cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
State of the Art and Future Directions for Lower Limb Robotic Exoskeletons

Research on robotic exoskeletons has rapidly expanded over the previous decade. Advances in robotic hardware and energy supplies have enabled viable prototypes for human testing. This review paper describes current lower limb robotic exoskeletons, with specific regard to common trends in the field. The preponderance of published literature lacks rigorous quantitative evaluations of exoskeleton performance, making it difficult to determine the disadvantages and drawbacks of many of the devices. We analyzed common approaches in exoskeleton design and the convergence, or lack thereof, with certain technologies. We focused on actuators, sensors, energy sources, materials, and control strategies. One of the largest hurdles to be overcome in exoskeleton research is the user interface and control. More intuitive and flexible user interfaces are needed to increase the success of robotic exoskeletons. In the last section, we discuss promising future solutions to the major hurdles in exoskeleton control. A number of emerging technologies could deliver substantial advantages to existing and future exoskeleton designs. We conclude with a listing of the advantages and disadvantages of the emerging technologies and discuss possible futures for the field.
Control Scheme for the Service Quality

This research constructs a novel quality control scheme for monitoring the service quality. Providing high-quality services can enhance company’s productivity and strengthen its competitiveness. Due to the diversity of service operation, measuring and monitoring the service quality becomes very difficult. PZB’s SERVQUAL is a commonly used scale to measure the service quality. The SERVQUAL scale has been shown to measure five underlying dimensions with 22 quality elements. After a questionnaire investigation, the collected information of service quality is often not monitored continually. If the service quality has variation, there will be no way for immediate correction. Precise instruments for measuring quality and accomplishing quality control have been developed and widely used in the manufacturing sector. The quality control chart is one of the commonly used tools of statistical process control for on-line control. Applying the control chart in the service quality can improve the control effect. In this work, the Ridit analysis is used to transform the collected data, which are mostly in Likert-scale, and to find the priority of quality elements. Some more important elements can be selected for the construction of control chart.
Beyond Bratwurst: A History of Food in Germany

When thoughts turn to German food and cuisine, visions of sausage, bratwurst, beer, and schnitzel often dance through the head. In her thorough anthology of German food, Ursula Heinzelmann demonstr...
The International Experience With Docetaxel in the Treatment of Breast Cancer

The extensively studied agent docetaxel (Taxotere) has shown marked clinical activity in the treatment of anthracycline-resistant breast cancer. Phase I trials indicate that toxicities, such as mucositis and neutropenia, limit the administration of docetaxel to shorter perfusion schedules. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that docetaxel's clearance by hepatic metabolism is correlated with a marked increase in risk of toxicity in patients with impaired liver function. Nevertheless, studies of docetaxel as front-line therapy for breast cancer were initiated because of its good activity against tumors in early studies and its close relationship to paclitaxel (Taxol), an agent with proven efficacy. Phase II studies have demonstrated excellent activity for docetaxel as a single agent, with an overall response rate of 61% in trials of a 100-mg/m² dose. A phase III study is currently comparing docetaxel with paclitaxel as single-agent therapy. Docetaxel is expected to provide a better response rate but a higher incidence of neutropenia. The agent shows promise in adjuvant therapy, with very high response rates in anthracycline-resistant patients. Preliminary results of tests using docetaxel in combination with doxorubicin show high objective response rates but low complete response rates; early results suggest that this combination may have some advantages over paclitaxel/doxorubicin. [ONCOLOGY 11(Suppl):38-42, 1997]
Settler agnosia in the field: Indigenous action, functional ignorance, and the origins of ethnographic entrapment

In the late 1930s a novice fieldworker from the University of Chicago wrote in his field notes that his collaboration with a Ho-Chunk interpreter had failed because of the interpreter's “aggressions” in the struggle for “white class status.” The notes exhibit a pattern of perceptual failure that I call “settler agnosia,” elements of which have been noted in research on the obstacles facing Indigenous activists. The case shows that the tendency of older anthropological accounts of contemporary American Indian life to obscure evidence of both colonial oppression and Indigenous action may have originated as consequences of a form of functional ignorance triggered by interpersonal struggles over position in the everyday relations of settler society. An ethnographic investigation of the links between settler agnosia and the practice of settlerness connects perception in everyday interactions to larger issues of knowledge production in and of settler societies. [settler colonialism, field theory, Bourdieu, race, ignorance, indigeneity, Native North America]
A big data based product ranking solution

Users' online behavior, generated from endpoints of e-commerce website and app, is regarded as big data which can create large business value by mining them to acquire insights of users' preference, inclination and purpose. A good ranking result of product search and product assortment in online category classification can lift user's click rate, increase purchasing conversion rate and improve customer online experience. In this paper, we will introduce an online product based learning to rank model to intelligently learn product ranking. A big data architecture will also be introduced to implement this learning to rank model which analyzes huge amount of users' online behavior.
A Phase I Randomized Study of a Specifically Engineered, pH‐Sensitive PCSK9 Inhibitor RN317 (PF‐05335810) in Hypercholesterolemic Subjects on Statin Therapy

This phase I study assessed the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of RN317 (PF-05335810), a specifically engineered, pH-sensitive, humanized proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) monoclonal antibody, in hypercholesterolemic subjects (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ≥ 80 mg/dl) 18-70 years old receiving statin therapy. Subjects were randomized to: single-dose placebo, RN317 (subcutaneous (s.c.) 0.3, 1, 3, 6, or intravenous (i.v.) 1, 3, 6 mg/kg), or bococizumab (s.c. 1, 3, or i.v. 1 mg/kg); or multiple-dose RN317 (s.c. 300 mg every 28 days; three doses). Of 133 subjects randomized, 127 completed the study. RN317 demonstrated a longer half-life, greater exposure, and increased bioavailability vs. bococizumab. RN317 was well tolerated, with no subjects discontinuing because of treatment-related adverse events. RN317 lowered LDL-C by up to 52.5% (day 15) following a single s.c. dose of 3.0 mg/kg vs. a maximum of 70% with single-dose bococizumab s.c. 3.0 mg/kg. Multiple dosing of RN317 produced LDL-C reductions of ∼50%, sustained over an 85-day dosing interval.
How feasible is remote 3D dosimetry for MR guided Radiation Therapy (MRgRT)

To develop and apply a remote dosimetry protocol with PRESAGE® radiochromic plastic and optical-CT readout in the validation of MRI guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) treatments (MRIdian® by ViewRay®). Through multi-institutional collaboration we performed PRESAGE® dosimetry studies in 4ml cuvettes to investigate dose-response linearity, MR-compatibility, and energy-independence. An open calibration field and symmetrical 3-field plans were delivered to 10cm diameter PRESAGE® to examine percent depth dose and response uniformity under a magnetic field. Evidence of non-linear dose response led to a large volume PRESAGE® study where small corrections were developed for temporally- and spatially-dependent behaviors observed between irradiation and delayed readout. TG-119 plans were created in the MRIdian® TPS and then delivered to 14.5cm 2kg PRESAGE® dosimeters. Through the domestic investigation of an off-site MRgRT system, a refined 3D remote dosimetry protocol is presented capable of validation of advanced MRgRT radiation treatments.
Victimology, Personality, and Hazing: A Study of Black Greek-Letter Organization

This article focuses on a group of organizations-black Greek-letter organizations BGLOs) - that have rarely and only recently been studied in the context of hazing, particularly with regard to hazing as a legal concept. Forthcoming scholarship focuses on the cognitive and social psychological drivers of hazing consent. This work seems applicable to BGLOs. This article investigates how personality may predict the extent to which BGLO pledges allow themselves to become hazing victims. Section I, clarifies "victimology" as it intersects with personality and hazing. Section II, recounts incidents of BGLO pledges subjected to hazing and criminal sanctions compared to the perpetrators of that hazing. Section III, provides the methods and results from our quantitative study on the intersection of hazing, personality, and victimology within BGLO.
Development of a universal, tunable, miniature fluorescence microscope for use at the point of care

Fluorescence microscopy can be a powerful tool for cell-based diagnostic assays; however, imaging can be time consuming and labor intensive to perform. Tunable systems give the ability to electronically focus at user selected depths inside an object volume and may simplify the opto-mechanical design of the imaging system. We present a prototype of a universal, tunable, miniature fluorescence microscope built from poly(methyl methacrylate) singlets that incorporates miniature, electrowetted lenses for electronic focusing. We demonstrate the ability of this system to perform clinically relevant differential white blood cell counts using single use custom cartridges pre-loaded with the fluorescent dye acridine orange.
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Suicidal Ideation Among Bipolar Patients: Existential But Not Religious Well-Being as a Protective Factor.

Individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) are at an increased risk of Suicidal ideation, attempts, and death. Moreover, a strong association exists between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and suicidal ideation among individuals with BD. Yet growing evidence suggests that existential well-being (EWB) may be a protective factor against suicidality. In this study, adult BD patients (N = 112) provided data on CSA, religious well-being (RWB; spiritual life in relation to God), EWB (purpose/meaning in life), and suicidal ideation. Participants were between 19 and 65 years of age. The majority was female and described their race/ethnicity as African American. Results indicated that CSA was negatively associated with EWB and was not related to RWB. Further, EWB mediated the association between CSA and suicidal ideation, whereas RWB did not. Having meaning/purpose in life may serve as a protective factor against suicidal ideation among individuals with BD who experienced CSA, whereas having a relationship/belief in God may not serve the same function.
“Saints for this Age”: Religion and Radicalism in the American Century

This essay argues that religion was an important factor in the transition in left politics from the Marxist framework of the 1930s to the existential, radical democratic politics of the New Left. It focuses on A. J. Muste, a leading figure in the Old Left, to show how he drew upon anti-Stalinist thought, Christian social and intellectual history, and Gandhian satyagraha to construct a new radical politics for the American Century. Against political consensus and militarism, he posited a “true church” of pacifists and nonconformists whose prophetic action would break through the alienation and oppression of organized society and power politics and make the beloved community possible. His ideas and example inspired a generation of Christian pacifists, and helped lay the groundwork for 1960s social movements.
QuantCloud: Enabling Big Data Complex Event Processing for Quantitative Finance Through a Data-Driven Execution

Quantitative Finance (QF) utilizes increasingly sophisticated mathematic models and advanced computer techniques to predict the movement of global markets, and price the derivatives and other assets. Being able to react quickly and intelligently to fast-changing markets is a decisive success factor for trading companies. To date, the rise of QF requires an integrated toolchain of enabling technologies to carry out complex event processing on the explosive growth and diversified forms of market metadata, in pursuit of a microsecond latency on an Exabyte-level dataset. Inspired by this, we present a data-driven execution paradigm that untangles the dependencies of complex processing events and integrate the paradigm with a big data infrastructure that streams time series data. This integrated platform is termed as the QuantCloud platform. Essentially, QuantCloud executes the complex event processing in a data-driven mode and manages large amounts of diversified market data in a data-parallel mode. To show its practicability and performance, we develop a prototype and benchmark by applying real-world QF research models on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) data. Using this prototype, we demonstrate this platform with an application to: (i) data cleaning and aggregating (including the computing of logarithmic returns from tick data and the finding the medians of grouped data) and (ii) data modeling: the autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) model. The performance results show that (a) this platform obtains a high throughput (usually in the order of millions of tick messages per second) and a sub-microsecond latency; (b) it fully executes data-dependent tasks through a data-driven execution; and (c) it implements a modular design approach for rapidly developing these data-crunching methods and QF research models. This platform resulting from an aggregated effort of the data-driven execution and big data infrastructure, offers the financial engineers with new insights and enhanced capabilities for effective and efficient incorporation of big data complex event processing technologies in their workflow.
Computing Validated Solutions of Implicit Differential Equations

Ordinary differential equations (ODEs), including high-order implicit equations, describe important problems in mechanical and chemical engineering. However, the use of self-validated methods providing rigorous enclosures of the solution has mostly been limited to explicit and weakly nonlinear problems, and no general-purpose algorithm for the validated integration of general ODE initial value problems has been developed. Since most integration techniques for Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs) are based on transformation to implicit ODEs, the integration of DAE initial value problems has traditionally been restricted to few hand-picked problems from the relatively small class of low-index systems. The recently developed Taylor model method combines high-order differential algebraic descriptions of functional dependencies with intervals for verification. It has proven its power in several applications, including verified integration of ODEs under avoidance of the wrapping effect. Recognizing antiderivation (integration) as a natural operation on Taylor models yields methods that treat DEs within a fully differential algebraic context as implicit equations made of conventional functions and antiderivation. This method has the potential to be applied to high-index DAE problems and allows the computation of guaranteed enclosures of final conditions from large initial regions for large classes of initial value problems. In the framework of this method, a Taylor model represents the highest derivative of the solution function occurring in the DE and all lower derivatives are treated as antiderivatives of this Taylor model. Consequently, one obtains a set of implicit equations involving only the highest derivative. Utilizing methods of verified inversion of functional dependencies described by Taylor models allows the computation of a guaranteed enclosure of the solution in the form of a Taylor model. The performance of the method is illustrated by detailed examples.
John Rhodes: Approaches to Problems

What methods do trained mathematicians use to attack hard problems? What is in their bag of tricks that an amateur may not know? This chapter attempts to give general advice and categorize methods, including the possibility of broadening methods used by subfields.
HLA AND REVERSED CEREBRAL ASYMMETRIES: POSSIBLE MARKERS FOR A SUBGROUP OF SCHIZOPHRENICS

The frequency of specific HLA antigens was examined in schizophrenics diagnosed according to Research Diagnostic Criteria and subgrouped on the basis of biological parameters. An increased frequency of HLA-A2 was found in black schizophrenics without computed tomographic evidence suggestive of brain atrophy but not in those with evidence of atrophy. A similar but non-significant trend held for a smaller population of white schizophrenics. It was initially hypothesized that this increased frequency might be secondary to an association between HLA-A2 and poorer response to neuroleptics. However, a study of drug responsiveness in HLA-A2 and non-A2 schizophrenics did not support this hypothesis. Instead, it was shown that HLA-A2 is primarily increased in a subgroup of schizophrenics with reversals of normal cerebral asymmetry and only secondarily in the group without atrophy.
A proposed method for dynamic knowledge representation via agent-directed composition from biomedical and simulation ontologies: an example using gut mucus layer dynamics

The translational challenge in biomedical research lies in the effective and efficient transfer of mechanistic knowledge from one biological context to another. Implicit in this process is the establishment of causality from correlation in the form of mechanistic hypotheses. Effectively addressing the translational challenge requires the use of automated methods, including the ability to computationally capture the dynamic aspect of putative hypotheses such that they can be evaluated in a high throughput fashion. Ontologies provide structure and organization to biomedical knowledge; converting these representations into executables/simulations is the next necessary step. Researchers need the ability to map their conceptual models into a model specification that can be transformed into an executable simulation program. We suggest this composition function can be expressed as a set of logical rules, which an intelligent computational agent, a Composing Agent (CompAgt), performs reasoning upon to develop a plan to achieve that composition. Presented herein is a description for a composition operation between biomedical and simulation ontologies that can be performed by a CompAgt to produce executable code for dynamic knowledge representation.
on the role of air-sea interaction in the development of cyclones

It is suggested that an important mechanism contributing to oceanic cyclone development is the exchange of sensible and latent heat from the ocean to the atmosphere during periods of strong outbreak of cold continental air. Rapid oceanic development frequently occurs off the east coasts of continents in winter but is also periodically observed elsewhere, such as in the Gulf of Alaska. One case of explosive cyclone deepening in the Gulf of Alaska occurred in February 1950. This case, studied from the standpoints of barotropic deepening, atmospheric heating, air-sea exchange, and the cyclone models of Petterssen, is compared to other cases of similar development, particularly with respect to the importance of air-sea interaction in the growth of these storms.
Novel de novo pathogenic variant in the ODC1 gene in a girl with developmental delay, alopecia, and dysmorphic features

The ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC1) gene plays an important role in physiological and cell developmental processes including embryogenesis, organogenesis, and neoplastic cell growth. Here, we report an 32-month-old Caucasian female with a heterozygous de novo nonsense mutation in the ODC1 gene that leads to a premature abrogation of 14-aa residues at the ODC protein c-terminus. This is the first human case confirming similar symptoms observed in a transgenic ODC1 mouse model first described over 20 years ago. Phenotypic manifestations include macrosomia, macrocephaly, developmental delay, alopecia, spasticity, hypotonia, cutaneous vascular malformation, delayed visual maturation, and sensorineural hearing loss. We here describe for the first time a new pediatric disorder that is directly linked to a de novo pathogenic variant in the ODC1 gene. The ODC1 gene mutation (c.1342 A>T) was identified by whole-exome sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Red blood cells obtained from our patient showed elevated ODC protein and polyamine levels compared to healthy controls. Our autosomal dominant patient who carries this gain-of-function ODC1 mutation may benefit from treatment with α-difluoromethylornithine, a well-tolerated, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA-approved drug.
Disciplining Girls Through the Technological Fix: Modernity, Markets, Materials

The aim of this chapter is to make visible why many MHM organizations and social businesses favor product-based solutions, what I deem “technological fixes” or overly simplified interventions that introduce new problems. Products are tangible, relatable, measurable, and, many MHM advocates argue, a “foot in the door.” But they also rely on social constructions of the “the good body” as one contained and disciplined as well as the assumption that markets can fix social problems. Instead of troubling the gendered, body-negative views of menstruation, MHM promotes “management” by the good biocitizen. Hence, the “good period” is the one we don’t know about; the “good girl” is one who hides her menstruation, thus singularly burdening girls with MHM. In this way, MHM devolves to a consumerist path to modernity rather than a program for progressive social change.
Shock wave attenuation using rigid obstacles with large- and small-scale geometrical features

Explosions and their resulting shock waves may pose a large threat to both humans and structures alike. The previous research concludes that a logarithmic spiral configuration is effective in focusing shock waves to a focal point. This research outlines shock tube experiments conducted on two types of solid rectangular obstacles placed in a logarithmic spiral shape. The obstacles have a square cross-sectional area, with one set of obstacles being normal square shapes, but the other set of obstacles have three grooves cut out on every side of the obstacle, thus reducing the cross-section area by 10%. High-speed schlieren photography is used to visualize the shock waves and numerical simulations provide supporting data. A comparison in regards to shock wave attenuation between the two obstacle sets is presented. Results conclude that the three-groove obstacle geometry was successful in attenuating the peak pressure and pressure impulse of a reflected shock wave; however, the results for the transmitted shock wave between the two configurations are again inconclusive.
Rethinking the Conservation of Urban Open Spaces

Rethinking the Conservation of U r b a n O p e n S p a c e s Catherine Howett T h e r e is a need for a deliberate and conscientious re-examination and questioning o f the philosophical premises, principles and values that have informed the preservation movement worldwide. We cannot assume that current attitudes toward the conservation or rehabilitation of urban parks, squares and streets — the preservation perspectives that influence design decisions about what should be saved, discarded, or significantly modified for contemporary use — will continue to serve us well in the future. This essay is based on a keynote address presented at the International Symposium on the Consercation of Urban Parks and Squares, sponsored by the 1 COM OS International Committee of Historic Gardens and Sites, the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preseroation and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects in Montreal, Quebec, May 12-15, 1991 M a n y familiar realities suggest the disintegration o f o l d certainties. Familiar terms such as heritage and cultural patrimony have taken on added resonance within certain cultural groups at the same time that their meaning and implications have become more ambiguous. As communities around the w o r l d struggle toward a reaffirmation o f historic identities based on race, religion, ethnicity or geopolitics, the social and institutional systems that previously ordered their lives in common w i t h other groups have been assaulted and, in many cases, overthrown. T h i s is as true at the neighborhood scale as i t is for regions and nations. Traditional ways o f thinking about historic landscape conservation have largely failed to address the environmental crisis as i t manifests itself in the urban centers of industrialized and developing nations. Problems o f population growth and overcrowding (in other places, the debilitating loss of population), air and water pollution, the wholesale destruction of natu­ ral resources, famine, plague, poverty, crime, homelessness, illiteracy, ter­ ritorial aggrandizement, social upheaval and open warfare are as familiar in places on this continent as they are in parts o f Europe, Africa and Asia. P L A C E S
Association of SNPs in glycosylation genes with risk of epithelial ovarian cancer

4127 Recent studies suggest that underglycosylation of circulating MUC1 may signal onset of epithelial ovarian cancer. We therefore examined the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in glycosylation with risk of ovarian cancer in a large case-control study. Methods: Cases had incident epithelial ovarian cancer ascertained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota or a 48-county region in North Carolina (Duke University). Cancer-free controls were frequency matched to the cases on age, race, and residence. After an interview to obtain data on risk factors, a sample of blood was collected for DNA. Among Caucasians, a total of 837 incident cases (388 at Mayo and 449 at Duke) and 941 controls were included in this analysis. 26 genes involved in glycosylation that are expressed in ovarian tissue were identified based on the literature and CGAP; 93 SNPs with a minor allele frequency (MAF) of .05 or greater were selected. Genotyping was performed using the Illumina Golden Gate assay. We excluded subjects and individual SNPs with genotype call rates
Females Are First Authors, Sole Authors, and Reviewers of Entomology Publications Significantly Less Often Than Males

Female authors and reviewers are significantly underrepresented in entomology journals, consistent with many other STEM journals. During the years 2001 through 2017, women published significantly fewer first-author and single-author articles in five ESA journals and the Annual Review of Entomology. Female reviewers are also significantly outnumbered by male reviewers in ESA journals. Results show that in general, female first author and reviewer proportions are rising over time but progress is slow, about 1% yearly for both authors and reviewers. There are a greater number of female authors than female reviewers, but proportions are significantly related to each other, suggesting that female authors and reviewers reinforce the presence of each other. Potential contributing factors for these results include peer review, funding levels for research, time available for research, and women's self-confidence and collaboration with other scientists.
Normal right and left ventricular volumes prospectively obtained from cardiovascular magnetic resonance in awake, healthy, 0- 12 year old children.

Pediatric z scores are necessary to describe size and structure of the heart in growing children, however, development of an accurate z score calculator requires robust normal datasets, which are difficult to obtain with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in children. Motion-corrected (MOCO) cines from re-binned, reconstructed real-time cine offer a free-breathing, rapid acquisition resulting in cines with high spatial and temporal resolution. In combination with child-friendly positioning and entertainment, MOCO cine technique allows for rapid cine volumetry in patients of all ages without sedation. Thus, our aim was to prospectively enroll normal infants and children birth-12 years for creation and validation of a z score calculator describing normal right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) size. With IRB approval and consent/assent, 149 normal children successfully underwent a brief noncontrast CMR on a 1.5 T scanner including MOCO cines in the short axis, and RV and LV volumes were measured. 20% of scans were re-measured for interobserver variability analyses. A general linear modeling (GLM) framework was employed to identify and properly represent the relationship between CMR-based assessments and anthropometric data. Scatter plots of model fit and Akaike’s information criteria (AIC) results were used to guide the choice among alternative models. A total of 149 subjects aged 22 days–12 years (average 5.1 ± 3.6 years), with body surface area (BSA) range 0.21–1.63 m2 (average 0.8 ± 0.35 m2) were scanned. All ICC values were > 95%, reflecting excellent agreement between raters. The model that provided the best fit of volume measure to the data included BSA with higher order effects and gender as independent variables. Compared with earlier z score models, there is important additional growth inflection in early toddlerhood with similar z score prediction in later childhood. Free-breathing, MOCO cines allow for accurate, reliable RV and LV volumetry in a wide range of infants and children while awake. Equations predicting fit between LV and RV normal values and BSA are reported herein for purposes of creating z scores. clinicaltrials.gov NCT02892136, Registered 7/21/2016.
Flick: fast and lightweight ISA-crossing call for heterogeneous-ISA environments

Heterogeneous-ISA multi-core systems have performance and power consumption benefits. Today, numerous system components, such as NVRAMs and Smart NICs, already have built-in processor cores with ISAs different from that of the host CPUs, making many modern systems heterogeneous-ISA multi-core systems. Unfortunately, programming and using such systems efficiently is difficult and requires extensive support from the host operating systems. Existing programming solutions are complex, require dramatic changes to the systems, and often incur significant performance overheads. To address this challenge, we propose Flick: Fast and Lightweight ISA-Crossing Call, for migrating threads in heterogeneous-ISA multi-core systems. By leveraging hardware virtual memory support and standard operating system mechanisms, a software thread can transparently migrate between cores with different ISAs. We prototype a heterogeneous-ISA multi-core system using FPGAs with off-the-shelf hardware and software to evaluate Flick. Experiments with microbenchmarks and a BFS application show that Flick requires only minor changes to the existing OS and software, and incurs only 18ps round trip overhead for migrating a thread through PCIe, which is at least 23x faster than prior work.
Electrocatalysis of Single-Atom Sites: Impacts of Atomic Coordination

Single metal atoms embedded within select supporting matrices have shown great potential in the development of high-efficiency, low-cost electrocatalysts because of maximal atom utilization and mas...
Scaling Effects on the Residual Thermomechanical Stress During Ice-Free Cooling to Storage Temperature

Cryopreservation via vitrification (glass formation) is a promising approach for long-term preservation of large-size tissues and organs. Unfortunately, thermomechanical stress, which is driven by the tendency of materials to change size with temperature, may lead to structural failure. This study focuses on analysis of thermomechanical stress in a realistic, pillow-like shape cryobag as it is cooled to cryogenic storage, subject to sufficiently high cooling rates to facilitate vitrification. Contrary to common perception, it is demonstrated in this study that the maximum stress in the specimen does not necessarily increase with increasing size of the specimen. In fact, the maximum stress is affected by the combination of two competing effects, associated with the extent of the temperature gradients within the specimen and its overall volume. On one hand, the increase in specimen size gives rise to more prominent temperature gradients, which can intensify the thermomechanical stress. On the other hand, the temperature distribution at the core of larger specimens is more uniform, which leads to a larger portion of the specimen transitioning from fluid to a glassy material almost instantaneously, which carries a moderating effect on the overall mechanical stress at the glassy state (i.e., lower residual stress). In conclusion, this study demonstrates the role of container shape optimization in reducing the thermomechanical stress during cooling.
Do School Levels Matter? How Elementary, Middle, and High School Teachers Differ in Their Perceptions and Use of Technology:

This study used the Technology Use and Perceptions Survey to explore whether there are differences reported by teachers (N = 1,287) from elementary, middle, and high schools from a single school di...
Air Transportation Direct Share Time Series Forecasting: A Hybrid Model

In modern air transportation, the direct share is the ratio of direct passengers to total passengers on a directional origin and destination (O&D) pair. The forecasting of direct share time series ...
Legislating Supported Decision-Making

Supported decision-making is a process by which individuals who might otherwise be unable to make their own decisions do so with help from others. It has the potential to transform the lives of individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities by enabling them to function as legal actors, and not merely legal subjects. Fueled by this promise, by mounting concerns about guardianship, and by rhetoric surrounding the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, states are rapidly adopting statutes that purport to enable and promote supported decision-making and advance the rights of persons with disabilities. This article shows how these statutes typically do neither. Rather, the statutes limit the rights of individuals with disabilities and place them at increased risk of exploitation. The article further shows that the wide gap between the concept of supported decision-making and its actual implementation in state legislation is the result of a confluence of political agendas, but that an alternative, person-centered approach is essential if supported decision-making is actually to empower individuals with disabilities. Finally, it outlines five concrete legislative approaches states could adopt—separately or in combination—to encourage supported decision-making that will actually advance the rights of persons with disabilities and reduce restrictive guardianships.
What Did You Call Me? An Analysis of Online Harassment Towards Black and Latinx Women

Online harassment is a growing societal problem. Although online harassment, or cyber aggression, has begun to receive attention, little research systematically explores the common themes found in hostile messages. In this project, we focused on online harassment directed towards women of color. We applied social network methodology and text clustering (topic analysis) to messages posted on the social media platform Twitter. We examined the occurrence of aggressive, harmful Twitter messages directed towards two groups—Hispanic/Latinx women and Black women. Next, we uncovered common themes that emerged within the communications. Messages towards both groups of women contained themes of racial stereotypes. In tweets that targeted Black women, one emergent theme concerned charges of promiscuity, where messages included slurs that accused Black women of being overly sexual. In messages containing Latinx slurs, on the other hand, xenophobia was one recurring topic, with common terms related to menial labor and political comments invoking the need to “build a wall.” Both groups of women also were subjected to feminine, attractiveness insults. Findings suggest that these negative communications are not idiosyncratic in nature, but instead routinely reinforce traditional, negative, race and gender stereotypes. As a result, these hostile messages contribute to the maintenance of race and gender inequality.
Silenced by Incivility: People, Especially Women, Voice Less in Uncivil Groups

Researchers have discovered inconsistent relationships between voice and gender. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of voice climate and backlash anticipation, we propose that uncivil social i...
Targeting more precisely: Improving sensitivity to EGFR inhibitors in NSCLC

Summary The therapeutic landscape of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is continually evolving. A recent manuscript in Nature by Robichaux and colleagues 1 reports on a structure-based classification of EGFR mutations to help predict sensitivities to EGFR inhibitors in NSCLC that may ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Exposure of FVIII in the Presence of Phosphatidyl Serine Reduces Generation of Memory B-Cells and Induces Regulatory T-Cell-Mediated Hyporesponsiveness in Hemophilia A Mice

A major complication of replacement therapy with Factor VIII (FVIII) for hemophilia A (HA) is the development of unwanted immune responses. Previous studies showed that administration of FVIII in the presence of phosphatidyl serine (PS) reduced the development of anti-FVIII antibodies in HA mice. However, the impact of PS-mediated effects on immunological memory, such as generation of memory B-cells, is not clear. The effect of PS on memory B-cells was therefore investigated using adoptive transfer approach in FVIII(-/-) HA mice. Adoptive transfer of memory B-cells from a PS-FVIII-treated group to naive mice followed by challenge of the recipient mice with FVIII showed a significantly reduced anti-FVIII antibody response in the recipient mice, compared with animals that received memory B-cells from free FVIII and FVIII-charge matched phosphatidyl glycerol (PG) group. The decrease in memory B-cell response is accompanied by an increase in FoxP3 expressing regulatory T-cells (Tregs). Flow cytometry studies showed that the generation of Tregs is higher in PS-treated animals as compared with FVIII and FVIII-PG treated animals. The PS-mediated hyporesponsiveness was found to be antigen-specific. The PS-FVIII immunization showed hyporesponsiveness toward FVIII rechallenge but not against ovalbumin (OVA) rechallenge, an unrelated antigen. This demonstrates that PS reduces immunologic memory of FVIII and induces antigen-specific peripheral tolerance in HA mice.
PhotoNet: A similarity-aware image delivery service for situation awareness

This demonstration illustrates PhotoNet, an image delivery service for mobile camera networks. PhotoNet is motivated by the needs of disaster-response applications, where a group of survivors and first responders may survey damage and send images to a rescue center in the absence of a functional communication infrastructure. The protocol runs on mobile devices, handling opportunistic forwarding (when they come in contact) and in-network storage. It assigns priorities to images for forwarding and replacement depending on the degree of similarity (or dissimilarity) among them. Prioritization aims at reducing semantic redundancy such as that between pictures of the same scene taken from slightly different angles. This is in contrast to redundancy among identical objects and among time series data. We evaluate PhotoNet in an emulated disaster recovery scenario, with a predetermined set of problem locales that need attention. Humans with camera phones form a mobible camera sensor network. Not all pictures make it to the rescue center because of resource constraints. At the rescue center, the utility of the camera network is measured by the number of problem locales of which the center becomes aware as a function of time. A better network delivers awareness of more trouble locales sooner. We show that, in resource constrained networks, reducing semantic redundancy can significantly improve utility. Users of the demo will be allowed to interact with both a simulator and a small set of mobile phones to understand the impact of network and protocol parameters on situation awareness.
Cancer revoked: oncogenes as therapeutic targets

Recent findings show that even the brief inactivation of a single oncogene might be sufficient to result in the sustained loss of a neoplastic phenotype. It is therefore possible that the targeted inactivation of oncogenes could be a specific and effective treatment for cancer. So why does oncogene inactivation cause tumour regression and will this be a generally successful approach for the treatment of human neoplasia?
Following a large unpredictable group of targets among obstacles

Camera control is essential in both virtual and real-world environments. Our work focuses on an instance of camera control called target following, and offers an algorithm, based on the ideas of monotonic tracking regions and ghost targets, for following a large coherent group of targets with unknown trajectories, among known obstacles. In multiple-target following, the camera's primary objective is to follow and maximize visibility of multiple moving targets. For example, in video games, a third-person view camera may be controlled to follow a group of characters through complicated virtual environments. In robotics, a camera attached to robotic manipulators could also be controlled to observe live performers in a concert, monitor assembly of a mechanical system, or maintain task visibility during teleoperated surgical procedures. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first attempting to address this particular instance of camera control.
Acute and chronic effects of cryoablation of the pulmonary veins in the dog as a potential treatment for focal atrial fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) may be triggered by premature atrial depolarizations originating in the pulmonary veins (PV). Radiofrequency catheter ablation of PV foci may prevent recurrence of AF, but may cause PV stenosis. Therefore, a safer method for ablation of PV foci is needed. This study evaluated the acute and chronic effects of PV ablation using a cryocatheter ablation (CCA) system, which may be less likely to cause PV stenosis.
Li-Ion Capacity Enhancement in Composite Blends of LiCoO2 and Li2RuO3

The specific capacity and energy of batteries with LiCoO 2 electrodes can be improved by the addition of Li 2 RuO 3 to the cathodes, particularly at high rates. LiCoO 2 is a standard active material used in Li-ion batteries, and Li 2 RuO 3 is a highly stable Li-insertion compound with high electronic and Li-ion conductivity. Batteries with LiCoO 2 and Li 2 RuO 3 cathodes are compared to those with blends of the two active materials when discharged from 4.2 to 2.0 V at C/5 and 2C rates. The Li-ion batteries with a 58:42 w/w LiCoO 2 /Li 2 RuO 3 blend have a disproportionate increase of 25 and 36%, respectively, in their expected specific capacity and energy relative to LiCoO 2 when the batteries are charged and discharged at a 2C rate. X-ray diffraction of the electrodes at a high state of charge confirms that the LiCoO 2 and Li 2 RuO 3 phases remain distinct in the electrodes. Analysis of the discharge curves in combination with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that Li 2 RuO 3 lowers the electrical resistance of the electrodes when combined in parallel with the LiCoO 2 . This simple approach may be used to improve the capacity of Li-ion batteries for high rate applications.
Low cost, improved magnesium battery

A prototype magnesium/manganese dioxide battery, the BA-4590/U, was developed as a cost-effective training battery replacement for the lithium/sulfur dioxide BA-5590/U battery. Requirements mandate the magnesium battery to be identical in size form, and function to its lithium counterpart. Testing demonstrated the delivered capacity of the magnesium BA-4590/U to be highly dependent upon discharge conditions. Continuous 500 mA discharge at 4.4, 21.1, and 43.3 degrees C delivered capacities of 2.0, 3.3, and 4.3 Ah, respectively. Under simulated intermittent use conditions the magnesium battery, due to anodic corrosion, lost approximately 1/3 of its available capacity during storage following partial usage. In addition, the effects of communication and electronics equipment drains were investigated. Overall, on the basis of projected cost per unit of delivered energy, the magnesium BA-4590/U battery has the potential for significant cost savings, particularly under low-power, tepid operating temperature conditions. >
Influence of Personality Traits on Leadership Styles: A Secondary Level Study

Purpose – Teacher must act as a leader because his/her role is very effective in educational change. Influence of personality traits on leadership styles has been a significant topic in management but no research emphasis has been given to teacher’s personality influence on their leadership behaviors. This research investigates the correlation between these two aspects.Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research is done by means of survey to a convenient sample of 228 teachers of public elementary and high schools of Lahore. Findings – The dominant traits are associated with both leadership styles thus showing that both people and task oriented leadership styles are effective. Research limitations/implications – This research can be generalized to other areas.Practical implications – The research emphasizes the importance of traits and their influence on behavior. Further researches should examine the traits which are needed for an effective leadership styles.Originality/value – The major contribution of this paper is that it correlate personality traits with leadership styles and high light those traits which are associated with effective leadership styles i.e. people oriented so teachers become more aware to adopt those traits which produce effective behavior and change.
Hypothalamic, midbrain and bulbar areas involved in the defense reaction in rabbits ☆

The present study mapped neuroanatomical sites in the hypothalamus and periaqueductal gray (PAG) of the rabbit which, when stimulated electrically, evoked the cardiorespiratory components of the defense reaction (CRDR). This included increases in heart rate, blood pressure, hindlimb blood flow and respiration rate. All of the components of the CRDR were elicited by electrical stimulation of the posterior hypothalamus, at sites dorsal and medial to the fornix. Although there were regions throughout the PAG in which electrical stimulation elicited concomitant increases in blood pressure, hindlimb blood flow and respiration rate, only stimulation of the dorsal PAG evoked tachycardia. Injection of horseradish peroxidase into the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) led to heavy retrograde and anterograde labeling in the region of the hypothalamus that yielded the CRDR when stimulated electrically. Heavy labeling was also observed in the dorsal and ventral PAG. The results of this study provide evidence that the posterior hypothalamus and the dorsal PAG are nodal structures in the mediation of the CRDR and that cells in posterior hypothalamus, dorsal PAG and ventral PAG make monosynaptic connections with the RVLM.