cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multidisciplinary data review and analysis to fulfill NIH data sharing requirements via S-Plus server

Background Collaborative, multidisciplinary research places needs on data sharing and analysis that requires preplanning and adequate IT resources. Current efforts must also accommodate cross platform, multi-site environments. The details of such solutions are required in the current NIH mandate on data sharing as well. Methods Our solution involves the use of both open-source and proprietary software, to permit user-friendly data analysis and review with limited burden on system administration. The open source server (Red Hat Enterprise Linuz AS v3.0) and S-Plus Serve v6.2 are combined to perform real-time, web-based analysis of clinical, PK/PD and epidemiologic data being generated in the Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics Division. The underlying hardware is a Dell PowerEdge Server 2600 with dual 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon Processors and 512 MB of system memory. The server also runs Apache web server and Apache Tomcat JSP Server. Security is managed at the website level. The overall process is as follows: data source (local or remote) is parsed and imported via S-plus server. S-plus performs requested analyses and passes results to Tomcat which formats results for display in a java graphlet embedded into a standards-compliant HTML webpage that is returned to the requesting client. Results/Conclusions We will demonstrate the productive environment and provide examples of data sharing and analyses for ongoing clinical collaborations. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2005) 77, P72–P72; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2004.12.167
Two-Dimensional Echocardiographic Detection of Preclinical Aortic Root Abnormalities in Rheumatoid Variant Diseases

Two-dimensional echocardiographic findings of subaortic fibrous ridging, aortic leaflet thickening, and aortic root dilatation and thickening are described in a group of 36 patients with rheumatoid variant diseases. The group consisted of 25 patients with ankylosing spondylitis, nine patients with Reiter's syndrome, and two patients with inflammatory bowel disease and spondylitis. No patient had clinical or laboratory evidence of aortic regurgitation or heart block. Subaortic fibrous ridging or marked leaflet thickening was noted in 11 of 36 patients; in contrast, no such changes were found in an age-matched control group of 29 men. The subgroup of patients with subaortic fibrous ridging or leaflet thickening (11 patients) had significantly longer disease duration (28.1 versus 17.7 years) and higher incidence of aortic root echo-density (82 versus 36 percent) than the remaining patients. It is concluded that a significant portion of patients with ankylosing spondylitis or Reiter's syndrome have echocardiographic evidence of aortic root involvement prior to the clinical onset of aortic regurgitation.
Device-Aware Yield-Centric Dual- $V_{t}$ Design Under Parameter Variations in Nanoscale Technologies

Dual-Vt design technique has proven to be extremely effective in reducing subthreshold leakage in both active and standby mode of operation of a circuit in submicrometer technologies. However, aggressive scaling of technology results in different leakage components (subthreshold, gate and junction tunneling) to become significant portion of total power dissipation in CMOS circuits. High-Vt devices are expected to have high junction tunneling current (due to stronger halo doping) compared to low-Vt devices, which in the worst case can increase the total leakage in dual-Vt design. Moreover, process parameter variations (and in turn Vt variations) are expected to be significantly high in sub-50-nm technology regime, which can severely affect the yield. In this paper, we propose a device aware simultaneous sizing and dual-Vt design methodology that considers each component of leakage and the impact of process variation (on both delay and leakage power) to minimize the total leakage while ensuring a target yield. Our results show that conventional dual-Vt design can overestimate leakage savings by 36% while incurring 17% average yield loss in 50-nm predictive technology. The proposed scheme results in 10%-20% extra leakage power savings compared to conventional dual-Vt design, while ensuring target yield. This paper also shows that nonscalability of the present way of realizing high-Vt devices results in negligible power savings beyond 25-nm technology. Hence, different dual-Vt process options, such as metal gate work function engineering, are required to realize high-performance and low-leakage dual-Vt designs in future technologies.
New relation between hardness and compressibility of minerals

A relation between hardness (H) for minerals and compressibility (β) is proposed: \(H = \frac{M}{{\rho q\beta }}\), where M is the molecular weight, ρ the density and q the number of atoms in a formula unit. The relation is derived from thermodynamics and is based on an analogy between mineral hardness and the concept of hardness assumed for the classification of reactivity of molecular species. It is confirmed with 27 elemental solids and 66 crystalline compounds, that this simple relation fairly well describes the trend of experimental hardnesses of minerals, and that the new relation has advantages over one earlier proposed [Plendl et al. (1965)] for connecting hardness to compressibility.
Caregiving Heuristics Valuable Practitioner Knowledge in the Context of Managing Residential Care

Improving practice depends on accurate understandings of practitioner knowledge, which are not easily attained, partly because practitioners unevenly apply formal theory and also rely on reflective processes and power bases that are significantly different from those of researchers. Focusing on residential care managers’ subjective experience of their own knowledge and clinical decisions, this study examines their application of theories, their beliefs and practices, challenges they faced, and factors managers described as related with good and poor client outcomes. Uninterested in formal theory and evidence-based practice models, the managers demonstrated a patterned, action-oriented, value-based ‘knowledge-in-action’ (per Floersch) we termed caregiving heuristics. Managers combined multiple interventions from diverse models to attain the best possible outcomes, using a strategy defined by Brandstatter, Hutchinson, and Gigerenzer as the priority heuristic. They creatively developed guidelines (at various...
BROOD PARASITISM AND EGG TRANSFER IN CAVE SWALLOWS (PETROCHELIDON FULVA) AND CLIFF SWALLOWS (P. PYRRHONOTA) IN SOUTH TEXAS

Abstract We studied the frequency of intraspecific brood parasitism and physical transfer of eggs between nests in colonially nesting Cave Swallows (Petrochelidon fulva) and Cliff Swallows (P. pyrrhonota) in south Texas in 2001. Although the eggs of the two species look similar, frequency of brood parasitism in each species was unaffected by presence of the other species, which suggests that the parasitism we observed was largely by conspecifics. We detected brood parasitism in 4.6–5.0% of Cave Swallow nests and in 10.7–11.9% of Cliff Swallow nests. Brood parasitism was not significantly related to colony size in either species, to eventual success of the host nest, or to overall colony nesting success (a measure of environmental risk). We detected evidence of physical transfer of eggs in 0.7–2.0% of nests of these species. Cliff Swallows parasitized nests more often than Cave Swallows, but the frequencies of brood parasitism and egg transfer in the two species in south Texas appeared broadly comparable t...
Science, Technology, and Catholic Identity in the Education of Professionals.

The reception of Ex corde ecclesiae has been uneven across the disciplines, with scant interest in distinctly Catholic pedagogies outside of the humanities. This essay argues that Catholic universities can distinguish themselves by how they present science and technology in their curriculum by drawing from the interdisciplinary field of “science, technology & society,” or STS. We argue that discussions about Catholic identity, science, and human values can and should extend into the curriculum while simultaneously safeguarding academic freedom, and that this can readily be done in professional schools, such as law and engineering. We outline the contributions that STS as a field could offer Catholic higher education. We discuss how teaching science and technologies as social forces can provide the intellectual and reflective space necessary for critical reflection on their moral dimensions, in society and in the emerging professional lives of students. We argue that STS can help Catholic universities express the Catholic tradition of linking knowledge and wisdom, and thus has the potential to advance the distinctly Catholic character of universities. To substantiate our claims, we present three examples of STS in Catholic higher education curriculum: undergraduate core curriculum, law school instruction, and frugal innovation in engineering education.
Workload characterization and its impact on multicore platform design

Networks-on-chip (NoCs) have been proposed as a scalable solution to solving the communication problem in multicore systems. Although the queuing-based approaches have been traditionally used for performance analysis purposes, they cannot properly account for many of the traffic characteristics (e.g., non-stationary, self-similarity, higher order statistics) that are crucial for multicore platform design when communication happens via the NoC approach. To overcome this limitation, we propose a mean field approach to analyze the traffic dynamics in multicore systems and show how the non-stationary effects of the NoC workload can be effectively captured; this is of fundamental significance for re-thinking the very basis of multicore systems design. Moreover, our experimental results demonstrate that both network architecture and application characteristics are the main sources of power law behavior observed in network traffic. Our findings open new research directions into NoC optimization which require accurate models of time- and space-dependent traffic behavior.
Temperature-dependent differences between readily releasable and reserve pool vesicles in chromaffin cells.

Abstract Statistical differences between amperometric traces recorded from chromaffin cells using K + and Ba 2+ secretagogues support the assertion that readily releasable pool (RRP) and reserve pool (RP) vesicles can be probed with pool-specific secretagogues. Release from the RRP was evoked by K + while release from the RP was evoked by Ba 2+ . Similar temperature-dependent changes in spike area and half-width for both pools suggest that the content of RRP and RP vesicles is similar and packaged in the same way. Differences between the vesicle pools were revealed in the temperature dependence of spike frequency. While the burst spike frequency of the RRP, which is comprised of pre-docked and primed vesicles, increased 2.8% per °C, the RP spike frequency increased 12% per °C. This difference is attributed to a temperature-dependent mobilization of the RP. Furthermore, the RP exhibited more foot events at room temperature than the RRP but this difference was not apparent at 37 °C. This trend suggests that RP vesicle membranes have a compromised surface tension compared to RRP vesicles. Collectively, the changes of release characteristics with temperature reveal distinctions between the RRP and the RP.
Drilling of Aramid and Carbon Fiber Polymer Composites

Drilling tests were conducted on aramid and carbon fiber-reinforced composite laminates using an instrumented machining center Machining parameters for the damage-free drilling of these materials were established together with semi-empirical relationships between drilling forces and cutting parameters. The drilling force responses as a function of various feed rates and drill sizes were characterized to define the key process stages taking place during a drilling cycle. Using a previously established delamination-based criterion for initiating damage during drilling, the critical feed rate for damage-free drilling was established for the two composite material types: aramid and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates. Independent measurements of the opening-mode delamination crack energy release rates were conducted on both materials to determine the critical thrust force for damage initiation. This study establishes the key process stages exhibited by carbon and aramid fiber composites during drilling, the critical threshold feed rates to avoid damage, and machining relations that can be utilized for the design of intelligent controllers for efficient drilling of composite laminates.
Robot Manipulator Technologies for Planetary Exploration

NASA exploration missions to Mars, initiated by the Mars Pathfinder mission in July 1997, will continue over the next decade. The missions require challenging innovations in robot design and improvements in autonomy to meet ambitious objectives under tight budget and time constraints. The authors are developing design tools, component technologies and capabilities to address these needs for manipulation with robots for planetary exploration. The specific developments are: 1) a software analysis tool to reduce robot design iteration cycles and optimize on design solutions, 2) new piezoelectric ultrasonic motors (USM) for light-weight and high torque actuation in planetary environments, 3) use of advanced materials and structures for strong and light-weight robot arms and 4) intelligent camera-image coordinated autonomous control of robot arms for instrument placement and sample acquisition from a rover vehicle.
Chromosomal Polymorphism and Female Receptivity in a Natural Population of DROSOPHILA PERSIMILIS.

In a natural population of Drosophila persimilis (McDonald Ranch, Napa Valley, California), KL and MD chromosomal arrangement frequencies undergo a seasonal cycle, with MD common in spring and KL common in summer. Samples collected from spring and summer provided isofemale strains established as homozygous KL and MD pairs (kinlines) with each pair derived from a single heterokaryotype wild progenitor. Haploid doses of chromosomes 2 and 4 were controlled by marker-cross derivations of kinlines. Percentage onset of female receptivity was measured from cultures at 25° and at 15°, using ten kinlines from spring and nine from summer collections, with fast-mating hybrid males as standard testers. Mating tests consisted of 20 tester males x 20 females of specific age, karyotype, and kinline observed for 30 min. At 25° females became receptive at 48 hr after eclosion: parental line (KLi/KLi and MDi/MDi) females were approximately equal at 55 to 60% receptive, while among hybrids, MDi/MDj homokaryotype females were significantly less receptive (68%) than all other outbred combinations (73 to 77%). At 15°, females became receptive at four days of age, with increases on the fifth and sixth days: both parental line and outbred MD/MD females were significantly more receptive (28% at four days and 62% at six days) than all heterokaryotype females (20 to 26% at four days and 55 to 59% at six days), which in turn were more receptive than KL/KL parental and outbred females (10% at four days and 40% at six days). Heterosis was expressed at 25°, but not at 15°. Thus, dominance for female receptivity was temperature dependent. Females polymorphic for these third chromosomal karyotypes possess differential temperature sensitivity for onset of receptivity and are likely to contribute in a significant way to the observed seasonal frequency cycle in the natural population from which they have been derived.
Loss of constraint on fracture in thin film structures due to creep

Fracture in thin films is normally constrained by the substrates. If the substrate creeps, however, the constraint will be lost over time. This paper presents a two-dimensional model for channel cracks in an elastic film on a viscous layer, and implements an extended finite element method to evolve the displacement field and the stress intensity factor with relatively coarse meshes. Solutions are obtained for stress intensity factors of channel cracks with several in-plane geometries. The stress intensity factor increases with time, indicating the loss of constraint. Several scaling laws are obtained. Extensions of the present model are outlined for nonlinear creeping and viscoelastic layers, as well as a thick viscous substrate. Fracture in thin film structures subjected to ratcheting deformation under cyclic temperatures using the analogy between creeping and ratcheting is also discussed.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in U.S. hospitals, 1975-1991.

Objectives:Analyze changes that have occurred among U.S. hospitals over a 17-year period, 1975 through 1991, in the percentage of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to b-lactam antibiotics and associated with nosocomial infections.Design:Retrospective review. The percentage of methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) was defined as the number of S aureus isolates resistant to either methicillin, oxacillin, or nafcillin divided by the total number of S aureus isolates for which methicillin, oxacillin, or nafcillin susceptibility test results were reported to the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System.Setting:NNIS System hospitals.Results:Of the 66,132 S aureus isolates that were tested for susceptibility to methicillin, oxacillin, or nafcillin during 1975 through 1991, 6,986 (11%) were resistant to methicillin, oxacillin, or nafcillin. The percentage MRSA among all hospitals rose from 2.4% in 1975 to 29% in 1991, but the rate of increase differed significantly among 3 bed-size categories: 500 beds, 38.3% were MRSA. The percentage MRSA in each of the bed-size categories rose above 5% at different times: in 1983, for hospitals with 2500 beds; in 1985, for hospitals with 200 to 499 beds; and in 1987, for hospitals with <200 beds.Conclusions:This study suggests that hospitals of all sizes are facing the problem of MRSA, the problem appears to be increasing regardless of hospital size, and control measures advocated for MRSA appear to require re-evaluation. Further study of MRSA in hospitals would benefit our understanding of this costly pathogen.
Modulation of quaternary structure and enhancement of ligand binding by the K-turn of tandem glycine riboswitches

Most known glycine riboswitches have two homologous aptamer domains arranged in tandem and separated by a short linker. The two aptamers associate through reciprocal “quaternary” interactions that have been proposed to result in cooperative glycine binding. Recently, the interaptamer linker was found to form helix P0 with a previously unrecognized segment 5 ′ to the first aptamer domain. P0 was shown to increase glycine affinity, abolish cooperativity, and conform to the K-turn motif consensus. We examine the global thermodynamic and structural role of P0 using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), respectively. To evaluate the generality of P0 function, we prepared glycine riboswitch constructs lacking and including P0 from Bacillus subtilis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Vibrio cholerae. We find that P0 indeed folds into a K-turn, supports partial pre-folding of all three glycine-free RNAs, and is required for ITC observation of glycine binding under physiologic Mg 2+ concentrations. Except for the unusually small riboswitch from F. nucleatum, the K-turn is needed for maximally compacting the glycine-bound states of the RNAs. Formation of a ribonucleoprotein complex between the B. subtilis or the F. nucleatum RNA constructs and the bacterial K-turn binding protein YbxF promotes additional folding of the free riboswitch, and enhances glycine binding. Consistent with the previously reported loss of cooperativity, P0-containing B. subtilis and V. cholerae tandem aptamers bound no more than one glycine molecule per riboswitch. Our results indicate that the P0 K-turn helps organize the quaternary structure of tandem glycine riboswitches, thereby facilitating ligand binding under physiologic conditions.
Multi-channel Jamming Attacks using Cognitive Radios

To improve spectrum efficiency, future wireless devices will use cognitive radios to dynamically access spectrum. While offering great flexibility and software-reconfigurability, unsecured cognitive radios can be easily manipulated to attack legacy and future wireless networks. In this paper, we explore the feasibility and impact of cognitive radio based jamming attacks on 802.11 networks. We show that attackers can utilize cognitive radios' fast channel switching capability to amplify their jamming impact across multiple channels using a single radio. We also examine the impact of hardware channel switching delays and jamming duration on the impact of jamming.
Simulation of Soft Bodies with Pressure Force and the Implicit Method

The implicit approach can be used to efficiently model realistically deformable objects for large constraints such as stiffness or time. In soft bodies with pressure forces, models are composed of mesh points connected by springs and applied with pressure forces. System parameters such as spring constant, damping constant, etc. are defined to describe the behaviors of the deformable objects. Since the simulation of soft bodies with pressure force fails when the constraints are large, this paper proposes the method to solve this problem by using the implicit integration method for soft bodies with particular force. The results show that our method can realistically simulate the soft bodies when large constraints are applied
Efficient computation of level sets for path planning

We propose an efficient method for updating a path that was computed using level-set methods. Our approach is suitable for autonomous vehicles navigating in a static environment for which an a priori map of the environment is inaccurate. When the autonomous vehicle detects a new obstacle, our algorithm replans an optimal route without recomputing the entire path. Computational costs when planning paths with level set methods are due to creation of the level set. Once the level set has been computed, the optimal path is simply gradient descent down the level set. Our approach is based on formal analysis of how the level set changes when a new obstacle is detected. We show that in many practical cases, only a small portion of the level set needs to be re-computed when a new obstacle is detected. Simulation examples are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
High-precision CO 2 isotopologue spectrometer with a difference-frequency-generation laser source

A precision laser spectrometer for the detection of CO2 isotopes is reported. The spectrometer measures the fundamental absorption signatures of 13C and 12C isotopes in CO2 at 4.32 μm using a tunable mid-IR laser source based on difference-frequency generation. The spectrometer attains a precision of up to 0.02‰ for 150 s of averaging. An overall accuracy of 0.05‰ was obtained when sampling various calibrated reference gases.
A Practice Perspective on Technology-Mediated Network Relations: The Use of Internet-Based Self-Serve Technologies

Embedded relationships with customers have been key in generating repeat business and economic advantage, especially in business-to-business settings. Such relationships are typically maintained through interpersonal interactions between customers and their providers. Lately, however, firms have been seeking to make their service operations more scalable by offering customers access to Internet-based, self-serve technology. This raises questions about the implications of inserting self-serve technology into embedded relationships. Recent research on the role of information technology (IT) within interfirm network relations suggests that relationships and the use of IT are complementary. However, most of this research focuses on the organizational level and fails to consider the instantiation of these interfirm relations by the actions and interactions of individual actors (e.g., customers and salespeople) representing their respective firms. In this paper, we explore the implications of using IT within interfirm relations through an analysis of customers' and sales representatives' (reps) work activities and interpersonal relationships. We apply a practice perspective that highlights how macrolevel phenomena such as interfirm relations are created and recreated through the microlevel actions taken by firm members. This analysis reveals that managing the complementarity between relationships and IT in practice is fraught with considerable tension. This study of WebGA, a bricks-and-clicks dotcom, highlights how the use of the self-serve technology made it more difficult for sales reps to build and maintain embedded relationships with their customers. The use of IT altered the nature and quality of information shared by the participants, undermined the ability of sales reps to provide consulting services to customers, reduced the frequency of their interaction, and prompted sales reps to expend social capital to promote customers' technology adoption. These changes produced intended and unintended shifts in the network relations enacted by WebGA and its customers, and raised serious challenges to the viability of WebGA's business model.
Potassium currents in rat prevertebral and paravertebral sympathetic neurones: control of firing properties.

1. Intracellular recordings were made from rat sympathetic neurones in isolated superior cervical ganglia (SCG), coeliac ganglia (CG) and superior mesenteric ganglia (SMG). 2. Based on their response to a maintained depolarizing current stimulus, neurones were classified as ‘phasic’ or ‘tonic’. All neurones in the SCG were phasic, 85% of the neurones in the SMG and 58% of the neurones in the CG were tonic, and the remainder were phasic. 3. The voltage response of phasic and tonic neurones around threshold to a constant current step was markedly different. The response of phasic neurones was biphasic with an initial depolarizing response followed by significant repolarization of the membrane potential. In contrast, tonic neurones became more depolarized during a prolonged current step. 4. The underlying currents were studied using single-electrode voltage-clamp recording. The M-current was present in all phasic neurones, but was very weak or absent in tonic neurones. 5. An A-current was apparent in both phasic and tonic neurones. The voltage-dependent activation, steady- state inactivation, and current density of the A-current were all similar in phasic and tonic cells. 6. A low- threshold, slowly inactivating outward current (D2-current) was observed exclusively in tonic neurones. The slow inactivation of this current appeared to underlie the slow depolarizing ramp seen in response to a maintained depolarizing current step. 7. Computer simulations, based on the voltage-clamp data, suggested that the different firing properties of phasic and tonic neurones could be accounted for by differential expression of the M-current.
Cyber-physical systems integration of building information models and the physical construction

Purpose – In spite of the benefits of virtual models in the building and construction industry, the full potential of these models, especially in the construction and operation phases, remains largely unrealized. With the increasing developments in information and communication technology, a number of attempts have been made to extend the use of these models, through the development of integration approaches and technologies. However, the issue of integrating the virtual model and the physical construction such as to enable bi-directional coordination, has not been adequately addressed. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of a cyber-physical systems (CPS) approach in enhancing bi-directional coordination between virtual models and the physical construction. Design/methodology/approach – This research employs scenario development rapid prototyping to illustrate CPS integration in the construction industry, with a particular focus on facilitating bi-directional coordination. Th...
Callose Deposition Is Responsible for Apoplastic Semipermeability of the Endosperm Envelope of Muskmelon Seeds

Semipermeable cell walls or apoplastic "membranes" have been hypothesized to be present in various plant tissues. Although often associated with suberized or lignified walls, the wall component that confers osmotic semipermeability is not known. In muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) seeds, a thin, membranous endosperm completely encloses the embryo, creating a semipermeable apoplastic envelope. When dead muskmelon seeds are allowed to imbibe, solutes leaking from the embryo are retained within the envelope, resulting in osmotic water uptake and swelling called osmotic distention (OD). The endosperm envelope of muskmelon seeds stained with aniline blue, which is specific for callose (beta-1,3-glucan). Outside of the aniline-blue-stained layer was a Sudan III- and IV-staining (lipid-containing) layer. In young developing seeds 25 d after anthesis (DAA) that did not exhibit OD, the lipid layer was already present but callose had not been deposited. At 35 DAA, callose was detected as distinct vesicles or globules in the endosperm envelope. A thick callose layer was evident at 40 DAA, coinciding with development of the capacity for OD. Removal of the outer lipid layer by brief chloroform treatment resulted in more rapid water uptake by both viable and nonviable (boiled) seeds, but did not affect semipermeability of the endosperm envelope. The aniline-blue-staining layer was digested by beta-1,3-glucanase, and these envelopes lost OD. Thus, apoplastic semipermeability of the muskmelon endosperm envelope is dependent on the deposition of a thick callose-containing layer outside of the endosperm cell walls.
Photocurrent imaging of the potential profiles in a graphene transistor

Photocurrent imaging was used to study the potential profiles in a graphene transistor. The impact of source/drain metal electrodes on potential profile of the graphene channel extends beyond the contact for a few hundred nanometers, and varies considerably with gate bias.
Michael Rubens Bloomberg

This case depicts many of the major events that have come to define the unique life and contributions of Michael Rubens Bloomberg. Born into a working-class family, Bloomberg demonstrated throughout his life the importance of hard work. His success in Scouting--becoming one of the youngest to earn his Eagle Scout Award--to his success at Salomon Brothers, and then in the creation of his own firm, illustrated his unique skills and abilities. Bloomberg applied his creative and courageous style to leading New York City as its mayor. Following Rudolph W. Giuliani was not easy, and yet within months, Bloomberg had made a clear positive impact on the city. The case ends with his second term and the big question of "What's next?"
The effect of processing conditions on the structure of buried interfaces between silicon and silicon dioxide

A transmission electron microscope technique is used to image atomic steps at buried interfaces between silicon and silicon dioxide. We have studied the effect of processing conditions on the interfacial structure of Si/SiO2 with this technique. We observed a dramatic effect of post-oxidation annealing on silicon (100). Roughening of Si(111) interfaces due to chemical preparation is also reported.
The ongoing quandary of defining the standard of care for neonates.

UNLABELLED Despite extensive use of the term 'standard of care' (SOC), there is no such medical definition. How are neonatal therapies accepted as SOC with huge centre-to-centre variation? What defines SOC? We will consider paths to acceptance of multiple therapies (antenatal corticosteroids, preventing GBS, others). We conclude single-centre trials drive care, but are not consistently predictive for multicentre trials. Innovation/quality improvement initiatives also alter care, despite strong evidence practice changes take time. Furthermore, there are powerful medico-legal implications if a therapy is designated SOC. CONCLUSION Defining SOC is a quandary with more legal implications than medical, but what's most critical is keeping current in a rapidly changing field.
APPROACH FOR OPTIMIZATION OF GAS ALLOCATION TO A GROUP OF WELL AND OILFIELD IN ARTIFICIAL LIFT

The paper summarizes the current status of the optimization of gas allocation to a group of wells, and analyzes the characteristics of all types of the gas - lift performance curves. Considering the practicability to fields and the rationality, the paper fits the scattered points ahead of maximum value in the gas lift performance curve as quadratic equation. The well group performance curve is defined as the relationship between the gas in-jection rate and the maximum oil production rate. The paper consummates the well group optimization model of gas allocation and develops the oilfield optimization model of gas allocation, and gives a new method as well penalty function to solve the non-linear optimization model of gas allocation. To improve solving the rate of the model, a new approach named maximum gas allocation is proposed to guess the initia! gas injection rates. The penalty function is capable of accommodating both the equality constraints and the inequality constraints. As a rule, the convergence rate is affected only by an initial guess for the gas injection rates. By using the new method, the paper puts forward the well groups, and oilfield gas allocation model is solved and the example was provided in the end.
Intra-arterial Thrombolysis for Acute Ischemic Stroke: Preliminary Experience with Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors as Adjunctive Therapy

Objective To evaluate the safety profile of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors administered as adjunctive therapy to patients with large-vessel occlusion and acute ischemic stroke refractory to pharmacological thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and mechanical disruption, balloon angioplasty, or both. Methods Twenty-one patients (mean age, 62 yr; range, 29-88 yr) met the following criteria: 1) large-vessel occlusion and acute ischemic stroke syndrome at presentation, 2) failure to recanalize after administration of rtPA (intra-arterial and/or intravenous) with or without mechanical thrombolysis, and 3) subsequent treatment with IIb/IIIa inhibitors (intra-arterial or intravenous). Results Eleven patients had ischemia in the dominant hemisphere, 8 in the vertebrobasilar system, and 2 in the nondominant hemisphere. Twelve patients received intravenous rtPA without significant improvement; 9 patients were not candidates for intravenous rtPA. All patients received intra-arterial rtPA. The IIb/IIIa inhibitors were administered intravenously in 3 patients, intra-arterially in 16, and both intravenously and intra-arterially in 2. Balloon angioplasty was performed in 18 patients. Complete or partial recanalization was achieved in 17 of the 21 patients. After thrombolysis, 15 improved clinically. Three patients (14%) sustained an asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage after thrombolytic therapy. No patient was clinically worse after intervention. At last follow-up (mean, 8.5 mo), 13 patients were functionally independent (modified Rankin score, 0-3) and 8 were disabled or dead. Conclusion IIb/IIIa inhibitors are an alternative for achieving recanalization. The risk of hemorrhage may be low. As part of an escalating protocol that includes pharmacological and mechanical thrombolysis, IIb/IIIa inhibitors may improve clinical outcomes.
“Concern”ing Contributions to This Volume

This chapter discusses the significant contribution this archaeological volume makes to the study of emotions. It begins by identifying important themes that run across the various contributions (e.g., emotion as object of study rather than embellishment to explanation; emotion as “agent”). It offers an appreciation of the expansive disciplinary (e.g., folklore, philosophy, sociology) and theoretical roamings of the authors that complement their extensive collective culturally contextualized knowledge across space and time. Attention is also brought to the challenge of vocabulary in facing the subject of emotion when the very terms “anxiety” and “fear” are themselves culturally variable. A preliminary attempt is made to address the question of patterning concerning situations of, expressions of, understandings of, and handlings of anxiety and fear across the cultural diversity presented by the authors. Finally, some modest suggestions are offered for continuing discussion of such “troubling” matters.
SU‐C‐BRA‐06: Automatic Brain Tumor Segmentation for Stereotactic Radiosurgery Applications

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), which delivers a potent dose of highly conformal radiation to the target in a single fraction, requires accurate tumor delineation for treatment planning. We present an automatic segmentation strategy, that synergizes intensity histogram thresholding, super-voxel clustering, and level-set based contour evolving methods to efficiently and accurately delineate SRS brain tumors on contrast-enhance T1-weighted (T1c) Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI). Methods: The developed auto-segmentation strategy consists of three major steps. Firstly, tumor sites are localized through 2D slice intensity histogram scanning. Then, super voxels are obtained through clustering the corresponding voxels in 3D with reference to the similarity metrics composited from spatial distance and intensity difference. The combination of the above two could generate the initial contour surface. Finally, a localized region active contour model is utilized to evolve the surface to achieve the accurate delineation of the tumors. The developed method was evaluated on numerical phantom data, synthetic BRATS (Multimodal Brain Tumor Image Segmentation challenge) data, and clinical patients’ data. The auto-segmentation results were quantitatively evaluated by comparing to ground truths with both volume and surface similarity metrics. Results: DICE coefficient (DC) was performed as a quantitative metric to evaluate the auto-segmentation in the numerical phantom with 8 tumors. DCs are 0.999±0.001 without noise, 0.969±0.065 with Rician noise and 0.976±0.038 with Gaussian noise. DC, NMI (Normalized Mutual Information), SSIM (Structural Similarity) and Hausdorff distance (HD) were calculated as the metrics for the BRATS and patients’ data. Assessment of BRATS data across 25 tumor segmentation yield DC 0.886±0.078, NMI 0.817±0.108, SSIM 0.997±0.002, and HD 6.483±4.079mm. Evaluation on 8 patients with total 14 tumor sites yield DC 0.872±0.070, NMI 0.824±0.078, SSIM 0.999±0.001, and HD 5.926±6.141mm. Conclusion: The developed automatic segmentation strategy, which yields accurate brain tumor delineation in evaluation cases, is promising for its application in SRS treatment planning.
A unified communication and control approach for decentralized heading alignment in robot networks

As a critical component of collective motion coordination, decentralized heading alignment is fundamental in systems as diverse as vehicle platoons, mobile sensor networks, swarm robotics, and animal groups. Due to the intertwined interaction between nonlinear continuous-time robot/vehicle dynamics and (possibly) aperiodic discrete-time communication characteristics, a unified design of communication and control for heading alignment is extremely challenging. Existing approaches addressing decentralized heading alignment usually first perform analysis and design in the continuous-time domain and then conduct discretization-based implementation to deal with discontinuous information exchange that only happen at discrete-time instants. This two-stage strategy cannot guarantee the original designed control performance in final implementation since discretization can harm or even destabilize the heading controller designed in the continuous-time domain. Inspired by pulse based interaction in flashing fireflies and firing neurons, we propose a unified communication and control approach for collective heading alignment which addresses communication and control simultaneously and hence can retain design performance in final implementation. This approach only exchanges extremely simple and identical messages, which not only reduces processing complexity, transmission time and communication latency, but also implicitly ensures high scalability and robustness to interference in wireless communication. Experimental results on an actual swarm robotics platform are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed approach.
Significant impact of divalent metal ions on the fidelity, sugar selectivity, and drug incorporation efficiency of human PrimPol

Human PrimPol is a recently discovered bifunctional enzyme that displays DNA template-directed primase and polymerase activities. PrimPol has been implicated in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA replication fork progression and restart as well as DNA lesion bypass. Published evidence suggests that PrimPol is a Mn2+-dependent enzyme as it shows significantly improved primase and polymerase activities when binding Mn2+, rather than Mg2+, as a divalent metal ion cofactor. Consistently, our fluorescence anisotropy assays determined that PrimPol binds to a primer/template DNA substrate with affinities of 29 and 979nM in the presence of Mn2+ and Mg2+, respectively. Our pre-steady-state kinetic analysis revealed that PrimPol incorporates correct dNTPs with 100-fold higher efficiency with Mn2+ than with Mg2+. Notably, the substitution fidelity of PrimPol in the presence of Mn2+ was determined to be in the range of 3.4×10-2 to 3.8×10-1, indicating that PrimPol is an error-prone polymerase. Furthermore, we kinetically determined the sugar selectivity of PrimPol to be 57-1800 with Mn2+ and 150-4500 with Mg2+, and found that PrimPol was able to incorporate the triphosphates of two anticancer drugs (cytarabine and gemcitabine), but not two antiviral drugs (emtricitabine and lamivudine).
New Approaches to Signaling

The emergence of selective BRAF inhibitors for the treatment of metastatic melanoma changed the therapeutic landscape of this disease. For decades, the melanoma field lagged others in achieving significant alteration in the natural history of metastatic disease with conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, with the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, in particular anti-programmed death 1 (PD1) and anti-PD ligand 1 (PD-L1), monoclonal antibodies alone or in combination with the anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4), and the development of combined BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy, the treatment landscape has dramatically changed. Still, the majority of patients will still die from this disease, and optimizing treatment of metastatic melanoma remains a critical need. It is hoped that the discovery of somatic genetic alterations in signal transduction pathways that regulate proliferation, cell cycle, differentiation, and survival will provide further opportunities for expanding the reach of targeted therapy (Table 16.1).
Tolerance development in food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis: Single centre experience.

Abstract Background Food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis (FPIAP) is characterised by inflammation of the distal colon in response to one or more food proteins. It is a benign condition of bloody stools in a well-appearing infant, with usual onset between one and four weeks of age. Objective Our objective was to examine the clinical properties of patients with FPIAP, tolerance development time as well as the risk factors that affect tolerance development. Methods The clinical symptoms, offending factors, laboratory findings, methods used in the diagnosis and tolerance development for 77 patients followed in the Paediatric Allergy and Gastroenterology Clinics with the diagnosis of FPIAP during January 2010–January 2015 were examined in our retrospective cross-sectional study. Results The starting age of the symptoms was 3.3 ± 4.7 months (0–36). Milk was found as the offending substance for 78% of the patients, milk and egg for 13% and egg for 5%. Mean tolerance development time of the patients was 14.7 ± 11.9 months (3–66 months). Tolerance developed before the age of one year in 40% of the patients. Tolerance developed between the age of 1–2 years in 27%, between the age of 2–3 years in 9% and after the age of 3 years in 5% of the patients. Conclusions Smaller onset age and onset of symptoms during breastfeeding were found associated with early tolerance development. In the majority of the patients, FPIAP resolves before the age of one year, however in some of the patients this duration may be much longer.
Large-scale coastal and fluvial models constrain the late Holocene evolution of the Ebro Delta

Abstract. The distinctive plan-view shape of the Ebro Delta coast reveals a rich morphologic history. The degree to which the form and depositional history of the Ebro and other deltas represent autogenic (internal) dynamics or allogenic (external) forcing remains a prominent challenge for paleo-environmental reconstructions. Here we use simple coastal and fluvial morphodynamic models to quantify paleo-environmental changes affecting the Ebro Delta over the late Holocene. Our findings show that these models are able to broadly reproduce the Ebro Delta morphology, with simple fluvial and wave climate histories. Based on numerical model experiments and the preserved and modern shape of the Ebro Delta plain, we estimate that a phase of rapid shoreline progradation began approximately 2100 years BP, requiring approximately a doubling in coarse-grained fluvial sediment supply to the delta. River profile simulations suggest that an instantaneous and sustained increase in coarse-grained sediment supply to the delta requires a combined increase in both flood discharge and sediment supply from the drainage basin. The persistence of rapid delta progradation throughout the last 2100 years suggests an anthropogenic control on sediment supply and flood intensity. Using proxy records of the North Atlantic Oscillation, we do not find evidence that changes in wave climate aided this delta expansion. Our findings highlight how scenario-based investigations of deltaic systems using simple models can assist first-order quantitative paleo-environmental reconstructions, elucidating the effects of past human influence and climate change, and allowing a better understanding of the future of deltaic landforms.
The Failure of Governance in Bell, California: Big-Time Corruption in a Small Town: By Thom Reilly, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016

You can take your share of the pie just like us. We will all get fat together. Bob has an expression he likes to use on occasion. “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.” So long as we are not hogs, a...
Rare Lichens Collected in California by Judith (Judy) and Ron Roberston

Judy and Ron Robertson were outstanding amateur lichenologists in California. Their huge lichen collection (over 8,500 collections) was donated to the University of California Herbarium after their deaths. This article describes 36 unusual lichens that they collected in California, together with their provenance, many of them extremely rare or new to the California flora.