cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sources of Environmentally Destructive Behavior: Individual, Organizational and Institutional Perspectives

Our specific focus is a multi-level analysis of the destructiveness of taken-for-granted belief and behavior. First, we consider how individuals are guided in their perception of environmental problems through cognitive biases. Second, we consider how individuals are influenced in these perceptions and biases by the organizations of which they are a part. Finally, we consider the institutions that persist and guide our awareness of our connections and impact on the environment. Only by identifying these core, taken-for-granted beliefs (or myths) that lie on these three levels can we understand the persistence of environmentally destructive behavior and move beyond our predisposition toward actions that lead us to destroy the environment.
Integration of Slack, a cloud-based team collaboration application, into research coordination

Background Practitioners of epidemiology require efficient real-time communication and shared access to numerous documents in order to effectively manage a study. Much of this communication involves study logistics and does not require the use of Protected Health Information. Slack is a team collaboration app; it archives all direct messages and group conversations, hosts documents internally and integrates with the Google Docs application. Slack has both desktop and mobile applications, allowing users to communicate in real time without the need to find email addresses or phone numbers or create contact lists. Methods We piloted the integration of Slack into our research team of one faculty member, one research coordinator and approximately 20 research assistants. Statistics describing the app’s usage were calculated 12 months after its implementation. Results The results indicating heavy usage by both research professionals and assistants are presented. Our Slack group cumulatively included 51 users. Between October 2015 and November 2016, approximately 10,600 messages were sent through Slack; 53% were sent by research assistants (RAs) and 47% were sent by us. Of the 106 files stored on Slack, 82% were uploaded by research staff. In a survey from January 2016, 100% of RAs agreed or strongly agreed that Slack improved communication within the team. Conclusion We demonstrate a model for integration of communication technology into academic activities by research teams. Slack is easily integrated into the workflow at an urban, academic medical centre and is adopted by users as a highly effective tool for meeting research teams’ communication and document management needs.
Waves in Metamaterials and Plasmon

This chapter discusses some of the fundamentals of metamaterials including transformation electromagnetics (EM) and cloaking. Most encountered materials in practice have relative permittivity greater than one, except plasma whose relative permittivity is less than one, and relative permeability equal to one, except magnetic materials. Artificial magnetic materials have magnetic properties not found in nature even though the materials are nonmagnetic. Split‐ring resonators (SRRs) are a typical example. A man‐made chiral material consisting of a collection of metal helices is another example. The chapter also discusses another example that is bianisotropic media. SRR has been studied for use in magnetic resonance. Its size can be small and can be used as a homogeneous medium. The chapter further discusses a new and different application of the coordinate transformation, not for producing a new material, but for using the transformation to solve a wave scattering problem. Finally, it considers a wave propagating over a rough surface.
“Love Is a Choice”: Couple Responses to Continuing Pregnancy With a Lethal Fetal Diagnosis:

While it is known that couples experience pregnancy differently from one another, the circumstance of continuing pregnancy after learning of a lethal fetal diagnosis has received little attention. ...
On optimal estimation theory for atmospheric correction in vswir imaging spectroscopy

Conventional VSWIR imaging spectrometer atmospheric correction evolved from multi-band approaches and generally does not exploit the full spectral measurement. We hypothesize that a pure spectroscopic approach can improve atmospheric inversion accuracy to minimize regional biases in global-scale investigations. Such techniques are pervasive in atmospheric remote sounding disciplines, where Optimal Estimation (OE) retrieval theory (Rodgers et al., 2000) inverts a radiance spectrum to recover a consistent physical model incorporating, for example, aerosol and H 2 O, the interactions between scattering, absorption, and the coupling between surface reflectance and atmosphere. This enables a statistically rigorous treatment of uncertainty with the potential to recover information on spectrally-broad signals. Here we demonstrate a proof of concept that overcomes the primary computational roadblock of these methods: fast execution of line-by-line Radiative Transfer (RT) models. Neural Network (NN) emulation can replicate the results of the MODTRAN 6.0 line-by-line A-band model to high accuracy and a five order of magnitude improvement in execution time. This demonstrates potential for OE to provide significant advances in the accuracy and modeling power of VSWIR atmospheric correction.
A Novel System to Measure Infants’ Nutritive Sucking During Breastfeeding: the Breastfeeding Diagnostic Device (BDD)

Breastfeeding is optimal for infant health, but more than 66% of mothers cease exclusive breastfeeding within three months after giving birth. Evaluating infants’ sucking effort provides valuable diagnosis to mothers encountering barriers with breastfeeding. Sucking microstructure is defined as an array of metrics that comprehensively capture infants’ ability to create a sealed latch onto mother’s nipple and regulate feeding, including number of sucks, sucks per burst, number of bursts, intra suck interval, and maximal sucking pressure. In this paper, we proposed a breastfeeding diagnostic device (BDD) which allows convenient and objective measurement of infants’ sucking microstructure in both home and clinical settings. BDD utilizes an air-based pressure transducer to measure infants’ sucking behavior. We conducted pilot clinical studies on six dyads of mother and infant to test the feasibility of the BDD system. To facilitate comparison, both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding were conducted on the six dyads using the BDD in home settings, and the outcomes are comparable with prior recordings in research or clinical settings. By offering a convenient and objective measurement of the sucking microstructure, the BDD will provide clinically meaningful guidance and diagnosis to mothers struggling with breastfeeding. BDD will also serve as an objective metric useful in research areas relevant to infant behaviors, assessment of neurodevelopment, and potentially a screening tool for developmental disabilities.
Layered concept-learning and dynamically variable bias management

Concept learning is inherently complex. Without severe constraint or inductive "bias," the general problem is intractable. While most learning systems have been designed with built-in biases, these systems typically work well only in narrowly circumscribed problem domains. Here we present a model of concept formation that views learning as a simultaneous optimization problem at three different levels, with dynamically chosen biases guiding the search for satisfactory hypotheses. In this model, the partitioning of events into classes occurs through dynamic interactions among three layers: event space, hypothesis space, and bias space. This view of the induction process may help clarify the problem of learning and lead to more general and efficient induction systems. To test this model of meta-knowledge, a variable bias management system (VBMS) has been designed and partly implemented. The system will dynamically alter evolving hypotheses, concept representation languages, and concept formation algorithms by monitoring progress and selecting biases based on characteristics of the particular induction problems presented. VBMS is designed to learn the best biases for different types of induction problems. Thus it is robust (effective and efficient in many domains). The system can learn incrementally despite noisy data at any level.
System Performance: Measures and Environmental Effects

This chapter presents the applicable criteria for the evaluation of discrete, linear control systems. Mention is made of economic criteria, such as profit maximization and cost minimization, but the major emphasis is given to several surrogate measures directed at various aspects of system performance, many of which are traditionally used by control engineers. The most common performance measures traditionally used by control engineers involve various aspects of system response to fairly simple deterministic input functions. These measures include criteria known as stability, speed of response, peak overshoot, steady-state response, and frequency response. Stability is a prerequisite for system usefulness and should be assured while examining system performance relative to other design criteria. Speed of response is a measure of how quickly a system can readjust to a change in desired operating level or compensate for the effects of a particular perturbation. In many cases, the magnitude of the peak overshoot increases as the speed of response is increased, so the need for some sort of trade-off between these two criteria is quite common. The steady-state response of a system to a given forcing function is the limiting response reached by a stable system after the various adjustment transients have died out.
Consulting-Schwerpunkte bei der Entwicklung eines Application Service Providers (ASP)

Unter den innovativen, technologiegetriebenen neuen Geschaftsmodellen hat vor allem das Modell des Application Service Providers (ASP) Furore gemacht. Aus der Sicht des IT Management Consulting handelt es sich bei der Herausbildung von Service Provider-Strukturen um eine neue Etappe in der Differenzierung der Kernkompetenzen technologienaher Unternehmen. Diese Differenzierung fand ursprunglich auf dem Niveau des Infrastrukturbetreibers (Netzbetreiber vs. Rechenzentrum) statt, ging dann uber das Niveau der infrastrukturunterstutzenden Organisation (prozessorganisiertes IT Cost Center) auf das heutige Niveau der serviceorientierten Organisation (IT Service Provider als Profit Center). Wir befinden uns aktuell in der Phase der Herausbildung von Service Providern der unterschiedlichsten Art. Die Bandbreite reicht dabei von technologienahen Providern, wie Netzprovidern oder Internet Service Providern (ISP) bis hin zu den Business Service Providern (BSP), die nicht nur die technologische Plattform fur einen Service bieten, sondern auch den damit verbundenen Geschaftsprozess, z. B. einen Versandprozess, gleich mit abdecken.
Detection of Human Cytomegalovirus by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can produce life-threatening disease in immunosuppressed AIDS patients and organ transplant recipients. Congenital HCMV is the leading infectious cause of birth defects, including blindness, deafness, mental retardation, and death. HCMV can be transmitted in utero, during delivery, or postnatally through physical contact, blood transfusion, and organ transplantation. There are few treatments for HCMV disease. However, ganciclovir (DHPG) has been beneficial in HCMV-infected transplant patients.
Probability and Evidence

In ‘The Aim of Inductive Logic’, Rudolph Carnap has offered a clear statement of his conception of the way in which Inductive Logic or Confirmation Theory contributes to a theory of rational probability judgment.1
Price simulation and prediction of leaf vegetable based on gene expression algorithm

Based on the traditional gene expression algorithm, the paper proposed an improved gene expression algorithm, adding "inverted string" and "gene extraction" operator. An improved GEP algorithm is used in the leafy vegetables prices forecast, create the mathematical model through the analysis and evolution of training data, realize the simulation and forecast of the price of leafy vegetables. Through several experiments, the results proved that the new type of gene expression programming algorithm has faster convergence rate and higher precision in predicting the price of leafy vegetables.
Treat a Cop Like They Are God: Exploring the Relevance and Utility of Funds of Gang Knowledge among Latino Male Students.

Latinos represent 20% of the more than 1 million gang-associated youth in the United States. This study explores how gang associated Latino males use their funds of gang knowledge to navigate their...
Iron sulfide formation on root surfaces controlled by the life cycle of wild rice (Zizania palustris)

Iron sulfide plaques have been observed on roots of wild rice (Zizania palustris) and other wetland plants grown in sulfur-impacted freshwater ecosystems, but the mechanism of their formation and ramifications for plants have not been investigated. We exposed a model annual wetland plant, Zizania palustris, to elevated sulfate concentrations (3.1 mM) and quantified the development of iron oxide and iron sulfide precipitates on root surfaces throughout the plant life cycle. During the onset of seed production, root surfaces amended with sulfate transitioned within 1 week from iron (hydr)oxide plaques to iron sulfide plaques. During the same week, Fe(III) decreased on roots of plants not amended with sulfate but FeS did not accumulate. Prior to FeS accumulation, sulfate-amended plants had taken up the same amount of N as unamended plants. After FeS accumulation, total plant nitrogen did not increase further on sulfate-amended plants, indicating a cessation in nitrogen uptake, whereas total plant N continued to increase in unamended plants. Sulfate-amended plants produced fewer and lighter seeds with less nitrogen than unamended plants. FeS precipitation on roots may be associated with elevated sulfide and inhibited nitrogen uptake before the end of the plant’s life cycle, thus affecting the populations of this annual aquatic plant. We propose a mechanism by which a physiologically-induced decline in radial oxygen loss near the end of a plant’s life cycle initiates a precipitous decline in redox potential at the root surface and in adjacent porewater, initiating accumulation of iron sulfide plaques. These plaques could be an important locus for iron sulfide accumulation in wetland sediments.
Pediatric vs. Adult Prodrome and Postdrome: A Window on Migraine Pathophysiology?

Few studies have been conducted on the prodromal and postdromal phases of the migraine attack in children and adolescents. Using a questionnaire, we found that 67% of 103 children and adolescents with migraine reported at least one prodromal symptom, with a mean number per subject of 1.8 (median 2.2). The most frequently reported prodromal symptoms were face changes, fatigue and irritability. In pediatric patients selected as having prodrome, the most frequently reported prodromal symptoms were fatigue, mood change and neck stiffness. Using a different design, Laurell et al. found that 71% of 137 pediatric patients reported at least one prodromal symptom with a mean number per subject of 1.9±2.0. Studying postdrome was fraught with unexpected difficulties as our preliminary research showed. Patients reported 2 groups of symptoms occurring during the resolution phase of the headache: symptoms that had begun before the headache had resolved and were persistent after migraine headache cessation, and symptoms that had begun after the headache had resolved. We referred to the former as persistent symptoms and to the latter as true postdromes. Ninety-one per cent of patients reported persistent symptoms, with a mean of 6.0 and a median of 2, asthenia, pallor, cognitive difficulties, anorexia, somnolence, and nausea being the more frequently reported. True postdromes were reported by 82% of patients, with a mean of 2.6 and a median of 2, thirst, somnolence, visual disturbances, food craving, paraesthesias, and ocular pain being the more frequently reported. Interestingly, several prodromal and postdromal symptoms are also encountered during the aura classic and/or accompany the headache phase. Functional imaging in migraine has showed that the activations in areas such as hypothalamus or brainstem may begin before headache onset and/or persist after headache relief. Thus, one may wonder whether prodromal and postdromal symptoms may indicate the involvement of the limbic system, dopaminergic pathways, the hypothalamus and the brainstem. Differences between children, adolescents and adults might contribute to the understanding of migraine neurobiology.
Influence of Nanocrystal Size on the Optoelectronic Properties of Thin, Solution-Cast Sn-Doped In2O3 Films

Thin films made from transparent conducting oxide (TCO) nanocrystals are promising alternatives to traditional vacuum-sputtered films. However, the material properties of nanocrystal-derived thin f...
A health literacy training intervention for physicians and other health professionals.

Background and objectives Health literacy is a key factor in communication between patients and health care professionals of all kinds. Improving the training of health professionals about patients' health literacy is a national priority that remains understudied. We sought to examine the effects of a health literacy training on physicians and nonphysician health professionals. Methods We used a pre-/post-intervention self-reported assessment of knowledge, perceived skills, and current and intended behaviors vis-a-vis communicating with patients who have limited health literacy to evaluate the effects of a 3.5-hour health literacy training intervention designed to improve communication with such patients for the entire staff of a single family medicine residency program clinic. Results A total of 58 health professionals participated. Complete data were available for 45 individuals (11 physicians and 34 nonphysicians). Forty-eight percent reported having initially overestimated their pre-training understanding of health literacy issues. Mean ratings significantly improved on all 12 knowledge, perceived skill, and intended behavior items. Results varied by health profession, with physicians reporting less positive change on several items. Among physicians, the training impact varied by years of experience. Conclusions Health literacy training for health professionals can improve self-perceived knowledge, skills, and intended behaviors, but results may vary between physicians and nonphysician health professionals and by years of experience. More research is needed to identify ideal instructional strategies for teaching health professionals about health literacy.
Father support is protective against the negative effects of perceived discrimination on CRP among sexual minorities but not heterosexuals.

Background Exposure to sexual orientation-related discrimination among sexual minorities may lead to elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) as compared to their heterosexual counterparts. However, little is known about factors that may buffer the association between discrimination and CRP among sexual minorities versus heterosexuals. The current study examined if the association between discrimination, sexual orientation, and CRP differed across levels of social support from one's father/father-figure or mother/mother-figure between sexual minorities and heterosexuals. Methods Data came from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The sample sizes for father support and mother support was 3167 and 3575, respectively. Participants ranged in age from 24 to 33 years. Stratified linear regression models examined if father and mother support moderated the association between discrimination and CRP among sexual minorities and heterosexuals. Results Father support significantly moderated the association between discrimination and CRP among sexual minorities but not heterosexuals. Sexual minorities with higher father support and who experienced discrimination had lower CRP as compared to those with lower father support and who experienced discrimination. Mother support did not moderate the association between discrimination and CRP among either sexual minorities or heterosexuals. Conclusion Father support may mitigate the negative effects of stress from discrimination on CRP among sexual minorities. Future research should further examine the potential differential role that father support may play in reducing cardiovascular risk among sexual minorities versus heterosexuals who experience discrimination.
Spasm Freedom Following Microvascular Decompression for Hemifacial Spasm: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a debilitating disorder characterized by intermittent involuntary movement of muscles innervated by the facial nerve. HFS is caused by neurovascular compression along the facial nerve root exit zone and can be treated by microvascular decompression (MVD). The goal was to determine rates and predictors of spasm freedom after MVD for HFS. Methods A literature search using the key terms “microvascular decompression” and “hemifacial spasm” was performed. The primary outcome variable was spasm freedom at last follow-up. Analysis was completed to evaluate for variables associated with spasm-free outcome. Results A total of 39 studies including 6249 patients were analyzed. Overall spasm freedom rate was 90.5% (5652/6249) at a follow-up of 1.25 ± 0.04 years. There was no significant relationship between spasm freedom versus persistent spasm and age at surgery, timing of follow-up, gender, disease duration, side of disease, or vessel type. Spasm freedom was more likely after an initial surgery versus a redo MVD (odds ratio 4.16, 95% confidence interval 1.99–8.68; P Conclusions MVD works well for HFS with cure rates >90% at 1-year follow-up in 6249 patients from 39 studies. A significant predictor of long-term spasm freedom at 1 year was an initial MVD as compared to repeat MVD. The majority of published manuscripts on MVD for HFS are heterogeneous single-institutional retrospective studies. As such, a large-scale meta-analysis reporting outcome rates and evaluating significant predictors of spasm freedom provides utility in the absence of randomized controlled studies.
On Bivariate Kumaraswamy-Distorted Copulas

We propose families of bivariate copulas based on the Kumaraswamy distortion of existing copulas. With the additional two parameters in the Kumaraswamy distribution, the induced copulas permit more...
Numerical analyses of crack path instabilities in quenched plates

Abstract Crack path instabilities are observed in rapidly quenched rectangular glass plates whereby wavy crack patterns form as a result of the induced temperature gradients. The peculiar characteristic of these instabilities is that the speed of propagation is several order of magnitudes lower that the Rayleigh wave speed. Experimental studies have shown the dependence of the instabilities on certain geometrical, material, and experimental parameters (e.g. plate width, material toughness, speed of quenching). By perturbing these parameters cracks are observed to propagate along a straight line, oscillate with a periodic sinusoidal or semi-circle like morphology, or propagate in a supercritical manner. Here we formulate the problem of a propagating crack in a brittle thermoelastic material while considering the possibility of the crack undergoing bursts of supercritical crack propagation, by extending the model in Negri and Ortner (2008). We also describe a novel higher order computational framework for its numerical solution centered around Universal Meshes, Mapped Finite Element Methods, and Interaction Integral Functionals. We verify the convergence of the results and compare them against experiments. We reveal crack behaviors not previously observed. Particularly we discuss periods of sudden crack propagation, followed by temporary arrest and crack kinking. We identify various crack morphologies: sinusoidal, asymmetric, semi-circle, kinked and flattened oscillations. We investigate the frequency content of the oscillatory crack paths and study their relation to the dominating problem parameters. Additionally, we identify two new thresholds in phase space corresponding to the transition from oscillatory propagation to rapid propagation and arrest, as well as from permanent crack arrest to temporary crack arrest followed by kinking and branching.
Humpback whale song analysis based on automatic classification performance

Song is a prevalent behavior in humpback whale populations, even in regions that are considered to be foraging habitat such as the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in the Northeast Pacific, where song is detected nine months out of the year. In this work, we explore various machine learning methods to classify song units, as a basis for studying song structure and its changes. We report on a number of analyses and classification exercises based on linear predictive coding, vector quantization, and machine learning classifiers including Naive Bayes, first-order Markov chain, and Hidden Markov modeling. As a baseline for comparison purposes, the distortion measure used to create the codebooks for vector quantization is itself also used as a means for classification. With classification accuracy ranging from 65% to 83% across the selected methods on a 4.5 h recording involving 5000 unit occurrences over 20 different unit types, we evaluate the effect of several signal processing, clustering, and learning parameters on classification performance with the goal of laying a foundation that can be used to characterize song vocalization at not only the unit level but also below (subunit) and above (phrase, theme, song).
Formation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) during the natural lactic acid fermentation of cucumber

Abstract This study investigated γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) formation during natural lactic acid fermentation of cucumbers. Two lots of cucumbers were fermented or acidified in duplicate in 4 % sodium chloride (NaCl) brine and analyzed for GABA content over 6 months storage. GABA was present in fresh and acidified pickling cucumbers at 0.83 ± 0.16 mM and 0.56 ± 0.30 mM, respectively. Additional GABA was generated in fermented cucumbers (1.21 ± 0.35 mM) and remained stable over time and during further processing. Brine salt content (2 % - 6 %) affected GABA formation with greatest GABA formation in cucumber brined in 2 % NaCl (1.38 ± 0.31 mM). Commercially available, fermented cucumber pickles packed in their original fermentation brines contained more GABA (1.32 ± 0.25 mM) than acidified (0.46 ± 0.26 mM) or fermented, desalted and re-packed products (0.49 ± 0.32 mM). This work demonstrated that low-salt fermentation enhances GABA content in fermented cucumber products prepared for direct consumption.
Energetic cost of girdling in a notodontid caterpillar, Oedemasia leptinoides

In North America, notodontid caterpillars feed predominantly on hardwood trees; some cause significant economic damage with periodic outbreaks. The late instars of several species cut girdles around the petiole, rachis, or stem before feeding on distal leaf blades. Little is known about the benefits or costs of girdling for caterpillars. In this paper, we analyzed the energetic cost of girdling by comparing final instars of a girdling notodontid, Oedemasia leptinoides, with two non-girdling notodontids, Cecrita guttivitta and Lochmaeus manteo. Time allocated to four behaviors (girdling, feeding, walking, and inactive) was measured in the field with 3-h observations each day over three days. We also measured metabolic rates for the four behaviors using flow-through respirometry. The metabolic rate for each behavior was multiplied by the time spent over the 9 h of observation to estimate the total energetic cost of each behavior. In the field, O. leptinoides on black hickory (Carya texana) spent 4.6 ± 0.9% of their time girdling. They cut girdles primarily on the first day and fed on leaves mostly on days 2 and 3. Their metabolic rate during girdling was similar to feeding and walking, but greater than inactivity. Overall, the larvae utilized 6.4 ± 1.2% of their total energy while girdling. Relative to non-girdlers, O. leptinoides larvae spent significantly less time and energy feeding on leaves suggesting a trade-off between girdling and feeding. To our knowledge, this study is the first to quantify the energetic cost of an insect behavior for modifying host plants before feeding.
Silver-impregnated occlusive dressings are a cost-effective strategy for preventing infection after total shoulder arthroplasty

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of the most commonly used type of antimicrobial silver-impregnated occlusive dressing (Aquacel Ag, ConvaTec, Oklahoma City, OK, USA) for prosthetic shoulder infection (PSI) prevention after shoulder arthroplasty. Methods Data regarding the cost of silver-impregnated occlusive dressing, cost to treat a PSI and initial infection rates after shoulder arthroplasty were calculated from available literature. Using a break-even economic analysis, we developed an equation that incorporated these variables to determine the absolute risk reduction (ARR) in infection rate required to make the use of this dressing cost-effective. To provide a widely applicable and reusable model, multiple simulations were performed at varying unit costs, infection rates, and PSI-related care costs. Results At a dressing cost of $34.00 and presuming a cost of $50,230 for treating a PSI, these dressings are considered cost-effective if their use prevents at least 1 infection in 1471 TSA (ARR of 0.068% from the initial infection rate of 0.7%). The cost-effectiveness of this dressing was maintained through a realistic range of dressing and PSI treatment costs, while initial infection rate was found not to influence cost-effectiveness. Conclusions Antimicrobial silver-impregnated occlusive dressings represent a cost-effective infection prevention strategy after shoulder arthroplasty. The presented model serves as a useful resource to aid in weighing the economic effects of implementing any potential prophylactic measures aimed at minimizing infections after shoulder arthroplasty. Level of Evidence Level IV; Economic Decision Analysis
RANCANG BANGUN DUPLEXER PADA SYSTEM PEMANCAR DAN PENERIMA RADIO HYBRID CIGRA

Perkembangan teknologi saat ini sangatlah berkembang dengan pesat, komunikasi sangat penting dan dibutuhkan, Peneltian ini bertujuan untuk merancang bangun sebuah perangkat Duplexer yang bekerja pada band 900 MHz pada jaringan radio hybrid. Duplexer adalah perangkat yang menggunakan satu antena pada frekuensi yang berbeda. Pada penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif, karena hanya satu antenna yang dapat berkomunikasi antara dua HT, duplexer didesain menggunakan mikrostrip sebagai resonator. Komponen L dan C pada mikrostrip ini menggunakan teknik open circuit untuk kapasitor dan short circuit untuk induktor. Duplexer diperoleh dengan memanfaatkan respon frekuensi band stop filter (BSF). Frekuensi yang digunakan pada band 900 Mhz yang mana frekuensi uplink adalah 453,025 MHz – 463,025 MHz dan frekuensi downlink 458.025 MHz – 468.025 MHz.Hasil pengujian diperoleh redaman pada cut off mencapai 12 db. Redaman ini merupakan tingkat isolasi sinyal antara sinyal uplink dan downlink.
SLAW: Scaled Loss Approximate Weighting for Efficient Multi-Task Learning.

Multi-task learning (MTL) is a subfield of machine learning with important applications, but the multi-objective nature of optimization in MTL leads to difficulties in balancing training between tasks. The best MTL optimization methods require individually computing the gradient of each task's loss function, which impedes scalability to a large number of tasks. In this paper, we propose Scaled Loss Approximate Weighting (SLAW), a method for multi-task optimization that matches the performance of the best existing methods while being much more efficient. SLAW balances learning between tasks by estimating the magnitudes of each task's gradient without performing any extra backward passes. We provide theoretical and empirical justification for SLAW's estimation of gradient magnitudes. Experimental results on non-linear regression, multi-task computer vision, and virtual screening for drug discovery demonstrate that SLAW is significantly more efficient than strong baselines without sacrificing performance and applicable to a diverse range of domains.
Low-Temperature Solution-Processed n-Channel SnO2 Thin-Film Transistors and High-Gain Zero-VGS-Load Inverter

Low-cost inorganic solution processing for oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) is crucial for developing next-generation cost-effective, ubiquitous, and flexible electronics, and the d...
Underwater Environmental Impact and Thermal Management of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Li-Ion Batteries

This article explores the behavior of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in underwater temperature environments and develops a thermal management system to control the battery's temperature. When the battery is operating at low temperature conditions, the life span of the battery is shortened due to increasing internal resistance and results in reduced capacity. A Li-ion battery pack was tested inside a thermal chamber to simulate underwater conditions, which maintained room temperature during high discharge rates, but decreased to the environment temperature at low discharge rates. To maximize battery performance, a heat pad and thermal control mechanism is proposed. The thermal management system was able to reduce the internal resistance of the battery, thereby reducing the power loss. From this result, we expect the battery lifespan to increase with this method. The proposed system was tested with a 18Ah, 14.8V, 4 series 6 parallel 18650 Li-ion battery pack in a water-tight enclosure inside the thermal chamber simulating underwater temperature conditions.
Nutrition and Risk for Osteoporosis

Publisher Summary Nutrition affects bone health in two qualitatively distinct ways. Bone tissue deposition, maintenance, and repair are the result of cellular processes, and the cells of bone responsible for these functions are as dependent upon nutrition as are the cells of any other tissue. The production of bone matrix, for example, requires the synthesis and post-translational modification of collagen and an array of other proteins. Nutrients involved in such synthesis include protein, the vitamins C, D, and K, and the minerals copper, manganese, and zinc. Phosphorus is also involved indirectly in these cellular activities. Additionally, the skeleton serves as a very large nutrient reserve for two minerals, calcium and phosphorus, and the size of that reserve is dependent in part on the daily balance between absorbed intake and excretory loss of these two minerals. Bone mass is also dependent upon a variety of non-nutritional factors, such as genetics, mechanical loading, and hormonal status. These dependencies complicate the interpretation of low bone mass values because, while low bone mass always means a reduced calcium reserve, a simple reduction in bone mass does not necessarily mean that it had a nutritional cause. This chapter discusses the problems faced in the investigation of nutritional effects on bone, including nutrition-specific problems and bone-specific problems.
Role of the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) in the tissue‐specific regulation of rat tryptophan hydroxylase gene expression by stress

There are tissue specific discrepancies in expression of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) between the pineal gland and brainstem. TPH mRNA levels in the pineal are much higher than in the brainstem, however, the two tissues contain comparable protein levels. This discrepancy could result from different translation efficiency of two of the TPH mRNA isoforms. Using PCR-based methods, we analyzed the relative expression, in pineal and brainstem, of two TPH mRNA isoforms differing in the length of their untranslated region (5′UTR). The levels of the TPHα were found to be 960-fold more abundant than the 51-nucleotide longer TPHβ, in the pineal. TPHβ was also detected for the first time in the brainstem, where TPHβ/TPHα was about five-fold higher than in the pineal. To study the role of the different 5′UTRs, each was cloned in-frame upstream of luciferase, and transfected into PC12 cells. Both 5′UTRs enhanced luciferase activity, with TPHβ 5′UTR being more effective than TPHα 5′UTR, indicating selective regulation of translation efficiency. We also examined whether physiological manipulations alter the distribution of the TPH mRNA isoforms. Repeated stress had no effect in pineal, but led to a marked preferential induction of TPHβ in brainstem. Modulation of TPH gene expression in serotonergic neurons could result from selective and tissue specific regulation of its mRNA isoforms.
Dynamic client-side scheduling in a real-time CORBA system

CORBA allows objects to communicate, independent of the specific techniques, languages, and platforms used to implement the objects. However, due to the multilevel software layering needed to provide this independence, CORBA cannot support real time applications since it lacks essential quality of service (QoS) features. Recent work on real time CORBA includes an offline scheduled, hard, real time system based on rate-monotonic scheduling and an online scheduled, best-effort, real time system based on the earliest-deadline-first algorithm. The former provides QoS guarantees at the expense of run time scheduling flexibility while the latter provides the complement. We propose an approach which provides the advantages of both, that is, QoS guarantees and run time scheduling flexibility.
The initial efficiency of investment for the general market

We investigate how one invests in the stock market X when there is a rate constraint on the side information V. The doubling function /spl Delta/(R) is the maximum increase in the doubling rate when V is described to the investor at rate R. The initial efficiency /spl Delta/'(0) is the largest possible increase in the doubling function per bit of description. We introduce the linearized maximal correlation and use it to provide a lower bound for the initial efficiency. We also show that the initial efficiency is bounded above by the square of the Hirschfeld-Gebelein-Renyi maximal correlation between the side information V and the market X. We can use these bounds to find the initial efficiency for V=X and for the horse race market.
Ab initio calculations of electron inelastic mean free paths and stopping powers

A method is presented for first-principles calculations of electron inelastic mean free paths and stopping powers in condensed matter over a broad energy range. The method is based on ab initio calculations of the dielectric function in the long wavelength limit using a real-space Green's function formalism, together with extensions to finite momentum transfer. From these results we obtain the energy-loss function and related quantities such as optical-oscillator strengths and mean excitation energies. From a many-pole representation of the dielectric function we then obtain the electron self-energy and inelastic mean free paths. Finally, using our calculated dielectric function and the optical-data model of Fern\'andez-Varea et al. [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 229, 187 (2005)], we obtain collision stopping powers and penetration ranges. The results are consistent with semiempirical approaches and with experiment.
Enteral Feeding During Barbiturate Coma

The extended use of pentobarbital coma in head-injured patients creates a feeding problem because of the drug-induced ileus. We evaluated the tolerance and safety of enteral feeding for head-injured patients in pentobarbital coma. Baseline nutritional assessments of the 22 patients revealed no severe nutritional deficits. Pentobarbital was initiated on admission at a rate of 128 ± 39 mg/hr for 9.9 ± 6.0 days. Enteral feedings were started at a rate of 25 ml/hr and were increased according to tolerance to a predetermined maximum rate which required 6.5 ± 4.5 days. Daily chest x-rays revealed no aspiration pneumonia. Whereas eight patients tolerated enteral feedings, seven had minor gastrointestinal complications, including diarrhea (n = 5) and constipation (n = 2). A total of 11 patients had residual volumes of 50 ml or more, but only four required alteration of the solution or route of administration. These data indicate that the majority of patients in pentobarbital coma can safely be fed enterally with ...
Roles and Functions of PCAOB and AS No. 5

This paper presents introduction of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and Auditing Standard No. 5. The primary objective of this paper is to provide information on roles and functions of the PCAOB and AS no. 5, along with goals of the PCAOB. Furthermore, the paper presents introduction and improvement undertaken by the PCAOB on AS No. 2 to replace it with AS no.5. Relation of AS No. 5 with the Committee of Sponsoring Organization’s (COSO) framework and Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) 99 in terms of risk and fraud assessment is also discussed.
Update of management of connective tissue diseases: livedoid vasculopathy.

: Livedoid vasculopathy (LV) is characterized by painful purple macules and papules that subsequently ulcerate. The lesions heal over weeks to months resulting in smooth, porcelain-white, atrophic plaque-like areas with surrounding telangiectases and hyperpigmentation. The specific cause of LV is still to be determined and it is believed to be multifactorial in nature. Despite numerous available therapeutic agents, there is not a single best efficacious treatment for LV. Most of the available treatment options are based on isolated case reports or case series. In this article, studies on the pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches to LV are reviewed.
On the Application of Cohort-Driven Operators to Continuous Optimization Problems Using Evolutionary Computation

Traditional approaches to real-valued function optimization using evolutionary computational methods tend to use either self-adaptive operators (as in the case of evolutionary programming), or population-based operators (as in the case of most real-valued genetic algorithms). However, in general, most population-based operators are limited in scope to the use of at most two or three parent individuals. In this paper we explore an alternative populationbased form of adaptation for evolutionary computation, Guided Gaussian Mutation (GGM), which is designed specifically as a localized search operator. This operator is the first of a larger class of Cohort Driven Operators (CDOs) which we define here. Experimental results using GGM in a standard genetic algorithm framework on a series of test problems show impressive improvement over standard evolutionary programming.
Using Apollo to Browse and Edit Genome Annotations

An annotation is any feature that can be tied to genomic sequence, such as an exon, transcript, promoter, or transposable element. As biological knowledge increases, annotations of different types need to be added and modified, and links to other sources of information need to be incorporated, to allow biologists to easily access all of the available sequence analysis data and design appropriate experiments. The Apollo genome browser and editor offers biologists these capabilities. Apollo can display many different types of computational evidence, such as alignments and similarities based on BLAST searches (UNITS 3.3 & 3.4), and enables biologists to utilize computational evidence to create and edit gene models and other genomic features, e.g., using experimental evidence to refine exon-intron structures predicted by gene prediction algorithms. This protocol describes simple ways to browse genome annotation data, as well as techniques for editing annotations and loading data from different sources.
Improved hard disk seek time using fuzzy logic control

Fuzzy logic controllers exhibit many advantages over traditional controllers in applications involving systems with uncertain or highly complex dynamics. These controllers do not require a detailed mathematical model of the system, only an intuitive grasp of the system dynamics. Due to some of their inherent advantages, fuzzy logic controllers are finding applications in an increasing number of fields. This study applies a fuzzy logic controller to hard disk drive read/write head positioning. Performance analysis indicates reduced seek times compared to conventional disk drive control techniques.
Continued fraction solution to the Riccati equation in a Banach algebra

In this paper we generalize some of the results of Merkes and Scott [I] to the Riccati equation in a complex Banach algebra X with identity I. In the following, small letters denote scalars, capital letters denote elements of X and a(A) is the spectrum of the element A of X. We use a sequence of linear fractional transformations to obtain the formal continued fraction representation of the solution to the Riccati equation. These formal continued fractions are defined in the appendix. For a more complete discussion, see [2, 31. Let A(z), B(z), C(Z), D(Z) and W(Z) be elements of X dependent on the complex variable z and consider the equation
Cytochrome oxidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. III. Reduction of hydroxylamine.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome oxidase, which reduces nitrite and oxygen, is also capable of reducing hydroxylamine to ammonia. The Km for hydroxylamine reduction is 6 · 10−4M compared to 5 · 10−5M for nitrite reduction. NADH, NADPH, reduced P. aeruginosa cytochrome c551, and reduced P. aeruginosa copper protein were ineffective as electron donors for hydroxylamine reduction whereas reduced pyocyanine and methylene blue acted as electron mediators. Hydroxylamine reduction did not require the presence of Mn2+ of FAD and was not inhibited by prolonged dialysis versus sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. Cyanide, nitrite, and CO were very effective inhibitors. Removal of heme d and its reconstitution, as well as inhibition by CO, suggest that the reduction of hydroxylamine, like the reduction of nitrite or oxygen, proceeds via the heme d.
History of the World Allergy Organization: 1989 to 2006, the XVIII World Allergy Congress, Journal Development, Reorganization, and New Programs.

Abstract History of the World Allergy Organization: In 1951, the leaders in allergy from all over the world came together to form the International Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (IAACI). For the next 60 years, the allergy world converged at the IAACI triennial meetings, which became biennial in 2003. The international meetings, originally named the International Congress of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (ICACI), are now the World Allergy Congress (WAC) hosted by the World Allergy Organization (WAO). Everyone who has aspired to have worldwide recognition has played a part in IAACI-WAO. The History of the WAO traces the global arc of the allergy field over the past 60 years. The current officers of WAO elected to focus on this rich history, inviting prominent leaders who are interested in being part of this history project to write about their time with IAACI-WAO. This series will be presented in Cancun, Mexico, as part of the XXII World Allergy Congress (December 4-8, 2011). Leading up to the Congress in Cancun, the WAO Journal is presenting segments of the History as part of the "Notes of Allergy Watchers Series." Please enjoy. --Michael A. Kaliner, MD Historian, and Past-President (2006-2007), World Allergy Organization