cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
THE INTRARENAL DISTRIBUTION OF TRITIATED PARA-AMINOHIPPURIC ACID DETERMINED BY A MODIFIED TECHNIQUE OF SECTION FREEZE-DRY RADIOAUTOGRAPHY

Section freeze-dry radioautography has been used to examine the intrarenal distribution of a water-soluble organic acid (para-aminohippuric acid (PAH-3H)) under constant-infusion, steady-state conditions in mouse and rat kidney in vivo. The technique described here has the following advantages: (a) Sectioning and freeze-drying are accomplished in a closed cryostat at temperatures below -40°C; (b) Handling of the section is facilitated by mounting of the section-to-be on adhesive-coated Saran Wrap prior to cutting; (c) Unembedded freeze-dried sections are attached to photographic film at ambient temperature in the dark room; (d) Fixation follows completion of radioautographic exposure and precedes photographic development; (e) Permanent close contact is maintained between tissue and film. Morphologic preservation compared favorably with that obtained by optimal fixation techniques, which, however, permit diffusion. Cellular accumulation of PAH-3H during secretion was demonstrated in the proximal tubule under steady-state conditions in vivo. The cellular concentration of PAH-3H was uniform throughout the length of the proximal tubule in mouse and rat kidney.
Systematic register bypass customization for application-specific processors

Register bypass provides additional datapaths to eliminate data hazards in processor pipelines. The difficulty with register bypass is that the cost of the bypass network is substantial and grows substantially as processor width or pipeline depth are increased. For a single application, many of the bypass paths have extremely low utilization. Thus, there is an important opportunity in the design of application-specific processors to remove a large fraction of the bypass cost while maintaining performance comparable to a processor with full bypass. We propose a systematic design customization process along with a bypass-cognizant compiler scheduler. For the former, we employ iterative design space exploration wherein successive processor designs are selected based on bypass utilization statistics combined with the availability of redundant bypass paths. Compiler scheduling for sparse bypass processors is accomplished by prioritizing function unit choices for each operation prior to scheduling using global information. Results show that for a 5-issue customized VLIW processor, 70% of the bypass cost is eliminated while sacrificing only 10% performance.
Source-Side Classifier Preordering for Machine Translation

We present a simple and novel classifier-based preordering approach. Unlike existing preordering models, we train feature-rich discriminative classifiers that directly predict the target-side word order. Our approach combines the strengths of lexical reordering and syntactic preordering models by performing long-distance reorderings using the structure of the parse tree, while utilizing a discriminative model with a rich set of features, including lexical features. We present extensive experiments on 22 language pairs, including preordering into English from 7 other languages. We obtain improvements of up to 1.4 BLEU on language pairs in the WMT 2010 shared task. For languages from di erent families the improvements often exceed 2 BLEU. Many of these gains are also significant in human evaluations.
Turning the Tide on Poverty: Sustainability of community engagement in economically distressed communities

Turning the Tide on Poverty (“Tide”) was a community engagement program implemented in rural communities in the southern United States seeking place-based solutions to poverty. Tide was structured ...
Link Analysis of High-Throughput Spacecraft Communication Systems for Future Science Missions Antenna Applications Corner

In this issues Antenna Applications Corner column, author Rainee N. Simons from NASAs Glenn Research Center describes link analysis of high-throughput satellite communication systems and its impact on the antenna design and performance for future low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites being planned by NASA. The article discusses two scenarios: 1) the first one employs a high data rate link between LEO and ground via relay satellites in geostationary orbit, and 2) the second one is a high data rate link from LEO directly to ground. Link analysis and data rates are shown for both cases, taking into account effective isotropic radiated power, waveforms, elevation angle, path losses, and the receiving antenna gain/system temperature. This article is useful for system and antenna engineers working on link analysis and hardware trades.
Honey Bee Nutrition: What We’re Not Monitoring

World, 46, 48–64. doi:10.1080/ 0005772X.1965.11095334 Smith, D. A. (1965b). John Evelyn’s manuscript on bees from ELYSIUM BRITANNICUM. Bee World, 46, 116–131. doi:10.1080/ 0005772X.1965.11097087 Matthew, K. P., & Matthew, S. (1990). Further Observations on Characters and Behaviour of Apis Koschevnikovi, the ‘Red Bee’ of Sabah. Bee World, 71(02), 61–66. doi:10.1080/ 0005772X.1990.11099038. van Heemert, C., de Ruijter, A., van den Eijnde, J., & van der Steen, J. (1990). Year-round production of bumble bee colonies for crop pollination. Bee World, 71, 54–56. doi:10.1080/ 0005772X.1990.11099036 Ruttner, F. (1990). An Intricate way to the Correct Scientific Name for a Honey bee. Bee World, 71(02), 57– 60. doi:10.1080/ 0005772X.1990.11099037.
Analysis Surveillance Results of Iodine Deficiency Disorders in Anhui Province in 2005

Objective To understand the epidemic trend of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in Anhui province and evaluate the effect of the prevention of IDD.Methods Randomly selected a elementary school from the east, west, south, north, and central regions of the cities and counties respectively. Thyroid was examined in pupils aged 8-10 years, whose urinary iodine was tested.Results The goiter rate was 3.06%. In the 17cities, the goiter rates were all lower than 10%. The median urinary iodine level was 269.36ug/L. Urinary iodine level of 6 pupils was lower than 20ug/L, which made up 0.07% of all detected.Conclusions In Anhui province, the goiter rate was lower than 5% among the 8-10 years old children, and the median urinary iodine level was higher than 100ug/L. we should make it sure quickly whether there were excessive iodine regions in Anhui province so that we could take preventive steps accordingly.
Alpha-adrenergic regulation of cholinergic responses in rat parotid acinar cells.

α-Adrenergic or muscarinic cholinergic stimulation leads to a release of K+ from dispersed parotid acinar cells. Cells exposed to (-)-epinephrine at physiological pH in Hepes medium and then washed become refractory or densensitized to subsequent α-adrenergic challenge with (-)-epinephrine and to cholinergic challenge with carbachol. This α-adrenergic-elicited attenuation of the cholinergic response appears to result from a decrease in Ca2+ entry during cholinergic challenge since A23187 incubation releases as much K+ in desensitized cells as in washed controls. This desensitization occurs during (-)-epinephrine preincubation in the absence of Ca2+ and without K+ release. It is prevented if phentolamine is present. The desensitization is rapid, being complete in 2 min. Desensitization is partly reversible by incubation in fresh buffer or in the presence of phentolamine; it is completely and rapidly reversed by exposure to a high-K+ medium. Although the cholinergic response is attenuated after α-adrenergic stimulation, the binding of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate is the same in these cells as in washed controls. These data suggest that the attenuated cholinergic response in α-adrenergic desensitized cells results from an alteration between cholinergic receptor occupation and Ca2+ entry. This type of α-adrenergic desensitization differs from a type described previously in these cells at lower pH in Hanks’ medium. Although both types may take place at physiological pH levels, this α-adrenergic regulation of the cholinergic response is clearly an important cellular response to persistent stimulation. Since other tissues and presynaptic nerve terminals appears to have α-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors, this regulation may be an important mechanism of adaptation to continued neuronal activity.
Non-Debtor Releases and Travelers V. Bailey: A Circuit Split that is Likely to Remain

The Travelers Indemnity Company v. Bailey, 129 S.Ct. 2195 (2009), presented the Supreme Court with the opportunity to review and decide the issue of whether or not bankruptcy courts have jurisdiction to release non-debtors from claims of other non-debtors that have no impact upon and are not derived from the res of the bankruptcy estate. Instead of reaching the question, however, the Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Souter and joined in by Justices Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, and Alito, disposed of the case under the principles of res judicata and the bar on collaterally attacking a final order. The next term, the court was again presented with the opportunity to grant certiorari to review the bankruptcy courts' power to grant non-debtor releases or restructure non-debtor obligations in Ad Hoc Committee of Kenton County Bondholders v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 130 S. Ct. 539 (2009) (granting the author’s motion for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae and denying the petition for certiorari). The Court did not take the case. The author suggests that one explanation for these outcomes is that the court is interested in maintaining the strong policy against collateral attacks on final orders, perhaps especially in bankruptcy cases and that a majority of the Justices have not displayed an interest in examining the propriety of non-debtor releases and similar matters or the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction in those areas.
Is There More to Fear than Fear Itself

while fear from a misled populace has taken a bad turn and created a downward spiral, merely soothing the fear at this point will not be sufficient to return us to better days. Why not?
Storying Transition-to-Work for/and Youth on the Autism Spectrum in the United States: A Critical Construct Synthesis of Academic Literature

AbstractWe explored how academic literature constructs the ‘worker with autism.’ Drawing on a systematic review of transition to work for youth with disabilities, we analyzed how 17 articles constructed ‘autism,’ ‘work,’ and the ‘worker with autism.’ We identified two argumentative approaches: the intervention story and the complex story. Intervention stories centered autism as a problem in need of treatment and work as a simple, positive endeavor. Complex stories offered various and more positive accounts of autism alongside broader notions of work. We recommend that academics experiment with writing which expands work (and career) possibilities for youth situated on the autism spectrum.
Nanoimprint lithography for nanodevice fabrication

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a compelling technique for low cost nanoscale device fabrication. The precise and repeatable replication of nanoscale patterns from a single high resolution patterning step makes the NIL technique much more versatile than other expensive techniques such as e-beam or even helium ion beam lithography. Furthermore, the use of mechanical deformation during the NIL process enables grayscale lithography with only a single patterning step, not achievable with any other conventional lithography techniques. These strengths enable the fabrication of unique nanoscale devices by NIL for a variety of applications including optics, plasmonics and even biotechnology. Recent advances in throughput and yield in NIL processes demonstrate the potential of being adopted for mainstream semiconductor device fabrication as well.
Artifacts to Invoke, Direct, and Deflect

This article provides a guest editor and discussant’s overview of the articles in this thematic issue, points to elements of continuity and contrast across these case studies, and highlights potential avenues for future research and analysis.
Record RF performance of sub-46 nm L/sub gate/ NFETs in microprocessor SOI CMOS technologies

We report record RF FET performance in 65 and 90-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technologies featuring measured gate lengths from 27 to 43 nm and analyze factors contributing to that performance. The effect of layout and geometry optimization as well as channel length scaling is investigated to improve RF performance, namely fT, and fMAX. A peak fT of 330 GHz is measured in a fully-wired 65-nm NFET. A complete de-embedding method to accurately determine RF characteristics of the intrinsic 90-nm SOI NFET results in a peak fT of 290 GHz and an fMAX of 450 GHz
Patient-Derived Airway Secretion Dissociation Technique To Isolate and Concentrate Immune Cells Using Closed-Loop Inertial Microfluidics

Assessment of airway secretion cells, both for research and clinical purposes, is a highly desired goal in patients with acute and chronic pulmonary diseases. However, lack of proper cell isolation and enrichment techniques hinder downstream evaluation and characterization of cells found in airway secretions. Here, we demonstrate a novel enrichment method to capture immune-related cells from clinical airway secretions using closed-loop separation of spiral inertial microfluidics (C-sep). By recirculating the output focusing stream back to the input reservoir and running continuously with a high flow processing rate, one can achieve optimal concentration, recovery and purity of airway immune cells from a large volume of diluent, which was not readily possible in the single-pass operation. Our method reproducibly recovers 94.0% of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), with up to 105 PMNs in clear diluted buffer from 50 μL of airway secretions obtained from mechanically ventilated patients. We show that C-sep...
MEMS-based side-view endomicroscope for in vivo small animal imaging (Conference Presentation)

Tremendous advances have been made in technological development of whole body molecular imaging, including PET, SPECT, MRI, bioluminescence, and ultrasound. However, a great unmet need still exists for high resolution imaging of biological processes that occur in the epithelium, the thin layer of tissue where many important cancers originate. Confocal endomicroscopes designed with a fiber bundle are used in the clinic, but they can only create images in the horizontal plane. Imaging in the plane perpendicular to the tissue surface is also important because epithelial cells differentiate in the vertical direction. Subtle changes in normal tissue differentiation patterns can reveal the early expression of cancer biomarkers. In this work, we present a side-viewing confocal endomicroscope that can collect images in either horizontal or oblique plane using an integrated monolithic electrostatic 3D MEMS scanner. The endomicroscope can perform sub-cellular resolution imaging in both the horizontal plane and the oblique plane with FOVs of 500 x 700 µm2 and 500 x 200 µm2. A side-viewing probe will allow optimal contact between the imaging window and the luminal wall, which makes it easy to navigate in the hollow organ. The endomicroscope is packaged into a stainless steel tube with outer diameter of 4.2 mm, which can be used for both small animal and human GI tract imaging. We demonstrate in vivo imaging of colonic dysplasia in mice, showing the endomicroscope can potentially be used for early detection and staging of colon cancer.
Thin Film Analysis and Chemical Mapping in the Analytical Electron Microscope

This paper reviews recent progress in the quantitative x-ray analysis of thin films for materials science and the development of quantitative x-ray mapping in the analytical electron microscope (AEM). Quantitative x-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry (XEDS) still relies basically on the Cliff-Lorimer ratio equation. There are two fundamental limitations to the routine application of this equation. The first problem is that the Cliff-Lorimer k factors are not standards, but vary from instrument to instrument. The second limitation is that the assumption of no significant x-ray absorption in thin specimens is not reasonable in many engineering materials. Methods to overcome both these limitations have been developed recently and are described.
Boundary Layer Evolution and its Influence on Ground-Level Ozone Concentrations

Accurate determination of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height (i.e., mixing height (MH)) is critical to properly simulating pollutant levels with the grid-based photochemical models. In this study, the daytime mixing heights based on the parcel and bulk Richardson number methods are compared with those obtained directly from a numerical mesoscale meteorological model in an effort to evaluate the uncertainties in the estimation of the PBL evolution. Mixing heights are estimated from hourly outputs of meteorological variables of the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model Version 3.3 (MM5V3) with two PBL schemes (Blackadar and Gayno-Seaman) during July 1999 over Philadelphia, PA. An analysis of the diurnal variation in the urban PBL and its influence on ground-level ozone (O3) levels is presented in this paper. The results indicate that on average, the MHs determined from the bulk Richardson number were larger than those estimated from the parcel method. The MHs from the MM5V3 output were much smaller than those derived from the parcel and bulk Richardson number methods, especially for the Gayno-Seaman scheme that is based on turbulent kinetic energy. The MH and ground-level O3 concentration have been found to be twice as much on episode days than on non-episode days. The average hourly MH growth rate and O3 tendency (i.e. rate of change in O3) were largest during the morning hours (0700 to 1000 eastern standard time (EST)), suggesting that vertical mixing contributes significantly to the accumulation of ground-level O3 in urban areas in the morning hours.
Synthesis and Characterization of Organo-Soluble, Thermally-Curable, Phenylated Aromatic Polyimides

Phenylated aromatic polyimides have been prepared in two steps by the Diels-Alder polymerization of biscyclopentadienones with dimaleimides followed by dehydrogenation and in one step by the polymerization of phenylated bis(phthalic anhydrides) with diamines. Although the polymers prepared by both routes were soluble in chlorinated-hydrocarbon solvents, the latter afforded considerably higher molecular weight materials. Polyimides obtained in this manner had intrinsic viscosities as high as 4.0 dl/g and glass transition temperatures that ranged from 238 to 466°C. Thermogravimetric analysis thermograms of the polymers in air and nitrogen atmospheres showed no weight loss until near 530°C. Two new ethynyl-substituted diamines, 4(2,4-diaminophenoxy)phenylacetylene (1) and 3,5-diaminodiphenylacetylene (2), have been synthesized and polymerized with a phenylated bis(phthalic anhydride). The polymer prepared with diamine 1 underwent cross-linking at 250°C without the evolution of volatile byproducts, while the polymer prepared with diamine 2 underwent an analogous cure at 350°C. A phenylated bis(phthalic anhydride) has also been copolymerized with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4’-diaminodiphenyl ether to afford soluble copolymers that contain as high as 50 mole % PMDA.
Task-Based JPEG 2000 Image Compression: An Information-Theoretic Approach

Traditional image compression methods primarily focus on maximizing the fidelity of the compressed image using image quality driven distortion metrics, which are ideally suited for human observers but are not necessarily optimal for machine observers, i.e., automated image exploitation algorithms. For machine observers, task-based distortion metrics, such as probability of error, have been shown to be more effective for tasks such as object detection and classification. This motivates an approach to a task-based image compression, within the JPEG 2000 framework, which preserves the information that is most relevant for the given task. Our proposed method produces a JPEG 2000 compliant compressed codestream, which can be decoded by any JPEG 2000 compliant decoder. We demonstrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of our task-based image compression approach on a simple object classification and detection problem and quantify its performance relative to a conventional MSE encoder.
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are life-threatening mucocutaneous diseases where the epidermal barrier is lost and patients experience pain, fluid and electrolyte shifts, and are at high risk for secondary infection, scarring, and long-term morbidity.
Familial and social transmission of suicidal behavior in older adults.

Abstract Background Both biological and social mechanisms have been implicated in the transmission of suicidal behavior in younger and middle-aged adults. Yet, while suicide rates rise with age, it is not clear whether such mechanisms operate in late life. Thus, we looked for evidence of social and familial suicidal transmission in elderly with late- vs. early-onset suicidal behavior by examining exposure to suicidal behavior within biological relatives and broader social networks. Method Participants were 356 adults, aged 50 or older (mean: 67), divided into five groups: early-onset suicide attempters (first lifetime attempt before age 60), late-onset attempters, suicide ideators (without attempt history), depressed non-suicidal controls, and non-psychiatric controls. History of suicidal behavior in one's biological relatives and friends/unrelated kin was assessed via clinical interview, and group differences were examined via generalized linear mixed-effects models. Results There was a main effect of group (χ24 = 18.38, p Limitations Participants’ report of exposure is subject to awareness and recall biases. Conclusion Suicidal clustering in biological relatives and friends/unrelated kin is associated with early-, but not late-onset suicidal behavior in older adults. Suicidal transmission in older adults follows a pattern of familial and social clustering suggestive of social transmission.
Incidence of AL Amyloidosis in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1990 through 2015.

Abstract Objective To determine the incidence of immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL amyloidosis) in a strictly defined geographic area from 1990 through 2015. Patients and Methods We searched a computerized database for the records of all Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents with a diagnosis of AL amyloidosis from January 1, 1990, through December 31, 2015. In addition, records of all residents with a mention of amyloidosis were obtained from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which contains the medical records of Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Group. The diagnosis of AL amyloidosis was determined by mass spectrometry, immunohistochemical analysis, or positive Congo red staining. Results Thirty-five patients were identified as having AL amyloidosis. The median age at diagnosis was 76 years (range, 38-90 years), with men accounting for 54%. The incidence rate of AL amyloidosis from 1990 through 2015 adjusted for age and sex was 1.2 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI, 0.8-1.6 per 100,000 person-years). Rates were similar across the decades 1990-1999, 2000-2009, and 2010-2015 at 1.1, 0.9, and 1.6 per 100,000 person-years, respectively, with no suggestion of an increasing rate during the 26 years. There was a trend toward an increasing incidence over time from 1950 through 2015 in Olmsted County, but it was not significant (P=.15). Applying the rate of 1.2 per 100,000 person-years to the US population of 321 million in 2015, one would expect 3852 new cases of AL amyloidosis in the United States each year. Conclusion The incidence of AL amyloidosis in Olmsted County has not changed significantly in the past 66 years.
A unique case of chronic myeloid leukemia presenting as monocular vision loss with unilateral retinopathy.

Abstract Purpose To report a case of unilateral leukemic retinopathy secondary to chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Observations Patient presented to clinic with a visual acuity (VA) of 20/200 in the right eye (OD) after several months of progressive monocular vision loss and was found to have dense pre-retinal hemorrhage. Patient underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy to clear the preretinal hemorrhage along with a complex macula-off retinal detachment repair to address retinal tear and multilayer retinal hemorrhage. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with CML as she was found to be positive for the fusion protein of break point cluster gene (BCR) with Abelson tyrosine kinase (ABL1), BCR-ABL1, upon systemic work-up. Imatinib therapy resulted in complete hematologic and cytogenetic resolution after one month, however, the patient's vision remained unchanged six months after surgery. Conclusion and importance To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of unilateral leukemic retinopathy secondary to low risk CML, as determined by the Sokal and Hasford prognostic scoring systems. CML should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with progressive monocular vision loss with suspicious multi-layer retinal compromise.
Proximal junctional failure prevention in adult spinal deformity surgery utilizing interlaminar fixation constructs

Proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a common complication following fusion for Adult Spinal Deformity. PJK and proximal junctional failure (PJF) may lead to pain, neurological injury, reoperation, and increased healthcare costs. Efforts to prevent PJK and PJF have aimed to preserve or reconstruct the posterior spinal tension band and/or modifying instrumentation to allow for more gradual transitions in stiffness at the cranial end of long spinal constructs. We describe placement of an interlaminar fixation construct at the upper instrumented vertebra which may decrease PJK/PJF severity, and is placed with little additional operative time and minimal posterior soft tissue trauma.
Mechanical Circulatory Support in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in the United States (from the National Inpatient Sample).

Acute circulatory collapse may rarely occur during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). In such cases, immediate mechanical circulatory support (MCS) as a bridge to remedial interventions may be required. To define the rate of MCS utilization in TAVI patients and identify the predictors of MCS utilization in a cohort of TAVI patients. TAVI patients between January 2012 and September 2015 were identified in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) by using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision. Trend weights were used to generate the national estimates of MCS rate in TAVI. Multivariate regression analysis was done to identify predictors of MCS use. A total 60,985 patients underwent TAVI with 1,695 patients receiving MCS (2.8%) during index hospitalization. The most common type of MCS was intra-aortic balloon pump in 52%, followed by extra corporeal membrane oxygenator in 34%, then percutaneous ventricular assist device in 7.4%. Rate of MCS use declined over the study period from 3% in 2012 (Q1) to 1.8% in 2015 (Q3). The use of MCS during TAVI was associated with 10-fold increase in-hospital mortality (27.1% vs 2.8%, p
Long-term performance of seagrass restoration projects in Florida, USA

Seagrass restoration is a common tool for ecosystem service enhancement and compensatory mitigation for habitat loss. However, little is known about the long-term performance of these projects. We identified seagrass restoration projects by reviewing historic permitting documents, monitoring reports, and studies conducted in Florida, USA, most of which have not been cited previously in peer-reviewed literature. We then revisited 33 seagrass restorations ranging in age from 3 to 32 years to compare seagrass percent cover, species diversity, and community structure in restored and contemporary reference seagrass beds. We found that 88% of restoration projects continued to support seagrass and, overall, restored percent cover values were 37% lower than references. Community composition and seagrass percent cover differed from references in projects categorized as sediment modification and transplant restorations, whereas all vessel damage repair projects achieved reference condition. Seagrass diversity was similar between restored and reference beds, except for sediment modification projects, for which diversity was significantly lower than in reference beds. Results indicate that restored seagrass beds in Florida, once established, often exhibit long-term persistence. Our study highlights the benefit of identifying and surveying historic restorations to address knowledge gaps related to the performance and long-term fate of restored seagrass beds.
The Effect of Acute Alkalosis on Intrahepatic Oxygen Tension as Measured in Bile

An increase in the affinity of red cell hemoglobin for oxygen theoretically causes tissue hypoxia. Such theories have been recently reviewed by Harken (1), and are related to both basic and clinical research (2, 3). In addition, such changes have been related to actual patient care (Bowan and Fleming, 1972).
Mid-air motion planning of robot using heat flow method with state constraints

Abstract We address in this paper the problem of planning motion of free floating robot with state constraints. Due to the conservation of angular and linear momentum during the in-air motion, the problem is two-fold: one needs to design, in addition to the in-air motion, the initial impulse that imparts the robot with the appropriate momentum to perform a desired motion. The existence of state constraints such as joint limit makes the planning problem even more challenging. We propose in this paper a new method to address this problem. The method is a homotopy method which deforms an arbitrary path connecting the desired initial and final states to a feasible trajectory between these states, that is a trajectory that meets the system’s dynamics and constraints. From this trajectory, the method extracts both the controls and initial momentum needed to perform the motion. The deformation of path is leaded by geometric heat flow which is defined by a Riemannian metric that encodes the system dynamics and state constraints. We illustrate the method by designing somersault motions for a diver robot.
High-power GHz linewidth diode lasers and their applications

This chapter will discuss the development and applications of semiconductor laser systems with output reaching several hundred watts and with spectral widths of the emission down to 10 GHz.
Incidence of pedicle ossification in osseous free flap reconstruction in the head and neck.

Abstract Background There are several reports of ossification occurring along the pedicle of fibular free flaps in head and neck microvascular reconstruction, but the incidence of pedicle ossification of other osseous flaps in head and neck surgery has never been investigated. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted for all patients undergoing free flap reconstruction in the head and neck between 2005 and 2016. Patients were included if they had reconstruction with an osseous free flap and if they had computed tomography (CT) scans at least 1 month post-operatively. Available CT images were reviewed for each patient. Results Three-hundred thirty four osteocutaneous free flaps were performed. The average age was 64 years (range 8–89). There was slight male predominance with 63.5% of the cohort being male (n = 212). One hundred fifty-five patients had fibular flaps (45%), 108 had radial forearm flaps (34%) and 71 had scapular flaps (21%). One hundred fibulas had available imaging, 73 forearms had available imaging, and 44 scapulas had imaging post-operatively. Of the images reviewed, pedicle ossification was identified in 21 fibular flaps (21%). None of the radial forearm or scapular flaps developed pedicle ossification. Discussion Pedicle ossification is relatively common in osteocutaneous free flap reconstruction and is uniquely associated with fibular. The presence of pedicle ossification is benign and does not compromise the flap, though it can create concern in cancer surveillance as the lesion is often identified as a new neck mass. As such, head and neck surgeons should be aware of this relatively frequent finding.
Electronic Health Record Use among Ophthalmology Residents while on Call.

Background As electronic health record (EHR) use becomes more widespread, detailed records of how users interact with the EHR, known as EHR audit logs, are being used to characterize the clinical workflows of physicians including residents. After-hours EHR use is of particular interest given its known association with physician burnout. Several studies have analyzed EHR audit logs for residents in other fields, such as internal medicine, but none thus far in ophthalmology. Here, we focused specifically on EHR use during on-call shifts outside of normal clinic hours. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed raw EHR audit log data from on-call shifts for 12 ophthalmology residents at a single institution over the course of a calendar year. Data were analyzed to characterize total time spent using the EHR, clinical volume, diagnoses of patients seen on call, and EHR tasks. Results Across all call shifts, the median and interquartile range (IQR) of the time spent logged into the EHR per shift were 88 and 131 minutes, respectively. The median (IQR) unique patient charts accessed per shift was 7 (9) patients. When standardized to per-hour measures, weekday evening shifts were the busiest call shifts with regard to both EHR use time and clinical volume. Total EHR use time and clinical volume were greatest in the summer months (July to September). Chart review comprised a majority (63.4%) of ophthalmology residents' on-call EHR activities. Conclusion In summary, EHR audit logs demonstrate substantial call burden for ophthalmology residents outside of regular clinic hours. These data and future studies can be used to further characterize the clinical exposure and call burden of ophthalmology residents and could potentially have broader implications in the fields of physician burnout and education policy.
Network Testing Using a Novel Framework for Traffic Modeling and Generation

Network traffic modeling plays an important role in the generation of realistic network traffic in test environments. Especially in cases where researchers carry out experiments with real production-like traffic, as seen in specific home, enterprise, campus, LAN, or WAN networks. We present our ongoing work on a new framework that enables the methodical creation of application-agnostic traffic models from given network traces of a known network topology. The framework then uses these models to generate realistic traffic on a given network topology. We share a preliminary evaluation of the framework based on repeatable experiments where we model a typical web application traffic and then regenerate the traffic based on the model in a test network on our VTS (Virtual Topology Services) testbed.
Impact of 2 Versus 1 Colostrum Meals on Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity, Pre-Weaning Morbidity and Mortality, and Performance of Dairy Calves in a Large Dairy Herd

Failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) due to inadequate ingestion of colostral immunoglobulins by calves is associated with increased mortality and morbidity risks. Feeding calves a sufficient amount of quality-tested colostrum within the first hours of life is essential for successfully transferring passive immunity. Many farms have implemented a second meal of colostrum to maximize the opportunities for passive immunity transfer. However, excellent passive immunity can be achieved with a single feeding of sufficient quality-tested colostrum. Moreover, there is currently no evidence demonstrating the impact of a second colostrum feeding within 24 h of life in calves receiving adequate volumes of quality-tested colostrum in an initial feeding. Hence, the objective of this retrospective cohort study was to compare the risks of FPTI, pre-weaning morbidity and mortality, and growth and performance between dairy calves that received one or two feedings of colostrum. For this, the health and production records of a large dairy herd were analyzed. At this farm, newborn calves receive 3 L of quality-tested colostrum soon after birth, followed by another 2 L 5-6 h later. However, at times of shortages of colostrum, calves only receive the initial 3 L meal. The records of 2064 male and 2272 female calves were analyzed, where 4156 and 180 calves received 2 and 1 colostrum meals, respectively. Data from both sexes were included in the analysis of the risks of FTPI, morbidity, and mortality; however, only data from heifer calves were utilized for growth and performance analysis. Survival analysis, and logistic and linear regression models were used to investigate the impact of receiving two feedings of colostrum on calf FTPI status, morbidity, mortality, reproductive indices, pre-weaning average daily gain (ADG), and first lactation 305-d Mature Equivalent milk production (305ME). Calves that received two feedings of colostrum had lower odds of FTPI, a lower probability of being treated for respiratory disease, diarrhea, or any disease, and a greater pre-weaning ADG. However, there was no association between the number of colostrum feedings and pre-weaning mortality, and the probabilities of first insemination and first calving, although heifers receiving two colostrum feedings tended to receive fewer inseminations and to have a greater first lactation 305ME. Collectively, our results suggest that feeding calves a second feeding of colostrum 5-6 h after the initial feeding soon after birth could be an effective strategy to decrease FTPI and morbidity and optimize ADG in dairy calves pre-weaning.
Claim verification under positive unlabeled learning

We extend evidence-aware claim verification to the context of positive-unlabeled (PU) learning. Existing works assume the truth and the falsity of the claims are known for training and form the task as a supervised learning problem. However, this assumption underestimates the difficulty of collecting false claims; we argue that claim verification is more challenging in the absence of negative labels. We consider a more practical setting, where only a comparatively small number of true claims are labeled and more claims remain unlabeled. Thus, we formulate the claim verification task as a PU learning problem. We decouple learning representation of claim-evidence pair from PU learning and adopt a pre-trained universal language model to encode claim-evidence pairs. We further propose to use the generative adversarial network (GAN) to capture the latent alignment between encoded claim-evidence pair and the truthfulness. We leverage the verification as part of the GAN by extending previous GAN based PU learning. We show that the proposed model achieves the best performance with a small amount of labeled data and is robust to the truthfulness prior estimation. We conduct a thorough analysis of the model selection. The proposed approach performs the best under two practical scenarios: (i) the unlabeled data is more than the labeled data; (ii) and the unlabeled positive data is more than the unlabeled negative data.
Feasibility of a randomized hypertension screening initiative in the perioperative setting.

Objectives This study sought to assess feasibility of a randomized trial of blood pressure intervention (home blood pressure monitoring vs. counseling) in the preoperative clinic and the baseline rates of primary care follow-up after such interventions. Methods A prospective randomized feasibility study was performed at Yale New Haven Hospital Preadmission Testing Clinic. A sample of 100 adults, with elevated blood pressure, were recruited during their preadmission visit, and randomized 1:1 to receive brief BP counseling and an educational brochure versus additionally receiving a home BP monitor (HBPM) with a mailed report of their home readings. At 60-day post-surgery telephone follow-up, investigators asked whether participants had primary-care follow-up; had new/adjusted hypertension treatment; and felt satisfied with the study. Results There were 51 patients in the counseling group and 49 in the HBPM group. Of 46 patients in the HBPM group who returned their monitors, 36 (78%) were hypertensive at home. At 60 days post-surgery, 31 (61%) patients in the counseling group and 30 (61%) in the HBPM group were reached by telephone with the remaining followed by EHR. Thirty-six (71%) patients in the counseling group and 36 (73%) in the HBPM group had seen their primary care provider. Seventeen of 36 (47%) in the counseling group and 18 of 31 (58%) in the HBPM group received new or adjusted hypertension medications. Sixty-one participants answered questions regarding their satisfaction with the study with 52 (85%) reporting that they felt moderately to very satisfied. Conclusions This feasibility study suggests that interventional blood pressure trials in the preoperative clinic are feasible, but telephone follow-up leads to significant gaps in outcome ascertainment. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03634813 . Registered 16 of August 2018.
Porosity assessment of granular mixtures intended for concrete using the fractal model of particle-size distribution

Abstract Selecting an optimal granular mixture has always been a major concern for engineers and researchers in the field of building constructions and public works. Reducing the porosity of dry and/or wet granular mixtures remains a key factor in the field of concrete formulation. Worth noting is to improve durability while controlling the influence of porosity on the workability of wet granular mixtures. The present work aims primarily at estimating the porosity of dry granular mixtures and determining the optimal value of the fractal dimension (DF) for which the porosity is minimal. Granular mixtures, whose grains distribution was perfectly fractal, were developed for two different forms of grains aggregates, i.e. one range for a single rolled granular grain and six ranges for crushed granular grains. The porosity of the granular mixtures was determined using two setting (vibrated and/or non-vibrated) conditions and different vibration durations. The laboratory results enabled to develop an equation for the determination of the dry granular mixtures porosity of the crushed aggregates (CA) and rolled aggregates (RA), under the two above setting conditions. Minimum porosity of the dry granular mixtures was achieved for an optimal fractal dimension (DF) and an optimal vibration duration, respectively, close to 2.8 and 10 s.
Data-Driven Optimization of Mixed-integer Bi-level Multi-follower Integrated Planning and Scheduling Problems Under Demand Uncertainty.

Abstract The coordination of interconnected elements across the different layers of the supply chain is essential for all industrial processes and the key to optimal decision-making. Yet, the modeling and optimization of such interdependent systems are still burdensome. In this paper, we address the simultaneous modeling and optimization of medium-term planning and short-term scheduling problems under demand uncertainty using mixed-integer bi-level multi-follower programming and data-driven optimization. Bi-level multi-follower programs model the natural hierarchy between different layers of supply chain management holistically, while scenario analysis and data-driven optimization allow us to retrieve the guaranteed feasible solutions of the integrated formulation under various demand considerations. We address the data-driven optimization of this challenging class of problems using the DOMINO framework, which was initially developed to solve single-leader single-follower bi-level optimization problems to guaranteed feasibility. This framework is extended to solve single-leader multi-follower stochastic formulations and its performance is characterized by well-known single and multi-product process scheduling case studies. Through our data-driven algorithmic approach, we present guaranteed feasible solutions to linear and nonlinear mixed-integer bi-level formulations of simultaneous planning and scheduling problems and further characterize the effects of the scheduling level complexity on the solution performance, which spans over several hundred continuous and binary variables, and thousands of constraints.
Chemoprevention of DMBA-Induced Mammary Carcinoma by Inositol Compounds

Inositol (Ins) and inositol hexaphosphate (InsP6 or phytic acid), are components of cereals. InsP6 is particularly abundant in rice, and wheat bran. Both InsP6 and Ins have been shown to inhibit experimentally induced colon cancers, in both rats and mice; Ins potentiating the action of InsP6. The effect of InsP6 and Ins on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary carcinoma has been examined in female Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were started on a treatment regimen of either Na-InsP6, Ins or Na-InSP66+Ins (15 mM each) in drinking water one week prior to intragastric administration of a single dose of 20 mg DMBA. After 17 weeks of treatment our results were as follows
Parallel estimation and control architectures for deep-space formation flying spacecraft

The formation flying of precisely controlled spacecraft in deep space can be used to implement optical instruments capable of imaging planets in other solar systems. The distance of the formation from Earth necessitates a significant level of autonomy and each spacecraft must base its actions on its estimates of the location and velocity of the other spacecraft. Precise coordination and control is the key requirement in such missions and the flow of information between spacecraft must be carefully designed. Doing this in an efficient and optimal manner requires novel techniques for the design of the on-board estimators. The use of standard Kalman filter-based designs can lead to unanticipated dynamics - which we refer to as disagreement dynamics - in the estimators' errors. We show how communication amongst the spacecraft can be designed in order to control all of the dynamics within the formation. We present several results relating the topology of the communication network to the resulting closed-loop control dynamics of the formation. The consequences for the design of the control, communication and coordination are discussed.
On Smooth Bicubic Surfaces from Quad Meshes

Determining the least m such that one m ×m bi-cubic macro-patch per quadrilateral offers enough degrees of freedom to construct a smooth surface by local operations regardless of the vertex valences is of fundamental interest; and it is of interest for computer graphics due to the impending ability of GPUs to adaptively evaluate polynomial patches at animation speeds. We constructively show that m = 3 suffices, show that m = 2 is unlikely to always allow for a localized construction if each macro-patch is internally parametrically C 1 and that a single patch per quad is incompatible with a localized construction. We do not specify the GPU implementation.