cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Compensation for small losses to lacquer and inlaid decoration using paper fills painted and glazed in situ

This paper describes and illustrates an innovative technique for compensation of small losses to East Asian lacquer and inlaid mother-of-pearl decoration using paper fills painted and glazed in situ. The procedure involves tracing the loss on Mylar® polyester sheet, cutting Japanese tissue paper to the size and shape of the loss, and adhering the paper fill to the surface. The paper fill is then painted in situ to integrate it with the surrounding surface decoration and glazed with a transparent medium, which is cured under silicone-coated Mylar® to match the planarity and gloss of the surrounding surface. This basic procedure can be adapted to suit the needs and solvent sensitivities of individual objects. The technique offers the ability to preserve or adjust old fills and to match an irregular surface or surface decoration. It is easily reversible and gives the final surface a semi-translucent appearance. Moderate surface stability and solvent resistance in the surrounding lacquer are necessary for the...
Party nationalization following democratization: modelling change in turbulent times

ABSTRACTWhich political parties grow more or less statically nationalized in the immediate aftermath of a democratic transition? What accounts for these changes? This is the first broadly cross-national analysis of this dimension of stabilization of the democratic regime. It uses a sample of 64 moderate and large political parties from 19 countries in South Europe and Latin America. In the first stage of the analysis, I use growth curve models on panels of district-level, lower house, election results to test each party for changes in static nationalization. Results show that 41% of the cases grow more nationalized, about 22% grow less nationalized, and the rest show no evidence of change. Then, I test explanations of increasing static nationalization derived from (a) the competitive context; (b) the institutional context; and (c) the social structural context. I find that parties become more nationalized when (a) they are jointly programmatic and in government, and the party system is less fragmented; (b...
Manganese recovery as chloride from ores and slags

The proposed process has the following advantages: 1. The manganese and iron compounds are chlorinated, volatilized, and separated in a single processing step. 2. The process is far less sensitive to variations in ore composition than are leaching processes. In contrast to the many leaching procedures that have been proposed, the chlorination operation is applicable to practically any manganese-bearing material. In 3-hr tests at 950°C, recoveries from 90 to near 100% were obtained from 9 out of 10 of the most important domestic ores, including ores that are difficult to treat by other methods, such as those from Aroostook County, Maine, and Chamberlain, South Dakota. 3. The high purity of the MnCl2 product makes it particularly suitable for the production of high-purity manganese by electrolysis. 4. The chlorination procedure can readily be made the basic step of a complete, integrated process that appears to have distinct advantages over previously proposed processes. 5. The chlorination temperature (850°–975°C) is low enough that no melting or sintering of the ore occurs. 6. Comminution of the ores and slags to only 10 or 20 mesh is adequate.
Structure and Mechanical Properties of Ceramic Nanocomposite Coatings

Current research on ceramic nanocomposite coatings is reviewed, with emphasis placed on recent developments in two-phase ceramic nanocomposites. Results on the structure, mechanical properties, and tribological characteristics of Ti-C:H and Ti-Si-N coatings are highlighted. Potential applications of ceramic nanocomposite coatings to surface engineering of macro- and micro- scale mechanical systems are discussed.
Virtual Tools for Interactive Telerobotics: Potential Fields and Terrace Following

Abstract Virtual tools, placed using an instrumented glove, were used to point and give directives to a telerobot in an interwoven graphic/video environment. A local minimum and dynamic collision were avoided using a terrace potential method for modifying trajectories by interactively specifying a safe way-point In a demonstration under development, an operator reaches into the scene of a hazardous tank mock-up and, with a cyberglove-controlled virtual pipe-cutting tool, directs a PUMA 560 robot to cut a piece of pipe “there” while avoiding “that” obstacle en route.
Four alpha ganglion cell types in mouse retina: Function, structure, and molecular signatures

The retina communicates with the brain using ≥30 parallel channels, each carried by axons of distinct types of retinal ganglion cells. In every mammalian retina one finds so-called "alpha" ganglion cells (αRGCs), identified by their large cell bodies, stout axons, wide and mono-stratified dendritic fields, and high levels of neurofilament protein. In the mouse, three αRGC types have been described based on responses to light steps: On-sustained, Off-sustained, and Off-transient. Here we employed a transgenic mouse line that labels αRGCs in the live retina, allowing systematic targeted recordings. We characterize the three known types and identify a fourth, with On-transient responses. All four αRGC types share basic aspects of visual signaling, including a large receptive field center, a weak antagonistic surround, and absence of any direction selectivity. They also share a distinctive waveform of the action potential, faster than that of other RGC types. Morphologically, they differ in the level of dendritic stratification within the IPL, which accounts for their response properties. Molecularly, each type has a distinct signature. A comparison across mammals suggests a common theme, in which four large-bodied ganglion cell types split the visual signal into four channels arranged symmetrically with respect to polarity and kinetics.
The Many Facets of Chalcogen Bonding: Described by Vibrational Spectroscopy.

A diverse set of 100 chalcogen-bonded complexes comprising neutral, cationic, anionic, divalent, and double bonded chalcogens has been investigated using ωB97X-D/aug-cc-pVTZ to determine geometries, binding energies, electron and energy density distributions, difference density distributions, vibrational frequencies, local stretching force constants, and associated bond strength orders. The accuracy of ωB97X-D was accessed by CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ calculations of a subset of 12 complexes and by the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ //ωB97X-D binding energies of 95 complexes. Most of the weak chalcogen bonds can be rationalized on the basis of electrostatic contributions, but as the bond becomes stronger, covalent contributions can assume a primary role in the strength and geometry of the complexes. Covalency in chalcogen bonds involves the charge transfer from a lone pair orbital of a Lewis base into the σ* orbital of a divalent chalcogen or a π* orbital of a double bonded chalcogen. We describe for the first time a symm...
In vivo quantitative imaging of tumor pH by nanosonophore assisted multispectral photoacoustic imaging

Changes of physiological pH are correlated with several pathologies, therefore the development of more effective medical pH imaging methods is of paramount importance. Here, we report on an in vivo pH mapping nanotechnology. This subsurface chemical imaging is based on tumor-targeted, pH sensing nanoprobes and multi-wavelength photoacoustic imaging (PAI). The nanotechnology consists of an optical pH indicator, SNARF-5F, 5-(and-6)-Carboxylic Acid, encapsulated into polyacrylamide nanoparticles with surface modification for tumor targeting. Facilitated by multi-wavelength PAI plus a spectral unmixing technique, the accuracy of pH measurement inside the biological environment is not susceptible to the background optical absorption of biomolecules, i.e., hemoglobins. As a result, both the pH levels and the hemodynamic properties across the entire tumor can be quantitatively evaluated with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution in in vivo cancer models. The imaging technology reported here holds the potential for both research on and clinical management of a variety of cancers. Background optical absorption of several biomolecules impedes an effective in vivo pH imaging in tumors. Here, the authors developed a visible light-based in vivo pH mapping method by coupling photoacoustic imaging and pH-responsive modified nanoparticles that selectively target tumor cells.
Remote Sensing of Precipitation from Airborne and Spaceborne Radar

Weather radar measurements from airborne or satellite platforms can be an effective remote sensing tool for examining the three-dimensional structures of clouds and precipitation. This chapter describes some fundamental properties of radar measurements and their dependence on the particle size distribution (PSD) and radar frequency. The inverse problem of solving for the vertical profile of PSD from a profile of measured reflectivity is stated as an optimal estimation problem for single- and multi-frequency measurements. Phenomena that can change the measured reflectivity Z(sub m) from its intrinsic value Z(sub e), namely attenuation, non-uniform beam filling, and multiple scattering, are described and mitigation of these effects in the context of the optimal estimation framework is discussed. Finally, some techniques involving the use of passive microwave measurements to further constrain the retrieval of the PSD are presented.
High-gain monolithic 3D CMOS inverter using layered semiconductors

We experimentally demonstrate a monolithic 3D integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter using layered transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductor N-channel (NMOS) and P-channel (PMOS) MOSFETs, which are sequentially integrated on two levels. The two devices share a common gate. Molybdenum disulphide and tungsten diselenide are used as channel materials for NMOS and PMOS, respectively, with an ON-to-OFF current ratio (ION/IOFF) greater than 106 and electron and hole mobilities of 37 and 236 cm2/Vs, respectively. The voltage gain of the monolithic 3D inverter is about 45 V/V at a supply voltage of 1.5 V and a gate length of 1 μm. This is the highest reported gain at the smallest gate length and the lowest supply voltage for any 3D integrated CMOS inverter using any layered semiconductor.
Low-Cost and Simple Fabrication of Nanoplasmonic Paper for Coupled Chromatography Separation and Surface Enhanced Raman Detection.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical tool which enables the detection and identification of analytes adsorbed on nanostructured noble metals. However, SERS analysis of complex mixtures can be challenging due to spectral overlap and interference. In this report, we demonstrate a method to simplify the identification of mixed-analyte samples by coupling SERS detection with chromatographic separation on a nanoplasmonic paper substrate. This “nanopaper” substrate is a silver coated glass microfiber filter paper which possesses large SERS enhancement and can serve as a stationary phase in paper chromatography. Nanopaper is easily synthesized using the silver mirror reaction, making it a highly accessible technology. Nanopaper was successfully used as a combined paper chromatography-SERS (PC-SERS) substrate in the separation and identification of mixed organic dyes. It was further employed to separate and identify lycopene and β-carotene in commercial food products, demonstrating th...
A Neutrino-Free Universe

The work I shall discuss was done in collaboration with H. Georgi and S. Nussinov. References to the literature may be found in our recent Harvard preprint, HUTP-81/A026.
Magic Angle Spinning without the Magic and Natural Abundance Matrix Isolation 13 C NMR

A novel magic angle sample spinner is described which overcomes the usual technical difficulties associated with MASS in such a way as to allow routine analysis of complex samples such as coal or gallstones with as little as 80 mg. Also, the first 13C cross polarization spectrum of a matrix isolated compound is reported.
Culture of American and European Oysters

Over the years much has been written on oyster hatchery rearing techniques. I refer you to Loosanoff and Davis (1963) and Walne (1966) for what have become rather standard methods for conditioning and spawning adult stocks and rearing the free-swimming veliger larvae of American and European oysters (Crassostrea Virginica Gmelin and Ostrea edulis L.)
Bilinear control and application to flexible a.c. transmission systems

The purpose of this paper is an integrated overview of bilinear systems (BLS) research which has evolved over the past few decades, and a new result on control of flexible a.c. transmission systems (FACTS) is presented. BLS may be derived in many cases from principles of physics, chemistry, biology, socioeconomics, and engineering. In other cases, BLS are more accurate approximations to nonlinear systems than are traditional linear systems, as shown for example by the added bilinear terms (in state and control) for the Taylor series. While an appropriately designed linear control system may be optimum relative to some quadratic performance index without added constraints, bilinear or parametric control can be designed to improve more global performance and indeed to increase the region of attainable states. Such controllability and stabilization of BLS and of a series line-capacitor controlled FACTS is presented.
Mapping the Response of a Double-Sided Strip High-Purity Germanium Detector

We are developing a dual-headed small-animal SPECT system using double-sided strip HPGe detectors. HPGe provides superior energy resolution (approximately 1 % FWHM at 140 keV), which allows for good scatter rejection and facilitates dual- or multi-isotope imaging. Reconstructed images in our first prototype small-animal SPECT system exhibited artifacts, which we attributed to mis-positioning of events near the strip edges. To study the detector response and acqnire data to facilitate the development of methods to recover multi-strip events, we have scanned a detector with a focused beam (approximately $25\mathrm {x} 25 {\mu } \mathrm {m}$ 2$ @ 131 keV$)()
A Psychosocial Genealogy of LGBTQ+ Gender: An Empirically Based Theory of Gender and Gender Identity Cultures:

In this invited article, I present an inclusive theory of gender that clarifies its interconnections with gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. To support this functionalist theory, I ...
Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection in HIV patients: potential role of HIV-associated extracellular vesicles

Abstract Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the causal agent for Kaposi sarcoma (KS), the most common malignancy in people living with HIV/AIDS. The oral cavity is a major route for KSHV infection and transmission. However, how KSHV breaches the oral epithelial barrier for spreading to the body is not clear. Here we show that extracellular vesicles (EVs) purified from saliva of HIV-positive individuals and secreted by HIV-1-infected T cells promote KSHV infectivity in both monolayer and 3-dimensional models of immortalized and primary human oral epithelial cells, establishing the latency of the virus. The HIV trans-activation response (TAR) element RNA in HIV-associated EVs contributes to the infectivity of KSHV through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Cetuximab, a monoclonal neutralizing antibody to EGFR, blocks HIV-associated EV-enhanced KSHV infection. Our findings reveal that saliva containing HIV-associated EVs is a risk factor for enhancement of KSHV infection and that inhibition of EGFR serves as a novel strategy for controlling KSHV infection and transmission in the oral cavity. Author summary Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a causal agent for Kaposi sarcoma (KS), the most common malignancy in HIV/AIDS patients. Oral transmission through saliva is considered the most common route for spreading of the virus among HIV/AIDS patients. However, the role of HIV-specific components in co-transfection of KSHV is unclear. We demonstrate that extracellular vesicles (EV) purified from saliva of HIV patients and secreted by HIV-infected T cells promote KSHV infectivity in immortalized and primary oral epithelial cells. HIV-associated EVs promote KSHV infection depends on the HIV trans-activation element (TAR) RNA and EGFR of oral epithelial cells, both can be targeted for reducing KSHV infection. These results reveal that HIV-EVs is a risk factor for KSHV co-infection in the HIV-infected population.
The Frankenstein Syndrome: The Creation of Mega-Media Conglomerates and Ethical Modeling in Journalism

Aristotle saw ethics as a habit that is modeled and developed though practice. Shelly's Victor Frankenstein, though well intentioned in his goals, failed to model ethical behavior for his creation, abandoning it to its own recourse. Today we live in an era of unfettered mergers and acquisitions where once separate and independent media increasingly are concentrated under the control and leadership of the fictitious but legal personhood of a few conglomerated corporations. This paper will explore the impact of mega-media mergers on ethical modeling in journalism. It will diagram the behavioral context underlying the development of ethical habits, discuss leadership theory as it applies to management, and address the question of whether the creation of mega-media conglomerates will result in responsible corporate citizens or monsters who turn on their creators.
An expanded role of the SNARE-containing regulon as it relates to the defense process that Glycine max has to Heterodera glycines.

The defense regulon has been defined genetically in Arabidopsis thaliana to involve the syntaxin PENETRATION1 (PEN1), the secreted glucosidase (PEN2) and an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter (...
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): Environmental Risks, Toxicological Effects, and Bioremediation for Environmental Safety and Challenges for Future Research

The persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in different media of environment such as air, water, and soil due to its persistence in nature. POPs have the efficacy to contaminate, accumulate, and bioaccumulate in any living organisms through the food chain. Since these are lipophilic and semi-volatile in nature, can move or transport through air mass in the far distance such as Arctic region and mountainous region where the pollutants were never used before. Thus, POPs have the tendency to retain in cold climate for a longer time. Stockholm Convention is a focus to control or eliminate the production and implement the policy against the toxic POPs because these can lead to serious health effects including cancers, birth defects, and dysfunctional immune, nervous, and reproductive systems. The Cucurbita family of plant species including pumpkins, squash, and zucchini has been used widely to uptake the PCBs, DDT, and PAH from contaminated sites. Some of the bacterial group such as Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, and Bacillus were also reported for the degradation of DDT compounds. The gram-negative (Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, Achromobacter, Burkholderia sp.) and gram-positive (Rhodococcus, Corynebacterium, and Bacillus sp.) bacteria have been reported for the degradation of PCB compounds, respectively. Many of the native microorganisms develop complex and significantly effective metabolic pathways that allow the biodegradation of toxic compounds released into the environment.
The Structure and Functioning of the Supreme Court of India

This chapter is meant as a brief introduction to the structure and functioning of the Indian Supreme Court. It details the history of the expansion of the Supreme Court to 31 judges, a process largely driven by the Court’s expansive jurisdiction, and the Court's liberal interpretation of it. The chapter argues that the Court’s size and its panel structure (judges generally sit in panels of two or three) has a had a number of effects. These include the development of a polyvocal jurisprudence, greater experimentation among panels of judges, the rise of a dominant Chief Justice, and greater public perception of the Court as an apolitical institution. The chapter ends by briefly describing the Court’s relationship to the rest of the judiciary and positing that increased confidence in the broader Indian judicial system could lessen the perceived need for appeal and so further change the structure and function of the Indian Supreme Court in the future. Note: Since this piece was sent to press the Indian Supreme Court expanded to 34 judges. The chapter is drawn heavily from extracts of Nick Robinson, Structure Matters: The Impact of Court Structure on the Indian and U.S. Supreme Courts, 61(1) AM. J. OF COMP. LAW 173 (2013).
KnightSim: A Fast Discrete Event-Driven Simulation Methodology for Computer Architectural Simulation

In this paper we introduce a fast discrete event-driven simulation methodology, called KnightSim, that is intended for use in the development of future computer architectural simulations. KnightSim extends an older event-driven simulation library by (1) incorporating corrections to functional issues that were introduced by the recent additions of stack protection, pointer mangling, and source fortification in the Linux software stack, (2) incorporating optimizations to the event engine, and (3) introducing a novel parallel implementation. KnightSim implements events as independently executable x86 “KnightSim Contexts”. KnightSim Contexts comprise a mechanism for fast context execution and automatically model occupancy and contention, which readily lends itself to use in computer architectural simulations. We present the implementation methodologies of KnightSim and Parallel KnightSim with a detailed performance analysis. Our performance analysis makes direct comparisons between KnightSim, Parallel KnightSim, and the discrete event-driven simulation engines found in three different mainstream computer architectural simulators. Our results show that on average KnightSim achieves speedups of 2.8 to 11.9 over the other discrete event-driven simulation engines. Our results also show that on average Parallel KnightSim can achieve speedups over KnightSim of 1.89, 3.33, 5.84, and 9.24 for 2, 4, 8, and 16 threaded executions respectively.
Neuronal migration in the developing cerebellar system

Abstract The cerebellum or “little brain” plays critical roles in motor control and more recently in several types of motor learning. With a near-crystalline array of neuronal laminae and stereotyped projections to and from functionally linked nuclear structures in the brainstem, the cerebellum has served as a powerful model for neuronal cell migrations in the developing central nervous system. This chapter will discuss the birthplaces and migration paths of the many neuronal cell types that compose the cerebellar system, including the cerebellar cortex and connected nuclei. Moreover, significant attention will be given to the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing cerebellar granule neuron migration, whose vast numbers and well-defined genetic tools make this cell type perhaps the best-characterized neuronal migration model in the entire brain. Finally, the chapter will present medulloblastoma as a model for perturbed cerebellar migration and germinal zone exit.
Streaming File Transfer Optimization for Distributed Science Workflows

Driven by the advancements in computing and sensing technology, scientific applications started to generate a huge volume of data which needs to be streamed to highperformance computing clusters timely for real-time (or near-real time) processing, necessitating reliable network performance to operate seamlessly. However, existing data transfer applications are predominantly designed for batch workloads in a way that transfer configurations cannot be altered once they are set. This, in turn, severely limits streaming applications from adapting to changing dataset and network conditions therefore meeting stringent performance requirements. In this paper, we propose FStream to offer performance guarantees to time-sensitive streaming applications by dynamically adjusting transfer settings when system conditions deviate from initial assumptions to sustain high network performance throughout the runtime. We evaluate the performance of FStream by transferring several synthetic and real-world workloads in high-performance production networks and show that it offers up to 9x performance improvement over state-of-the-art data transfer solutions.
A broadly neutralizing macaque monoclonal antibody against the HIV-1 V3-Glycan patch.

A small fraction of HIV-1- infected humans develop broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) against HIV-1 that protect macaques from simian immunodeficiency HIV chimeric virus (SHIV). Similarly, a small number of macaques infected with SHIVs develop broadly neutralizing serologic activity, but less is known about the nature of simian antibodies. Here, we report on a monoclonal antibody, Ab1485, isolated from a macaque infected with SHIVAD8 that developed broadly neutralizing serologic activity targeting the V3-glycan region of HIV-1 Env. Ab1485 neutralizes 38.1% of HIV-1 isolates in a 42-pseudovirus panel with a geometric mean IC50 of 0.055 µg/mLl and SHIVAD8 with an IC50 of 0.028 µg/mLl. Ab1485 binds the V3-glycan epitope in a glycan-dependent manner. A 3.5 A cryo-electron microscopy structure of Ab1485 in complex with a native-like SOSIP Env trimer showed conserved contacts with the N332gp120 glycan and gp120 GDIR peptide motif, but in a distinct Env-binding orientation relative to human V3/N332gp120 glycan-targeting bNAbs. Intravenous infusion of Ab1485 protected macaques from a high dose challenge with SHIVAD8. We conclude that macaques can develop bNAbs against the V3-glycan patch that resemble human V3-glycan bNAbs.
Geographic Differences in Lung Transplant Volume and Donor Availability During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Regional variation in lung transplantation practices due to local coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevalence may cause geographic disparities in access to lung transplantation. METHODS: Using the United Network for Organ Sharing registry, we conducted a descriptive analysis of lung transplant volume, donor lung volume, new waitlist activations, and waiting list deaths at high-volume lung transplant centers during the first 3 months of the pandemic (March 1. 2020, to May 30, 2020) and we compared it to the same period in the preceding 5 years. RESULTS: Lung transplant volume decreased by 10% nationally and by a median of 50% in high COVID-19 prevalence centers (range -87% to 80%) compared with a median increase of 10% (range -87% to 80%) in low prevalence centers (P-for-trend 0.006). Donation services areas with high COVID-19 prevalence experienced a greater decrease in organ availability (-28% range, -72% to -11%) compared with low prevalence areas (+7%, range -20% to + 55%, P-for-trend 0.001). Waiting list activations decreased at 18 of 22 centers. Waiting list deaths were similar to the preceding 5 years and independent of local COVID-19 prevalence (P-for-trend 0.36). CONCLUSIONS: Regional variation in transplantation and donor availability in the early months of the pandemic varied by local COVID-19 activity.
Inspired to Adopt: The Role of Social Norms in Media Inspiration

We consider the potential for inspirational media content (inspiring videos about dogs) and injunctive norms (social media comments on the videos) to motivate dog adoption behaviors and intentions. In an online experiment, participants were exposed to pretested inspiring (or non-inspiring) videos and social norms cues and were given an opportunity to browse among a series of dogs on a mock adoption website. Participants also indicated their intention to adopt a dog and completed a series of socio-demographic measures. Results indicated that, although both the inspiring videos and the norm cues successfully induced inspiration and perceived injunctive norms, only injunctive norms significantly affected intention to adopt. The effect of norms remained significant when controlling for barriers to adoption such as financial, time, and space considerations. Discussion focuses on implications for inspiring entertainment and social norms theories, and implications for adoptions and other prosocial behaviors.
Which Corporate ESG News does the Market React to

Using a dataset that classifies firm-level ESG news as positive and negative, we examine how stock prices react to different types of ESG news. We analyze 111,020 firm–day observations for 3,126 companies and find that prices react only to issues identified as financially material for a given industry by sustainability accounting standards, and the reaction is larger for news that is positive, receive more attention, and that is related to social capital issues. We conclude that investors differentiate in their reactions based on whether the news is likely to affect a company’s fundamentals, and therefore their reactions are motivated by a financial rather than a nonpecuniary motive.
A human colliculus-pulvinar-amygdala pathway encodes negative emotion.

Summary Animals must rapidly respond to threats to survive. In rodents, threat-related signals are processed through a subcortical pathway from the superior colliculus to the amygdala, a putative “low road” to affective behavior. This pathway has not been well characterized in humans. We developed a novel pathway identification framework that uses pattern recognition to identify connected neural populations and optimize measurement of inter-region connectivity. We first verified that the model identifies known thalamocortical pathways with high sensitivity and specificity in 7 T (n = 56) and 3 T (n = 48) fMRI experiments. Then we identified a human functional superior colliculus-pulvinar-amygdala pathway. Activity in this pathway encodes the intensity of normative emotional responses to negative images and sounds but not pleasant images or painful stimuli. These results provide a functional description of a human “low road” pathway selective for negative exteroceptive events and demonstrate a promising method for characterizing human functional brain pathways.
Factor Momentum and Regime-Switching Overlay Strategy

Investors are faced with challenges in diversifying risks and protecting capital during crash periods. In this article, the authors incorporate regime information in the portfolio optimization context by identifying regimes for historical time periods using an l1-trend filtering algorithm and exploring different machine learning techniques to forecast the probability of an upcoming stock market crash. They then apply a regime-based asset allocation to nominal risk parity strategy. Investors can further improve their investment performance by implementing a dollar-neutral factor momentum strategy as an overlay in conjunction with the core portfolio. The authors demonstrate that the time-series factor momentum strategy generates high risk-adjusted returns and exhibits pronounced defensive characteristics during market crashes. A volatility scaling approach is employed to manage the risk and further magnify the benefits of factor momentum. Empirical results suggest that the approach improves risk-adjusted returns by a substantial amount over the benchmark from both the standalone perspective and the contributory perspective. TOPICS:Portfolio construction, big data/machine learning, risk management, performance measurement Key Findings ▪ The authors identify historical regimes with l1-trend filtering and implement a regime-switching risk parity strategy with supervised learning methods to optimize the core portfolio allocation. ▪ By adding a long–short factor momentum strategy on top of the core diversified portfolios, the authors are able to further enhance the portfolio’s risk-adjusted return. ▪ The factor momentum strategy exhibits defensive characteristics during crashes, and its risks can be further managed by scaling the leverage based on the realized volatility.
The Fundamental Optical Spectra of Solids

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews many papers on fundamental absorption spectra, and attempts to analyze the results in terms of conventional band theory and resonances. At this point, this chapter takes stock of the results of this analysis, which can be done by dividing crystals into insulators and metals. For the insulators, it is found that the spectra can generally be analyzed in terms of edges associated with direct interband transitions, supplemented by parabolic and saddle-point direct excitons. Because direct transitions dominate the observed spectra, an enormous amount of information concerning the electronic structure of insulators can be extracted from optical data supplemented by modern, semiempirical theoretical techniques for calculating band structures. Most of the puzzling aspects of the spectra—for example, strong, temperature-dependent peaks—can be understood in terms of saddle-point and hybrid excitons. Further progress in this field can be anticipated; indeed, it seems almost certain that within a few years the electronic structures of most insulators with simple crystal structures will be determined in this way. The situation for metals is quite different. Even for the alkali metals, where the analysis of the optical spectra was expected to be straightforward, large deviations from the results of conventional band theory are found. The origin of these deviations is still uncertain. Both the optical and photo-emissive data for the alkali and noble metals suggest that direct, k-conserving transitions may not dominate interband absorption. Such pronounced qualitative differences provide strong empirical support for Cohen's conjecture that the ground state of many metals may not be describable only in single-particle terms.
Electrical safety-related work practices

The development of an effective written electrical safety program requires completion of a comprehensive electrical audit of a company, with special emphasis on several aspects. One of the aspects is structural components and features of the plant that describe the source, distribution and use of electrical energy, such as power sources, transformers, circuits, power panels, distribution lines, and electrically operated equipment and machines. Another aspects are: specific job tasks that normally performed by personnel that may result in direct contact with live circuits or stored electrical energy, including actions and activities not usually associated with electrical work; potential electrical exposures that might occur as a result of non-routine conditions, such as emergency situations, operational shut-down, and new construction; and potential electrical exposures related to the on-site activity of contractor personnel, including exposures of contractor personnel as well as company employees.
What is a Biological Function

This paper examines the concepts biological function (BF) and functioning as they are used in recent work on formal ontology and its applications in the biomedical domain. My purpose is not to offer an entirely new definition of BF. My objectives are: (1) to find out the basic features of BF mentioned in the reviewed articles; (2) to make more explicit the description of BF already present in those articles by relating it to an ontological category system; and (3) to emphasize the distinction between three cases of predication involving BFs, a distinction that should be taken into account when designing an information system. Hopefully, the results will make a contribution to the goal of providing a general, objective description of biological functions.
Personality and Marriage

Abstract The success or failure of a marriage is likely to depend in part on the personality (i.e., the enduring traits and characteristics), of the individual spouses. To review research that has explored this idea, this article is organized into three sections. The first section addresses which personality traits have demonstrated consistent associations with marital outcomes. Although over 200 separate personality traits have been examined for their effects on marriage, only neuroticism, or negative affectivity, has demonstrated unique effects across multiple studies. The second section examines the role of similarity and complementarity in accounting for marital outcomes. Although some research supports the beneficial effects of similarity, these effects must be qualified by a number of methodological complexities in the literature. There has been no support for the complementarity hypothesis. The third section describes research on two kinds of intervening processes through which individual personality traits affect marital outcomes. Cumulative continuity suggests that the personality of each spouse shapes the environment of the marriage by giving rise to the stressful circumstances that couples face. Interactional continuity suggests that the personality of each spouse affects the nature of the interpersonal processes occurring within the marriage. Both processes have been demonstrated empirically.
Biotic and abiotic factors contribute to cranberry pollination

As bee populations continue to decline, farmers face possible crop failures due to insufficient pollination. Crops, however, vary in the degree to which they depend on pollinators, suggesting that some crops may not be as sensitive to variation in pollinator availability and/or abundance as others. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of biotic and abiotic factors to cranberry pollination. We performed field and greenhouse experiments to compare the effect of biotic (i.e., bee or hand pollination) and abiotic (i.e., wind, agitation) factors on yield. We found that even in the absence of bees, cranberry is able to produce a significant yield. In the field, plants in the abiotic treatments produced higher yields (wind 230 bbl/ac [barrels per acre], agitation 200 bbl/ac) than the closed control treatment (108 bbl/ac), although these yields were not as high as the open, biotic treatment (367 bbl/ac). This corresponds to a contribution of 41% by bees, 30% by non-bee insects, and 29% by mechanical agitation. In the greenhouse, the agitation treatment had, on average, higher berry weight per upright (0.6 g/upright) than the undisturbed control treatment (0.04 g/upright), but again, not as high as the biotic treatment (3.0 g/upright). This confirmed that cranberry does not autogamously self-pollinate indicating that all yields are due to biotic or abiotic vectors moving pollen between flowers. Although bees clearly contribute to cranberry pollination, previous studies have understated the contribution of alternative mechanisms by which cranberry pollen can move between flowers.
Trend and Variability in Observed Hydrological Extremes in the United States

AbstractIdentification of changes in hydrological extremes plays an important role in water resources management. This study investigates various properties in hydrological extremes including annual maximum daily flow (high flow) and annual minimum 7-day flow (low flow) in 252 unimpaired streamflow gauges in the continental United States. Three statistical methodologies are performed: the nonparametric Mann-Kendall test is used to evaluate temporal trends; the non-parametric change point Pettitt test, to identify abrupt shifts; and the quantile perturbation method, to assess temporal variability. In the results of trend analysis, low flow exhibited some spatial patterns compared to high flow. In addition, low flow has increased over 64 years (1950–2013) in many stations. The Pettitt test indicates that low flows have experienced more significant abrupt changes compared to high flow. The results of the quantile perturbation method confirm that many significant increasing trends obtained during the 64 years...
Stochastic Calculus: A Practical Introduction

CHAPTER 1. BROWNIAN MOTION Definition and Construction Markov Property, Blumenthal's 0-1 Law Stopping Times, Strong Markov Property First Formulas CHAPTER 2. STOCHASTIC INTEGRATION Integrands: Predictable Processes Integrators: Continuous Local Martingales Variance and Covariance Processes Integration w.r.t. Bounded Martingales The Kunita-Watanabe Inequality Integration w.r.t. Local Martingales Change of Variables, Ito's Formula Integration w.r.t. Semimartingales Associative Law Functions of Several Semimartingales Chapter Summary Meyer-Tanaka Formula, Local Time Girsanov's Formula CHAPTER 3. BROWNIAN MOTION, II Recurrence and Transience Occupation Times Exit Times Change of Time, Levy's Theorem Burkholder Davis Gundy Inequalities Martingales Adapted to Brownian Filtrations CHAPTER 4. PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS A. Parabolic Equations The Heat Equation The Inhomogeneous Equation The Feynman-Kac Formula B. Elliptic Equations The Dirichlet Problem Poisson's Equation The Schroedinger Equation C. Applications to Brownian Motion Exit Distributions for the Ball Occupation Times for the Ball Laplace Transforms, Arcsine Law CHAPTER 5. STOCHASTIC DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS Examples Ito's Approach Extension Weak Solutions Change of Measure Change of Time CHAPTER 6. ONE DIMENSIONAL DIFFUSIONS Construction Feller's Test Recurrence and Transience Green's Functions Boundary Behavior Applications to Higher Dimensions CHAPTER 7. DIFFUSIONS AS MARKOV PROCESSES Semigroups and Generators Examples Transition Probabilities Harris Chains Convergence Theorems CHAPTER 8. WEAK CONVERGENCE In Metric Spaces Prokhorov's Theorems The Space C Skorohod's Existence Theorem for SDE Donsker's Theorem The Space D Convergence to Diffusions Examples Solutions to Exercises References Index
Redox regulation of NF‐κB p50 and M1 polarization in microglia

Redox-signaling is implicated in deleterious microglial activation underlying CNS disease, but how ROS program aberrant microglial function is unknown. Here, the oxidation of NF-κB p50 to a free radical intermediate is identified as a marker of dysfunctional M1 (pro-inflammatory) polarization in microglia. Microglia exposed to steady fluxes of H2 O2 showed altered NF-κB p50 protein-protein interactions, decreased NF-κB p50 DNA binding, and augmented late-stage TNFα expression, indicating that H2 O2 impairs NF-κB p50 function and prolongs amplified M1 activation. NF-κB p50(-/-) mice and cultures exhibited a disrupted M2 (alternative) response and impaired resolution of the M1 response. Persistent neuroinflammation continued 1 week after LPS (1 mg/kg, IP) administration in the NF-κB p50(-/-) mice. However, peripheral inflammation had already resolved in both strains of mice. Treatment with the spin-trap DMPO mildly reduced LPS-induced 22 h TNFα in the brain in NF-κB p50(+/+) mice. Interestingly, DMPO failed to reduce and strongly augmented brain TNFα production in NF-κB p50(-/-) mice, implicating a fundamental role for NF-κB p50 in the regulation of chronic neuroinflammation by free radicals. These data identify NF-κB p50 as a key redox-signaling mechanism regulating the M1/M2 balance in microglia, where loss of function leads to a CNS-specific vulnerability to chronic inflammation.
Data, information, knowledge: An information science analysis

I analyze the text of an article that appeared in this journal in 2007 that published the results of a questionnaire in which a number of experts were asked to define the concepts of data, information, and knowledge. I apply standard information retrieval techniques to build a list of the most frequent terms in each set of definitions. I then apply information extraction techniques to analyze how the top terms are used in the definitions. As a result, I draw data-driven conclusions about the aggregate opinion of the experts. I contrast this with the original analysis of the data to provide readers with an alternative viewpoint on what the data tell us.
Abstract 16754: The Impact of Left Atrial Ablation Procedure and Strategy on Microemboli Formation During Irrigated RF Catheter Ablation in an in vivo Model

Background: Microemboli during catheter ablation may cause asymptomatic cerebral emboli. However, there is limited characterization of microemboli formation using open-irrigated radiofrequency (RF) catheters. It is also unknown which part of the procedure is most strongly related to this occurrence. Methods: Catheter ablation was performed in the left atrium of 19 pigs. Microbubble volume (MBV) and microparticles (clot/tissue) were monitored using an ultrasonic bubble counter and blood filter in an extracorporeal circulation loop. Doppler signals of the carotid artery were monitored for microemboli signals (MES). Intracardiac echography images were also acquired. Ablation was performed using open-irrigated RF catheters. Point-by-point (30 or 60 sec) and drag ablations (240 sec) using 30W/50W were performed. ACT was maintained at 350-400 sec. Results: In total, 208 RF applications (190 point-by-point, 18 drag ablations) and 203 sheath/catheter manipulations (transseptal puncture, sheath flush, catheter insertion, PV angiography, and sheath exchange) were analyzed. Steam pops were seen in 30/208 applications. Excluding steam pops, 50W ablation produced higher MBV and more MES than 30W ablation. Drag ablation produced higher MBV and more MES than point-by-point ablation. Ablations with steam pops produced much higher MBV and more MES than ablation without steam pops. During sheath/catheter manipulation, fast sheath flush (injection speed: 8 cc saline/1 sec) produced the highest MBV (100 times higher than slow sheath flush [8 cc saline/5 sec]) and MES. A total of 28 microparticle events were seen. Only 1 microparticle was observed before RF application. Fifteen microparticle events were seen after 50W point-by-point ablations, 9 were seen after drag ablation. Conclusion: Formation of microbubbles was greatest during fast sheath flush and steam pops, while high power RF application, drag ablation, and steam pops produced most of the microparticles. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Sequential circuit design using synthesis and optimization

A description is given of SIS, an interactive tool for synthesis and optimization of sequential circuits. Given a state transition table or a logic-level description of a sequential circuit, SIS produces an optimized net-list in the target technology while preserving the sequential input-output behavior. Many different programs and algorithms have been integrated into SIS, allowing the user to choose among a variety of techniques at each stage of the process. It is built on top of MISII and includes all (combinational) optimization techniques therein as well as many enhancements. SIS serves as both a framework within which various algorithms can be tested and compared and as a tool for automatic synthesis and optimization of sequential circuits. >