cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anharmonic analysis of defective crystals with many-body interactions using symmetry reduction

In this paper we first classify and formulate various types of defects with respect to their symmetries and then show that with this general formulation, one can study the structures and energetics of defects in different crystalline materials effectively. We present all the calculations for the embedded-atom-type potentials but the formulation can, in principle, be applied for any many-body interatomic potential. As examples of defects in crystals with many-body interactions, we study point defects, free surfaces and grain boundaries in fcc Cu and grain boundaries in NiAl. We discuss free surface modelling by relaxing both a semi-infinite lattice and a slab with increasing finite thickness. We demonstrate through several numerical examples that our general framework of anharmonic lattice statics can be used for comparing different interatomic potentials in terms of the structure and energy they predict for a given defect. In the case of fcc Cu, we show how both the structures and energetics of different defects can strongly depend on the choice of potentials.
Temporal lobe arachnoid cyst-attention deficit disorder syndrome : Role of the electroencephalogram in diagnosis

I report three childhood cases of temporal lobe arachnoid cyst in association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The cysts were identical in location, situated in the left middle cranial fossa, and involved the medial aspect of the temporal lobe. The diagnosis by MRI was determined following EEGs obtained because of headaches, episodes suggestive of partial seizures or tremors, and abnormal neurologic signs. The etiology of the cysts appeared to be developmental and not related to trauma or hemorrhage. EEGs showed focal epileptiform or slow wave abnormalities involving the left temporal region and correlating with the location of the structural temporal fossa lesions. Surgery was not advised, and headaches resolved after dietary modification or when methylphenidate medication for ADHD was discontinued. The relation of the arachnoid cyst to the headaches is not definitely determined, but a causal association with the ADHD is considered plausible because of coincidental learning and language disabilities that might be explained by temporal lobe and sylvian region pathology. This appears to be the first report of the association of ADHD and temporal fossa arachnoid cyst in children. The EEG is a valuable diagnostic test in patients with ADHD complicated by headaches, seizures, or focal neurologic signs. Future cases of arachnoid cyst involving the temporal lobe and diagnosed because of headache or seizures should be investigated psychologically for associated attention deficits and learning disabilities.
A rigorous dispersive characterization of microstrip cross and T junctions

A full-wave spectral-domain analysis is applied to the characterization of multiport microstrip discontinuities. This method uses the moment method to find the currents in the microstrip circuits and subsequently the scattering parameters of the junctions. In this approach, all the physical effects are considered, including radiation and surface waves. The numerical results for a T- and a cross-junction are presented and agree well with the quasi-static values at low frequencies. The S-parameters of a T-junction are further compared with the measured results, with excellent agreement. The utilization of a shaped T-junction as a broadband equal-power divider is also discussed. >
The Attitude-Behavior Linkage in Behavioral Cascades

The assumption that individual behavior has an antecedent evaluative foundation is an important component of theories in sociology, psychology, political science, and economics. In its simplest form, the antecedent evaluation is a positive or negative attitude toward an object that may affect an individual’s object-related behavior. This attitude may be influenced by the attitudes of other persons. The occurrence of such endogenous interpersonal influences, in which persons’ attitudes are affected by other persons’ attitudes, is among the basic postulates of social psychology. The present article advances work on the attitude-behavior linkage in behavioral cascades by jointly considering two theories: the theory of reasoned-planned action, which emphasizes the deliberative foundations of individuals’ object-related behaviors, and social influence network theory, which emphasizes the group dynamics involved in the formation of individuals’ attitudes.
Amrinone in Cardiac Surgical Patients With Left-Ventricular Dysfunction: A Prospective, Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial

Study objective To evaluate the efficacy of amrinone for facilitating weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Design Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with epinephrine as “rescue” therapy. Setting Operating room of a large, metropolitan tertiarycare center. Patients Thirty-nine patients with preoperative left ventricular dysfunction undergoing cardiac surgery. Thirty-three patients underwent aortocoronary bypass grafting; six patients underwent valve replacement for severe mitral or aortic regurgitation. Interventions Patients received either amrinone (1.5 mg/kg loading dose plus 10 µg/kg/min maintenance infusion; n = 20) or placebo (n = 19) in a randomized double-blind fashion shortly (median, 10.5 min; range, 2 to 24 min) before separation from CPB. Inotropic drugs (other than the study drug) were withheld prior to separation from CPB unless safety considerations demanded that the protocol be broken. Patients who could not be weaned from CPB, as well as those with a cardiac index of 2.2 L/min/m 2 or less after weaning from CPB, received epinephrine (60 to 120 ng/kg/min) by infusion. Measurements and results Fourteen of 19 patients receiving placebo but only 1 of the 20 patients receiving amrinone (p = 0.00001) required epinephrine infusion to separate from bypass. The cardiac index of 4 patients receiving placebo (but no patients with amrinone) failed to exceed 2.2 L/min/m 2 despite epinephrine infusion, requiring the protocol to be broken (p Conclusions Amrinone by itself is an effective agent to facilitate weaning from CPB, and therapy with amrinone reduced the need for individualized titration of epinephrine. Amrinone is as effective as individualized titration of epinephrine (after CPB) to improve cardiac function. Patients in the group receiving amrinone had no greater need for vasoconstricting agents than did patients in the group receiving placebo; however, proactive administration of amrinone before separation from CPB appears to offer no greater benefit to high-risk patients than selective administration of drugs (epinephrine) only to those patients who demonstrate the need for drug support at the time of weaning.
Bioethical issues in family planning

Contraception and elective abortion are two of the controversial ethical issues with which social workers must deal. Since policies regarding these issues have recently been established by the courts, the author presents a review of the relevant decisions. The policy questions stemming from a related family planning issue, namely, selective abortion because of genetic defects, are also discussed.
Pediatric primary care providers' perspectives regarding hospital discharge communication: a mixed methods analysis.

Abstract Objective Effective communication between inpatient and outpatient providers may mitigate risks of adverse events associated with hospital discharge. However, there is an absence of pediatric literature defining effective discharge communication strategies at both freestanding children's hospitals and general hospitals. The objectives of this study were to assess associations between pediatric primary care providers' (PCPs) reported receipt of discharge communication and referral hospital type, and to describe PCPs' perspectives regarding effective discharge communication and areas for improvement. Methods We administered a questionnaire to PCPs referring to 16 pediatric hospital medicine programs nationally. Multivariable models were developed to assess associations between referral hospital type and receipt and completeness of discharge communication. Open-ended questions asked respondents to describe effective strategies and areas requiring improvement regarding discharge communication. Conventional qualitative content analysis was performed to identify emergent themes. Results Responses were received from 201 PCPs, for a response rate of 63%. Although there were no differences between referral hospital type and PCP-reported receipt of discharge communication (relative risk 1.61, 95% confidence interval 0.97–2.67), PCPs referring to general hospitals more frequently reported completeness of discharge communication relative to those referring to freestanding children's hospitals (relative risk 1.78, 95% confidence interval 1.26–2.51). Analysis of free text responses yielded 4 major themes: 1) structured discharge communication, 2) direct personal communication, 3) reliability and timeliness of communication, and 4) communication for effective postdischarge care. Conclusions This study highlights potential differences in the experiences of PCPs referring to general hospitals and freestanding children's hospitals, and presents valuable contextual data for future quality improvement initiatives.
Manufacturing Systems Engineering Education at the University of Pittsburgh

An innovative manufacturing systems engineering education program to support factories of the future has been instituted at the University of Pittsburgh. The educational concepts and implementation approach were jointly developed by the School of Engineering and several industry partners over a six year period. The charter class was enrolled in August 1989, and the first Master of Science in Manufacturing Systems Engineering degrees are expected to be awarded in August 1990. This paper describes the program rationale, organization, and curriculum structure. Twelve newly-developed interdisciplinary courses, in conjunction with a thesis-level internship requirement, clearly distinguish this program from manufacturing engineering educational offerings at other leading research universities.
Deterministic fluid models of congestion control in high-speed networks

Congestion control algorithms, such as TCP or the closely-related additive increase-multiplicative decrease algorithms, are extremely difficult to simulate on a large scale. The reasons for this include the complexity of the actual implementation of the algorithm and the randomness introduced in the packet arrival and service processes due to many factors such as arrivals and departures of sources and uncontrollable short flows in the network. To make the simulation tractable, often deterministic fluid approximations of these algorithms are used. These fluid approximations are in the form of deterministic delay differential equations. In this paper, we ignore the complexity introduced by the window-based implementation of such algorithms and focus on the randomness in the network. We justify the use of deterministic models for proportionally-fair congestion controllers under a limiting regime where the number of sources in a network is large.
Age-related somatic mutations in the cancer genome

Aging is associated with an increased risk of cancer, possibly in part because of an age-related increase in mutations in normal tissues. Due to their extremely low abundance, somatic mutations in normal tissues frequently escape detection. Tumors, as clonal expansions of single cells, can provide information about the somatic mutations present in these cells prior to tumorigenesis. Here, we used data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), to systematically study the frequency and spectrum of somatic mutations in a total of 6,969 patients and 34 different tumor types as a function of the age of the patient. After using linear modeling to control for the age structure of different tumor types, we found that the number of identified somatic mutations increases exponentially with age. Using additional data from the literature, we found that accumulation of somatic mutations is associated with cell division rate, cancer risk and cigarette smoking, with the latter also associated with a distinct spectrum of mutations. Our results confirm that aging is associated with the accumulation of somatic mutations, and strongly suggest that the level of genome instability of normal cells, modified by both endogenous and environmental factors, is the main risk factor for cancer.
Catheter recording of Bachmann's bundle activation from the right pulmonary artery: a new technique for atrial mapping and the study of supraventricular tachycardia.

Abstract The feasibility of recording electrograms from the region of Bachmann's bundle was studied in 16 open chest dogs by means of an electrode catheter introduced into the proximal right pulmonary artery under fluoroscopy. Confirmatory electrograms from Bachmann's bundle and the high right atrium were directly obtained with close bipolar plunge wire electrodes. In all 16 dogs, it was possible to record atrial electrograms from the right pulmonary arterial catheter. The onset of right pulmonary arterial electrograms consistently coincided with the peak of Bachmann's bundle electrograms in nine dogs and was within 10 msec in seven dogs during pacing of the sinus node, left atrium and right ventricle. Furthermore, pacing from the right pulmonary arterial catheter produced the earliest atrial activation in Bachmann's bundle. During direct pacing of Bachmann's bundle, the right pulmonary arterial electrogram preceded all other atrial recording sites. During sinus nodal pacing, the right pulmonary arterial electrogram was inscribed 5 to 25 msec after the high right atrial electrogram, within 20 msec of the low atrial septal electrogram and 15 to 45 msec ahead of the low left atrial electrogram. During right ventricular pacing the low right atrial septal activation preceded the right pulmonary arterial electrogram by 5 to 35 msec, and the latter was inscribed 10 to 25 msec before the high right atrium. Bachmann's bundle reentry beats induced by the extrastimulus method in 12 dogs could be successfully distinguished from sinus or atrioventricular nodal reentry by the inscription of right pulmonary arterial electrograms. Preliminary results in four patients studied indicate that it is possible to record from the proximal right pulmonary artery electrograms of good quality that reflect activation from the region of Bachmann's bundle. It is concluded that the right pulmonary arterial catheter electrode provides a reliable technique for (1) recording an atrial electrogram from the region of Bachmann's bundle, (2) identifying the precise mechanism of supraventricular tachycardia, and (3) evaluating interatrial conduction.
A self-routing topology for Bluetooth scatternets

The emerging Bluetooth standard is considered to be the most promising technology to construct ad-hoc networks. It contains specifications of how to build a piconet but left out details of how to automatically construct a scatternet from the piconets. Existing solutions only discussed the scatternet formation issue without considering the ease of routing in such a scatternet. We present algorithms to embed b-trees into a scatternet which enables such a network to become self-routing. It requires only a fixed-size message header and no routing table at each node regardless of the size of the scatternet. These properties make our solution scalable to deal with networks of large sizes. Our solutions are of distributed control and asynchronous. We prove that our algorithm preserves the b-tree property when devices join or leave the scatternet and when one scatternet is merged with another.
Toward a Multi-Analyst, Collaborative Framework for Visual Analytics

We describe a framework for the display of complex, multidimensional data, designed to facilitate exploration, analysis, and collaboration among multiple analysts. This framework aims to support human collaboration by making it easier to share representations, to translate from one point of view to another, to explain arguments, to update conclusions when underlying assumptions change, and to justify or account for decisions or actions. Multidimensional visualization techniques are used with interactive, context-sensitive, and tunable graphs. Visual representations are flexibly generated using a knowledge representation scheme based on annotated logic; this enables not only tracking and fusing different viewpoints, but also unpacking them. Fusing representations supports the creation of multidimensional meta-displays as well as the translation or mapping from one point of view to another. At the same time, analysts also need to be able to unpack one another's complex chains of reasoning, especially if they have reached different conclusions, and to determine the implications, if any, when underlying assumptions or evidence turn out to be false. The framework enables us to support a variety of scenarios as well as to systematically generate and test experimental hypotheses about the impact of different kinds of visual representations upon interactive collaboration by teams of distributed analysts.
Predictive model for aerobic biodegradability developed from a file of evaluated biodegradation data

A file of evaluated biodegradation data was used to develop a model for predicting aerobic biodegradability from chemical substructures. Chemicals initially were divided into three groups: (a) chemicals that degrade rapidly under most environmental conditions without requiring acclimation; (b) chemicals that are biodegradable, but only after an acclimation period; and (c) chemicals that degrade slowly or not at all. Chemicals in the first and last groups were then used to develop a model for classifying chemicals as rapidly biodegradable or not rapidly biodegradable. Two models, one based on linear regression and the other based on nonlinear regression, were developed from 35 preselected substructures. Both models predict the biodegradation categories correctly 90% of the time for the training set (264 chemicals) and an independent validation set (27 chemicals), and are 95% correct for chemicals that biodegrade rapidly.
The performance of the atlas term in MRF-MAP based DfD algorithm

Depth from Defocus (DfD) is an effective method to infer the depth information of a scene. This technique requires a focused and defocused image of the same scene. The state of the art DfD literature uses an energy function optimization method based on the Markov Random Field model with Maximum a Posteriori statistics (MRF-MAP). Typically this energy function consists of two terms: first, the absolute difference term and second, the neighborhood term. This paper describes the algorithm modified with a new term, which we call the atlas term. In this research, we explore how this term behaves in the DfD algorithm to improve accuracy and running time.
Effect of Selected Insecticides on the Natural Enemies Coleomegilla maculata and Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Geocoris punctipes (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), and Bracon mellitor, Cardiochiles nigriceps, and Cotesia marginiventris (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Cotton

We evaluated the toxicity of three insecticides (lambda cyhalothrin, spinosad, and S-1812) to the natural enemies Bracon mellitor Say, Cardiochiles nigriceps Viereck, Coleomegilla maculata De Geer, Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson), Geocoris punctipes (Say), and Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville, in topical, residual, and field assays. Lambda cyhalothrin exhibited the greatest toxicity to the natural enemies. In topical toxicity tests, lambda cyhalothrin adversely affected each natural enemy species studied. Residues of lambda cyhalothrin on cotton leaves were toxic to B. mellitor, C. nigriceps, C. maculata, and G. punctipes. Interestingly, residues of this insecticide were not very toxic to C. marginiventris and H. convergens. Geocoris punctipes and C. maculata numbers in the field generally were significantly lower for lambda cyhalothrin treatments than for the other four treatments, substantiating the previous tests. Although cotton aphids began to increase over all treatments around the middle of the test period, the number of cotton aphids in the lambda cyhalothrin plots was significantly higher than the number in any of the other treatments. As cotton aphids increased in lambda cyhalothrin field plots, the predator H. convergens also increased in number, indicating that lambda cyhalothrin did not adversely affect it in accordance with the residual tests. Spinosad exhibited marginal to excellent selectivity, but was highly toxic to each parasitoid species and G. punctipes in topical toxicity tests and to B. mellitor in residual tests. Spinosad generally did not affect the number of G. punctipes, H. convergens, and C. maculata in the field except for one day after the second application for G. punctipes. S-1812 exhibited good to excellent selectivity to the natural enemies. Some reduction of G. punctipes occurred for only a short period after the first and second application of this insecticide in the field. H. convergens and C. maculata were affected very little by S-1812.
Notch effects on tensile behavior of Ni3AI and Ni3AI + B

Tensile tests have been carried out at room temperature on double-notched specimens of Ni3Al and Ni3Al containing boron to observe the effect of boron on the notched specimen tensile behavior of Ni3Al. The results indicate that a predominantly intergranular fracture can be induced in the presence of a high constraint (notch), even in boron-doped Ni3Al, although a finite elongation and transgranular tearing-type fracture near the notch root were also observed. Fracture initiation was observed to occur in a brittle intergranular fashion in regions ahead of the notch in notched specimens of both Ni3Al and Ni3Al microalloyed with boron. An increase in the intergranular fracture stress of Ni3Al due to boron was noted from the semiquantitative analysis (based on existing finite element models) of the notched tensile specimen data.
Assessment of a University Campus Food Environment, California, 2015.

Introduction University campuses offer an opportunity to study the extent to which modifying the food environment influences eating, but in-depth characterizations of campus food environments are needed to identify potential targets for intervention. The objective of this project was to describe the availability, accessibility, and quality of healthful food choices in dining venues and food stores at or near a public, 4-year university in California.
Self-Employment Tax and Limited Liability Companies: When are Llc Earnings Subject to Self-Employment Tax?

Limited liability companies (LLCs) have become an important form of business organization. LLCs provide their members with limited liability, while giving the LLC the opportunity to elect to be taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. One of the significant issues that has arisen in connection with LLCs electing to be taxed as a partnership is the application of self-employment (SE) tax to LLC members. The issue of when an LLC member's distributive share of LLC income is subject to SE tax has not been definitively answered. This paper reviews this issue and offers planning suggestions.
Triggered Detection and Deposition: Toward the Repair of Microcracks

Developing methods to detect and repair damage in polymers is an active area of research. Many of the previously described methods suffer from the lack of long-term stability of the reagents, which are typically preincorporated into the polymer. Also, they tend to be specific to certain types of polymeric materials. In this paper, we describe a general method for detection and repair of cracks in polymers using a salt-triggered mechanism. The process consists of a polymer embedded with salt that works as a “reporter”. Upon addition of a detection or healing agent, damaged areas in the polymer leach out salt, powering flows and activating the reagents in the fluid. Detection is possible with fluorescent quantum dots, which aggregate at the crack site. Repair is shown to occur through two different strategies. The first repair strategy involves high ionic strength triggered destabilization of oil-in-water emulsions, transporting polymerization agents, resulting in polymer deposition at the damage site. The ...
Investigation of magnetic microdiscs for bacterial pathogen detection

Despite strict regulations to control the presence of human pathogens in our food supply, recent foodborne outbreaks have heightened public concern about food safety and created urgency to improve methods for pathogen detection. Herein we explore a potentially portable, low-cost system that uses magnetic microdiscs for the detection of bacterial pathogens in liquid samples. The system operates by optically measuring the rotational dynamics of suspended magnetic microdiscs functionalized with pathogen-binding aptamers. The soft ferromagnetic (Ni 80 Fe 20 ) microdiscs exhibit a closed magnetic spin arrangement (i.e. spin vortex) with zero magnetic stray field, leading to no disc agglomeration when in free suspension. With very high surface area for functionalization and volumes 10,000x larger than commonly used superparamagnetic nanoparticles, these 1.5-μm-diameter microdiscs are well suited for tagging, trapping, actuating, or interrogating bacterial targets. This work reports a wafer-level microfabrication process for fabrication of 600 million magnetic microdiscs per substrate and measurement of their rotational dynamics response. Additionally, the biofunctionalization of the microdiscs with DNA aptamers, subsequent binding to E. coli bacteria, and their magnetic manipulation is reported.
Electroencephalographic Patterns of the Goldfish (Carassius Auratus L.)

The first recordings of electrical potentials from the teleost brain were made by Adrian and Buytendijk (1931), who used isolated brain stem preparations from Carassius auratus L. Slow potential changes (1-3 eye./sec.) were recorded from the medulla oblongata, corresponding to the rhythm of the goldfish respiratory activity. Patterns of higher frequency and low amplitude were also recorded from the optic lobes. Enger (1957) has used the codfish (Gadus callarias) for implanted-electrode recordings, which were somewhat obscured by artifacts due to breathing movements and to the pressure of the electrodes on the brain surface. He obtained, however, records of the spontaneous electrical activity in the brain of an unanaesthetized fish, as well as mesencephalic responses to stimulation by light flashes. Waves of a frequency of 8-13 cyc./sec. dominated the electrical pattern of the midbrain; these were compared by Enger to the mammalian alpha rhythm. He found evidence for an arousal reaction in the mesencephalon^ following sudden photic stimulation, but none following auditory stimulation.
Ventricular failure and cellular remodeling with chronic supraventricular tachycardia.

Chronic supraventricular tachycardia has been associated with ventricular dysfunction in human beings and in animals. The changes in ventricular size and shape and the myocyte remodeling that may occur with chronic supraventricular tachycardia are unknown. Left and right ventricular remodeling and myocyte changes were examined in 12 pigs after 3 weeks of atrial pacing (supraventricular tachycardia at 240 beats/min and in 10 control pigs (105 ± 3 beats/min). Chronic supraventricular tachycardia resulted in decreased left ventricular and right ventricular ejection fractions compared with control values (left ventricle, 26% ± 4% versus 60% ± 1%; right ventricle, 19% ±3% versus 53% ±3%; p
Preservational control of trace-fossil assemblages; Middle Mississippian carbonates of south-central Indiana

The Ramp Creek, Harrodsburg, Salem, St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve formations include a wide variety of carbonates, including silty dolomudstones, mudstones, wackestones and skeletal and oolitic grainstones. Analysis of these Middle Mississippian carbonates from surface exposures and cores indicates that small- and larger scale depositional cyclicity is prominently developed. Four facies representing four major depositional environments are recognized: A) calcareous sand and oolite shoals and bars, B) tidal channels, C) lagoons and D) sabkhas. Although characteristic trace-fossil assemblages occur within the various facies, recognition of trace fossils is controlled largely by preservational factors such as degree of lithologic heterogeneity and mean grain size and degree of weathering in surface exposures.--Modified journal abstract.
Tumors of the Lung and Chest Wall

Primary pulmonary tumors of the lung and chest wall are rare tumors in children of all ages. Their symptoms are generally nonspecific, which often leads to a delay in diagnosis as nonneoplastic diseases are far more common in children. However, both cancernous and noncancerous tumors can be discovered in the lungs and chest wall, and a high index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis. The majority of cancerous tumors found in the lungs in children are metastatic lesions, while primary cancers predominante in pedaitric chest wall lesions. Definitive treatments vary widely depending on the histopathology of the cancer, and adequate diagnostic and staging procedures are critical. However, surgery remains the cornerstone of treatment in almost all tumors found in the lungs and chest wall in children, regardless of age.
Teacher Education Programs That Prepare Teachers for Social Equity

This chapter addresses what teacher educators can do to create teachers who understand the sociocultural and sociopolitical realities that impact students in underserved communities and are prepared to teach with an equity orientation. Teacher education programs are challenged to transform candidates’ deficit orientations towards students and families and help candidates see their responsibility to offset educational and societal injustices through their roles as teachers. Since teacher education programs may not address these challenges in comprehensive and uniform ways, teacher educators need to commit to their own professional growth around issues of social equity and build programs that allow teacher candidates to (1) examine issues of privilege, subordination, and the sociopolitical factors shaping school achievement; (2) uncover the knowledge traditions of students, families, and communities; (3) explore models of advocacy and activism; and (4) teach literacy in culturally sustaining, critical, and balanced ways.
Facing the Challenges: Creating and Sustaining Healthy Relationships and Societies

This chapter examines effective strategies (from international treaties, government legislation, media and educational campaigns to NGOs) being used in Cameroon, Iceland, New Zealand, and the United States to support victim-survivors of gender violence, raise awareness, and challenge (de-normalize) gender violence. The most common argument used to defend the practice of violence against women and children is a cultural relativist one—that such practice is a part of “the culture” This defense values the preservation of the patriarchal family over the human rights of women and children. Drawing upon the research literature on inequality and masculinity studies, the chapter explores how healthier relationships and societies can be built. The argument reinforces the importance of a positive relationship between economic and gender equality in breaking the cycle of gender violence.
Proportionate Adaptation and Partial Updates in Constrained Adaptive Filters

Adaptive filters that are designed or assumed to be sparse typically make use of either proportionate adaptation (PA) or partial updates (PU). In this paper, we study the use of both techniques for adaptive filters operating under a constraint. In particular, we focus on the adaptive minimum mean squared error channel shortening equalizer (MMSE CSE), which is a pair of adaptive filters, one of which has a unit norm constraint. The MMSE CSE is often used to reduce the complexity of maximum likelihood sequence detection or to mitigate multipath in multicarrier systems. Each iteration of the algorithm involves adapting the channel shortener, adapting the target impulse response, and enforcing the constraint via a projection. We will show that there are additional design considerations that must be made in order to apply PA and PU techniques to the adaptive MMSE CSE. Simulation results will be provided to illustrate the design tradeoffs.
Smoke Water and Heat Influence Emergence of Shortgrass Prairie Species

Exposure to smoke can influence the germination of seeds in many fire-prone ecosystems, but this effect is not well studied in grasslands. Smoke treatments such as smoke water could be useful as management and restoration tools if the response of target species in natural settings is well understood. We tested eight species native to the southern High Plains region in Texas, USA, that were already known to respond to smoke water in the laboratory, for their responses in a less controlled glasshouse environment. We exposed seeds to smoke water, heat, or a combination of the two, sowed them into greenhouse flats, and observed and recorded emergence. Emergence of nearly all species was influenced by smoke water, with most species experiencing either lower emergence or longer times for emergence when exposed to high-concentration smoke water. Smoke water exposure enhanced emergence of broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae [DC.] A. Gray) seeds, with more than twice as many treated seeds emerging than untreated seeds (germination of control seeds = 26 % ± 4.39 % SE; germination of treated seeds = 69 % ± 4.62 % SE). Because many species displayed different results in the glasshouse as compared to the laboratory, smoke treatments should be tested in the field before being used on a larger scale. Doing so will allow a better understanding of how target species might respond to smoke treatments with more realistic soils, fluctuating temperatures, and other complications encountered in the field.
Counterfeit Medicines in Socioeconomic Perspective

Counterfeit medicines potentially reach 70% of the global drug markets, and the largest proportion is found in developing countries. Increasing public awareness of counterfeit medicines will automatically affect the demand for counterfeit medical products that will finally reduce counterfeit medicine activities. However, raising awareness of the dangers of counterfeit medicines is a challenging task because public health professionals need to consider diversity of social, economic and educational factors. This study examined peer-reviewed journal articles, media reports, official government and non-government reports. As many as 179 papers (1990 to 2014) were retrieved to identify the relationship between Human Development Index (HDI) of the USA, Japan, Brazil, Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria, and the type of counterfeit medicines. An electronic search was conducted using the following databases, such as Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar. Counterfeit disease curing medicines are found in high varieties most likely in countries with low HDI. At the same time, medicines for lifestyle are not solely found in countries with high HDI, but also exist in low to medium HDI. Abstrak Obat-obatan palsu berpotensi mencapai 70% dari pasaran obat internasional dengan proporsi terbanyak ditemukan di negara berkembang. Meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat akan adanya obat-obatan palsu akan secara langsung memengaruhi permintaan produk obat palsu yang akhirnya akan mengurangi kegiatan pemalsuan obat. Akan tetapi, meningkatkan pengetahuan masyarakat akan bahaya obat-obatan palsu tidaklah mudah sebab profesi kesehatan masyarakat harus juga mempertimbangkan keberagaman faktor-faktor sosial, ekonomi dan pendidikan. Laporan ini menelaah artikel jurnal yang ditelaah oleh kelompok seminat, laporan media, laporan resmi pemerintah dan non-pemerintah. Sebanyak 179 artikel (dari 1990 sampai 2014) ditelaah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara indeks pembangunan manusia (IPM) dari USA, Jepang, Brasil, Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan dan Nigeria, dan tipe pemalsuan obat. Pencarian elektronik menggunakan pangkalan data seperti Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar. Obat-obatan palsu untuk pengobatan ditemukan dalam banyak ragam terutama di negara dengan IPM rendah. Pada saat yang sama, obat-obatan untuk keperluan gaya hidup tidak hanya ditemukan di negara dengan IPM tinggi, akan tetapi juga beredar di negara dengan IPM rendah dan sedang.
Monoclonal Invariant NKT (iNKT) Cell Mice Reveal a Role for Both Tissue of Origin and the TCR in Development of iNKT Functional Subsets

Invariant NKT (iNKT) cell functional subsets are defined by key transcription factors and output of cytokines, such as IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-10. To examine how TCR specificity determines iNKT function, we used somatic cell nuclear transfer to generate three lines of mice cloned from iNKT nuclei. Each line uses the invariant Vα14Jα18 TCRα paired with unique Vβ7 or Vβ8.2 subunits. We examined tissue homing, expression of PLZF, T-bet, and RORγt, and cytokine profiles and found that, although monoclonal iNKT cells differentiated into all functional subsets, the NKT17 lineage was reduced or expanded depending on the TCR expressed. We examined iNKT thymic development in limited-dilution bone marrow chimeras and show that higher TCR avidity correlates with higher PLZF and reduced T-bet expression. iNKT functional subsets showed distinct tissue distribution patterns. Although each individual monoclonal TCR showed an inherent subset distribution preference that was evident across all tissues examined, the iNKT cytokine profile differed more by tissue of origin than by TCR specificity.
Protection of rat prostate and erectile function from radiation-induced damage by novel Mn(III) N- substituted pyridylporphyrin and ascorbate

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, with approximately 30-50% of men developing loss of erectile function after definitive radiotherapy (RT). Currently, no treatment is available that preserves erectile function. Therefore there is a significant reduction of the quality of life of survivors which incurs considerable healthcare costs. Hence, there is an imminent need to protect normal tissues during prostate cancer RT. We have developed Mn porphyrin-based SOD mimics and demonstrated that they radioprotect normal tissues such as brain, salivary glands and mouth mucosa while radio- and chemosensitizing tumors, such as brain, breast and lymphoma. We have also demonstrated and explained the reasoning behind the significant enhancement of tumor radiosensitization by Mn porphyrins when combined with ascorbate (Asc). A lead drug, BMX-001 is now in two Phase I/II clinical trials as a normal tissue radioprotector with glioma and head&neck cancer patients. Herein we have explored the radioprotection of a lower pelvic region by a member of the new class of powerful Mn porphyrin-based SOD mimics – Mn(III) meso-tetrakis(5',5',5'-trifluoropentylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin, MnF3Pen. The SOD-like activity given by log kcat(O2.-) is 7.45, and the reduction potential of the Mn site, E1/2 is +288 mV vs NHE. In this study we also aimed to show that the addition of Asc would not diminish radioprotection of a normal tissue by MnF3Pen. The rat toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies of MnF3Pen/Asc system showed that MnF3Pen reached ~100 to 500 nM levels at targeted sites (penis, prostate, bladder, testes and rectum) within few hours after single subcutaneous (sc) 1 mg/kg injection. We subsequently performed the efficacy study. Single radiation dose of 20 Gy was delivered stereotactically to the prostate of Sprague-Dawley 8 week old rats using image-guided small animal irradiator. MnF3Pen was given sc at 0.5 mg/kg/day for four weeks and continued twice weekly for the next 5 weeks. Ascorbate was given intraperitoneally at 1 g/kg/day for first 3 days and then twice weekly for the rest of 9 weeks. We showed that MnF3Pen/Asc treatment prevented erectile dysfunction observed in RT-treated group. We further showed that MnF3Pen/Asc treatment greatly suppressed RT-induced damage to prostate as evaluated by H&E staining.
Design and evaluation of a high-current gate driver circuit for six paralleled 1.2kV 36A SiC MOSFETs

Fast switching of SiC MOSFETs in high frequency converters can be realized with an optimized gate driver. IXYS IXDD614 high-speed gate drivers can be used to deliver a source and sink peak current of 14A with gate voltage rise and fall times of less than 30ns to drive six paralleled 1.2kV 36A SiC MOSFETs. In this paper, a reliable and efficient gate driver is designed, evaluated, and experimentally validated to provide sufficient gate current for minimum on-resistance, fast switching operation, good noise immunity, and wide range of duty cycles and switching frequencies without significant self-heating. Also, the effect of the gate resistance on the gate driver performance is examined for different frequencies. The parasitic inductance values of the copper traces are analyzed using ANSYS Q3D Extractor. The designed gate driver without bootstrap capacitance can drive either the top or bottom switches of the six paralleled 1.2kV 36A SiC MOSFETs H-bridge converter module.
Wahrheit und Wahrscheinlichkeit

Die alte Frage nach dem Wesen der Wahrheit wird in den Untersuchungen von Tarski 1 in neuer Form gestellt und auf neue Weise beantwortet. Tarski stellt die Frage auf die folgende Weise: Wie lautet eine zufriedenstellende, d. h. eine material adaquate sowie auch formal korrekte Definition des Begriffes der Wahrheit ? Um ein Kriterium der materialen Adaquatheit der gesuchten Definition zu erhalten, untersucht Tarski zunachst den Anwendungsbereich und den Inhalt des zu definierenden Begriffes.
Regulatory Action of Estrogenic Hormones

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the regulatory action of estrogenic hormones. Evidence has accumulated from many sources that an initial stimulation of nuclear RNA biosynthesis triggers the subsequent biosynthetic and enzymatic events that characterize the estrogen-stimulated uterine cell. Underlying the augmented rate of RNA synthesis resulting from estrogen stimulation is increased activity of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Further evidence for the relationship between estrogen response by target tissues and RNA synthesis has come from the use of metabolic inhibitors. The concept that estrogens may exert their stimulatory action on the uterus by activation of RNA synthesis has been developed by several lines of biochemical investigation. In a study described in the chapter, uterine RNA obtained from estrogenized rats caused endometrial stimulation, including all the criteria usually associated with the hormonal influence, namely, transition of the lining epithelium to high columnar cells with basal nuclei and prominent nucleoli, uterine glandular proliferation, and separation of stromal cells. The activity is due to RNase-sensitive material, for there is an almost complete loss of activity when the extract is preincubated with RNase. The biological activity of RNA produced by uterine cells under estrogen stimulation suggests that estradiol, either directly or indirectly, stimulates a new pattern of RNA biosynthesis in target cells and that the hormone is not necessarily involved in subsequent steps leading to the transition from the nonstimulated to the stimulated state.
Physicality in Distributed Design Collaboration

Geographically distributed design teams face barriers to effective collaboration that current communication technologies have difficulty mediating. We have found several key aspects, or building blocks, of effective, physically collocated interaction, which include: the exclusive physical presence of individual participants within the team workspace; the explicit and implicit body language signals that they exchange; and the ability to point to, and act upon, artifacts in a context that is shared with teammates. These provide the social and contextual clues that contribute to free-flowing, creative exchanges. However, when teams are distributed, they lose many, if not all, of these capacities. To re-establish them, we are introducing expressive, tele-operated robotic avatars into designers’ workflows to provide a physical and social presence for distant team members. Our explorations going forward focus on employing physical avatars when design activity is most physical or tangible: during conceptual development, which occurs largely before ideas can be articulated with precision, and during prototype development, which generally occurs after a verbal or written exchange of ideas.
Review of The Well-Ordered Universe: The Philosophy of Margaret Cavendish by Deborah Boyle

A review of Deborah Boyle's recent book The Well-Ordered Universe: The Philosophy of Margaret Cavendish (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2017).
Post-quantum cryptography and 5G security: tutorial

The Fifth Generation (5G) mobile broadband standards make a fundamental shift in cryptography. Prior generations based their security and privacy principally on symmetric key cryptography. The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) and its successors contain a shared key used to authenticate the User Equipment (UE) to the network, and vice versa. However 5G is shifting its core network over to a microservices, cloud-first architecture and is heavily leveraging protocols like TLS and OAuth2.0 to authenticate and authorize transactions. As a result, it is shifting to a PKI-based trust model. This shift is happening just as quantum computing threatens to unravel the security of traditional ciphers such as RSA and ECC. In this paper we highlight the need to advance the 3GPP 5G standards and NIST post-quantum cryptography standards in tandem, with the goal of launching a "quantum ready" 5G core network.
Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber, The Enigma of Reason

Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber, The Enigma of Reason (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017). 396 pp. $29.95 (hbk). ISBN: 978-0-67436-830-9.