cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Magnetic characterization of calcium-nickel-potassium oxide catalysts

SQUID magnetometer characterization of Ca--Ni--K--O catalyst materials reveals complex magnetic behavior. The magnetic properties are generally determined by the antiferromagnetic material NiO, but samples with traces of elemental nickel show marked effects of ferromagnetism. Potassium doping enhances the formation of metallic nickel. Further deviations from bulk NiO properties can be attributed to NiO particle size effects (superparamagnetism) and to the presence of paramagnetic impurities, possibly Ni[sup 3+] ions.
A 14-b 32MS/s Pipelined ADC with novel fast-convergence comprehensive background calibration

This paper presents a comprehensive calibration engine for Pipelined ADCs. Linear, nonlinear, memory errors as well as errors due to the capacitor mismatch in a multi-bit DAC are all estimated and compensated for using background digital calibration techniques. The work also includes a novel approach for correcting nonlinear errors that reduces the digital complexity and enhances the convergence rate of the error estimation. Conventional background calibration techniques are very slow and need millions of iterations to converge. By digitally filtering the input signal during the error estimation procedure, this work demonstrates significant improvement in convergence rate. Implemented in 0.25um CMOS process, the pipelined ADC consumes 75mA from 2.5V and occupies 2.8 mm2 of active area Measurement results show that calibration significantly improved dynamic (SNDR, SFDR) as well as static (DNL, INL) performance of the ADC.
Biorthogonal wavelets for waveform coding in BPSK and QPSK systems

The authors consider the use of biorthogonal wavelets for baseband waveform coding in traditional BPSK and and PSK digital communication systems. Biorthogonal wavelets can be designed to give better spectral characteristics than orthogonal wavelets. Numerical results for power bandwidth and bandwidth efficiency are given as evidence. A new configuration for the receiver is also presented, where the traditional matched filter is replaced by a filter based on biorthogonal waveforms. The proposed codec is shown to conserve bandwidth at the expense of bit error rate. >
Parity-Time Symmetry in a Flat Band System

In this paper we introduce parity-time- $(\mathcal{PT}$-) symmetric perturbation to a one-dimensional Lieb lattice, which is otherwise $\mathcal{P}$ symmetric and has a flat band. In the flat band there is a multitude of degenerate dark states and the degeneracy $N$ increases with the system size. We show that the degeneracy in the flat band is completely lifted due to the non-Hermitian perturbation in general, but it is partially maintained with the half-gain--half-loss perturbation and its $\mathsf{V}$ variant that we consider. With these perturbations, we show that both randomly positioned states and pinned states at the symmetry plane in the flat band can undergo thresholdless $\mathcal{PT}$ breaking. They are distinguished by their different rates of acquiring non-Hermicity as the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric perturbation grows, which are insensitive to the system size. Using a degenerate perturbation theory, we derive analytically the rate for the pinned states, whose spatial profiles are also insensitive to the system size. Finally, we find that the presence of weak disorder has a strong effect on modes in the dispersive bands but not on those in the flat band. The latter respond in completely different ways to the growing $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric perturbation, depending on whether they are randomly positioned or pinned.
Restriction site extension PCR: a novel method for high-throughput characterization of tagged DNA fragments and genome walking.

Background: Insertion mutant isolation and characterization are extremely valuable for linking genes to physiological function. Once an insertion mutant phenotype is identified, the challenge is to isolate the responsible gene. Multiple strategies have been employed to isolate unknown genomic DNA that flanks mutagenic insertions, however, all these methods suffer from limitations due to inefficient ligation steps, inclusion of restriction sites within the target DNA, and nonspecific product generation. These limitations become close to insurmountable when the goal is to identify insertion sites in a high throughput manner. Methodology/Principal Findings: We designed a novel strategy called Restriction Site Extension PCR (RSE-PCR) to efficiently conduct large-scale isolation of unknown genomic DNA fragments linked to DNA insertions. The strategy is a modified adaptor-mediated PCR without ligation. An adapter, with complementarity to the 39 overhang of the endonuclease (KpnI, NsiI, PstI, or SacI) restricted DNA fragments, extends the 39 end of the DNA fragments in the first cycle of the primary RSEPCR. During subsequent PCR cycles and a second semi-nested PCR (secondary RSE-PCR), touchdown and two-step PCR are combined to increase the amplification specificity of target fragments. The efficiency and specificity was demonstrated in our characterization of 37 tex mutants of Arabidopsis. All the steps of RSE-PCR can be executed in a 96 well PCR plate. Finally, RSE-PCR serves as a successful alternative to Genome Walker as demonstrated by gene isolation from maize, a plant with a more complex genome than Arabidopsis.
Combined Activity of Amphotericin B and 5-Fluorocytosine against Cryptococcus neoformans in Vitro and in Vivo in Mice

The in vitro and in vivo activities of amphotericin B and 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) alone and in combination were studied to determine possible drug interactions against two strains of Cryptococcus neoformans, one sensitive to 5-FC and one resistant to 5-FC. In vitro tube dilution studies demonstrated only additive effects with the 5-FC-sensitive organism but antagonism with eth 5-FC-resistant organism. A mouse model of cryptococcal meningitis allowed comparative drug trails in a new model for the detection of drug interactions. Drug combinations were no more effective against meningitis caused by the 5-FC-sensitive organism than the additive effects of the individual drugs. However, meningitis caused by the 5-FC-resistant Cryptococcus responded less to drug combinations than to either drug alone. Serum levels of amphotericin B and 5-FC were comparable in all groups. No evidence of toxicity from the drug combinations was found. No inhibition of development of resistance to 5-FC by the combination with amphotericin B was detected.
Optimal Income Taxation with Multidimensional Taxpayer Types

Beginning with Mirrlees, the optimal taxation literature has generally focused on economies where individuals are difierentiated by only their productivity. In this paper we examine models where individuals are difierentiated by two or more characteristics, and the numerical challenges posed by these problems. We examine cases where individuals difier in productivity, elasticity of labor supply, and their "basic needs". We flnd that the extra dimensionality produces substantively difierent results. In particular, we flnd cases of negative marginal tax rates for some high productivity taxpayers. In our examples, income becomes a fuzzy signal of who should receive a subsidy under the planner’s objective, and the planner chooses less redistribution than it would in more homogeneous societies. We also show examine optimal taxation in an OLG model, and flnd that there is much less redistribution if the planner, as most governments do, does not discriminate on the basis of age. Multidimensional optimal tax problems are di‐cult nonlinear optimization problems because the linear independence constraint qualiflcation does not hold at all feasible points and often fails to hold at the solution. To robustly solve these nonlinear programs, we use SNOPT with an elastic-mode, which has been shown to be efiectively for degenerate nonlinear programs.
Virucidal Efficacy of Soap and Water against Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Genital Secretions

A common bar soap and tap water solution was able to demonstrate a 30-fold human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) inactivation and a 57 to 87% reduction in viable peripheral blood mononuclear cells in a mixture of cervicovaginal lavage fluid and seminal fluid. These observations indicate that soap and water might be used to inactivate HIV and HIV-infected cells in genital secretions.
Lossless Compression Algorithm for Hierarchical IC Layout Data

An important step in today's Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturing is optical proximity correction (OPC). While OPC increases the fidelity of pattern transfer to the wafer, it also significantly increases IC layout file size. This has the undesirable side effect of increasing storage, processing, and I.O. times for subsequent steps of mask preparation. To alleviate the growing volume of layout data, a new layout data format, Open Artwork System Interchange Standard (OASIS), was introduced in 2001 by SEMI's Data Path Task Force. Even though OASIS results in a more efficient representation than the previous industry standard format GDSII, there is still room for improvement by applying data compression techniques. In this paper, we propose two such techniques for compressing layout data, including OPC layout, while remaining complaint with existing industry standard formats such as OASIS and GDSII. Such compliance ensures that the resulting compressed files can be viewed, edited, and manipulated by industry standard CAD viewing and editing tools without the need for a decoder. Our approach is to eliminate redundancies in the representation of the geometrical data by finding repeating groups of geometries between multiple cells and within a cell. We refer to the former as "inter-cell sub-cell detection (InterSCD)" and latter as "intra-cell sub-cell detection (IntraSCD)". We show both problems to be NP hard, and propose two sets of heuristics to solve them. For OPC layout data, we also propose a fast compression method based on IntraSCD which utilizes the hierarchical information in the pre-OPC layout data. We show that the IntraSCD approach can also be effective in reconstructing hierarchy from flattened layout data. We demonstrate the results of our proposed algorithms on actual IC layouts for 90nm, 130nm, and 180nm feature size circuit designs.
Classroom Modifications for the Mainstreamed Student with Mild Handicaps

Shows you how to stimulate students to engage in classroom activities, complete assignments, and behave appropriately
Comments on Stable Motions in Nonlinear Coupled Resonances

It is shown that, of all nonlinear coupled resonances of the form m V1+ n V2 = k where m, n and k are positive integers and m + n ? 3, those with m or n = 1 exhibit a different property compared to others in their stable regions of phase space. The difference explains the paradoxical result obtained by Sturrock and Guignard that there are points of arbitrarily small amplitudes which lie outside the stable region.
Fault detection for robot manipulators with parametric uncertainty: a prediction error based approach

In this paper, we introduce a new approach to fault detection for robot manipulators. The technique, which is based on the isolation of fault signatures via filtered torque prediction error estimates, does not require measurements or estimates of manipulator acceleration as is the case with some previously suggested methods. The method is formally demonstrated to be robust under uncertainty in the robot parameters. Furthermore, an adaptive version of the algorithm is introduced, and shown to both improve coverage and significantly reduce detection times. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated by experiments with a two-joint manipulator system.
Objective Measures and Programming Cochlear Implants

Abstract Advances in cochlear implant technology have allowed for amazing outcomes for children with severe to profound hearing loss. As result, cochlear implants are now provided for some children...
When is Foreign Aid Selfish, When is it Selfless?

The research on foreign aid has long struggled to determine whether giving aid is a selfish or a selfless policy by donors. Instead of looking for evidence for one over the other, I propose examini...
Force measurements with a translating holographic optical trap

Force measurements made with a translating holographic optical trap (HOT) of a viscous and a viscoelastic medium are investigated. In purely viscous media, Stokes drag cannot be measured with a translating HOT with established methods. In the viscoelastic system of the pericellular coat, the standard force curves generated by a fixed optical trap coupled with a moving stage can reliably be reproduced by translating HOT experiments. The viscoelastic cell coat provides an example where slow relaxation dynamics makes force measurements relatively insensitive to differences between measurements. These preliminary studies suggest that when the relaxation time scale of a system is much slower than the time scale of the HOT updates, translating HOTs can be reliably used to make force measurements on a viscoelastic, non-equilibrium system.
Measures and Measurement Issues in QOL Research

This chapter covers measurement issues in QOL research. This part of the handbook also covers of selected and popular measures of QOL. These measures are subjective and objective, and they vary as a function of the unit of analysis. In other words, QOL measures are identified at the individual level, the family level, the community and region level, and the country level. In addition to describing and discussing the global and composite measures of QOL at the various levels of analysis (individual, family, community, and country), we cover selected and popular measures of selected life domains. Examples are measures of quality of work life, family quality of life, economic well being, among others.
Expression and activation of ADAM15 in bladder cancer

e16010 Background: ADAM15 is a member of the disintegrin family of metalloproteinases. These molecules function as membrane-bound proteases, and, when activated, cleave important membrane anchored ...
Theoretical Studies of the Electronic Structure and Spectra of NhS 3

Molecular radical cations, and open-shell molecules in general, are currently attracting a great deal of interest because of an increased awareness of the importance of these molecules (i), in studies of the upper atmosphere, stellar/interstellar media, electrical discharges and flames; (ii), in laser and radiation chemistry; and (iii), in analyses of more conventional chemical systems such as solution-phase oxidation-reduction reactions.
Harmony and Disharmony in International Patent Law

One of the purposes of the Trans‐Pacific Partnership (TPP) is to harmonize standards and create a uniform climate for trade and investment. As lawmakers deliberate the terms of the deal, they must consider what the long‐term impact of agreeing to its sweeping provisions will be. As they do so, they should keep in mind that the gaps between the agreed‐upon principles and local implementation, and the differences between local implementation – some of them by design – are often quite great. Drawing upon the existing literature, this short essay provides a survey of the extent of harmony and disharmony in the 20 years that have passed since ratification of the TRIPS agreement, with a focus on its patent provisions. After considering the framework for harmonization that the TPP and TRIPS share, I discuss and provide examples of three types of differences: differences between the minimum standards that are negotiated and compliance with them, differences between the substantive principles agreed to and the actual laws that implement them (and the procedural contexts in which they operate), and differences between the laws as enacted and the laws that are applied.
Anteriorly displaced temporomandibular joint articular disk

The diagnosis of anterior displacement of a temporomandibular joint articular disk was made with computed tomography and documented with conventional arthrography. We are reporting the case to show the potential value of computed tomography for evaluating problems of the temporomandibular joint. The patient underwent thin-section axial computed tomography with advanced software imaging techniques. The articular disk was evident on the scan. It was anterior to the condyle and inferior to the articular eminence. Further studies are planned to determine whether computed tomography can supplement or possibly supplant conventional arthrography in the diagnosis of soft-tissue disorders of the temporomandibular joint.
“Shuffling Out of My Vulgar Origins“: The Masculinist-Elitist Language of Saul Bellow's Fiction

I think that when I wrote those early books I was timid. I still felt the incredible effrontery of announcing myself to the world (in part I mean the WASP world) as a writer and an artist. I had to...demonstrate my abilities, pay my respects to formal requirements.... I was afraid to let myself go.... When I began to write Augie March, I took off many of these restraints.... My first two books are well made.... Those books...did not give me a form in which I felt comfortable. A writer should be able to express himself easily, naturally. ...Why should I force myself to write like an Englishman or a contributor to The New Yorker? ...I should add that for a young man in my position there were social inhibitions, too. I had good reason to fear that I would be put down as a foreigner, an interloper. It was made clear to me when I studied literature in the university that as a Jew and the son of Russian Jews I would probably never have the right feeling for Anglo-Saxon, for English words. (Harper 9)
Updated Distributional Data for Citheronia sepulcralis Grote & Robinson, 1865 (Saturniidae: Ceratocampinae), with a New Host Plant Record

ABSTRACT. The distribution of Citheronia sepulcralis (Satumiidae: Ceratocampinae) is updated. Compared to previous literature, a much more extensive inland distribution in the eastern United States is provided, including a new state report from Delaware. A recent photographic voucher from the Bahamas is reported and discussed. A new natural host plant, Pinus clausa (Pinaceae), is mentioned.
An Integrative Model of Predictors of Enjoyment in Console versus Mobile Video Games

This study tested a model of enjoyment of video games focused on three important predictors; interactivity, realism and spatial presence. In a large, randomized experiment (N = 257), players of traditional console games were compared with their counterparts playing on mobile devices. The hypothesized model included perceived interactivity, perceived reality and spatial presence, with enjoyment as the outcome variable. In the final analysis, the model showed that console games produced higher perceived interactivity and perceived reality. Perceived reality and skill were the most powerful direct predictors of enjoyment. Perceived reality and perceived interactivity indirectly predicted enjoyment via powerful effects on spatial presence. The results suggest that mobile games are highly enjoyable, realistic, and presence-inducing, but console games still exceed them on these variables. The results highlight the importance of studying enjoyment of video games in the context of a model that considers concurrent effects of several game perception variables.
Blue-Green Algae

Blue-green algae, or Cyanophyta (cyan = blue; phyton = plant), are found in a wide variety of environments. They occur in marine and fresh water, on and in soil, and on wet stones, cement, and plant pots. Some can withstand the temperatures of hot springs, others the cold of arctic pools. Still others are normal inhabitants of the alimentary canal of some animals, and another is an intracellular symbiont of an unicellular, flagellated, and otherwise colorless organism. Certain blue-green algae such as Anabaena are able to utilize elemental nitrogen from the atmosphere to build their proteins, thereby contributing to the nitrogenous content of soil. This process of nitrogen fixation, which is similar to that found in some bacteria, is important for maintaining soil fertility, for instance, in rice paddies.
A Secure, Social Media–Based “Case of the Month” Module in a Neurocritical Care Unit

BACKGROUND Systems to meet the on-demand learning needs of nurses in intensive care units are not well studied beyond the traditional classroom models. OBJECTIVE To study the feasibility and effect of implementing an online discussion forum for nurses in a busy neuroscience intensive care unit. METHODS A baseline survey was done to highlight the areas of educational need in the unit. Freeform-a password-protected, online discussion forum supported by the university-was used for the pilot project. Freeform has functions similar to Facebook, with "likes," "follow," discussion/comment spaces, and the capacity for uploading images and files. A page called "All things NeuroCritical Care" was created. All nurses working in the intensive care unit were automatically enrolled. Clinical vignettes relevant to neurocritical care were posted once a month with 1 to 2 lead questions. All participation was voluntary, and topics were chosen on the basis of the needs survey. At the end of each case, a recent review article on the topic was posted for secure download. RESULTS Eight sentinel diagnoses have been presented as clinical vignettes, and 34 of 76 members formally follow the page. The mean number of discussion strings per case is 8.3 posts. The number of unique visitors to the page during active case discussions exceeds 100. CONCLUSION A secure, online, problem-based learning discussion format is a feasible point-of-care learning opportunity that can help overcome some of the traditional barriers to ongoing nursing education needs in a busy intensive care unit.
The Salicylic Acid Signal for Activation of Plant Defenses is Mediated by Active Oxygen Species

A major objective of our research is to understand how plants perceive and then respond to pathogenic attack at the molecular and cellular levels. As a model system for our studies we have chosen the interaction of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV; one of the best characterized RNA viruses) with its host Nicotiana tabacum. Infection of tobacco plants with TMV results in one of two distinct responses which depends upon the genetic background of the host and the viral strain. In a susceptible tobacco cultivar (e.g. Xanthi) infection with TMV (e.g. strain U1) results in the systemic spread of virus from the original point of entry to distal parts of the host, with the potential for causing widespread damage. In contrast, tobacco cultivars (e.g. Xanthi nc) that carry a dominant resistance gene (e.g. N locus) restrict the spread of TMV to a small zone of tissue around the point of entry, where a necrotic lesion later appears. This resistance phenotype is called the “hypersensitive response” (HR) and is subsequently accompanied by the induction throughout the plant of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Establishment of SAR results in enhanced resistance to a secondary challenge by the same (e.g. TMV) or even unrelated pathogens. Both the HR and SAR are correlated with the synthesis of abundant amounts of host-encoded, pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. The production of these proteins seems to be part of a general defense system against pathogens, for their synthesis can also be induced by certain bacteria and fungi.
Duality Under a New Setting

This is a continuation of [2]. The developments there are complicated by an exceptional set denoted by Z (see [2], p. 179). It is shown that Z is a polar set under the conditions there if and only if Hunt’s Hypothesis (B) holds (see [2], p, 192). In this paper a set of sufficcient conditions on the potential kernel will be given for the absence of Z. These strengthen the conditions used in [2]. The dual semigroup {P0302t, t ≥ 0} (see 2 , p. 191) is then defined on the state space E∂, some of its properties will be reviewed and adduced. A process will then be constructed with the dual semigroup as its transition semigroup, which will be shown to be a Hunt process on E∂. This process is in (strong) duality with the original Hunt Process in the sense of [1].
Evolutionary trend toward kinetic stability in the folding trajectory of RNases H.

Proper folding of proteins is critical to producing the biological machinery essential for cellular function. The rates and energetics of a protein’s folding process, which is described by its energy landscape, are encoded in the amino acid sequence. Over the course of evolution, this landscape must be maintained such that the protein folds and remains folded over a biologically relevant time scale. How exactly a protein’s energy landscape is maintained or altered throughout evolution is unclear. To study how a protein’s energy landscape changed over time, we characterized the folding trajectories of ancestral proteins of the ribonuclease H (RNase H) family using ancestral sequence reconstruction to access the evolutionary history between RNases H from mesophilic and thermophilic bacteria. We found that despite large sequence divergence, the overall folding pathway is conserved over billions of years of evolution. There are robust trends in the rates of protein folding and unfolding; both modern RNases H evolved to be more kinetically stable than their most recent common ancestor. Finally, our study demonstrates how a partially folded intermediate provides a readily adaptable folding landscape by allowing the independent tuning of kinetics and thermodynamics.
An Ego-Psychological Approach to Character Assessment by Ernst Prelinger and Carl N. Zimet

(1965). An Ego-Psychological Approach to Character Assessment by Ernst Prelinger and Carl N. Zimet. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 106-107.
Office-based andrology and male infertility procedures-a cost-effective alternative.

Background: From 2014–2016, our clinical practice progressively incorporated several male infertility and andrology procedures performed under local anesthesia, including circumcision, hydrocelectomy, malleable penile prostheses, orchiectomy, penile plication, spermatocelectomy, testicular prostheses, varicocelectomy, vasectomy reversal (VR), and testicular and microepididymal sperm aspiration (TESE/MESA). Given the observed outcomes and potential financial and logistical benefits of this approach for surgeons and patients, we sought to describe our initial experience. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of all andrologic office-based (local anesthesia only) and select OR (general or monitored anesthesia care) procedures performed from 2014–2016. Financial and outcomes analyses were performed for infertility cases due to the homogeneity of payment modalities and number of cases available. Demographic, clinicopathologic, and procedural costs (direct and indirect) were reviewed and compared. Results: A total of 32 VRs, 24 hydrocelectomies, 24 TESEs, 10 circumcisions, 9 MESA/TESEs, 4 spermatocelectomies, 3 orchiectomies (1 inguinal), 2 microTESEs, 2 testicular prostheses, 1 malleable penile prosthesis, 1 penile plication, and 1 varicocelectomy. Compared to the OR, male infertility procedures performed in the clinic with local anesthesia were performed for a fraction of the cost: MESA/TESE (78% reduction), TESE (89% reduction), and VR (62% reduction). All office-based procedures were completed successfully without significant modifications to technique. Outcomes were similar between the office and OR including operative time (VR: 181 vs . 190 min, P=0.34), rate of vasoepididymostomy (VE) (23% vs . 32%, P=0.56), total sperm counts (72.2 vs . 50.9 million, P=0.56), and successful sperm retrieval (MESA/TESE 100% vs . 100%, P=1.00; TESE 80% vs . 100%, P=0.36). To our knowledge, the current study also represents the first report of office-based VE under local anesthesia alone. For hydrocelectomy procedures, recurrence (4%) and hematoma (4%) rates were low (mean 4.2 months follow-up), although this likely relates to modifications with technique and not the anesthesia or operative setting. Overall, when given the choice, 86% of patients chose an office-based approach over the OR. Conclusions: Office-based andrology procedures using local anesthesia may be successfully performed without compromising surgical technique or outcomes. This approach significantly reduces costs for patients and the overall healthcare system and has become our treatment modality of choice.
Boolean Algebraic Logic

Uses of mathematics and logical reasoning can be traced back through several millennia to ancient civilizations in Babylonia, China, and India. Documents attributed to them show methods to calculate such items as taxes, the dimensions of altars, and the dates of future solstices or eclipses. More complicated problems arose, for example, the determination of the shapes and sizes of the Earth and the Moon, or the distances from Earth to the Moon and the Sun. (For a survey of these ancient records, consult, for instance, the texts by Dreyer [18] and van der Waerden [100].) The solutions to such problems required methods more sophisticated than mere calculation, and hence arose the need for a study of logic itself, which can be traced to the Greece of a couple of millennia ago. This study of logic continues. Indeed, moving beyond mere theoretical possibilities, demands for computable results have led to alternative logics (see Church’s text [11]). For the purpose of an introduction, the following examples demonstrate how logic can help in resolving practical issues, and also how questions can aries about the validty of logical methods to reach conclusion. Yet an understanding of the example will not be necessary for any of the subsequent material.
Biological Therapies in Geriatric Populations

There is an age-associated decline in immune capacity that involves primarily thymus-related (T cell) functions, including the production of certain T cell-produced lymphokines such as gamma interferon and interleukin-2 (IL-2). The reduction of these factors may relate to an age-associated mild to moderate clinical immune deficiency. Although this immune deficiency has been well characterized (as below), the clinical consequences have not been established. Nonetheless, it is commonly believed that the increased prevalence and severity of infections in older people relates to this decline in immune function. Furthermore, the incidence and severity of neoplastic disease may similarly be related.
Charm: exploiting geographical diversity through coherent combining in low-power wide-area networks

Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) are an emerging wireless platform which can support battery-powered devices lasting 10-years while communicating at low data-rates to gateways several kilometers away. Not all such devices will experience the promised 10 year battery life despite the high density of LPWAN gateways expected in cities. Transmission from devices located deep within buildings or in remote neighborhoods will suffer severe attenuation forcing the use of slow data-rates to reach even the closest gateway, thus resulting in battery drain. This paper presents Charm, a system that enhances both the battery life of client devices and the coverage of LPWANs in large urban deployments. Charm allows multiple LoRaWAN gateways to pool their received signals in the cloud, coherently combining them to detect weak signals that are not decodable at any individual gateway. Through a novel hardware and software design at the gateway, Charm carefully detects which chunks of the received signal need to be sent to the cloud, thereby saving uplink bandwidth. We present a scalable solution to decoding weak transmissions at city-scale by identifying the set of gateways whose signals need to be coherently combined over time. In evaluations over a test network and from simulations using traces from a large LoRaWAN deployment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Charm demonstrates a gain of up to 3x in range and 4x in client battery-life.
Trends in Homeless Children and Young Adults Seeking Shelter in a Boston Pediatric Emergency Department Following State Housing Policy Changes, 2011-2016.

Objectives. To describe a trend in emergency department (ED) use by homeless children and young adults before and after a state housing policy change in 2012 and to quantify financial and time cost...
Lessons learnt and future expectations of complex emergencies.

> Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.—Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet , 1597 Complex emergencies today represent the ultimate pathway of state disruption Zwi says that recent conflicts such as those in northern Iraq, Somalia, Rwanda, Angola, the former Yugoslavia, and the province of Kosovo should be interpreted as complex political disasters where “the capacity to sustain livelihood and life is threatened primarily by political factors, and in particular, by high levels of violence.”1 Although each of the over 38 major conflicts that have occurred in this decade since the end of the cold war is unique, all share similar characteristics (box). Most blatant is that they represent catastrophic public health emergencies in which over 70% of the victims are civilians, primarily children and adolescents These mainly internal crises are popularly referred to as complex emergencies. The complexity refers to the multifacted responses initiated by the international community and further complicated by the lack of protection normally afforded by international treaties, covenants, and the United Nations Charter during conventional wars. #### Characteristics of complex emergencies Health resources, both civilian (those provided by United Nations agencies, the International Committee and Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent, and many non-governmental organisations) and military, have played a major part in the emergency response, recovery, and rehabilitation phases of complex emergencies. In the process health providers have made major advances in assessment, management, education, training, and research,2–5 and they remain among the …
Toward securely programming the internet

Computation and persistent storage are rapidly moving into the distributed domain. Yet we are offered very weak security and privacy assurance, especially as complex information systems share information across trust boundaries. A fundamental problem is that these systems are contructed at too low a level of abstraction. Higher-level abstractions are needed for building complex distributed information systems securely and composably. Fabric [1] is a new decentralized platform that embodies this approach. Heterogeneous, mutually distrusting network nodes can securely share both information and computation. Its high-level programming language makes distribution and persistence largely transparent to programmers. However, its Java-like object model is extended to label data resources with explicit confidentiality and integrity policies. Exposing these policies to programmers and to the underlying run-time system enables programmers to reason about security, and enables the system to enforce them through a combination of compile-time and run-time mechanisms. Optimistic, nested transactions ensure consistency across all objects and nodes. A peer-to-peer dissemination layer helps to increase availability and to balance load. Results from applications built using Fabric suggest that Fabric has a clean, concise programming model, offers good performance, and enforces security.
Tolerability of iron: a comparison of bis-glycino iron II and ferrous sulfate

The tolerability of supplemental iron in the chelated form of bis-glycino iron II was compared with that of ferrous sulfate in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial. Both iron formulations were prepared to deliver 50 mg elemental iron in each capsule; the capsules for both formulations were identical in appearance and weight. Each supplement was taken once daily before breakfast for two weeks. The incidence and severity of adverse side effects were not statistically different for the two preparations. However, of the 38 women evaluated, 14 (37%) experienced moderate-to-severe side effects only while taking the sulfate formulation compared to eight (21%) who experienced similar side effects only while taking the chelate formulation; the remaining 16 women had the same symptom profile with both preparations. This tendency for the chelate to be better tolerated was observed for the symptoms of bloating, constipation, and nausea. In addition, a significant (P less than 0.05) number of women preferred the chelate to the sulfate formulation. This preference appeared to be related to the lower number of side effects experienced with the chelate.
Coordination polymers based on pyrazole-4-carboxaldehyde-containing Cu3N6 metallacycles as building units

Five crystal structures containing trinuclear Cu(II)-4-formyl pyrazolato units are reported: a 0-D Cu3 complex ((Ph4P)2[1]) was prepared in the presence of terminal chloride ligands, a 3D polymer with dia topology and 3-fold interpenetrated structure ([2](CF3SO3)2) involved 1,2-bipyridylethylene (bpe) linkers, while a second 1-D polymer ([3](CF3SO3)2) formed by linking SBUs via formyl group coordination. Two 3D polymers ([4](CF3SO3)2 and [5](ClO4)2) with novel topologies consist of 14-nodal 38,42,54-c and 3-nodal 3,3,4-c nets, respectively.
The Role of Teaching Artists in Postsecondary Education: Dance Majors Transition to Professional Dance Artists

This qualitative, interpretive inquiry explores the role of teaching artists in the postsecondary dance setting who prepare pre-professionals for careers in dance. Research procedures include quest...
Using Elementary Calculus and Dimensional Analysis to Prepare Students for Physical Chemistry

Physical chemistry students often lack conceptual understanding of the measurable quantities derivatives and integrals represent in particular problems. Also, two-parameter equations of state exhib...
Validation of self-reported post-treatment mammography surveillance among breast cancer survivors by electronic medical record extraction method

Little is known about validity of self-reported mammography surveillance among breast cancer survivors. Most studies have focused on accuracy among healthy, average-risk populations and none have assessed validity by electronic medical record (EMR) extraction method. To assess validity of survivor-reported mammography post-active treatment care, we surveyed all survivors diagnosed 2004-2009 in an academic hospital cancer registry (n = 1441). We used electronic query and manual review to extract EMR data. Concordance, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and report-to-records ratio were calculated by comparing survivors' self-reports to data from each extraction method. We also assessed average difference in months between mammography dates by source and correlates of concordance. Agreement between the two EMR extraction methods was high (concordance 0.90; kappa 0.70), with electronic query identifying more mammograms. Sensitivity was excellent (0.99) regardless of extraction method; concordance and positive predictive value were good; however, specificity was poor (manual review 0.20, electronic query 0.31). Report-to-records ratios were both over 1 suggesting over-reporting. We observed slight forward telescoping for survivors reporting mammograms 7-12 months prior to survey date. Higher educational attainment and less time since mammogram receipt were associated with greater concordance. Accuracy of survivors' self-reported mammograms was generally high with slight forward telescoping among those recalling their mammograms between 7 and 12 months prior to the survey date. Results are encouraging for clinicians and practitioners relying on survivor reports for surveillance care delivery and as a screening tool for inclusion in interventions promoting adherence to surveillance guidelines.
La geología del derecho internacional: gobernanza, democracia y legitimidad

Spanish translation of Professor J. H. H. Weiler’s seminal paper in which he explores the relation between democracy, governance and international law throughout history with a novelty geological approach. In the interaction between these concepts and questioning the legitimacy of international law, Professor Weiler identifies three key layers (Transaction, Community and Regulation) that enable a better understanding of such a complex phenomenon.
Reciprocal Benefits of Engaging Undergraduate Researchers in Conducting a Systematic Literature Review

Purpose This project used a reflective practice framework to examine outcomes of an undergraduate student–faculty collaborative research project. The project examined benefits of undergraduate cont...
Friction Stir Welding for Assembly of Copper Squirrel Cage Rotors for Electric Motors

Abstract The automotive industry is developing designs and manufacturing processes for new generations of electric motors intended for use in hybrid and electric vehicles. This paper focuses on solid-state welding to join copper end rings to copper spokes in the fabrication of copper rotors. Friction stir welding was explored to examine weldability of these copper components. Defect free welds were produced on 8-9.5 mm thick copper plates with copper spokes through slots at a travel speed of 225 mm/min and a tool speed rotation of 2250 rpm using lanthanated tungsten as the welding tool. The H13 and nimonic tool materials underperformed due to higher welding temperatures. The conditions were optimized by monitoring the tool and copper plate temperatures. Several tool geometries were investigated and the scrolled shoulder with tri-flat threaded pin performed the best. The strength and weld characteristics were sufficient for this application. Finally, this work puts forth major welding process for induction copper rotors.
A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-option under the Islamic Republic: by Fatemeh Shams, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021, 400 pp., £65 (Hardback), ISBN 9780198858829

“What makes poetry such an integral part of the ideological state apparatus in today's Iran?” (7) asks Fatemeh Shams in the introduction to her newly published monograph, A Revolution in Rhyme: Poe...
Teriparatide-associated calciphylaxis: a case series.

Calciphylaxis is a rare and potentially fatal small-vessel occlusive disease in which the tunica media becomes calcified, endothelial cells proliferate, and the tunica intima becomes thickened and fibrotic. Calciphylaxis typically occurs in the setting of end-stage renal disease with secondary hyperparathyroidism and elevated calcium-phosphorus product. The estimated incidence of calciphylaxis in dialysis or kidney transplant patients is 1 to 4%; however, the incidence of non-uremic calciphylaxis is unknown. We assessed postmarketing adverse event reports to further characterize cases of calciphylaxis associated with teriparatide. We searched for cases of teriparatide-associated calciphylaxis in the literature (EMBASE, PubMed) and those reported to FDA, including the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, through March 31, 2021. We included calciphylaxis cases following teriparatide exposure of < 2 years. Twelve cases described teriparatide-associated calciphylaxis. The median age was 81 (range 47–86) years. Eleven cases reported confirmatory biopsy and/or imaging. The median time-to-onset of calciphylaxis following teriparatide initiation was 3.5 (range 1–20) months. Three cases reported hospitalization, of which one resulted in death due to progression of the lesions. All cases had multiple risk factors (mean (SD), 4.5 (1.0)) including concomitant medications associated with calciphylaxis (12), female sex (11), and/or underlying autoimmune disease or other inflammatory disorder (10). We believe that exposure to teriparatide, coupled with underlying risk factors, may have triggered new-onset calciphylaxis. Expedited diagnosis and management by a clinician are important because calciphylaxis may be life-threatening and early intervention may improve outcomes.
Evaluation of Surface Melt on the Greenland Ice Sheet Using SMAP L -Band Microwave Radiometry

Monitoring melt extent and timing on the Greenland ice sheet is important for tracking the ice sheet's mass and energy balance as well as the global and Arctic climate variability and change. In this study, we use L -band (1.4 GHz) brightness temperature observations collected by NASA's soil moisture active passive (SMAP) mission to investigate the extent, duration, and intensity of melt events on the Greenland ice sheet from 2015 to 2021. SMAP provides nearly all-weather surface monitoring over all of Greenland twice daily with morning and evening overpasses at approximately 40-km spatial resolution. We applied empirical threshold and geophysical-model-based algorithms using horizontally and vertically polarized microwave brightness temperature differences to quantify both the intensity and extent of surface melting. Analysis of the melt seasons shows that Greenland experienced unusually strong melt events at the end of July 2019 and on August 14, 2021, which extended the melt area across much of the dry snow zone over a period of one and two days, respectively. In situ temperatures measured at Greenland's Summit station confirm the above freezing temperatures during these extreme events.
Examining Eating Attitudes and Behaviors in Collegiate Athletes, the Association Between Orthorexia Nervosa and Eating Disorders.

Purpose: Orthorexia nervosa (Orthorexia) is an eating attitude and behavior associated with a fixation on healthy eating, while eating disorders (EDs) are clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders associated with marked disturbances in eating that may cause impairment to psychosocial and physical health. The purpose of this study was to examine risk for Orthorexia and EDs in student-athletes across sex and sport type and determine the association between the two. Methods: Student-athletes (n = 1,090; age: 19.6 ± 1.4 years; females = 756; males = 334) completed a survey including demographics, the ORTO-15 test ( 20 score), and additional questions about pathogenic behaviors to screen for EDs. Results: Using a <40 threshold value for the ORTO-15, 67.9% were at risk for Orthorexia, a more restrictive threshold value of <35 determined 17.7% prevalence across student-athletes with significant differences across sex [ <40: χ (1,1,090)2 = 4.914, p = 0.027; <35: χ (1,1,090)2 = 5.923, p = 0.015). Overall, ED risk (EAT-26 and/or pathogenic behavior use) resulted in a 20.9% prevalence, with significant differences across sex (χ2 = 11.360, p < 0.001) and sport-type category (χ2 = 10.312, p = 0.035). Multiple logistic regressions indicated a significant association between EAT-26 subscales scores and Orthorexia, and between Orthorexia positivity, ORTO-15 scores, and risk for EDs. Conclusions: Risk for Orthorexia and ED is present in collegiate student-athletes. While healthy and balanced eating is important, obsessive healthy eating fixations may increase the risk for EDs in athletes. More education and awareness are warranted to minimize the risk for Orthorexia and EDs in student-athletes.
Topologies as Trade Infrastructures

A space of potential traders is endowed with a topology based on contacting costs. First groups of traders are considered who are indirectly linked via a chain of direct contacts, where each direct contact costs less than a given fixed amount. Then trading groups are considered that persist when the per contact cost becomes arbitrarily small. If the space of traders is compact, then maximal trading groups are characterized as the connected components of the space of traders.