cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 4480: Preclinical evaluation of the mTOR inhibitor, temsirolimus, in combination with the epothilone B analog, ixabepilone

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Introduction: Despite significant progress over the last decade in the development of therapeutics for metastatic cancers including breast cancer (MBC), non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and renal cell carcinoma (RCC), most patients will ultimately succumb to their malignancy; more effective therapeutics are sorely needed. The microtubule (MT) is a well-validated target for anti-cancer therapeutics. Ixabepilone (Ixa), a MT stabilizer is approved for MBC and has demonstrated efficacy against other solid tumors. mTOR is another validated target for anti-cancer therapeutics. Temsirolimus (Tem) inhibits mTOR and is approved for advanced RCC. We tested the hypothesis that the addition of Ixa to Tem might augment its anti-tumor activity in vitro. Methods: The cell lines, A498 (RCC), MDA-MB-231 (MBC), and A549 (NSCLC) were treated with Tem alone, Ixa alone, or the combination. All cell lines were also treated with the combination of Tem and Ixa in a fixed ratio of 1:20; Tem doses ranged from 0.125 [nM] to 5 [nM] and Ixa doses ranged from 2.5 [nM] to 100 [nM]. The effects of the treatments were evaluated with clonogenic assays. Synergism was evaluated using CalucSyn 2.0 in accord with the isobologram method of Chou and Talalay. Results: Both Tem and Ixa inhibited cell growth in all tested cell lines as single agents in dose-dependent fashions. Moreover, the combination of Tem and Ixa synergistically enhanced cytotoxicity in all tested lines (see table below). View this table: Conclusion: The combination of Ixa and Tem displayed promising activity in all tested cell lines. These findings support the further evaluation of this combination in a phase I clinical trial. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4480.
Negative Differential Resistance Circuit Design and Memory Applications

Based on a circuit point of view, a high-performance negative differential resistance (NDR) element is designed and a possible compact device implementation is presented. The NDR structure exhibits ultrahigh peak-to-valley current ratio and also high switching speed. The corresponding process and design are completely compatible with contemporary Si CMOS technology, as they rely on coupled transistor structures. A single-NDR element static-random-access-memory cell prototype with a compact size and high speed is proposed as an interesting application suitable for embedded memory.
tmVar: a text mining approach for extracting sequence variants in biomedical literature.

Motivation: Text-mining mutation information from the literature becomes a critical part of the bioinformatics approach for the analysis and interpretation of sequence variations in complex diseases in the post-genomic era. It has also been used for assisting the creation of disease-related mutation databases. Most of existing approaches are rule-based and focus on limited types of sequence variations, such as protein point mutations. Thus, extending their extraction scope requires significant manual efforts in examining new instances and developing corresponding rules. As such, new automatic approaches are greatly needed for extracting different kinds of mutations with high accuracy. Results: Here, we report tmVar, a text-mining approach based on conditional random field (CRF) for extracting a wide range of sequence variants described at protein, DNA and RNA levels according to a standard nomenclature developed by the Human Genome Variation Society. By doing so, we cover several important types of mutations that were not considered in past studies. Using a novel CRF label model and feature set, our method achieves higher performance than a state-of-the-art method on both our corpus (91.4 versus 78.1% in F-measure) and their own gold standard (93.9 versus 89.4% in F-measure). These results suggest that tmVar is a high-performance method for mutation extraction from biomedical literature. Availability: tmVar software and its corpus of 500 manually curated abstracts are available for download at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/pub/tmVar. Contact: vog.hin@ul.gnoyihz
Comparison of contact and spatial repellency of catnip oil and N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet) against mosquitoes

Nepetalactone, the primary component of catnip oil, was compared with the repellent N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet) for its ability to affect the host-seeking ability of Aedes aegypti (L.). A triple cage olfactometer was used to bioassay each substance and to assess its attraction inhibition (spatial repellent) attributes when combined with the following attractants: carbon dioxide, acetone, a blend of L-lactic acid and acetone, and human odors. Repellent tests were conducted with each substance against female Ae. aegypti, Anopheles albimanus Weidemann, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say. Catnip oil and deet were both weakly attractive to Ae. aegypti, catnip oil was the better spatial repellent, whereas deet was a more effective contact repellent in tests with all three species of mosquitoes.
Microprocessor control of arc starting for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)

The development of a microprocessor-based controller which uses an adaptive touch-starting algorithm to ignite an arc on a gas tungsten arc welding system (GTAW) is described. By controlling the torch position and the welding current the arc is started without any use of high voltage. A servo-controlled displacement mechanism is used to move the electrode incrementally down to the workpiece until the controller detects the touching of the electrode to the workpiece. The electrode is heated to a certain point (resistive heating), by setting the welding current to a low value. The torch is driven up, but since the electrode has reached a high temperature, the thermionic emission will start an arc ramping up the current as the electrode-to-workpiece distance is increased, and a stable arc can be established. This approach eliminates the use of the conventional high-voltage, high-frequency ignition, which is known to cause problems due to high-voltage spikes and radiofrequency transmission in the starting procedure. The controller has been calibrated to begin the procedure with minimum possible output power to ignite the arc, and will adaptively adjust to the correct timing so that the torch will be driven up soon enough to prevent any overheating of the electrode, and without melting the workpiece, but still maintaining the arc. The arc starting controller has been implemented, and test results for touch starting on a stainless steel workpiece are presented. >
Uniform approximation of time-invariant non-linear systems: Research Articles

It is shown that the elements of a large class of time-invariant non-linear input–output maps can be uniformly approximated arbitrarily well, over infinite time intervals, using a certain structure that can be implemented in many ways using, for example, radial basis functions, polynomial functions, piecewise linear functions, sigmoids, or combinations of these functions. For the special case in which these functions are taken to be certain polynomial functions, the input–output map of our structure is a generalized finite Volterra series. Results are given for the case in which inputs and outputs are defined on R. The case in which inputs and outputs are defined on the half-line R+ is also addressed, and in both cases inputs need not be functions that are continuous. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Understanding Basis Through Grain Hedging

Derivatives taught in modern Finance programs at major universities usually focuses upon options and swaps on equities, debt, and foreign exchange as the primary markets that graduates will work in in the major money markets of the world; futures might be included merely for purposes of completeness. Yet, with the advent of commodity investment funds, there is a growing need to study agricultural futures since these are the primary instruments of hedging used by farmers and ranchers in laying off price risk for crops and livestock on the ground. Being the most liquid derivative on farm goods due to usage, the futures contract becomes the primary investment vehicle for commodity speculative bets. So, the study of agriculturals now becomes important. Understanding agricultural futures requires a reasonable knowledge of basis since historical basis studies is the foundation of crop hedging. In addition, by studying basis in agricultural futures, the student develops a greater understanding of futures on the more traditional financial spot markets, and can better manage the commodity investment fund.
Metamictization of lithium niobate by thermal neutrons

Lithium niobate plates intended for application as sensors for acoustical monitoring of reactors were subjected to thermal-neutron irradiation near room temperature. By 8 x 10$sup 19$n/cm$sup 2$, a crystal had become highly disordered, as shown by the back-reflection Laue picture, by loss of piezoelectric response, and by loss of optical birefringence. This transformation appears to be a metamictization. Changes in optical absorption, tritium loss, postirradiation lithium migration, surface crazing, and effects of postirradiation storage at room temperature and of heating to 140$sup 0$C are also observed. (auth)
An Analysis of Bartlett Pear Prices

HE paper is divided into four sections. The first section presents some results from a research project currently under way at Oregon State relating to Bartlett pear pricing. The second section presents an hypothesis and uses the results previously outlined to test it. The third section offers an alternative test. Finally, in the fourth section some observations on the current state and future direction of commodity price research are presented.
The cellular origins of drug resistance in cancer

Two new studies show that mechanisms of acquired resistance to targeted therapy in lung cancer do not necessarily pre-exist in resistant subclones. Instead, some cancers may harbor the potential to acquire a variety of drug-resistance mechanisms after response to targeted therapy.
Detection of critical errors of locomotion mode recognition for volitional control of powered transfemoral prostheses

Combination of intrinsic control and volitional control that recognizes the user's locomotion mode (LM) has been applied to powered prosthetic legs, which enables lower limb amputees to adapt to varying terrains seamlessly. However, errors in volitional control may disrupt the user's walking balance. This study aimed to determine whether the critical errors in volitional control could be detected before they disturbed the user's walking. The positive answer might lead to more robust volitional control for powered prosthetic legs. To achieve this goal, volitional control and intrinsic control were connected hierarchically to operate a powered transfemoral prosthesis. Critical errors for recognizing the user's LM were introduced artificially when transfemoral amputees walked with the powered prosthesis. Intrinsic measurements from the prosthesis were explored first in order to select effective data sources for error detection. Then a phase-dependent outlier detector was designed and offline evaluated. The results demonstrated that the designed detector can detect the tested critical errors with a high sensitivity and a low false alarm ratio before the errors disrupted the amputees' balance. Additional engineering efforts were still necessary to test the detector on more error types and design a control strategy that can make volitional control of powered lower limb prosthesis robust and safe to use.
Hunger and Public Action

This study was well-received and widely discussed when it appeared in hardback in 1990. It is devoted to analysis of the enduring problem of hunger in the modern world, and of the role that public action can play in countering it. The book is divided into four parts. The first attempts to provide a coherent perspective on the complex nutritional, economic, social and political issues involved in the causation of hunger and deprivation. The second deals with famine prevention, paying special attention to Africa and India. The third focuses on chronic undernourishment and related deprivations. Parts two and three include a number of case studies of successful public action for the prevention of hunger and famines in various parts of the world. The fourth part of the book draws together the main themes and concerns of the earlier chapters, and provides an integrated view of the role of public action in eliminating hunger.
Innovators Dilemma And An Association For Accounting Information Systems Educators

Recently, there have been debates on whether it will be services to the accounting information systems (AIS) educators and the society if AIS educators form a new organization independent of American Accounting Association. As like any new discipline, AIS emerged from many existing disciplines, including accounting, computer science and information systems. Yet, different from their counterpart in industry, the leadership in accounting academics across the nation has been slow in embracing the new reality based on information technology and has the difficult time to make a smooth transition to restructure their old curriculum to the fast changing market places. Yet, the strong market demands for information technology graduates and declining enrollments in the traditional accounting programs across the nation provide an incentive for accounting educators in many institutions to rethink their long term strategy in surviving this tumultuous time and preparing for the challenging future ahead (Albrecht and Sack, 2000). Against this backdrop of radical changes, the new conferences for AIS educators held consecutively for two years (AIS Educator Conference, 1999, 2000) were devoted to the professional growth of AIS educators. And the conferences drew serious attention from AIS faculty, particularly, those who are interested in teaching practical and hands-on application-driven information technology (IT) to their students. In this paper, I examine various issues related to this idea of creating a new organization for AIS educators independent from AAA. First, I highlight the paradigm shift in accounting industry for the last three decades from the traditional accounting services to accounting and information systems (AIS) services. Then, I delve into exploring who AIS educators are. Once the AIS educators model is established, I examine the missions and purposes of two independent organizations: one is the existing AAA, and the other is one yet to be formed, a new organization for AIS educators. Once the differences and similarities between organizations missions and purposes are established, I examine the implications of creating the new AIS educators organization, using the findings from Christensens study (1997), and similar studies on the impact of innovative technology on organizational changes.
The Sure-Thing Principle

In 1954, Jim Savage introduced the Sure Thing Principle to demonstrate that preferences among actions could constitute an axiomatic basis for a Bayesian foundation of statistical inference. Here, we trace the history of the principle, discuss some of its nuances, and evaluate its significance in the light of modern understanding of causal reasoning.
Ephemerality of discrete methane vents in lake sediments

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas whose emission from sediments in inland waters and shallow oceans may both contribute to global warming and be exacerbated by it. The fraction of methane emitted by sediments that bypasses dissolution in the water column and reaches the atmosphere as bubbles depends on the mode and spatiotemporal characteristics of venting from the sediments. Earlier studies have concluded that hot spots—persistent, high-flux vents—dominate the regional ebullitive flux from submerged sediments. Here the spatial structure, persistence, and variability in the intensity of methane venting are analyzed using a high-resolution multibeam sonar record acquired at the bottom of a lake during multiple deployments over a 9 month period. We confirm that ebullition is strongly episodic, with distinct regimes of high flux and low flux largely controlled by changes in hydrostatic pressure. Our analysis shows that the spatial pattern of ebullition becomes homogeneous at the sonar's resolution over time scales of hours (for high-flux periods) or days (for low-flux periods), demonstrating that vents are ephemeral rather than persistent, and suggesting that long-term, lake-wide ebullition dynamics may be modeled without resolving the fine-scale spatial structure of venting.
Effect of Five Cycle Rapid Freeze-Thaw Treatment in Conjunction with Various Chemicals for the Reduction of Salmonella typhimurium

Abstract A five cycle rapid freeze-rapid thaw process was used in conjunction with chemicals to reduce numbers of Salmonella typhimurium cells on poultry meat. The second portion of chicken wings consisting of ulna and radius with attached skin and muscle was inoculated with 400 to 900 colony forming units (CFU/g) of a nalidixic acid resistant strain of S. typhimurium. Chemicals used were 20 ppm chlorine, 5% potassium sorbate, 5% lactic acid, and 5% calcium propionate. The wings were either sprayed with or dipped into all chemicals before the freeze-thaw process. Wings were also chemically treated and not subjected to the freeze-thaw process. Numbers of S. typhimurium were determined by the most probable number procedure. The relative effectiveness of combinations of chemicals and the freeze-thaw process was compared to a control with the following percentage reductions of numbers of S. typhimurium cells: lactic acid, 98%; calcium propionate, 96%; potassium sorbate, 96%; chlorine, 95%; and freeze-thaw process without chemicals, 95%. There were no statistically significant differences among the treatments. In a pilot plant study simulating commercial conditions, a carbon dioxide freezer was used for the rapid freeze and a microwave oven was used for the rapid thaw. Treatment of wings with 5% lactic acid plus freeze-thaw process resulted in statistically significant fewer numbers of S. typhimurium cells when compared to the freeze-thaw process without chemical treatment or to wings chemically treated without the freeze-thaw process.
Strong Electron Correlation in Materials from Pair-Interacting Model Hamiltonians

Strong electron correlation in materials is explored within a class of model Hamiltonians that treat only pair interactions between electrons. The model is unique among typical spin Hamiltonians in that it does not have an effective mean-field reference wave function. The ground-state wave functions from all Hamiltonians in the model have the same one-electron reduced density matrix (1-RDM); consequently, one-electron theories such as the Hartree–Fock and density functional theories are inapplicable. In contrast, the ground-state two-electron reduced density matrix (2-RDM) has a one-to-one mapping to the ground-state wave function. For a range of lattices including linear, ladder, and square topologies, we variationally compute the 2-RDM subject to constraints, known as N-representability conditions, that are necessary for the 2-RDM to represent an N-electron ensemble density matrix. We find that for all model Hamiltonians the 2-RDM is accurately computed as long as the D, Q, and G N-representability cond...
Studies in Rh sensitization. III. Effect of Rh-positive pregnancies on Rh antibody titer.

Abstract The results of repeated Rh antibody titrations on 65 sensitized Rh-negative pregnant woman carrying Rh-positive fetuses are presented and analyzed. Considering that a rise in antibody titer antenatally could result only from a leakage of fetal blood into the maternal circulation, the findings indicate that such a leakage occurs antenatally in about 1 out of every 3 or 4 normal pregnancies. Similarly, evidence is presented indicating that fetal blood leaks into the maternal circulation in about 1 out of 3 deliveries. Since, previously, it has been shown that approximately 40 per cent of Rh-negative individuals can be sensitized by two injections of Rh-positive blood spaced four months apart, one can calculate the chance of sensitization resulting from pregnancy with an Rh-positive fetus. The calculations show that in Rh-negative women who have received a previous injection of Rh-positive blood, there is about one chance in 12 or 13 that the first baby will be erythroblastotic (cf. Levine and Waller). 16 In women who have never received any injection of blood which might sensitize them, the chance that the first baby will be erythroblastotic is negligible, because for this to occur it would be necessary for blood to leak into the maternal circulation antenatally on at least two occasions spaced four months apart, once to prime the patient and the second time to stimulate the appearance of antibodies. 8 This never occurred in the present series of cases. It was also calculated that in Rh-negative primiparae who have never received an injection of Rh-positive blood, the chance of Rh antibodies appearing after the birth of an Rh-positive baby is approximately 2 out of 45, and, as a matter of fact, this has been found to occur by other workers 10 in 2 out of 65 cases. It was further calculated that in Rh-negative women who had never received an injection of Rh-positive blood, the chance of their second baby being erythroblastotic is about 1 in 20, which agrees well with the actual observations. By extending the calculations, one could also estimate the chance of an erythroblastotic baby at the third, fourth, and later pregnancies. Five cases are described in detail in order to illustrate the value of periodic antenatal Rh antibody titrations in the management of sensitized Rh-negative women.
Zinc, Copper and Iron Metabolism by Turkey Embryo Hepatocytes

Growth and development of the avian embryo are dependent on adequate trace element nutriture (1,2). The primary source of trace elements for the avian embryo is the egg yolk which is mobilized through the digestive and absorptive actions of the yolk sac membrane (2). The absorbed metals are then transported to tissue storage sites such as the liver. We have demonstrated developmental changes in hepatic trace element levels during incubation of the turkey embryo (3). However, it is difficult to determine if these changes are the result of developmentally regulated events within the cells of the liver or if they reflect availability of metals derived from the actions of the yolk sac membrane on the yolk metal stores. In order to study hepatic trace element metabolism during avian embryonic development in a defined system, we have devised techniques for the isolation and primary monolayer culture of turkey embryo hepatocytes (4). The purpose of these studies was to investigate the uptake, intracellular partitioning and efflux of Zn, Cu and Fe by embryonic hepatocytes maintained in serum-free culture.
The Role of Message Tailoring in the Development of Persuasive Health Communication Messages

This chapter provides an overview of the literature on tailored health communication messages, an innovative area of health communication research that has broad applicability to other areas of communication. Unlike traditional message targeting practices, which operate at the group level, tailored interventions involve the development of persuasive health communications designed for (and based upon an assessment of) the individual. We introduce tailoring and discuss the historical context of message tailoring research. We then provide a broad review of seminal and more recent message tailoring studies. Next, we discuss the mechanisms through which tailored messages may exert their effects, reviewing theoretical perspectives as well as empirical data. Finally, we consider future directions for research on tailored health communication.
Emulsion Polymerization In Continuous Reactors

Polymer colloids are produced in batch, semi-batch and continuous reactors of a wide variety of designs. All of these reactors have assets and liabilities and every commercial process design involves compromises among concerns for product quality, manufacturing simplicity, costs, and potential future alternatives. The primary purpose of this paper is to provide information on continuous emulsion polymerization reactors that will help the reader to make rational decisions on the possible use of such reactors in the commercial production of polymer latexes. A second purpose is to demonstrate the utility of continuous reactors as a tool for studying reaction kinetics.
Comparing diversity to flower-bee interaction networks reveals unsuccessful foraging of native bees in disturbed habitats

Abstract As land is converted to agriculture (e.g., pastures), natural vegetation is repeatedly disturbed, creating various levels of habitat alteration in which flowering plants and pollinators (e.g., bees) interact. Community structure of flowering plants, bees, and flower-bee interactions may each respond to disturbance, but potentially in different ways or magnitudes. We studied flowering plants, bees, and their interactions across four mechanical disturbance levels in and near Archbold Biological Station, Florida (USA) for one year, using repeated sampling with standard techniques in replicated plots. Data were analyzed for community structure, flower-bee interactions and bipartite network structure. Over 7500 flowering plants (81 species) and almost 5000 bees (48 species) were sampled, representing > 80% of estimated species richness. Disturbance altered available flower diversity and both shifted and simplified compositions of floral and bee communities. Importantly, the number of foraging bee species did not decrease with disturbance but fewer bee species interacted with flowers given greater disturbance, indicating that disturbance reduced successful foraging. Interaction networks became simpler with disturbance, and the non-native European honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) became more dominant as disturbance intensity increased. Flower-bee interactions were most sensitive to disturbance. For some native bees, anthropogenic disturbance may contribute to ecological trap conditions and drive long-term diversity patterns. Attention to interaction networks will help land managers identify plant species to conserve and restore flowering plants that are vital to native pollinator communities.
Graphical analysis of agricultural research spillover potential

ABSTRACTThis paper introduces two important extensions to the uncentered correlation metric, the commonly used metric proposed by Jaffe [1986. “Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R & D: Evidence From Firms’ Patents, Profits, and Market Value.” The American Economic Review 76 (5): 984–1001] for analyzing research spillovers across firms or countries. First, it is shown that the Jaffe metric can be displayed graphically using the biplot, a graphical display of a two-dimensional approximation to any multidimensional matrix. Second, it is illustrated that since the data used to produce the Jaffe metric are constrained within the simplex (i.e. shares add up to one), then a theoretically superior metric satisfying the basic axioms of technological proximity measures in this sample space is the Aitchison distance measure, a metric based on log-ratios of shares. The findings of the paper using agricultural research and development spillover potential for Southern African countries show that the Jaffe met...
Sisters of Pain: An Ethnography of Young Women Living in Secure Care

The authors wrote this ethnography for use in university classrooms to educate future youth workers from a positive youth development framework. The book aims to use insider perspectives from adole...
Balancing exploration and exploitation ratio in reinforcement learning

The issue of controlling the ratio of exploration and exploitation in agent learning in dynamic environments provides a continuing challenge in the application of agent learning techniques. Methods to control this ratio in a manner that mimics human behavior are required for use in the representation of human behavior, which seek to constrain agent learning mechanisms in a manner similar to that observed in human cognition. This paper describes the use of two novel methods for adjusting the exploration and exploitation ratio of agents using a simple grid-world example and two armed bandit example.
WHO OWNS PRAGMATISM

In the opening years of the twentieth century a furious contest broke out over the meaning of pragmatism in professional philosophical circles in the United States. When William James introduced his idea to the learned public at the University of California in 1898, he credited Charles Peirce as its prime mover. After James's lecture became known, Peirce, an impossible man who did not know on which side his bread was buttered, re-christened his brainchild pragmaticism to make sure no one confused it with the foolishness of James. When John Dewey made his mark and critiques of pragmatism emerged, Dewey said that we should not argue about a brand name. Nonetheless, he still gave his own philosophy a new designation, dubbing it instrumentalism to avoid the charges unleashed against James. Were there, then, three styles of this speculative tendency? Arthur O. Lovejoy was an unrelenting opponent of the tendency. In 1908 he mocked these thinkers, and wrote in the Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods a captivating and long-cited essay, “The Thirteen Pragmatisms.”
Statistical modelling and simulation of nanohybrid shish-kebab architecture of PE-b-PEG copolymers and carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes have been known to develop hierarchically ordered polymer nanocomposites by virtue of epitaxial crystallization. A unique product of CNT induced crystallization is generation of nanohybrid shish-kebab (NHSK) structure, which has gained tremendous attention owing to its unique applications. However, research faces major challenges in terms of producing tunable patterns on CNTs, which are largely governed by precise control of the crystallization parameters. Conventional methods of experimentation can mislead the effect of experimental conditions on NHSK structure. The effect of crystallization time, undercooling temperature and polymer concentration on the NHSK architecture of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and on a block copolymer, polyethylene-b-polyethylene glycol (PE-b-PEG), was studied in this work by applying the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The present novel investigation mainly reports the statistical models that can be used to predict the different NHSK structural features such as diameter, periodicity, and thickness by including the interaction and quadratic effects of experimental variables. The developed models are in very good agreement with the experimental data and are statistically significant. Our novel approach can be used to better understand the interplay between various crystallization parameters for periodic patterning on carbon nanotubes to generate tunable hierarchical structures.
Solution-Processed High-Voltage Organic Thin Film Transistor

A 6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) based high-voltage organic thin film transistor (HVOTFT) has been demonstrated via a low temperature ( 120 V, the latter being due a space-charge limiting device architecture in which the channel is partially gated. Non-saturating I-V characteristic behavior was observed. This is in contrast with our vacuum-deposited pentacene HVOTFTs which exhibited breakdown voltages of VDS > 400 V. TIPS-pentacene was grown via a drop-casting deposition, with its crystallinity and grain size deduced under XRD and SEM analysis. The HVOTFT was fabricated with a dielectric stack of a high-k Bi1.5Zn1Nb1.5O7 (BZN) and parylene-C.
Effects of loading rate and notch-to-depth ratio of notched beams on flexural performance of ultra-high-performance concrete

Abstract This paper addresses the effects of loading rate and notch-to-depth ratio on flexural properties of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) notched beam specimens, in order to enable use of standardized laboratory test data to predict flexural properties of UHPC structures that have different dimensions and are subjected to a range of loading rates. UHPC notched beams were tested in three-point bending to study the effects of three notch-to-depth ratios of 1/6, 1/3, and 1/2 at five loading rates of 0.05, 0.50, 1.25, 2.50, and 5.00 mm/min on flexural performance. Test results indicate that loading rate and notch-to-depth ratio have significant effects on flexural properties of the UHPC notched beams. The flexural strength is shown to increase with the loading rate and the notch-to-depth ratio. The fracture energy increases with the loading rate but decreases with the notch-to-depth ratio. The changes of flexural properties with the loading rate are also dependent on the notch-to-depth ratio. Regression analyses to correlate flexural properties associated with the loading rate and notch-to-depth ratio were conducted to obtain parameters for UHPC structures.
Upskirting: A Statutory Analysis of Legislative Responses to Video Voyeurism 10 Years Down the Road

“Upskirting” or video voyeurism involves the use of video cameras in public spaces to record underneath women’s clothing. This activity became commonplace with the advent of cell phones cameras and...
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Cigarette Use: The Roles of Mental Illness and Health-Care Access/Utilization.

Background: Empirical evidence supports a hypothesis that cigarettes may be used to cope with mental illness. Little research, however, addresses how race/ethnicity is linked to mental health and c...
Granovskij and American Life

Timothy Granovskij's opinions of and attitudes towards the United States have never been investigated in any adequate way. The fact is that, in company with many outstanding figures of the Russian intelligentsia of those times, the distinguished professor at Moscow University did display a marked interest in American affairs. He never presented such full and well-rounded views as did Herzen or Ĉernysevŝkij a little later, but sparse as were Granovskij's comments upon American life and institutions, they are of significance to us today. From the eyes of this enlightened Russian, we may derive fruitful perspectives upon certain aspects of the American past.
The Nature of the Long‐Lived Excited State in a NiII Phthalocyanine Complex Investigated by X‐Ray Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

The nature of the photoexcited state of octabutoxy nickel(II) phthalocyanine (NiPcOBu₈) with a 500 ps lifetime was investigated by X‐ray transient absorption (XTA) spectroscopy. Previous optical, vibrational, and computational studies have suggested that this photoexcited state has a ligand‐to‐metal charge transfer (LMCT) nature. By using XTA, which provides unambiguous information on the local electronic and nuclear configuration around the Ni center, the nature of the excited state of NiPcOBu₈ was reassessed. Using X‐ray probe pulses from a synchrotron source, the ground‐ and excited‐state X‐ray absorption spectra of NiPcOBu8 were measured. Based on the results, we identified that the excited state exhibits spectral features that are characteristic of a Ni^(1, 3)(3d_(z²), 3d_(x²-y²)) state rather than a LMCT state with a transiently reduced Ni center. This state resembles the (d,d) state of nickel(II) tetramesitylphorphyrin. The XTA features are rationalized based on the inherent cavity sizes of the macrocycles. These results may provide useful guidance for the design of photocatalysts in the future.
Synthesis of MFI-type zeolite membranes on porous α-alumina supports by wet gel crystallization in the vapor phase

A new method has been developed for synthesis of MFI-type zeolite membranes on porous α-alumina supports. Using this method, a thin layer of wet-gel precursor precoated from a synthesis sol containing SiO2, tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH), NaOH, and H2O was converted to an MFI zeolite film by vapor-phase treatment at elevated temperatures. MFI zeolite films were formed on the α-alumina substrates, respectively, in the vapor phases of TPAOH solution and an ethylenediamine(EDA)/triethylamine (TEA)/water mixture, but an amorphous material was obtained in the vapor phase of pure water. Scanning electron microscopy and helium permeation examinations before calcination showed that the MFI membrane obtained in the vapor phase of the TPAOH solution was of higher quality than that synthesized in the vapor phase of the EDA/TEA/water mixture in terms of zeolite film integrity and compactness. It was also found that the existence of the template TPA+ in the parental synthesis sol was critical to the formation of MFI zeolite under the investigated conditions. When precursor layers coated from a template-free colloidal silica system were used, the vapor-phase treatment resulted in formation of Na-P1 and ANA zeolite films, respectively, in the vapors of TPAOH solution and the EDA/TEA/water mixture. The method developed in this work has the advantages of improved controllability, minimal waste generation, and reduced chemical consumption that are desirable for large-scale production of zeolite membranes.
Vascular Closure Devices

Worldwide, between 7.5 and 8 million catheter-based vascular procedures are performed a year. Only around 20–25% of these procedures utilize a vascular closure device (VCD) for access site hemostasis. The use of larger sheaths and the widespread use of peri-procedural anticoagulation have increased the risk of bleeding complications, resulting in the need for better methods of hemostasis. Complication rates related to hemostasis for diagnostic angiograms range from 0 to 1.1%, and increase to 1.3–3.4% for therapeutic procedures. While the outcomes of VCD studies have shown increased patient satisfaction, early ambulation and decreased hospital resource utilization, compared with manual compression, there is limited evidence that hemorrhage and other puncture site complications are reduced by VCDs compared with manual compression. Indeed, the use of VCDs is associated with a new group of complications related to the devices themselves.
Modeling and Adaptive Control of an Automotive Torque Converter Clutch System

To meet the ever-increasing demands for fuel economy and performance, the once mundane open-loop mechanical torque converter now includes a mechanical bypass clutch that can improve efficiency by controlling the slip speed between the input and output. To control this highly nonlinear system, this paper investigates several single-input-single-output and multi-input-multi-output one-step-ahead control schemes that include weighted and adaptive variants to achieve a balance between tracking error and controller effort.
Complexation Chemistry in N,N-Dimethylformamide-Based Molecular Inks for Chalcogenide Semiconductors and Photovoltaic Devices.

Molecular inks based on dimethyl sulfoxide, thiourea (TU), and metal salts have been used to form high optoelectronic quality semiconductors and have led to high power conversion efficiencies for solution-processed photovoltaic devices for Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTS), Cu2Zn(Ge,Sn)(S,Se)4 (CZGTS), CuIn(S,Se)2 (CIS), and Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGS). However, several metal species of interest, including Ag(I), In(III), Ge(II), and Ge(IV), either have low solubility (requiring dilute inks) or lead to precipitation or gelation. Here, we demonstrate that the combination of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and TU has the remarkable ability to form intermediate-stability acid–base complexes with a wide number of metal chloride Lewis acids (CuCl, AgCl, ZnCl2, InCl3, GaCl3, SnCl4, GeCl4, and SeCl4), to give high-concentration stable molecular inks. Using calorimetry, Raman spectroscopy, and solubility experiments, we reveal the important role of chloride transfer and TU to stabilize metal cations in DMF. Methylation of TU is used...
Redistribution of Nickel Ions Embedded within Indium Phosphide Via Low Energy Dual Ion Implantations

Transition-metal doped Indium Phosphide (InP) has been studied over several decades for utilization in optoelectronics applications. Recently, interesting magnetic properties have been reported for metal clusters formed at different depths surrounded by a high quality InP lattice. In this work, we have reported accumulation of Ni atoms at various depths in InP via implantation of Ni- followed by H– and subsequently thermal annealing. Prior to the ion implantations, the ion implant depth profile was simulated using an ion-solid interaction code SDTrimSP, incorporating dynamic changes in the target matrix during ion implantation. Initially, 50 keV Ni- ions are implanted with a fluence of 2 × 1015 atoms cm-2, with a simulated peak deposition profile approximately 42 nm from the surface. 50 keV H- ions are then implanted with a fluence of 1.5 × 1016 atoms cm-2. The simulation result indicates that the H- creates damages with a peak defect center ~400 nm below the sample surface. The sample has been annealed at 50°C in an Ar rich environment for approximately 1hr. During the annealing, H vacates the lattice, and the formed nano-cavities act as trapping sites and a gettering effect for Ni diffusion into the substrate. The distribution of Ni atoms in InP samples are estimated by utilizing Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy based depth profiling while sputtering the sample with Ar-ion beams. In the sample annealed after H implantation, the Ni was found to migrate to deeper depths of 125 nm than the initial end of range of 70 nm.
A Novel Architecture for Ultra-High Signal-to-Interference-Noise-Ratio Reception in Visible Light Communication

Theoretical models estimate visible light communication (VLC) data capacity to be of the order of Tera-bits-per-second (Tbps). However, practical limitations in receiver designs have limited state-of-the-art VLC prototypes to (multiple) orders of magnitude lower data rates. This paper explores a new architecture to realize ultra-high data rates in visible light communication systems by dramatically improving the Signal-to-Interference-Noise-Ratio (SINR) at the receiver. The key idea is to leverage the fast sampling rates of photodiode receivers and integrate a shutter mechanism that filters noise and interference thus creating a high-speed imaging receiver effect. Through adaptive selection of the exact receiver area over which the transmitted light is detected, the SINR can be dramatically increased yet not compromising the high sampling rate achievable using state-of-the-art photoreceptors. In addition to introducing the new hybrid architecture for high SINR reception, in this paper, we study the feasibility of noise and interference reduction through a proof-of-concept experimentation.
Advancing Leadership and Followership Education with a Leader–Follower Unity Model

Leaders and followers are equally important for organizational success. Therefore, it is essential to educate individuals to become effective leaders and followers. In this work, a taxonomy of leadership theories with the follower component is developed to acknowledge the presence of followers in the leadership process. A Leader–Follower Unity model is proposed to portray an individual’s ability to act as a leader and a follower. The importance of teaching leadership from a Leader-Follower Unity standpoint is addressed. An implementation of a Leader–Follower course teaching both leader and follower skills is suggested.
Sandy still speaks: the digital afterlives of Sandra Bland

The story of technology’s use in the Black Lives Matter movement is a battle between competing narratives of temporality: white state institutions and storytellers invest in a gaze which sees Black...
Stats, Social Justice, and the Limits of Interest Convergence: The Story of Tucson Unified’s Mexican American Studies Litigation

In 2011, the state of Arizona banned the highly successful Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies program through the law ARS § 15-112. This article is a Critical Race Theory counternarrative regarding the role of statistics in the constitutional challenge to this state law. Through firsthand accounts of this process, we demonstrate how multivariate empirical analyses served as an important component for the overturning of the law ARS § 15-112 in the highest-profile Ethnic Studies legal case in the country’s history (Arce v. Douglas, 2015). We also use this article to explore the limitations of interest convergence (Bell, 1980) using this litigation as a case study.
pH-Responsive Copolymer Films Prepared by Surface-Initiated Polymerization and Simple Modification.

We report the preparation of pH-responsive, ester/carboxylic acid random copolymer films via simple modification of poly(norbornene diacyl chloride) (pNBDAC), prepared via surface-initiated ring-op...
A novel approach to conducting clinical trials in the community setting: utilizing patient-driven platforms and social media to drive web-based patient recruitment

Participant recruitment for clinical research studies remains a significant challenge for researchers. Novel approaches to recruitment are necessary to ensure that populations are easier to reach. In the context of rare diseases, social media provides a unique opportunity for connecting with patient groups that have representatively lower diagnosis rates when compared with more common diseases or illness. We describe the implementation of designing a patient-centered approach to message design for the purposes of recruiting patients for clinical research studies for rare disease populations. Using an iterative research approach, we analyzed our previous experience of using web-based direct-to-patient recruitment methods to compare these online strategies with traditional center of excellence recruitment strategies. After choosing six research studies for inclusion in the previous study, in-depth, online interviews (n = 37) were conducted with patients represented in each disease category to develop and test recruitment message strategies for social media and a Web-based platform for patients to access study information and pre-screen. Finally, relationships were established with Patient Advocacy Groups representing each rare disease category to ensure further dissemination of recruitment materials via their own social media networks. Guided by social marketing theory, we created and tested various recruitment message designs. Three key message concepts preferred by patients emerged: (1) infographic; (2) positive emotional messages; and (3) educational information for sharing. A base study website was designed and created based on data from patient interviews. This website includes the option for potential participants to pre-screen and determine their eligibility for the study. Study participants report wanting to be involved in the design and implementation of recruitment approaches for clinical research studies. The application of the aforementioned methods could aide in the evolution of clinical research practices for the recruitment of both rare and common diseases, where patient-centric approaches can help to create targeted messages designs that participants pre-test and support.
Germicidal Ultraviolet Light Does Not Damage or Impede Performance of N95 Masks Upon Multiple Uses

The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) worldwide, including the demand for facial masks used by healthcare workers. Disinfecting and reusing these mask...
Quantification in Cardiovascular MRI: A Primer for Radiology Residents.

Cardiac MRI has become an increasingly used tool for noninvasive comprehensive assessment of the heart in cardiovascular pathologic conditions, and this modality aids in the calculation of ventricu...