cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High spin states in 94 Ru and 95 Rh

The results of shell model calculations are presented and these support the experimental angular momentum assignments made for the high spin states in94Ru and95Rh. Only one disagreement between theory and experiment is encountered and this concerns the depopulation of the yrast 9− state in94Ru. A highly inhibitedE1 transition to the 8+ state is expected but not seen. The reason that seniority isomers are not observed in these nuclei is discussed.
Culturally competent social work practice with Chinese and Korean family caregivers of older adults: Perspectives from the field

ABSTRACTCaregiver programs provide crucial services that reduce caregiver stress, improve family quality of life, and alleviate strain on health so that caregiving can be sustained. Although there are resources and supports available, the effectiveness of services used by Chinese and Korean family caregivers’ has yet to be examined. Moreover, not much is known about which services are most effective to strengthen coping skills among Chinese and Korean family caregivers. It is deemed important when investigating program efficacy to garner information from the perspective of direct-service professionals; it is also important to determine if such programs could be improved by tailoring services to address cultural competency. To gather crucial information, a focus group was formed to elicit the professional perspective of social workers who worked with Chinese and Korean family caregivers during the years 2014–2015. Semistructured questions were asked and the discussion was documented. Implications on facili...
Multi-ethnic polygenic risk scores improve risk prediction in diverse populations.

Methods for genetic risk prediction have been widely investigated in recent years. However, most available training data involves European samples, and it is currently unclear how to accurately predict disease risk in other populations. Previous studies have used either training data from European samples in large sample size or training data from the target population in small sample size, but not both. Here, we introduce a multi-ethnic polygenic risk score approach, MultiPRS, that combines training data from European samples and training data from the target population. We applied MultiPRS to predict type 2 diabetes in a Latino cohort using both publicly available European summary statistics in large sample size and Latino training data in small sample size, and observed a >70% relative improvement in prediction accuracy compared to methods that use only one source of training data, consistent with large relative improvements observed in simulations. Notably, this improvement is contingent on the use of ancestry-adjusted coefficients in MultiPRS. Our work reduces the gap in risk prediction accuracy between European and non-European target populations.
The actions of NSAIDs.

The ability of aspirin and related drugs to inhibit prostaglandin biosynthesis accounts for many effects of NSAIDs but does not completely explain their efficacy against inflammation. An additional mechanism may be disruption of the intracellular signal pathways responsible for activation of inflammatory cells—notably, neutrophils.
Allocating health resources ethically: new roles for administrators and clinicians.

Rationing of health care is an inevitable correlate of living in a world of finite resources. It is morally necessary. The Hippocratic ethic commits clinicians to do whatever will benefit the patient and therefore must be abandoned in a world of moral rationing. After looking at some unacceptable preliminary strategies, two patient-centered adjustments in the Hippocratic ethic, adopting a more objective standard of patient benefit and adding a principle of patient autonomy, are defended. Still, however, cutting the fat out of the system will not be sufficient. A true social ethic of resource allocation will be necessary. A social contract approach supports a principle of equity as a necessary supplement to utility and cost-benefit analysis. It does not follow, however, that clinicians must take on these social ethical decisions. Clinicians should be exempt from normal social ethics so they are free to pursue the objective welfare of patients (provided they consent to such benefit). Administrators are in no better position to allocate scarce resources. What is needed is input from patients to (a) set categorical limits on their own care, (b) articulate principles for fine-tuning the allocation decisions, and (c) supervise professional agents who will make specific gatekeeping decisions for allocating a pool of resources legitimately thought to belong to the patient population. Neither administrators nor clinicians will be responsible for rationing decisions. In 1989 we spent $604.1 billion on health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1990). That is almost $2 billion a day. Sometimes the benefits are dramatic: the pneumonia cured, the heart transplanted, the children spared from infectious diseases with immunizations that cost only pennies. Even so, the American health care system leaves much to be desired. Many other countries have higher life expectancy at birth. Infant mortality in the United States is far higher than countries like Japan and Sweden (United Nations Children's Fund 1990). If we look at the distribution of health status in the United States, the problems look even worse. Today, depending on the study, about 13 to 15 percent of the population has no health insurance at all (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1989; Short, Monheit, and Beauregard 1989). Another 13 percent is woefully underinsured (Farley 1985). Social variables such as income, education, and race reveal dramatically different health status (Short, Monheit, and Beauregard 1989; Farley 1985). To respond to these needs, rationing will be essential.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Upgrading from Right Ventricular Apical Pacing to Biventricular Pacing

It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the population worldwide suffers from congestive heart failure, of whom up to 30% may also have ventricular dyssynchrony resulting from intraventricular conduction delay [1, 2]. Recent work has demonstrated that biventricular pacing may be undertaken to achieve cardiac resynchronization, with resulting improvement in acute hemo-dynamics [3,4] and sustained amelioration of heart failure symptoms [5–7]. A recent meta-analysis also indicates that cardiac resynchronization reduces mortality from progressive heart failure in patients with symptomatic impairment in left ventricular function [8], and recently reported late-breaking trials from the COMPANION investigators, as yet unpublished, substantiate this impression [9]. What remains unclear is the prevalence of symptomatic heart failure in patients with ventricular dyssynchrony due to right ventricular apical pacing, and whether revision to biventricular pacing in these patients will afford symptomatic relief and/or improved survival. It is the purpose of this chapter to assess the role of cardiac resynchronization in patients with paced rhythm from the right ventricular apex.
Feature-based telescope scheduler

Feature-based Scheduler offers a sequencing strategy for ground-based telescopes. This scheduler is designed in the framework of Markovian Decision Process (MDP), and consists of a sub-linear online controller, and an offline supervisory control-optimizer. Online control law is computed at the moment of decision for the next visit, and the supervisory optimizer trains the controller by simulation data. Choice of the Differential Evolution (DE) optimizer, and introducing a reduced state space of the telescope system, offer an efficient and parallelizable optimization algorithm. In this study, we applied the proposed scheduler to the problem of Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Preliminary results for a simplified model of LSST is promising in terms of both optimality, and computational cost.
Human Nuclear Thyroid Hormone Receptors

Nuclear thyroid hormone receptors are acidic, non–histone, chromatin associated proteins (1) with molecular weights of 47,000 – 57,000 (2,3) and bind T3 with high affinity in the presence of sulfhydryl groups (4). It is generally believed that nuclear receptors mediate biological responses after binding thyroid hormone and induce activation of specific gene expression. Although nuclear thyroid hormone receptors exist in human tissues (5,6), most studies have been performed on rat tissues, including liver, kidney, and cultured pituitary cells. To further study nuclear thyroid hormone receptors in human tissues, we developed an improved isolation method for nuclei of cultured human hepatoma cells (Hep G2) and cultured human fibroblasts. The characteristics of nuclear receptors were compared in these cell lines.
The clay pipes from green spring plantation (44JC9), Virginia

Little descriptive material concerning clay tobacco pipes from circa 1650–1700 era Tidewater plantations has been published. This report presents formal analysis and description of the clay tobacco pipes recovered during 1954–55 excavations at Green Spring Plantation in James City County, Virginia. Two important characteristics of the assemblage emerge from the study. First, a high proportion of the pipe fragments are Dutch in origin, indicating a substantial degree of economic interaction between Tidewater Virginia and the Netherlands, at least in the limited sphere of the clay pipe trade. Second, an apparently well-developed terra-cotta pipe manufacturing capacity existed, possibly at Green Spring itself. This portion of the assemblage includes decorative design elements wholly different from those displayed on English or Dutch pipes.
The Expert Tech Controller: A Network Control Expert System

An Expert System for military communications network control is being implemented, and successive versions are currently being evaluated in the field by skilled operations personnel. The purposes of this paper are to describe the problem environment, to state the design and performance objectives of the Expert System, and to report the results achieved in implementing a system to meet these objectives.
Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of infantile congenital hydrocephalus.

Introduction Hydrocephalus is a complex neurological disorder with a pervasive impact on the central nervous system. Previous work has demonstrated derangements in the biochemical profile of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in hydrocephalus, particularly in infants and children, in whom neurodevelopment is progressing in parallel with concomitant neurological injury. The objective of this study was to examine the CSF of children with congenital hydrocephalus (CHC) to gain insight into the pathophysiology of hydrocephalus and identify candidate biomarkers of CHC with potential diagnostic and therapeutic value. Methods CSF levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and derivative isoforms (sAPPα, sAPPβ, Aβ42), tau, phosphorylated tau (pTau), L1CAM, NCAM-1, aquaporin 4 (AQP4), and total protein (TP) were measured by ELISA in 20 children with CHC. Two comparative groups were included: age-matched controls and children with other neurological diseases. Demographic parameters, ventricular frontal-occipital horn ratio, associated brain malformations, genetic alterations, and surgical treatments were recorded. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to examine the association of each CSF protein with CHC. Results CSF levels of APP, sAPPα, sAPPβ, Aβ42, tau, pTau, L1CAM, and NCAM-1 but not AQP4 or TP were increased in untreated CHC. CSF TP and normalized L1CAM levels were associated with FOR in CHC subjects, while normalized CSF tau levels were associated with FOR in control subjects. Predictive ability for CHC was strongest for sAPPα, especially in subjects ≤12 months of age (p<0.0001 and AUC = 0.99), followed by normalized sAPPβ (p = 0.0001, AUC = 0.95), tau, APP, and L1CAM. Among subjects ≤12 months, a normalized CSF sAPPα cut-point of 0.41 provided the best prediction of CHC (odds ratio = 528, sensitivity = 0.94, specificity = 0.97); these infants were 32 times more likely to have CHC. Conclusions CSF proteins such as sAPPα and related proteins hold promise as biomarkers of CHC in infants and young children, and provide insight into the pathophysiology of CHC during this critical period in neurodevelopment.
Conformal basis for flat space amplitudes

We study solutions of the Klein-Gordon, Maxwell, and linearized Einstein equations in ${\mathbb{R}}^{1,d+1}$ that transform as $d$-dimensional conformal primaries under the Lorentz group $SO(1,d+1)$. Such solutions, called conformal primary wavefunctions, are labeled by a conformal dimension $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ and a point in ${\mathbb{R}}^{d}$, rather than an on-shell ($d+2$)-dimensional momentum. We show that the continuum of scalar conformal primary wavefunctions on the principal continuous series $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\ensuremath{\in}\frac{d}{2}+i\mathbb{R}$ of $SO(1,d+1)$ spans a complete set of normalizable solutions to the wave equation. In the massless case, with or without spin, the transition from momentum space to conformal primary wavefunctions is implemented by a Mellin transform. As a consequence of this construction, scattering amplitudes in this basis transform covariantly under $SO(1,d+1)$ as $d$-dimensional conformal correlators.
An exploratory study of health scientists’ data reuse behaviors: Examining attitudinal, social, and resource factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how health scientists’ attitudinal, social, and resource factors affect their data reuse behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A survey method was utilized to investigate to what extent attitudinal, social, and resource factors influence health scientists’ data reuse behaviors. The health scientists’ data reuse research model was validated by using partial least squares (PLS) based structural equation modeling technique with a total of 161 health scientists in the USA. Findings The analysis results showed that health scientists’ data reuse intentions are driven by attitude toward data reuse, community norm of data reuse, disciplinary research climate, and organizational support factors. This research also found that both perceived usefulness of data reuse and perceived concern involved in data reuse have significant influences on health scientists’ attitude toward data reuse. Research limitations/implications This research evaluated its newly proposed research model based on the theory of planned behavior using a sample from the community of scientists’ scholar database. This research showed an overall picture of how attitudinal, social, and resource factors influence health scientists’ data reuse behaviors. This research is limited due to its sample size and low response rate, so this study is considered as an exploratory study rather than a confirmatory study. Practical implications This research suggested for health science research communities, academic institutions, and libraries that diverse strategies need to be utilized to promote health scientists’ data reuse behaviors. Originality/value This research is one of initial studies in scientific data reuse which provided a holistic map about health scientists’ data sharing behaviors. The findings of this study provide the groundwork for strategies to facilitate data reuse practice in health science areas.
Progesterone-only contraception is associated with a shorter progression-free survival in premenopausal women with WHO Grade I meningioma

The hormonally active nature of intracranial meningioma has prompted research examining the risk of tumorigenesis in patients using hormonal contraception. Studies exploring estrogen-only and estrogen/progesterone combination contraceptives have failed to demonstrate a consistent increased risk of meningioma. By contrast, the few trials examining progesterone-only contraceptives have shown higher odds ratios for risk of meningioma. With progesterone-only contraception on the rise, the risk of tumor recurrence with these specific medications warrants closer study. We sought to determine whether progesterone-only contraception increases recurrence rate and decreases progression-free survival in pre-menopausal women with surgically resected WHO Grade I meningioma. Comparative analysis of 67 pre-menopausal women taking hormone-based contraceptives (progesterone-only medication, n = 21; estrogen-only or estrogen/progesterone combination medication, n = 46) who underwent surgical resection of WHO Grade I intracranial meningioma was performed. Differences in demographics, degree of resection, adjuvant therapy and time to recurrence were compared between the two groups. Compared to patients taking combination or estrogen-only contraception, those taking progesterone-only contraception demonstrated a greater recurrence rate (33.3 vs. 19.6%) with a reduced time to recurrence (18 vs. 32 months, p = 0.038) despite a significantly shorter follow-up (p = 0.014). There were no significant demographic or treatment related differences. The results from this study suggest that exogenous progesterone-only medications may represent a specific contraceptive subgroup that should be avoided in patients with meningioma.
Theory of finite goal-oriented communication

This chapter describes a formal theory of semantic communication in terms of “goals” for communication. In this chapter, we focus exclusively on finite goals, where an agent wishes to reach some desired state of being, in contrast to infinite goals where an agent wishes to maintain some desirable state over time, which we will introduce in Chapter 6. We will describe our model for communicating agents and state our main definitions; in particular, we will introduce the “basic universal setting” for finite goals, in which we aim to design an agent for a finite goal that achieves the goal of communication with a partner in polynomial time whenever some other polynomial time agent could communicate with that partner. We then prove some basic results about this model—in particular, theorems characterizing when universal communication is possible with a given class of partners.
A phenotyping algorithm to identify acute ischemic stroke accurately from a national biobank: the Million Veteran Program

Background Large databases provide an efficient way to analyze patient data. A challenge with these databases is the inconsistency of ICD codes and a potential for inaccurate ascertainment of cases. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a reliable protocol to identify cases of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from a large national database. Methods Using the national Veterans Affairs electronic health-record system, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and National Death Index data, we developed an algorithm to identify cases of AIS. Using a combination of inpatient and outpatient ICD9 codes, we selected cases of AIS and controls from 1992 to 2014. Diagnoses determined after medical-chart review were considered the gold standard. We used a machine-learning algorithm and a neural network approach to identify AIS from ICD9 codes and electronic health-record information and compared it with a previous rule-based stroke-classification algorithm. Results We reviewed administrative hospital data, ICD9 codes, and medical records of 268 patients in detail. Compared with the gold standard, this AIS algorithm had a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 95%, and positive predictive value of 88%. A total of 80,508 highly likely cases of AIS were identified using the algorithm in the Veterans Affairs national cardiovascular disease-risk cohort (n=2,114,458). Conclusion Our algorithm had high specificity for identifying AIS in a nationwide electronic health-record system. This approach may be utilized in other electronic health databases to accurately identify patients with AIS.
Deleterious Impact of Expressive Suppression on Test Performance Persists at One-Year Follow-Up in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Objectives: Expressive suppression (ES) is an emotion-regulation strategy that is associated with poorer performance on subsequently administered tests of executive functioning (EF). It is not known, however, how far into the future ES interferes with EF. This study examined whether (a) ES negatively affects performance on EF tests repeated 1 year after the initial administration (presumably through interference with learning, leading to a reduced practice effect), and (b) whether such an effect, if seen, is unique to EF or whether it also affects lower-order cognitive processes needed for EF test performance. Methods: Sixty-six non-demented community-dwelling older adults were randomly assigned to either an ES group or control group. Executive and non-executive tests were administered before and immediately following the exposure to an emotionally evocative video, and then again at 1-year follow-up. Groups were compared at 1-year follow-up on tests of EF and lower-order processes, to examine whether the previously demonstrated impact of ES on EF is evident only immediately following the experimental manipulation (Franchow & Suchy, 2017), or also at 1-year follow-up. Results: The results showed that participants who engaged in ES continued to exhibit poorer performance on EF tests 1 year later. This effect was not present for performance on tests of lower-order processes. Conclusions: These results suggest that the use of ES before an EF task can interfere with the ability to benefit from exposure to that task, thereby negatively affecting future performance. (JINS, 2019, 25, 29–38)
Stochastic Load Frequency Control of Microgrids Including Wind Source Based on Identification Method

Load Frequency Control (LFC) of microgrids has become crucial due to immense deployment of renewable energy, and load variation. Some types of frequency deviations are associated with sustainable energy sources and loads as a result of their stochastic nature. These variations create oscillatory responses which can lead to stability issues with a traditional controller. To better address the microgrid stability, it is required to utilize a robust and reliable controller to manage the energy sources and control the frequency even under heavy oscillations. Thus two-layer linear quadratic regulator (LQR) based controller in conjunction with an improved measurement-based observer is proposed to address this hard frequency control problem in presence of variations. Throughout performing this proposed algorithm, the oscillation signal is dealt with as an unknown input (UI) and affects some of the system states. The first layer identifies UI and actively eliminates that signal; meanwhile, in the second layer, LQR regulates frequency based on the estimated states of the system. Results confirm the efficacy of this control framework based on system parameter identification under varied uncertainties of wind energy and load profiles.
Exciton transport in strained monolayer WSe2

We experimentally demonstrate the visualization of exciton energy transport in a non-uniformly strained WSe2 monolayer by monitoring the propagation of exciton densities via spectrally, temporally, and spatially resolved photoluminescence measurements at room temperature. Our measurements indicate that excitons in the WSe2 monolayer exhibit anomalous diffusion due to disorder in the system, which leads to a time-varying diffusion coefficient. In addition, we show that the sensitivity of monolayer WSe2's bandgap to strain gives rise to a built-in excitonic potential that results in the funneling of excitons towards high tensile strain points. The observed drift and diffusion agree reasonably with our proposed model that takes into account the strain field on the monolayer to describe the exciton dynamics.
Oncologists’ priorities for breast cancer follow-up.

e20602 Background: Wide variation exists in the roles of medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists in breast cancer follow-up, which can lead to both duplication and gaps in care. Understanding ...
Stability in Fluorine-Treated Al-Rich High Electron Mobility Transistors with 85% Al-Barrier Composition

Combined with recess etching, Al-rich III-N high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) can be treated with a reactive ion etch plasma to implant F- ions into the HEMT's near surface region for a positive threshold voltage $(V_{TH})$ shift to achieve enhancement-mode (e-mode) operation. These HEMTs, along with depletion-mode (d-mode) controls that lack fluorine treatment, were evaluated for F- ion stability using step-stress and fixed-bias stress experiments. Step-stress experiments identified parametric shifts as a function of the drain-voltage $(V_{DS})$ stress prior to catastrophic failure that occurred at ${\it V_{DS}}$ ranging between 70–75 V. Fixed bias stressing at $V_{DS}=50\mathrm{V}$ was conducted at $190\ ^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ Both e- and d- mode HEMTs exhibited a negative $V_{TH}$ shift of $0.6-1.0 \mathrm{V}$ during early time stressing at 190°C, with minor on-resistance effects, but both HEMT types were thereafter stable up to 4 hours. The early time changes are common to both e-mode and d-mode HEMTs and the F-induced ${\it V_{TH}}$ delta between e- and d-mode HEMTs remains intact within the bias-temperature stressing conditions of this work.
DNA polymerase activity on synthetic N3'→P5' phosphoramidate DNA templates

Genetic polymers that could plausibly govern life in the universe might inhabit a broad swath of chemical space. A subset of these genetic systems can exchange information with RNA and DNA and could therefore form the basis for model protocells in the laboratory. N3'→P5' phosphoramidate (NP) DNA is defined by a conservative linkage substitution and has shown promise as a protocellular genetic material, but much remains unknown about its functionality and fidelity due to limited enzymatic tools. Conveniently, we find widespread NP-DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity among reverse transcriptases, an observation consistent with structural studies of the RNA-like conformation of NP-DNA duplexes. Here, we analyze the consequences of this unnatural template linkage on the kinetics and fidelity of DNA polymerization activity catalyzed by wild-type and variant reverse transcriptases. Template-associated deficits in kinetics and fidelity suggest that even highly conservative template modifications give rise to error-prone DNA polymerase activity. Enzymatic copying of NP-DNA sequences is nevertheless an important step toward the future study and engineering of this synthetic genetic polymer.
User Experience (re)Design and Evaluation of a Self-Guided, Mobile Health App for Adolescents with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a significant cause of morbidity for adolescents. Currently, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions to address common sequelae of mTBI. To address this gap, we designed a program to promote recovery for adolescents following mTBI. Preliminary testing of the Self-Monitoring Activity Regulation and Relaxation Treatment (SMART) program demonstrated good usability but indicated a need for modifications to the program. The SMART application was redesigned with the addition of more interactive and gamified components. Content was also reframed to specifically target and engage adolescents with mTBI. We describe the usability evaluation of the updated SMART application. Children aged 11-18 years diagnosed with mTBI who were 1 to 6 months post mTBI were recruited to participate in a 1-2-hour usability session in which they thought aloud and responded to targeted usability-related questions during their interaction with the SMART program. After completing the session, participants rated their usability experience using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and rated the overall user-friendliness of the program. Participants' responses during the session were qualitatively coded and analyzed. Six adolescents participated in a usability session (average age = 13.7 years). On the SUS, participants rated the program as highly usable (M = 85.6, SD = 3.24). They also had overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding the content, design and structure of the program. Overall, findings suggest that the redesigned SMART program was usable, acceptable, and relevant to adolescents with mTBI. Based on adolescents' feedback, additional modifications were made before the program undergoes efficacy testing.
Flow Equation Approach to Periodically Driven Quantum Systems

New techniques for analyzing the response of quantum many-body systems to time-varying, periodic external fields extend current methods to the low-frequency regime, a critical step for predicting emergent novel phases.
Community Approaches to Sexual Assault: VAWA's Role and Survivors' Experiences.

This article reviews two types of community-based approaches to addressing sexual assault that survivors may encounter—sexual assault nurse examiners and victim advocates from nonprofit community a...
Results of a Team Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in a Patient with Pain.

Purpose As rates of chronic pain and opioid use disorder continue to rise, improved pain education is essential. Using an interprofessional team objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) simulation, this study evaluates whether prior exposure to a case-based learning module improves students' assessment and treatment planning of a standardized patient prescribed chronic opioids presenting with acute pain. Methods A quasi-experimental mixed method approach using convenience sampling was employed to evaluate student performance and the impact of the educational intervention. Results Fourteen (intervention) and 16 (control) nurse practitioner, physician assistant, medical, pharmacy, and dental students in the final pre-licensure program years completed the team OSCE. Demographics, OSCE learning scores, Interprofessional Attitudes Scale scores, and pain management plans did not differ between groups. All students evaluated the activity highly. Qualitative analysis did not demonstrate differences between groups, but did identify similar themes: students missed opportunities to establish patient-provider rapport and educate across disciplines; opioid use disorder was assumed with chronic opioid therapy; team discussions improved treatment plans; moderators variably influenced team discussion. Conclusion This novel approach to interprofessional training in pain management using a team OSCE is promising, with modifications suggested. A case-based learning module without structured education prior to the OSCE did not improve students' assessment and pain management skills compared to a control group. Nonetheless, important themes emerged including biases towards the standardized patient. Additional research is needed to develop effective curricular initiatives to foster and improve interprofessional collaboration in assessing and managing a standardized patient with acute and chronic pain.
Hot-carrier enabled nonlinear nanophotonics

The dynamics of plasmonically induced hot carriers offers a novel route to nonlinear optical effects. In this Keynote lecture, we elucidate how to leverage the generation, transport, and relaxation of hot carriers for externally triggered nonlinear optical properties in nanophotonic structures. Examples to be presented include the ultrafast control of light via hot-electron modulated optical Kerr effect, and ultrafast conversion of a statically-passive dielectric to a transient second-order nonlinear medium upon the creation and transfer of hot carriers. The methodology described here can be extended to various material systems, enabling a new class of “material-by-design” for nonlinear optical effects.
Acute Vibration Feedback During Gait Reduces Mechanical Ankle Joint Loading in Chronic Ankle Instability Patients

Abstract Background Individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) exhibit altered vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF), a laterally shifted center of pressure, and an inverted foot position during walking. These neuromechanical alterations are linked with altered ankle joint loading in this population. Vibration-based gait retraining improves center of pressure positioning but effects on neuromechanical variables influencing joint loading remains unknown. Research Question Do patients with CAI exhibit altered vGRF and ankle joint contact forces (JCF) after receiving a single session of vibration-based gait retraining? Methods Ten individuals with CAI underwent a single session of vibration-based gait retraining. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected during walking on an instrumental treadmill with force plates embedded in it. Following a baseline gait assessment without feedback, participants walked at a self-selected speed for 10 minutes while receiving feedback. Data was collected during an early (1 st and 2 nd minute) and late adaptation phase (9 th and 10 th minute) and, compared to baseline values. Impact and propulsive vGRF variables (i.e. peak, time to peak, and loading rate) were obtained. Musculoskeletal modeling was used to calculate ankle JCF variables (peak, impulse, and loading rate) during stance phase. Results Propulsive vGRF and ankle JCF outcomes were significantly reduced during the early and late adaptation phases (p ≤ 0.039). Significance These results indicate that vibration-based gait retraining can immediately reduce propulsive vGRF and ankle JCF and may represent a modality that could help restore appropriate ankle joint loading patterns in those with CAI.
Is Trust the Whole Story? Rethinking Online Auction viaNetwork Exchange Theory

It is generally accepted that trust has main effects on the final prices in online auctions, and that trust-building techniques are important for guiding auction behavior. Previous empirical studies, however, did not find strong evidence to support this. A possible reason is that available studies are based upon the dyadic relationship between sellers and bidders, but the social networks embedded in the auctions are overlooked. Based on the Network Exchange Theory, this research investigates the impact of social networks on the bidding prices, and re-examines the role that trust plays in online auctions. It suggests that both the competition among bidders and previous auctions of similar merchandises have direct impact on the final price, and that trust influences the price indirectly through its impact on participation in bidding. A preliminary empirical study is conducted to test these hypotheses, and the result supports the conceived impact of social networks. This study provides a new approach to online auction research and extends available knowledge on bidding behavior.
Hormonal Regulation of Begging Behaviour

Begging is the first coordinated behaviour altricial birds perform after hatching. As the neuromuscular substrates, brain, sensory organs and endocrine systems mature, this simple reflex develops rapidly into a more complex behaviour that is influenced by external stimuli and by internal signals such as hormones. In this chapter we discuss the maturation of endocrine systems and the role of hormones in the regulation of begging in altricial birds and describe the development of physiological systems that may influence begging performance. First, we elaborate on the neuromuscular and sensory substrates that may be involved in the begging response. Then, we describe the development and maturation of relevant endocrine regulatory systems that may influence intensity, frequency and duration of begging. We also discuss effects of endogenous and maternally-derived hormones on the development, regulation and performance of begging. Finally, we suggest several approaches to the study of begging that may be useful for testing evolutionary theories such as parent-offspring conflict, sibling rivalry and parental favouritism.
Juror Beliefs About Police Interrogations, False Confessions, and Expert Testimony

Although there has been a rapid expansion in research on police interrogations and false confessions, little is known about the beliefs of potential jurors as to these issues. In collaboration with a trial research firm, we recruited 461 jury-eligible men and women who matched the demographic characteristics of jury pools in several states. Surrogate jurors responded to questions and statements in five areas: likely rates of false confessions for different crimes, the ability to discern true from false confessions, beliefs about false confessions, beliefs about permissible interrogation tactics, and beliefs about expert testimony on police interrogations. Results indicated that jurors believed that police interrogators are better than ordinary people at identifying lies and that this ability improves with experience. Jurors believed that they would be able to differentiate a true confession from a false confession by watching a videotape, but were less confident about making such a differentiation from an audio recording. A large majority of the sample reported that it would be helpful to hear expert testimony about interrogation techniques and reasons why a defendant might falsely confess to a crime. There were no significant gender differences. Compared to whites, nonwhite jurors had significantly less confidence in the abilities of the police and gave significantly higher estimates of false confession rates. Results are discussed in light of prior research and implications for jury decision making and expert testimony.
Sequences and Series of Functions

In Chap. 2, we studied sequences and series of (constant) real numbers. In most problems, however, it is desirable to approximate functions by more elementary ones that are easier to investigate. We have already done this on a few occasions. For example, in Chap. 4, we looked at the uniform approximation of continuous functions by step, piecewise linear, and polynomial functions.
Launch Vehicle Propulsion Parameter Design Multiple Selection Criteria

The optimization tool described herein addresses and emphasizes the use of computer tools to model a system and focuses on a concept development approach for a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen single-stage-to-orbit system, but more particularly the development of the optimized system using new techniques. This methodology uses new and innovative tools to run Monte Carlo simulations, genetic algorithm solvers, and statistical models in order to optimize a design concept. The concept launch vehicle and propulsion system were modeled and optimized to determine the best design for weight and cost by varying design and technology parameters. Uncertainty levels were applied using Monte Carlo Simulations and the model output was compared to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle Main Engine. Several key conclusions are summarized here for the model results. First, the Gross Liftoff Weight and Dry Weight were 67% higher for the design case for minimization of Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost when compared to the weights determined by the minimization of Gross Liftoff Weight case. In turn, the Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost was 53% higher for optimized Gross Liftoff Weight case when compared to the cost determined by case for minimization of Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost. Therefore, a 53% increase in Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost results in a 67% reduction in Gross Liftoff Weight. Secondly, the tool outputs define the sensitivity of propulsion parameters, technology and cost factors and how these parameters differ when cost and weight are optimized separately. A key finding was that for a Space Shuttle Main Engine thrust level the oxidizer/fuel ratio of 6.6 resulted in the lowest Gross Liftoff Weight rather than at 5.2 for the maximum specific impulse, demonstrating the relationships between specific impulse, engine weight, tank volume and tank weight. Lastly, the optimum chamber pressure for Gross Liftoff Weight minimization was 2713 pounds per square inch as compared to 3162 for the Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost optimization case. This chamber pressure range is close to 3000 pounds per square inch for the Space Shuttle Main Engine.
Intra-abdominal rupture of pelvic abscesses

Abstract Intra-abdominal rupture of a pelvic abscess is a serious complication of pelvic inflammatory disease but not so frequent as to indicate operative treatment of all cases of pelvic inflammatory disease. A modern method of treatment has been presented that has lowered the mortality from 90 to 12 per cent at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Vigorous treatment of shock, antibiotic therapy, deflation of the distended stomach and bowel by the Cantor or Miller-Abbott tube are important preoperative measures. Removal of the pelvic source of infection by subtotal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy is usually the operation of choice. This should be done promptly and followed by continued therapy of the type instituted preoperatively.
Transform-based medical image compression using a recursive preprocessing approach

A recursive preprocessing approach to transform-based medical image compression is presented. This preprocessing approach, combined with the cas-cas transform, shows good performance when applied to medical magnetic resonance images (MRIs). Overall, recursive preprocessing significantly improved all transform-based compression schemes tested, with more improvement noted in the fast cas-cas transform (FCCT) than in the fast cosine transform (FCT). By performing a recursive preprocessing step in the space domain before transforming, edge discontinuities are reduced so that energy packing efficiency can be higher. By using the FCCT, a speed advantage is obtained as compared to the commonly used FCT. The preliminary results show that the compression algorithm using the cas-cas transform affords both a higher compression ratio and speedier computation than the conventional cosine transform. >
Energy-scalable algorithms and protocols for wireless microsensor networks

Wireless microsensor networks lend themselves to trade-offs in energy and quality. In these networks, the individual sensor data per se are not necessarily important to the end user. Rather, it is the combined knowledge of all the sensors that describes what is occurring in the environment. By allowing the algorithms and protocols to adapt the quality of this description, with a corresponding change in energy dissipation, sensor networks can be flexible to the end-user's requirements. In this paper, we provide models for predicting quality and energy and show the advantages of trading off these two parameters. By ensuring that the system operates at a minimum energy for each quality point, the system can achieve both flexibility and energy efficiency, allowing the end-user to maximize system lifetime.
Optimal power control for multiple access channel with peak and average power constraints

In this paper, we study optimal power control for multiple access channel with peak and average power constraints. Perfect channel information is assumed to be available at both the transmitter and the receiver. We characterize the structures of the optimal power control policy and show that the optimal policy allows multiple users to transmit at peak power and at most one user to transmit at an intermediate power level. This is different from the optimal TDMA policy (at most one user is allowed to transmit at any given time) for the case of average power constraint only. We and closed-form expressions for computing the optimal power control policy and the maximal sum capacity. Numerical results indicate that under the peak power constraint, the optimal power control policy still achieves very close to the sum capacity of the multiple access channel with average power constraint only.
Neuroendocrine Control of the Onset of Puberty

Sexual maturation has been variously defined by biologists in the past, but all definitions have included the orderly sequence of maturational events culminating in reproductive competence. Despite the relatively uniform agreement as to the essential components of this process, so critical to the propagation of the species, there is little understanding of its regulation and even less of its control. What is clear is that this development stage, termed puberty in the human, is composed of at least three distinct beiological processes: gonadal maturation, adrenal maturation, and a somatic growth spurt.
Prospects for epidermal growth factor in the management of corneal disorders

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a naturally occurring mitogen which, in its recombinant form, is under intensive investigation for therapeutic use. Receptor activation by EGF induces up-regulation of synthesis of specific proteins as well as proliferation and differentiation of the corneal epithelium, keratocytes, and endothelium both in vivo and in vitro. With topical application of EGF, corneal wounds could possibly heal within hours, and the strength of the stromal scars is also increased; this may lead to the prospect of sutureless surgery. It may be possible to treat degenerative and dystrophic disorders of the cornea, especially of the endothelium, and to enhance the density of endothelial cells in donor corneas prior to transplantation. Combination therapy with EGF, fibroblast growth factor, and corticosteroids may be advantageous in producing a synergistic effect. It is possible that, with increased knowledge of the pharmacokinetics and the development of appropriate delivery systems, EGF could become an integral part of the next generation of ophthalmic pharmaceuticals.
Saint-Venant's Principle

The principle of the elastic equivalence of statically equivalent systems of load, or Saint-Venant's Principle, is given a precise mathematical formulation and proof. Counterexamples to traditional verbal statements of the principle are given, and the results are compared with previous mathematical work on the Saint-Venant principle.
Hydrogen bonding and solvent polarity markers in the uv resonance raman spectrum of tryptophan: application to membrane proteins.

Ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectra of tryptophan compounds in various solvents and a model peptide are presented and reveal systematic changes that reflect solvent polarity, hydrogen bond strength, and cation−π interaction. The commonly utilized UVRR spectral marker for environment polarity that has been based on off-resonance Raman data, the tryptophan Fermi doublet ratio I∼1360/I∼1340, exhibits different values in on- and off-resonance Raman spectra as well as for different tryptophan derivatives. Specifically, the UVRR Fermi doublet ratio for indole ranges from 0.3 in polar solvents to 0.8 in nonpolar solvents, whereas the respective values reported here and previously for off-resonance Raman spectra are 0.5−1.3. UVRR Fermi doublet ratios for the more biologically relevant molecule, N-acetyl tryptophan ethyl ester (NATEE), are in a smaller range of 1.1 (polar solvent) to 1.7 (nonpolar solvent) and correlate to the solvent polarity/polarization parameters π* and ETN. As has been reported previou...