cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimation of activity for static and domino CMOS circuits considering signal correlations and simultaneous switching

This paper presents an accurate estimation of signal activity at the internal and output nodes of static and domino CMOS combinational logic circuits. The methodology is based on a stochastic model of logic signals and takes correlations and simultaneous switching of signals at logic gate inputs into consideration. In static combinational logic synthesis, in order to minimize spurious transitions due to finite propagation delays, it is crucial to balance all signal paths and to reduce the logic depth. As a result of balancing delays through different paths, the inputs to logic gates may switch at approximately the same time. We have developed and implemented a technique to calculate signal probability and switching activity of static CMOS combinational logic circuits. Experimental results show that if simultaneous switching is not considered, the switching activities at the internal nodes can be off by more than 100% compared to simulation based techniques. In contrast, our technique is on the average within 2% of logic simulation results. On the other hand, domino circuits are free of spurious transitions. Based on the precharge scheme of domino circuits, a technique for estimation of signal activity is presented. The results are within 1% of logic simulation results.
Industrial ecology network optimization with life cycle metrics

Industrial ecology suggests innovative pathways for re-use and recovery of waste streams, but efforts to establish eco-industrial networks have encountered both technical and institutional barriers. To help overcome these challenges, an Industrial Ecosystem Toolkit has been developed to quantify how such collaborative networks can reduce costs, employ assets more efficiently, increase revenue, reduce risks, and conserve natural resources. The tools draw upon methods from network flow optimization modeling and environmental life cycle assessment, and enable real-time, interactive use by decision makers. Working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development, and other regional organizations, the Center for Resilience has applied these innovative tools to promote a systems approach based on sound science and informed decision-making. Future work will develop network models that represent synergies among industrial and ecological processes.
Severe depression is associated with markedly reduced heart rate variability in patients with stable coronary heart disease

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between depression and heart rate variability in cardiac patients. Methods: Heart rate variability was measured during 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring in 40 medically stable out-patients with documented coronary heart disease meeting current diagnostic criteria for major depression, and 32 nondepressed, but otherwise comparable, patients. Patients discontinued β-blockers and antidepressant medications at the time of study. Depressed patients were classified as mildly (n = 21) or moderately-to-severely depressed (n = 19) on the basis of Beck Depression Inventory scores. Results: There were no significant differences among the groups in age, gender, blood pressure, history of myocardial infarction, diabetes, or smoking. Heart rates were higher and nearly all indices of heart rate variability were significantly reduced in the moderately-to-severely versus the nondepressed group. Heart rates were also higher and mean values for heart rate variability lower in the mildly depressed group compared with the nondepressed group, but these differences did not attain statistical significance. Conclusion: The association of moderate to severe depression with reduced heart rate variability in patients with stable coronary heart disease may reflect altered cardiac autonomic modulation and may explain their increased risk for mortality.
N- and S-doped mesoporous carbon as metal-free cathode catalysts for direct biorenewable alcohol fuel cells

Nitrogen and sulfur were simultaneously doped into the framework of mesoporous CMK-3 as metal-free catalysts for direct biorenewable alcohol fuel cells. Glucose, NH3, and thiophene were used as carbon, nitrogen and sulfur precursors, respectively, to prepare mesoporous N-S-CMK-3 with uniform mesopores and extra macropores, resulting in good O2 diffusion both in half cell and alcohol fuel cell investigations. Among all investigated CMK-3 based catalysts, N-S-CMK-3 prepared at 800 °C exhibited the highest ORR activity with the onset potential of 0.92 V vs. RHE, Tafel slope of 68 mV dec−1, and 3.96 electron transfer number per oxygen molecule in 0.1 M KOH. The alkaline membrane-based direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC) with N-S-CMK-3 cathode displayed 88.2 mW cm−2 peak power density without obvious O2 diffusion issue, reaching 84% initial performance of that with a Pt/C cathode. The high catalyst durability and fuel-crossover tolerance led to stable performance of the N-S-CMK-3 cathode DAFC with 90.6 mW cm−2 peak power density after 2 h operation, while the Pt/C cathode-based DAFC lost 36.9% of its peak power density. The high ORR activity of N-S-CMK-3 can be attributed to the synergistic effect between graphitic-N and S (C–S–C structure), suggesting great potential to use N-S-CMK-3 as an alternative to noble metal catalysts in the fuel cell cathode.
An Analysis of Workers' Attitudes Toward the 4-Day, 40-Hour Workweek.

Summary.-Employees' attitudes toward a proposed 4-day, 40-hr. workweek were examined relative to job and worker variables, expectations about the shortened workweek, and satisfaction with facets of the job and company. Employees classified by their sex, work shifts, wage schedules, and sex by work shifts differed significantly in their attitudes toward the 4-day, 40-hr. workweek and in the advantages and disadvantages they expected to result from a revised workweek. Except for a weak relation with pay and promotions, satisfaction with facets of the job and company was not significantly correlated with attitude toward the proposed workweek. The importance of employees' expectations in relation to the 4-day, 40-hr. workweek is discussed, and it is suggested that firms contemplating a revised workweek should examine and explore with employees the impact of a 4-day, 40-hr. workweek before installation. A number of companies in various industries have experimented in recent years with a work schedule of four 10-h. days per week, thus maintaining the customary workweek of 40 hr. Available evidence suggests that the effects of this work schedule have generally been beneficial for both labor and management (Glickman & Brown, 1973; Poor, 1970). For example, Poor (1970) surveyed 27 American firms which had experience with the 4-day, 40-h. workweek and found that 22 of these firms continued the new work schedule. Improvements described by the 22 firms indude increases in output, worker morale, and the number of qualified job applicants as well as reductions in labor costs, tardiness, and absenteeism. Poor also reports that a high percentage (over 92%) of workers and managers were pleased with the new workweek, primarily because of increased time for leisure and other off-the-job activities. Some firms have reported unfavorable evaluations of the 4-day, 40-hr. workweek (Glickman & Brown, 1973). Where the revised workweek was implemented and subsequently found unsuccessful, it was due to disruptions experienced by personnel, e.g., increased workload, fatigue, etc., or to disruptions in the activities of the organrzation, e.g., shipping and receiving problems, poor customer service, etc. Ocher firms evaluated the 4-day workweek as technically infeasible and did not implement due to equipment scheduling, customer requirements and preferences, or the nature of the product. In instances where the Cday workweek is technically feasible, its successful
A Novel Graphical Model Approach to Segmenting Cell Images

Successful biological image analysis usually requires satisfactory segmentations to identify regions of interest as an intermediate step. Here we present a novel graphical model approach for segmentation of multi-cell yeast images acquired by fluorescence microscopy. Yeast cells are often clustered together, so they are hard to segment by conventional techniques. Our approach assumes that two parallel images are available for each field: an image containing information about the nuclear positions (such as an image of a DNA probe) and an image containing information about the cell boundaries (such as a differential interference contrast, or DIC, image). The nuclear information provides an initial assignment of whether each pixel belongs to the background or one of the cells. The boundary information is used to estimate the probability that any two pixels in the graph are separated by a cell boundary. From these two kinds of information, we construct a graph that links nearby pairs of pixels, and seek to infer a good segmentation from this graph. We pose this problem as inference in a Bayes network, and use a fast approximation approach to iteratively improve the estimated probability of each class for each pixel. The resulting algorithm can efficiently generate segmentation masks which are highly consistent with hand-labeled data, and results suggest that the work will be of particular use for large scale determination of protein location patterns by automated microscopy.
Emergence of self and other in perception and action: an event-control approach.

The present paper analyzes the regularities referred to via the concept 'self.' This is important, for cognitive science traditionally models the self as a cognitive mediator between perceptual inputs and behavioral outputs. This leads to the assertion that the self causes action. Recent findings in social psychology indicate this is not the case and, as a consequence, certain cognitive scientists model the self as being epiphenomenal. In contrast, the present paper proposes an alternative approach (i.e., the event-control approach) that is based on recently discovered regularities between perception and action. Specifically, these regularities indicate that perception and action planning utilize common neural resources. This leads to a coupling of perception, planning, and action in which the first two constitute aspects of a single system (i.e., the distal-event system) that is able to pre-specify and detect distal events. This distal-event system is then coupled with action (i.e., effector-control systems) in a constraining, as opposed to 'causal' manner. This model has implications for how we conceptualize the manner in which one infers the intentions of another, anticipates the intentions of another, and possibly even experiences another. In conclusion, it is argued that it may be possible to map the concept 'self' onto the regularities referred to in the event-control model, not in order to reify 'the self' as a causal mechanism, but to demonstrate its status as a useful concept that refers to regularities that are part of the natural order.
The Determination Of Optimal Reservation Price Setting For Homeowners

This paper considers the problem of determining the optimal reservation price for a seller of real estate. Although there exists much literature regarding the appraisal of real estate and property valuation, little research has focused on the process through which the seller may set a minimum price that he is willing to accept when bids are received over time. An exploratory and preliminary model is developed from which an optimal reservation price is determined as a function of pertinent cash flows and an ex-ante declared cumulative distribution of bids. Bids arrive according to a Poisson process and are a function of the listing price. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the results.
Stability of an analog optimization circuit for quadratic programming

Abstract We study the stability of an analog optimization circuit that solves quadratic programming (QP) problems. The circuit dynamics are modeled as a switched affine system. A piece-wise quadratic Lyapunov function and the KYP lemma are used to derive the stability criterion. The stability criterion characterizes the range of critical circuit parameters for which the QP circuit is globally exponentially stable.
Regulation by cytidine nucleotides of the acylation of sn-(14C)glycerol 3-phosphate. Regional and subcellular distribution of the enzymes responsible for phosphatidic acid synthesis de novo in the central nervous system of the rat.

1. The regional and subcellular distribution of the incorporation of sn-[14C]glycerol 3-phosphate into rat brain lipids in vitro was investigated and compared with the relative specific activity of various chemical and enzyme markers. The similarity between the subcellular distribution of this incorporation and of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity indicated that the synthesis of phosphatidic acid via this route correlated with the presence of endoplasmic reticulum. 2. Experiments in which various amounts of the microsomal fraction were added to fixed amounts of nuclear, myelin, nerve-ending and mitochondrial preparations clearly demonstrated that the endoplasmic-reticulum contamination of these fractions was entirely responsible for the incorporation of sn-[14C]glycerol 3-phosphate. 3. The presence of CMP or CTP inhibited the incorporation of sn-[14C]glycerol 3-phosphate into the whole homogenate. Similar effects were observed with individual fractions, except for the mitochondria. With the mitochondrial fraction the effect of these cytidine nucleotides varied with the preparation, stimulating in some preparations and inhibiting with other preparations. The presence of CDP-choline stimulated the incorporation into the whole homogenate and to a lesser extent into the subcellular fractions. 4. These results indicate that the various organelles of the central nervous system are more dependent on endoplasmic reticulum for the production of glycerolipids de novo than has previously been appreciated.
Engineer’s estimate reliability and statistical characteristics of bids

The objective of this report is to provide a methodology for examining bids and evaluating the performance of engineer’s estimates in capturing the true cost of projects. This study reviews the cos...
Placement of distributed generation using electrical measures to improve the robustness of power grid networks

A lot of importance is being given to distributed generation (DG) these days. However, the use of DG has been limited to the distribution network. In this work, we use DG placement in the transmission network as a method to enhance the robustness of the transmission grid against cascading failures. We use electrical measures - electrical centrality and node significance - to find the locations for DG placement. Vulnerability analysis has been done on the IEEE 57- and 118-node networks, using power flow and overload cascade models, before and after DG placement to assess the improvement in the robustness of the grid. Comparison is also made with the results of a method discussed in literature, called method II in this paper. We found that our method shows an improvement of 9% and approximately 20% for the 57- and 118-node networks, respectively and also performed better than method II for all cases.
Growth dynamics and the taxonomic status of Cladonia leporina

The unusual gross morphology of Cladonia leporina provided the basis for early lichenologists to classify it separately from other species with red apothecia. Their hesitation to include C. leporina with other red fruited species was based on its ascyphose, abundantly branched thallus, which did not match the characteristic cup-shaped morphology of species that were known in the early nineteenth century. Cladonia leporina was compared by its author with C. rangiferina, which was later recognized within the genus Cladina. The concept of a group to accommodate all of the red-fruited taxa in Cladonia arose during the nineteenth century. Its morphological parameters were subsequently broadened to include both branched and unbranched spe cies. Contemporary lichenologists have classified C. leporina within section Cocciferae, in which all of the Cladonia species with red apothecia are rec ognized regardless of morphology. Similar to other branched species with red apothecia, the morphology and morphogenesis of C. leporina suggest that this species is allied with taxa outside of section Cocciferae.
HYBRID ZONE DYNAMICS ARE INFLUENCED BY GENOTYPE-SPECIFIC VARIATION IN LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM HYBRIDIZING GAMBUSIA SPECIES.

Results from two experiments are presented that contrast differences in life-history traits and population dynamics between two species of live bearing fishes (Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki) that hybridize across portions of the southeastern United States. Progeny from parental holbrooki and holbrooki-affinis F1 crosses exhibited larger lengths at birth, at 15 days, and matured earlier, and at larger size than did progeny from parental affinis and affinis-holbrooki F1 crosses. Comparisons of experimental populations of affinis, holbrooki, and mixed (affinis + holbrooki) species composition followed over two years revealed that affinis populations consistently exhibited smaller population size, lower carrying capacity, lower recruitment, and larger over-winter mortality than did holbrooki or mixed populations. Evidence for density-dependent reductions in fecundity and concomitant increases in juvenile mortality rates were observed in all populations, but were most pronounced for affinis populations. Genotype-specific differences in life-history traits appear to confer differential advantage to offspring of parental holbrooki origin and F, progeny of holbrooki maternal parentage given the resource availability and the age structure and densities experienced during these experiments. Results have direct implications regarding the rate and direction of evolution within hybrid zones formed by these two species.
Exploiting variability for energy optimization of parallel programs

In this paper we present optimizations that use DVFS mechanisms to reduce the total energy usage in scientific applications. Our main insight is that noise is intrinsic to large scale parallel executions and it appears whenever shared resources are contended. The presence of noise allows us to identify and manipulate any program regions amenable to DVFS. When compared to previous energy optimizations that make per core decisions using predictions of the running time, our scheme uses a qualitative approach to recognize the signature of executions amenable to DVFS. By recognizing the "shape of variability" we can optimize codes with highly dynamic behavior, which pose challenges to all existing DVFS techniques. We validate our approach using offline and online analyses for one-sided and two-sided communication paradigms. We have applied our methods to NWChem, and we show best case improvements in energy use of 12% at no loss in performance when using online optimizations running on 720 Haswell cores with one-sided communication. With NWChem on MPI two-sided and offline analysis, capturing the initialization, we find energy savings of up to 20%, with less than 1% performance cost.
Chronic autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura

Idiopathic (autoimmune) thrombocytopenic purpura (ATP) is accepted to be a disorder resulting from accelerated platelet destruction attributed to an autoimmune process. The patient whose case is presented in this article was first seen by a dentist. The oral findings have been documented as the case was followed for 3 years through acute exacerbations, pregnancy, and delivery of an infant with thrombocytopenia. The patient was managed with intermittent steroid therapy and splenectomy.
Effect of Treatment Conditions on Nisin Inactivation of Gram-negative Bacteria

A method using nisin and a chelating agent to inactivate Salmonella species and other gram-negative bacteria has been developed. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of treatment conditions on the application of this method. Ten gram-negative organisms were used in this study, including six Salmonella species commonly associated with foodborne illness. Organisms were selected on the basis of sensitivity to nisin and a chelating agent. The following parameters were examined: (a) chelating agent, (b) nisin concentration, (c) incubation temperature, and (d) protein interference. Chelating agents included EDTA, ethylenebis (oxyethylene-nitrilo) tetraacetic acid, citric acid monohydrate, and sodium phosphate dibasic. The most effective treatment consisted of 50 to 100 μg/ml nisin applied in combination with 20 mM EDTA or citric acid monohydrate at a temperature range of 30 to 42°C. All of the chelators examined exhibited some inhibitory activity. The addition of bovine serum albumin to the treatments containing nisin and EDTA did not result in a significant decrease in inhibitory action.
The Performance of Multivariate Control Charts in the Presence of Measurement Error

A model demonstrates that the performance of multivariate control charting methods based on measured covariates is not directionally invariant to shifts in the mean vector of the underlying process variables. This is the case even if it is directionally..
INJUSTICE: Interactive Live Action Virtual Reality Experience

Injustice is a three to five minute interactive virtual reality (VR) experience themed around racially motivated police brutality. In Injustice, guests witness an act of racial discrimination happening in front of them, forcing them to make moral and ethical decisions on the spot. The guest comes face to face with the characters of the story, filmed with live action, and interacts in the space with them directly using gaze interaction and voice recognition. Injustice is an experience aimed at exploring the emotional impact of VR space versus traditional film.
Implementation issues: The political economy of efficient fishing

Responses to over-fishing are very similar. Efforts begin with gear restrictions, area closures and seasonal closures. Entry restrictions, including a license moratorium and a license buyback program, often follow. The results are similar too. Over-fishing and effort increases continue. Common property (not open access) regimes (community development quotas—CDQs), private property regimes (individual transferable quotas—ITQs) and Pigouvian taxes can produce the optimal amount at the minimum cost. Of course, the details of each are critical. Political feasibility issues and local conditions are factored into the CDQ-ITQ-tax decision and the resolution of the key details of each. Fisher heterogeneity and possible ways to reduce it are especially important issues. Since over-fishing problems, initial government responses and results are so common, the policy formulation process and recommended outcome have potential global relevance. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Generating Attention, Inhibition, and Memory: A Pilot Randomized Trial for Preschoolers With Executive Functioning Deficits

This goal of this study was to assess the initial feasibility and efficacy of a play-based intervention targeting executive functions (EF) and parent–child relationships in preschoolers compared with an active control group. Preschoolers with EF deficits (M age = 3.7 ± 0.47, predominantly White boys) and their parents were randomized to intervention (n = 36) or active control (n = 32) conditions. Child performance on EF tasks, parent and masked teacher ratings of EF and behavior, and masked clinician ratings of severity were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 months postbaseline. Partial eta-squared effect sizes at .02 or higher comparing performance across the two groups was considered evidence of meaningful, albeit small, intervention effects. Intervention effects were observed for parent ratings of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and number/severity of problems experienced in various home situations, teacher ratings of severity of problems in various school situations, parent and teacher rati...
Of Rating and Ranking in the Comparison of Fiscal Institutions

AbstractComparing countries’ institutional features is a highly judgmental exercise, prone to a number of methodological flaws. But in spite of the difficulties, rating and ranking countries and institutions has been gaining popularity. These comparisons are often based on synthetic indicators that tend to confuse normative aspects (what a government should do) with efficiency/effectiveness arguments (how governments perform). Because of their centrality in determining governments’ capacity to deliver efficiently and effectively goods and services while maintaining macro-economic stability, this paper argues that comparative public policy analysis requires a sounder theoretical framework than the one being offered by the existing synthetic indicators. This case is made by analyzing two indices of fiscal rules developed by the European Commission (EC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and showing how they are prone to a normative or best-practice bias, thus ignoring essential contextual factors. Th...
Smooth: improved short-distance mobility for a smarter city

OSU SMOOTH (Smart Mobile Operation: OSU Transportation Hub) is an autonomous vehicle test bed that aims at providing intelligent transportation systems research for the first and last mile of an individualfis commute. It augments current public transportation infrastructure by providing users with access to a heterogeneous network of on-demand autonomous vehicles. We use demand and usage data to provide optimized scheduling and dispatching services, which provide passengers access to multiple choices of transportation through different automated shuttle sizes and speeds. The system has been designed to maximize the replicability and scalability for future city-wide deployments. It conforms to the National ITS Architecture to maintain the benefits of possible cooperation with other subsystems of ITS.
A fresh look at integration of risks in the international stock markets: A wavelet approach

Abstract Increasing inter-linkages across global financial markets mean that integration of stock market risks across borders play a central role in international portfolio diversification and broader economic policy making. Combining the superior features of parametric and nonparametric methods, this paper undertakes a novel approach on international volatility spillovers across 22 leading stock markets of the world. The approach is to combine wavelet techniques with time-varying conditional volatility and study the comovement of risks at the country level and regional level. Evidence suggests that comovement of risks between the U.S. market and European markets is strong mostly at lower frequencies (in the long-run) only. At higher frequencies (in the short-run), the integration of stock market risks of a country is more connected to the region to which the country belongs and less with the U.S. or other global markets. Further, during the recent financial crisis, common knowledge suggests that the spillover of risks was largely a global phenomenon, but our approach provides new insights that the spillover of risks was mostly limited at lower frequencies. In fact for countries like China, India and Malaysia even at lower frequencies there is limited evidence of spillover of risks.
An empirical model of the Alkali rf-discharge lamp

The rubidium (Rb) atomic frequency standard (RAFS) is quite literally the workhorse of atomic timekeeping in space. Consequently, there is considerable interest in improving its frequency stability and reliability. Chief among the RAFS' components, the rf-discharge lamp is arguably the most problematic. The rf-discharge lamp not only determines the signal-to-noise ratio of the device, but fluctuations in its intensity and/or spectrum map onto the clock's output frequency via the light-shift effect. Understanding the rf-discharge lamp's operation and behavior would therefore seem important for understanding the limitations of a RAFS' frequency stability and reliability. It is surprising then to find that at present no well-articulated theory of the lamp's operation exists. To remedy that situation, we have begun a research project to develop a model of rf-discharge lamp operation, with the eventual goal of uncovering pathways for rf-discharge lamp, and thereby RAFS, improvement. In the present work, our purpose is to employ a semi-quantitative theory of the rf-discharge lamp to better understand the relation of electron number density and Rb light emission to lamp temperature.
Reinterpreting the infrared spectrum of H + HCN: Methylene amidogen radical and its coproducts

The methylene amidogen radical (H2CN) plays a role in high-energy material combustion and extraterresterial atmospheres. Recent theoretical work has struggled to match experimental assignments for its CN and antisymmetric CH2 stretching frequencies (ν2 and ν5), which were reported to occur at 1725 and 3103 cm-1. Herein, we compute the vibrational energy levels of this molecule by extrapolating quadruples-level coupled-cluster theory to the complete basis limit and adding corrections for vibrational anharmonicity. This level of theory predicts that ν2 and ν5 should occur at 1646 and 2892 cm-1, at odds with the experimental assignments. To investigate the possibility of defects in our theoretical treatment, we analyze the sensitivity of our approach to each of its contributing approximations. Our analysis suggests that the observed deviation from experiment is too large to be explained as an accumulation of errors, leading us to conclude that these transitions were misassigned. To help resolve this discrepancy, we investigate possible byproducts of the H + HCN reaction, which was the source of H2CN in the original experiment. In particular, we predict vibrational spectra for cis-HCNH, trans-HCNH, and H2CNH using high-level coupled-cluster computations. Based on these results, we reassign the transition at 1725 cm-1 to ν3 of trans-HCNH, yielding excellent agreement. Supporting this identification, we assign a known contaminant peak at 886 cm-1 to ν5 of the same conformer. Our computations suggest that the peak observed at 3103 cm-1, however, does not belong to any of the aforementioned species. To facilitate further investigation, we use structure and bonding arguments to narrow the range of possible candidates. These arguments lead us to tentatively put forth formaldazine [(H2CN)2] as a suggestion for further study, which we support with additional computations.
Abstract 12003: Effects of Iterative Reconstruction on Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring

Purpose: IR is now commonly used in coronary computerized tomography to facilitate lower kV and mAS, decrease noise and improve resolution but has not been applied to coronary artery calcium scanning (CACS). This study was designed to evaluate the effects of varying levels of iterative reconstruction (IR) on CACS. Methods: A calibrated anthropomorphic phantom with 7 calcium inserts of varying length and density was scanned using a Philips iCT scanner and Agatson Unit (AU) scoring was performed using standard software. One thousand seven hundred measurements were obtained at 80, 100 and 120 kV, from 10-100 mAs in 10 mAs increments, and at IR levels of 0-7. All data were analyzed independently by 2 separate observers. Results: At standard CACS 120 kV/80 mAs settings without IR, the insert AUs of 2.8, 13.9, 41.5, 71.9, 73.9, 161.5 and 313.1 encompassed the range of clinically encountered values. At every combination of kV and mAs there were small but nonsignificant changes in CACS with increasing IR levels (Table). There were no changes in assignment to the standard clinical risk classification groups of 0, 1–10, 11–100, 101–400 and >400 AU with any level of IR. The interobserver variability was 0 (Kappa= 1.0). Table. AU of Phantom Inserts at Representative kV/mAs and Varying IR Conclusions: 1) In a phantom, increasing IR levels had no significant effect on CACS and risk assignment over the full range of kV/mAs settings. 2) The potentially beneficial effects of IR on image appearance and resolution may be pursued without loss of accuracy.
In Search of Likes: Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents' Digital Status Seeking and Health-Risk Behaviors

This study introduces a new construct—digital status seeking—which reflects a set of behaviors made possible by the social media environment. Digital status seeking is defined as the investment of ...
Formation and evolution of carbon particles in coflow diffusion air flames of vaporized biodiesel, diesel and biodiesel-diesel blends

Abstract Evolution profiles on the formation of the carbon particulate (soot) in vaporized coflow diffusion flames of biodiesel (BD), No. 2 diesel and blended fuel mixtures were obtained. The evolution profiles contain the different stages of soot formation, including soot inception, particle growth and agglomeration, and oxidation. Carbon samples were collected directly from inside the flame’s yellow luminous zone along the axial direction at various heights above the burner (HAB) using a well-accepted approach. The studied BD flames were formed using canola methyl ester (CME), cotton methyl ester (COME) and soy methyl ester (SME) in their neat form (B100). The blends consisted of B80 (80% CME/20% No. 2 diesel), B50 (50% CME/50% No. 2 diesel) and B20 (20% CME/80% No. 2 diesel). The evolution profile of the No. 2 diesel flame was compared to the evolution profiles of the neat (B100) BD and blended fuel flames. Soot evolution profiles in the studied vaporized BD and diesel flames are consistent with the general trends of particle formation present during the combustion of diesel and gaseous fuels. That is, particle inception (singlet particles) present in a region at the lower part of the flame followed by particle growth and agglomeration, and the subsequent soot carbonization and oxidation in the upper regions of the flame. However, the soot evolution profiles also show that significant differences exist in the soot morphological properties of the tested BD and blended flames. The presence of “irregular-shaped” fragments such as the “liquid-like” droplets or “globules” at the different stages of soot formation is evident in these oxygenated flames. The “irregular-shaped” fragments resemble short chain-like aggregates that appear to be formed of fused particles having undefined shapes and boundaries. The “irregular-shaped” fragments resemble eutectic (solid/liquid) phases manifesting their viscous liquid nature. Some of these “irregular-shaped” structures contain embedded carbonized inclusions. By a small axial variation of the flame, the fragments are transformed into fully carbonized aggregates that are significantly larger and of complex fractal morphology (multi-branched). From the transmission electron microscopy analysis it can be suggested that the “liquid-like” droplets or “globule” structures serve as possible growth pathways for the formation of the fully carbonized aggregates composed of spherical particles in the upper part of the flame. The size and number density of the “irregular-shaped” fragments in the vaporized BD are much larger than those present in the flame formed from the vaporized diesel. It is also observed that as the percentage of BD is increased in the blended flames, these “irregular-shaped” structures become more pronounced. The evolution profiles also present other morphological properties of the carbon particulates (particle size and nanostructure) along the flame’s axial direction.
An Online Survey of Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions Toward Whales and Dolphins, and Their Conservation

In 2015, an online survey was conducted to investigate public attitudes and perceptions toward key cetacean (whale, dolphin, and porpoise) conservation and 'hot topic' issues such as legislative protection and whaling (n=858). The vast majority of the participants in this study indicated their permanent residence was the United States (n=577) or India (n=251). Perceptions of participants on the conservation priority of cetacean species did not match with the factual IUCN status, where most participants assumed that the larger and more charismatic whales (blue whale, 24.01%; humpback whale, 22.14%; and killer whale, 23.43%) were more endangered or more important to conserve than the small cetacean species such as the Vaquita or Hector's dolphin. Additionally, 39.74% of participants indicated the bottlenose dolphin was the most important to conserve. More members of the public highlighted non-existent (fake) species (e.g. pygmy short-fined whale, lump-headed dolphin, and majestic spotted dolphin) as being of conservation concern than certain species of actual genuine concern. The majority of participants considered dolphins and whales to be "under protected" or only "slightly protected" (29.95%; 41.96%, respectively) and expressed that marine mammal conservation laws and policies were "very important" or "important" (47.43%; and 37.88%, respectively). In addition, 86.83% of participants expressed opposition to the hunting of dolphins and whales (57.93% "strongly opposed" and 28.90% "opposed"); however, only 47.44% of participants were aware that several countries are still involved in whaling. A lack of awareness of the conservation status of whales and dolphins and continued whaling activities suggests that greater outreach to the public about the conservation status of whale and dolphin species is needed.
Microanatomy and Morphometry of the Hydronephrotic “Obstructed” Renal Pelvis in Asymptomatic Infants

AbstractThere has been limited histological study of the obstructed ureteropelvic junction in patients less than 1 year old. We present our prospective studies on the histomorphometry of the ureteropelvic junction complexes of 35 infants, of whom 23 underwent pyeloplasty for obstruction and 12 were age matched autopsy normals.Qualitatively, the major abnormalities of the pelvic microanatomy in the hydronephrotic obstructed kidneys included a lamina muscularis that was significantly thicker than normal and the presence of collagen fibers between muscle fascicles. Additionally, variable amounts of elastin were present in the adventitia and lamina muscularis. At the ureteropelvic junction the abnormalities were an increase in the number of inner longitudinal muscle bundles, collagen between muscle bundles (p <0.016) and elastin in the adventitia. Quantitatively, for the pelvis the lamina muscularis was significantly thicker in 18 obstructed kidneys compared to 7 controls (1,075 ± 79 μ. versus 420 ± 63 μ., me...
Does Contagion Exist

The Russian crash in August 1998 was followed by several stock market and currency collapses around the world. It was, as Yogi Berra would say, “deja vu all over again”. During the Mexican and the Asian crises the markets behaved similarly. In general, these events have been called “contagion”. However, there does not seem to be an agreement on what exactly contagion means.
Comparison of the pharmacokinetics of plant-based treatments in milk and plasma of USDA organic dairy cattle with and without mastitis

ABSTRACTOrganic dairy products are the second largest sector of the organic food market. Organic dairy products come from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic dairy cattle that meet USDA organic standards. Organic dairy cattle in the US cannot be treated with antibiotics for mastitis, one of the costliest diseases of dairy cattle, and thus effective alternatives are needed. When any compound (medication or other non-food product) is used in a food producing animal, a withhold time for that compound that meets US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards for food safety must be applied to the animal and its products (like milk). However, there are no US FDA products approved for mastitis that maintain USDA certified organic dairy cattle’s organic status. Thus, we studied the pharmacokinetics of 3 compounds (garlic, thymol and carvacrol) used on organic both healthy and mastitic organic dairy cattle. We also used this information to estimate a milk withhold time using methods ...
The Phosphorylation of CREB at Serine 133 Is a Key Event for Circadian Clock Timing and Entrainment in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)—the locus of the master circadian clock— transcriptional regulation via the CREB/CRE pathway is implicated in the functioning of the molecular clock timing ...
Challenges to and Strategies for Formal Service Utilization among Caregivers in an Underserved Community.

ABSTRACTFamily caregivers face enormous challenges when attempting to oversee the medical, legal, financial, and daily affairs of loved ones with chronic or life-limiting illness. While formal services and agencies exist to assist caregivers with some of these tasks, caregivers in underserved communities do not utilize these services, or utilize them with unsatisfactory results. This study used focus groups (N = 5 groups) with underserved, minority caregivers (N = 22) to explore their experiences related to care provision, including barriers to support service use and challenges navigating systems related to the broad spectrum of caregiving demands. Thematic content analysis revealed three main themes: (1) prior difficulties with formal service use, (2) difficulties navigating financial, legal, and medical systems, and (3) caregivers’ personal strategies to address challenges associated with formal service use and systems navigation. Findings from this study identify underserved caregivers’ challenges in ...
SETH vs Approximation

Our story is about hardness of problems in P, but its roots begin with two algorithmic approaches that have been developed to cope with NP-hard problems: approximation algorithms and fasterthan- brute-force algorithms. Approximation algorithms were proposed as a response for NP-hardness almost immediately (in historical perspective of almost half a century), and have been one of the most celebrated success stories of our eld. An outstanding complexity result in this area, which has since turned into a sub- eld of its own, is the Probabilistically Checkable Proof (PCP) Theorem. For many problems like Max-3-SAT we now have nearly tight hardness-of-approximation results.
Sulcus-Deepening Trochleoplasty as an Isolated or Combined Treatment Strategy for Patellar Instability and Trochlear Dysplasia: A Systematic Review.

Author(s): Davies, Michael Robert; Allahabadi, Sachin; Diab, Tarek Elliott; Freshman, Ryan David; Pandya, Nirav Kiritkumar; Feeley, Brian Thomas; Lansdown, Drew Anderson | Abstract: PurposeTo highlight the indications and outcomes for sulcus-deepening trochleoplasty, when used as an isolated procedure as well as in combination with other stabilization techniques for patellar instability.MethodsWe performed a systematic review focused on outcomes and complications following trochleoplasty performed either as an isolated procedure or in combination with other procedures to address patellar instability. Inclusion criteria included studies in English that reported on outcomes following primary open trochleoplasty, including Kujala scores and recurrent instability or dislocation events.ResultsTwelve papers including 702 patients who underwent sulcus-deepening trochleoplasty were included. A total of 504 patients underwent isolated sulcus-deepening trochleoplasty, whereas 198 patients underwent trochleoplasty in combination with 1 or more additional stabilization procedures. In total, 67% of patients were female compared with 33% male. The procedure was done was a primary surgical intervention 74% of the time. Postoperative Kujala scores for isolated trochleoplasty ranged from 80 to 92, whereas those for combined stabilization procedures ranged from 76 to 95. The dislocation rate among the studies ranged from 0 to 8%. There was a persistent J-sign in 0 to 12% of treated knees among all studies, and a persistent apprehension test in 0 to 29% of treated knees. Return to play ranged from 65% to 83% in studies in which this was reported as an outcome.ConclusionsSulcus-deepening trochleoplasty performed for recurrent patellar instability in the setting of trochlear dysplasia results in improved Kujala scores and a low redislocation rate, when performed as an isolated procedure or in combination with other stabilization procedures. Greater-level evidence is needed to better evaluate the overall efficacy of this procedure in addressing patellar instability.Level of evidenceLevel of Evidence, IV; Systematic review of level III and IV studies.
Mach-RT: A Many Chip Architecture for HighPerformance Ray Tracing.

Data movement, particularly access to the main memory, has been the bottleneck of most computing problems. Ray tracing is no exception. We propose an unconventional solution that combines a ray ordering scheme that minimizes access to the scene data with a large on-chip buffer acting as near-compute storage that is spread over multiple chips. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by introducing Mach-RT (MAny CHip - Ray Tracing), a new hardware architecture for accelerating ray tracing. Extending the concept of dual streaming, we optimize the main memory accesses to a level that allows the same memory system to service multiple processor chips at the same time. While a multiple chip solution might seem to imply increased energy consumption as well, because of the reduced memory traffic we are able to demonstrate, performance increases while maintaining reasonable energy usage compared to academic and commercial architectures. This paper extends our previous work [1] with design space exploration of the L3 cache size, more detailed evaluation of energy and memory performance, a discussion of energy delay product, and a brief exploration of boards with 16 chips. We also introduce new treelet enqueueing logic for the predictive scheduler.
Quadratus lumborum block type 3 versus lumbar plexus block in hip replacement surgery: a randomized, prospective, non-inferiority study

Introduction The posterior lumbar plexus block (LPB) has been used for decades to provide acute pain management after hip surgery. Unfamiliarity with the technique and its perceived difficulty, potential risks, and possible adverse effects such as quadriceps weakness have limited broader use. The quadratus lumborum block (QLB) has been reported to be effective for postoperative pain control following hip surgery and may thus offer another regional alternative for practitioners. This study hypothesized that the QLB type 3 (QLB3) can produce a non-inferior analgesic effect compared with LPB for primary hip replacement. Methods This double-blinded, non-inferiority trial randomized 46 patients undergoing primary hip replacement to receive either QLB3 or LPB. Outcomes were assessed on postanesthesia care unit arrival and at postoperative hours 6, 12, and 24. The primary outcome measured was numeric rating scale (NRS) pain score 24 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes included opioid consumption, presence of quadriceps weakness at first postoperative physical therapy (PT) session, and time to achieve 100 feet of walking. Results The QLB3 did not cross the non-inferiority delta of 2 points on the NRS pain score (mean difference −0.43 (95% CI −1.74 to 0.87)). There were no significant differences between groups in total opioid consumption at 24 hours or in time to achieve 100 feet of walking. Quadriceps weakness at first PT session was less common with QLB3 (26% vs 65%) and time to perform the block was significantly less with QLB3 (10 min vs 5 min). Conclusion This trial supported the hypothesis that the QLB3 yields non-inferior analgesia compared with LPB for hip replacement surgery. Trial registration number NCT03801265.