cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control Capacity and A Random Sampling Method in Exploring Controllability of Complex Networks

Controlling complex systems is a fundamental challenge of network science. Recent advances indicate that control over the system can be achieved through a minimum driver node set (MDS). The existence of multiple MDS's suggests that nodes do not participate in control equally, prompting us to quantify their participations. Here we introduce control capacity quantifying the likelihood that a node is a driver node. To efficiently measure this quantity, we develop a random sampling algorithm. This algorithm not only provides a statistical estimate of the control capacity, but also bridges the gap between multiple microscopic control configurations and macroscopic properties of the network under control. We demonstrate that the possibility of being a driver node decreases with a node's in-degree and is independent of its out-degree. Given the inherent multiplicity of MDS's, our findings offer tools to explore control in various complex systems.
Solving the dilemma of transforming landslide hazard maps into effective policy and regulations

Abstract. As geoscientists, we often perceive the production of a map or model to adequately define landslide hazard for an area as the answer or end point for reducing risk to people and property. In reality, the risk to people and property remains pretty much the same as it did before the map existed. Real landslide risk reduction takes place when the activities and populations at risk are changed so the consequences of a landslide event results in lower losses. Commonly, this takes place by translating the information embodied in the landslide hazard map into some change in policy and regulation applying to the affected area. This is where the dilemma arises. Scientific information generally has qualifications, gradations, and conditions associated with it. Regulations are necessarily written in language that tries to avoid any need for interpretation. Effectively incorporating geologic information into regulations and ordinances requires continued involvement with their development and implementation. Unless geoscientists are willing to participate in that process, sustainable risk reduction is unlikely to occur.
Distributed optimistic concurrency control for high performance transaction processing

A novel optimistic concurrency control (OCC) protocol for distributed high-performance transaction systems is presented. Unlike other proposals for OCC in distributed systems, this scheme limits the number of restarts by acquiring locks to guarantee a failed transaction a successful second execution. Lock acquisition and validation are imbedded in the commit protocol in order to avoid any extra messages. Deadlocks are avoided by requesting all locks at once before performing validation. The protocol is fully distributed and employs parallel validation and lock acquisition. A main advantage compared with distributed locking schemes is that locks are held only during commit processing in general, thus considerably reducing the degree of lock contention. As first simulation results have confirmed, this is of particular benefit for high-performance transaction-processing complexes with fast processors. >
Elongation of Fatty Acids in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Cell-free extracts of the H37Ra strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis contain a soluble enzyme system which catalyzes an elongation reaction of long-chain fatty acids. The predominant reaction involves the addition of a single C2 unit to the acceptor fatty acid; the elongation takes place exclusively at the carboxyl end of the acceptor molecule. The endogenous acceptor lipid can be removed by solvent extraction of the enzyme system. The lipid-depleted enzyme can be fully reactivated with external acyl coenzyme A, after which elongation with acetyl coenzyme A takes place. The elongation reaction is avidin-insensitive and does not require adenosine triphosphate. Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is the source of reducing equivalent, whereas reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate is without effect.
Large-Scale Nanorods Nanomanufacturing by Electric-Field-Directed Assembly for Nanoscale Device Applications

A fast and highly scalable room-temperature nanomanufacturing process for fabricating metallic nanorods from nanoparticles for applications such as interconnects and sensors is presented. Metallic nanoparticles are precisely assembled into prefabricated vias by applying a controlled dynamic electric field between the electrodes at the bottom of the vias and a counter electrode placed far away from the vias. The nanoscale vias are fabricated employing conventional electron-beam nanolithography. The dimension of the fabricated nanorods is controlled by the size of the vias and assembly parameters such as the amplitude and frequency of the applied electric field. The mechanism of the assembly process is discussed by examining the effect of the applied voltages on the assembly process to provide a fundamental understanding for scaling down to nanoscale dimensions. This room-temperature aqueous fabrication process is environmentally friendly and can be used to make nanorods using different types of metallic particles.
Mucus Penetrating Nanoparticles: Biophysical Tool and Method of Drug and Gene Delivery

A method that could provide more uniform and longer-lasting drug and gene delivery to mucosal surfaces holds the potential to greatly improve the effectiveness of prophylactic and therapeutic approaches for numerous diseases and conditions, including sexually transmitted infections, cystic fibrosis, chronic rhinosinusitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and glaucoma to name a few. However, the body's natural defenses, including adhesive, rapidly cleared mucus linings coating nearly all entry points to the body not covered by skin, has limited the effectiveness of drug and gene delivery by nanoscale delivery systems. This article discusses the recent development of the “mucuspenetrating particle” or “MPP” nanotechnology, and how it has been used to both enhance understanding of the nanoscale barrier properties of human mucus secretions, and to achieve more uniform and longer-lasting drug delivery to mucosal tissues following topical administration. Drug loaded MPPs possess non-adhesive coatings that allow them to rapidly penetrate mucus layers through openings in the mucus mesh at rates nearly as fast as they would penetrate pure water. Critically, MPPs allow enhanced drug and gene delivery to mucosal tissues without diminishing the protective function of mucus. Recent progress in the development of MPPs as a biophysical tool to probe the length-scale dependent rheological properties of mucosal secretions and as a method for drug and gene delivery is highlighted.
Should creatine kinase-MB index be eliminated in patients with indeterminate troponins in the ED?

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study is to determine whether creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) index (CK-MBi) is useful in the evaluation of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with indeterminate troponin (Tn) in the emergency department (ED). Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patients at an urban academic ED with over 55 000 annual visits who underwent Tn T (Roche, Indianapolis, IN) and CK-MB testing. One year of ED patients who had Tn testing were identified, and their corresponding CK-MBi was examined to find patients with indeterminate Tn (0.01-0.09) and positive CK-MBi (>6.0). Subsequent cardiac enzymes and hospital course were reviewed to identify patients diagnosed with AMI. A 95% confidence interval around point estimates were used in data analysis. Results Over 1 year, 11 718 initial Tn were identified. Indeterminate Tn was seen in 2512 cases. Of these, 28 had positive CK-MBi. Of the 28, 5 were judged by treating physicians to be having AMI and underwent cardiac catheterization. Of the 5 patients, 4 had subsequent positive Tns on serial enzyme testing. One of the patients thought to be having AMI had no coronary artery disease on catheterization. The rate of true positive CK-MBi with indeterminate Tn was 0.16% (95% confidence interval, 0.04%-0.41%). Conclusion Initial results identify rare cases of AMI where CK-MBi is positive in the setting of indeterminate Tn. However, most patients with indeterminate Tn and positive CK-MBi were not judged to be having AMI. In most cases, CK-MBi is not positive with indeterminate Tn and when positive more commonly confuses the picture. This suggests CK-MBi could be eliminated in patients with indeterminate Tns.
Anomalous Window Discovery for Linear Intersecting Paths

The focus of this paper is to discover anomalous windows in linear intersecting paths. Anomalous windows are the contiguous groupings of data points. A linear path refers to a path represented by a line with a single dimensional spatial coordinate marking an observation point. In this paper, we propose an approach for discovering anomalous windows using a class of algorithms based on scan statistics, specifically 1) an Order invariant algorithm using Scan Statistics for Linear Intersecting Paths (SSLIP), 2) Brute force-SSLIP (BF-SSLIP), and 3) Central Brute Force-SSLIP (CBF-SSLIP). We further present two efficient variants of SSLIP: SSLIP* which employs a upper bound on the scan window size, and SSLIP-Acc, which adopts an accelerator function to speed up the scan process. The proposed approach for discovering anomalous windows along linear paths comprises the following distinct steps: 1) Cross Path Discovery: where we identify a subset of intersecting paths to be considered, 2) Anomalous Window Discovery: where we outline the various algorithms for the traversal of the cross paths to identify varying size directional windows along the paths. For identifying an anomalous window, an unusualness metric is computed, in the form of a likelihood ratio to indicate the degree of unusualness of this window with respect to the rest of the data. We identify the window with the highest likelihood ratio as our anomalous window, and 3) Monte Carlo Simulations: to ascertain whether this window is truly anomalous and not merely random occurrence, we perform hypothesis testing by computing a p-value using Monte Carlo Simulations. We present extensive experimental results in real world accident data sets for various highways with known issues (code and data available from [32], [27]). Additionally, we also perform comparisons with current approaches [18], [34] to show the efficacy of our approach. Our results show that our approach indeed is effective in identifying anomalous traffic accident windows along multiple intersecting highways.
Exploiting OFDM systems for covert communication

Both Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX (802.16) 4th generation wireless systems (4G) utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the down-link. The advantages of OFDM over other wireless communication techniques are well known. These technologies will become more ubiquitous as time goes on. Here a study is presented of the potential for covert communication within an OFDM waveform. Most OFDM standards call for unused sub-channels for channel spacing, synchronization of transmitter and receiver and to mitigate poor channel response. Here we study the effects of inserting a narrow band signal that will be used for covert communication in one of the unused sub-carrier locations of the OFDM signal and analyze its influence on the target OFDM signal as well as determining the communications capabilities of the covert link. The covert signal inserted in an unused subcarrier locations or frequency "slot", is no longer orthogonal to the target OFDM waveform. Thus, there is potential for the covert signal to impact the target link. Here we examine the effect of the covert signal on the target OFDM system as a function of the location of the covert signal, its power, and bit rate. The communications capability of the covert link is also studied. The amount of information that can be transmitted covertly with minimal impact on the target OFDM user (i.e., relatively low probability of detection) is also presented.
By Any Means Possible: How Intelligence Agencies Have Gotten Their Data

Amid the many public discussions springing from the Edward Snowden documents, one has been about the perceived change in the NSA's practices: it's now hacking computers instead of tapping wires and listening to radio signals. Looked at narrowly--that is, in terms of only the NSA's mission--that may be true. Looked at more broadly, in terms of how intelligence agencies have always behaved, this is no surprise at all. They've long used only two criteria when evaluating a proposed tactic: Does it work, and at what cost?
The influence of spectral bandpass on accuracy of tristimulus data

When calculating tristimulus values from spectral radiance factors which were measured with a spectral bandpass of 10 nm, using data from the same specimen measured with a spectral bandpass of 1 nm and calculated with a 1-nm interval as standard, and evaluating the significance of the difference in tristimulus values with the CIELAB color difference formula, it is highly probable that a 1-nm calculation interval will give no greater accuracy than a 10-nm calculation interval. For this reason it is recommended that the CIE reconsider their approval of the deletion of the 10-nm calculation interval from the new edition of Publication CIE 15.
A palette of fine-scale eddy viscosity and residual-based models for variational multiscale formulations of turbulence

We explore a general family of eddy viscosity models for the large-eddy simulation of turbulence within the framework of the Variational Multiscale Method. Our investigation encompasses various fine-scale eddy viscosities and coarse-scale residual-based constructs. We delineate the domain of parameter space in which physically and mathematically suitable models exist, and identify several sub-families of potentially useful models that are either entirely new or extend previously proposed ones. We also combine classical modeling ideas, that lead to turbulent kinetic energy evolution equations, with the residual-based approach to derive a new residual-driven, one-equation dynamic model.
Some Effects Produced by Three Sets of EEG Controls: Amplification, Low Frequency Filters, and High Frequency Filters

(1962). Some Effects Produced by Three Sets of EEG Controls: Amplification, Low Frequency Filters, and High Frequency Filters. American Journal of EEG Technology: Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 65-81.
Detecting dynamic load altering attacks: A data-driven time-frequency analysis

In this paper, we focus on the problem of detecting Dynamic Load Altering Attacks (D-LAAs) in power systems from raw data of smart meters and without knowledge of the power system dynamics. The detection of D-LAA solely based on the smart meter readings is addressed in the frequency domain. We show that a D-LAA is detectable through a frequency domain analysis, and that the attack signature corresponds to the system poles that are relocated by the D-LAA feedback. We provide conditions on the time resolution of the smart meters to ensure attack detection, and we highlight the potential for interference from instrumentation and communication devices. For the case when smart meter readings and frequency measurements are both available, we show that a cross-correlation analysis allows to detect D-LAA, and to distinguish between D-LAAs and the effect of benign frequency responsive loads. We conclude that depending on the attack implementation and the type of data available, both time-domain and frequency-domain detection analysis may be needed to ensure accurate attack detection.
Hybrid two-level large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow in a channel, past a bump and around an inclined prolate spheroid

The hybrid two-level large-eddy simulation method, a multi-scale formulation for simulation of turbulent flows, is used in this study to investigate flows at practically relevant Reynolds number. We simulate three flow configurations, ranging from canonical to complex geometries. These cases include, fully developed turbulent flow in a periodic channel, weakly separating/reattaching flow past a bump placed on the lower surface of a channel and flow around an inclined prolate spheroid. The chosen flow geometries are representative examples of flow observed in practical applications, where features such as near-wall turbulence dynamics, separation/reattachment, presence of non-equilibrium turbulence, skewed boundary layers etc., pose a challenging task to conventional numerical methods to accurately and consistently capture them. The hybrid two-level large-eddy simulation method blends the two-level simulation model with a conventional large-eddy simulation approach and is designed to alleviate some of the limitations associated with the conventional large-eddy simulation approach. The method has been validated in the past by simulating low to moderately high Reynolds number turbulent flows under wide variety of conditions. Here, we demonstrate the predictive ability of the method by simulating three different flows with varying level of complexity at practically relevant Reynolds number and comparing the results with the available data. In particular, we analyze the instantaneous flow features, smalland large-scale characteristics and the turbulence statistics.
RubisCO of a nucleoside pathway known from Archaea is found in diverse uncultivated phyla in bacteria

Metagenomic studies recently uncovered form II/III RubisCO genes, originally thought to only occur in archaea, from uncultivated bacteria of the candidate phyla radiation (CPR). There are no isolated CPR bacteria and these organisms are predicted to have limited metabolic capacities. Here we expand the known diversity of RubisCO from CPR lineages. We report a form of RubisCO, distantly similar to the archaeal form III RubisCO, in some CPR bacteria from the Parcubacteria (OD1), WS6 and Microgenomates (OP11) phyla. In addition, we significantly expand the Peregrinibacteria (PER) II/III RubisCO diversity and report the first II/III RubisCO sequences from the Microgenomates and WS6 phyla. To provide a metabolic context for these RubisCOs, we reconstructed near-complete (>93%) PER genomes and the first closed genome for a WS6 bacterium, for which we propose the phylum name Dojkabacteria. Genomic and bioinformatic analyses suggest that the CPR RubisCOs function in a nucleoside pathway similar to that proposed in Archaea. Detection of form II/III RubisCO and nucleoside metabolism gene transcripts from a PER supports the operation of this pathway in situ. We demonstrate that the PER form II/III RubisCO is catalytically active, fixing CO2 to physiologically complement phototrophic growth in a bacterial photoautotrophic RubisCO deletion strain. We propose that the identification of these RubisCOs across a radiation of obligately fermentative, small-celled organisms hints at a widespread, simple metabolic platform in which ribose may be a prominent currency.
Electromagnetic interference among cables and antennas on military ground vehicles

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) affecting radios on military vehicles can arrive via unwanted coupling among multiple antennas and cables on the platform. Using commercial electromagnetic simulation software and an S-parameter model addressing multiple interferers originating at various locations on the platform, we show that resonances of the vehicle body are a critical factor to consider for accurate EMI prediction and implementation of mitigating design measures.
High incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer: similarity for 60% of mitochondrial DNA signatures between the Bidayuhs of Borneo and the Bai-yue of Southern China

Populations in Southern China (Bai-yue) and Borneo (Bidayuh) with high incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) share similar mitochondrial DNA signatures, supporting the hypothesis that these two populations may share the same genetic predisposition for NPC, which may have first appeared in a common ancestral reference population before the sea levels rose after the last ice age.
Analysis of pulmonary vascular interdependence in excised dog lobes.

The pressure-volume behavior of intraparenchymal extra-alveolar arteries and veins was measured at various lung inflation states by inflating and deflating the vasculatures with air. The vascular v...
Soluble polycations and cationic amphiphiles inhibit volume-sensitive K-Cl cotransport in human red cell ghosts

We have measured the effect of soluble polycations (spermine and methylglyoxal) and cationic amphiphiles (sphingosine and tetracaine) on K-Cl cotransport in shrunken and swollen red cell ghosts. All substances inhibited cotransport, and for each agent, the concentration at which inhibition was half-maximal was about the same for swollen and shrunken ghosts. Acetylspermine was a much less effective inhibitor than spermine, which demonstrates that inhibition depends on the cationic groups of spermine. Spermine was a more effective inhibitor in ATP-free ghosts than in ghosts containing ATP, which eliminates the possibility that inhibition of cotransport activity results from inhibition of protein kinase activity. Inhibition by spermine is as effective in K-free ghosts as in high-K ghosts; spermine does not inhibit cotransport by reducing the effective K concentration at the inner membrane surface. We conclude that regulation of K-Cl cotransport involves negative charges (phosphatidylserine or phosphatidylinositides) at the inner membrane surface and suggest a model that accounts for our findings.
Clinical spectrum of iron overload, novel uses of iron chelators, and potential treatment of pediatric anemias with erythropoietin. Introduction.

The prophylactic use of regular red blood cell transfusions in such disorders as thalassemia and sickle cell anemia have eliminated the debilitating consequences of compensatory bone marrow expansion in thalassemia, and have reduced the incidence of recurrent strokes in sickle cell anemia. However, with the reduction in these types of morbidity, this new method of prophylactic therapy has been associated with the emerging clinical problem of transfusional iron overload
Radon as a Tracer for Earthquake Studies

Radon is one of the most widely used tracers as a precursor for earthquake prediction studies due to its unique chemical properties (no adsorption, dissolution or precipitation). Its transport in subsurface environment is primarily controlled by radioactive decay, diffusion and advection. Seismic or volcanic activity in the subsurface environment results in the changes of stress-strain relationships of the subsurface material affecting the precursor signal. In this chapter, based on a large number of data reported in published literature, a summary of the mechanism of vertical transport of radon and the measured variations of radon concentration in soil-gas and groundwater in seismically-active regions (both earthquakes and volcanic eruption) is presented. A number of case studies linking 222Rn concentrations in soil-air and groundwater with earthquake activity, from major global earthquake regions, including Kobe Japan, North America (Southern California, Alaska and Hawaii), North-Western Himalaya, and Turkey are presented. Potential application of He/222Rn ratio as a precursor for predicting earthquakes is also presented. A summary of our current understanding on how effective the soil-air and groundwater radon concentrations are in predicting earthquakes and volcanic eruption is given and the potential future areas of research are highlighted.
Implementation of precise bed motion control and super-sampling acquisition for LaPET scanner

A typical whole-body PET scanner performs data acquisition of a patient from multiple bed positions with overlap between adjacent bed positions. An alternative acquisition mode, continuous or near-continuous bed motion acquisition, has a number of advantages over the traditional step-and-shoot mode, including uniform axial sensitivity and elimination of axial resolution artifacts. To support the super-sampling acquisition, a smart patient bed allowing accurate translations in three perpendicular axes and a synchronization mechanism between data acquisition and bed motion are required. In this study, we investigate the incorporation of super-sampling techniques (in both axial and transverse directions) in the continuous bed motion acquisition to further take advantage of the acquisition mode. To implement the super-sampling data acquisition, precise motion control and synchronized data acquisition are crucial. We develop a real-time precise bed motion control based on the NI SoftMotion architecture to upgrade the manual control, and we generate digital pulses and recorded them as control-events in list-mode data for motion synchronization. A Lab VIEW graphical user interface is developed to coordinate the super-sampling acquisitions with the synchronized bed motion. We adapt our blob-based list-mode reconstruction package for super-sampling reconstructions by incorporating different offsets for different data sets in the forward- and backward-projection at each iteration or sub-iteration.
The Effect of Shape Variation in Microlamination on the Performance of High-Aspect-Ratio, Metal Microchannel Arrays

One means of enhancing heat and mass transfer rates is by pumping fluids through high-aspect-ratio microchannel (HARM) arrays. HARM arrays provide a high surface-area-to- volume ratio for both heat transfer and chemical reactions with minimal pressure drop. Past efforts to fabricate HARM arrays have included microlamination methods. Microlamination methods involve the forming, alignment, and bonding of thin laminates to produce composite microdevices. Past observations have been made of dimensional variation within microlaminated devices. It is well known that under certain fluidic conditions, the shape of a fluid conduit directly influences the heat and mass transfer rates within the conduit. Therefore, the emphasis of this paper is to investigate the effect of shape variation in microlamination on the performance of HARM arrays. Several metal HARM arrays are fabricated using a microlamination procedure. Prior microlamination methods have emphasized the use of diffusion bonding, soldering, or brazing techniques. This paper introduces an adhesive bonding technique for fabricating metal microchannel arrays. The performance of the microchannel arrays is evaluated by measuring the pressure drop across the array as a function of flow rate and comparing it with a theoretical model. Statistical results are analyzed to determine the effect on performance as well as the estimated dimensional variation within the arrays.
Robust Subspace Learning

Subspace learning is widely used in extracting discriminative features for classification. However, when data are contaminated with severe noise, the performance of most existing subspace learning methods would be limited. Recent advances in low-rank modeling provide effective solutions for removing noise or outliers contained in sample sets, which motivates us to take advantages of low-rank constraints in order to exploit robust and discriminative subspace for classification. In this chapter, we introduce a discriminative subspace learning method named Supervised Regularization based Robust Subspace (SRRS) approach, by incorporating the low-rank constraint. SRRS seeks low-rank representations from the noisy data, and learns a discriminative subspace from the recovered clean data jointly. A supervised regularization function is designed to make use of the class label information and therefore to enhance the discriminability of subspace. Our approach is formulated as a constrained rank minimization problem. We design an inexact augmented Lagrange multiplier (ALM) optimization algorithm to solve it. Unlike the existing sparse representation and low-rank learning methods, our approach learns a low-dimensional subspace from recovered data, and explicitly incorporates the supervised information. Our approach and some baselines are evaluated on the COIL-100, ALOI, Extended YaleB, FERET, AR, and KinFace databases. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, especially when the data contain considerable noise or variations.
Comparison of the Crystallization Behavior of Ziegler-Natta and Metallocene Catalyzed Isotactic Polypropylene

The crystallization behavior of three metallocene catalyzed isotactic polypropylenes were compared to that of a Ziegler-Natta catalyzed resin. The differences in behavior between the two type of resins are suggested to be a result of the differences in molecular microstructures of the resins. Characterization of the molecular microstructures suggest that the miPP resins have a more uniform defect distribution from chain to chain, compared to the zniPP resin.
Staff Reduction and the Bottom Line: Less Is Not Always More

Theory and practice sometimes diverge. The approaches businesses use to improve profitability in increasingly competitive markets are a case in point. Managers’ actions seem to take place in a world separated from management theory and research. Under such circumstances the effectiveness of the approaches used are rarely assessed, taking their support from anecdotal evidence—evidence often provided by people with an interest in justifying their own past decisions.
Recent developments in stability and error analysis of numerical methods for ordinary differential equations

We survey recent theoretical work on four types of integration methods for ordinary differential equations: multistep-, one-leg-, Runge-Kutta-, and extrapolation methods. Rigorous stability results and error bounds were obtained for such methods as applied to the linear test equation with constant or variable coefficient and/or certain classes of nonlinear systems, notably dissipative (monotone negative) ones. Investigations were carried out both for constant and variable steps.
Use of an Interdisciplinary Student Medical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program to Create Affordable Global Health Care Solutions.

Background. Bench to Bedside is a 7-month-long medical innovation and entrepreneurship program at the University of Utah in which teams comprising students from various disciplines work together to...
Dynamic Inference

We consider a model for dynamic uncertain processes that affords considerably more generality of formulation than do Markovian models or their derivatives. The underlying statistical parameters of a stochastic process that produces observable outputs are themselves allowed to change at times generated by another stochastic process. We would like to make probability assignments to future outputs of the process, given only the past outputs. We develop the inferential relations for the case where the changes of parameters are governed by a renewal process, and where the process that generates observables depends only on its present parameters. We illustrate these results using an example with a Bernoulli observable distribution, a beta parameter distribution, and a geometric distribution for for the time between parameter changes. The numerical results indicate a complexity of behavior that challenges intuition. Possible applications of the general class of dynamic inference models range from marketing to anti-submarine warfare.
Intra-arterial administration of TNF-α followed by arterial ablation is an effective therapy for a regionally confined TNF-resistant rat mammary adenocarcinoma

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is an immunomodulatory cytokine that has exhibited anti-tumor activity in a variety of experimental systems. However, the toxicities associated with systemic administration of TNF-α have limited its clinical utility and have led to the investigation of targeted delivery techniques with the ability to present the TNF-α dose directly to the vascular bed of the tumor. The intra-arterial (IA) administration of TNF-α to patients with liver metastases represents one such approach, and recent work suggests that subsequent ablation of the tumor's arterial supply via embolization may enhance the efficacy of intra-arterial treatments (hepatic chemoembolization). The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that IA administration of TNF-α is superior to the intravenous (IV) route for inhibition of tumor growth in a regionally confined rat mammary adenocarcinoma model that provides for ablation of the arterial supply to the tumor following cytokine therapy. Rats bearing hind limb mammary adenocarcinomas received single IA or IV infusions of 8×105, 1×106, and 1.5×106 units of TNF-α via the common femoral artery (CFA) followed 1 h later by ligation of the artery. Control animals received either no treatment or IA infusion of 2% normal rat serum (NRS) followed by ipsilateral CFA ligation. Tumor size was measured every other day after treatment. Tumor growth inhibition occurred in the first 5 to 10 days after treatment. IV administration of TNF-α did not result in visual tumor necrosis or significant reduction in the rate of tumor growth. IA administration of TNF-α resulted in statistically significant diminution of tumor size as compared to untreated controls and animals receiving IA 2% normal rat serum (NRS; P<0.05 at days 6, 8 and 10), regardless of the dose employed. The maximum growth inhibition with IA TNF-α was a 91% reduction in tumor volume that was achieved with a dose of 1×106 U TNF-α. These results demonstrate improved anti-tumor activity with the IA administration of TNF-α over the IV route in a regionally confined mammary adenocarcinoma. IA administration of biologic response modifiers like TNF-α may therefore be a useful approach for the hepatic chemoembolization of breast adenocarcinomas metastatic to the liver.
Comparison of changes in rectal area and volume during MR evacuation proctography in healthy and constipated adults.

BACKGROUND During proctography, rectal emptying is visually estimated by the reduction in rectal area. The correlation between changes in rectal area, which is a surrogate measure of volume, is unclear. Our aims were to compare the change in rectal area and volume during magnetic resonance (MR) proctography and to compare these parameters with rectal balloon expulsion time (BET). METHODS In 49 healthy and 46 constipated participants, we measured BET and rectal area and volume with a software program before and after participants expelled rectal gel during proctography. KEY RESULTS All participants completed both tests; six healthy and 17 constipated patients had a prolonged (>60 seconds) BET. During evacuation, the reduction in rectal area and volume was lower in participants with an abnormal than a normal BET (P < 0.01). The reduction in rectal area and volume were strongly correlated (r = 0.93, P < 0.001) and equivalent for identifying participants with abnormal BET. Among participants with less evacuation, the reduction in rectal area underestimated the reduction in rectal volume. A rectocele larger than 2 cm was observed in eight of 18 (44%) participants in whom the difference between change in volume and area was ˃10% but only 14 of 77 (18%) participants in whom the difference was ≤10% (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS Measured with MR proctography, the rectal area is reasonably accurate for quantifying rectal emptying and equivalent to rectal volume for distinguishing between normal and abnormal BET. When evacuation is reduced, the change in rectal area may underestimate the change in rectal volume.
Pharmacologic Treatments for PCOS Patients.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most common endocrinopathy in reproductive-aged women and has a vast array of clinical manifestations. Common clinical presentations of the disorder include anovulatory infertility, menstrual disorders, cutaneous symptoms secondary to androgen excess, metabolic abnormalities and mental health issues. If the condition is left unaddressed or inadequately treated, long-term sequelae such as endometrial hyperplasia, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia may ensue, therefore it is imperative for clinicians to address each component of the syndrome. When initial lifestyle changes and dietary modifications do not suffice or fail, pharmacologic therapy should be considered, and when deemed appropriate treatment should be initiated. This review describes the pharmacologic options available to combat the various sequelae commonly seen in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Sex Differences in Post-Stroke Depression in the Elderly.

OBJECTIVE Post-stroke depression (PSD) occurs in approximately one-third of ischemic stroke patients. However, there is conflicting evidence on sex differences in PSD. We sought to assess sex differences in risk and time course of PSD in US ischemic stroke (IS) patients. We hypothesized that women are at greater risk of PSD than men, and that a greater proportion of women experience PSD in the acute post-stroke phase. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 100% de-identified data for US Medicare beneficiaries admitted for ischemic stroke from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. We calculated Kaplan-Meier unadjusted cumulative risk of depression, stratified by sex, up to 1.5 years following index admission. We performed Cox regression to report the hazard ratio (HR) for diagnosis of depression up to 1.5 years post-stroke in females vs. males, adjusting for patient demographics, comorbidities, length of stay, and acute stroke interventions. RESULTS In elderly stroke patients, females (n=90,474) were 20% more likely to develop PSD than males (n=84,427) in adjusted models. Cumulative risk of depression was consistently elevated for females throughout 1.5 years of follow-up (0.2055 [95% CI 0.2013-0.2097] vs. 0.1690 [95% CI 0.1639-0.1741] (log-rank p < 0.0001). HR for PSD in females vs. males remained significant in fully adjusted analysis at 1.20 (95% CI 1.17-1.23, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Over 1.5 years of follow-up, female stroke patients had significantly greater hazard of developing PSD, highlighting the need for long-term depression screening in this population and further investigation of underlying reasons for sex differences.
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down: why good content is never enough

The chapter attempts to provide economists who actively teach their discipline some suggested paths toward making the experience more palatable if not enjoyable for students. The authors emphasize three lessons. First, economics is a fascinating and rewarding discipline. Second, introductory economics courses are typically comprised of non-majors and instructors need to cater for this. Third, passion and commitment are contagious.
Approximation by Quantization

Inference in graphical models consists of repeatedly multiplying and summing out potentials. It is generally intractable because the derived potentials obtained in this way can be exponentially large. Approximate inference techniques such as belief propagation and variational methods combat this by simplifying the derived potentials, typically by dropping variables from them. We propose an alternate method for simplifying potentials: quantizing their values. Quantization causes different states of a potential to have the same value, and therefore introduces context-specific independencies that can be exploited to represent the potential more compactly. We use algebraic decision diagrams (ADDs) to do this efficiently. We apply quantization and ADD reduction to variable elimination and junction tree propagation, yielding a family of bounded approximate inference schemes. Our experimental tests show that our new schemes significantly outperform state-of-the-art approaches on many benchmark instances.
Aftermath of Finding the Memristor

In this paper, a personal guide to the set of Leon Chua’s papers that I have found most helpful in my research will be provided in the hope that this will encourage others to study them and answer the questions they have. Then, the paper will be finished with some observations and comments about Prof. Leon Chua’s definition of memristor in mathematics.
The Effects of Crosswind Flight on Rotor Harmonic Noise Radiation

In order to develop recommendations for procedures for helicopter source noise characterization, the effects of crosswinds on main rotor harmonic noise radiation are assessed using a model of the Bell 430 helicopter. Crosswinds are found to have a significant effect on Blade-Vortex Interaction (BVI) noise radiation when the helicopter is trimmed with the fuselage oriented along the inertial flight path. However, the magnitude of BVI noise remains unchanged when the pilot orients the fuselage along the aerodynamic velocity vector, “crabbing” for zero aerodynamic sideslip. The effects of wind gradients on BVI noise are also investigated and found to be smaller in the crosswind direction than in the headwind direction. The effects of crosswinds on lower harmonic noise sources at higher flight speeds are also assessed. In all cases, the directivity of radiated noise is somewhat changed by the crosswind. The model predictions agree well with flight test data for the Bell 430 helicopter captured under various wind conditions. The results of this investigation would suggest that flight paths for future acoustic flight testing are best aligned across the prevailing wind direction to minimize the effects of winds on noise measurements when wind cannot otherwise be avoided.
Minmax Lyapunov Stabilization of Macroeconometric Systems Under Bounded Uncertainty

Abstract We present some recent results on the minmax Lyapunov stabilization of uncertain, discrete-time macroeconometric systems under bounded parameter and additive uncertainty. The approach is illustrated using the long-run version of a small econometric of the French economy, allowing Tor unbounded, bounded, and costly control capabilities.
Phosphorene: Synthesis, Scale-Up, and Quantitative Optical Spectroscopy.

Phosphorene, a two-dimensional (2D) monolayer of black phosphorus, has attracted considerable theoretical interest, although the experimental realization of monolayer, bilayer, and few-layer flakes has been a significant challenge. Here, we systematically survey conditions for liquid exfoliation to achieve the first large-scale production of monolayer, bilayer, and few-layer phosphorus, with exfoliation demonstrated at the 10 g scale. We describe a rapid approach for quantifying the thickness of 2D phosphorus and show that monolayer and few-layer flakes produced by our approach are crystalline and unoxidized, while air exposure leads to rapid oxidation and the production of acid. With large quantities of 2D phosphorus now available, we perform the first quantitative measurements of the material’s absorption edge—which is nearly identical to the material’s band gap under our experimental conditions—as a function of flake thickness. Our interpretation of the absorbance spectrum relies on an analytical metho...
Complexity of the gravitational method for linear programming

In the gravitational method for linear programming, a particle is dropped from an interior point of the polyhedron and is allowed to move under the influence of a gravitational field parallel to the objective function direction. Once the particle falls onto the boundary of the polyhedron, its subsequent motion is constrained to be on the surface of the polyhedron with the particle moving along the steepest-descent feasible direction at any instant. Since an optimal vertex minimizes the gravitational potential, computing the trajectory of the particle yields an optimal solution to the linear program. Since the particle is not constrained to move along the edges of the polyhedron, as the simplex method does, the gravitational method seemed to have the promise of being theoretically more efficient than the simplex method. In this paper, we first show that, if the particle has zero diameter, then the worst-case time complexity of the gravitational method is exponential in the size of the input linear program. As a simple corollary of the preceding result, it follows that, even when the particle has a fixed nonzero diameter, the gravitational method has exponential time complexity. The complexity of the version of the gravitational method in which the particle diameter decreases as the algorithm progresses remains an open question.
The Total Synthesis of the Lipoxins and Related Compounds

In 1984, a new class of arachidonic acid derived products was discovered by Serhan et al.1–3 While studying lipoxygenase pathway interactions, these researchers isolated two major constituents from human leukocytes. These substances displayed interesting biological properties including the ability to suppress the cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells.lb,lc,3–7
Fragment Coupling and the Construction of Quaternary Carbons Using Tertiary Radicals Generated From tert-Alkyl N-Phthalimidoyl Oxalates By Visible-Light Photocatalysis.

The coupling of tertiary carbon radicals with alkene acceptors is an underdeveloped strategy for uniting complex carbon fragments and forming new quaternary carbons. The scope and limitations of a new approach for generating nucleophilic tertiary radicals from tertiary alcohols and utilizing these intermediates in fragment coupling reactions is described. In this method, the tertiary alcohol is first acylated to give the tert-alkyl N-phthalimidoyl oxalate, which in the presence of visible-light, catalytic Ru(bpy)3(PF6)2, and a reductant fragments to form the corresponding tertiary carbon radical. In addition to reductive coupling with alkenes, substitution reactions of tertiary radicals with allylic and vinylic halides is described. A mechanism for the generation of tertiary carbon radicals from tert-alkyl N-phthalimidoyl oxalates is proposed that is based on earlier pioneering investigations of Okada and Barton. Deuterium labeling and competition experiments reveal that the reductive radical coupling of ...
Is Obesity Contagious? A Case Study of International Graduate Students

International students offer an unique opportunity to study the extent to which environment causes obesity. Because international students have an imperfect ability to choose their destination and are less aware of the social and cultural conditions in and around the university campus we argue that the prevalence of obesity in the surrounding area is plausibly exogenous to international students’ choice of university. In this study, we survey international students studying at 43 public universities across the United States. We use this data to study the effect of prevalence of obesity in a particular region on the BMI levels of the international students. We find statistically significant effects on the changes in BMI levels of the students. Students studying in areas with lower prevalence of obesity show a significantly lower increase in their BMI compared to those studying in areas with higher prevalence of obesity. Evidence suggests that the environmental characteristics of a region have a direct effect on the BMI levels of individuals.