cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New design methdology for megahertz-frequency resonant dc-dc converters using impedance control network architecture

This paper introduces a new design methodology for high-frequency resonant dc-dc converters utilizing the recently proposed impedance control network (ICN) converter architecture. This design methodology guarantees zero voltage switching (ZVS) and near zero current switching (ZCS) of all transistors across the entire operating range of the converter. As compared to previous ICN converter design techniques, the new methodology does not require frequency adjustment to achieve ZVS. In addition, it uses a rigorous analytical approach to minimize the phase lag required for ZVS, thus ensuring near-ZCS operation. The advantages gained from the proposed design methodology are validated using a prototype 1-MHz 90-W ICN resonant converter designed to operate over an input voltage range of 36 V to 60 V and output voltage of 1.8 V. This prototype ICN resonant converter employs a stacked inverter structure to further enhance performance.
Web Security and Privacy (Panel)

This panel discussed various issues on web security and privacy including XML security, data mining for intrusion detection, and various other aspects including e-commerce security.
East Asian Film Noir: Transnational Encounters and Intercultural Dialogue Ed. Chi-Yun Shin and Mark Gallagher. London: I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2015. 240 pp. $30.00 paper.

With the imprimatur of David Desser's influential critical essay on “Global Noir” and the ongoing popularity of such movements as British, French, Hong Kong, and Nordic noir, the time is right to t...
Reduced Plant Uptake of 137Cs Grown in Illite-amended Sediments

Sediments native to the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina are ineffective at binding 137Cs, allowing it to remain available for biological uptake. Unlike the native sediments, illite has inherent characteristics that increase its propensity to sorb 137Cs in a nearly irreversible manner. The objectives of this study were to determine if the addition of illite to 137Cs-contaminated, native sediments would effectively reduce plant uptake of 137Cs, and to establish the illite concentration most effective in achieving that result. Two plant species, corn and soybean, were grown in native sediments amended with illite at concentrations ranging from 0 to 5%. The illite amendment effectively decreased plant uptake of 137Cs, as concentration ratios (CR; Csplant/Cssoil) for both plants decreased with increasing illite concentration. The 5%-illite treatment induced corn CRs to decrease by 29% and soybean CRs to decrease by 42%. The greatest incremental benefit was observed with an illite amendment of approximately 0.5%.
MCNP simulation of discrete gamma-ray spectra for PGNAA applications

Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) systems, such as Idaho National Laboratory's PINS system [1], are used by the U.S. Army to identify chemical warfare materiel (CWM) and explosives in recovered munitions. The wide variety of fill chemicals and assessment conditions for these munitions makes Monte Carlo modeling of the gamma spectra attractive in order to assess the impact of these variations on identification algorithms as have recent improvements to the prompt gamma production in the nuclear data libraries for low-Z chemical elements. The availability of High Performance Computing (HPC) systems makes these simulations more rapid than laboratory measurements, and can be very useful provided the codes and associated data libraries accurately reproduce the laboratory measurements. We present here a comparison of simulation results using the MCNP6 code [2] and the ENDF/B-VII libraries with laboratory measurements using two different neutron sources, a californium-252 source and a deuterium-deuterium (DD) neutron generator.
Can a Human Bomb Be Human? Humanist and Antihumanist Perspectives on War and Terrorism

The humanity of the suicide bomber is the focus of this chapter. Relying on essentialist metaphysics, Renaissance humanists tackled the inhumanity of war as the object of hermeneutics and the subject of literary play. Twentieth-century antihumanists rejected metaphysics altogether and thus made irrelevant the question of the humanity of the Human Bomb. Their successors, such as Glucksmann and Žižek, reintroduced an implicit metaphysics based on human finality and converted the humanity of the Bomb into a political and ethical question of its inhumanity. Positing the necessity of contingency, Meillassoux reaches beyond finality and thus allows the question of the humanity of the Bomb to once again become metaphysical.
Semiclassical Dynamics in Phase Space; Time-Dependent Self-Consistent Field Approximation

Gaussian wavepackets in phase space, which are constructed to have the exact first and second moments with respect to the coordinates and momenta, are used to develop self-consistent equations of motion for the semiclassical time evolution of interacting anharmonic systems. The equations apply to pure as well as to mixed states and may, therefore, be particularly useful for molecular dynamics in condensed phases. Numerical calculations of Raman excitation profiles, using a Morse oscillator, demonstrate the accuracy of the present equations.
Protection Motivation Theory as an Explanatory Framework for Proenvironmental Behavioral Intentions

Environmental issues have become important topics in the 21st century. Communication practitioners and scholars struggle with effectively communicating the threat of climate change and other changes to the natural world, partially due to the lack of concern by the general public. We present Protection Motivation Theory as a framework for explaining proenvironmental behavioral intentions among a college sample. Participants (N = 607) responded to an online survey, and the results indicate support for the proposed model, with severity (H1), vulnerability (H2), response efficacy (H3), and self-efficacy (H4) positively predicting proenvironmental behavioral intentions and response costs (H5) negatively predicting intentions. Implications for practitioners and scholars are discussed, and areas of future exploration in this domain are identified.
Concept Randomness and Neural Networks

We study the problem of representing concepts in applications where only partial information is available due to distorted or incomplete inputs. By introducing the formal notion of sparse, continuous random concepts we derive a solution to a class of fundamental concept recognition problems. Random concept can be represented by giving a set of reference instances which can be used to construct a probabilistic approximation based on probabilities derived from these instances. We discuss efficient parallel realizations of the derived class of approximations by introducing the class of Random Neural Networks (RNN).
Writing as Return: A Commentary on Doron Ravinovici’s ‘Nach Wilna’

“Nach Wilna” is the story of a family trip to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius that Rabinovici undertook with his brother and his parents in June 2011. His mother, Schoschana Rabinovici, had grown up in Vilnius before the Second World War, survived the Holocaust, and emigrated first to Israel and later to Austria. Her father, Isaukas Weksler, did not escape and, like most of Vilnius’ Jewish population, was murdered by the Nazis. Rabinovici’s sensitive and thoughtful tale of this trip weaves together family stories (from his mother’s childhood, from his and his brother’s childhoods, from ancestors’ histories, and from the present), historical periods (Vilnius in the 1940s, Vilnius in the 1980s, Vilnius today), and different texts (most notably his mother’s internationally-acclaimed account of her childhood in Vilnius, Dank meiner Mutter) in a deliberately non-linear manner in order to capture the range of conflicting thoughts and emotions that accompanied this trip through both time and space.
Neurodegenerative Diseases and Axonal Transport

Abstract The hallmark pathology of many human neurodegenerative diseases is the deposition of aggregated proteins and organelles inside the brain. Emerging evidence suggests that disruption of axonal transport in extremely polarized neurons is a primary and causative event in many such brain pathologies. A dominant hypothesis is that different genetic mutations causing potential functional changes in the cargoes, associated motor proteins, adaptors, and microtubule tracks lead to dysfunctional axonal transport essential for neuron survival and synaptic integrity. However, this hypothesis has not been extensively investigated. Aiming at providing a comprehensive idea about the role of different key players and the underlying mechanisms in causing axonal transport defects in neurons, in this chapter we highlight the discoveries of various mutations and insights from animal models. Taking examples of diverse sets of neurodegenerative diseases, we also summarize the role of protein aggregation and signaling pathways associated with axonal transport deficits.
Behavioral Inhibition as a Temperamental Risk Factor for Anxiety Disorders

The authors present data and findings on the association between behavioral inhibition in children and risk for anxiety disorders. The research argues strongly for the importance of this temperamental construct as informative and germane to the understanding of the development of anxiety psychopathology. It also provides a strong indication that behavioral inhibition may be an identifiable early childhood predictor of later anxiety disorders.
Case Reports and Case Series

1. Case reports and case series describe the experience of one or more people with a disease. 2. Case reports and case series are often the first data alerting to a new disease or condition. 3. Case reports and case series have specific limitations: a. Lack of a denominator to calculate rates of disease b. Lack of a comparison group c. Selecting study populations d. Sampling variation
T Cell-Mediated Terminal Maturation of Dendritic cells

Numerous investigators have supported, with compelling evidence, the concept that the activation of naive T cells occurs primarily through antigens (Ag) presented by a distinct class of leukocytes known as dendritic cells (DC). As skin biologists, our own efforts have focused on Langerhans cells (LC), a unique population of DC that resides normally within the epidermis of skin and whose identification even predates knowledge about DC by more than one century. Three years ago, we initiated a program to develop long-term DC lines from the epidermis of mice, largely to accommodate the cellular homogeneity that is required for molecular biologic techniques, but also to facilitate the economic use of laboratory animals. Two concepts guided these efforts: 1) cells derived during the perinatal period would possess a highest proliferative potential, and 2) GM-CSF, which had promoted the survival and maturation of LC cultured by other investigators, would be essential. Our efforts were ultimately rewarded by the development of stable DC lines, termed the “XS series”, from specimens of epidermis in newborn BALB/c mice (1). These XS DC lines resemble resident LC in many respects, including: a) their dendritic morphology (1), b) Ag presenting capacity (1,2), and c) cytokine and cytokine receptor mRNA profiles (3–6). Importantly, our original XS cell cultures were “contaminated” by fibroblastoid cells, the “NS series,” which could be removed through their selective sensitivity to treatment with trypsin. Once this was accomplished, however, proliferation by the XS cells diminished substantially. We have determined subsequently that XS52 cells require for their optimal growth not only GM-CSF, which was added continuously to XS cell cultures, but also CSF-1, which was secreted in relatively large amounts by the NS cells (4). These XS lines and similar DC lines developed since that time have proven to be useful tools in our efforts to characterize the function of DC.
Abstract 11069: Sex-Specific Cardio-Protection Against Vulnerable Plaque Composition and Coronary Vascular Dysfunction in Responders to Statin Therapy

Background: Coronary artery distensibility index (CDI) is an endothelial-dependent process, associated with vulnerable-plaque (VP) composition, and development of coronary artery disease (CAD). The effects of statin-therapy on CDI and VP composition are not well studied. This study evaluates the response to statin therapy through CDI, VP and clinical outcome. Methods: Two hundred and forty eight subjects (aged 65±8 years, 46% women, and 100% statin-therapy) underwent computed tomography angiography (CTA) and were prospectively followed. CDI in left anterior descending artery (LAD) was defined as: [(Early diastole - mid diastole lumen cross section area (CSA))/ (lumen CSA in mid diastole x central pulse pressure) x 1000]. Vulnerable-plaque composite-score (VPS) was measured using semi-quantified plaque volume (none, localized, intermediate, or diffuse) and severity of diseased coronaries (normal, mild, moderate, or severe) in non-calcified and mixed plaques based on American Heart Association 15-segment model. Major adverse cardiac event (MACE) was defined as myocardial infarction or cardiovascular-death. Impaired CDI (0) distinguished non-responders from responders to statin therapy. Results: During a median of 36-month follow-up, the event Rate was 10.1% (12.1% in men and 6.25% in women). After adjustment for risk factors, the risk of MACE was 628% and 226% higher in impaired CDI and VPS as compared to normal cohort, which were different between genders (p Conclusions: Statin therapy is associated with sex-specific cardio-protective effects by improving CDI and decreasing VPS, and reduces MACE independent of conventional risk factors.
Failure to Deal with the Issues: The e-Borders Award and ‘Serious Irregularity’ under the Arbitration Act 1996

Raytheon is a renowned American defence contractor of epic proportions. It is the world’s largest producer of guided missiles and also concentrates on manufacturing military and commercial electronics. The jurisprudence analysed in this article arose out of the e-Borders contract between the UK Home Office and Raytheon. Signed in 2007, the agreement was worth around £750 million in total. The government terminated it in 2010 because of delays and key milestones being missed. Raytheon had been in breach contract since 2009 and, at that time, lengthy negotiations resulted in a cul-de-sac. By then the project had cost the taxpayer £259.3 million including £195 million in supplier costs. Arbitration proceedings ensuing the termination resulted in the arbitrators finding in Raytheon’s favour. Despite successfully challenging the award in court in the cases discussed in this article – reported as Raytheon Systems Ltd [2014] EWHC 4375 (TCC) and Raytheon Systems Ltd [2015] EWHC 311 (TCC) – the government continued to negotiate and Mrs. Theresa May (the Home Secretary) announced on 27 March 2015 that the settlement with Raytheon was “a full and final payment of £150m.” According to her, Raytheon continues to be a valued supplier to the British Government on key defence and commercial pursuits. Under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 Act, an award can be challenged on numerous (nine) grounds of “serious irregularity”. Where one or more of the grounds are engaged, an additional threshold has to be met and the applicant needs to demonstrate that the irregularity has caused or will cause “substantial injustice”. Although it can be criticised for being ambiguous, on identical factual and legal issues, about the parties’ ability to seek their costs in the first arbitration proceedings in a subsequent arbitration, Mr. Justice Akenhead’s approach nonetheless adds to the learning on section 68(2)(d) – a provision, regarding failure by the tribunal to deal with the issues, on which scant authority exists. Against that contextual backdrop, despite the settlement, the court’s analysis was valuable because it sent a clear signal to arbitral tribunals to provide consideration to all the issues, and not simply cherry pick the issues they fancy. Similarly, these rulings also shed much needed light on the evidential tests a party will need to meet in mounting a successful challenge to have an arbitration award set aside. Moreover, Professor William Park’s denouement that the 1996 Act “succeeds admirably in balancing the rival aspirations of finality and fairness in arbitration” is arguably fortified by these judgments. Notably, despite the above problems with e-Borders, in April 2015, the UK introduced passport exit checks on all travelers leaving by commercial air, sea and rail transport. The scheme, which relies on commercial agents (such as staff in airlines, rail and ferry operators) relaying passenger data to the Home Office, shall be fully functional by June 2015.
Japanese Educational Reforms and Initiatives as They Relate to School Psychological Practice.

In the past few decades, as Japan has navigated a rapidly shifting social landscape that has altered the underpinnings of Japanese society, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and ...
Management of congenital adrenal hyperplasia: beyond conventional glucocorticoid therapy

Purpose of reviewThe most common enzyme defect associated with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD). Glucocorticoid therapy aiming to suppress adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)-mediated hyperandrogenemia and to replace glucocorticoid deficiency, if indicated, r
Versatile asymmetric synthesis of the kavalactones: first synthesis of (+)-kavain.

Three asymmetric pathways to the kavalactones have been developed. The first method is chiral auxiliary-based and utilizes aldol reactions of N-acetyl thiazolidinethiones followed by a malonate displacement/decarboxylation reaction. The second approach uses the asymmetric catalytic Mukaiyama additions of dienolate nucleophile equivalents developed by Carreira and Sato. Finally, tin-substituted intermediates, prepared by either of these routes, can serve as advanced general precursors of kavalactone derivatives via Pd(0)-catalyzed Stille couplings with aryl halides.
Followers of honey bee waggle dancers change their behaviour when dancers are sleep-restricted or perform imprecise dances

Communication and sleep are important for humans and honey bees alike. Despite this, studies reporting consequences of sleep loss on animal communication – both signalling and receiving – are surprisingly limited. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) can famously signal the destination of a food source with a waggle dance, but when sleep-restricted, dancers perform directionally less precise dances. We analysed dance follower behaviour with respect to a dance's directional precision and whether or not the dancer had been sleep-restricted. Followers were more likely to switch dances if following an imprecise dance and more likely to exit the nest if following a precise dance. Followers were also more likely to exit the nest after following a dance composed of more iterations (waggle phases), but only if the dancer was sleep-restricted. Bees appeared to follow fewer waggle phases of a dance that was less precise, but, again, only if the dancer was sleep-restricted. Following fewer waggle phases has been shown to decrease a bee's flight accuracy, so our results suggest that cues associated with sleep loss could affect a follower's foraging success. This study presents a unique case of sender–receiver effects of sleep loss in an invertebrate, and a possible precision-dependent vulnerability in colonies of honey bees.
Particle tracking velocimetry and flame front detection techniques on commercial aircraft debris striking events

Debris striking the internal structures of aircraft components is capable of causing on-board fires and leading to catastrophic damage to both the aircraft and flight crew. In the present work, two experiments were conducted to capture the characteristics of high-speed debris strikes and dry-bay fires. Particle tracking velocimetry technique was utilized to investigate the dynamics of debris striking structural components of the aircraft. In conjunction, a flame front detection measurement technique was developed to identify the size and duration of dry-bay fires. Results demonstrated the ability to utilize fundamental image correlation techniques to determine velocity, size, and duration of flash events in support of aircraft survivability and safety research.
Paclitaxel-coated peripheral artery devices are not associated with increased mortality.

Abstract Objective Long-term safety concerns have been raised that the use of paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents is linked to excess mortality. Our objective was to compare outcomes in patients treated with paclitaxel vs uncoated devices and to analyze long-term mortality. Methods We conducted a retrospective single-institution review of 1170 consecutive patients who underwent femoropopliteal percutaneous revascularization by angioplasty, atherectomy, stent placement, or combination between 2011 and 2018. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality. Groups were divided into patients who received paclitaxel (n = 652) and those who did not (n = 518). Categorical variables were assessed using χ2 analysis and continuous variables with the Wilcoxon signed rank test. A multivariable analysis was performed using multivariable logistic regression models. Mortality was compared using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results Demographics, risk factors, and Rutherford class were similar between the groups, except that the paclitaxel group was more likely to have diabetes (60.9% vs 55.0%; P = .04), was less likely to be on dialysis (10.7% vs 14.9%; P = .04), and had lower average creatinine concentration (1.6 ± 1.8 mg/dL vs 2.0 ± 2.3 mg/dL; P = .003). There were no differences in all-cause mortality through 2 years between paclitaxel and no-paclitaxel cohorts (25.5% vs 30.3%; log-rank, P = .098). At 3 years and 3.5 years, mortality was significantly lower in the paclitaxel group: year 3, 32.1% vs 39.4% (log-rank, P = .041); year 3.5, 35.2% vs 43.9% (log-rank, P = .027). Survival rates were not significantly different in examining subgroups by diabetes, chronic kidney disease, presence of chronic limb-threatening ischemia, or paclitaxel-coated balloon manufacturer. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that age, dialysis, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, chronic kidney disease, and congestive heart failure were independent risk factors for mortality, whereas paclitaxel use was associated with lower mortality. Conclusions The use of paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents does not increase mortality compared with uncoated devices out to 3.5 years. Paclitaxel-coated devices can be used with continued caution, especially in patients at increased risk of restenosis. Further long-term studies are needed to determine the risk of late mortality.
Short-term Speed Forecasting Using Vehicle Wireless Communications

Forecasting the speed trajectories of driving vehicles is essential for vehicle/powertrain predictive optimal control. This paper proposes a simple and effective forecasting method for generating short-term future speed trajectories using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) information. Specifically, a series of lead vehicles' speeds and locations are considered to be the potential trajectories that the following car would drive in the near future. Polynomial regression based on weighted least-squares estimation is used to determine a future speed trajectory over a short prediction horizon. The efficacy of the proposed approach is evaluated in single-lane traffic simulations over various driving scenarios. In addition, the performance of the proposed method is also evaluated when V2V is not available. Simulation results show that for a highway drive cycle, the proposed predictor results in root-mean-square errors less than 1 mph with V2V data.
Improving Patient Care Through Workspace Renovation and Redesign: A Lean Approach.

Background and objectives At a time when the US health care system needs greater access to comprehensive, on-demand primary care, the University of North Carolina Family Medicine Center found itself struggling to meet patient demands within the confines of an outdated facility. Clinic leadership sought to redesign the physical space to expand capacity, integrate other members of the care team, support extended hours of operation, and improve patient experience. Methods Clinic leadership employed experienced lean coaches to train our entire department in lean methodology, to implement a comprehensive approach to redesigning our workflows, and to use those perfected workflows to redesign and renovate our new clinical workspace. Results Upon completion of the renovation and redesign, the clinic experienced significant growth in patient volumes (24%) and unprecedented improvement in patient satisfaction (89th to 92nd percentile). Conclusions Lean methodology proved to be an effective strategy for analyzing our current workflows and use of physical space. Moreover, lean strategies proved vital for redesigning and renovating our clinic.
Minimum wages and the health of immigrants’ children

States are increasingly resorting to raising the minimum wage to boost the earnings of those at the bottom of the income distribution. In this article, we examine the effects of minimum wage increa...
A new wrinkle on liquid sheets: Turning the mechanism of viscous bubble collapse upside down

Viscous bubbles are prevalent in both natural and industrial settings. Their rupture and collapse may be accompanied by features typically associated with elastic sheets, including the development of radial wrinkles. Previous investigators concluded that the film weight is responsible for both the film collapse and wrinkling instability. Conversely, we show here experimentally that gravity plays a negligible role: The same collapse and wrinkling arise independently of the bubble's orientation. We found that surface tension drives the collapse and initiates a dynamic buckling instability. Because the film weight is irrelevant, our results suggest that wrinkling may likewise accompany the breakup of relatively small-scale, curved viscous and viscoelastic films, including those in the respiratory tract responsible for aerosol production from exhalation events.
The Environmental Sculpting Hypothesis of Juvenile and Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis

We propose that a major contribution of juvenile and adult hippocampal neurogenesis is to allow behavioral experience to sculpt dentate gyrus connectivity such that sensory attributes that are relevant to the animal's environment are more strongly represented. This "specialized" dentate is then able to store a larger number of discriminable memory representations. Our hypothesis builds on accumulating evidence that neurogenesis declines to low levels prior to adulthood in many species. Rather than being necessary for ongoing hippocampal function, as several current theories posit, we argue that neurogenesis has primarily a prospective function, in that it allows experience to shape hippocampal circuits and optimize them for future learning in the particular environment in which the animal lives. Using an anatomically-based simulation of the hippocampus (BACON), we demonstrate that environmental sculpting of this kind would reduce overlap among hippocampal memory representations and provide representation cells with more information about an animal's current situation; consequently, it would allow more memories to be stored and accurately recalled without significant interference. We describe several new, testable predictions generated by the sculpting hypothesis and evaluate the hypothesis with respect to existing evidence. We argue that the sculpting hypothesis provides a strong rationale for why juvenile and adult neurogenesis occurs specifically in the dentate gyrus and why it declines significantly prior to adulthood.
Consumption risk and international equity returns: some empirical evidence

Abstract This paper tests whether real stock returns from four countries are consistent with consumption-based models of international asset pricing. The paper finds that the consumption-based model does not adequately describe these returns during the period of generalized floating exchange rates. Since restrictions on international capital movements were relaxed considerably in the 1980s, the tests are carried out for that sub-period as well. In contrast to the results for the full sample, observed real equity returns during the 1980s are found to be consistent with the predictions of the consumption-based model.
Justifying Positive Appeals to Conscience: The Debate We Can't Avoid.

The literature on conscientious objection focuses primarily on negative appeals to conscience: cases in which a health care provider (HCP) refuses to provide some legal service on the basis of deep...
"Temples to Christ's Indwelling": Forms of Chastity in a Barking Abbey Manuscript

Br i t i s h l i b r a r y , m a n u s C r i p t a d d i t i o n a l 10596 (hereafter MS add. 10596), a fifteenth-century collection of Middle english religious texts, belonged at first in succession to two nuns of Barking abbey in essex, england. This article interprets the self-contained latter half of this manuscript, perhaps copied by one of these nuns, Matilda Hayle, as an anthology of writings on christian chastity that derived particular meanings from the social milieu of Barking. The book gathers a unique group of narratives and prayers that together emphasize the overlapping and mutually influential sexualities of virgins, chaste widows, and continent wives in a religious setting where these groups mingled with unusual freedom. When one reads this book’s contents in terms of contemporary discourses of chastity and the particular practices of Barking, it becomes clear how the anthology made monastic chastity inseparable from the states of wifehood and widowhood. in the later Middle ages women of varying social and sexual statuses played important roles in the administration and support of Barking, a Benedictine abbey founded in the seventh century. a royal house dedicated to the queenly Saint ethelburga, Barking enjoyed a history of aristocratic abbesses, including three queens and two princesses, and it drew members and bequests from the higher echelons of english society, though by the end of the Middle ages new recruits came primarily from the gentry class, that is, from wealthy commoners. among its many late
User Interface Technology and Software Engineering Environments

The development of software engineering environments has had a long and close relationship with the development of advanced user interface technologies. This paper overviews this history, then discusses the particular requirements imposed by modern environments. Key requirements discussed include support for structured program text, complex application software architectures, concurrency, an open, changing toolset, distribution, and heterogeneity. The paper concludes by reviewing some representative current approaches and highlighting some key issues and opportunities. One issue discussed concerns both user interface system architectures and environment/tool architectures. It is the need for architectures and implementation techniques that support modularity, heterogeneity, inter-component communication, and component composition.
Fermi Lat Results and Perspectives in Measurements of High Energy Galactic Cosmic Rays

Real breakthrough during last 1-1.5 years in cosmic ray electrons: ATIC, HESS, Pamela, and finally Fermi-LAT. New quality data have made it possible to start quantitative modeling. With the new data more puzzles than before on CR electrons origin. Need "multi-messenger" campaign: electrons, positrons, gammas, X-ray, radio, neutrino... It is viable that we are dealing with at least two distinct mechanisms of "primary" electron (both signs) production: a softer spectrum of negative electrons, and a harder spectrum of both e(+)+e(-). Exotic (e.g. DM) origin is not ruled out. Upper limits on CR electrons anisotropy are set. Good perspectives to have the Fermi LAT results on proton spectrum and positron fraction.
Technology Pipelines for Learning in Energy System Models

Abstract Technological learning has been treated as an exogenous variable in most energy system models despite the possibility of conditions produced by model variables having significant effects on the development of technologies. When technological learning has been endogenously treated within energy system models, it has often been accomplished through the use of learning curves. By assigning all technological change to a single variables such as cumulative sales, or even including research spending in a two-factor learning curve, the ability to examine the effects of directed policy are severely limited. Technology pipelines represent the potentials and limitations of each successive generation of a technology individually while using the aggregated improvements learning curves represent to progress through each development stage of the particular technology generation. While multiple generations of a technology may be under concurrent development, by treating each generation individually the true capabilities and limitations may be exposed. With the possibilities for a technology known, development stage dependent policies may be implemented for each generation, instead of a blanket program for the entire technology. The use of the technology pipelines can help to bring energy system models more accurate means of simulating the policies necessary for selecting and nurturing energy technologies until they reach commercial availability. A case study on solar photovoltaic technologies is provided as an example of the technology pipeline framework.
Structural and functional correlation of the trypsin-digested Ca2+ release channel of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Abstract The effect of trypsin digestion on the (i) fragmentation pattern, (ii) activity, (iii) [3H]ryanodine binding, and (iv) sedimentation behavior of the skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) ryanodine receptor-Ca2+ release channel complex has been examined. Mild tryptic digestion of heavy, junctional-derived SR vesicles resulted in the rapid disappearance of the high molecular weight (Mr approximately 400,000) Ca2+ release channel protein on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels and appearance of bands of lower Mr upon immunoblot analysis, without an appreciable effect on [3H]ryanodine binding or the apparent S value (30 S) of the 3-[3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (Chaps)-solubilized channel complex. Further degradation to bands of Mr greater than 70,000 on immunoblots correlated with a reduction of channel size from 30 S to 10-15 S and loss of high affinity [3H]ryanodine binding to the trypsinized receptor, while low affinity [3H]ryanodine binding and [3H]ryanodine bound prior to digestion were retained. Parallel 45Ca2+ efflux measurements also indicated retention of the Ca2+, Mg2+, and ATP regulatory sites, although Ca2+-induced 45Ca2+ release rates were changed. In planar lipid bilayer-single channel measurements, addition of trypsin to the cytoplasmic side of the high conductance (100 pS in 50 mM Ca2+), Ca2+-activated SR Ca2+ channel initially increased the fraction of channel open time and was followed by a complete and irreversible loss of channel activity. Trypsin did not change the unitary conductance, and was without effect on single channel activity when added to the lumenal side of the channel.
Variable-Bit-Lengthn Coding: An Effective Coding Method

We propose a new coding scheme for lossless compression. This scheme, variable-bit-length coding, stores different grayscale values using a different number of bits. The compression performance of variable-bit-length coding coupled with a preprocessing method called remapping is compared with the compression performance of well known coding methods such as Huffman coding, arithmetic coding, and LZW coding. On the bechmark suite of 10 images used by us, remapping with variable-bit-length coding obtained maximum compression more often than did any other coding method.
Sensitivity and Specificity

A brief introduction is given on the use of the terms sensitivity and specificity. Emphasis is directed at diagnostic testing/screening, where the terms delineate forms of true positive and true negative rates of the diagnostic outcomes. Keywords: diagnostic test; screening; misclassification; concordance; false positive rate; false negative rate
SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF SILOXANE BLOCK POLYMERS

Organosiloxane block polymers have not received the interest and effort which have been applied to hydrocarbon block polymers during the past several years (1). This may be attributed to the lack of synthetic technique available for the convenient preparation of linear block polysiloxanes having well-defined homopolymer segments. All of the systems disclosed in the literature involve condensation reactions between difunctional homopolymer segments to yield products having random blocks and are, at best, poorly characterized (2,3). For example: Side reactions such as silanol condensation in the above system may lead to cyclic products and loss of block control.
Geography in the Workplace: A Personal Assessment with a Look to the Future

Abstract This paper offers a perspective of geography in the workplace. Who is doing what kind of geography can help us understand the impacts of our discipline in the workplace. We can and must do better in providing research-oriented, problem solvers to the workplace. To achieve this, we need to address collegiate-level geographic education, our goals and aspirations, the discipline's roles and responsibilities, educational reforms, and potential linkages between academic geography and the public and private sectors. If we understand geographers' roles in the workplace today, and can agree on the needs for tomorrow, we can debate goals, actions, and outcomes. While no one knows the entire workplace, its opportunities, and demands, I provide a general model of geographers in the workplace, including “who is” and “who is likely to be applying geography in the future.” This leads to how our degree recipients should be educated and suggests issues, challenges, and strategies.
FRICTION AND WEAR OF RARE EARTH METALS IN AIR.

Abstract Friction and wear rates have been measured for combinations of the rare-earth metals cerium, lanthanum, dysprosium, holmium and yttrium, the alloys misch metal and didimium, and the metals zinc, aluminum, copper, iron, titanium and zirconium, sliding in air, unlubricated. It was found that the rare-earth metals show rather lower friction coefficients and rather higher wear rates than do other metals, because they oxidize so readily. The cubic structured metals show higher friction than do the hexagonal structured metals; of the hexagonal metals, especially low friction is associated with a high c a ratio of the crystal lattice. It is concluded that, owing to their high oxidation rates, the rare-earth metals sliding in air do not show the great degree of promise that they display in a vacuum environment.
Pore size distribution during compaction and early stage sintering of silicon nitride

The effect of a number of compaction parameters on the pore size distribution in silicon nitride powder compacts has been investigated by mercury porosimetry. The powder was compacted in a uniaxial die and the parameters of interest included uniaxial load, loading rate, polymer additives and stress relaxation. The use of a low-viscosity polymer solution as a lubricant, the allowance of stress relaxation following loading and heat treatment above the glass transition temperature of the polymer lead to a more uniform pore size distribution in the green samples. The more uniform green samples, in turn, showed a more uniform pore size distribution after initial stage sintering. The potential of the present techniques for improving the microstructural uniformity in ceramic bodies is discussed.
Predicting pathological outcomes in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer: a preoperative nomogram.

Objective To identify which high-risk patients with prostate cancer may harbour favourable pathological outcomes at radical prostatectomy (RP). Patients and methods We evaluated 810 patients with high-risk prostate cancer, defined as having one or more of the following: PSA level of >20 ng/mL, Gleason score ≥8, clinical stage ≥T2c. Patients underwent robot-assisted RP (RARP) with pelvic lymph node dissection, between 2003 and 2012, in one centre. Only 1.6% (13/810) of patients received any adjuvant treatment. Favourable pathological outcome was defined as specimen-confined disease (SCD; pT2–T3a, node negative, and negative surgical margins) at RARP-specimen. Logistic regression models were used to test the relationship among all available predicators and harbouring SCD. A logistic regression coefficient-based nomogram was constructed and internally validated using 200 bootstrap resamples. Kaplan–Meier method estimated biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free and cancer-specific mortality (CSM)-free survival rates, after stratification according to pathological disease status. Results Overall, 55.2% patients harboured SCD at RARP. At multivariable analysis, PSA level, clinical stage, primary/secondary Gleason scores, and maximum percentage tumour quartiles were all independent predictors of SCD (all P < 0.04). A nomogram based on these variables showed 76% discrimination accuracy in predicting SCD, and very favourable calibration characteristics. Patients with SCD had significantly higher 8-year BCR- (72.7% vs 31.7%, P < 0.001) and CSM-free survival rates (100% vs 86.9%, P < 0.001) than patients with non-SCD. Conclusions We developed a novel nomogram predicting SCD at RARP. Patients with SCD achieved favourable long-term BCR- and CSM-free survival rates after RARP. The nomogram may be used to support clinical decision-making, and aid in selection of patients with high-risk prostate cancer most likely to benefit from RARP.
Inflammatory papillary hyperplasia of the palatal mucosa.

Abstract 1. 1. A diffuse papillary hyperplasia of palatal mucosa associated with the wearing of unhygienic artificial dentures in eleven patients has been described. 2. 2. The fundamental process appears to be of an inflammatory nature caused by chronic excessive retention of food debris and stagnant oral secretions. 3. 3. Discontinuing the use of unsatisfactory dentures appears to be a basically appropriate form of therapy.
Surface charge density on silica in alkali and alkaline earth chloride electrolyte solutions

The surface charge density of colloidal SiO2 (Aerosil 380) was measured in alkali chloride (0.067 and 0.20 M LiCl, NaCl, and KCl) and alkaline earth chloride (0.067 M MgCl2, CaCl2, SrCl2, BaCl2) solutions. Measurements were conducted at 25°C by potentiometric titrations using the constant ionic medium method in a CO2-free system. The experimental design measured surface charge for solutions with constant ionic strength as well as constant cation concentration. Alkali chloride solutions promote negative surface charge density in the order LiCl < NaCl < KCl to give the “regular” lyotropic behavior previously reported. In contrast, the alkaline earth chloride solutions exhibit a reversed lyotropic trend with increasing crystallographic radius where increasing negative charge is promoted in the order BaCl2 < SrCl2 < CaCl2 < MgCl2. The origin of the opposing affinity trends is probed by testing the hypothesis that this reversal is rooted in the differing solvent structuring characteristics of the IA and IIA cations at the silica–water interface. This idea arises from earlier postulations that solvent structuring effects increase entropy through solvent disordering and these gains must be much greater than the small, positive enthalpy associated with electrostatic interactions. By correlating measured charge density with a proxy for the solvent-structuring ability of cations, this study shows that silica surface charge density is maximized by those electrolytes that have the strongest effects on solvent structuring. We suggest that for a given solid material, solvation entropy has a role in determining the ionic specificity of electrostatic interactions and reiterate the idea that the concept of lyotropy is rooted in the solvent-structuring ability of cations at the interface.
Unprecedented Head-to-Head Conformers of d(GpG) Bound to the Antitumor Active Compound Tetrakis (μ-carboxylato)dirhodium(II,II)

The N7/O6 equatorial binding interactions of the antitumor active complex Rh2(OAc)4(H2O)2 (OAc- = CH3CO2-) with the DNA fragment d(GpG) have been unambiguously determined by NMR spectroscopy. Previous X-ray crystallographic determinations of the head-to-head (HH) and head-to-tail (HT) adducts of dirhodium tetraacetate with 9-ethylguanine (9-EtGH) revealed unprecedented bridging N7/O6 guanine nucleobases that span the Rh−Rh bond. The absence of N7 protonation at low pH and the notable increase in the acidity of N1−H (pKa ≈ 5.7 as compared to 8.5 for N7 only bound platinum adducts), suggested by the pH dependence titrations of the purine H8 1H NMR resonances for Rh2(OAc)2(9-EtG)2 and Rh2(OAc)2{d(GpG)}, are consistent with bidentate N7/O6 binding of the guanine nucleobases. The pKa values estimated for N1−H (de)protonation, from the pH dependence studies of the C6 and C2 13C NMR resonances for the Rh2(OAc)2(9-EtG)2 isomers, concur with those derived from the H8 1H NMR resonance titrations. Comparison of the ...
Assessment of Genetic Diversity among Nondormant and Semidormant Alfalfa Populations Using Sequence-Related Amplified Polymorphisms

Synthetic populations of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) consist of genetically heterogeneous mixtures of plants, which may complicate use of molecular markers for examining genetic relationships among populations. Molecular marker techniques combined with bulked DNA from multiple plants provides perhaps the best combination of accuracy and high throughput for characterization and differentiation of alfalfa populations. Using 20-plant bulked DNA templates we assessed how sequence-related amplifi ed polymorphisms (SRAPs) would estimate genetic similarity among 29 nondormant and semidormant alfalfa populations representing diverse genetic backgrounds and the nine historically recognized U.S. germplasm sources. Cluster analysis based on estimates of genetic similarity showed separation of populations in fall dormancy classes 6 to 8 (semidormant) from fall dormancy classes 9 to 11 (nondormant) and in many examples, DNA bulks of the same population clustered together. A single SRAP marker was identifi ed that was present only in bulks of fall dormancy classes 6 and 7, and another marker was identifi ed that was detected only in bulks of fall dormancy class 8. This study demonstrates that the amplifi cation of SRAP markers from DNA extracted from bulked plant samples is an effi cient method for estimating genetic similarity both within and between a large numbers of populations. The SRAPs may also be useful for indirectly classifying relative fall dormancies of uncharacterized populations.