cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Proton-Proton Scattering at 437 Mev

This paper is a detailed account of measurements, already briefly reported, of the angular distribution of proton-proton scattering at 437 Mev. A description is given of the external proton beam: its collimation, angular spread, energy spectrum, and intensity. The counters, electronics, and targets are described. Two scattering arrangements were used. In one the polyethylene-carbon subtraction method with coincidence detection of the scattered and recoil protons was employed. In the other a counter telescope detected the protons emerging at a given angle from a liquid hydrogen target; at the larger angles but not at the smaller the scattered pairs could also be detected by coincidences between the telescope and another counter. At the smaller angles, when coincidence counting could not be used to insure detection of elastic $p\ensuremath{-}p$ scattering, precautions were taken to absorb the particles produced in inelastic $p\ensuremath{-}p$ collisions. The results are that the differential cross section for elastic proton-proton scattering rises smoothly from its value at 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} c.m. to a value about 20 percent higher at 17\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} c.m. The value at 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} c.m. is 3.49\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.17 mb/sterad.
Low-resource speech translation of Urdu to English using semi-supervised part-of-speech tagging and transliteration

This paper describes the construction of ASR and MT systems for translation of speech from Urdu into English. As both Urdu pronunciation lexicons and Urdu-English bitexts are sparse, we employ several techniques that make use of semi-supervised annotation to improve ASR and MT training. Specifically, we describe 1) the construction of a semi-supervised HMM-based part-of-speech tagger that is used to train factored translation models and 2) the use of an HMM-based transliterator from which we derive a spelling-to-pronunciation model for Urdu used in ASR training. We describe experiments performed for both ASR and MT training in the context of the Urdu-to-English task of the NIST MT08 Evaluation and we compare methods making use of additional annotation with standard statistical MT and ASR baselines.
A universal tumor cell isolation method enabled by fibrin-coated microchannels

We report a simple but effective strategy to capture tumor cells using fibrin-immobilized microchannels. It is a universal method since it shows an ability to capture both epithelial and mesenchymal tumor cells. The cell capture efficiency is up to 90%.
Antisymmetric Soliton in a Dispersion-Managed Fiber Laser

A dispersion-managed soliton fiber laser generates doubly-peaked temporal and spectral profiles at large anomalous net dispersion. The emitted pulse is consistent with an antisymmetric soliton, which was not observed previously in a laser.
Infections Following Gastrointestinal Surgery: Intra-abdominal Abscess

Intra-abdominal sepsis is frequently present after trauma, surgical resection, or intrinsic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Infection may be generalized or localized in intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal locations as well as in solid organs. The offending microflora is polymicrobial, consisting of both aerobes and anaerobes. Adequate, prompt surgical drainage and the appropriate choice of parenteral antibiotics aimed at both types of bacteria will result in a more favorable postoperative course and will reduce the possibility of local infection and secondary septicemia.
Absorption of cobalt60-labeled vitamin B12 after subtotal gastrectomy.

Vitamin B12 absorption has been studied in patients with subtotal gastrectomy by means of the Co60 B12 urinary excretion test. Five patients tested before and after a conventional subtotal gastrectomy showed no significant change in absorption. Of 22 patients who were tested at various intervals after a conventional (distal) subtotal gastrectomy, 19 had normal vitiamin B12 absorption and three had low absorption that was corrected to normal by giving gastric juice with the test dose. Three patients who had had a proximal gastrectomy showed normal vitamin B12 absorption, indicating that intrinsic factor was being produced by the remaining distal portion of the stomach.
SLAPS: Superconducting Large Area Phonon Sensors

We are investigating the use of thin film superconductors with NTD Ge thermistors for collecting phonons over large surface areas (i.e. ≈ few cm2). The SLAPS (Superconducting Large Area Phonon Sensors) technique provides a simple, yet efficient means to increase detector sensitivity to athermal phonons. This increased sensitivity results from the use of novel quasiparticle trapping schemes. Our goal is to incorporate SLAPS technology into the design of cryogenic detectors currently under development for WIMP dark matter and neutrino experiments [1].
Can Situations Help with Reusability of Software

Software reusability is an important concept, as well as a powerful tool, to achieve modular solutions in the design and implementation of modern software systems. There is a wide array of research studies conducted in this area ranging from conceptual level to software construction level. Despite all these good pieces of work, software engineers still need to face the complications that strictly separate design time activities from those carried out at software construction time, to shift their mental gear between high level specification properties and low level implementation details. To bridge this gap, we propose a unified approach to facilitate software reuse. We seek to carry out this enterprise surrounding an abstraction, namely Situation. More specifically, we have created a computing environment and, under its runtime support, a functional programming language called $$Situ^f$$Situf in which domain experts can capture the features of a software system in terms of functional expressions. For each $$Situ^f$$Situf program, declarations and functional expressions provide essential definitions of Situations. Some language constructs of $$Situ^f$$Situf, such as the import and include directives, are designed to make it easier to compose new software features by reusing existing ones.
Design and synthesis of N-methylene-C linked tetrazole and nitramino-1,2,4-triazole: an approach to promising energetic materials

Asymmetric disubstituted N-methylene-C-bridged nitrogen-rich heterocycles (tetrazole and nitramino-1,2,4-triazole) were synthesized in three steps and their nitrogen-rich energetic salts were prepared. The structures of these compounds have been established by spectral and analytical data, and, in some cases, by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Detonation performance was determined using the EXPLO5 6.01 code based on calculated heats of formation and measured densities. The N-methylene-C-bridged compounds exhibit moderate thermal stability combined with high detonation performance and acceptable sensitivity and therefore are of interest for possible application as energetic materials.
Determining African birth from skeletal remains: A note on tooth mutilation

Tooth mutilation existed in sub-Saharan Africa, and was found among slaves transported to the New World. A small number of mutilation cases have been identified in early New World “Negro” skeletons from the Caribbean and Florida. The skeletal evidence alone precludes determining if the individuals were African- or American-born, but limited ethnohistorical data suggested the former. This hypothesis is considerably strengthened by evidence from 18th-century runaway slave advertisements found in the newspapers of five mainland British colonies. Analysis of these ads shows that every runaway who is identified with tooth mutilation came from Africa. This ethnohistorical evidence supports other sets of bioarchaeological and ethnohistorical data that the African custom of tooth mutilation was not generally practiced by Caribbean or North American slaves. Where filed or chipped teeth appear on skeletons “racially” identified as African in New World sites, there is an excellent chance that the individuals were African-born.
Development and characterization of an interferometer for calorimeter-based absorbed dose to water measurements in a medical linear accelerator

The quantity of relevance for external beam radiotherapy is absorbed dose to water (ADW). An interferometer was built, characterized, and tested to measure ADW within the dose range of interest for external beam radiotherapy using the temperature dependence of the refractive index of water. The interferometer was used to measure radiation-induced phase shifts of a laser beam passing through a (10 × 10 × 10) cm3 water-filled glass phantom, irradiated with a 6 MV photon beam from a medical linear accelerator. The field size was (7 × 7) cm2 and the dose was measured at a depth of 5 cm in the water phantom. The intensity of the interference pattern was measured with a photodiode and was used to calculate the time-dependent phase shift curve. The system was thermally insulated to achieve temperature drifts of less than 1.5 mK/min. Data were acquired 60 s before and after the irradiation. The radiation-induced phase shifts were calculated by taking the difference in the pre- and post-irradiation drifts extrapolated to the midpoint of the irradiation. For 200, 300, and 400 monitor units, the measured doses were 1.6 ± 0.3, 2.6 ± 0.3, and 3.1 ± 0.3 Gy, respectively. Measurements agreed within the uncertainty with dose calculations performed with a treatment planning system. The estimated type-A, k = 1 uncertainty in the measured doses was 0.3 Gy which is an order of magnitude lower than previously published interferometer-based ADW measurements.
Synaptic Plasticity: Neuronogenesis and Stem Cells in Normal Brain Aging

Neuronogenesis (the generation of new neurons), often referred to by the broader term of neurogenesis, occurs at two spatially restricted germinal centers in the adult mammalian brain, including that of humans. This process continues in both of these germinal centers in the aging brain, but at a reduced level. The aging dentate gyrus can increase neurogenesis in response to enriched environment or trophic factors stimulation. The extent to which age-related decline in neurogenesis contributes to any impairment of central nervous system (CNS) function in the normal aging brain remains unclear.
Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing: Wind at Our Backs or Flapping in the Breeze?

Despite long-standing recognition by clinicians and the public, the problem of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is, unfortunately, persistent. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing not only harms our communities by contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, but it also directly harms patients by leading to adverse drug events, unnecessary costs, and serious complications, such as Clostridium difficile colitis. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing encompasses several domains (Table 1). The most important is unnecessary antibiotic prescribing (or overuse), which refers to prescribing an antibiotic when it is not indicated (eg, for a viral infection). At least 30% of all antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings in the United States are considered unnecessary; this estimate rises to 50% for respiratory tract infections, which collectively are responsible for the largest number of antibiotic prescriptions overall.1 But there are several other important types of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, including prescribing for an unnecessarily prolonged duration, selecting an unnecessarily broad-spectrum antibiotic, … Address correspondence to Adam L. Hersh, MD, PhD, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. E-mail: adam.hersh{at}hsc.utah.edu
A large-scale spatio-temporal data analytics system for wildfire risk management

Wildfires have been a significant concern for communities and fire response agencies in many countries. Hence, it is critical to be able to predict the fire risk in a timely and accurate manner and at granular level. However, this requires accessing and processing large amounts of spatial and temporal data from a number of sources in near real-time, while ensuring the immediate availability of risk measurement results. In this paper, we describe a large-scale data-driven system for personalized risk mitigation, fire response's resource optimization and dynamic evacuation planning. It leverages large spatial and temporal datasets to provide predictive analytics in near real-time and to deliver tailored insights to government agencies, communities and individuals.
LQG control of large networks: A clustering-based approach

In this paper we present a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control design for large-dimensional network dynamic systems using the idea of network clustering. When networks have tens of thousands of nodes spread over a wide geographical span, the design of conventional output feedback controllers becomes numerically challenging, and their implementation requires a large number of communication links. Our proposed algorithm bypasses these difficulties by clustering the network nodes using structural properties of its closed-loop transfer matrix. The cluster assignment is applied for constructing a structured projection matrix P, which is used to pose a significantly lower-dimensional controller design. The problem is, therefore, posed in terms of finding the optimal set of clusters or P that minimizes the ℋ 2 -norm of the error between the transfer matrices of the full-order network with a conventional LQG controller and that with the projected LQG controller. We derive an upper bound on this error as a function of P, and design a P that minimizes this bound.
A Taiwan study abroad program on aging, culture, and healthcare

This article introduces a Taiwan Study Abroad program on aging, culture, and healthcare. The program is a short-term academic summer program (6 credits) to bring U.S. students to Taiwan. During 201...
Effect of root infection by Macrophomina phaseolina on stomatal conductance, canopy temperature and yield of soybean

Charcoal rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseolina, is a widespread drought-associated, soilborne disease of soybean. Generally, disease severity is assessed indirectly as host colonization at the end...
The Classical Complement Pathway Is Required to Control Borrelia burgdorferi Levels During Experimental Infection.

Activation of the classical complement pathway occurs to varying degrees within strains of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, which contain a group of pathogenic spirochetes that cause tick-borne Lyme borreliosis, including the agent of Lyme disease in the United States, Borrelia burgdorferi. Despite this information, details related to the control of Borrelia burgdorferi by the classical pathway are not clear. To address this question, we infected C1qa-/- mice, which cannot assemble the C1 complex and thus fail to activate the classical pathway, with B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strain B31. Using bioluminescent in vivo imaging, we found that C1qa-/- mice harbored more B. burgdorferi following 10 days of infection relative to their isogenic C57BL/6 parent. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) demonstrated that C1qa-/- mice harbored significantly more B. burgdorferi than parent mice did within lymph nodes, skin, heart, and joints. The increased B. burgdorferi load in C1qa-/- mice was observed at 21 and 28 days of infection, consistent with the classical pathway promoting complement-dependent, antibody-mediated killing following the development of a B. burgdorferi-specific humoral immune response. In addition, circulating borrelial-specific IgM was higher in C1qa-/- mice relative to their parent mouse strain and did not decrease at 21 and 28 days post infection, indicating that IgG class switching was delayed in C1qa-/- mice. At day 28, both Borrelia-specific IgG1 and IgG3 levels were higher in infected C1qa-/- mice but that these antibodies were not sufficient to control borrelial infection in the absence of the classical pathway. Furthermore, the lack of C1q also altered the balance of the Th1/Th2 response, as both circulating Th1 (MIP-1a, IL-2, IL-12 and TNFa), Th2 (IL-4, IL-10, MCP-1), and Th17 (IL-17) cytokines were elevated in infected C1qa-/- mice. These data imply that C1q and the classical pathway play important roles in controlling borrelial infection via antibody and complement-dependent killing, as well as altering both antibody maturation processes and the T cell response following exposure to infectious B. burgdorferi.
Data-Driven Estimation of Frequency Response From Ambient Synchrophasor Measurements

With the wide deployment of synchrophasor technology, measurement-based dynamic modeling and studies have been becoming increasingly useful for real-time grid operations. This paper considers the problem of estimating the power system frequency response from ambient synchrophasor measurements. Specifically, we develop the analytical conditions for establishing the equivalence between the cross correlation of ambient generator speed data and the system frequency response between any two locations. Our conditions, relying on uniformly damped and equally excited oscillation modes, extend earlier work on electromechanical wave propagation modeling to nonhomogeneous power networks. Numerical results suggest that the validity of the cross correlation approach would hold for more realistic conditions such as nonuniform damping and high-order generator model. Its practical value is further corroborated by real-data results, which closely match with the actual propagation time of electromechanical waves recorded during the 2008 Florida blackout in the Eastern Interconnection system.
Stability Radii and Lyapunov Exponents

In the state space approach to stability of uncertain systems the concept of stability radius plays a central role. In this paper we use the classical concept of Lyapunov exponents, which describe the exponential growth behavior, in order to define a variety of stability and instability radii for families of linear systems ẋ = [A + u(t)]x, u(t) ∈ U ρ , ρ ≥ 0. Here {U ρ , ρ ≥ 0} can denote sets of real or complex matrices, and the perturbation u(t) can be deterministic or belong to different classes of stochastic processes. We analyze the stability radii and their relations, using Lyapunov exponents of associated bilinear control systems. The well developed theory of Lyapunov exponents for stochastic systems provides the background for the discussion of stability radii of systems excited by random noise. The example of the linear oscillator with uncertain restoring force is discussed in detail.
System-Level Observation Framework for Non-Intrusive Runtime Monitoring of Embedded Systems

As the complexity of embedded systems rapidly increases, the use of traditional analysis and debug methods encounters significant challenges in monitoring, analyzing, and debugging the complex interactions of various software and hardware components. This situation is further exacerbated for in-situ debugging and verification in which traditional debug and trace interfaces that require physical access are unavailable, infeasible, or cost prohibitive. In this article, we present a system-level observation framework that provides minimally intrusive methods for dynamically monitoring and analyzing deeply integrated hardware and software components within embedded systems. The system-level observation framework monitors hardware and software events by inserting additional logic for detecting designer-specified events within hardware cores to observe complex interaction across hardware and software boundaries at runtime, and provides visibility for monitoring complex execution behavior of software applications without affecting the system execution.
Effect of stem crushing on the uniaxial bulk compression behaviour of switchgrass and miscanthus

The bulk density with current baling technology is too low to utilise the full transportation capacity. For square bales, bulk density is limited by the pressure generated by the baler, density settings, and the ability of baling twine to withstand the expansion forces shortly after ejection from the bale chamber. This study explores crushing the stem on the pressure required to compact the material and the rebounding forces generated after compression. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on bulk samples of switchgrass at three moisture levels (nominally 10%, 20%, and 45%) and miscanthus at two moisture levels (nominally 10% and 20%) to evaluate crushing. The pressure required to compress the material to 256 dry kg m−3 and the materials' stress relaxation behaviour were used as evaluation metrics. Crushing the material resulted in a significant decrease in the compression required for both crops. The peak stress was reduced from 577 to 441 kPa (a decrease of 23.6%) and from 581 to 365 kPa (a decrease of 37.2%) for switchgrass and miscanthus, respectively. Moisture level was also significant for both crops at the 10% and 20% moisture level with the low moisture material requiring higher pressures to reach the target densities. The final pressure after 5 min of relaxation was significantly lower for crushed material by 37.6% for miscanthus and 24.2% for switchgrass. However, this result from the reduction in peak stress at the end of the compression cycle, and relaxation behaviour was more affected by moisture level than by processing treatment.
Pathologic findings in reduction mammoplasty procedures identified by natural language processing of breast pathology reports: A surrogate for the population incidence of cancer and high risk lesions.

e13569Background: Breast reduction surgery removes a random sample of breast tissue in otherwise asymptomatic women and thus provides a method to evaluate the background incidence of breast patholo...
Pathways: An Innovation in the Delivery of College Counseling Services.

In college counseling centers across the county, students’ needs for services are far exceeding available resources. This leads centers to engage in creative problem solving regarding triage, waitl...
Non-persistence to antiretroviral therapy among adults receiving HIV medical care in the United States

Not taking medicine over a specific period of time-non-persistence to antiretroviral therapy (ART)-may be associated with higher HIV-viral load. However, national estimates of non-persistence among U.S. HIV patients are lacking. We examined the association between non-persistence and various factors, including sustained HIV-viral suppression (VS) stratified by adherence, and assessed reasons for non-persistence using Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) data. MMP conducts clinical and behavioral surveillance among cross-sectional representative samples of adults receiving HIV care in the U.S. We analyzed weighted MMP interview and medical record abstraction data collected between 6/2011-5/2015 from 18,423 patients self-reporting ART use. We defined non-persistence as a self-initiated decision to not take ART for ≥2 consecutive days in the past 12-months, non-adherence as missing ≥1 ART dose during the past 3-days and sustained VS as all HIV-viral loads documented in medical record during the past 12-months as undetectable or <200 copies/mL. We used Rao-Scott chi-square tests to examine the association between non-persistence and sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, and medication-related factors. We examined the association between non-persistence and sustained VS, stratified by adherence, and present prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Reasons for non-persistence were assessed. Overall, 7% of patients reported non-persistence. Drug use, depression and medication side effects were associated with non-persistence (P < 0.01). Non-persistence was associated with the lack of sustained VS (PR: .66, CI:63-.70); this association did not differ by adherence level. However, VS was lower among the non-persistent/adherent compared with the persistent/non-adherent [51% (CI:47-54) versus 61% (CI:36-46), P < 0.01]. The most prevalent reason for non-persistence was treatment fatigue (38%). Though few persons in HIV care reported non-persistence, our findings suggest that non-persistence is associated with lack of sustained VS, regardless of adherence. Routine screening for non-persistence during clinical appointments and counseling for those at risk for non-persistence may help improve clinical outcomes.
Next steps: Incorporating patient-reported outcomes into palliative care referral for people with advanced breast cancer.

133Background: Specialty palliative care (SPC) has been shown to improve quality of life, reduce unnecessary health care utilization, reduce overall costs, and decrease mortality in some settings for patients with advanced or metastatic cancer, however only a small proportion are being promptly referred. As interventions that respond to patient reported outcomes (PROs) have been shown to improve symptoms and decrease mortality, we hypothesized that the rates of SPC referral would be increased by documenting, tracking, and presenting PROs for oncology visits to referring oncologists. Methods: Over a period of 2 months, 74 English-speaking established patients seen in an advanced breast cancer clinic with an embedded SPC service were approached and completed the study. All patients filled out the electronic, validated PROMIS and PRO-CTCAE PRO questionnaires in the waiting room using a touch screen tablet. Results were presented to the oncologist during the encounter if the CTCAE severity score exceeded 3 in...
Deep UV dispersion and absorption spectroscopy of biomolecules.

Owing to the high precision and sensitivity of optical systems, there is an increasing demand for optical methods that quantitatively characterize the physical and chemical properties of biological samples. Information extracted from such quantitative methods, through phase and/or amplitude variations of light, can be crucial in the diagnosis, treatment and study of disease. In this work we apply a recently developed quantitative method, called ultraviolet hyperspectral interferometry (UHI), to characterize the dispersion and absorbing properties of various important biomolecules. Our system consists of (1) a broadband light source that spans from the deep-UV to the visible region of the spectrum, and (2) a Mach–Zehnder interferometer to gain access to complex optical properties. We apply this method to characterize (and tabulate) the dispersive and absorptive properties of hemoglobin, beta nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), elastin, collagen, cytochrome c, tryptophan and DNA. Our results shed new light on the complex properties of important biomolecules.
Nam June Paik's Unpublished Korean Article and His Interactive Musique Concrète Projects

Nam June Paik was a pioneering creator of interactive sound art before he became a cult figure in the field of video art. While Paik gradually developed interactive sound art in West Germany, he wr...
Comparison of Two Different Statistical Methods for Assessing Insecticide Efficacy in Small Plot Trials Targeting Wireworms, Limonius californicus (Mannerheim) (Coleoptera: Elateridae), in Potato

The efficacy of insecticides is often assessed in small-plot field trials that compare insect damage and yield loss relative to an untreated check, typically in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. When insect damage is not uniformly distributed across a field, differences among treatments might reflect differences in local pest pressure rather than differences in treatment efficacy. One potential way to account for patchy distributions is to use a “running check” in which each plot contains an insecticide treatment and its own untreated check. Any benefits of this approach must be weighed against the additional labor involved. Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) are soil-dwelling insects that typically exhibit patchy distributions that can confound insecticide efficacy trials. Several species of wireworms feed on potato tubers, causing damage that makes the tubers unmarketable and, aside from crop rotation, insecticides remain a cornerstone of wireworm management in potato. The current investigation evaluated insecticide efficacy trials targeting wireworms in potato by comparing two different analyses for the same data sets spanning five years and seven different studies. Data collected using the running check approach were analyzed using analysis of covariance and compared with analysis of variance as if the experiment were designed as a RCB. In a majority of cases, both methods resulted in similar levels of statistical power and similar conclusions; however, including data from the running check as a covariate did sometimes eliminate or reveal differences between treatments compared to ANOVA. Overall, given the similarity of the results and the additional labor involved in using running checks, the standard RCB design would have been appropriate for the experiments assessed here. However, for wireworms and other pests that exhibit patchy distributions, care must be taken when designing experiments and interpreting results.
Control of stochastic disease network games via influential individuals

We consider control of a disease spreading on a network. The current state of the disease sets up a network game between healthy and sick individuals in contact in which healthy individuals would like to avoid contracting the disease from their sick contacts while sick individuals would like to reduce their chance of transmitting the disease to their healthy contacts. Individuals take preemptive measures according to an equilibrium of the network game. We assume individuals reach an equilibrium solution via an iterative learning process. The preemptive measures taken stochastically determine the next state of the disease. Our goal is to induce equilibrium behavior that minimizes the chance of disease spread by finding and controlling a limited number of influential individuals during the iterative learning process. We provide a greedy algorithm that selects individuals based on their ability to cause cascades of desired behavior change given the current state of the disease and the learning dynamics. The selection policy is dependent on the disease state, contact network structure, and utility of individuals. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method compared to network centrality metricbased isolation of individuals.
BlackParrot: An Agile Open-Source RISC-V Multicore for Accelerator SoCs

This article introduces BlackParrot, which aims to be the default open-source, Linux-capable, cache-coherent, 64-bit RISC-V multicore used by the world. In executing this goal, our research aims to advance the world's knowledge about the “software engineering of hardware.” Although originally bootstrapped by the University of Washington and Boston University via DARPA funding, BlackParrot strives to be community driven and infrastructure agnostic; a multicore which is Pareto optimal in terms of power, performance, area, and complexity. In order to ensure BlackParrot is easy to use, extend, and, most importantly, trust, development is guided by three core principles: Be Tiny, Be Modular, and Be Friendly. Development efforts have prioritized the use of intentional interfaces and modularity and silicon validation as first-order design metrics, so that users can quickly get started and trust that their design will perform as expected when deployed. BlackParrot has been validated in a GlobalFoundries 12-nm FinFET tapeout. BlackParrot is ideal as a standalone Linux processor or as a malleable fabric for an agile accelerator SoC design flow.
Gradient Hydrogels for Optimizing Niche Cues to Enhance Cell-Based Cartilage Regeneration

Hydrogels have been widely used for cell delivery to enhance cell-based therapies for cartilage tissue regeneration. To better support cartilage deposition, it is imperative to determine hydrogel f...
BONAVENTURE PONDERING WITH AUGUSTINE: DE CIVITATE DEI 11.2 AND THE MAKING OF THE ITINERARIUM MENTIS IN DEUM

This article presents Augustine's De civitate Dei 11.2 as a valuable but overlooked source of influence on Bonaventure's making of the Itinerarium mentis in Deum. First, a detailed exposition analyzes the structure and content of Augustine's compact mystical treatise on the “ascent of the mind to God” located at the turning points of his magnum opus. Second, a study of the prologue of the Itinerarium mentis in Deum demonstrates how this passage informed Bonaventure's conception of his unique project. Third, the article offers support for his explicit reception of De civitate Dei — and Book 11 in particular — through an annotated summary of Bonaventure's references to the work in his earlier and later written corpus. Initial findings present how Anonymi Contra philosophos appears to have functioned as a privileged point for reception of De civitate Dei 11.2 among the early Franciscans scholastics from Alexander of Hales to Bonaventure and Matthew of Aquasparta. The present research also offers a fresh case study through which to modify the central claims of Lydia Schumacher's scholarship on the Bonaventurean use of Augustine and the nature of early Franciscan theology. The closing section explores some of the possible influences shaping this approach. Finally, this article invites medievalists to expand their expectations of how De civitate Dei 11 may have communicated Augustine's thought through diverse forms of Franciscan reception and wide-ranging applications beyond the academy.
Promoting Health Equity of Dari and Pashto-speaking Children by Adapting Established Literacy Resources

Introduction: In 2017, 35% of 3-5-year-old children were not enrolled in school. Of those entering kindergarten, 35% were unprepared, most lacking the language skills that are the prerequisites of literacy acquisition. Children in families who are minoritized or experience Limited English Proficiency are at greater risk, due to documented disparities in their language and cognitive development by 3 years old. Pediatricians may see a child ≥10 times before kindergarten via well-child checks (WCCs). WCCs provide opportunities to evaluate children’s language skills and to provide parents with tools that encourage kindergarten …
Thioguanine restoration through type I photosensitization-superoxide oxidation-glutathione reduction cycles

UVA-induced deleterious effect of thiopurine prodrugs including azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine and 6-thioguanine (6-TG) increases the risk of cancer development due to the incorporation of 6-TG in patients' DNA. The catalytic mechanism by which thiobases act as a sustained oxidant producer has yet to be explored, especially through the Type I electron transfer pathway that produces superoxide radicals (O2˙-). Under Fenton-like conditions O2˙- radicals convert to extremely reactive hydroxyl radicals (˙OH), thus carrying even higher risk of biological damage than that induced by the well-studied type II reaction. By monitoring 6-TG/UVA-induced photochemistry in mass spectra and superoxide radicals (O2˙-) via nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction, this work provides two new findings: (1) in the presence of reduced glutathione (GSH), the production of O2˙-via the type I reaction is enhanced 10-fold. 6-TG thiyl radicals are identified as the primary intermediate formed in the reaction of 6-TG with O2˙-. The restoration of 6-TG and concurrent generation of O2˙- occur via a 3-step-cycle: 6-TG type I photosensitization, O2˙- oxidation and GSH reduction. (2) In the absence of GSH, 6-TG thiyl radicals undergo oxygen addition and sulfur dioxide removal to form carbon radicals (C6) which further convert to thioether by reacting with 6-TG molecules. These findings help explain not only thiol-regulation in a biological system but chemoprevention of cancer.
Firefighting on the hexagonal grid

Abstract The firefighter problem with k firefighters on an infinite graph G is an iterative graph process, defined as follows: Suppose a fire breaks out at a given vertex v ∈ V ( G ) on Turn 1. On each subsequent even turn, k firefighters protect k vertices that are not on fire, and on each subsequent odd turn, any vertex that is on fire spreads the fire to all adjacent unprotected vertices. The firefighters’ goal is to eventually stop the spread of the fire. If there exists a strategy for k firefighters to eventually stop the spread of the fire, then we say G is k -containable. We consider the firefighter problem on the hexagonal grid, which is the graph whose vertices and edges are exactly the vertices and edges of a regular hexagonal tiling of the plane. It is not known if the hexagonal grid is 1-containable. In Gavenciak et al. (2014), it was shown that if the firefighters have one firefighter per turn and one extra firefighter on two turns, the firefighters can contain the fire. We improve on this result by showing that even with only one extra firefighter on one turn, the firefighters can still contain the fire.
Variation in soil organic matter accumulation and metabolic activity along an elevation gradient in the Santa Rosa Mountains of Southern California, USA

Variations in soil organic matter accumulation across an elevation can be used to explain the control of substrate supply and variability on soil metabolic activity. We investigated geographic changes in soil organic matter and metabolic rates along an elevation gradient (289–2,489 m) in the Santa Rosa Mountains, California, USA from subalpine and montane pine forests through chaparral to desert. From base (289 m) to summit (2,489 m), 24 sites were established for collecting soil samples under canopies and inter-canopy spaces, at 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depths increments. Soil organic matter (SOM) content was determined using weight loss on ignition at 550°C and soil CO2 efflux (R) was measured at day 5 (R5) and day 20 (R20) of incubation. Changes in SOM content along the elevation gradient showed a significant relationship (P<0.05) but R5 and R20 were not related to either elevation or SOM content. However, the ratio of R and SOM (R5/SOM) showed a strong relationship across the mountains at both soil depths. R5/SOM, as an indicator of carbon use efficiency, may be applicable to other semi-arid transects at larger scale modeling of soil metabolic processes.
Locus coeruleus stimulation by corticotropin-releasing hormone suppresses in vitro cellular immune responses

Previous studies have demonstrated that stressors alter cellular immune system function, and increase the activity of locus coeruleus neurons. Furthermore, stressors increase the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and locus coeruleus neurons are activated by CRH. Thus, the present study examined whether activation of the locus coeruleus by infusion of CRH modulates the function of blood and spleen lymphocytes assessed in vitro. CRH (100 ng) was administered into the region of the locus coeruleus in awake rats 1 hr before spleen and peripheral blood lymphocytes were collected for culture with nonspecific mitogens. Unilateral or bilateral microinfusion of CRH into the locus coeruleus produced a decrease in blood and spleen T-lymphocyte mitogenic responses to phytohemagglutinin, ConA, and an antibody to the T-lymphocyte antigen receptor. In contrast, infusion of saline into the locus coeruleus or CRH into the surrounding region of the dorsal pons did not alter spleen or blood lymphocyte responses. Plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone, and IL-6 were increased by CRH infusion into the locus coeruleus. These results suggest that CRH-evoked activation of the locus coeruleus stimulates the hypophysial adrenal axis, possibly activates the sympathetic nervous system, and results in immunosuppression. Comparable changes in lymphocyte and hormone responses are produced by an aversive stimulus or a conditioned stressor, suggesting that activation of the locus coeruleus may be a component of stressor-induced immune alterations.
Gyrotron-powered millimeter-wave beam facility for microwave processing of materials

Summary form only given, as follows. The high intensity millimeter-wave beams (10/sup 3/-10/sup 5/ W/cm/sup 2/) that can be generated by powerful gyrotron oscillators have unique capabilities for rapid, selective heating of nonmetallic materials. A new CW gyrotron-based system is being set up at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to investigate such beams. The facility is being operated jointly by NRL and the Center for Remote Sensing (CRS) and will be applied to important areas of material processing including: coating of materials, soldering and brazing, and treatment of ceramics and polymers. The heart of the system is a Gycom, Ltd. industrial 83 GHz gyrotron operating at 27 kV and 1.9 A, and producing 15 kW of power in a Gaussian beam. This paper will describe the new facility, including the gyrotron, work chamber, and control system. Available results of initial beam characterization and material heating experiments will also be presented.
Does Expectation Setting Condition Retrospective Voting

It is widely established that voters respond to government performance. But can politicians a ffect retrospective voting by setting certain expectations ex ante? Observational data is insufficient to address this question because expectation setting may be confounded with performance or candidate traits, thereby producing spurious correlations. Accordingly, we conduct a series of between-subjects experiments in which we independently manipulate both expectation setting and the eventual outcome. In domains where politicians have practical authority, or direct influence over outcomes, setting high expectations incurs a cost in public support if the projected outcome is not attained. The same is true in domains where politicians have theoretical authority, or limited influence but where expectation setting sends a signal about the leader's judgment. However, in domains where politicians have neither practical nor theoretical authority, setting high expectations is unambiguously bene ficial, implying that optimism is valued by voters as a personality disposition.
Finite elasto-plastic deformation—I: Theory and numerical examples

It is demonstrated that the problem of elasto-plastic finite deformation is governed by a quasi-linear model irrespective of deformation magnitude. This feature follows from the adoption of a rate viewpoint toward finite deformation analysis in an Eulerian reference frame. Objectivity of the formulation is preserved by introduction of a frame-invariant stress rate. Equations for piece-wise linear incremental finite element analysis are developed by application of the Galerkin method to the instantaneously linear governing differential equations of the quasi-linear model. Numerical solution capability has been established for problems of plane strain and plane stress. The accuracy of the numerical analysis is demonstrated by consideration of a number of problems of homogeneous finite deformation admitting comparative analytic solution. It is shown that accurate, objective numerical solutions can be obtained for problems involving dimensional changes of an order of magnitude and rotations of a full radian.
Insulin Resistance and Inhibitors of the Insulin Receptor Tyrosine Kinase

Tissue resistance to insulin is a clinically significant phenomenon that predisposes an individual to numerous health risks beyond the well-established role it plays in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Quantification of whole-body insulin resistance in humans typically involves determining the ability of insulin to stimulate glucose uptake into muscle. The hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic clamp procedure provides a measurement of muscle insulin sensitivity, as this tissue accounts for 75% of glucose disposal under these conditions (1). The decrement in glucose disposal in an insulin-resistant state such as obesity is entirely due to reduced muscle glucose uptake (1). However, insulin resistance can occur in any insulin target tissue, and will produce a phenotype distinct for the biological characteristics of that tissue (2).
Perioperative Management of a Patient With Giant Axonal Neuropathy

Giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) is a rare, autosomal recessive, progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting both the central and peripheral nervous systems. The aberrant accumulation of cytoskeletal-associated proteins causes neurodegeneration resulting in both motor and sensory dysfunction. Given the invariable and progressive involvement of the neuromuscular system, anesthetic care is frequently needed to correct the orthopedic sequelae of the disorder. We present a 12-year-old girl with GAN who required anesthetic care for posterior spinal fusion to treat scoliosis. Previous reports of anesthetic care for patients with GAN are reviewed, and the perioperative considerations of these patients are discussed. J Med Cases. 2015;6(11):512-516 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2346w
Understanding Differences in Public Transit: Comparison of Boston and Toronto

Public transit systems in Toronto and Boston, two North American cities of similar size and income, are compared. Although Boston has a reputation as a transit-oriented city, there are about twice as many public transit trips in Toronto. Transit service in Toronto runs, on average, twice as frequently as service in Boston on a network of similar size. This level of service can be supported in part because population density does not decrease as much with increasing distance from the center of the city and because employment is more centralized. The transit system in Boston is constrained from emulating the Toronto transit system not only by a less transit-favorable distribution of population and employment but also by operating costs that are twice as high. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority's higher costs are the result of more fringe benefits for employees and disproportionately more managers and fixed facilities.
Delamination toughness of fiber-reinforced composites containing a carbon nanotube/polyamide-12 epoxy thin film interlayer

Abstract We present a simple, out-of-autoclave approach to improve the delamination toughness of fiber-reinforced composites using epoxy interlayers containing 20 wt.% polyamide-12 (PA) particles and 1 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Composites were prepared by integrating partially cured thin films at the laminate mid-plane using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. The introduction of epoxy/PA interlayers increased fracture toughness due to the ductile deformation and crack bridging of PA particles within an interlaminar damage zone with uniform thickness of about 20 μm. Composites interlayered with epoxy/PA/MWCNT exhibited nearly 2.5 and 1.5 times higher fracture toughness than composites containing neat epoxy and epoxy/PA interlayers, respectively, without an observable increase in interlaminar thickness. The fracture surface was analyzed to identify failure modes responsible for the fracture toughness improvement. The MWCNTs are proposed to inhibit critical loading of defects by minimizing stress concentration within the interlaminar region, thereby enabling greater deformation of the PA particles during fracture.