cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analyzing and addressing false interactions during compiler optimization phase ordering

Compiler optimization phase ordering is a fundamental, pervasive, and long-standing problem for optimizing compilers. This problem is caused by interacting optimization phases producing different codes when applied in different orders. Producing the best phase ordering code is very important in performance-oriented and cost-constrained domains, such as embedded systems. In this work, we analyze the causes of the phase ordering problem in our compiler, Very Portable Optimizer VPO, and report our observations. We devise new techniques to eliminate, what we call, false phase interactions in our compiler. We find that reducing such false phase interactions significantly prunes the phase order search space. We also develop and study algorithms to find the best average performance that can be delivered by a single phase sequence over our benchmark set and discuss the challenges in resolving this important problem. Our results show that there is no single sequence in VPO that can achieve the optimal phase ordering performance across all functions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Paleoecology and Taphonomy of an Edrioasteroid-Dominated Hardground Association from Tentaculitid Limestones in the Early Devonian of New York: A Paleozoic Rocky Peritidal Community

Abstract The taphonomy, sedimentology, and paleoecology of a rare peritidal hardground in the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Thacher Limestone Member of the Manlius Formation in east-central New York State provides insights into sediment dynamics and modes of life of ancient hard substrate-inhabiting organisms. The hardground occurs near the top of a shallowing-upward carbonate cycle, slightly below desiccation-cracked micritic ribbon limestones. The hard surface developed on a partially exhumed tentaculitid pavement and overlying pelletal calcisiltite; the hardground has a relief of about 2–3 cm and is overlain by a thin siliciclastic mud layer. Tentative correlation of the hardground across a lateral distance of about 35 km perpendicular to depositional strike suggests a very subdued topographic profile for this region and development of an extensive peritidal hardground pavement. Tentaculites gyracanthus occurs in a dense pavement of strongly bimodally aligned shells with an ENE to WSW orientation, parall...
Detection Probabilities and Site Occupancy Estimates for Amphibians at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Abstract We conducted an amphibian inventory at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from August 2000 to June 2002 as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior's national Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative. Nineteen species of amphibians (15 anurans and 4 caudates) were documented within the Refuge, including one protected species, the Gopher Frog Rana capito. We also collected 1 y of monitoring data for amphibian populations and incorporated the results into the inventory. Detection probabilities and site occupancy estimates for four species, the Pinewoods Treefrog (Hyla femoralis), Pig Frog (Rana grylio), Southern Leopard Frog (R. sphenocephala) and Carpenter Frog (R. virgatipes) are presented here. Detection probabilities observed in this study indicate that spring and summer surveys offer the best opportunity to detect these species in the Refuge. Results of the inventory suggest that substantial changes may have occurred in the amphibian fauna within and adjacent to the swamp. However, mon...
Formal versus Functional Explanation for a Universal Theory of Syllable Structure : The Case of Vowel Epenthesis in Winnebago

This paper first contrasts formal versus functional explanations for language processes. It suggests that the different types of explanation can be...
Overview of Accelerator Applications for Security and Defense

Particle accelerators play a key role in a broad set of defense and security applications, including war-fighter and asset protection, cargo inspection, nonproliferation, materials characterization, and stockpile stewardship. Accelerators can replace the high activity radioactive sources that pose a security threat to developing a radiological dispersal device, and, can be used to produce isotopes for medical, industrial, and research purposes. An overview of current and emerging accelerator technologies relevant to addressing the needs of defense and security is presented.
Molecular basis of chromosome movement: Current Opinion in Structural Biology 1992, 2:275–279

Abstract At mitosis, a large complex of proteins is assembled onto centromeric DNA sequences to form kinetochores. These structures attach to microtubules and generate force for chromosome movement. Recent experiments have shown that the mechanism of chromosome movement involves both the action of motor proteins and microtubule polymerization and depolymerization at kinetochores.
Tailored gain phased array of semiconductor lasers with single-lobed far-field pattern

Phased arrays of semiconductor lasers are potentially able to combine the outputs of the individual array elements into a single narrow diffraction-limited beam, thus providing much higher beam power densities than may be obtained from a single semiconductor laser.1 Most arrays reported to date have been uniform arrays in which all elements of the array have been identical. Such arrays almost invariably show double-lobed far-field patterns whose angular divergence is often several times the diffraction limit.1
Achieving proportional delay differentiation in wireless LAN via cross-layer scheduling: Research Articles

Providing service differentiation in wireless networks has attracted much attention in recent research. Existing studies so far have focused on the design of differentiated media access algorithms. Some quality of service (QoS) metrics, such as queueing delay cannot be completely addressed by these approaches. Moreover, without a formalized service differentiation goal that quantifies the outcome of differentiation, the performance of most of the approaches fluctuates, especially in short time-scales.This paper addresses above problems by introducing the concept of proportional service differentiation, to the domain of wireless network and focuses on providing proportional delay differentiation in wireless LANs. Due to the unique characteristic of distributed medium sharing, the scheduling algorithm employed in wireline networks can not be applied directly to the context of wireless LANs. We argue that delay differentiation in wireless LAN can only be achieved through a joint packet scheduling at the network layer and distributed coordination at the media access control (MAC) layer. Therefore, we present a cross-layer waiting time priority (CWTP) scheduling algorithm. CWTP consists of two tiers: an intra-node waiting time priority (WTP) scheduler at the network layer and an inter-node distributed coordination function at the MAC layer. These two tiers coordinate via a mapping function, which maps the normalized waiting time at the network layer to the backoff time at the MAC layer. Two mapping schemes, namely linear mapping and piecewise linear mapping, are presented and evaluated in this paper. Extensive simulation results show that the CWTP algorithm can effectively achieve proportional delay differentiation in wireless LANs. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bringing Our Communities to the Research Table: The Liberatory Potential of Collaborative Methodological Practices Alongside LGBTQ Participants.

AbstractResearch on and about queer people and topics in higher education continues to evolve, expand, and push boundaries on identity, policy, and programming, increasingly informed by our narratives and experiences. Thus far, this work has done little to dismantle the imposed binary of researcher and subject(s), relegating queer research and practice as something that is done ‘on,’ ‘to,’ or ‘for’ queer people, rather than ‘with’ them. Collaborative ethnographic methodologies and communities of practice (CoP) provide alternative modes of scholarship and practice that build queer people’s agency through active involvement in research and social change processes. Situated in two of our own examples, our purpose is to explore big questions and raise even more. This article calls for a further queering of LGBTQ research in higher education by utilizing collaborative methodologies such as CoP and collaborative ethnography to improve the strategies, practices, and knowledge of campus queer communities and imag...
Aerodynamic Damping Measurements in a Transonic Compressor

A method has been developed and demonstrated for the direct measurement of aerodynamic damping in a transonic compressor. The method is based on the inverse solution of the structural dynamic equations of motion of the blade-disk system. The equations are solved inversely to determine the forces acting on the system. If the structural dynamic equations are transformed to multiblade or modal coordinates, the damping can be measured for blade-disk modes, and related to a reduced frequency and interblade phase angle. This method of damping determination was demonstrated using a specially instrumented version of the MIT Transonic Compressor run in the MIT Blowdown Compressor Test Facility. No regions of aeroelastic instability were found. In runs at the operating point, the rotor was aerodynamically excited by a controlled two-per-revolution fixed up-stream disturbance. The disturbance was sharply terminated midway through the test. Analysis of the data in terms of multiblade modes led to a direct measurement of aerodynamic damping for three interblade phase angles.
NeuroScience and Service

The brain has often been described, quite accurately, as one of the most complex objects in the natural world. Understanding its workings, to say nothing about intervening in them, is among the hardest problems in science. While this makes the challenge all the more enticing, in the short term, it acts to limit the impact that neuroscience can have on real-world problems. A comprehensive understanding of fundamental principles of brain function, and their translation into treatments for brain disorders, may be decades away. Even as we pursue these long-term goals, what are the prospects for our field to engage with some of the pressing challenges the world currently faces? An initiative that I have had the opportunity of being involved with, Project Prakash, illustrates one way forward. The operational model that it has adopted enables an immediate merging of basic research and societal service.
Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical features of glenoid labral flap tears

Displaced flaps of glenoid labral tissue are an uncommonly encountered finding on MRI of the shoulder, and are of unclear clinical significance. The purpose of this study is to describe the imaging characteristics of displaced glenoid labral flaps, evaluate for any common concomitant injuries, and identify the typical clinical presentation and management of patients with this lesion. This retrospective, observational study was approved by the institutional review board. Nineteen patients with flap-type tears of the labrum on preoperative MRI were identified. Each examination was retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists for size, location, and signal intensity of the displaced flap of tissue, in addition to any co-existing labrum or cartilage pathological conditions and clinical information. All displaced flaps extended from the inferior margin of the glenoid into the axillary recess. The average size of the visualized flap was 10.9 by 6.0 by 2.6 mm. Seventy percent of the flaps had signal intensity isointense to labrum and hypointense to hyaline cartilage on T2-weighted images. All 19 patients had concomitant labral pathological conditions and 63% had cartilage defects, visualized on MRI. Clinical evidence of shoulder instability was seen in 83% of patients, and 67% were managed surgically. Glenoid labral flap tears have distinct imaging characteristics that may aid in their identification. Their presence should prompt careful evaluation of the glenoid articular cartilage. Recognition of a labral flap tear may have clinical importance, as 83% of patients with this finding demonstrated clinical evidence of shoulder instability, often requiring surgical intervention.
Triple exchange in solid 3 He

In a recent paper we have used triple exchange, the cyclic permutation of three atoms, to explain the anomalous behavior of the magnetic pressure of solid3He in the presence of high magnetic fields. The results of susceptibility, pressure, melting curve, and nuclear relaxation experiments are reexamined using a spin Hamiltonian which includes triple exchange. This systematic examination points out which experiments are best suited for testing the importance of triple exchange in solid3He.
Abstract 4176: Targeting TAM family members with antibody or small molecule inhibitors enhances therapeutic modalities of HNSCC

Radiation, cisplatin, and cetuximab are clinical therapeutics used in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Despite clinical success with these modalities, development of both intrinsic and acquired resistance is an emerging problem in the management of HNSCC. Thus, identifying and targeting molecules driving this drug resistance is essential for improving efficacy of treatment approaches. Recent studies have identified a role for the TAM family of receptor tyrosine kinases (Tyro, Axl, and Mer) in tumor biology, especially the Axl receptor in promoting tumor growth and metastasis. Previously, we identified Axl as a logical molecular target in HNSCC and indicated that it may play a pivotal role in resistance to radiation, cisplatin, and cetuximab. In the current study, we advanced these early findings into pre-clinical models using patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). We have shown that small molecules targeting Axl can enhance therapy in PDXs that express high levels of Axl and have been identified as resistant to radiation, cisplatin, and cetuximab. Current studies are focusing on antibody-based targeting of Axl using PDXs and genetically-modified models of resistance. Furthermore, studies focused on co-targeting of Axl and Mer in vitro and in vivo have shown striking results and denote the importance of establishing logical approaches to target TAMs in the management of HNSCC. Finally, investigations into the molecular mechanisms of how Axl signaling can lead to resistance have underscored the importance of tyrosine 821 (Y821) of Axl. Overexpression of Axl rendered cetuximab sensitive lines resistant, but cell lines overexpressing Axl-Y821F retained their sensitivity to cetuximab. Advancing this line of study in vivo indicated that tumors expressing Axl were resistant to cetuximab whereas tumors harboring the Y821 mutation were sensitive demonstrating that signals emanating from Y821 may be critical for cetuximab resistant pathways. Collectively, the studies presented herein identify the TAM family of receptors as key players in radiation, cisplatin, and cetuximab resistance. These results provide rationale for the clinical targeting of TAM receptors to enhance the therapeutic modalities used in treating HNSCC. Citation Format: Nellie K. Black, Mari Iida, Tamara S. Rodems, Toni M. Brand, Randall J. Kimple, Deric L. Wheeler. Targeting TAM family members with antibody or small molecule inhibitors enhances therapeutic modalities of HNSCC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4176. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4176
Philosophical Applications of Modal Logic, by Lloyd Humberstone

This is a remarkable piece of work—a detailed and imaginative survey of topics in propositional modal logic, broadly construed, that contains new conceptual insights and technical developments on e...
Value of SPECT/CT for localizing lesions detected on indium-111 octreotide scintigraphy

1329 Objectives To determine the value of SPECT/CT for detecting and localizing lesions on 111In octreotide scintigraphy. Methods Forty-eight pts. (61±19 years; 44% males; 56% females) underwent SPECT/CT using an integrated SPECT/low energy CT system 24 hrs. after injection of 222 MBq of 111In-octreotide. SPECT data were acquired using medium energy collimators for 48 min, & reconstructed by iterative reconstruction, using a Butterworth filter with a cutoff = 0.7 and order = 10 and incorporating depth-dependent collimator resolution information. CT scans were acquired immediately after SPECT. SPECT and SPECT/CT were reviewed separately by 1 experienced individual. For both SPECT and SPECT/CT the reader scored the likelihood of a lesion and confidence of lesion location using 5-point scales. 78 sites were evaluated. Results There were 58 lesions. Lesions were located in the head/neck (1), chest (14), and abdomen/pelvis (43, including 26 hepatic). On SPECT, 55 of the lesions were positive. Thirteen sites were negative, and 7 were equivocal. The 58 lesions were positive on SPECT/CT, 20 sites were negative, and there were no equivocal SPECT/CT results. SPECT/CT was helpful in confirming normal physiological uptake and excluding disease in all 7 sites classified as equivocal on SPECT. SPECT/CT also was useful for more precisely localizing 45/55 (80%) lesions identified on SPECT. On a per patient basis, SPECT/CT was helpful in 50% of the cases. Conclusions For 111In-octreotide scintigraphy, SPECT/CT detects and/or localizes lesions more accurately than, and is superior to, SPECT alone.
NEUTRON POLARIZATION STUDIES ON REACTIONS BETWEEN LIGHT NUCLEI

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of neutron polarization studies on reactions between light nuclei. The ability to make good fast-neutron polarization measurements has been linked to the development of apparatus and techniques to supplement the standard time-offlight measurements of fast-neutron physics. Examples are the development of good polarization analyzers and of spin-precession techniques for the elimination of false asymmetries. The recent development of polarized ion sources for use with particle accelerators to provide intense beams of high-energy polarized particles has made feasible the performance of neutron polarization measurements, which are more accurate, more comprehensive, and more complex. The chapter discusses Texas A&M, where these developments have been combined in the construction of a facility for fast-neutron polarization measurements. The chapter presents a brief description of the facility and the techniques for analysis of polarization data evolved in Texas A&M.
Do Child Care Subsidies Increase Employment Among Low-Income Parents?

State child care subsidy programs are intended to support the employment of low-income parents, particularly for families receiving or likely to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. To study the impact of child care subsidies on employment, this study used detailed data from a survey of low-income parents in Minnesota, linked with administrative data on subsidy receipt, to estimate endogenous switching models of subsidy receipt and parent work status. Parental preferences about the child development-related characteristics of child care settings were the basis for an instrumental variable used to predict subsidy receipt. Receiving a subsidy significantly increased the probability of employment and especially of full-time employment. The findings suggest that expansion of the child care subsidy program could lead to increased employment among low-income parents with young children.
Automated Building Energy Consumption Estimation from Aerial Imagery

This paper presents a methodology for automatically estimating the energy consumption of buildings from aerial imagery using data from Gainesville, Florida. By detecting buildings in the imagery using convolutional neural networks and extracting features from those building annotations, we use only imagery-derived features to estimate building energy consumption using random forests regression. For individual buildings, we achieve a predictive R2 value of 0.26, and with spatial aggregation over an area of 400m×400m our predictive R2 value increases to 0.95. We also explore the sensitivity of these estimates to errors in the building estimation process. Our results indicate that information limited to the size and shape of buildings, provides substantial predictive potential for the energy consumption of buildings.
The Troubled Confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh

In September and October 2018, a nation primed by the #MeToo movement’s revelations of past sexual misconduct divided bitterly over Christine Blasey Ford and other women’s claims that nominee Brett Kavanaugh was a sexual assailant. Prior to those accusations, Kavanaugh—a former clerk to Justice Kennedy, aide to President George W. Bush, and federal judge on the D.C. Circuit Court—seemed assured of confirmation to the Court. This concluding chapter details the conflict leading to the 50-48 confirmation vote, its similarities with the Hill-Thomas confirmation battle in 1991, and it potential ramifications for U.S. politics.
The Opioid Debate-PRO: Opioids Have an Important Role in Pain Management in Children.

The increase in opioid-related deaths in the United States (and other countries) has prompted a national debate in medicine about the appropriateness of opioids for the treatment of acute and chronic pain, and specifically in children, if medical opioid use causes or increases the risk of opioid use
MicroRNAs are Necessary for BMP-7-induced Dendritic Growth in Cultured Rat Sympathetic Neurons

Neuronal connectivity is dependent on size and shape of the dendritic arbor. However, mechanisms controlling dendritic arborization, especially in the peripheral nervous system, are not completely understood. Previous studies have shown that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are important initiators of dendritic growth in peripheral neurons. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that post-transcriptional regulation mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) is necessary for BMP-7-induced dendritic growth in these neurons. To examine the role of miRNAs in BMP-7-induced dendritic growth, microarray analyses was used to profile miRNA expression in cultured sympathetic neurons from the superior cervical ganglia of embryonic day 21 rat pups at 6 and 24 h after treatment with BMP-7 (50 ng/mL). Our data showed that BMP-7 significantly regulated the expression of 43 of the 762 miRNAs. Of the 43 miRNAs, 22 showed robust gene expression; 14 were upregulated by BMP-7 and 8 were downregulated by BMP-7. The expression profile for miR-335, miR-664-1*, miR-21, and miR-23b was confirmed using qPCR analyses. Functional studies using morphometric analyses of dendritic growth in cultured sympathetic neurons transfected with miRNA mimics and inhibitors indicated that miR-664-1*, miR-23b, and miR-21 regulated early stages of BMP-7-induced dendritic growth. In summary, our data provide evidence for miRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation as important downstream component of BMP-7 signaling during early stages of dendritic growth in sympathetic neurons.
Topical and Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Are Equivalent in Decreasing Blood Loss in Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

IntroductionTranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to be an effective modality to decrease blood loss in total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). However, the most effective method of TXA administration re...
Understanding the role of artificial intelligence in personalized engagement marketing

This article explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in aiding personalized engagement marketing—an approach to create, communicate, and deliver personalized offerings to customers. It pr...
New Combinations in Sparganothini (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Tortricinae)

Five new combinations and one new synonymy are proposed in Sparganothini: Paramorbia hermosa (Razowski and Wojtusiak, 2010), new combination; Spaganopseustis gnosta (Razowski and Wojtusiak, 2011), new combination; Platynota arrecta (Meyrick, 1917), new combination; Platynota richersi (Powell and Brown, 2012), new combination; and Sparganothina thiodyta (Meyrick, 1931), new combination, and senior synonym of Sparganothina beckeriLandry and Powell, 2001, new synonymy. Host plants are presented for P. hermosa, which appears to feed exclusively on ferns.
Spontaneous remission of acute myeloid leukemia with NF1 alteration.

Abstract Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is defined by the presence of ≥ 20% myeloblasts in the blood or bone marrow. Spontaneous remission (SR) of AML is a rare event, with few cases described in the literature. SR is generally associated with recovery from an infectious or immunologic process, and more recently possibly with clonal hematopoiesis. We review the literature and assess the trends associated with SR, and report a new case of a 58-year-old man with a morphologic diagnosis of AML associated with a severe gastrointestinal (GI) tract infection. The patient had an NF1 variant that was previously unreported in AML as the only clonal abnormality. After treatment of the infection, the increased blast population subsided with no leukemia-directed therapy, and the patient has remained in a continuous, spontaneous complete remission for > 2 years.
The Timing and Location of Entry in Growing Markets: Subgame Perfection at Work

We develop a dynamic model in which firms decide when and where to enter a growing market. We do not pre-specify the order of entry, allowing instead for the roles of leader and follower to be determined endogenously. We characterize the subgame perfect equilibrium of the dynamic game and show that the times and locations of entry are governed by the threat of preemption. Because each rm has the opportunity to preempt its rival, both firms tend to enter too early. This in turn leads to rent dissipation. We show that rent dissipation may be far greater than when it is assumed that firms enter the market in a pre-specified order, the assumption made in the existing literature on spatial competition. In an empirical application, we study the entry of restaurants, gas stations, and hotels at highway intersections, finding results largely consistent with our model's predictions.
Differential privacy of hierarchical Census data: An optimization approach

This paper is motivated by applications of a Census Bureau interested in releasing aggregate socio-economic data about a large population without revealing sensitive information. The released information can be the number of individuals living alone, the number of cars they own, or their salary brackets. Recent events have identified some of the privacy challenges faced by these organizations. To address them, this paper presents a novel differential-privacy mechanism for releasing hierarchical counts of individuals satisfying a given property. The counts are reported at multiple granularities (e.g., the national, state, and county levels) and must be consistent across levels. The core of the mechanism is an optimization model that redistributes the noise introduced to attain privacy in order to meet the consistency constraints between the hierarchical levels. The key technical contribution of the paper shows that this optimization problem can be solved in polynomial time by exploiting the structure of its cost functions. Experimental results on very large, real datasets show that the proposed mechanism provides improvements up to two orders of magnitude in terms of computational efficiency and accuracy with respect to other state-of-the-art techniques.
Local Female Representation as a Pathway to Power: A Natural Experiment in India

What enables female politicians to rise and survive in politics? Studies emphasize top-down mechanisms that lower elite bias but ignore bottom-up mechanisms. I argue that female politicians can transform grassroots party building to mount bottom-up pressure on elites. In settings where local candidates are meta-brokers - brokers for higher-level politicians, but patrons to party activists - male-led party-building reinforces female under-representation across the party’s hierarchy. Female-led party-building disrupts this status quo. I exploit Delhi’s multilevel setting, where the natural experiment of randomized gender quotas causes women to replace men as meta-brokers. This design identifies a novel effect - quota’s extensive margin - and rules out alternative explanations, while qualitative evidence bolsters support. Local female politicians not only progress upwards, but state female politicians are substantially more likely to survive party positions in constituencies with a higher local female presence. Female-led grassroots party building lowers gender inequality across the entire political spectrum.
Review of Li (2020): The Chinese writing system in Asia: An interdisciplinary perspective

This article reviews The Chinese writing system in Asia: An interdisciplinary perspective 978-1-138-90732-4$47.95
An underutilized technique: The robotic Burch Colposuspension

Abstract Purpose To describe our approach to an underutilized technique, the robotic Burch Colposuspension Introduction In 2019, the FDA recalled the use of transvaginal mesh for pelvic organ prolapse procedures (Center for Devices and Radiological Health, 2019) [ 1 ]. Following this announcement, the use of urethral slings also fell out of favor while procedures such as autologous fascial sling and colposuspensions became more popular as women and practitioners alike were seeking alternative SUI treatment options. The mid urethral sling (MUS) is currently the gold standard for the management of stress urinary incontinence. The MUS is both safer and more effective than a Burch Colposuspension (Fusco et al., 2017) [2] . For those that do not desire mesh, or have failed a prior procedure, the Burch Colposuspension remains a useful procedure (Viet-Rubin et al., 2019) [3] . The Robotic Burch is a minimally invasive, quick, and easy to perform procedure. Disadvantages of Burch Colposuspension may include cost, increased operative time, and potential lack of availability in ambulatory settings. Materials and methods The Da Vinci Xi system is utilized with a 3 or 4 port configuration. An 8 mm camera trocar is placed in the umbilicus. An 8 mm trocar is placed 8 cm laterally on each side of the camera port. In a 4 port configuration, the #4 8 mm trocar is placed 8 cm laterally to the #3 arm. If an assistant port is desired, this can be placed 8 cm laterally to the #1 arm, at least 2 cm above the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). A Fenestrated Bipolar Forceps is utilized in the #1 arm. A Monopolar Scissors is utilized in the #3 arm. A Prograsp Forceps is utilized in the #4 arm in a 4 port configuration. The patient is placed in a steep Trendelenburg position. Results A successful robotic colposuspension with a duration of less than 60 min total operation is performed. Conclusion The Robotic Burch Colposuspension is a minimally invasive procedure to manage stress urinary incontinence in those that do not desire a MUS, or have failed it. The Robotic Burch is a quick, easy, and minimally invasive approach to manage SUI.
Microbullet assembly: interactions of oriented dipoles in confined nematic liquid crystal

Microbullet particles, cylinders with one blunt end and one hemispherical end, offer a novel platform to study the effects of anisotropy and curvature on colloidal assembly in complex fluids. Here, we disperse microbullets in 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cells and form oriented elastic dipoles with a nematic point defect located near the curved end. This feature allows us to study particle interactions as a function of dipole alignment. By careful control of the surface anchoring at the particle surface and the confining boundaries, we study the interactions and assembly of microbullets under various conditions. When microbullets with homeotropic surface anchoring are dispersed in a planar cell, parallel dipoles form linear chains parallel to the director, similar to those observed with spherical particles in a planar cell, while antiparallel dipoles orient side-to-side. In a homeotropic cell, however, particles rotate to orient their long axis parallel to the director. When so a...
Trends in Transcatheter and Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement Among Older Adults in the United States.

Abstract Background Recent trends, including survival beyond 30 days, in aortic valve replacement (AVR) following the expansion of indications for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are not well-understood. Objectives The authors sought to characterize the trends in characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing AVR. Methods The authors analyzed Medicare beneficiaries who underwent TAVR and SAVR in 2012 to 2019. They evaluated case volume, demographics, comorbidities, 1-year mortality, and discharge disposition. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the annual change in outcomes. Results Per 100,000 beneficiary-years, AVR increased from 107 to 156, TAVR increased from 19 to 101, whereas SAVR declined from 88 to 54. The median [interquartile range] age remained similar from 77 [71-83] years to 78 [72-84] years for overall AVR, decreased from 84 [79-88] years to 81 [75-86] years for TAVR, and decreased from 76 [71-81] years to 72 [68-77] years for SAVR. For all AVR patients, the prevalence of comorbidities remained relatively stable. The 1-year mortality for all AVR decreased from 11.9% to 9.4%. Annual change in the adjusted odds of 1-year mortality was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.92-0.94) for TAVR and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97-0.99) for SAVR, and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.93-0.95) for all AVR. Patients discharged to home after AVR increased from 24.2% to 54.7%, primarily driven by increasing home discharge after TAVR. Conclusions The advent of TAVR has led to about a 60% increase in overall AVR in older adults. Improving outcomes in AVR as a whole following the advent of TAVR with increased access is a reassuring trend.
Effectiveness of temperature modification in decreasing the bias in milk fat test results between the Babcock and Ether extraction methods.

(within- and between-laboratory precision) were equivalent for both the unmodified (sr = 0.027, sR = 0.041, RSDr = 0.73%, RSDR= 1.08%) and modified (sr = 0.023, sR = 0.038, RSDr = 0.60%, RSDR = 1.02%) Babcock methods. Modification of the Babcock method was successful in bringing test results into agreement with those of ether extraction.
An X-ray diffraction study of the δ → α′ transformation in a Pu-2 at% Al alloy

Abstract The face-centered cubic (fcc) δ phase of plutonium is stable from 310° to 458°C. An addition of 2.0 at% aluminum retains the δ phase metastably to room temperature. This δ phase transforms to α′ during subzero thermal treatments. Under hydrostatic compression at room temperature, the δ transforms initially to β′, and this then transforms to α′ at the higher pressures. During mechanical polishing, the δ phase transforms to α′. An X-ray diffraction study of this transformed zone by sequential removal of thin surface layers by electropolishing shows that this transformation is not directly from δ to α′, but from δ to γ with the γ phase then transforming to α′. There is no evidence for the presence of either the β or β′ phases when the δ phase is transformed by mechanical polishing.
Assessing the Difference Between Shock Sharing and Demand Sharing inSupply Chains

We consider the problem of assessing value of demand sharing in a multi-stage supply chain in which the retailer observes stationary autoregressive moving average demand with Gaussian white noise (shocks). Similar to previous research, we assume each supply chain player constructs its best linear forecast of the leadtime demand and uses it to determine the order quantity via a periodic review myopic order-up-to policy. We demonstrate how a typical supply chain player can determine the extent of its available information under demand sharing by studying the properties of the moving average polynomials of adjacent supply chain players. Hence, we study how a player can determine its available information under demand sharing, and use this information to forecast leadtime demand. We characterize the value of demand sharing for a typical supply chain player. Furthermore, we show conditions under which (i) it is equivalent to no sharing, (ii) it is equivalent to full information shock sharing, and (iii) it is intermediate in value to the two previously described arrangements. We then show that demand propagates through a supply chain where any player may share nothing, its demand, or its full-information shocks with an adjacent upstream player as quasi-ARMA in - quasi-ARMA out. We also provide a convenient form for the propagation of demand in a supply chain that will lend itself to future research applications.
Solar abundances from gamma‐ray spectroscopy

Determinations of solar abundances from gamma-ray line observations are reviewed. The principal results are: (1) in flare loops, at atmospheric heights betwen the transition region and the upper photosphere, the Mg/O ratio is higher by about a factor of 3 than in the photosphere, while the C/O ratio is essentially photospheric; (2) in the same region, the Ne/O ratio is higher by about a factor of 3 than the Ne/O ratio in the corona; (3) the photospheric He-3/H ratio is less than 0.000035. These results, combined with other data, suggest abundance variations in the solar atmosphere, possibly resulting from charge and mass dependent transport.
Multiparty Turn Taking in Situated Dialog: Study, Lessons, and Directions

We report on an empirical study of a multiparty turn-taking model for physically situated spoken dialog systems. We present subjective and objective performance measures that show how the model, supported with a basic set of sensory competencies and turn-taking policies, can enable interactions with multiple participants in a collaborative task setting. The analysis brings to the fore several phenomena and frames challenges for managing multiparty turn taking in physically situated interaction.
Genotypic variation for snow mold reaction among creeping bentgrass clones

Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) is currently the most desirable grass for golf courses in temperate climates. In temperate climates, creeping bentgrass is highly susceptible to snow mold fungi which can cause significant injury and mortality. The objectives of this study were to survey a collection of creeping bentgrass clones for reaction to snow mold fungi (Typhula spp.), to identify clones with potential resistance to snow mold fungi, and to identify ecological factors related to necrotic reactions of creeping bentgrass clones to snow mold fungi. Three hundred sixty creeping bentgrass clones, selected from old golf courses in Wisconsin, were evaluated for necrosis reaction during incubation and recovery periods following inoculation with Typhula ishikariensis Imai or as noninoculated controls. Genotypic variation was observed for tolerance to snow mold and cold, dark (noninoculated) conditions but the two tolerances were uncorrelated with each other. Clones from fairways were more tolerant of snow mold, most likely due to long-term natural selection in the absence of fungicide applications. In a second experiment involving 72 selected clones, selection was successful in identifying divergent groups of clones, although differences between experiments indicated that future selection and breeding should make use of multiple inoculation runs. Resistance to snow mold in creeping bentgrass appears to be nonspecific with respect to race and species of snow mold isolates.
Observations on the direct electrochemistry of bovine copper-zinc superoxide dismutase

Abstract The cyclic voltammetric behavior of holo-superoxide dismutase (SOD) at pH 4.0 consists of an anodic peak at +0.270 V/SCE with no evidence of a cathodic feature on the forward (reduction) scan. Chronocoulometric data suggest that the reduced enzyme is strongly adsorbed in a close-packed arrangement. Background-subtracted differential pulse voltammograms yield poorly defined cathodic and anodic peaks at pH 5.0–7.0. Chemically reduced holo-SOD solutions exhibit markedly improved differential pulse voltammetric characteristics (especially the anodic), thus suggesting a conformational change occurring, possibly at the active site, consequent to electrochemical/chemical reduction that, in turn, enhances accessibility of the electrode to the active site.
Untranslated Regions of FbRbcS1 mRNA Mediate Bundle Sheath Cell-specific Gene Expression in Leaves of a C4 Plant

C4 photosynthesis typically requires two specialized leaf cell types, bundle sheath (bs) and mesophyll (mp), which provide the foundation for this highly efficient carbon assimilation pathway. In leaves of Flaveria bidentis, a dicotyledonous C4 plant, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco) accumulates only in bs cells surrounding the vascular centers and not in mp cells. This is in contrast to the more common C3 plants, which accumulate rubisco in all photosynthetic cells. Many previous studies have focused on transcriptional control of C4 cell type-specificity; however, post-transcriptional regulation has also been implicated in the bs-specific expression of genes encoding the rubisco subunits. In this current study, a biolistic leaf transformation assay has provided direct evidence that the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of F. bidentis FbRbcS1 mRNA (from a nuclear gene encoding the rubisco small subunit), in themselves, confer strong bs cell-specific expression to gfpA reporter gene transcripts when transcribed from a constitutive CaMV promoter. In transformed leaf regions, strong bs cell-specific GFP expression was accompanied by corresponding bs cell-specific accumulation of the constitutively transcribed FbRbcS1 5'-UTR-gfpA-3'-UTR mRNAs. Control constructs lacking any RbcS mRNA sequences were expressed in all leaf cell types. These findings demonstrate that characteristic cell type-specific FbRbcS1 expression patterns in C4 leaves can be established entirely by sequences contained within the transcribed UTRs of FbRbcS1 mRNAs. We conclude that selective transcript stabilization (in bs cells) or degradation (in mp cells) plays a key role in determining bs cell-specific localization of the rubisco enzyme.
Rising cross-sections

Amplitudes with total cross-sections rising asymptotically like (logs)\+ require shrinkage of the diffraction peak. For 0 <β+ ≦ 1, it is sufficient to have a leading positive signature trajectory which is regular at t = 0, but not a constant. For 1<β+≦2, the trajectory must have a branch point at t = 0. Explicit amplitudes with complex Pomeranchuk trajectories are given which are compatible with t channel unitarity. The limiting case of maximal absorption is considered briefly.
Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) in patients with superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS).

Objective: To determine the usefulness of both amplitude and threshold data from tone-burst cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) testing for the evaluation of superior canal dehisc...
Distributed admission control, scheduling, and routing with stale information

We study the problem of distributed online admission control and routing of permanent virtual circuits in a capacitated network. We assume that we have k distinct decision makers, each of which is responsible for gathering its own information about the state of the network. Through simulation, we demonstrate that an exponential based routing scheme will perform well in a distributed model provided granularity is sufficiently high. In order to ground these results theoretically, we prove that exponential-based schemes attain best-possible competitive ratios (same as for the centralized case) provided each edge can accommodate at least O(k log n) requests. A matching lower-bound shows that no deterministic algorithm can attain best-possible competitive ratios without requiring the same level of granularity. In the randomized case, we present a modified exponential-based approach which obtains best-possible competitive ratios provided the granularity is at least O(k + log n).Our results may be extended to the case where different requests have different profits, and where requests are allowed to be temporary. They also apply to admission control and scheduling for unrelated machines.
Measure of the multiple self‐intersection set of a markov process

Let X(t), t ≧ 0, be a Markov process in Rm with homogeneous transition density p(t; x, y). For a closed bounded set B ⊂ Rm, X is said to have a self-intersection of order r ≧ 2 in B if there are distinct points t1 < … < tr such that X(t1) ∈ B and X(tj) = X(t1), for j = 2,…, r. The focus of this work is the Hausdorff measure, suitably defined, of the set of such r-tuples. The main result is that under general conditions on p(t; x, y) as well as the specific condition there is a measure function M(t), defined in terms of the integral above, such that the corresponding Hausdorff measure of self-intersection set is positive, with positive probability. The results are applied to Levy and diffusion processes, and are shown to extend recent results in this area.
GeoJabber: Enabling Geo-Collaborative Visual Analysis

The GeoJabber concept, protocol, and working prototype software introduced here enable same-time, different-place collaborative geovisualization. The key problem this work addresses is how to turn geovisual software states into persistent textual representations that can be shared between users. In the current implementation, GeoJabber leverages three key Open Source technologies: the GeoViz Toolkit, the Jabber protocol, and XStream. GeoJabber is the first project to support same-time different-place geovisualization tool state sharing. As part of this effort, this paper presents a typology of sharable geovisualization software states, rooted in the concepts of data, display, and category.
Inhibition of alkaline ribonuclease activity by polyamines

Abstract The polyamines spermine and spermidine inhibit the activity of alkaline ribonuclease in cell-free preparations from rat liver. By inhibiting the activity of alkaline ribonuclease in vivo, these compounds may play a role in the regulation of RNA breakdown in mammalian tissues.
The Political Economy of War Mobilization: From Britain's Limited Liability to a Continental Commitment

How does war affect the structure of domestic interests in democratic capitalist states and how are these interests reflected in the conduct of the war? Developing a second image reversed ‘plus’ argument (outside-in and then inside-out), I contend that war can alter the domestic balance of political power, and can thereby affect the orientation of a state's security strategy. Wars that induce the extraction of wealth and the mobilization of resources will empower a coalition of domestic actors and interest groups who will lobby the government for an offensive security policy, including greater defense spending, military and industrial conscription, state planning and intervention in the economy, and protectionism. I apply this model to Britain and use a research design based on a longitudinal-controlled comparison over the periods of 1912–1914 and 1914–1916 to examine why Britain escalated its involvement in World War I from Limited Liability prior to the outbreak of the war and during the initial years of the war to a Continental Commitment by April of 1916.
Small satellites for rapid-response communication and situational assessment

This paper described two types of low-cost, readily deployable platforms for responsive communication and situational assessment missions. BalloonSats can be assembled and launched in just a few hours, and can provide real-time video surveillance over a disaster area. CubeSats have a longer development time, but have a longer mission time due to their orbit.