cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design Considerations of Packaging a High Voltage Current Switch

In this paper an attempt has been made to demonstrate various package design considerations to accommodate series connection of high voltage Si-IGBT (6500V/25A die) and SiC-Diode (6500V/25A die). The effects of connecting the cathode of the series diode to the collector of the IGBT versus connecting the emitter of the IGBT to the anode of the series diode has been analyzed in regards to gate terminal operation and the parasitic line inductance of the structure. ANSYS Q3D/MAXWELL software have been used to analyze and extract parasitic inductance and capacitances in the package along with electromagnetic fields, electric potentials, and current density distributions throughout the package for variable parameters. SIMPLIS-SIMETRIX is used to simulate typical switch behavior for different parasitic parameters under hard switched conditions. Various simulation results have then been used to redesign and justify the optimized package structure for the final current switch design. The thermal behavior of such a package is also conducted in COMSOL in order to ensure that the thermal ratings of the power devices is not exceeded, and to understand where potentially harmful hotspots could arise and estimate the maximum attainable frequency of operation. The main motivation of this work is to enumerate detailed design considerations for packing a high voltage current switch package.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Work stealing for GPU-accelerated parallel programs in a global address space framework

Task parallelism is an attractive approach to automatically load balance the computation in a parallel system and adapt to dynamism exhibited by parallel systems. Exploiting task parallelism through work stealing has been extensively studied in shared and distributed-memory contexts. In this paper, we study the design of a system that uses work stealing for dynamic load balancing of task-parallel programs executed on hybrid distributed-memory CPU-graphics processing unit GPU systems in a global-address space framework. We take into account the unique nature of the accelerator model employed by GPUs, the significant performance difference between GPU and CPU execution as a function of problem size, and the distinct CPU and GPU memory domains. We consider various alternatives in designing a distributed work stealing algorithm for CPU-GPU systems, while taking into account the impact of task distribution and data movement overheads. These strategies are evaluated using microbenchmarks that capture various execution configurations as well as the state-of-the-art CCSDT application module from the computational chemistry domain. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Formative research to reduce mine worker respirable silica dust exposure: a feasibility study to integrate technology into behavioral interventions

The use of formative research as a critical component of intervention planning is highly supported in the literature. However, studies that report such processes in practice are minimal. This paper reports on the formative data collection and analysis that informed the development of a multilevel intervention that utilizes mine assessment technology to bridge health communication between workers and management to reduce mine worker overexposure to respirable silica dust. Formative research to assess the feasibility and utility of this intervention design included stakeholder meetings and feedback, mine visits and observations, interviews with mine workers, and a focus group with mine management. Data collection took place at several US industrial mineral mine sites and a southeastern regional safety meeting. Interviews inquired about workers’ perceived susceptibility and severity to respirable silica exposure, barriers to preventing overexposure, behaviors that reduce exposure, and perceptions about respirable dust-monitoring technology. A focus group discussed mine stakeholders’ uses of various dust assessment technology. The data was qualitatively analyzed and coded using a thematic and theoretical analysis. Researchers found recurring themes for both target audiences that informed the need and subsequent development of a mixed-method multilevel intervention to improve communication quantity and quality around dust-control practices. Results indicate that formative research is critical to: identify and develop an intervention that meets target audience needs; accurately represent the health problem; and develop positive relationships with research partners and stakeholders.
Off-patent drugs at brand-name prices: a puzzle for policymakers

In August 2015, Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired the marketing rights to Daraprim (pyrimethamine), a drug used to treat parasitic infections like malaria and toxoplasmosis. Soon after, Turing caused an uproar when it announced that it would raise the price per tablet of Daraprim from [Formula: see text], a 5500% price hike for a drug that has been on the market for over 60 years and off patent since the 1970s. Old, off-patent drugs are becoming increasingly expensive; Daraprim is the archetypal example. Turing had the power to set a high price for Daraprim because the drug's limited patient population, the absence of competing manufacturers, and a lack of therapeutic alternatives all created an effective monopoly. Similar forces have driven up the prices of other off-patent drugs that treat diseases as diverse as heart failure and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Thus, policymakers will have to consider how the high cost of off-patent drugs impacts public health as well as public spending. In this Note I outline the extent of the high-cost off-patent drug problem, drawing special attention to the problem's negative effects on both health outcomes and government budgets. After discussing some of the problem's underlying causes, I present several solutions to the problem that policymakers could consider, with a focus on proposals like reference pricing and expanded compounding that have received relatively little media attention.
Deception in Networks: A Laboratory Study: Deception in Networks

Communication between departments within a firm may include deception. Theory suggests that telling lies in these environments may be strategically optimal if there exists a small difference in monetary incentives (Crawford and Sobel, 1982; Galeotti et al, 2012). We design a laboratory experiment to investigate whether agents with different monetary incentives in a network environment behave according to theoretical predictions. We found that playersâ€™ choices are consistent with the theory. That is, most communication within an incentive group is truthful and deception often occurs between subjects from different groups. These results have important implications for intra-organizational conflict management, demonstrating that in order to minimize deceptive communication between departments the firm may need to reduce incentive differences between these groups. Length: 19 (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Provision of information regarding electronic cigarettes from shop employees in New York City.

• This documents New York City shop employees' opinions of the safety levels of e-cigarettes in stores that sell this product.
Automatic Body Part Measurement of Dressed Humans Using Single RGB-D Camera

In the near future online shopping might be the main channel to purchase clothes. However, it is often problematic to buy clothes without trying them first. We present a novel methodology to measure human body parts that allows users to wear loose clothes during this process. This allows anyone at home or on the go to measure themselves and use the results with their 3D model to comfortably shop online. Reducing the risk of buying clothes that will not fit and making the online shopping experience more satisfying. We first scan the user on a single pose that allows better visualization of the waist and then measure four parts: chest, waist and low hip girths and height. Then, we use an API to compute the rest of the measurements. Clothes sizes differ in 4 to 5 cm and our results indicate an offset error of less than 4 cm. Hence, meeting our target immersive shopping use cases.
Synergistic Fluorescence Enhancement of Terbium Probe with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and Boric Acid and Its Determination of Sarafloxacin

A spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of Sarafloxacin( SARA) based on the fluorescence enhancement of Tb3 +-SARA complex in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate( SDS) and boric acid was developed.The effect of various experimental parameters,such as pH value,the type and amount of surfactant,the type and amount of buffer solution and the concentration of Tb3 +,on the fluorescence intensity of the complex was investigated.Under the optimum conditions,the enhanced fluorescence intensity of the system showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of SARA in the range of 0.100-1.80×103μg/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9994.The detection limit of SARA was found to be 0.02 μg/L,and relative standard deviation( RSD) was 1.8%( c=10.0 μg/L,n=11).The method has been successfully applied to the determination of SARA in milk samples with the recoveries of 95.5%-101%.
Application of Garden Ground Cover Plants in Urban Green Space

Application of ground cover plants(except for lawn) in urban green space is elaborated.According to its application in fact,the selecting method and ordonnance are analyzed.Thus,the correcation of theoretic basis of garden greeland landscape ecology with the urban enviroument is clarified.
Urinary tract infections in male spinal cord injured patients. Part one: Bacteriologic diagnosis.

Seventy-one paired samples of urine, obtained by collection of a clean voided specimen and by suprapubic aspiration of the bladder (SPA), were obtained from 53 male spinal cord injured patients who were free of indwelling catheters. A direct comparison of the number of colony forming units of bacteria within the paired specimens indicates that single voided specimen is adequate in 63 of 71 (88.7%) instances. While using a threshold of 104 organisms per cc of urine obtained by SPA, the presence of at least 104 organisms per cc of voided urine provided a sensitivity and specificity both of 100%. Such high degree of correlation between SPA and voided specimen is explained on the basis of altered urodynamics in these patients and repeated contamination and transmission of bacteria from anterior urethra into the bladder. In patients with colony counts of 102 to 104 per cc, in which the voided urine contains mixed flora or staphylococci, bladder urine is most likely to be sterile and accurate assessment...
Nails in Systemic Disease

Nail abnormalities secondary to systemic disease are important to the dermatologist because they are readily examined and may be the initial signal that systemic disease may be present. Some of the abnormal nail findings represent part of a symptom complex that may be useful in physical diagnosis. The knowledge of the correct onychopathologic etiology may give the patient the correct nail prognosis and may prevent institution of possible incorrect lengthy and costly treatment regimens. In this article, nail signs are grouped according to the characteristics of the change and according to systemic diseases producing signs.
Relationships, Connections, Influence, and Power

Nonpoint source pollutants are the number one cause of impaired waters in the United States. In many regions, agriculture contributes excessive nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to creeks, rivers and lakes creating unintended and severe negative consequences to our water bodies. Solutions to nonpoint source agricultural pollution must reach beyond ecological science and technical intervention to engage citizens and activate the public will to invest personal and public resources. In this introduction, we offer an overview of the theoretical pathways and scientific evidence chapters that follow.
Scolytus and other Economically Important Bark and Ambrosia Beetles

Abstract The taxonomy and biology of 12 genera of economically and ecologically important scolytine bark and ambrosia beetles are described. An overview and full generic descriptions and diagnoses are given for each included genus.
What is Your Fitness Tracker Communicating?: Exploring Messages and Effects of Wearable Fitness Devices

Although studies have investigated how the technical features of wearable fitness trackers promote physical activity, we understand less about how communication surrounding such devices may contribute to their success. Addressing current opportunities for inquiry is important, as the popularity of fitness trackers and other wearable devices grows. Through interviews with 25 people wearing fitness devices, this study elucidates how and with whom people communicate fitness tracker messages and explains the effects of sociomaterial practice on interactions between wearable fitness device users. Our findings show the vital role of communication in sharing and encouraging physical activity.
Complications of Pediatric Foot and Ankle Fractures

Ankle fractures account for 5% and foot fractures account for approximately 8% of fractures in children. Some complications are evident early in the treatment or natural history of foot and ankle fractures. Other complications do not become apparent until weeks, months, or years after the original fracture. The incidence of long-term sequelae like posttraumatic arthritis from childhood foot and ankle fractures is poorly studied because decades or lifelong follow-up has frequently not been accomplished. This article discusses a variety of complications associated with foot and ankle fractures in children or the treatment of these injuries.
The Development of China's Stock Market and Stakes for the Global Economy

The rise of China and fivefold growth of its stock market over the past decade have fueled a growing literature on this market in financial economics. On the corporate side, researchers have evaluated the progress of China's stages of privatization, analyzed biases in the selection of firms for listing, and documented massive underpricing of initial public offerings. On the asset pricing side, researchers have studied the price premium of domestic A shares over their foreign-share counterparts, analyzed the firm-specific information content of prices, provided new evidence on informational and behavioral effects in prices, and begun to identify systematic cross-sectional patterns in returns. Numerous areas are ripe for future research as China's stock market continues to grow in global influence and as ongoing reform provides new natural experiments. Challenges for the field will be to gain familiarity with China's distinctive financial system and to avoid overapplying research paradigms developed for the...
Dynamic Relative Permeability and Simulation of WAG Injection Processes

In this work, we investigate the impact of mobility changes due to flow reversals from co-current to counter-current flow on the displacement performance of water alternating gas (WAG) injection processes. In WAG processes, the injected gas will migrate toward the top of the formation while the injected water will migrate toward the bottom of the formation. The segregation of gas, oil and water phases will result in counter-current flow occurring in the vertical direction in some portions of the reservoir during the displacement process. Previous experimental and theoretical studies of counter-current flow have shown that the relative mobility of each of the phases in a porous medium is considerably less when counter-current flow prevails as compared to co-current flow settings. A reduction of the relative permeability in the vertical direction results in a dynamic anisotropy in phase mobilities. This effect has, to the best of our knowledge, not previously been considered in the modeling and simulation of WAG processes. A new flow model that accounts for flow reversals in the vertical direction has been implemented and tested in a three-phase compositional reservoir simulator. In order to investigate the impact of flow reversals, results from the new flow model are compared to cases where counter-current flow effects on the phase mobilities are ignored. A range of displacement settings, covering relevant slug sizes, have been investigated to gauge the impact of mobility reductions due to flow reversals. Significant differences, in terms of saturation distribution, producing GOR and oil recovery, are observed between the conventional flow model (ignoring mobility reductions due to counter-current flow) and the proposed new model that accounts for reductions in phase mobility during counter-current flow. Accordingly, we recommend that an explicit representation of flow transitions between co-current and counter-current flow (and the related impact on phase mobilities) should be considered to ensure accurate and optimal design of WAG injection processes.
Monitoring early tumor response to vascular targeted therapy using super-resolution ultrasound imaging

The current standard for evaluating breast tumor response to neoadjuvant treatment remains the assessment of a tumor size change several weeks after therapy begins. However, the tumor microenvironment (including microvasculature) is known to change drastically before any detectable change in physical size manifests. To that end, we have developed a new high-resolution ultrasound (US) imaging modality in our laboratory, termed super-resolution ultrasound (SR-US), for improved visualization of the tumor angiogenic network. A clinical US scanner (Acuson Sequoia 512, Siemens Healthcare) equipped with a 15L8-S linear array transducer was used for our study. Operation of this system was done using a nonlinear harmonic imaging. A low transmit power (mechanical index < 0.2) was used to minimize any MB destruction during imaging. After a slow injection of a MB contrast via a tail vein catheter placed in breast cancer-bearing mice (N = 10), each tumor was US imaged for 10 min at baseline and again at 1 and 2 h after dosing with an antiangiogenic drug (bevacizumab, Genentech Inc) or sham control drug. After collecting a stack of US images, images corrupted by respiratory motion were removed using curve fit-based filtering. A singular value decomposition (SVD)-based spatiotemporal filter was then used to localize individual MBs. Subsequently, a SR-US image (i.e., MB density map) was generated by mapping the cumulative MB localizations. SR-US images were reviewed and longitudinal changes in the tumor microvascular network in response to treatment were evaluated. Overall, an acute microvascular response to bevacizumab was found within 2 h of drug dosing. This observation was consistent with immunohistologic findings and suggests that in vivo SR-US imaging has enormous potential in monitoring the early tumor response to drug treatment.
Entropy Based Pruning of Backoff Maxent Language Models with Contextual Features

In this paper, we present a pruning technique for maximum entropy (MaxEnt) language models. It is based on computing the exact entropy loss when removing each feature from the model, and it explicitly supports backoff features by replacing each removed feature with its backoff. The algorithm computes the loss on the training data, so it is not restricted to models with n-gram like features, allowing models with any feature, including long range skips, triggers, and contextual features such as device location. Results on the I-billion word corpus show large perplexity improvements relative for frequency pruned models of comparable size. Automatic speech recognition (ASR) experiments show word error rate improvements in a large-scale cloud based mobile ASR system for Italian.
Endocrine Disorders of the Equine Athlete

Equine athletes are affected by 2 major endocrine/metabolic disorders, insulin dysregulation (ID) and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. ID is a risk factor for laminitis in horses, which poses the greatest threat to performance because of the damage that it causes to hoof structures. This article includes an in-depth discussion of ID and other risk factors for laminitis that are grouped together as equine metabolic syndrome. As horses age, the risk of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction increases, and this endocrine disorder may exacerbate preexisting ID and further increase the risk of laminitis.
Sintering of Polymer Materials

Polymers comprise an important segment of engineering materials with ever-increasing applications in structural components, supplementing and often replacing metals, ceramics, and wood products. As with metals and ceramics, the fabrication or conversion of polymers to useful forms involves fundamental aspects of structure and properties such as are being considered in this symposium In consolidating or shaping the polymers by melting or fusing, the rheological concepts of material transport involve motion or flow that may in some sense have a common basis with ceramics, particularly glass, and possibly powdered metals especially in technology of shaping useful objects. Although such commonality is limited, the techniques and tools for gaining an insight or understanding of how polymer consolidates to tough, durable materials can often be quite similar.
Synaptic pathology in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer dementia

Whereas the number of cortical neurons in human brain does not significantly change with age, there is a significant reduction of synaptic terminals in both normal aging brain and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Multivariant analysis of a cohort of AD patients showed a highly significant correlation between psychostatus and reduction of midfrontal synapses and large neurons, while there was no correlation with amyloid deposits. Another variable contributing to cognitive decline are numbers or neurofibrillary tangles and neuron loss in the cholinergic nucleus basalis of Meynert These and other recent morphologic data do not support the hypothesis that amyloid deposition is a major pathogenic factor of both neuronal and synaptic loss in aging and AD. The causes of synaptic pathology in AD remain to be elucidated.
Chapter 22 – Space Weather

‘Space Weather’ is a term that describes space environment conditions, especially around the Earth. It involves a variety of Earth space responses to both electromagnetic radiation, and particle and magnetic field outputs from the Sun Solar photons determine the most basic properties of the Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere, while the particles and fields interact with Earth's own field to produce the magnetosphere and all of its associated phenomena. These couplings and their consequences can produce disturbed conditions that result when the Sun is active, including ionospheric disturbances and geomagnetic storms. Observations of the erupting solar corona and its manifestations in the space around the Earth have provided a good idea of how the different features of solar behavior, such as solar wind and interplanetary magnetic fields, or coronal mass ejections and flares, relate to terrestrial responses such as auroras and induced ground currents. Practical applications of space weather knowledge include diagnosing the orbital decay and operational anomalies of Earth-orbiting spacecraft, and satellite-enabled communications and navigation problems. Studies of space weather also provide insights and context for interpreting observations of less-accessible planetary and extrasolar planet–star interactions contributing to the larger perspective on these important connections.
Some Group Theory

In this chapter we depart from topology for a while to discuss group theory. Our goal, of course, is to use the group theory to solve topological problems, and in the next chapter we will compute the fundamental groups of all compact surfaces, and use them to show, among other things, that the different surfaces listed in the classification theorem of Chapter 6 are not homeomorphic to each other.
Pharmacological Approach to Sleep Disturbances in Autism Spectrum Disorders with Psychiatric Comorbidities: A Literature Review

Autism is a developmental disability that can cause significant emotional, social and behavioral dysfunction. Sleep disorders co-occur in approximately half of the patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sleep problems in individuals with ASD have also been associated with poor social interaction, increased stereotypy, problems in communication, and overall autistic behavior. Behavioral interventions are considered a primary modality of treatment. There is limited evidence for psychopharmacological treatments in autism; however, these are frequently prescribed. Melatonin, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and α agonists have generally been used with melatonin, having a relatively large body of evidence. Further research and information are needed to guide and individualize treatment for this population group.
Spotlight on aldoxorubicin (INNO-206) and its potential in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas: evidence to date

Anthracyclines, and doxorubicin in particular, remain a mainstay of sarcoma therapy. Despite modest activity and significant toxicities, no cytotoxic monotherapy has yet yielded superior overall survival over doxorubicin for therapy of advanced soft tissue sarcomas in a randomized trial. Similarly, combination regimens have also been unable to overcome doxorubicin in terms of overall survival. Strategies to ameliorate the most prominent side effect of doxorubicin, cardiotoxicity, are available, but their use in sarcoma patients has been limited. Aldoxorubicin is a prodrug consisting of doxorubicin with a covalent linker. It binds rapidly after intravenous infusion to cysteine-34 of human serum albumin. The drug-albumin conjugate is preferentially retained in tumor tissue, with uptake into tumoral cells. At physiologic pH, the complex is stable. Hydrolysis can occur under the acidic conditions of the endocytic lysosome, releasing doxorubicin. Doxorubicin then distributes to various cellular compartments, including Golgi, mitochondrion, and nucleus, with subsequent cytotoxic effects. Aldoxorubicin has demonstrated in vitro and in vivo activities in both cancer model systems and human xenografts. Preclinical models also support its decreased cardiac effects vs doxorubicin, although such promising results require formal comparison at efficacy equivalent doses of the two drugs. Phase I studies confirmed the tolerability of aldoxorubicin in humans. Clinical cardiotoxicity was not observed, but molecular and subclinical cardiac effects could be demonstrated. A Phase II study in treatment-naive, advanced sarcoma patients demonstrated improved progression-free survival and response rate over doxorubicin, although no survival benefit was evident. A Phase III study of aldoxorubicin vs investigator's choice from a panel of chemotherapy regimens in the salvage setting was unable to demonstrate a benefit in progression-free or overall survival in the entire population. Progression-free survival in L-sarcomas (leiomyosarcomas and liposarcomas) was documented. While evidence of subclinical cardiac effects was seen in a small proportion of aldoxorubicin-treated patients, data from both the Phase II and III studies indicated a favorable cardiotoxicity profile vs doxorubicin. Despite the negative results from this Phase III study, the importance of anthracycline therapy in sarcoma management merits further investigation of the potential role of aldoxorubicin in this indication. Other avenues for progress include identification of sensitive histologies and biomarkers of activity, exploration of clinical niches without proven standard therapies, and exploration of alternate dosing strategies.
Birth month, birth season, and overall and cardiovascular disease mortality in US women: prospective cohort study

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the associations between birth month, birth season, and overall and cardiovascular disease mortality, and to examine the role of familial and socioeconomic factors in these associations. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Nurses’ Health Study, established in 1976, an ongoing prospective cohort study in the United States. Participants Female registered nurses who reported information on date of birth at study enrolment (n=116 911, 1976-2014, followed for 38 years). Exposure Birth month and astronomical birth season (based on solstices and equinoxes as boundaries of the season categories). Main outcome measures Age and various multivariable adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between birth months (using November as the reference), astronomical birth season (using autumn as the reference), and overall and cardiovascular disease specific mortality were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. Results Among study participants, 43 248 overall deaths were documented during 4 136 364 person years of follow-up since enrolment, including 8360 cardiovascular disease related deaths. In fully adjusted multivariable analyses, no significant association was observed between birth month, birth season, and overall mortality. Compared with women born in November, increased cardiovascular disease mortality was observed among those born from March to July (hazard ratio for March, 1.09, 95% confidence interval 0.98 to 1.21; April, 1.12, 1.00 to 1.24; May, 1.08, 0.98 to 1.20; June, 1.07, 0.96 to 1.19; and July 1.08, 0.98 to 1.20). Those born in April had the highest cardiovascular disease mortality, and those born in December had the lowest (December, 0.95, 0.85 to 1.06). The relative difference between the lowest and highest risk month was 17.89%. Women born in spring (1.10, 1.04 to 1.17) and summer (1.09, 1.03 to 1.16) had a higher cardiovascular disease mortality than women born in the autumn. Adjustment for familial and socioeconomic factors did not change these results. The relative difference between the lowest and highest risk season was 10.00%. Conclusion Participants born in the spring and summer (especially those born in March-July) had a slight but significant increase in cardiovascular disease specific mortality. However, no seasonal birth month effect was observed among women for overall mortality. Familial and socioeconomic factors did not appear to alter these associations. Further studies are required to confirm these findings and reveal mechanisms of these seasonal birth month effects in cardiovascular disease mortality.
Strategies for Shifting From Acute to Maintenance Treatment for Bipolar I Disorder

Updated treatment guidelines are available for maintenance therapy for bipolar I disorder. Using these guidelines can help clinicians make treatment decisions including pharmacotherapy and psychosocial interventions tailored to their patients' individual characteristics. This CME activity describes the recommendations for first-line treatment and subsequent steps. Reasons why clinicians might not initiate maintenance with highest ranked first-line options are also provided.
Sex Differences in the Association between Local Government Spending and Mortality: Evidence from Tennessee.

Objectives A growing body of research has demonstrated the effect of local government spending on health outcomes; however, the effect of spending on different demographic groups is unclear. We combined national and local data to examine the impact of public spending on mortality rates in Tennessee. Methods Within-between random effects models to examine the relation between county-level spending and mortality rates. Results We found a significant association between per capita library and kindergarten through grade 12 education spending and mortality outcomes. We also found sex differences in the effects of per capita public health spending and highway spending. Conclusions This study provides further evidence that local government spending plays a role in addressing and improving population health and suggests that public spending can have differential effects within a population.
On weak solutions of forward–backward SDEs

In this paper we continue exploring the notion of weak solution of forward–backward stochastic differential equations (FBSDEs) and associated forward–backward martingale problems (FBMPs). The main purpose of this work is to remove the constraints on the martingale integrands in the uniqueness proofs in our previous work (Ma et al. in Ann Probab 36(6):2092–2125, 2008). We consider a general class of non-degenerate FBSDEs in which all the coefficients are assumed to be essentially only bounded and uniformly continuous, and the uniqueness is proved in the space of all the square integrable adapted solutions, the standard solution space in the FBSDE literature. A new notion of semi-strong solution is introduced to clarify the relations among different definitions of weak solution in the literature, and it is in fact instrumental in our uniqueness proof. As a by-product, we also establish some a priori estimates of the second derivatives of the solution to the decoupling quasilinear PDE.
Dental caries prevalence in children with congenital heart disease - a systematic review

Poor oral health is related with bacteraemia that may lead to endocarditis in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review to co...
Integrated Order Picking and Vehicle Routing Operations – Literature Review and Further Research Opportunities

In modern supply chains, customers expect a high level of service, which results in short delivery times and improved service offerings through retailers. The resulting pressure on supply chains requires a precisely coordinated scheduling of successive processes. Even though a multitude of publications on integrated production and delivery problems already exist, the research field of integrated order picking and vehicle routing is relatively young. Due to its practical relevance and theoretical challenge several studies have been published in recent years that focus on the field of integrated order picking and vehicle routing. This paper provides an overview of existing papers, their main findings, and further research opportunities to integrated order picking and vehicle routing problems.
Isabella L. Karle: A Crystallography Pioneer.

The life and work of crystallography pioneer Isabella L. Karle is recounted (1921–2017), as researched from the literature and personal stories of colleagues and family. Her story includes her fami...
Man vs. Machine: Quantitative and Discretionary Equity Management

In modern asset markets, man and machine compete for profits. How does each fare? I build a learning model in which quantitative investors (reliant on computer models) have more learning capacity but less flexibility to adapt to market conditions than discretionary investors (reliant on human judgment). I use machine learning to categorize US active equity mutual funds as quantitative or discretionary. Consistent with the model's predictions, I find that quantitative funds hold more stocks, specialize in stock picking, and engage in more overcrowded trades. Discretionary funds hold lesser known stocks, switch between picking and timing and outperform in recessions.
EFFECT OF AFRICAN LEAF EXTRACT (Vernonia amygdalina) ON ALLOXANINDUCED DIABETES MELLITUS LEYDIG CELL MYTOSIS OF WISTAR RATS

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus can reduce the quality of human life when accompanied by complications, one of which is sexual dysfunction. In diabetics, there is an increase in ROS production which can cause damage to local Leydig cell proliferation so that Leydig cell activity and testosterone secretion decrease. African leaves can be used as a control of blood sugar levels and antioxidants to overcome oxidative stress. Purpose: To determine the effect of administration of African leaf extract (Vernonia amygdalina) on alloxan-induced Leydig cell mitosis in male rats with diabetes mellitus. Method: This experimental study used 31 male Rattus norvegicus white rats divided into K, P0, P1, P2, and P3 groups. Each group consisting of six rats and one rat outside the study group was used as a reference. Experimental animals will be induced alloxan with a single dose of 150 mg/kgBW for four days. African leaf extract was administered using a probe to groups P1, P2, P3 at a dose of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kgBW for 14 days. Rats were anaesthetized and euthanized so that the testes could be used to make preparations with HE staining and analysis of preparations using a 400x magnification light microscope. The research data were analyzed using One-Way Annova with P<0.05. Results: The administration of African leaf extract affected increasing the number of mitotic Leydig cells (P=0.026). There was a significant increase in the number of mitotic Leydig cells at a dose of 100 mg/kgBW (P=0.021), but not effective at a dose of 200 mg/kgBW (P=0.188) and 400 mg/kgBW (P=0.823). Conclusion: The administration of African leaf extract at a dose of 100 mg/kgBW has been shown to increase the number of mitotic Leydig cells so that it can be used to improve sexual function in diabetics.
International competition in R&D and technological leadership. An examination of the Posner-Hufbauer hypothesis

Abstract This paper develops a dynamic game-theoretic model of international competition in R&D to examine the Posner-Hufbauer hypothesis that trade based on the generation and diffusion of superior technology is relatively disadvantageous to the technologically less advanced countries. The impact of three forms of technological leadership (technological endowments, costs of R&D, and preemptive behavior) on the outcome of the game provides some support for the hypothesis. If the quasi-rent period is sufficiently long and if the original technological follower reacts aggressively to increased R&D rivalry, the leader and the follower will switch positions in the later part of the game.
Role of T cells in a murine model of Escherichia coli sepsis

To study the role of T cells in gram-negative sepsis, we developed a mouse model in which i.v. injection of Escherichia coli results in severe systemic illness, with high mortality rates after day 5. A large proportion of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells are activated within 1 day after infection, as evidenced by up-regulation of CD69 and down-regulation of CD62L. Even more surprisingly, T cell-deficient mice exhibit markedly decreased disease severity compared to WT mice, indicating a pathogenic role of T cells. Mice lacking IFN-gamma also show diminished disease, and exhibit reduced T cell activation. Therefore, the pathogenic role of T cells may be mediated by IFN-gamma. Both T cell- and IFN-gamma-deficient mice have reduced serum IL-6 levels compared to WT mice, suggesting that T cells may stimulate innate immune responses, resulting in enhancement of disease. These data indicate an important role for T cells in a mouse model of E. coli sepsis, and reveal an unexpected early and pathogenic T cell response to this bacterial infection.
Infants delivered by cesarean section; a re-evaluation after ten years of some problems found in infants delivered by cesarean section.

Abstract 1. 1. A series of 100 consecutive newborn infants delivered by cesarean section ten years after a previous study of a like group of infants is reported from a private hospital. 2. 2. There were 4 stillborn infants in this group, and 2 deaths. Both infants who died after delivery showed hyaline membranes on postmorten examinations. 3. 3. Analgesics have changed and their use has increased. 4. 4. The use of spinal anesthesia for delivery has increased from 1 case in 1942 to 61 in 1952. 5. 5. Use of a trial of labor increased from 3 cases in 1942 to 30 in 1952. 6. 6. Of the infants who had late difficulty after cesarean section, 70 per cent had no trial of labor, 19 per cent had a trial of labor of from one to 8 hours, and 11 per cent had a trial of labor of from 9 to 20 hours. 7. 7. In this series of 100 consecutive infants born by cesarean section the duration or lack of pressures developed during labor had an important influence on whether, after delivery by this method, the infant would or would not develop late difficulty.
Analysis of the inhibitory effects of VP-16-213 (etoposide) and podophyllotoxin on thymidine transport and metabolism in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells in vitro

Abstract These studies explore the effects of an epipodophyllotoxin on the membrane transport and metabolism of thymidine in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Uptake of 3 H after exposure of cells to [ 3 H]-thymidine is characterized by a rapid initial velocity that approximates membrane transport followed by a slower rate of uptake that parallels the accumulation of phosphorylated derivatives of thymidine, primarily thymidine triphosphate, within the cell. The high rate of thymidine transport relative to thymidine metabolism to the triphosphate within the cell decreases as the extracellular nucleoside concentration is reduced due to a much greater decrease in membrane transport than the subsequent metabolic step. Hence, as extracellular thymidine is decreased, transport becomes increasingly rate limiting to metabolism within the cell. VP-16-213 (etoposide) or podophyllotoxin inhibits the initial uptake rate for thymidine and, as a consequence, inhibits the intracellular formation of thymidine triphosphate. When extracellular thymidine is high, inhibitory effects on transport are transient, and the net rate of thymidine triphosphate accumulation within drug-treated cells rapidly approaches a velocity comparable to that of control cells, indicating no direct VP-16-213 or podophyllotoxin effect on nucleoside and nucleotide phosphorylation. When extracellular thymidine is reduced so that transport is rate limiting to metabolism, the duration of the inhibitory effects of VP-16-213 on thymidine triphosphate formation is prolonged. A secondary effect of VP-16-213 becomes manifest beyond 10 min of incubation with [ 3 H]thymidine with the virtual complete cessation of thymidine incorporation into the acid precipitate without any change in the thymidine triphosphate level. This late effect is not observed with podophyllotoxin and indicates a direct effect of VP-16-213 on DNA synthesis that is distinct from the earlier inhibitory effect on thymidine phosphorylation, which is secondary to membrane transport.
Efficient Mining of Spatiotemporal Patterns

The problem of mining spatiotemporal patterns is finding sequences of events that occur frequently in spatiotemporal datasets. Spatiotemporal datasets store the evolution of objects over time. Examples include sequences of sensor images of a geographical region, data that describes the location and movement of individual objects over time, or data that describes the evolution of natural phenomena, such as forest coverage. The discovered patterns are sequences of events that occur most frequently. In this paper, we present DFS_MINE, a new algorithm for fast mining of frequent spatiotemporal patterns in environmental data. DFS_MINE, as its name suggests, uses a Depth-First-Search-like approach to the problem which allows very fast discoveries of long sequential patterns. DFS_MINE performs database scans to discover frequent sequences rather than relying on information stored in main memory, which has the advantage that the amount of space required is minimal. Previous approaches utilize a Breadth-First-Search-like approach and are not efficient for discovering long frequent sequences. Moreover, they require storing in main memory all occurrences of each sequence in the database and, as a result, the amount of space needed is rather large. Experiments show that the I/O cost of the database scans is offset by the efficiency of the DFS-like approach that ensures fast discovery of long frequent patterns. DFS_MINE is also ideal for mining frequent spatiotemporal sequences with various spatial granularities. Spatial granularity refers to how fine or how general our view of the space we are examining is.
Nonlinear Optical Interactions In Low-Melting-Temperature Glasses Containing Organic Dyes

We present the results of an experimental investigation of the nonlinear optical properties of boric-acid glass doped with the organic dye fluorescein. This material has a very large third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of approximately 1 esu, which is shown to be electronic and not thermal in origin. Measurements of the tensor nature of the nonlinear susceptibility are presented.
The new millennium program: Fast-track procurements

Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) New Millennium Program (NMP) has embarked on a technology flight-validation demonstration program to enable the kinds of missions that NASA envisions for the 21st century. Embedded in this program is the concept of rapid mission development supported by a fast-track procurement process. This process begins with the decision to initiate a procurement very early in the program along with the formation of a technical acquisition team. A close working relationship among the team members is essential to avoiding delays and developing a clear acquisition plan. The request for proposal (RFP) that is subsequently issued seeks a company with proven capabilities, so that the time allotted for responses from proposers and the length of proposals they submit can be shortened. The fast-track procurement process has been demonstrated during selection of NMP's industrial partners and has been proven to work.
The contribution of hepatocytes to prostaglandin synthesis in rat liver.

Abstract The contribution of hepatocytes to liver prostaglandin (PG) synthesis Is not clear. We compared prostaglandin synthesis in homogenates of whole liver, freshly isolated hepatocytes, and mixed non-parenchymal cells from the same rat livers, and optimized the assay. Whole liver homogenates made 27.2 ± 7.1 mg PGE2/mg protein/5 min (± SEM, n = 4 livers). Hepatocyte homogenates made 39 ± 9% as much PGE2/mg protein as did the matched whole livers. Non-parenchymal cell homogenates made slightly more PGE2 than whole liver, but much more PGD2. Subsequent studies showed that fresh hepatocyte suspensions contain significant contamination with non-parenchymal cells. Homogenates from ricin-purified hepatocyte monolayers made at least half as much PGE2 as did conventional monolayers. However, taking cellular purity into account, hepatocytes must contain much less than a third of liver cyclooxygenase activity.
Differential roles of developmentally distinct SNAP-25 isoforms in the neurotransmitter release process.

The role of SNAP-25 (synaptosomal associated protein of 25 kDa) isotypes in the neurotransmitter release process was examined by varying their relative abundance during PC12 cell differentiation induced by nerve growth factor (NGF). Norepinephrine release by NGF-differentiated PC12 cells is more sensitive to type A botulinum toxin (BoNT/A) than by nondifferentiated cells, while both differentiated and nondifferentiated PC12 cells are equally sensitive to type E botulinum toxin (BoNT/E). The differential sensitivity to BoNT/A corresponds to an altered susceptibility of SNAP-25 isotypes to BoNT/A cleavage in vitro, whereas both isotypes are equally vulnerable to cleavage by BoNT/E. Using recombinant SNAP-25 preparations, we show that BoNT/A cleaves SNAP-25b (present in differentiated cells) 2-fold more readily than SNAP-25a (present in both differentiated and nondifferentiated cells). Structural studies using far-ultraviolet circular dichroism (UV−CD) and thermal denaturation suggest a difference in the pol...