cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Material removal and particulate generation during abrasion of copper films using a fixed abrasive pad

Minimization of particulates levels during the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process as well as in the waste streams is possible through the use of a fixed abrasive pad (FAP). The abrasion of electrodeposited copper films using an alumina-based FAP was studied in hydrogen peroxide and hydroxylamine-based chemistries. The removal rate of copper in hydrogen peroxide solutions was much lower than that in hydroxylamine-based solutions in the pH range of 3 to 9. The addition of citrate to peroxide solution enhances the removal rate of copper to a level that is comparable to removal rates in hydroxylamine-based solutions. Abrasion in a hydrogen peroxide solution resulted in the formation of copper and aluminum-based particulates in the solution. The addition of citrate to peroxide solutions reduced the generation of copper-based particulates that were generated in solution. In hydroxylamine-based solutions, particulate generation was minimal.
Effectiveness of “office”-based, ultrasound-guided differential jugular venous sampling (DJVS) of parathormone in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism

Background Pre-operative localization is the first step for focused parathyroidectomy. Surgeon-performed ultrasonography (SUS) is used often as a single method of localization; however, when equivocal, sestamibi (MIBI) scan is still indicated. Intra-operative differential jugular venous sampling (DJVS) is positive in 71–80% of patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of office based DJVS as the next method for localization when SUS is equivocal. Methods Twenty-one patients with an equivocal SUS underwent office-based, SUS-guided DJVS. The samples were collected from the most inferior portion of each internal jugular vein and sent for standard parathormone (PTH) measurement. The side of the neck with the highest value of serum PTH was the initial side of exploration. DJVS lateralization was correlated retrospectively with operative findings. Results In 17 of 21 (81%) patients, DJVS was correct in indicating the side of the abnormal gland. DJVS was incorrect in 2 and negative in 2 other patients. Bilateral neck explorations were performed in only 6 of 21 patients because of either multiglandular disease (3 patients), concomitant thyroidectomy (2 patients), or surgeon's judgment (1 patient). There were no complications from DJVS, and all patients became eucalcemic. Conclusion Office based DJVS is accurate and may eliminate the need for MIBI in patients with equivocal SUS. This simple technique can shorten the pre-operative evaluation of sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism.
Learning from the legal history of billing for medical fees.

INTRODUCTION When patients pay for care out-of-pocket, physicians must balance their professional obligations to serve with the commercial demands of medical practice. Consumer-directed health care makes this problem newly pressing, but law and ethics have thought for millennia about how doctors should bill patients.
Exacerbating inequality: the failed promise of the No Child Left Behind Act

The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) marks the largest intervention of the federal government into education in the history of the United States. NCLB received and continues to receive support, in part because it promises to improve student learning and to close the achievement gap between White students and students of color. However, NCLB has failed to live up to its promises and may exacerbate inequality. Furthermore, by focusing on education as the solution to social and economic inequality, it diverts the public’s attention away from the issues such as poverty, lack of decent paying jobs and health care, that need to be confronted if inequality is to be reduced.
Static versus kinetic testing in the nasal peripheral field in patients with glaucoma

One-hundred and seventy-seven subjects (207 eyes) were tested on the Humphrey Field Analyzer to evaluate the usefulness of static and kinetic peripheral nasal visual field testing in identifying glaucomatous defects. In 20 of the 187 glaucomatous or ocular hypertensive eyes glaucomatous defects were found in the peripheral nasal field while the central 30 degrees remained normal or showed non-specific diffuse depression. Kinetic peripheral nasal field testing identified 17 of these eyes while the static testing identified eleven. This difference was not statistically significant (P greater than 0.05, Stuart-Maxwell test). Twenty control eyes showed one glaucomatous peripheral nasal defect on static testing, and none with kinetic testing. These results differed statistically from the diagnoses in the diseased population (P less than 0.005, chi 2-test). This study suggests the potential value of nasal peripheral field testing in selected glaucoma patients for which static testing has no apparent diagnostic advantage over kinetic techniques.
Agency theory and the influence of equity ownership structure on corporate diversification strategies

We articulate the agency theory view of managerial decision making and its implications for corporate diversification strategies. From agency theory, we generate testable predictions for the relation between equity ownership structure and diversification strategies and review the existing evidence on this relation. On balance, the evidence strongly supports the view that ownership structure influences corporate strategy.
A high-resolution Euler solver based on multigrid, semi-coarsening, and defective correction

Abstract In an earlier paper, an O(N) method for the computation of stationary solutions to the Euler equations of inviscid compressible gas dynamics has been described. The method is a variant of the multigrid technique and employs semi-coarsening in all co-ordinate directions simultaneously. It provides good convergence rates for first-order upwind discretisations even in the case of alignment, the flow being aligned with the grid. Here we discuss the application of this scheme to higher-order discretisations. Two-grid analysis for the linear constant-coefficient case shows that it is difficult to obtain uniformly good convergence rates for a higher-order scheme, because of waves perpendicular to stream lines. The defect correction technique suffers from the same problem. However, convergence to a point where the residual of the total error (the sum of the iteration error and the discretisation error) is of the order of the truncation error can be obtained in about seven defect correction cycles, according to estimates for the linear constant-coefficient equations. This result is explored for the nonlinear case by some illustrative numerical experiments.
Regulation of pituitary corticotropin releasing factor type-1 receptor mRNA binding proteins by modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Long-term adrenalectomy (ADX) is associated with marked down-regulation of pituitary corticotropin releasing factor type-1 receptors (CRF-R1) but normal CRF-R1 mRNA levels, suggesting that regulation of receptor levels occurs at post-transcriptional sites. We have reported that adrenal cytosolic proteins, which bind to cis elements in the 5' leader sequence (5'LS) of the rat angiotensin II type 1a receptor (AT 1a R) mRNA, participate in the regulation of AT 1a R density by inhibiting AT 1a R mRNA translation. In this study, we examined anterior pituitary cytosolic proteins that form RNA protein complexes (RPC) with the 5'LS of the CRF-R1 and the AT 1a R. Competition studies and ultraviolet-crosslinking analysis suggest that formation of CRF-R1 and AT 1a R 5'LS RPC require at least some proteins that are common to both receptor mRNAs. Pituitaries isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats six days after ADX showed significant (P < 0.05) increases of 2.9-fold in CRF-R1 5'LS RNA binding protein (BP) activity compared to pituitaries from sham-operated rats; this effect of ADX was prevented by glucocorticoid replacement. By contrast, no differences in the number of pituitary AT 1a R binding sites or pituitary AT 1a R 5'LS BP activity were observed between sham and ADX rats, indicating that the effect of ADX on RPC formation was specific for CRF-R1 mRNA. Addition of pituitary cytosolic extracts inhibited in vitro translation of CRF-R1 mRNA by 79% under conditions that had no significant effects on the translation of a control mRNA. The data suggest that CRF-R1 translation is regulated by modulation of the HPA axis through pituitary cytosolic proteins binding to the CRF-R1 5'LS.
Three current algebra-PACA consistency theorems for K 2π decays

Current algebra-PCAC consistency theorems are developed for ΔI=1/2 K2π 0, ΔI=3/2 K2π + and the absence of ΔI=1/2 K2π + weak decays. These theorems i) require the existence of a dominant ΔI=1/2 hadronic kaon tadpole graph which is presumably generated by a nonperturbative s-d quark tadpole and ii) explain why the vacuum-saturated quark spectator graph is the entire K2π + decay amplitude while the colorsuppressed quark spectator graph essentially vanishes.
Why People Fear Banks and Why They Are Needed: Banks as Institutions of Caching and as Religious Symbols

Banks are generally considered by most people to be utilities that allow for the transmission of value on a daily basis in modern society, but they also seem to create devastating events like credit crises by the manufacture of credit. How this power originated in human society is of interest. Most animals produce some degree of savings, either in caching from one season to the next or for later in one season. Often these savings are an inter-generational transfer for the initial survival of young as in some wasps, or in a later use by the same individual who produces the savings either in the same year or the next as in many birds. I have described many of these examples in an article that compares such caching to examples of human saving (Caldararo, 2009). The evolution of the bank, of institutions for organizing the savings of groups of humans has had a number of separate points of origin in history in various societies in antiquity and most recently during the Middle Ages in Europe. Why banks are seen as necessary and deserving of saving or protecting during economic crises often seems a matter of faith or dogma than of necessity.
Skin Care 101: The Basics

Patients undergoing rejuvenation procedures should be counseled regarding fundamental skin care to enhance the cosmetic outcome. Basic cleansing, moisturizing, cosmetic camouflage, and sun protection can be combined with prescription and cosmeceutical agents that address discoloration, wrinkling, redness, and irregular tone and texture. Appropriate postsurgical wound care will also ensure faster healing and a better cosmetic result.
The cutaneous manifestations of gastrointestinal malignancy

The skin is often the herald of an underlying systemic illness, and gastrointestinal malignancies can present in numerous ways in the skin. Paraneoplastic phenomenon, such as acanthosis nigricans and tripe palm, may be the first indicator of a gastrointestinal malignancy. In addition, gastrointestinal cancers can metastasize to the skin, as described in the well-known Sister Mary Joseph's nodule. Inflammatory systemic conditions such as dermatomyositis and multicentric reticulohistiocytosis can be associated with underlying malignancy. Finally, in numerous genetic syndromes with underlying malignancies, such as Muir-Torre, recognition of the skin signs leads to early diagnosis and screening.
Thickness-dependent charge transport in few-layer MoS₂ field-effect transistors.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is currently under intensive study because of its exceptional optical and electrical properties in few-layer form. However, how charge transport mechanisms vary with the number of layers in MoS2 flakes remains unclear. Here, exfoliated flakes of MoS2 with various thicknesses were successfully fabricated into field-effect transistors (FETs) to measure the thickness and temperature dependences of electrical mobility. For these MoS2 FETs, measurements at both 295 K and 77 K revealed the maximum mobility for layer thicknesses between 5 layers (~3.6 nm) and 10 layers (~7 nm), with ~70 cm2 V−1 s−1 measured for 5 layer devices at 295 K. Temperature-dependent mobility measurements revealed that the mobility rises with increasing temperature to a maximum. This maximum occurs at increasing temperature with increasing layer thickness, possibly due to strong Coulomb scattering from charge impurities or weakened electron–phonon interactions for thicker devices. Temperature-dependent conductivity measurements for different gate voltages revealed a metal-to-insulator transition for devices thinner than 10 layers, which may enable new memory and switching applications. This study advances the understanding of fundamental charge transport mechanisms in few-layer MoS2, and indicates the promise of few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides as candidates for potential optoelectronic applications.
Evaluating Storage Systems for Lustre

Storage systems are complex, including multiple subsystems and components. Sustained operations with top performance require all these subsystems and components working as expected. Having a detailed performance profile helps establishing a baseline. This baseline can be used for easier identification of possible future problems. A systematic bottom-to-top approach, starting with a detailed performance analysis of disks and moving up across layers and subsystems, provides a quantitative breakdown of each component's capabilities and bottlenecks. Coupling these low-level tests with Lustre-level evaluations will present a better understanding of performance expectations under different I/O workloads.
Effects of the Green Peach Aphid, Southern Garden Leafhopper, and Carmine Spider Mite Populations upon Yield of Sugar Beets in the Imperial Valley, California

Sugar beets are planted in September and October in the Imperial Valley; harvest starts in early summer and is completed by the end of July. In the spring when the plants are large. the beet fields are attacked consistently by heavy populations of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer). the southern garden leafhopper, Empoasca solana DeLong. and by the carmine spider mite, Tetranychus telarius (L.). Aphid populations peak in late February to mid-March and are virtually gone by April. About this time (April) leafhoppers and spider mites are becoming evident in many fields and populations build up rapidly with the advent of hot weather. It was found that all 3 pest species can affect yields adversely when populations are high. When the proper insecticide and timing of applications gave good control of each of the 3 species, crop yields were increased by amounts that ranged from a few hundred pounds to nearly a ton of sugar per acre. Sugar percentage was increased from a fraction to as much as I% and occasionally more. but a greater and more consistent effect was in tonnage increases of as much as 3–4 tons/acre. Normal yields in the Imperial Valley average about 15.5–16% sugar and 21–22 tons of beets per acre. Results with granulated systemics, particularly phorate, have an obvious advantage over applications of conventional insecticides in that the systemics were effective on all 3 pest species. although endosulfan was highly effective on green peach aphid populations. One early application with a systemic for green peach aphid control often inhibited spider mite and southern garden leafhopper population development much later in the season. Green peach aphid control was best when applications were timed in late January just as populations start to increase rapidly. Populations of leafhoppers and carmine spider mites reach damaging levels much later and maximum yield increases were obtained only if applications were made at least 5 weeks prior to harvest. In studies concerning the effect of treatment on incidence of beet yellows virus diseases, it appears that while treatment might delay infection somewhat, there was usually little difference between treated and check areas just prior to harvest. Infection takes place in this sugar beet-growing area only when the plants are large, and it is thus doubtful that the diseases have much influence on yield.
Respiratory infections and antimicrobial resistance – new challenges

Previously, the impact of respiratory pathogens on the lung have been reviewed. Resistance to available antimicrobials is an increasing problem among bacteria and viruses globally. The mechanisms, epidemiology, and management of common respiratory bacteria (especially Streptococcus pneumoniae , methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , and extendedspectrum beta-lactamase producing), oseltamivir-resistant influenza, and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis will be reviewed.
Hyperpotentiation by Synthetic Double-Stranded RNA of Antibody Responses to Influenza Virus Vaccine in Adjuvant 65:

SummaryImmunologic adjuvant 65 caused a strong enhancement of antibody response to influenza virus antigens in tests in animals. Complexed synthetic polynucleotides Poly I:C (rI:rC) and Poly A:U (rA:rU) produced comparatively weak potentiation of antibody response to these antigens and in certain instances, Poly A:U was inhibitory. Immunologic adjuvant 65 combined with the Poly I:C or Poly A:U acted synergistically to cause a hyperpotentiation of antibody response which greatly exceeded the additive effects of adjuvant and complexed polynucleotides tested singly. Such potentiation did not occur when the complexed polynucleotides were tested with alum adjuvant or when Poly I or Poly C was added alone. Poly I:C was generally more effective than Poly A:U. Maximal potentiation was demonstrated at 26 μg/ml of Poly I:C and there was no further enhancement when the concentration was raised to 260 μg/ml. Use of adjuvant 65 combined with complexed polynucleotides promises to contribute a new magnitude of immunizin...
The Geometric Ergodicity of Random Coefficient Functional-autoregressive Model under the Random Environment

In this article,a random coefficient functional-autoregressive model under the random environment is proposed and the sufficient condition for its convergence is obtained.This model in random environment reflects the phenomenon that dynamic system is interfered by random environment, so it can better imitate many substantial problems in the real world.
Characterization of the catalytic disulfide bond in E. coli 4-thiouridine synthetase to elucidate its functional quaternary structure.

4-Thiouridine at position 8 in prokaryotic tRNA serves as a photosensor for near-UV light, and the posttranscriptional conversion of uridine to 4-thiouridine is catalyzed by the 4-thiouridine synthetases (s4US, also named ThiI), which fall into two classes that differ in the presence of a C-terminal rhodanese homology domain. A cysteine residue in this domain first bears a persulfide group and then forms a disulfide bond with a cysteine residue that is conserved in both classes of s4US. Recent crystal structures suggest that s4US dimerizes in the presence of RNA substrate with domains from each subunit contributing to the binding and reaction of one RNA molecule, which raises the question of whether the catalytic disulfide bond in the longer class of s4US is formed within or between subunits. The E. coli enzyme is the best-characterized member of the longer class of s4US, and it was examined after quantitative installation of the disulfide bond during a single catalytic turnover. Gel electrophoresis and proteolysis/MALDI-MS results strongly imply that the disulfide bond forms within a single subunit, which provides a vital constraint for the structural modeling of the class of s4US with an appended rhodanese homology domain and the design and interpretation of experiments to probe the dynamics of the domains during catalysis.
EU democracy and the Treaty of Lisbon

This article provides a genealogy of the broad patterns of belief that contributed to the democratic reforms contained in the Treaty of Lisbon. Based on an analysis of European Union documents, the article draws three primary conclusions. First, EU democracy is a composite of concepts. This is due to the fact that the institutions which had primary responsibility for negotiating treaty changes – the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission – drew on distinct “governance traditions” in formulating their reform proposals. Second, our understanding of which changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty were intended to be democracy-enhancing should be significantly broadened. This becomes evident once it is understood how certain reforms are connected to the three institutions’ wider webs of belief. Third, two factors explain continuing limitations on the democratic character of the Union: conflicts over what democracy should mean in the context of the EU and the purpose or motivation behind the Lisbon Treaty reforms, what is labeled here a “system maintenance” view of democracy. In addition to these substantive contributions to the study of the EU and democracy, the article also outlines the main analytical components of a genealogical approach.
The unmet clinical need of novel antifungal drugs.

The global impact of fungal infections on human health has recently been highlighted by several important publications,1,2 and advocacy groups.3 Although several factors undoubtedly contribute to t...
Dyna: toward a self-optimizing declarative language for machine learning applications

Declarative programming is a paradigm that allows programmers to specify what they want to compute, leaving how to compute it to a solver. Our declarative programming language, Dyna, is designed to compactly specify computations like those that are frequently encountered in machine learning. As a declarative language, Dyna's solver has a large space of (correct) strategies available to it. We describe a reinforcement learning framework for adaptively choosing among these strategies to maximize efficiency for a given workload. Adaptivity in execution is especially important for software that will run under a variety of workloads, where no fixed policy works well. We hope that reinforcement learning will identify good policies reasonably quickly-offloading the burden of writing efficient code from human programmers.
NBTI/PBTI separated BTI monitor with 4.2x sensitivity by standard cell based unbalanced ring oscillator

We propose an on-chip bias temperature instabilities (BTI) monitor by using standard cell based unbalanced ring-oscillator (RO). The monitor consists of NAND and NOR with extremely large difference in drive strength, which enables 4.2x sensitivity to BTI compared with normal INV based RO. This originates not only from accentuation of the degraded stage with small drive strength by the dominant delay but also from ΔVth sensitivity improvement of stacked transistors with increasing output transition time. In addition, our proposal allows to monitor either one of negative BTI (NBTI) or positive BTI (PBTI) selectively by making use of the Miller effect caused by the size combination of NOR and NAND. A test chip is implemented in a 28 nm High-k Metal-Gate (HKMG) CMOS technology. We successfully observed that measured results of each RO were well matched with simulations. Owing to this high sensitivity and successful NBTI/PBTI separation, we can detect variations and outliers of BTI at time of testing, and optimize guard band (GB) while considering NBTI/PBTI sensitivity difference of each circuit.
TheK-admissibility of 2A 6 and 2A 7

LetK be a field and letG be a finite group.G isK-admissible if there exists a Galois extensionL ofK withG=Gal(L/K) such thatL is a maximal subfield of a centralK-division algebra. This paper contains a characterization of those number fields which areQ 16-admissible. This is the same class of number fields which are 2A 6=SL(2, 9) and 2A 7 admissible.
DryVR 2.0: A tool for verification and controller synthesis of black-box cyber-physical systems

We present a demo of DryVR 2.0, a framework for verification and controller synthesis of cyber-physical systems composed of black-box simulators and white-box automata. For verification, DryVR 2.0 takes as input a black-box simulator, a white-box transition graph, a time bound and a safety specification. As output it generates over-approximations of the reachable states and returns "Safe" if the system meets the given bounded safety specification, or it returns "Unsafe" with a counter-example. For controller synthesis, DryVR 2.0 takes as input black-box simulator(s) and a reach-avoid specification, and uses RRTs to find a transition graph such that the combined system satisfies the given specification.
Erich Lehmann’s Work on Asymptotics

Erich Lehmann’s contributions to mathematical statistics have been both broad and deep, and his influence on applied statistics has been more widespread than perhaps even he knew. As an example, I used Google scholar to look at the citation patterns of Chernoff and Lehmann (1954), one of the articles I discuss below. As of this writing (September 2009), this paper has been cited
The fate of challenge schistosomula in the murine anti-schistosome vaccine model.

Mice exposed to irradiated cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni develop a partial resistance to subsequent parasite challenge. In this study the authors utilized histopathologic methods to investigate the fate of both the immunizing and challenge cercariae in C57BL/6J mice. After immunization by percutaneous infection, a large number of the 50 Kr irradiated organisms could be detected in tissue sections of lung. However, as early as 2 weeks after immunization, the majority of these schistosomula apparently had died, leaving residual inflammatory foci. The numbers of these foci then gradually declined during the next 4 weeks of examination. Cercarial challenge of mice vaccinated 4 weeks previously provoked an intense eosinophil-enriched inflammatory response in percutaneously exposed ear pinnae. Despite these pronounced tissue reactions, no evidence of significant parasite damage or attrition was detected in this migration site. In contrast, schistosomula arriving in the lungs of vaccinated mice produced a greater number of residual inflammatory foci than did larvae appearing in the lungs of normal mice. In addition, challenge schistosomula were cleared from the lungs of vaccinated mice at a slower rate than they were from the lungs of control mice. These observations suggest that the lung is a major site of parasite attrition formore » both immunizing and challenge infections in the mouse irradiated vaccine model.« less
Exchange-repulsion energy in QM/EFP

The effective fragment potential (EFP) is a quantum mechanics (QM)-based model designed to accurately describe intermolecular interactions. Hybrid QM/EFP calculations combine quantum mechanical methods with an EFP embedding to study complex systems in which many-body effects are relevant. As in EFP-only calculations, non-bonded interactions between the QM region and EFP fragments are computed as a sum of electrostatic, polarization, dispersion, and exchange-repulsion energies. The exchange-repulsion term is a computational bottleneck of the EFP calculations. Here, we present a general procedure for computing the QM/EFP exchange-repulsion interactions based on one-electron contributions to the QM Hamiltonian, by using Gaussian functions to represent localized molecular orbitals of the effective fragments. The accuracy of the exchange-repulsion and total QM/EFP interaction energies is evaluated on a diverse set of dimers, including complexes from the S22 dataset of non-covalent interactions. In most cases, the QM/EFP energies are at least as accurate as corresponding EFP energies. A simple and computationally efficient form of the introduced QM/EFP exchange-repulsion term will facilitate further developments and applications of QM/EFP methods.
Co(III) phenylacetylide complexes supported by tetraazamacrocyclic ligands: Syntheses and characterizations

Abstract Reported herein are the syntheses and characterization of mono- and bis- Co(III) phenylacetylide complexes trans-[Co(L)(C2Ph)Cl]+ (2a/b) and trans-[Co(L)(C2Ph)2]+ (3a/b), where L is MPD (a) or MPC (b) (MPD = 5,12-dimethyl-7,14-diphenyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene, MPC = 5,12-dimethyl-9,14-diphenyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane). All the new complexes were characterized by UV–Vis, FT-IR spectroscopic and voltammetric techniques. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the MPD ligand is a stronger donor to the Co(III) center than the MPC ligand, and the enhanced Co N interactions manifest some subtle contrast in terms of spectroscopic and voltammetric properties between Co(MPD) and Co(MPC) complexes. These experimental observations were further corroborated by DFT calculations.
The Care and Learn Model: a Practice and Research Model for Improving Healthcare Quality and Outcomes.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality conducted internal work to formulate a model that could be used to analyze the Agency’s research portfolio, identify gaps, develop and prioritize its research agenda, and evaluate its performance. Existing models described the structure and components of the healthcare system. Instead, we produced a model of two functions: caring and learning. Central to this model is the commitment to and participation of people—patients, communities, and health professionals—and the organization of systems to respond to people’s problems using evidence. As a product of caring, the system produces evidence that is then used to adapt and continuously improve this response, closely integrating caring and learning. The Agency and the health services research and improvement communities can use this Care and Learn Model to frame an evidence-based understanding of vexing clinical, healthcare delivery, and population health problems and to identify targets for investment, innovation, and investigation.
Application of Model Predictive Control in Modular Multilevel Converters for MTPA Operation and reduced Switching Losses

In this paper, a one-step Model Predictive Control system is executed in the Multilevel modular converter (MMC) to control the speed of an Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) machine. Maximum Torque per Ampere (MTPA) and Field Weakening (FW) control technique is utilized for the greatest yield torque. The proposed Control strategy tracks the reference produced by MTPA and FW calculation by freely directing voltages from the MMC modules. The proposed method also studies the relation between the switching losses of MOSFETs and sampling frequency, cost function and a number of modules in an MMC. Finally, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the appropriateness of this control procedure.
Using Small Peptide Segments of Amyloid-β and Humanin to Examine their Physical Interactions.

Background: Amyloid fibrils in Alzheimer’s disease are composed of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides of variant lengths. Humanin (HN), a 24 amino acid residue neuroprotective peptide, is known to interact with the predominant Aβ isoform in the brain, Aβ (1-40). Methods: Here, we constructed smaller segments of Aβ and HN and identified residues in HN important for both HN-HN and HN-Aβ interactions. Peptides corresponding to amino acid residues 5- 15 of HN, HN (5-15), HN (5-15, L11S), where Leu11 was replaced with Ser, and residues 17-28 of Aβ, Aβ (17-28), were synthesized and tested for their ability to block formation of the complex between HN and Aβ (1-40). Results: Co-immunoprecipitation and binding kinetics showed that HN (5-15) was more efficient at blocking the complex between HN and Aβ (1-40) than either HN (5-15, L11S) or Aβ (17-28). Binding kinetics of these smaller peptides with either full-length HN or Aβ (1-40) showed that HN (5- 15) was able to bind either Aβ (1-40) or HN more efficiently than HN (5-15, L11S) or Aβ (17-28). Compared to full-length HN, however, HN (5-15) bound Aβ (1-40) with a weaker affinity suggesting that while HN (5-15) binds Aβ, other residues in the full length HN peptide are necessary for maximum interactions. Conclusion: L11 was more important for interactions with Aβ (1-40) than with HN. Aβ (17-28) was relatively ineffective at binding to either Aβ (1-40) or HN. Moreover, HN, and the smaller HN (5-15), HN (5-15 L11S), and Aβ (17-28) peptides, had different effects on regulating Aβ (1-40) aggregation kinetics.
Sequential Operations Revealed by Serendipitous Feature Selectivity in Frontal Eye Field

ABSTRACT Neurons in macaque frontal eye field contribute to spatial but typically not feature selection during visual search. Using an innovative visual search task, we report a serendipitous discovery that some frontal eye field neurons can develop rapid selectivity for stimulus orientation that is used to guide gaze during a visual search task with pro-saccade and anti-saccade responses. This feature selectivity occurs simultaneously at multiple locations for all objects sharing that feature and coincides with when neurons select the singleton of a search array. This feature selectivity also reveals the distinct, subsequent operation of selecting the endpoint of the saccade in pro-saccade as well as anti-saccade trials. These results demonstrate that target selection preceding saccade preparation is composed of multiple operations. We conjecture that singleton selection indexes the allocation of attention, which can be divided, to conspicuous items. Consequently, endpoint selection indexes the focused allocation of attention to the endpoint of the saccade. These results demonstrate that saccade target selection is not a unitary process. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Frontal eye field is well known to contribute to spatial selection for attention and eye movements. We discovered that some frontal eye field neurons can acquire selectivity for stimulus orientation when it guides visual search. The chronometry of neurons with and without feature selectivity reveal distinct operations accomplishing visual search.
POLYHEDRA WITH HOLLOW FACES

The Original Sin in the theory of polyhedra goes back to Euclid, and through Kepler, Poinsot, Cauchy and many others continues to afflict all the work on this topic (including that of the present author). It arises from the fact that the traditional usage of the term “regular polyhedra” was, and is, contrary to syntax and to logic: the words seem to imply that we are dealing, among the objects we call “polyhedra”, with those special ones that deserve to be called “regular”. But at each stage— Euclid, Kepler, Poinsot, Hess, Bruckner,…—the writers failed to define what are the “polyhedra” among which they are finding the “regular” ones. True, we now know what are the convex polyhedra, which we think are the polyhedra Euclid had in mind; hence there is no stigma attached to the use of a term like “regular convex polyhedron”. But where in the literature do we find acceptable definitions of polyhedra that could be specialized to give the “regular Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra” ? For these, a better expression would be to say that they are “regularpolyhedra”—a distinct kind of objects, constructed according to more or less explicit procedures, and without any connection to what the separate parts of that ungainly word may mean.
Tratamento da cólica infantil – uma revisão baseada na evidência

Objetivos: O objetivo e rever a eficacia das intervencoes terapeuticas na colica infantil, uma vez que se trata de um motivo frequente de consulta, o tratamento e dificil e constitui motivo de frustracao para pais e profissionais de saude. Fontes de dados: Bases de dados National Guideline Clearinghouse, Canadian Medical Association Practice Guidelines Infobase, NICE, Cochrane, DARE, Bandolier e Medline . Metodos de revisao: Pesquisa de meta-analises (MA), revisoes sistematicas (RS), ensaios clinicos aleatorizados e controlados (ECAC), normas de orientacao clinica (NOC) e outros estudos originais, em portugues, ingles e espanhol, publicados entre janeiro de 2006 e outubro de 2016, utilizando o termo MeSH “infantile colic”. Foi utilizada a escala de Jadad para avaliar a qualidade dos ensaios clinicos e a escala Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) para atribuicao do nivel de evidencia e forca de recomendacao. Resultados : Dos 185 artigos obtidos, 17 preencheram os criterios de inclusao (4 MA, 7 RS, 3 ECAC e 3 NOC). Na sua maioria, o outcome avaliado foi o tempo de choro. As formulas hidrolisadas demonstraram eficacia, porem nao devem ser utilizadas indiscriminadamente. A evidencia aponta-se mais consistente no uso de probioticos ( L reuteri DSM 17938), havendo reducao do tempo medio de choro diario, em regime de prevencao ou tratamento. O simeticone, frequentemente utilizado, nao revelou beneficios. Nas terapeuticas complementares, existe alguma evidencia a favor da fitoterapia a base de funcho. Conclusoes: Existem algumas estrategias que parecem apresentar beneficio no tratamento na colica infantil, no entanto a evidencia e escassa e pouco consistente. Sao necessarios mais estudos com amostras maiores e criterios de diagnostico padronizados. Tendo em conta que e um processo autolimitado, na ausencia de evidencia robusta sobre a eficacia dos tratamentos, a atitude expectante pode ser uma estrategia a considerar.
Individualized Decision-Making for Preventive Medicine in Older Adults

Older adults require an individualized approach for preventive care decisions. While preventive guidelines are often written taking into account a patient’s age, clinicians also need to consider factors other than age—such as life expectancy, functional status, and patient preferences—when determining whether a given preventive test or treatment is appropriate for their older patients. In this chapter, we present a five-step, person-centered framework for making screening decisions in older adults, using cancer screening as a paradigm.
The Experience of Adolescent Women Living with Spina Bifida Part II: Peer

Relationships are much more complex for those with disabilities than for those without disabilities. This study was part of a larger mixed-method investigation that explored comprehensive aspects of adaptation in adolescents with spina bifida (SB). The purpose of this qualitative component of the study was to explore the experiences of peer relationships in 31 adolescent women with SB. The participants were interviewed, and analysis was conducted for common themes. The five major themes and one subtheme were peers without disabilities (subtheme: peers with disabilities), normalization, challenges in peer connectedness, peer connectedness with adults, and romantic connectedness. Whereas some participants voiced close connections with peers, others described prejudices, stereotyping, and limited dating experiences. Results from this study support the need for comprehensive assessment of social relationships in adolescent women with SB and active interventions to address problems identified. Rehabilitation nurses are in a key position to implement social interventions in adolescents and young women with SB.
Do Classroom Simulations Really Help Students Learn and Engage

Political science professors have been using simulations to try to enhance student learning for years. Simulations are interesting, a nice change of pace from the traditional lecture, and allow for more student participation in class. But do they really make a difference when it comes to actual learning, and to longer term engagement with the material and with politics? This study attempts to examine the actual impact that simulations are having, by examining attitudes and understanding before and after taking part in a simulation. We study whether participation in classroom and Model United Nations simulations leads to increases in civic attitudes, behaviors, and political literacy. Using data from two semesters, five courses, and two clubs, we examine the statistical evidence to see if it supports the beneficial claims in the scholarly literature.
Conflicts in family-centered pediatric care for patients with autism.

When faced with parental requests for treatment that contravene the standard of care for children with autism, the physician should work with the parents to identify and reach the family's goals via a scientifically sound treatment.
An Attacker-defender Resource Allocation Game with Substitution and Complementary Effects.

The United States is funding homeland security programs with a large budget (e.g., 74.4 billion for FY 2019). A number of game-theoretic defender-attacker models have been developed to study the optimal defense resource allocation strategies for the government (defender) against the strategic adversary (attacker). However, to the best of our knowledge, the substitution or complementary effects between different types of defensive resources (e.g., human resource, land resource, and capital resource) have not been taken into consideration even though they exist in practice. The article fills this gap by studying a sequential game-theoretical resource allocation model and then exploring how the joint effectiveness of multiple security investments influences the defensive budget allocation among multiple potential targets. Three false belief models have been developed in which only the defender, only the attacker, and both the defender and attacker hold false beliefs about the joint effectiveness of resources. Regression analysis shows that there are significant substitution effects between human and capital resources. The results show that the defender will suffer a higher loss if he fails to consider the substitution or complementary effects. Interestingly, if the attacker holds a false belief while the defender does not, the defender will suffer an even higher loss, especially when the resources are substitutes. However, if both the attacker and defender hold false beliefs, there will be lower loss when resources are complementary. The results also show that the defender should allocate the highly effective resource when the resources substitute each other. This article provides some new insights to the homeland security resource allocation.
Geriatric fragility fractures are associated with a human skeletal stem cell defect

Fragility fractures have a limited capacity to regenerate, and impaired fracture healing is a leading cause of morbidity in the elderly. The recent identification of a highly purified bona fide human skeletal stem cell (hSSC) and its committed downstream progenitor cell populations provides an opportunity for understanding the mechanism of age-related compromised fracture healing from the stem cell perspective. In this study, we tested whether hSSCs isolated from geriatric fractures demonstrate intrinsic functional defects that drive impaired healing. Using flow cytometry, we analyzed and isolated hSSCs from callus tissue of five different skeletal sites (n = 61) of patients ranging from 13 to 94 years of age for functional and molecular studies. We observed that fracture-activated amplification of hSSC populations was comparable at all ages. However, functional analysis of isolated stem cells revealed that advanced age significantly correlated with reduced osteochondrogenic potential but was not associated with decreased in vitro clonogenicity. hSSCs derived from women displayed an exacerbated functional decline with age relative to those of aged men. Transcriptomic comparisons revealed downregulation of skeletogenic pathways such as WNT and upregulation of senescence-related pathways in young versus older hSSCs. Strikingly, loss of Sirtuin1 expression played a major role in hSSC dysfunction but re-activation by trans-resveratrol or a small molecule compound restored in vitro differentiation potential. These are the first findings that characterize age-related defects in purified hSSCs from geriatric fractures. Our results provide a foundation for future investigations into the mechanism and reversibility of skeletal stem cell aging in humans.
Safety Concerns of Skin, Hair and Nail Supplements in Retail Stores

Background Dietary supplements promoted for "skin, hair, and nail" health are becoming increasingly popular, although there is a lack of regulatory oversight. As no centralized database or repository for these supplements is available, the aim of this study was to provide an overview of supplements in a sample of retail stores, with a focus on safety concerns. Methods Dermatology supplements were defined as those that featured the words "skin", "hair", "nails", "beauty", or "glow" in the product name or tagline. Seven stores including drug, grocery, department, and cosmetics stores were surveyed within a three-mile radius. Data were extracted from the Supplement Facts label of each product. Results A total of 176 separate supplements were identified, containing a total of 255 distinct ingredients. These included vitamins, minerals, food extracts, botanicals, animal products (collagen, fish oils), amino acids, a hormone, and distinct microbial strains. Conclusion This survey of "dermatology" supplements available in local retailers raised several safety concerns, including potential interactions, teratogenicity risks, a lack of independent third-party testing, lack of warning labels, and nutrient "overdosing". Given limited regulation of dietary supplements, it is imperative that physicians educate patients on the potential risks. These include risks related to supplement ingredients and dosages, as well as risks related to the lack of regulatory oversight. Patients must also be educated about the multiple gaps in our knowledge of dietary supplements, especially in terms of efficacy and long-term safety.
Basal-IQ technology in the real world: satisfaction and reduction of diabetes burden in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

AIM To describe person-reported outcomes of the Basal-IQ predictive low-glucose-suspend system (Tandem Diabetes Care, San Diego, CA, USA) in real-world use. METHODS Adults with type 1 diabetes/caregivers of minors with type 1 diabetes completed the Diabetes Impact and Device Satisfaction questionnaire (11 items scored on 10-point Likert scales) prior to Basal-IQ system initiation, and at 2, 4 and 6 months post-initiation. Analysis was stratified by previous insulin treatment method. Beta mixed models were used to measure change in device satisfaction (e.g. trust, ease of use) and diabetes impact (e.g. hypoglycaemia fear, poor sleep) scores between time points, adjusting for baseline covariates. RESULTS A total of 967 adults and caregivers [54% women, mean (sd) age 36 (17) years, 57% Tandem pump users, 27% non-Tandem pump users, 17% multiple daily injection users] completed surveys. Device satisfaction significantly increased from baseline to 2 months in all groups (P<0.001 multiple daily injection and non-Tandem pump users; P=0.048 Tandem pump users), and was sustained from 2 to 6 months in all groups. Diabetes impact decreased significantly from baseline to 2 months in all groups (P<0.001 for all), was sustained from 2 to 6 months in multiple daily injection and Tandem pump users, and increased slightly at 4 months/decreased at 6 months in non-Tandem users. CONCLUSION The Basal-IQ system increased device satisfaction and reduced diabetes impact in all users in the first 2 months of use, and satisfaction was sustained over 6 months, with small fluctuations.