cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A KERNEL APPROXIMATION TO THE KRIGING PREDICTOR OF A SPATIAL PROCESS

Suppose a two-dimensional spatial process z(x) with generalized covariance function G(x, x′) α |x − x′|2 log |x − x′| (Matheron, 1973, Adv. in Appl. Probab., 5, 439–468) is observed with error at a number of locations. This paper gives a kernel approximation to the optimal linear predictor, or kriging predictor, of z(x) under this model as the observations get increasingly dense. The approximation is in terms of a Kelvin function which itself can be easily approximated by series expansions. This generalized covariance function is of particular interest because the predictions it yields are identical to an order 2 thin plate smoothing spline. For moderate sample sizes, the kernel approximation is seen to work very well when the observations are on a square grid and fairly well when the observations come from a uniform random sample. This manuscript was prepared using computer facilities supported in part by National Science Foundation Grants No. DMS-8601732 and DMS-8404941 to the Department of Statistics at The University of Chicago.
Center for ocean dating approved

The National Science Foundation will spend up to $5.4 million over 3 years to establish a center dedicated to the rapid isotopic analysis of water from the world's oceans. The national facility will be located at Woods Hole Oceanographie Institution on Cape Cod, Mass, and is expected to open in the summer of 1990. The purpose of the center, according to an NSF statement, is to provide around-theclock age analyses of oceanographie samples from around the world. The demand for quick, accurate dating of sea water is expected to rise sharply during the next decade as a result of new international research programs on the causes and effects of climate change and NSF's own Global Geoscience Initiative, the statement said. The Woods Hole facility will be able to process 4500 samples a year.
Structured eIRA codes

In a recent paper, Yang et at. presented the class of extended irregular repeat-accumulate (eIRA) codes which are efficiently encodable LDPC codes possessing very low error-rate floors and are appropriate for code rates 1/2 or greater. While efficiently encodable, the left-most (n - k)-by-k submatrix of an eIRA code parity-check matrix is random in nature, making efficient decoder implementation problematic. In the present paper, we present structured eIRA codes. We first present some ensemble results for the general class of eIRA codes, after which the subclass of structured eIRA codes is defined. Software and hardware-based performance results for structured eIRA code designs (rates 0.5 to 0.9) are then presented. Results include a 0.5(2048, 1024) code with a BER floor at 10/sup -9/ and a 0.8(5120, 4096) code with a BER floor below 10/sup -11/.
Digital libraries of community knowledge: the coming world of the Interspace

A global network for knowledge manipulation must support effective search, to locate relevant objects, and effective analysis, to correlate related objects. The Interspace is the coming global network, where knowledge manipulation is supported by concept navigation across community spaces. We have produced a working Interspace prototype, an analysis environment supporting semanic indexing on community repositories. Scalable technologies have been implemented for concept extraction, concept spaces, and concept switching. These technologies have been tested on discipline-scale, real-world document collections. The technologies use statistical clustering, on contextual frequency of phrases within documents. The practical basis of scalable semantics is context rather than meaning. This is part of a philosphical trend in pattern recognition from Western precise rules towards Eastern imprecise environments.
Information Sharing among Autonomous Agents in Referral Networks

Referral networks are a kind of P2P system consisting of autonomous agents who seek and provide services, or refer other service providers. Key applications include service discovery and selection, and knowledge sharing. An agent seeking a service contacts other agents to discover suitable service providers. An agent who is contacted may autonomously ignore the request or respond by providing the desired service or giving a referral. This use of referrals is inspired by human interactions, where referrals are a key basis for judging the trustworthiness of a given service. The use of referrals differentiates such networks from traditional P2P information sharing systems, which are based on request flooding. Not only does the use of referrals enable an agent to control how its request is processed, it also provides an architectural basis for four kinds of interaction policies. InterPol is a language and framework supporting such policies. InterPol provides an ability to specify requests with hard and soft constraints as well as a vocabulary of application-independent terms based on interaction concepts. Using these, InterPol enables agents to reveal private information and accept others' information based on subtle relationships. In this manner, InterPol goes beyond traditional referral and other P2P systems in supporting practical applications. InterPol has been implemented using a Datalog-based policy engine for each agent. It has been applied on scenarios from a (multinational) health care project. The contribution of this paper is in a general referrals-based architecture for information sharing among autonomous agents, which is shown to effectively capture a variety of privacy and trust requirements of autonomous users.
Knuckle cracking: secondary hyperparathyroidism and what your mother did not tell you.

Introduction. Secondary hyperparathyroidism in end-stage renal disease patients has protean musculoskeletal manifestations. Some of our dialysis patients spontaneously vocalized that they had lost the ability to crack their knuckles and then experienced gratifying restoration after surgical parathyroidectomy. We propose that the physiology and mechanical basis of knuckle cracking would be affected by parathyroid-related mineral and bone disorders. Methods and results. We surveyed all of our chronic dialysis outpatients who had undergone surgical parathyroidectomy. Thirteen (∼12% of the population) individuals were identified: eight males, age 37.7 ± 12.5 years old, dialysis duration of 10.2 ± 7.0 years and peak preoperative intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels of 2344 ± 900 pg/mL. Seven patients had no recollection of knuckle cracking issues, with surgery as remote as decades. Six individuals were able to provide adequate histories: four had postoperative restoration of knuckle cracking and expressed great satisfaction from the emotional relief from what appeared to be habitual knuckle cracking. Two of these patients reported rapid return of cracking, occurring in less than ∼2 weeks. Conclusions. This is the first report of loss of knuckle cracking due to hyperparathyroidism and its cure in 67% of patients, following surgical parathyroidectomy. We propose that parathyroid (e.g. calcific) changes in articular structures (tendons, ligaments) cause reduced elasticity, limited joint surface separation upon flexion, attenuation of cavitation and thus, loss of the audible crack upon vacuum collapse. The psychological ‘release’ from habitual knuckle cracking may be a motivator from some patients to adhere to complex parathyroid regimens or to pursue surgical intervention.
Power budgeting of a multiple-input buck-boost converter

The use of a multiple-input buck-boost converter for budgeting power between different energy sources is discussed. It is shown mathematically that the idealized converter can accommodate arbitrary power commands for each input source while maintaining a prescribed output voltage. Power budgeting is demonstrated experimentally for a real converter under various circumstances, including a two-input (solar and line-powered) system. A closed-loop control example involving simultaneous tracking of output voltage and set-point tracking of the solar array shows that an autonomous system is realizable.
The Effect of a Subthreshold Dose of d-Tubocurarine on the Neuromuscular Blocking Action of Succinylcholine in Anesthetized Man

Dose-response curves of succinylcholine (SuCh) were obtained in anesthetized patients by means of mechanograms of the flexion-grip response of the hand to ulnar nerve stimulation. A subparalyzing dose (0.04 mg/kg b.w.) of d-tubocurarine (d-TC) administered prior to SuCh (0.025–1.6 mg/kg b.w.) exhibited a shift of the dose-response curves toward the right, i.e., a diminishing effect on magnitude and duration of the SuCh induced neuromuscular blockade. The effective dose of SuCh required to produce a half-maximal inhibition of the contractile force (ED50, 0.12 mg/kg before d-TC) was increased to 0.3 mg/kg (15 min after d-TC), 0.26 mg/kg (after 30 min), and 0.23 mg/kg (after 45 min). Thus, d-TC pretreatment employed under clinical conditions to prevent potential hazards of SuCh requires a significant larger dose of SuCh to ensure consistently adequate relaxation. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Dosis-Wirkungsbeziehungen von Succinylcholin (SuCh) (0,025–1,6 mg/kg Korpergewicht) wurden mit Hilfe von Mechanogrammen der Beuge- und Faust-schlusbewegung der Hand nach elektrischer Ulnarisreizung an narkotisierten Patienten ermittelt. Die Vorausinjektion von d-Tubocurarin (d-TC) in der unterschwelligen Dosierung von 0,04 mg/kg Korpergewicht fuhrte zu einer Rechtsverschiebung der Dosis-Wirkungskurven von SuCh, d.h. d-TG vermindert Ausmas und Dauer der neuromuskularen Hemmwirkung von SuCh. Die Effektivdosis von SuCh, die eine halbmaximale Hemmung der Kontraktionskraft bewirkt (ED50; 0,12 mg/kg ohne d-TC) steigt auf 0,3 mg/kg 15 min nach d-TC an bzw. 0,26 mg/kg (nach 30 min) und 0,23 mg/kg (nach 45 min). Wird unter klinischen Bedingungen vor einer SuCh Injektion ein Muskelrelaxans vom kompetitiven Typ, z.B. d-TC verabfolgt, um potentielle Nebenwirkungen von SuCh zu verhuten, ist eine hohere Dosis SuCh erforderlich, um immer eine gute Muskelerschlaffung zu gewahrleisten.
A mathematical model for LH release in response to continuous and pulsatile exposure of gonadotrophs to GnRH

In a previous study, a model was developed to investigate the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) from pituitary cells in response to a short pulse of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The model included: binding of GnRH to its receptor (R), dimerization and internalization of the hormone receptor complex, interaction with a G protein, production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), release of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), entrance of calcium into the cytosol via voltage gated membrane channels, pumping of calcium out of the cytosol via membrane and ER pumps, and release of LH. The extended model, presented in this paper, also includes the following physiologically important phenomena: desensitization of calcium channels; internalization of the dimerized receptors and recycling of some of the internalized receptors; an increase in G q concentration near the plasma membrane in response to receptor dimerization; and basal rates of synthesis and degradation of the receptors. With suitable choices of the parameters, good agreement with a variety of experimental data of the LH release pattern in response to pulses of various durations, repetition rates, and concentrations of GnRH were obtained. The mathematical model allows us to assess the effects of internalization and desensitization on the shapes and time courses of LH response curves.
Void Swelling Resistance in Fe-Cr Alloys at 200 DPA

Microstructural examinations have been performed on a series of binary Fe-Cr alloys irradiated to 200 dpa at 425°C in a fast breeder reactor. The alloy compositions rangedfrom 3% to 18% Cr in 3% Cr increments, and the irradiation temperature corresponded to the peak swelling condition for this alloy class. Density measurements showed swelling levels as high as 7.4%, with the highest swelling found in the Fe-9Cr and Fe-6Cr alloys. Microstructural examinations revealed that the highest swelling conditions contained welldeveloped voids, often as large as 100 nm, and a dislocation network comprised of both a 2 and Burgers vectors. Swelling was lower in the other alloys, and the swelling reduction could be correlated with increased precipitation. These results are considered in light of the current theories for low swelling in ferritic alloys, but no theory is available to completely explain the results.
Michael Johns. The Education of a Radical: An American Revolutionary in Sandinista Nicaragua. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012.

En la lente: memoria, referencialidad historica y documentalismo en el cine latinoamericano actual
The Eucalyptus Open-Source Cloud-Computing System

Cloud computing systems fundamentally provide access to large pools of data and computational resources through a variety of interfaces similar in spirit to existing grid and HPC resource management and programming systems. These types of systems offer a new programming target for scalable application developers and have gained popularity over the past few years. However, most cloud computing systems in operation today are proprietary, rely upon infrastructure that is invisible to the research community, or are not explicitly designed to be instrumented and modified by systems researchers. In this work, we present Eucalyptus -- an open-source software framework for cloud computing that implements what is commonly referred to as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS); systems that give users the ability to run and control entire virtual machine instances deployed across a variety physical resources. We outline the basic principles of the Eucalyptus design, detail important operational aspects of the system, and discuss architectural trade-offs that we have made in order to allow Eucalyptus to be portable, modular and simple to use on infrastructure commonly found within academic settings. Finally, we provide evidence that Eucalyptus enables users familiar with existing Grid and HPC systems to explore new cloud computing functionality while maintaining access to existing, familiar application development software and Grid middle-ware.
MICROWAVE IRRADIATION ASSISTED GROWTH OF Cu, Ni, Co METALS AND/OR OXIDES NANOCLUSTERS AND THEIR CATALYTIC PERFORMANCE

Copper, nickel and cobalt metals and oxides needle-like shape nanoclusters have been synthesized successfully by chemical reduction in solution without using a surfactant. XRD analyses showed that copper and nickel metals could be synthesized in a short time period by a microwave irradiation (MWI) — assisted step wise reduction of metal ions in basic solution using hydrazine as a reducing agent whereas cobalt was mainly precipitated in the form of either hydroxide or oxide. TEM images showed that the size of needle-like shape nanoclusters varying from about 5 nm to few hundred nanometers length. On the other hand, copper and cobalt showed high catalytic activity toward CO oxidation than that of nickel. The mechanism of catalytic oxidation reactions over unsupported metals and oxides are also discussed.
Comparison between single-dose and divided-dose administration of dactinomycin and doxorubicin for patients with Wilms' tumor: a report from the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group.

PURPOSEThe National Wilms' Tumor Study (NWTS)-4 was designed to evaluate the efficacy, toxicity, and cost of administration of different regimens for the treatment of Wilms' tumor (WT).PATIENTS AND METHODSBetween August 6, 1986 and September 1, 1994, 1,687 previously untreated children less than 16 years of age with stages I to II/favorable histology (FH) or stage I/anaplastic histology WT (low-risk [LR] group) or stages III to IV/FH WT or stages I to IV/clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (high-risk [HR] group) were randomized to treatment that included vincristine and either divided-dose (standard [STD]) courses (5 days) or single-dose (pulse-intensive [PI]) treatment with dactinomycin. HR patients also received either STD courses (3 days) or PI treatment with doxorubicin.RESULTSThe 2-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rates for LR patients were 91.3% for 544 randomized to treatment with PI and 91.4% for 556 randomized to treatment with STD chemotherapy (P = .988). The 2-year RFS rates for HR patients were 8...
GROWTH OF STAPHYLOCOCCI ON MERCURIC CHLORIDE AGAR

Smith, P. B. (Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Ga.). Growth of staphylococci on mercuric chloride agar. J. Bacteriol. 84: 1016–1019. 1962.—An attempt has been made to corroborate a report that “epidemic” strains of staphylococci are more resistant to mercuric salts than are “nonepidemic” strains. A comparison of mercury resistance with coagulase production and phage type or pattern of 493 staphylococcal strains revealed that nearly half of the coagulase-negative strains tested were mercury-resistant, whereas many “epidemic” strains of certain phage types were sensitive to mercuric salts. Results obtained are compared with those from a previous investigation. The mercury resistance of some strains was found to vary significantly depending on the basal medium used; this could not be correlated with mercapto-group content of the medium. The data indicate that a medium containing mercuric chloride would have little practical value at the present time for the average laboratory engaged in isolating staphylococci.
The Interactions among Cyclone Dynamics, Vertical Thermodynamic Structure, and Cloud Radiative Forcing in the North Atlantic Summertime Storm Track.

Abstract This study investigates the changes in the vertical thermodynamic structure of the troposphere associated with the passage of cyclones and the corresponding influence on cloud radiative forcing (CRF). The focus is the synoptic-scale evolution of lower-tropospheric sounding structure in the extratropical North Atlantic during July 1985–89. The type and amount of low-level cloud cover, which has a strong impact on total CRF in this region, is sensitive to these variations. Composite profiles at ocean weather stations L and C are constructed for soundings with low-level temperature inversions, soundings with surface-based inversions, and soundings without inversions, separately for conditions of large-scale subsidence and ascent. In addition, collocated European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts analyzed fields and Earth Radiation Budget Experiment CRF data are averaged for each composite sounding. These composites correspond to distinct dynamical regimes associated with the movement of cycl...
Scientists Must Communicate

Julian Crib, a science writer has stated that:“Scientists have been so wrapped up in their work and their discoveries, they have forgotten to explain them to society that pays their miserable wages” and that...“They have omitted to put their work in language that ordinary people can understand. They have failed to explain its relevance to our daily lives – our health, wealth and well-being as a nation – and how to put it into practice in our industries”How true are these statements? Whether the statements are true or not, the need for scientists themselves to communicate with the rest of society exists. This presentation seeks ways to effect this communication and ends with a proposal on scientific journalism with the setting up of a Science Communication Centre for the popularization of science, within the Faculty of Science, in collaboration with the School of Communication Studies, both of the University of Ghana.
Energy Consumption Monitors: Building Occupant Understanding and Behavior

Architects can help reduce CO2 emissions from buildings by helping occupants understand their energy usage, and providing motivation for behavioral changes. One of the most promising technologies being developed are energy monitors, which have shown the potential to reduce energy usageby providing building occupants the opportunity to understand and alter energy consumption. This paper analyzes existing studies of energy monitors, in particular the theories behind their design and the methodsemployed in testing these theories. Analysis of the studies raises some basic questions such as: what behavioral models are used in the design of the monitors, what information do these monitors provide, and do users really understand the information provided to them? Findings suggest that many aspects of energymonitor design and information communication can have an impact on energy consumption, but that this impact has limits. They also suggest that this potential is not yet fully understood, and that there are many aspects of energy consumption and behavioral motivations that could be explored in future studies.
Psychiatric illness in husbands of alcoholics

Of 25 husbands of women alcoholics, 17 were diagnosed as having a psychiatric illness or were alcoholics or excessive drinkers.
On Projective Covariant Differentiation

On manifolds with the pseudogroup structure of the group of projective transformations there are linear differential operators between certain spaces of tensor fields, the analogue for projective structures of the affine covariant derivative; such operators have played an important role in connection with the Eichler cohomology groups on one-dimensional complex manifolds. This paper contains a discussion of such operators of first- or second-order on two-dimensional complex manifolds, indicating the invariance properties involved and the corresponding exact sequences leading to generalizations of the Eichler cohomology groups.
The Prevalence of Pisotriquetral Arthritis in the Setting of Scapholunate Advanced Collapse.

Background Previous authors have reported pisotriquetral pain and subsequent pisiform excision following partial or total wrist fusion in patients with scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC). Prior studies have not considered the potential role of SLAC biomechanics on pisotriquetral osteoarthritis (PT OA) development preoperatively. Purpose To determine the prevalence and severity of PT OA in patients with SLAC as compared with a control population. Patients and Methods Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of 24 patients with SLAC wrist and 24 sex- and age-matched control patients were analyzed. Patients with SLAC wrist were selected from a database of all wrist MRI studies performed at our institution from 2006 to 2015, excluding those with inflammatory arthritis, chondrocalcinosis, and incomplete or atraumatic scapholunate interosseous ligament rupture. Control patients underwent MRI for nonarthritic clinical indications and were chosen in an age- and sex-matched fashion. Patients undergoing MRI for triangular fibrocartilage complex injury, extensor carpi ulnaris tendinopathy, or ulnar-sided wrist pain were excluded from the control cohort. MRI grading of arthritic change at the pisotriquetral joint was assessed by a blinded musculoskeletal radiologist according to a four-category scale, with grade 4 indicating the greatest arthritic severity. Results The prevalence of PT OA in the control cohort was found to be 37.5% compared with 41.7% in the SLAC cohort. The prevalence of greatest arthritic severity (grade 4) at the pisotriquetral joint was found to be 4.2% in the control cohort, compared with 16.7% in the SLAC cohort. Conclusion We conclude that the overall prevalence of chondral wear at the pisotriquetral joint in SLAC wrist does not differ significantly from that found in control populations. We did identify a fourfold (but not statistically significant) increased prevalence of end-stage arthritis in patients with SLAC. Given reports of symptomatic PT OA developed following four-corner arthrodesis, we recommend preoperative vigilance for pisotriquetral pain in patients with SLAC arthritis. Level of Evidence Prognostic level III.
Ahaoysis on Morbidity and Precaution of Hydrophobia in Changting County

objective to generally analyze the influences on the morbidity bythe precaution against hydrophobia in changting,as well as to discuss the way of controlling diffusion of hydrophobia with the existing resources of the local disease-precaution divisions.Method to change the passive precoudion of singly receiving the group explosive to hydrophobia and supplying them with the vaccine so as to implement the Precaution before the explosion of hydrophobia.Result thanks to the changes to the mode of precaution,the inoculation rate of Vaccine among the group explosive to hydrophobia has ascended: the annual Consumption of hydrophobia vaccine of the whole county has sprung from 3110 To 5380 the morbidity is descending as well.Riscussion / ConclusionIt is a productive and effective measure for the Local disease-precaution dinsions to raise the inoculation rate among the group Explosive to hydrophobia with the existing ability and resources But the final Precaution against hydrophobia lies in the concerns from the governments and the comprehensive measures they carry out.
A Comparative Analysis of the Management of CRO Company and CRO Company in China

In recent years, the lack of funds and technology always restrict Chinese pharmaceutical drug development process. With the rapid development of social economy and technology, the CRO company, which undertakes medical research and development outsourcing services, has made up the defects of China's pharmaceutical industry by its strong capital base and professional research technology. How to learn from the management mode and experience of CRO company to improve its current situation, become an important issue of China CRO company.
Using Argument Diagramming to Improve Peer Grading of Writing Assignments.

One of the major components of MOOCs is the weekly assignment. Most of the assignments are multiple choice, short answer or programming assignments and can be graded automatically by the system. Since assignments that include argumentation or scientific writing are difficult to grade automatically, MOOCs often use a crowd-sourced evaluation of the writing assignments in the form of peer grading. Studies show that this peer-grading scheme faces some reliability issues due to widespread variation in the course participants’ motivation and preparation. In this paper we present a process of computer-supported argumentation diagramming and essay writing that facilitates the peer grading of the writing assignments. The process has not been implemented in a MOOC context but all the supporting tools are web-based and can be easily applied to MOOC settings.
Related General-Vocabulary Knowledge Transfers to Learning Technical Terms.

In a classroom experiment during the first week of an introductory psychology course, randomly assigned students received a pretest and then a brief training on the definitions of general-vocabular...
Relationship of Information and Infrastructures and Social Development Among the Visegrad-Four Countries of Central Europe at the Time of EU Accession

The following is an examination of the developmental status of four of the next candidate countries’ information infrastructures for accession into the European Union (EU). It develops significant relationships between nations’ levels of information infrastructure development and their economic and social developments and applies these relationships to evaluate investment needs for a select group of accession countries called the Visegrad Four. Using cross-country analysis, the candidate countries were compared to other countries and were classified into like groups using cluster analysis while their relative developments were evaluated using regression modeling. Developmental requirements and capital needs to promote growth in their information and communications industries were then identified. It is hoped that the chapter will offer a comparative glimpse of the information and communications infrastructures of some Central and East European countries as compared to other nations. IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING This chapter appears in the book, Advanced Topics in Global Information Management, vol. 4 edited by G. Gordon Hunter and Felix Tan © 2005, Idea Group Inc. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB11276
Tomography in Adaptive Optics: Ideas, System Development, and Flourishing

Tomographic wavefront correction has become a critical component of many astronomical AO systems today. We overview the successful inclusion of tomography in astronomical AO systems, with an eye towards future systems and concepts on ELTs. Article not available.
cite2vec: Citation-Driven Document Exploration via Word Embeddings

Effectively exploring and browsing document collections is a fundamental problem in visualization. Traditionally, document visualization is based on a data model that represents each document as the set of its comprised words, effectively characterizing what the document is. In this paper we take an alternative perspective: motivated by the manner in which users search documents in the research process, we aim to visualize documents via their usage, or how documents tend to be used. We present a new visualization scheme — cite2vec — that allows the user to dynamically explore and browse documents via how other documents use them, information that we capture through citation contexts in a document collection. Starting from a usage-oriented word-document 2D projection, the user can dynamically steer document projections by prescribing semantic concepts, both in the form of phrase/document compositions and document:phrase analogies, enabling the exploration and comparison of documents by their use. The user interactions are enabled by a joint representation of words and documents in a common high-dimensional embedding space where user-specified concepts correspond to linear operations of word and document vectors. Our case studies, centered around a large document corpus of computer vision research papers, highlight the potential for usage-based document visualization.
Lower bounds for peak horizontal strong-motion amplitudes

abstract Lower bounds for peak horizontal strong-motion amplitudes (acceleration, velocity, and displacement) as a function of local magnitude and distance to the causative fault are presented. These lower bounds result from the fact that the peak amplitudes of motion at a site must exceed certain minimum values for the response of a Wood-Anderson seismograph located at the same site to be consistent with the assigned local magnitude. The lower bounds obtained require high peak accelerations and velocities in the proximity of the source of major earthquakes. In particular, for M L = 7.0 and Δ = 10 km, the peak horizontal acceleration would have to exceed 0.69 g while the peak velocity would have to exceed 103 cm/sec.
Automatic generation of inter-component communication exploits for Android applications

Although a wide variety of approaches identify vulnerabilities in Android apps, none attempt to determine exploitability of those vulnerabilities. Exploitability can aid in reducing false positives of vulnerability analysis, and can help engineers triage bugs. Specifically, one of the main attack vectors of Android apps is their inter-component communication interface, where apps may receive messages called Intents. In this paper, we provide the first approach for automatically generating exploits for Android apps, called LetterBomb, relying on a combined path-sensitive symbolic execution-based static analysis, and the use of software instrumentation and test oracles. We run LetterBomb on 10,000 Android apps from Google Play, where we identify 181 exploits from 835 vulnerable apps. Compared to a state-of-the-art detection approach for three ICC-based vulnerabilities, LetterBomb obtains 33%-60% more vulnerabilities at a 6.66 to 7 times faster speed.
Micromachining of gorilla glass

For the first time, this paper presents micromachining of gorilla glass, which is a new tough and transparent substrate, but has not been used in MEMS yet. We have demonstrated that microstructures made of Gorilla glass have several advantages for MEMS applications, including flexibility and high fracture toughness. Wet etching with hydrofluoric acid (HF) was found more effective because it prevents creation of sharp corners. The process was optimized with an additive of hydrochloric acid (HCl) to reduce surface roughness, and the etching rate is approximately 12 μm/min. The microcantilevers made of Gorilla glass is capable to bend 12.26 degrees without breaking, which is very different from the conventional brittle glass (including Pyrex or Borosilicate).
Computational design and synthesis of novel fluoro-analogs of combretastatins A-4 and A-1

Abstract Combretastatin A-1 (CA-1) and combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) isolated from the African bush willow Combretum caffrum are highly potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors, possessing strong antitumor activities because of their vascular disrupting properties. Extensive SAR studies have been done for CA-4 analogs. Because of poor solubility, water-soluble prodrugs of CA-4 and CA-1 have been developed, which are currently in human clinical trials. Fluorine plays an important role in the current drug discovery and development due to its unique properties. Thus, several fluorine-containing analogs of CA-4/CA-1 have been studied. However, no analogs, which have a CF 3 O-, CF 2 HO- or CF 3 - group instead of the 4′-methoxy group in the B ring, have been investigated. Therefore, we set out to design and synthesize those novel fluoro-analogs of CA-4/CA-1. For the design of the new analogs, we took a structure-based design approach based on the X-ray crystal structure of colchicine-tubulin complex (PDB: 4O2B) and computational docking analysis using the AutoDock Vina program. A library of novel fluoro-analogs of CA-4/CA-1 was generated and their docking energy scores obtained. It was found that those novel fluoro-analogs exhibited better docking energy scores than CA-4/CA-1. Also, docking poses of all of these fluoro-analogs were virtually superimposable and very good fit to the colchine binding site. Among 15 compounds designed and analyzed, we have synthesized 5 compounds and evaluated their cytotoxicity against drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines. All fluoro-analogs exhibited strong cytotoxicity even against multidrug-resistant cell line. However, the critical activity of this class of compounds is its vascular disrupting activity. Thus, further biological evaluations are warranted for those novel fluoro-analogs of CA-4/CA-1.
Strictly positive secrecy of IoT: A case study involving correlated eavesdroppers

The evaluation of an IoMT system needs to include the assessment of LPI, LPE, or LPD. To provide a building block for these metrics, in this paper, we introduce the notion of the information-theoretic secrecy. In particular, we focus on the shadowing fading with the log-normal distribution. We extend a recent analysis for uncorrelated eavesdroppers to the case of correlated ones. Then we derive the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity for the system consisting of two correlated eavesdroppers. Numerical examples are presented and analyzed.
An Interview with Peter Jaszi, Professor of Law, Faculty Director of the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic

Peter Jaszi, copyright expert, lawyer, professor and author, was interviewed by the editors of the Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarainship on his carreer, influences, and copyright law, including what the future may hold for libraries and copyright. He also discusses the Codes of Best Practices for Fair Use, and gives advice for librarians who work with copyright.
Limited adoption of abdominal aortic aneurysm screening guidelines associated with no improvement in aneurysm rupture rate.

Background Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms can prevent life-threatening rupture. The Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently Act was implemented in 2007. This provides for a one-time abdominal aortic aneurysm screening. We hypothesize that the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently Act has increased the screening rate and identified more abdominal aortic aneurysms, leading to fewer ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Methods Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data were used to estimate the number of Medicare enrollees eligible for screening and the number screened. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was queried for discharges involving abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture and/or repair from the years 2000 to 2015 to assess national trends in abdominal aortic aneurysm admissions. The main outcomes were abdominal aortic aneurysm screening rates and standardized yearly incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture and abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs (stratified by open and endovascular). Results The number of patients screened increased from 9,884 (2007) to 95,243 (2015). The screening rate increased from 0.2% (2007) to 1.4% (2015) (P Conclusion The Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently Act has increased the number of patients being screened; however, screening rates remain low. The number of patients presenting with rupture has not decreased. Screening strategies need to be reassessed or made more widely available for this legislation to have an impact.
An Analysis of Attitudes—Dynamics and Effects:

Several cognitive factors are singled out because of their strong influence on the way in which the abilities of blind people are perceived, namely: the spread phenomenon, position of the observer,...
Evidence-Based Head and Neck Oncology: Principles and Pitfalls

Evidence-based Head and Neck Oncology is the implementation of, or the move toward, Evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the care of individual patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. While the general principles and pitfalls of EBM apply in this subfield as well as in medicine in general, this chapter maintains a head and neck focus. A number of recent issues in head and neck oncology exemplify the wider challenges of introducing EBM in a diverse population of patients across a range of health care systems. Among the issues reviewed are early clinical trials of radiation therapy alone or combined with other modalities, randomized phase II trials, meta-analysis, efficacy endpoints in head and neck oncology, and patient reported outcomes. The likely prevalence of false-positive trial findings in the literature is discussed. This problem is partly caused by multiple comparisons and is aggravated by discordance between planned analyses according to trial protocols and those published in the literature. Finally, challenges related to incorporation of biomarkers in clinical trials are briefly summarized.
MAGNETISM IN GRAPHITE INTERCALATION COMPOUNDS

Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs)1 provide a unique system of compounds which are of interest for fundamental studies of low dimensional magnetism. Both donor (e.g., stage 1 C6Eu) and acceptor (e.g., all stages of certain transition metal chlorides) GICs have been found to exhibit low temperature magnetic phases. The possibility of preparing single isolated magnetic layers either by intercalation or by atomic deposition processes has stimulated a great deal of experimental activity in the observation of highly anisotropic and 2-dimensional (2D) magnetic phenomena. We start our discussion with a brief review of our current state of knowledge about quasi-2D magnetism resulting from studies of magnetic GICs. Complementary information is provided by samples prepared by atomic deposition processes2 or by intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides.3
Laparoscopic Femoral Hernia Repair

The most prominent concern of a femoral hernia is the increased risk of bowel strangulation, as they are often missed or misdiagnosed on initial physical exam. For this reason, all patients with a femoral hernia diagnosed in the elective setting should be offered prompt intervention. The choice of technique utilized is based on the surgeon’s experience and comfort level, the patient’s physical exam, and their previous surgical history. Laparoscopic approaches are well suited for inguinal and femoral hernia repair and hold the benefit of being able to visualize and diagnose concurrent inguinal hernias which were not identified preoperatively. Minimally invasive techniques for repair of femoral hernias include total extraperitoneal (TEP), laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP), intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM), and robotic TAPP approaches. Key steps of the procedure include exposure of the entire myopectineal orifice, a wide peritoneal dissection to make room for mesh placement, sweeping back the peritoneal reflection to prevent a recurrence of a peritoneal hernia from under the lower edge of the mesh, exposure of the lacunar ligament, and blunt reduction of the hernia contents, avoiding the use of electrosurgery near the iliac vessels. If the contents remain incarcerated, a relaxing incision of the femoral ring may be made by incising the lacunar ring medially. The surgeon should inspect thoroughly for hemostasis after reduction of the hernia contents. While femoral hernia recurrence is a known complication, rates of recurrence requiring reoperation have been reported to be lower after laparoscopic repairs compared to open. Surgeon comfort with the anatomy and understanding of the surgical technique is critical to safe and appropriate repair.
Mechanical properties of 2D hierarchical re-entrant cellular structures with Voronoi sub-structures

In this study, 2D hierarchical re-entrant cellular structures with Voronoi sub-structures were proposed. Their Poisson's ratios and energy absorption capacities (in-plane) were studied using the finite-element method. The effects of geometric parameters (Voronoi sub-structure irregularity, k , concave angle, θ , ratio of cell wall thickness to cell height, w ) on the lattice mechanical properties were investigated. Results showed that Poisson's ratio first decreased and then increased with an increasing θ when k is less than 0.5. A minimum Poisson's ratio of approximately −0.315 was achieved when and . The 2D hierarchical re-entrant lattice structure exhibited a maximum energy absorption capacity when and , which is 3.9 times higher than that of the traditional re-entrant structure with solid ribs and of identical relative density.
Remediation of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Nursery Runoff during the Spring via Free Water Surface Constructed Wetlands

Abstract Agricultural operations face increasing pressure to remediate runoff to reduce deterioration of surface water quality. Some nursery operations use free water surface constructed wetland systems (CWSs) to remediate nutrient-rich runoff. Our objectives were twofold, first to examine the impact of two hydraulic retention times (HRT, 3.5 and 5.5 day) on CWS performance, and second to determine if increased nutrient loading from internal CWS and nursery sources during the spring contributed to nutrient export in excess of regulatory limits. We quantified nutrient loading and removal efficiency in a free water surface CWS from late winter through late spring over three years and monitored various water quality parameters. Total nitrogen in runoff was reduced from 20.6 ± 2.8 mg·liter−1 (ppm) to 4.1 ± 1.3 mg·liter−1 (ppm) nitrogen after CWS treatment. Phosphorus dynamics in the CWS were more variable and unlike nitrogen dynamics were not consistently influenced by water temperature and hydraulic loading ...
Numerical solution of differential game models

The applicability of differential game model is determined by the solvability of differential game. As to noncooperative differential game model, its optimality condition is Boundary Value Problems(BVPs) or Differential Algebraic Equations(DAEs). Thus, it is difficult to find analytical solution to this model except for some special case. In this paper, numerical method is developed to solve differential game models, and one iterative algorithm is given and discussed. And the algorithm is used to solve differential game model coming from competition in business competition. Numerical results are presented.
Optimizing the Age of Information for Blockchain Technology With Applications to IoT Sensors

Blockchain is an emerging technology that uses distributed ledgers for transparent, reliable, and traceable information exchange among network nodes. Blockchain and its 3rd generation Tangle-based implementations quickly extend their territory beyond crypto-currency to a broad range of applications using fee-less transactions over the Internet of things (IoT). However, this technology suffers from sluggishness in consensus-based validation of information that restricts its applicability to time-sensitive applications such as smart health. In this letter, we propose an optimized policy for sampling rate by IoT sensors that utilize blockchain and Tangle technologies for their transmission with the goal of minimizing the age of information (AoI) experienced by the end-users, considering both processing and networking resource constraints. Simulation results confirm the efficacy of the proposed algorithm compared to the current fixed-rate update policy. Further, a closed-form solution is obtained for the optimal sampling rate in a network of homogeneous IoT nodes as a benchmark system.
Obstructive Lung Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OLDOSA) cohort study: 10-year assessment.

Study Objectives:Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are very prevalent disorders. Their coexistence in the same individual has an unclear effect...
Comparing Meniscectomy and Meniscal Repair: A Matched Cohort Analysis Utilizing a National Insurance Database.

Background:Meniscal repair leads to improved patient outcomes compared with meniscectomy in small case series.Purpose:To compare the reoperation rates, 30-day complication rates, and cost differenc...
Efficacy of residual herbicides influenced by cover-crop residue for control of Amaranthus palmeri and A. tuberculatus in soybean

Field studies were conducted in 2018 and 2019 in Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee to determine if cover-crop residue interfered with herbicides that provide residual control of Palmer amaranth and waterhemp in no-till soybean. The experiments were established in the fall with planting of cover crops (cereal rye + hairy vetch). Herbicide treatments consisted of a nontreated or no residual, acetochlor, dimethenamid-P, flumioxazin, pyroxasulfone + flumioxazin, pendimethalin, metribuzin, pyroxasulfone, and S-metolachlor. Palmer amaranth took 18 d and waterhemp took 24 d in the cover crop–alone (nontreated) treatment to reach a height of 10 cm. Compared with this treatment, all herbicides except metribuzin increased the number of days until 10-cm Palmer amaranth was present. Flumioxazin applied alone or in a mixture with pyroxasulfone were the best at delaying Palmer amaranth growing to a height of 10 cm (35 d and 33 d, respectively). The herbicides that resulted in the lowest Palmer amaranth density (1.5 to 4 times less) integrated with a cover crop were pyroxasulfone + flumioxazin, flumioxazin, pyroxasulfone, and acetochlor. Those four herbicide treatments also delayed Palmer amaranth emergence for the longest period (27 to 34 d). Waterhemp density was 7 to 14 times less with acetochlor than all the other herbicides present. Yield differences were observed for locations with waterhemp. This research supports previous research indicating that utilizing soil-residual herbicides along with cover crops improves control of Palmer amaranth and/or waterhemp.Nomenclature: Acetochlor; flumioxazin; pyroxasulfone; S-metolachlor; Palmer amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.; waterhemp, Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq) Sauer; cereal rye, Secale cereale L.; hairy vetch, Vicia villosa Roth; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.