cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A study of electromigration in Sn3.5Ag and Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu solder lines

Due to the miniaturization of very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) of circuits, electromigration (EM) has become a reliability concern in flip chip solder joints. Electromigration accelerates the dissolution of under bump metallization (UBM) materials into solder alloys, and the migration of solder matrix to the anode side. This rapid dissolution and migration will finally cause an open circuit failure due to the lose of UBM and voids formation at the cathode. At the anode, EM induces excessive intermetallic compound (IMC) formation at the UBM interface, which will degrade the joint strength and device lifetime. In this study, we investigated the polarity effect of EM in v-groove solder line. Cu/Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu/Cu v-groove structure was stress at 150/spl deg/C to study the dissolution of copper and IMC at the cathode side. Kinetic analysis provided the calculation of the effective charge number Z* of Cu/sub 6/Sn/sub 5/, which is 87-68. Single-segment and multisegment of Ni/Sn3.5Ag/Ni v-groove lines were prepared for the study of the IMC growth at the anode side and the length dependence of EM in solder alloy, respectively. The kinetic analysis showed that the time dependence of the Ni/sub 3/Sn/sub 4/ IMC formation at the anode side was between parabolic and linear. The results from the multi-segment samples showed the existence of back-stress in Sn3.5Ag solder.
My funny valentine: How humor styles affect romantic interest

Humor tends to predict romantic attraction, but does the style in which it is communicated matter? This study uses experimental methods to test the effects of positive and negative humor styles on short-term and long-term romantic interest. The authors randomly assigned 251 participants to read 1 of 4 relationship initiation vignettes depicting either an affiliative or aggressive humor style. Participants reported their short-term and long-term interest and made judgments of the relationship initiator's competence and warmth. Results support a fitness indicator model of humor style's role in relationship initiation; positive styles were preferred for long-term relationships while competence and warmth inferences predicted long-term attraction. The findings are discussed within the broader context of mate selection goals and challenges.
Mutational Analysis of nocK and nocL in the Nocardicin A Producer Nocardia uniformis

The nocardicins are a family of monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics produced by the actinomycete Nocardia uniformis subsp. tsuyamanensis ATCC 21806. The most potent of this series is nocardicin A, containing a syn-configured oxime moiety, an uncommon feature in natural products. The nocardicin A biosynthetic gene cluster was recently identified and found to encode proteins in keeping with nocardicin A production, including the nocardicin N-oxygenase, NocL, in addition to genes of undetermined function, such as nocK, which bears similarities to a broad family of esterases. The latter was hypothesized to be involved in the formation of the critical β-lactam ring. While previously shown to effect oxidation of the 2′-amine of nocardicin C to provide nocardicin A, it was uncertain whether NocL was the only N-oxidizing enzyme required for nocardicin A biosynthesis. To further detail the role of NocL in nocardicin production in N. uniformis, and to examine the function of nocK, a method for the transformation of N. uniformis protoplasts to inactivate both nocK and nocL was developed and applied. A reliable protocol is reported to achieve both insertional disruption and in trans complementation in this strain. While the nocK mutant still produced nocardicin A at levels near that seen for wild-type N. uniformis, and therefore has no obvious role in nocardicin biosynthesis, the nocL disruptant failed to generate the oxime-containing metabolite. Nocardicin A production was restored in the nocL mutant upon in trans expression of the gene. Furthermore, the nocL mutant accumulated the biosynthetic intermediate nocardicin C, confirming its role as the sole oxime-forming enzyme required for production of nocardicin A.
A theory of fatigue damage accumulation and repair in cortical bone

An analysis is presented of the balance between the accumulation and repair of fatigue damage in osteonal bone. Fatigue damage is defined in terms of cracks seen histologically when precautions are taken to avoid preparation artifact. The rate of occurrence of such damage is assumed to be proportional to the product of applied peak-to-peak stress, raised to a power, and the loading frequency. The rate of damage repair is assumed to be proportional to the activation rate for osteonal remodeling, and to the mean cross-sectional area of the resulting osteons. An additional factor is introduced to account for the possibility that damage provokes nearby remodeling. The theory is used to compare data from previous experiments of two types: fatigue-to-failure, and studies in which histologically observable cracks are made more numerous by repetitive loading. The analysis shows that there is a measure of agreement between the results of the two kinds of experiments, but the current data are too limited, and the results are too dependent on the mode of loading, to adequately test the theory. However, the analysis provides a framework for designing experiments to more efficiently clarify the relationships between fatigue failure, cracks seen in histologic sections, and the rate at which such cracks are repaired by osteonal remodeling.
Bacterial Fatty Acid Biosynthesis: Targets for Antibacterial Drug Discovery

▪ Abstract The increase in drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria has created an urgent demand for new antibiotics. Among the more attractive targets for the development of new antibacterial compounds are the enzymes of fatty acid biosynthesis. Although a number of potent inhibitors of microbial fatty acid biosynthesis have been discovered, few of these are clinically useful drugs. Several of these fatty acid biosynthesis inhibitors have potential as lead compounds in the development of new antibacterials. This review encompasses the known inhibitors and prospective targets for new antibacterials.
Stripline-based spiral antennas with integrated feed structure, impedance transformer, and dyson-style balun

This work covers the design and experiment of a finite-ground stripline-based spiral antenna with a Dyson-style balun and feed network (including broadband impedance transformer) that have been integrated into a multi-layer (via-free) structure. The spiral antenna uses the finite grounds of the stripline feed network (including the balun and impedance transformer) as one arm of the spiral, and the center conductor of the stripline provides the complimentary spiral arm. This configuration provides a means to impedance match a spiral antenna by tailoring its spiral constant K (related to slot-to-metal ratio) to match the desired characteristic impedance of the stripline at the Dyson-style balun and accommodate very small feature sizes. The resulting structure maintains the typical radiation behavior and broadband operation of spiral antennas, but can be fabricated with IC processes and integrated with other components. Experimental results for an Archimedean spiral antenna are included to demonstrate the design.
Automated detection of exudates and macula for grading of diabetic macular edema

Medical systems based on state of the art image processing and pattern recognition techniques are very common now a day. These systems are of prime interest to provide basic health care facilities to patients and support to doctors. Diabetic macular edema is one of the retinal abnormalities in which diabetic patient suffers from severe vision loss due to affected macula. It affects the central vision of the person and causes total blindness in severe cases. In this article, we propose an intelligent system for detection and grading of macular edema to assist the ophthalmologists in early and automated detection of the disease. The proposed system consists of a novel method for accurate detection of macula using a detailed feature set and Gaussian mixtures model based classifier. We also present a new hybrid classifier as an ensemble of Gaussian mixture model and support vector machine for improved exudate detection even in the presence of other bright lesions which eventually leads to reliable classification of input retinal image in different stages of macular edema. The statistical analysis and comparative evaluation of proposed system with existing methods are performed on publicly available standard retinal image databases. The proposed system has achieved average value of 97.3%, 95.9% and 96.8% for sensitivity, specificity and accuracy respectively on both databases.
A note on the bathtub vortex

Observations were made of the vortex motion which occurs when a liquid is draining from a vessel through a hole in its bottom. It was found that, for relatively quiescent initial conditions, the direction of rotation reversed as the liquid surface approached the bottom of the vessel. An explanation of this phenomenon is proposed which is based upon the vorticity associated with the circumferential component of the flow in the boundary layer on the bottom of the vessel.
B1-insensitive T2 preparation for improved coronary magnetic resonance angiography at 3 T.

At 3 T, the effective wavelength of the RF field is comparable to the dimension of the human body, resulting in B1 standing wave effects and extra variations in phase. This effect is accompanied by an increase in B0 field inhomogeneity compared to 1.5 T. This combination results in nonuniform magnetization preparation by the composite MLEV weighted T2 preparation (T2 Prep) sequence used for coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). A new adiabatic refocusing T2 Prep sequence is presented in which the magnetization is tipped into the transverse plane with a hard RF pulse and refocused using a pair of adiabatic fast-passage RF pulses. The isochromats are subsequently returned to the longitudinal axis using a hard RF pulse. Numerical simulations predict an excellent suppression of artifacts originating from B1 inhomogeneity while achieving good contrast enhancement between coronary arteries and surrounding tissue. This was confirmed by an in vivo study, in which coronary MR angiograms were obtained without a T2 Prep, with an MLEV weighted T2 Prep and the proposed adiabatic T2 Prep. Improved quantitative and qualitative coronary MRA image measurement was achieved using the adiabatic T2 Prep at 3 T. Magn Reson Med 55:858 – 864, 2006. Published 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. †
Mechanization of a proof of string-preprocessing in Boyer-Moore's pattern matching algorithm

We report on a mechanization of a correctness proof of a string-preprocessing algorithm. This preprocessing algorithm is employed in Boyer-Moore's (1977) pattern matching algorithm. The mechanization is carried out using the PVS system. The correctness proof being mechanized has been formulated in Linear Time Temporal Logic. It consists of fourteen lemmata which are related to safety properties and two additional lemmata dealing with liveness properties. The entire mechanization of the safety and liveness parts has been completed. We mainly focus on mechanization of the safety part. In a future paper we will address our proof of the liveness part in more detail.
Optimum design of electron beam-semiconductor linear low-pass amplifiers&#8212;Part II: Output capabilities

This paper presents a simplest case analysis of the peak quasi-static output capability of a linear lumped-target beam-semiconductor amplifier. The basic assumptions in the response analysis of Part I [1] are used, together with the premise that the semiconductor velocity-field characteristic exhibits strong saturation at fields well below avalanche breakdown. The analysis applies to the ultimate pulsed output at low duty cycle since thermal effects are not considered. The fundamental current and voltage limitations on target output are discussed separately in limiting cases, and it is shown that the linear output capability is determined jointly by the drift-region width, bias field profile, and avalanche multiplication constraint. The dynamic electric field behavior is calculated for the general case where voltage and current effects appear simultaneously, and it is shown how the output capability can be maximized for a given target area and load impedance by proper choice of drift-region width and doping level. The ultimate pulsed dc output current, voltage, and power levels are evaluated for semiconductor targets in terms of the target area, load impedance, carrier drift velocity, semiconductor band gap, and avalanche multiplication constraint. Detailed numerical predictions are given for silicon targets. The usefulness of the quasi, static analysis is discussed, and it is shown that the results obtained apply with minor modification to the case of step-function excitation. In conjunction with the results of Part I, the combined gain, rise time, and pulsed output power performance boundaries are established for the basic lumped-target beam-semiconductor amplifier. The feasibility of a subnanosecond-rise-time linear amplifier with 50-dB gain and a multikilowatt pulsed output level is shown. Various semiconductor materials are evaluated for application in a beam-semiconductor amplifier by examination of an overall figure of merit comprising gain, rise time, and peak output capability, and it is demonstrated that Si, Ge, and GaAs are nearly equal in overall merit. In conclusion, several novel devices are described that illustrate the adaptability of the electron beam-semiconductor concept to multiple-signal amplifiers, fast waveform sampling, and traveling-wave amplification.
The Multivocality of Meaning Making: An Exploration of the Discourses College-Aged Daughters Voice in Talk about Their Mothers

The mother-daughter relationship is argued to be one of the most significant relationships in the family system. As such, it is important to investigate how daughters engage in meaning making regarding this relationship. The researchers used relational dialectics theory (Baxter, 2011; Baxter & Montgomery, 1996) to illuminate the interplay of discourses college-aged women voice as they talk with others about their relationships with their mothers. Framed within the dialectic of closeness and distance, inductive analysis revealed a total of six discourses at play in daughters' meaning making processes. Three discourses (i.e., friendship, parenthood, and independence) were voiced when daughters discussed times they felt closest to their mothers. The other three discourses (i.e., containment, impropriety, and separation) were evident in daughters' talk about times they felt distanced from their mothers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Sight-Singing Pedagogy: A Content Analysis of Choral Methods Textbooks.

The purpose of this study was to examine the sight-singing pedagogy content of choral methods textbooks, with the intent of determining what elements of sight-singing pedagogy are most commonly inc...
Rheology of the vitreous gel: effects of macromolecule organization on the viscoelastic properties.

The macromolecular organization of vitreous gel is responsible for its viscoelastic properties. Knowledge of this correlation enables us to relate the physical properties of vitreous to its pathology, as well as optimize surgical procedures such as vitrectomy. Herein, we studied the rheological properties (e.g. dynamic deformation, shear stress–strain flow, and creep compliance) of porcine vitreous humor using a stressed-control shear rheometer. All experiments were performed in a closed environment with the temperature set to that of the human body (i.e. 37 1C) to mimic in-vivo conditions. We modeled the creep deformation using the two-element retardation spectrum model. By associating each element of the model to an individual biopolymeric system in the vitreous gel, a distinct response to the applied stress was observed from each component. We hypothesized that the first viscoelastic response with the short time scale ( � 1 s) is associated with the collagen structure, while the second viscoelastic response with longer time scale ( � 100 s) is related to the microfibrilis and hyaluronan network. Consequently, we were able to differentiate the role of each main component from the overall viscoelastic properties.
Glaucoma and Quality of Life

Over 60 million people worldwide are affected by glaucoma, and disease prevalence is highest among the elderly (Quigley and Broman 2006). While effective treatments are available, there is no definitive cure, and many people continue to lose vision from this disease. Older people with glaucoma are at highest risk of experiencing disability due to more advanced visual field (VF) loss and other age-related factors (Mukesh et al. 2002; Leske et al. 2001). Understanding how glaucoma affects quality of life and disability has important ramifications for medical decision-making, developing rehabilitation programs, and allocating social services.
Quench Propagation Study for BNL-Built, Full-Length, 50mm Aperture SSC Model Dipoles

As part of the program to build and test SSC 50mm aperture prototype dipole magnets, a series of seven full-length (15m-long) dipoles were built and tested at BNL. The design of these magnets and their differences from the earlier 40mm aperture dipole magnets have been discussed elsewhere[1]. In order to thoroughly evaluate the performance of the new design, an extensive and varied schedule of tests were done, and these included quench testing and stress measurements to exhibit mechanical and thermal behavior, a ramp rate quench program to study eddy current heating effects in the conductors, and a multitude of magnetic field measurements to characterize field quality.
Long-Term Consequences of High Carbohydrate Intake during the Suckling Period on Lipid Synthesis in the Adult Rat

The influence of nutrition during early childhood on the etiology of obesity due to altered lipid metabolism later in life is poorly understood. Alterations in the supply of nutrients due to overnutrition, undernutrition or premature weaning during the first three weeks of life exert long-lasting effects in experimental animals. Most animal studies have relied either on manipulation of litter size to vary the amount of nutrients available during infancy or on alterations in maternal nutrient intake during pregnancy and/or lactation (1–3). Overfeeding of rat pups in early life induces an increased fat storage capacity by increasing differentiation and proliferation rates of adipocyte precursors (3) as well as by increasing hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities (4). However, in these studies overnutrition was achieved by providing substantially increased amounts of mother’s milk without attempting to change its composition.
The activity of silica, water, and the equilibration of intermediate and silicic magmas

Although many hydrous magmas may have phenocrysts that define silica activity (a S i O 2 ) (e.g., quartz or olivine + orthopyroxene), it is only possible to determine γ S i O 2 and X S i O 2 if the concentration of water in the magma can be established when the phenocrysts equilibrated. Thus experiments on hydrous magmas with known water concentrations are essential if RTlnγ S i O 2 is to be quantified. Using the relationship between RTlnγ S i O 2 and the composition of the magma, including water, the activities of silica in magmas can be set equal to either those defined by a mantle source, or to a phenocryst assemblage such as quartz. For intermediate magmas (52-63 wt% SiO 2 ) from the Mexican volcanic belt, it can be shown that hydrous magmas with less than ∼56 wt% SiO 2 and more than 6.5 wt% MgO, could have equilibrated with a mantle source, as represented by olivine + orthopyroxene in lherzolitic nodules carried to the surface by an andesitic lava. These limits are imposed by water saturation of magmas at 10 kb, which is a poorly known quantity. So indeed is the partial molar entropy of water that controls the thermal response to the exsolution of a fluid phase on magma ascent. In magmas bearing quartz phenocrysts, quartz can be used as a geobarometer, and the indicated pressures (′ 1.2 kb) for three samples of the Bishop Tuff agree with the water saturation curves at the temperatures of the Fe-Ti oxides, which indicate a pre-eruption magma column of ∼1.5 to 3.3 kms. For Katmai rhyolitic ejecta, there are inconsistencies between the measured water concentrations of the glass inclusions, the pressures derived from the water saturation curves at the Fe-Ti oxide temperatures, experimental phase equilibria, and the pressures derived from the proposed quartz barometer.
In the World of Language but not of It: Lacanian Inquiry into the Subject of Discourse Psychology

This paper examines the possibility of facilitating and maintaining the tension of dialogue between Lacanian psychoanalysis and discourse psychology. In the context of contemporary debates surround...
CATULLUS 61: EPITHALAMIUM AND COMPARISON

Similes are a prominent feature of epithalamia, with poets comparing the bride and groom to characters from myth or to elements of the natural world. Catullus wrote two epithalamia (61 and 62), together with two other poems with marked epithalamian characteristics (64 and 68). This paper examines the question of why similes are so important to the genre of epithalamium, concentrating on Catullus 61, which is particularly rich in its deployment of comparison. The paper argues that comparison is crucial to the themes of Roman marriage: similes locate the human institution of marriage between the poles of myth and nature, and they afford a vehicle for considering the way marriage links together the disparate terms of male and female.
From Whiteness to Colorblindness in Public Policies: Racial Formation and Urban Development

In the contemporary era, as U.S. society attempts to move toward racial equality, there is major disagreement among scholars regarding the degree to which public policies contribute to inequality. ...
Industrial research: Drug companies must adopt green chemistry

John L. Tucker and Margaret M. Faul describe how they transformed their company to save time and money by making drugs sustainably.
Differences in the Association between Depression and Opioid Misuse in Chronic Low Back Pain versus Chronic Pain at Other Locations.

Patients with chronic pain and depression are more likely to develop opioid abuse compared to patients without depression. It is not known if this association differs by pain location. We compared the strength of association between depression and opioid misuse in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) vs. chronic pain of other location (CPOL). Chart abstracted data was obtained from 166 patients seeking care in a family medicine clinic. Depression was measured by the PHQ-9 and opioid misuse was measured using the Current Opioid Misuse Measure. Pain severity and interference questions came from the Brief Pain Inventory. Cross-tabulations were computed to measure the association between depression and opioid misuse stratified on pain location. Exploratory logistic regression modeled the association between depression and opioid misuse after adjusting for pain location and pain severity and interference. Depression was significantly associated with opioid misuse in CPOL but not in CLBP. Regression results indicate pain interference partly accounts for the depression–opioid misuse association. These preliminary results from a small patient sample suggest depression may co-occur with opioid misuse more often in CPOL than in CLBP. Further research is needed to compare this comorbidity in specific pain diagnoses such as arthritis, fibromyalgia and CLBP.
Bullous Impetigo Rapid Diagnostic and Therapeutic Quiz: A Model for Assessing Basic Dermatology Knowledge of Primary Care Providers

Background/Objectives Bullous impetigo (BI) is a common dermatologic condition, particularly in children, yet confusion regarding its diagnosis and treatment persists. This study measured pediatricians' ability to diagnose and appropriately treat BI and explored factors that might influence pediatricians' accuracy in managing BI. Methods We administered an expert-validated survey to 64 pediatrics house staff and faculty at three Johns Hopkins Medicine facilities. The survey requested demographic information, diagnoses for five “unknown” cases, and preferred treatments for localized and widespread BI. Results Overall, BI was diagnosed correctly 31.9% of the time. There was little difference between house staff and faculty performance, although faculty 50 years of age and older demonstrated better diagnostic acumen. Regarding treatment of localized BI, 92% of faculty members and 84.6% of house staff listed mupirocin as first- or second-line treatment. The second most common medication listed for localized BI was bacitracin. Regarding treatment of widespread BI, faculty listed cephalexin or clindamycin as first- or second-line treatment 56.0% of the time and house staff listed one of these two medications 51.3% of the time. Results for faculty 50 years of age and older were comparable. Conclusions Improved pediatrician proficiency in the diagnosis and treatment of BI is needed for safe, cost-effective management. Physician age and experience appear to have a limited effect on the accuracy of BI diagnosis and management. Future educational efforts must be directed at trainees and their instructors.
Benchmark problems for numerical implementations of phase field models

Abstract We present the first set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While many scientific research areas use a limited set of well-established software, the growing phase field community continues to develop a wide variety of codes and lacks benchmark problems to consistently evaluate the numerical performance of new implementations. Phase field modeling has become significantly more popular as computational power has increased and is now becoming mainstream, driving the need for benchmark problems to validate and verify new implementations. We follow the example set by the micromagnetics community to develop an evolving set of benchmark problems that test the usability, computational resources, numerical capabilities and physical scope of phase field simulation codes. In this paper, we propose two benchmark problems that cover the physics of solute diffusion and growth and coarsening of a second phase via a simple spinodal decomposition model and a more complex Ostwald ripening model. We demonstrate the utility of benchmark problems by comparing the results of simulations performed with two different adaptive time stepping techniques, and we discuss the needs of future benchmark problems. The development of benchmark problems will enable the results of quantitative phase field models to be confidently incorporated into integrated computational materials science and engineering (ICME), an important goal of the Materials Genome Initiative.
A Language-Centric Study of Twitter Connectivity

One factor influencing human online connectivity, which only recently has been receiving attention, is the language used by the user in his activities. This paper uses Twitter (a popular online social network) to shed light on the effect of language to the online connectivity of people. Using techniques from Network Science, our work shows that Twitter users have a stronger preference to connect to people who use a common language, but more importantly, that this preference is stronger than the trend of connecting to people with similar popularity. Furthermore, we also show that the connecting patterns between users of different languages vary considerably; we use the concept of entropy to measure the degree of variation in the connecting patterns for each language.
The roles of auxeticity and volume fraction on γ′ precipitate microstructures in nickel-base alloys

New correlations are found between the elastic constants and late-stage precipitate microstructures in Ni–Al, Ni–Ga, Ni–Ge and Ni–Si alloys. The auxetic behaviour of Poisson’s ratio, ν, measured pa...
Dietary enrichment of broiler chicken with omega-3 fatty acids and beneficial role in human cardiovascular health: A Review

Broiler meat consumption in the world increases annually with the development of modern diet pattern. Saturated fatty acid content of the meat causes high risk of cardiovascular disease in human. Fish is an important source of omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in human. However, access to food fish, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, is questionable for many people in the world. Fortunately, studies revealed that the dietary enrichment of broiler chicken ration with omega-3 fatty acids enriched the broiler chicken meat with omega-3 fatty acids. Hence, consumption of such broiler chicken meat may supplement the scarcity of consumption of omega-3 fatty acids rich foods viz. fish. Moreover, dietary enrichment of omega-3 fatty acids improves carcass by reducing the abdominal fat deposition in broilers. However, shelf-life of broiler chicken meat that is enriched with omega-3 fatty acid is low due to high levels of lipid oxidation. However, usage of antioxidants improves the shelf-life of omega-3 fatty acid enriched broiler chicken meat.
Basics of study design: Practical considerations (From the "Biostatistics and Epidemiology Lecture Series, Part 1").

Basic research skills are not acquired from medical school but from a mentor.[1][1],[2][2] A mentor with experience in study design and technical writing can make a real difference in your career. Most good mentors have more ideas for studies than they have time for research, so they are willing to
P-MartCancer-Interactive Online Software to Enable Analysis of Shotgun Cancer Proteomic Datasets

P-MartCancer is an interactive web-based software environment that enables statistical analyses of peptide or protein data, quantitated from mass spectrometry-based global proteomics experiments, without requiring in-depth knowledge of statistical programming. P-MartCancer offers a series of statistical modules associated with quality assessment, peptide and protein statistics, protein quantification, and exploratory data analyses driven by the user via customized workflows and interactive visualization. Currently, P-MartCancer offers access and the capability to analyze multiple cancer proteomic datasets generated through the Clinical Proteomics Tumor Analysis Consortium at the peptide, gene, and protein levels. P-MartCancer is deployed as a web service (https://pmart.labworks.org/cptac.html), alternatively available via Docker Hub (https://hub.docker.com/r/pnnl/pmart-web/). Cancer Res; 77(21); e47-50. ©2017 AACR.
ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Twentieth Year of the OLCC

The ACS CHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE) ran the first intercollegiate OnLine Chemistry Course (OLCC) on Environmental and Industrial Chemistry in 1996, and is offering the seventh OLCC on Cheminformatics and Public Compound Databases: An Introduction to Big Data in Chemistry in 2017. This Communication summarizes the past, present, and future of OLCCs, which evolved out of the online ConfChem conferences that the CCCE has run since 1993. OLCCs actually pioneered the use of HTML papers before ConfChem did, as well as enabled discussions centered on different sections of a paper. OLCCs are technically hybrid courses involving local faculty facilitators who meet face-to-face with students and online guest lecturers who are experts in the topic of the OLCC. These not only allow schools to offer courses on topics they may not normally be able to offer, but open up the opportunity for collaborative teaching and learning across multiple institutions, both academic and nonacademic. This C...
Risk association of congenital anomalies in patients with ambiguous genitalia: A 22-year single-center experience.

Summary Background Ambiguous genitalia refers to a form of differences of sex development (DSD) wherein the appearance of the external genitalia is atypical. This rare condition presents challenges in decision-making and clinical management. Review of historical data may reveal areas for clinical research to improve care for patients with ambiguous genitalia. Objective This chart review was performed to identify patients with ambiguous genitalia, and to classify them as having 46,XX DSD, 46,XY DSD, or sex chromosome DSD. Within these categories, we looked at establishment of specific diagnoses, type and frequency of other congenital anomalies and neoplasms, and gender assignment, as well as incidence of gender reassignment and transition. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with DSD conditions from 1995 to 2016 using ICD9 codes. For the purpose of this study, review was limited to individuals assessed to have neonatal “ambiguous genitalia” or “indeterminate sex.” Results Review identified 128 patients evaluated for ambiguous genitalia from 22 years of experience (Figure). Approximately half of these (53%) had 46,XY karyotype, 35% had 46,XX, and the remaining 12% had sex chromosome aberrations. Diagnostic rate for 46,XX DSD was higher at 64%, all of which were congenital adrenal hyperplasia, while diagnostic rate for 46,XY DSD was 11.7% for a molecularly confirmed diagnosis and 24% if clinical diagnoses were included. The most common anomalies included cardiac anomalies in 28/128 (22%), skeletal anomalies in 19/128 (15%), and failure to thrive or growth problems in 19/128 (15%). Additional congenital anomalies were found in 53 out of 128 patients (41%). There were three reported neoplasms in this group: gonadoblastoma, hepatoblastoma, and myelodysplastic syndrome with monosomy 7. Gender assignment was consistent with chromosomes in approximately 90% of XX and XY patients. There were three recorded gender reassignments or transitions. Discussion Diagnostic rate for ambiguous genitalia is low, especially in 46,XY DSD. Most neonates were assigned gender consistent with their chromosomes. Given the high rate of associated anomalies, screening for cardiac or other anomalies in patients with ambiguous genitalia may be beneficial. Conclusion Patients with ambiguous genitalia often have additional congenital anomalies. Establishment of a specific diagnosis is uncommon in 46,XY patients. A few patients have gender reassignment outside of the newborn period. Ongoing collection of clinical data on this population may reveal new information regarding long-term health, quality of life, and establishment of more diagnoses with improved molecular techniques. Download : Download high-res image (136KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure . Flow chart of patients with ambiguous genitalia.
The Trouble With Don't Ask, Don't Tell

This article is a comment on Vaswani, Karter, Cosgrove, Peters, and Brodt's (2018) article “Depression Screening During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Enhancing Informed Consent Practices.” D...
Process Technology for Copper Interconnects

Copper interconnects have gained wide acceptance in the microelectronics industry due to improved resistivity and reliability compared to Al interconnects. Initially SiO 2 was used as the interlevel dielectric. To reduce interconnect capacitance, C-doped SiO 2 or SiCOH was introduced at the 90 nm node, and porous SiCOH was introduced at the 45 nm node, to achieve a dielectric constant of 2.5 or less. However, there are many process problems with the integration of Cu interconnects and porous low- k dielectrics, including patterning, liner coverage, chemical mechanical polishing, and packaging. These processes must be optimized to ensure adequate reliability for time-dependent-dielectric breakdown, electromigration, stress-induced voiding, and packaging stresses. In this chapter, some of the key integration and reliability challenges are discussed.
Genetically Expressed Monodisperse α Helical Polypeptides

Four different chain lengths of monodisperse, α-helical polypeptides derived from the protein comprising the tail fibers of the bacteriophage Ur-λ were prepared by recombinant DNA techniques. The DNA which codes for the tail fiber segment has been replicated and inserted into Escherichia Coli bacteria. The desired proteins expressed by the bacteria were harvested and purified with a nickel affinity chromatography. The target proteins were characterized by gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The secondary α-helical structure of the polypeptides was characterized by circular dichroism (CD) spectrophotometry.
The Organic Matrix of Spicules of the Gorgonian Leptogorgia virgulata

Organic matrices of biominerals generally consist of proteins, glycoproteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, and their roles in mineralization have drawn considerable attention in recent years [1]. As in the vertebrates, the matrices of many invertebrate hard tissues such as foraminiferan tests [2], echinoderm hard parts [3, 4], molluscan shells [3, 5, 6, 7] and gorgonian spicules [8] have been shown to consist of water-soluble and insoluble components. However, unlike vertebrate osseous and dental tissues which are made of calcium phosphates, invertebrate hard tissues of calcium carbonate rarely contain collagenous protein components in the insoluble matrices [9].
LITHIUM RATIO, LITHIUM RESPONSE AND THE SCHIZOPHRENIAS

ABSTRACT Lithium (Li) has been reported to have antipsychotic properties in some schizophrenic-like patients as well as mood stabilizing properties in bipolar illness. Affective disorder patients who are responsive to Li tend to show altered sodium-lithium counterflow across red blood cell (RBC) membranes, which results in altered in vitro intracellular to extracellular Li ratios. In the present study acute admissions to psychiatric inpatient facilities are shown to have a trimodal distribution of in vitro Li ratios while similar in vitro Li ratios in an age and sex matched control population are unimodal. Fifteen of 27 schizophrenic-like patients with in vitro Li ratios distributed outside the central (control) mode of the trimodal distribution appeared to have an antipsychotic response to Li alone on a subsequent Li trial. Both elevated in vitro Li ratios (> .38) and diminished in vitro Li ratios (
Dynamic competition of inflation and delamination in the finite deformation of thin membranes

The mechanics of blister delamination and growth plays a major role in a diversity of areas including medicine (skin pathology and mechanics of cell membranes), materials (adhesive and fracture) or soft robotics (actuation and morphing). The behavior of a blister in this context is typically difficult to grasp as it arises from the interplay of two highly nonlinear and time-dependent processes: membrane attachment and decohesion from a substrate. In the present work, we device a simplified approach, based on experimental systems, to predict the deformation path of a blister under various conditions. For this, we consider the problem of a growing blister made of a rubber-like membrane adhered on a rigid substrate, and develop a theoretical and experimental framework to study its stability and growth. We start by constructing a theoretical model of viscoelastic blister growth which we later validate with an experimental setup. We show that blister growth is controlled by the competition between two instabilities: one inherent to the rubber, and a second one pertaining to the adhesion with the substrate. Using these concepts, we show that a “targeted” stable blister shape can be achieved by controlling two parameters: the thickness of the film and the inflation rate.
Caro Novella’s parèntesi and Resistencias Sonoras

This chapter focuses on the rhetorical term ‘embodiment’ and the figure of anecdote—a performance with no audience. Caro Novella is a performance artist from Barcelona, currently living in California. She works on rehearsal strategies in two productions, parentesi and Resistencias Sonoras, both of which centre around performances of the somatic complexity of breast cancer. Here, the artmaker collaborates with people on a performativity that yields a performance that the activism may or may not choose to make public. The movement from (rest to form to embodiment generates a medium for the performer participants that is not only potentially an ongoing rehearsal, but also a performance of anecdotal (unpublished) knowing, and questions whether the collaborators are on the cusp of collectivity, directing the audience not to the affective but the effective politics of medicine, and how to invent strategies that would guard against this.
A Flying-Inductor Hybrid DC–DC Converter for 1-Cell and 2-Cell Smart-Cable Battery Chargers

This article presents a new step-down hybrid converter topology that uses an input flying inductor and a switched-capacitor network to generate output voltages suitable for charging 1-cell (1S) or 2-cell (2S) batteries. The proposed topology relocates the inductor from the high-current output to the low-current input, while providing step-down conversion ratios that take advantage of the higher voltage settings of Universal Serial Bus Type-C (USB-C) power delivery (PD). Moreover, moving the inductor to the input allows the parasitic inductance of a USB cable to be utilized in place of a discrete inductor, that is, a smart-cable architecture, eliminating the need for on-board magnetics and reducing on-board power dissipation. The converter is implemented in 7.37 mm2 of a 130-nm BCD process and provides two outputs with ranges of 3–4.2 V and 6–8.4 V from a 9V input. With a 1 $\mu \text{H}$ discrete inductor, the prototype achieves peak powers of 12.2W and 31.9W and peak efficiencies of 94.3% and 97.4% for each output, respectively. The prototype is also demonstrated in a smart-cable architecture to limit on-board dissipation to 630 mW while delivering 7.2W at the first output or 350mW while delivering 14.4W at the second output. Simultaneous data and power transfer and electromagnetic interference (EMI) tests are provided to support the feasibility of integration into a smart-cable architecture.
Recursive Subspace Identification for Online Thermal Management of Implantable Devices

This paper focuses on application of subspace identification methods to predict the thermal dynamics of bio-implants, e.g. UEA. Recursive subspace identification method implemented in this paper predicts the temperature readings of heat sensors in an online fashion within a finite time window and updates the system parameters iteratively to improve the performance of the algorithm. Algorithm validation is realized using COMSOL software simulations as well as using an in vitro experimental system. Both simulation and experimental results indicate that the proposed method can accurately predict the thermal dynamics of the system. The experimental results show online prediction of the thermal effect with a mean squared error of $1. 569 \times 10^{-2}$ °C for randomly generated Gaussian inputs and $3. 46 \times 10^{-3}$ °C for square wave inputs after adaptive filters converge.
Signing Exact English Transliteration: Effects of Accuracy and Lag Time on Message Intelligibility.

This paper, the fourth in a series concerned with the level of access afforded to students who use educational interpreters, focuses on the intelligibility of interpreters who use Signing Exact English (SEE). Eight expert receivers of SEE were employed to evaluate the intelligibility of transliterated messages that varied in accuracy and lag time. Results of intelligibility tests showed that, similar to Cued Speech transliterators, (a) accuracy had a large positive effect on transliterator intelligibility, (b) overall intelligibility (69%) was higher than average accuracy (58%), and (c) the likelihood that an utterance reached 70% intelligibility was somewhat sigmoidal in shape, with the likelihood of reaching 70% intelligibility dropping off fastest for accuracy values <65%. Accuracy alone accounted for 53% of the variance in transliterator intelligibility; mouthing was identified as a secondary factor that explained an additional 11%. Although lag time accounted for just .4% of the remaining variance, utterances produced with lag times between .6 and 1.2 s were most likely to exceed 70% intelligibility. With 36% of the variance still unexplained, other sources of transliterator variability (for example, facial expression, nonmanual markers, and mouth/sign synchronization) may also play a role in intelligibility and should be explored in future research.
The Anatomy of Trading Algorithms

We study the anatomy of four widely used institutional trading algorithms representing $675 billion in demand from 961 institutions. Parent orders generate hundreds of child orders which strategically employ price, time-in-force, and display priority rules to navigate the tradeoff between trading and minimizing transaction costs. Child orders incur price impact at the time they are submitted regardless of whether or not they are filled, and even when passively priced. Child orders are grouped in strategic runs that oscillate between the aggressive or passive side of the spread. Child-level price, time-in-force, and display choices aggregate up to parent-level trading costs.
Posterior femoral cutaneous neuropathy in piriformis syndrome: A vascular hypothesis

Piriformis syndrome is described as a neuromuscular condition which occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed and/or irritated by the piriformis muscle. It is characterized by acute tenderness in the buttock with sciatica-like pain radiating into the posterior aspect of the thigh, leg, and foot. The neurogenic leg and foot pain experienced with this condition is consistent with involvement of the sciatic nerve. However, the posterior thigh pain associated with piriformis syndrome is due to involvement of the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve (i.e., posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh), which is a branch of the sacral plexus independent of the sciatic nerve. This nerve is rarely mentioned relative to piriformis syndrome even though posterior thigh pain is more prevalent in patients than leg and foot pain. In the few instances when the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve is referenced relative to piriformis syndrome the neuralgic signs associated with it are attributed to compression by piriformis. Yet, given the dramatic size difference between the sciatic and posterior femoral cutaneous nerves one would expect direct piriformis compression to impact the sciatic nerve first and produce leg/foot pain at a far greater frequency than posterior thigh pain. However, the opposite is seen in the literature, which raises the question, what underlying mechanism is responsible for this phenomenon? It is hypothesized that the prevalence of posterior femoral cutaneous nerve involvement in piriformis syndrome is due to compression of the inferior gluteal vein by a hypertrophied piriformis muscle.
Legal Writing as a Discipline: Past, Present, and Future

Legal research and legal writing, particularly for persuasive purposes, have been a part of a lawyer’s stock in trade at least as far back as ancient Greece and Rome. But that history has not always been marked by laudable achievements. The written work of English lawyers was often ridiculed as obtuse, obfuscatory, and unintelligible. Unfortunately, American lawyers, in their turn, have received much of the same ridicule. Only in the past four decades has legal education in America devoted much attention to professional training in legal writing.