-point response set, ranging from 0 ("hardly ever") to 2 ("often"). Sociodemographics and disease processes were assessed as covariates. We conducted stepwise logistic regressions with interaction terms. Results Having higher levels of perceived stress was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of reporting dry mouth (odds ratio = 1.03; 95% confidence interval = 1.02-1.04). The effect of perceived stress on dry mouth may vary by levels of family and friend support. Conclusion Perceived stress may influence dry mouth either directly or indirectly. To prevent or reduce dry mouth, in addition to disease processes, interventions need to consider psychosocial factors in dry mouth, especially perceived stress and social support, in this growing population. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:S551-S556, 2019.
A framework to incorporate environmental effects into stock assessments informed by fishery-independent surveys: a case study with American lobster (Homarus americanus)

Stock assessments for a majority of the world’s fisheries often do not explicitly consider the effects of environmental conditions on target species, which can raise model uncertainty and potential...
Recent advances in single-atom catalysts for CO oxidation

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have received boosting attention due to their high atom utilization and incredible activities in a wide range of catalytic processes. Numerous SACs have been investigat...
A Framework to Assess the Security of Advanced Integrated Circuit (IC) Packaging

Packaging reliability has been discussed widely in both industry and academia. However, packaging security assessment is barely addressed in such communities. Adversarial changes in packaging parameters by a malicious manufacturer can result in undetected features, which can cause chip failure. Due to globalization and complexity of the microelectronics supply chain, such alterations can be easily implemented. A dishonest manufacturer can intentionally exploit packaging principles thus creating vulnerabilities in the chip nearly undetectable by the regular inspection process. This can cause severe problems in both short term and long term uses of the chip. Both cases are directly related to changes in packaging materials, namely the epoxy modeling compound, substrate material, and connection material. These hostile changes are even more difficult to detect post-manufacturing, as is the case for the end-users performing their own analysis on such chips. This is not only because the existing material characterization methods are destructive and time-consuming, but there are numerous unpredictable ways to maliciously change packaging property. In this paper, we will first study and analyze such vulnerabilities in advanced integrated circuit (IC) packaging and introduce the first ever taxonomy of vulnerabilities to the community to the best of our knowledge. To address the discussed shortfalls in packaging security assessment, this paper will also outline the requirements for new detection techniques necessary to address the packaging security before installation. These methods are especially useful in critical applications such as space, military, hospitals, power plants, etc.
Deep Learning Framework From Scratch Using Numpy

This work is a rigorous development of a complete and general-purpose deep learning framework from the ground up. The fundamental components of deep learning - automatic differentiation and gradient methods of optimizing multivariable scalar functions - are developed from elementary calculus and implemented in a sensible object-oriented approach using only Python and the Numpy library. Demonstrations of solved problems using the framework, named ArrayFlow, include a computer vision classification task, solving for the shape of a catenary, and a 2nd order differential equation.
Automatic Tuberculosis Detection Using Chest X-ray Analysis With Position Enhanced Structural Information

For Tuberculosis (TB) detection beside the more expensive diagnosis solutions such as culture or sputum smear analysis one could consider the automatic analysis of the chest X-ray (CXR). This could mimic the lung region reading by the radiologist and it could provide an inexpensive solution to analyze and diagnose pulmonary abnormalities such as TB, a disease which often co-occurs with HIV. This software based pulmonary screening can be a reliable and affordable alternative solution for rural populations in different parts of the world such as the Indian subcontinent, Africa, etc. The fully automatic system we are proposing is processing the incoming CXR image by applying image processing techniques to detect the region of interest (ROI) followed by a computationally cheap feature extraction involving edge detection using Laplacian of Gaussian which we enrich by counting the local distribution of the intensities. The choice to “zoom in” the ROI and look for abnormalities locally is motivated by the fact that some pulmonary abnormalities are localized in specific regions of the lungs. Later on the classifiers can decide about the normal or abnormal nature of each lung X-ray. Our goal is to find a simple feature descriptor, instead of a combination of several ones, -proposed and promoted in recent years' literature, which can properly and simply describe the different pathological alterations in the lungs. Our experiments report results on two publicly available benchmark data collections11https://ceb.nlm.nih.gov/repos/chestImages.php, namely the Shenzhen and the Montgomery collection. For performance evaluation, measures such as area under the curve (AUC), and accuracy (ACC) were considered, achieving AUC = 0.81 (ACC = 83.33%) and AUC = 0.96 (ACC = 96.35%) for the Montgomery and Shenzhen collections, respectively. Several comparisons are also provided to other state-of-the-art systems reported recently in the field.