cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Importance Sampling for Portfolio Credit Risk

Monte Carlo simulation is widely used to measure the credit risk in portfolios of loans, corporate bonds, and other instruments subject to possible default. The accurate measurement of credit risk is often a rare-event simulation problem because default probabilities are low for highly rated obligors and because risk management is particularly concerned with rare but significant losses resulting from a large number of defaults. This makes importance sampling (IS) potentially attractive. But the application of IS is complicated by the mechanisms used to model dependence between obligors, and capturing this dependence is essential to a portfolio view of credit risk. This paper provides an IS procedure for the widely used normal copula model of portfolio credit risk. The procedure has two parts: One applies IS conditional on a set of common factors affecting multiple obligors, the other applies IS to the factors themselves. The relative importance of the two parts of the procedure is determined by the strength of the dependence between obligors. We provide both theoretical and numerical support for the method.
A Q-Modulation Technique for Efficient Inductive Power Transmission

A fully integrated power management ASIC for efficient inductive power transmission has been presented capable of automatic load transformation using a method, called Q-modulation. Q-modulation is an adaptive scheme that offers load matching against a wide range of loading $(R_{L})$ and coupling distance $(d_{23})$ variations in inductive links to maintain high power transfer efficiency (PTE). It is suitable for inductive powering implantable microelectronic devices (IMDs), recharging mobile electronics, and electric vehicles. In Q-modulation, the zero-crossings of the induced current in the receiver (Rx) LC-tank are detected and a low-loss switch chops the Rx LC-tank for part of the power carrier cycle to form a high-Q LC-tank and store the maximum energy, which is then transferred to $R_{L}$ by opening the switch. By adjusting the duty cycle $(D)$ , the loaded-Q of the Rx LC-tank can be dynamically modulated to compensate for variations in $R_{L}$ . A Q-modulation power management (QMPM) prototype chip was fabricated in a 0.35 $\mu$ m standard CMOS process, occupying 4.8 mm $^{2}$ . In a 1.45 W wireless power transfer setup, using a class-E power amplifier (PA) operating at 2 MHz, the QMPM successfully increased the inductive link PTE and the overall power efficiency by 98.5% and 120.7% at $d_{23} = $ 8 cm, respectively, by compensating for 150 $\Omega$ variation in $R_{L}$ at $D = $ 45%.
College students' Internet use, relationship formation, and personality correlates.

The Internet has become a standard fixture in the lives of many people, with communication being one of its most popular uses. Several mediums—such as electronic mail (e-mail), group mailing forums, interactive games, and real-time chatting—provide users with communication opportunities. Through extended communication on the Internet, many users have formed relationships with others online. Several aspects of the Internet medium interact to make the course of relationship development online differ from offline development. The Internet is still a rather uncharted area in terms of psychological research, especially in the field of online relationship development. This research examined college students' Internet use, relationship formation, and personality characteristics. No differences were found between participants who did and did not form new relationships online. However, differences were present within the group that formed online relationships, such as ease at finding similar others online as well ...
A Note For Graphing Calculators In The Fundamental Finance Course

The financial calculator is incorporated in finance education. In class, the instructor shows students how to use the financial calculator’s function keys to solve time value of money (TVM) related problems efficiently. The fundamental finance course is required for all majors in the business school. Some students, especially non-accounting/non-finance majors, still want to use their graphing calculators rather than purchase financial calculators to save the cost. In fact, graphing calculators, such as TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus, also contain finance functions and many undergraduate students had owned TI-83 Plus or TI-84 Plus before they took the fundamental finance course in the junior year. This note provides a perspective that instructors of the undergraduate fundamental finance course may consider teaching students how to use finance functions of the graphing calculator in addition to teaching students how to use the financial calculator in class.
Propofol-Induced Neurotoxicity in the Fetal Animal Brain and Developments in Modifying These Effects—An Updated Review of Propofol Fetal Exposure in Laboratory Animal Studies

In the past twenty years, evidence of neurotoxicity in the developing brain in animal studies from exposure to several general anesthetics has been accumulating. Propofol, a commonly used general anesthetic medication, administered during synaptogenesis, may trigger widespread apoptotic neurodegeneration in the developing brain and long-term neurobehavioral disturbances in both rodents and non-human primates. Despite the growing evidence of the potential neurotoxicity of different anesthetic agents in animal studies, there is no concrete evidence that humans may be similarly affected. However, given the growing evidence of the neurotoxic effects of anesthetics in laboratory studies, it is prudent to further investigate the mechanisms causing these effects and potential ways to mitigate them. Here, we review multiple studies that investigate the effects of in utero propofol exposure and the developmental agents that may modify these deleterious effects.
Ecology and Evolution of the Sympatric Mascarene White-Eyes, Zosterops borbonica and Zosterops olivacea

THE Zosteropidae, or white-eyes, are a small paleotropical group of generalized passerines that have colonized more oceanic islands than any other passerine family (Moreau, 1964). While two species of Zosterops rarely coexist in mainland avifaunas, multiple invasions of small islands have resulted in several cases of bona fide sympatry. One such case involves the endemic Mascarene white-eyes, Z. borbonica and Z. olivacea, which are sympatric on Mauritius and Reunion Islands in the western Indian Ocean. Whereas niche expansion in a reduced competitive environment seems to be frequent in island coloinists (Mac Arthur and Wilson, 1967; Keast, 1968), studies of the Mascarene white-eyes, here reported, suggest that the first white-eye to colonize the Mascarene islands became more specialized, rather than more generalized, in the absence of competitors. A second successful colonization by a generalized white-eye and subsequent sustained coexistence of the two species was apparently facilitated by the specialization of the first arrival. THE MASCARENE ISLANDS
Critical Current Density of Narrow Superconducting Thin Films Fabricated by Laser Ablation Techniques

The variations of critical current density Jc of narrow Y-Ba-Cu-O films as a function of temperature and magnetic field are investigated. Films with thickness of 150-200 nm and width of 20-100 urn were prepared by laser ablation and laser etching. For t (=T/TC) < 0.75, the temperature dependence of Jc shows a (1-1) linear behavior, in sharp contrast to that of a Josephson junction. Near Tc, Jc varies with (1- t)n where n=3/2 or 2 depending on the morphology of films. The magnetic field dependence of Jc above a characteristic field value Hc’ can be described by a model based on flux creep.
Modeling Rotor Unsteady Forces and Sound due to Ingestion of Spatially Inhomogeneous Turbulence

An analytical approach is presented to model the broadband unsteady force crosscorrelations exerted on a rotor due to a spatially inhomogeneous turbulent inflow. In addition, the rotor unsteady force cross-correlation matrix is treated as a set of correlated, compact dipole acoustic sources to predict the low-frequency radiated sound field of a subsonic rotor ingesting a turbulent flow. The analytic models developed in this work address all components of the broadband force cross-spectra transmitted by the rotor to the shaft. A numerical simulation is presented of the turbulence force and acoustic response for a sevenbladed rotor ingesting a spatially inhomogeneous turbulent inflow. The numerical simulation results of the radiated sound for this rotor closely match experimental measurement results.
Treatment of patients with severe hypertension by inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme.

1. The results of the administration of the nonapeptide inhibitor (SQ 20,881) of the enzymatic conversion of angiotensin I into angiotensin II in twelve severe hypertensive patients are presented. 2. Administration of the compound was associated with a fall in blood pressure in ten of twelve patients. 3. Four patients had a normal plasma renin activity (PRA) with a range of 1.6–3.7 ng h −1 ml −1 and eight patients had a high PRA with a range of 5.0–74 ng h −1 ml −1 . Two of the patients with normal PRA had no fall in blood pressure despite receiving 2 mg/kg of the compound. Two patients with normal PRA, however, did respond, thus indicating that a high PRA is not necessary for a response to the inhibitor compound. 4. It was found that haemodialysis or diuresis with frusemide enhanced the blood pressure response to the compound. 5. The presence of a measured low total blood volume was found to be associated with an exaggerated fall in blood pressure to a small dose of compound (0.125 mg/kg) in one patient.
Abstract 2857: The yeast homolog of the mammalian oncogene, Bax Inhibitor-1, regulates the unfolded protein response by altering the ER microenvironment

Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1) is an anti-apoptotic gene whose expression is upregulated in a wide range of human cancers. The yeast homolog of BI-1, yeast Bax inhibitor-1 (BXI1), encodes a protein that belongs to the Bax Inhibitor (TMBIM) family of proteins. The crystal structure of a prokaryotic member of the family, BsYetJ, has revealed that the Bax inhibitor proteins are pH sensitive calcium leaks. Our studies have shown that yeast Bxi1p is localized to the ER and is involved in the unfolded protein response (UPR) that is triggered by ER stress. We have recently found that Bxi1p regulates the UPR downstream of endonuclease Ire1p clustering but upstream of HAC1 mRNA splicing. Studies with an ER localized calcium reporter and an ER redox reporter suggest that Bxi1p accomplishes this by altering the ER microenvironment. [Our laboratory is supported by grant NIGMS R15 GM110578, awarded to N. Austriaco.] Citation Format: Savannah Benko, Melissa Brown, Morgan McCarthy, Matthew Sanborn, William Cavedon, Lukas Ritzer, B. Michael Berry, Nicanor Austriaco. The yeast homolog of the mammalian oncogene, Bax Inhibitor-1, regulates the unfolded protein response by altering the ER microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2857.
Analysis of impact crater populations and the geochronology of planetary surfaces in the inner solar system

Analyzing the density of impact craters on planetary surfaces is the only known technique for learning their ages remotely. As a result, crater statistics have been widely analyzed on the terrestrial planets, since the timing and rates of activity are critical to understanding geologic process and history. On the Moon, the samples obtained by the Apollo and Luna missions provide critical calibration points for cratering chronology. On Mercury, Venus, and Mars, there are no similarly firm anchors for cratering rates, but chronology models have been established by extrapolating from the lunar record or by estimating their impactor fluxes in other ways. This review provides a current perspective on crater population measurements and their chronological interpretation. Emphasis is placed on how ages derived from crater statistics may be contingent on assumptions that need to be considered critically. In addition, ages estimated from crater populations are somewhat different than ages from more familiar geochronology tools (e.g., radiometric dating). Resurfacing processes that remove craters from the observed population are particularly challenging to account for, since they can introduce geologic uncertainty into results or destroy information about the formation age of a surface. Regardless of these challenges, crater statistics measurements have resulted in successful predictions later verified by other techniques, including the age of the lunar maria, the existence of a period of heavy bombardment in the Moon's first billion years, and young volcanism on Mars.
Friendship: Operationalizing the Intangible to Improve Friendship-Based Outcomes for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have social deficits that affect making and maintaining friends. Many empirically tested methods to address these social deficits are availab...
LEPORIDS (LAGOMORPHA, MAMMALIA) FROM THE CHADRONIAN (OLIGOCENE) DEPOSITS OF FLAGSTAFF RIM, WYOMING

Deposits of Chadronian (early Oligocene) age at Flagstaff Rim, central Wyoming, have produced three taxa of leporids. Specimens referred to Palaeolagus temnodon are similar to topotypic samples from Pipestone Springs, Montana, although including a higher proportion of primitive vari- ants. Chadrolagus emryi n. gen. et sp. is closely related to Palaeolagus, but distinguished by reduction of buccal structures of anterior premolars. Megalagus brachyodon is a large, primitive lagomorph, one of several early forms lacking characters distinctive of either leporids or ochotonids, included in the Leporidae by convention. Variants occurring independently of each other within this sample, and changes in proportions and morphology of upper cheek teeth during wear, produce specimens resem- bling Montanolagus dicei, which is therefore synonymized with Megalagus brachyodon. C. emryi and P. temnodon appear to have been ecologically incompatible, though each coexisted with M. brac- hyodon.
Left Atrial Passive Emptying Function Determined by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Predicts Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Pulmonary Vein Isolation

Background— Although pulmonary vein isolation has become a mainstream therapy for selected patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), late recurrent AF is common and its risk factors remain poorly defined. The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that reduced left atrial passive emptying function (LAPEF) as determined by cardiac magnetic resonance has a strong association with late recurrent AF after pulmonary vein isolation. Methods and Results— Three hundred forty-six patients with AF referred for cardiac magnetic resonance pulmonary vein mapping before pulmonary vein isolation were included. Maximum LA volumes (VOLmax) and volumes before atrial contraction (VOLbac) were measured; LAPEF was calculated as (VOLmax−VOLbac)/VOLmax×100. Kaplan–Meier curves were constructed to determine late recurrent AF stratified by LAPEF quintile. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to adjust for known markers of recurrence. During a median follow-up of 27 months, 124 patients (35.8%) experienced late recurrent AF. Patients with recurrence were more likely to have nonparoxysmal AF (75.8% versus 51.4%; P <0.01), higher mean VOLmax (60.2 versus 52.8 mL/m2; P <0.01), and lower mean LAPEF (19.1% versus 26.0%; P <0.01). Patients in the lowest LAPEF quintile were at highest risk of developing recurrent AF (2-year recurrence for lowest versus highest: 60.5% versus 17.3%; P <0.01). After adjusting for known predictors of recurrence, patients with low LAPEF remained significantly more likely to recur (hazard ratio for lowest versus highest quintile, 3.92; 95% confidence interval, 2.01–7.65). Conclusions— We found a strong association between LAPEF and recurrent AF after pulmonary vein isolation that persisted after multivariable adjustment.
Origami Metastructures for Tunable Wave Propagation

Wave propagation inside a host media with periodically distributed inclusions can exhibit bandgaps. While controlling acoustic wave propagation has large impact on many engineering applications, studies on broadband acoustic bandgap (ABG) adaptation is still outstanding. One of the important properties of periodic structure in ABG design is the lattice-type. It is possible that by reconfiguring the periodic architectures between different lattice-types with fundamentally distinct dispersion relations, we may achieve broadband wave propagation tuning. In this spirit, this research pioneers a new class of reconfigurable periodic structures called origami metastructures (OM) that can achieve ABG adaption via topology reconfiguration by rigid-folding. It is found that origami folding, which can enable significant and precise topology reconfigurations between distinct Bravais lattice-types in underlying periodic architecture, can bring about drastic changes in wave propagation behavior. Such versatile wave transmission control is demonstrated via numerical studies that couple wave propagation theory with origami folding kinematics. Further, we also exploit the novel ABG adaptation feature of OM to design structures that can exhibit unique tunable non-reciprocal behavior. Overall the broadband adaptable wave characteristics of the OM coupled with scale independent rigid-folding mechanism can bring on-demand wave tailoring to a new level.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Abstract 1073: KRAS-mediated epigenetic reprogramming upregulates RELB-dependent CXCR2 expression to promote transformation

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA In addition to genetic aberrations, cancer cells harbor global epigenetic abnormalities. Mutant KRAS expression has been shown to induce aberrant DNA methylation and silencing of key tumor suppressors. However, nearly all attempts to directly target oncogenic KRAS have been unsuccessful, yielding an impetus for alternative strategies. Furthermore, in the majority of KRAS-driven tumors, the NF-κB pathway is constitutively active and contributes to cellular transformation. Previously, our lab has shown that knocking out the p65 subunit of NF-κB significantly reduces tumor development in a mouse model of KRAS-induced lung cancer. Here we aim to better understand KRAS-mediated epigenetic reprogramming and uncover novel effects on the NF-κB pathway. Our data suggests that KRAS-mediated epigenetic reprogramming alters the NF-κB pathway to promote transformation. Using the Infinium DNA Methylation Assay, we uncovered genome-wide changes in lung and pancreatic cells expressing KRAS(G12V) compared to wild-type cells. Expression of oncogenic KRAS was accompanied by promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressors (e.g. FAS, BRCA1, IRAK3) and hypomethylation of oncogenes. Interestingly, we observed hypomethylation at the promoter of the RELB subunit of NF-κB in cells expressing KRAS(G12V). Hypomethylation at the RELB promoter correlated with increased expression of CXCR2, an NF-κB target gene. RNAi against RELB and CXCR2 significantly decreased colony growth in lung and pancreatic cancer cell lines expressing mutant KRAS. Together, these results support a role for KRAS in epigenetic reprogramming and suggest that RELB-dependent CXCR2 expression may be critical in KRAS-driven cancers. RELB and CXCR2 represent potential therapeutic targets that could lead to more effective treatments in the context of KRAS-driven malignancies. Citation Format: Joel Durand, Albert Baldwin. KRAS-mediated epigenetic reprogramming upregulates RELB-dependent CXCR2 expression to promote transformation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1073. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1073
“Fili d’oro”: Literature, painting, and blindness in D’Annunzio’s Notturno:

This article analyzes the relationships between literature and the arts in D’Annunzio’s Notturno. The verbal and the visual constantly intersect in the poet’s corpus. Nevertheless, the Notturno is unique: according to the narrator, he composes the text during a period of semi-blindness caused by a war-related accident. Consequently, the protagonist is unable to see his favorite works of art, which are described through the filters of memory, desire, and imagination. D’Annunzio’s nocturnal ekphrasis blends wake and dream, asceticism and eroticism, narrative linearity and poetical fragmentation. Vision and writing deconstruct their own conventional separations: the elements of each form mingle in a dimension that reflects simultaneously the influence of the Decadent age and the birth of Modernism. Despite the scarce scholarly attention devoted to the Notturno outside the borders of Italy, D’Annunzio’s text anticipates the current debates on the aporias of sight (Derrida), the ambiguous temporality of the vi...
Bombelli: Die Zahl, die es nicht gibt (1572)

In Cardanos Losungsformel fur kubische Gleichungen wird eine Kubikwurzel aus einem Ausdruck gezogen, der selbst eine Quadratwurzel enthalt. Manchmal ist der Radikand der Quadratwurzel negativ, und obwohl die kubische Gleichung offensichtlich Losungen besitzt, scheint Cardanos Formel zu versagen, denn keine bekannte Zahl hat ein negatives Quadrat. Es war kein Mathematiker, sondern ein Wasserbau-Ingenieur aus Bologna, Rafael Bombelli, der um 1570 den Mut und das Gespur aufbrachte, mit Cardanos Formel dennoch zu rechnen und dabei vorubergehend Quadratwurzeln negativer Zahlen in Kauf zu nehmen, und er kam damit zu nachprufbar richtigen Ergebnissen. Dazu musste er zunachst lernen, mit solchen ”unmoglichen Zahlen“ korrekt zu rechnen. Was zunachst nur wie ein Rechentrick aussah, entpuppte sich spater als eine der bahnbrechendsten Entdeckungen der Mathematikgeschichte, die Entdeckung der komplexen Zahlen, die unseren Zahlbegriff abermals revolutionierte.
Chapter 3.5 – Atypical antipsychotic drugs and stress

Abstract Both preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that atypical antipsychotics may modulate the stress response in a manner that is distinct from conventional agents. For example, atypical antipsychotics have anxiolytic-like actions in a number of animal models. The mechanisms underlying these anxiolytic effects are not clear, but it is possible that antipsychotic-induced alterations in GABAergic neurosteroids play a role. Atypical antipsychotics also demonstrate unique effects in prefrontal cortex stress paradigms focusing on dopamine alterations. Data that mild stress also increases extracellular GABA levels in prefrontal cortex but not striatum, with no concurrent effects on glycine levels is presented. Neurosteroids may be relevant to these prefrontal cortex investigations. The authors review the emerging stress-modulatory profile of atypical antipsychotics and discuss potential ramifications of these findings for the therapeutic efficacy of these compounds. In addition to their well-established roles in the treatment of schizophrenia core symptoms, atypical antipsychotics also have utility in the treatment of depression- and anxiety-spectrum symptoms that frequently accompany the illness. Atypical antipsychotics also appear to have efficacy in the treatment of stress-sensitive anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), underscoring the possibility that these agents may have stress-modulatory actions that are clinically therapeutic. As the knowledge of the stress-modulatory actions of atypical antipsychotics evolves, it may be possible to target these properties in the development of novel agents in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.
Assessing the Reliability of Peer Evaluation of Undergraduate Research Papers Through the Use of Generalizability Theory

Educational researchers have long espoused the virtues of writing with regard to student cognitive skills. However, unlike objective tests, the grading of essays is time consuming. Therefore, peer evaluations have become an increasingly common method by which faculty can integrate written assignments without substantially increasing their workload. Although research into the reliability and validity of peer evaluations has found mixed results, most evidence supports the use of peer evaluations. Unfortunately, these studies frequently committed one or more analytical flaws. The present study employed Generalizability Theory to estimate reliability and a paired t-test to assess validity. The results showed peer evaluation was reliable but its validity was questionable. A new method for computing the minimum acceptable reliability was also introduced.
Secondary Stroke Prevention: From Guidelines to Clinical Practice

Stroke remains a leading cause of mortality and is associated with substantial morbidity in the United States. The majority of strokes are of ischemic origin, with an atherothrombotic trigger, and the clinical manifestation of atherothrombosis depends on the affected vascular site. The systemic nature of atherosclerosis means that stroke patients are at increased risk of ischemic events in several vascular beds, including cerebral, coronary and peripheral sites. Because stroke patients are at heightened risk of more ischemic events, secondary prevention is an important therapeutic goal. Recently, the American Heart Association and its division, the American Stroke Association, released new evidence-based guidelines for secondary stroke prevention in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. The new guidelines emphasize an individualized, patient-oriented approach to treatment based on clinical evidence. Evidence-based recommendations are set forth for the management of risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, through lifestyle modifications and pharmacological interventions. The purpose of this paper is to review the topic of stroke prevention in light of current guidelines and clinical implementation patterns for primary care physicians, and to discuss new and emerging clinical evidence, with a focus on antiplatelet treatment.
Enclosed Space Detection: A Model-Based Approach

Abstract The enclosed space detection problem is concerned with the detection of an individual or individuals present in an area that is not accessible visually but only through sensors deployed about the perimeter under investigation. Devices developed to detect these individuals using only sensor information are called enclosed space detectors. In this paper we develop a technique to enhance signal estimates which will eventually be used to solve the enclosed space detection problem. We develop a model-based approach that leads to a multichannel noise cancelling/deconvolution solution.
Pregnancy Success Following Abdominal Myomectomy for Infertility

There were 46 patients with primary infertility (34 patients) or secondary infertility (12 patients) with no other detectable cause except myomas. After myomectomy, 38% of the patients with primary infertility had full-term pregnancies and 50% of those with secondary infertility. Preoperative distortion of the endometrial cavity was not impressively correlated with the postoperative prognosis.
Asian Indigenous Psychology: Emerging Possibilities

This concluding chapter highlights the following possibilities that are essential for the development of Asian indigenous psychology: global awareness, self-reflexivity, and contribution to a more equitable global psychology. It explains why we need Asian indigenous psychology when we already have a flourishing Asian psychology—the former takes a more critical stance toward mainstream psychology and strives for a more equitable global psychology than the latter. To situate Asian indigenous psychology in the larger context of indigenous psychology globally, it presents the results of the Delphi Poll recently conducted by the Indigenous Psychology Task Force. Results of the Delphi Poll suggest that the scholarship showcased in this volume on Asian indigenous psychology seems to foreshadow the future directions of indigenous psychology. More specifically, three dominant themes in this volume—self-reflexivity, definition of indigenous psychology, and theory construction—have been identified by the survey as important future developments of the indigenous psychology movement worldwide.
Isn’t It All About Victimization? (Intra)cultural Pressure and Cutural Betrayal Trauma in Ethnic Minority College Women:

Cultural betrayal trauma theory proposes that intraracial trauma in ethnic minority populations includes a cultural betrayal that contributes to outcomes, such as symptoms of PTSD (posttraumatic st...
Localization Convolutional Neural Networks Using Angle of Arrival Images

We introduce localization convolutional neural networks (CNNs), a data-driven time series-based angle of arrival (AOA) localization scheme capable of coping with noise and errors in AOA estimates measured at receiver nodes. Our localization CNNs enhance their robustness by using a time series of AOA measurements rather than a single-time instance measurement to localize mobile nodes. We analyze real-world noise models, and use them to generate synthetic training data that increase the CNN's tolerance to noise. This synthetic data generation method replaces the need for expensive data collection campaigns to capture noise conditions in the field. The proposed scheme is both simple to use and also lightweight, as the mobile node to be localized solely transmits a beacon signal and requires no further processing capabilities. Our scheme is novel in its use of: (1) CNNs operating on space-time AOA images composed of AOA data from multiple receiver nodes over time, and (2) synthetically-generated perturbed training examples obtained via modeling triangulation patterns from noisy AOA measurements. We demonstrate that a relatively small CNN can achieve state-of-the-art localization accuracy that meets the 5G standard requirements even under high degrees of AOA noise. We motivate the use of our proposed localization CNNs with a tracking application for mobile nodes, and argue that our solution is advantageous due to its high localization accuracy and computational efficiency.
On the formation of phosphorous polycyclic aromatics hydrocarbons (PAPHs) in astrophysical environments.

The formation of phosphorous-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAPHs) in astrophysical contexts is proposed and analyzed by means of computational methods [B3LYP-D3BJ/ma-def2-TZVPP, MP2-F12, CCSD-F12b and CCSD(T)-F12b levels of theory]. A “bottom-up” approach based on a radical-neutral reaction scheme between acetylene (C2H2) and the CP radical was used investigating: (a) the synthesis of the first PAPH (C5H5P) “phosphinine”; (b) PAPH growth by addition of C2H2 to the C5H4P radical; (c) PAPH synthesis by addition reactions of one CP radical and nC2H2 to a neutral PAH. Results show: (I) the formation of the phosphinine radical has a strong thermodynamic tendency (−133.3 kcal mol−1) and kinetic barriers ≤5.4 kcal mol−1; (II) PAPH growth by nC2H2 addition on the radical phosphinine easily and exothermically produces radicals (1a- or 1-phospha-naphtalenes with kinetic barriers ≤7.1 kcal mol−1 and reaction free energies ≤−102.5 kcal mol−1); (III) the addition of a single CP + nC2H2 to a neutral benzene generates a complex chemistry where the main product is 2-phospha-naphtalene; (IV) because of the CP radical character, its barrierless addition to a PAH produces a resonant stabilized PAPH, becoming excellent candidates for addition reactions with neutral or radical hydrocarbons and PAHs; (V) the same energy trend between all four levels of theory continues a well-calibrated computational protocol to analyze complex organic reactions with astrochemical interest using electronic structure theory.
Rhodium(II) Acetate-Catalyzed Reactions of 2-Diazo-1,3-indandione and 2-Diazo-1-indanone with Various Substrates.

Decomposition of 2-diazo-1,3-indandione (I) by rhodium(II)-acetate in cyclohexane (II) or in the benzenes (IV) results in carbon-hydrogen insertion to give the 2-substituted indandiones (III) or (V) and (VI).
Uveal Melanoma: Adjuvant Therapy

Uveal melanoma is a rare, aggressive cancer arising from melanocytes of the uveal tract. It is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults. Despite excellent rates of local disease control, nearly 50% of patients will develop metastatic disease, with the most common initial site being the liver. Outcomes are exceedingly poor following the development of distant disease, with a median survival ranging from 4 to 15 months. Advances in molecular profiling have enabled a more accurate prediction of metastatic risk. Given the poor prognosis associated with metastatic disease, the development of effective adjuvant therapies is critical to the management of high-risk patients. In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive review of historical, current, and future approaches to adjuvant therapy including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, epigenetic drugs, liver-directed therapy, and other novel treatment strategies.
Study on factors associated with seroprotection after measles vaccination in children of 6–14 years in Eastern China

Abstract Measles cases have occurred in individuals with histories of vaccination against the disease in Zhejiang Province, China. The purposes of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) measles antibodies in vaccinated individuals, to explore the waning kinetics of measles antibody among children after receipt of a measles-containing vaccine, and to define high-risk groups in the population. A seroprevalence survey of measles antibody was conducted with 1900 randomly selected and age-stratified participants aged 6–14 years in Zhejiang province. In our study, seronegative persons accounted for 7.17% of study participants. A case-control study of participants who had received at least one dose of measles-containing vaccine was conducted, with 123 cases of immune failure and 1593 controls with immune success. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, and number of doses were the influencing factors for measles immunization failure. The older a participant (odds ratio [OR] = 1.164), the more likely that measles vaccine immunity failed. In addition, immune failure was more likely to occur after one dose of MCV than two doses (OR = 0.008) or three doses and more (OR = 0.047). In a univariate logistic regression analysis, we found that immune failure was more likely to occur with MCV vaccination beginning at 8 months than at 9–11 months (OR = 0.562) and the subjects whose registration residence was in other cities in Zhejiang province (OR = 3.527). However, these differences in seropositivity were not significant in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. The exponential regression equation of the attenuation model after measles immunization was y = 884.64e−0.057x (R2 = 0.0521, p
Dynamic Imine Chemistry at Complex Double Emulsion Interfaces.

Interfacial chemistry provides an opportunity to control dynamic materials. By harnessing the dynamic covalent nature of imine bonds, emulsions are generated in situ, predictably manipulated, and u...
Abstract 351: Size Matters: Saving the Penumbra

Background: New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) is a DNV-GL certified Comprehensive Stroke Center with its primary service area encompassing the seven-county region of Southeastern North Ca...
Noise levels in an academic veterinary intensive care unit.

Objective To quantify the noise levels in a veterinary Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and ascertain how they compare to current recommendations in the human literature. Design A Larson Davis SoundTrack LXT Sound Meter device measured noise levels in a veterinary ICU for 41 days. Setting Specialty referral academic small animal teaching hospital ICU. Animals Passive involvement of dogs and cats housed in the ICU during the study period of 41 days. Interventions No alterations to the hospital environment or patient care were made. Measurements A-weighted average (LAeq) and maximum decibel measurements (LFmax) were recorded. The data were analyzed to look for correlations in elevated noise levels with the number and type of patients hospitalized, the time of day, and whether it was a weekday or weekend. Main results The average, median, and maximum decibel levels measured in our ICU were 76.97 dB(A), 76.13 dB(A), and 86.54 dB(A), respectively, for the duration of this study. The time frames of 6:00 am to 9:00 am and 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm were associated with higher decibel levels in this study. Conclusions The noise levels recorded in this study exceed the World Health Organization recommendations for noise levels in hospital care settings and are higher than the previously reported elevated noise levels in 2 veterinary referral private practice ICUs. Increased noise levels in veterinary ICUs may have adverse effects on our veterinary patients and staff and warrant further investigation.
Perioperative Fluid Management in Pediatric Patients

Intravenous fluid administration is an integral part of perioperative care for children undergoing surgery. The ultimate goal of intravenous fluid therapy is to maintain cardiovascular stability, euvolemia, normal electrolyte and acid base status. The volume and composition of the replacement fluids should be based on the preoperative patient condition, type of procedure and anticipated perioperative course. Neonates and infants poorly tolerate errors in fluid and electrolyte management. The chapter will mainly focus on distinctly different pediatric physiology, advantages of optimized perioperative fasting duration and assessment of volume status in neonates and children. In this chapter, we will review the various types of fluids, newer recommendations for perioperative fluid management in children to maintain normal physiology and to improve safety and efficacy. In addition, clinical situations requiring special consideration will be narrated briefly.
Parties and Leaders

Election outcomes often motivate change in the organization and strategies of congressional parties. After the 2010 elections, Democrats lost their majority in the House and saw their Senate majority shrink to 53. As always happens when a party loses many seats, Democratic partisans wondered if new leaders would improve their chances next time. This time Democrats tended to blame the economy and the standing of a president of their party rather than their incumbent leaders, which set the stage for the continuation of Nancy Pelosi (D-California) as the House Democratic leader, although now as minority leader, and Harry Reid (D-Nevada) as Senate majority leader. Serious talk occurred about whether Pelosi would or should return as party leader, but no one challenged her and she wanted to continue. There was an important contest brewing among House Democrats between Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), a moderate in politics and style, and James Clyburn (D-South Carolina), backed by some liberals, for the second-ranking leadership post in the party whip. The tension within the party was relieved, at least temporarily, when Pelosi proposed and the party created a new leadership position, Assistant Leader, for Clyburn. On the Senate side, no one challenged Reid, but Reid gave Charles Schumer (D-New York) new responsibilities in response to criticism that party strategy and public relations had been in disarray in the previous Congress. Schumer, who refused Reid's offer to again make him the campaign committee chairman, was named chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. In addition, Reid placed Schumer in charge of the party's more informal “war room,” where legislative and public relations strategies are set.
Sacrificing sacrifice

This is a review essay on Jesse Goldhammer, The Headless Republic: Sacrificial Violence in Modern French Thought. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2005; and Dennis King Keenan, The Question of Sacrifice. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2005.
Badnam Basti (1971): A small-town milieu in a ‘new cinema’ style

Badnam Basti (Prem Kapoor, 1971) has a legendary reputation as a lost queer classic from India. The movie was located at the Arsenal Film Archive in Berlin in late 2019 and has been seen by a wider...
Transatlantic Relations in the 21st Century: Europe, America and the Rise of the Rest

Introduction 1. Indispensable and Intolerable Nation: The United States in European Geopolitics 2. "Friends again" or "Drifting apart" 3. Defining Threats and Interests: Drivers, Processes, and Objectives 4. Transatlantic Threat Perceptions: "with friends like these, who needs enemies"? 5. The Forgotten Ballast: Economic Interdependence vs. High Politics 6. Regional Case-Studies: The Politics of Transatlantic Relations 7. NATO after Lisbon: New Compact or Obfuscation of Irreconcilable Differences? 8. Dogmas and Dependence: Assessing the NATO-CSDP Impasse 9. U.S.-NATO-EU Cooperation on the Ground 10. The Military Balance: Emerging Threats or New Providers of Global Public Goods? 11. Normative Contest: The Decline of Western "soft power"? 12. Locking in Western Dominance: The West in International Organizations
Theory of dark matter superfluidity

We propose a novel theory of dark matter (DM) superfluidity that matches the successes of the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ cold dark matter ($\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$) model on cosmological scales while simultaneously reproducing the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) phenomenology on galactic scales. The DM and MOND components have a common origin, representing different phases of a single underlying substance. DM consists of axionlike particles with mass of order eV and strong self-interactions. The condensate has a polytropic equation of state $P\ensuremath{\sim}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{3}$ giving rise to a superfluid core within galaxies. Instead of behaving as individual collisionless particles, the DM superfluid is more aptly described as collective excitations. Superfluid phonons, in particular, are assumed to be governed by a MOND-like effective action and mediate a MONDian acceleration between baryonic matter particles. Our framework naturally distinguishes between galaxies (where MOND is successful) and galaxy clusters (where MOND is not); due to the higher velocity dispersion in clusters, and correspondingly higher temperature, the DM in clusters is either in a mixture of superfluid and the normal phase or fully in the normal phase. The rich and well-studied physics of superfluidity leads to a number of observational signatures: an array of low-density vortices in galaxies; merger dynamics that depend on the infall velocity vs phonon sound speed; distinct mass peaks in bulletlike cluster mergers, corresponding to superfluid and normal components; and interference patters in supercritical mergers. Remarkably, the superfluid phonon effective theory is strikingly similar to that of the unitary Fermi gas, which has attracted much excitement in the cold atom community in recent years. The critical temperature for DM superfluidity is of order mK, comparable to known cold atom Bose--Einstein condensates. Identifying a precise cold atom analog would give important insights on the microphysical interactions underlying DM superfluidity. Tantalizingly, it might open the possibility of simulating the properties and dynamics of galaxies in laboratory experiments.
Assessing the environmental, human health, and economic impacts of reprocessed medical devices in a Phoenix hospital's supply chain

Abstract Given increasing healthcare costs and decreasing insurance reimbursements, healthcare administrators are now assessing innovative opportunities for optimizing their medical device supply chains. Reprocessed medical devices are receiving increased attention because of their twofold reduction to costs associated with reductions to purchase cost of devices and reductions to regulated medical waste (RMW) costs. From an environmental standpoint, an increasing number of studies are assessing the environmental impacts of medical devices and the processes by which they are utilized. These studies report significant environmental impacts with respect to how medical devices are manufactured, used, and disposed. In turn, these studies also discuss the potential human health impacts with respect to medical devices and their associated lifecycles. Despite a wide variety of devices suitable for reprocessing, to date there have been no studies that evaluate the potential economic and environmental benefits of a reprocessed device. Additionally, there have been no hospital-wide environmental and/or economic assessments of reprocessed devices. The aim of this study was to fill these knowledge gaps by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) to model the environmental and economic impacts of medical device supply chains when varying levels of reprocessed devices are used at Phoenix Baptist Hospital (PBH) in Phoenix, Arizona. The LCA included all cradle-to-grave processes for the seven medical devices. Results of the study showed that if inputs (i.e., ethylene oxide, water, electricity) were optimized, the use of reprocessed devices offers global warming, human health, and economic benefits over the same devices used as disposables. On the other hand, the excessive use of inputs correlated with reprocessed devices having greater overall environmental and human health impacts than disposable medical devices. Additionally, whether used as a SUD (single-use devices) or a reprocessed device, the use of DVT (deep vein thrombosis) compression sleeves corresponded with the highest environmental impacts when devices were compared one-toone. The DVT compression sleeves were comprised of mostly woven cotton; which is a material associated with significant environmental and human health impacts, resulting from its large quantities of lifecycle inputs. This study recommends that the significant proportion of woven cotton in DVT compression sleeves be reduced for a material with less of an overall environmental footprint.
Inactivation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Hard Clams (Mercanaria mercanaria) by High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) and the Effect of HHP on the Physical Characteristics of Hard Clam Meat

Shellfish may internalize dangerous pathogens during filter feeding. Traditional methods of depuration have been found ineffective against certain pathogens. The objective was to explore high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) as an alternative to the traditional depuration process. The effect of HHP on the survival of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in live clams (Mercanaria mercanaria) and the impact of HHP on physical characteristics of clam meat were investigated. Clams were inoculated with up to 7 log CFU/g of a cocktail of V. parahaemolyticus strains via filter feeding. Clams were processed at pressures ranging from 250 to 552 MPa for hold times ranging between 2 and 6 min. Processing conditions of 450 MPa for 4 min and 350 MPa for 6 min reduced the initial concentration of V. parahaemolyticus to a nondetectable level ( 5 log reductions. The volume of clam meat (processed in shell) increased with negligible change in mass after exposure to pressure at 552 MPa for 3 min, while the drip loss was reduced. Clams processed at 552 MPa were softer compared to those processed at 276 MPa. However, all HHP processed clams were found to be harder compared to unprocessed. The lightness (L ∗ ) of the meat increased although the redness (a ∗ ) decreased with increasing pressure. Although high pressure-processed clams may pose a significantly lower risk from V. parahaemolyticus, the effect of the accompanied physical changes on the consumer's decision to purchase HHP clams remains to be determined.