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In this paper, we study the problem of parameter estimation in a sensor network, where the measurements and updates of some sensors might be arbitrarily manipulated by adversaries. Despite the presence of such misbehaviors, normally behaving sensors make successive observations of an unknown $d$-dimensional vector parameter and aim to infer its true value by cooperating with their neighbors over a directed communication graph. To this end, by leveraging the so-called dynamic regressor extension and mixing procedure, we transform the problem of estimating the vector parameter to that of estimating $d$ scalar ones. For each of the scalar problem, we propose a resilient combine-then-adapt diffusion algorithm, where each normal sensor performs a resilient combination to discard the suspicious estimates in its neighborhood and to fuse the remaining values, alongside an adaptation step to process its streaming observations. With a low computational cost, this estimator guarantees that each normal sensor exponentially infers the true parameter even if some of them are not sufficiently excited.

We have calculated the stellar $\beta$-decay rate of the important s-process branching point ${}^{134}$Cs based on the state of the art shell model calculations. At typical $s$-process temperatures ($T\sim$ 0.2-0.3 GK), our new rate is one order of magnitude lower than the widely-used rate from Takahashi and Yokoi (hereafter TY87). The impact on the nucleosynthesis in AGB stars is investigated with various masses and metallicities. Our new decay rate leads to an overall decrease in the ${}^{134}$Ba/${}^{136}$Ba ratio, and well explains the measured ratio in meteorities without introducing the $i$ process. We also derive the elapsed time from the last AGB nucleosynthetic event that polluted the early Solar System to be $>$28 Myr based on the ${}^{135}$Cs/${}^{133}$Cs ratio, which is consistent with the elapsed times derived from ${}^{107}$Pd and ${}^{182}$Hf. The $s$-process abundance sum of ${}^{135}$Ba and ${}^{135}$Cs is found to increase, resulting in a smaller $r$-process contribution of ${}^{135}$Ba in the Solar System., Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2021

In array signal processing, the direction of arrival (DOA) of the signal source has drawn broad research interests with its wide applications in fields such as sonar, radar, communications, medical detection, and electronic countermeasures. In recent years, the application of deep learning (DL) to DOA estimation has achieved great success. This study provides a systematic review of research on DOA estimation using deep neural network methods. We manually selected twenty-five papers related to this research from five prominent databases (SpringerLink, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar) for exploration. Six questions describing the overall trend of DOA estimation using deep learning are put forward. Then, we answered these questions by reviewing the literature. This review is helpful for researchers in this field because it provides more specific and comprehensive information needed for future research. Specifically, we first analyzed the background of the selected papers, including the type of publication, the number of citations, and the country of origin. Then, the DL technology used in DOA estimation is systematically analyzed, including the purpose of using DL in DOA estimation, various DL models (convolutional neural network, deep neural network, and combination network), and various DOA estimation schemes. Finally, various evaluation criteria (root-mean-squared error, accuracy, and mean absolute error) are used to evaluate the DL technology in DOA estimation, and various factors (signal-to-noise ratio, number of snapshots, number of antennas, and number of signal sources) affecting DOA estimation are analyzed. Based on our findings, we believe that deep learning can perform DOA estimation well, and there is still room for improvement in deep learning technology. In this study, the factors affecting DOA estimation can be used as the direction for researchers to conduct in-depth research.

Chia-Hung Chen,1 Chih-Yen Tu,1 Wei-Chih Chen,2 Li-Kuo Kuo,3 Yao-Tung Wang,4 Pin-Kuei Fu,5 Shih-Chi Ku,6 Wen-Feng Fang,7 Chin-Ming Chen,8 Chih-Cheng Lai9 1Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 2Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Department of Critical Care Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 7Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 8Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; 9Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Tainan Branch, Tainan, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chih-Cheng Lai Email dtmed141@gmail.comObjective: The aim of this study was to compare the usefulness of cefoperazone-sulbactam and that of piperacillin-tazobactam in the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).Methods: This retrospective study included the adult patients receiving cefoperazone-sulbactam or piperacillin-tazobactam against HAP/VAP in nine hospitals in Taiwan from March 1, 2018 to May 30, 2019. Primary outcome was clinical cure rate.Results: A total of 410 patients were enrolled. Among them, 209 patients received cefoperazone-sulbactam and 201 patients received piperacillin-tazobactam. Overall, cefoperazone-sulbactam group had similar distribution of age, sex, or SOFA scores as piperacillin-tazobactam group. However, cefoperazone-sulbactam had higher comorbidity s

We discuss the problem of decentralized multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) in this work. In our setting, the global state, action, and reward are assumed to be fully observable, while the local policy is protected as privacy by each agent, and thus cannot be shared with others. There is a communication graph, among which the agents can exchange information with their neighbors. The agents make individual decisions and cooperate to reach a higher accumulated reward. Towards this end, we first propose a decentralized actor-critic (AC) setting. Then, the policy evaluation and policy improvement algorithms are designed for discrete and continuous state-action-space Markov Decision Process (MDP) respectively. Furthermore, convergence analysis is given under the discrete-space case, which guarantees that the policy will be reinforced by alternating between the processes of policy evaluation and policy improvement. In order to validate the effectiveness of algorithms, we design experiments and compare them with previous algorithms, e.g., Q-learning \cite{watkins1992q} and MADDPG \cite{lowe2017multi}. The results show that our algorithms perform better from the aspects of both learning speed and final performance. Moreover, the algorithms can be executed in an off-policy manner, which greatly improves the data efficiency compared with on-policy algorithms.

We focus on a simulation-based optimization problem of choosing the best design from the feasible space. Although the simulation model can be queried with finite samples, its internal processing rule cannot be utilized in the optimization process. We formulate the sampling process as a policy searching problem and give a solution from the perspective of Reinforcement Learning (RL). Concretely, Actor-Critic (AC) framework is applied, where the Actor serves as a surrogate model to predict the performance on unknown designs, whereas the actor encodes the sampling policy to be optimized. We design the updating rule and propose two algorithms for the cases where the feasible spaces are continuous and discrete respectively. Some experiments are designed to validate the effectiveness of proposed algorithms, including two toy examples, which intuitively explain the algorithms, and two more complex tasks, i.e., adversarial attack task and RL task, which validate the effectiveness in large-scale problems. The results show that the proposed algorithms can successfully deal with these problems. Especially note that in the RL task, our methods give a new perspective to robot control by treating the task as a simulation model and solving it by optimizing the policy generating process, while existing works commonly optimize the policy itself directly.

We have calculated the stellar $\beta$-decay rate of the important s-process branching point ${}^{134}$Cs based on the state of the art shell model calculations. At typical $s$-process temperatures ($T\sim$ 0.2-0.3 GK), our new rate is one order of magnitude lower than the widely-used rate from Takahashi and Yokoi (hereafter TY87). The impact on the nucleosynthesis in AGB stars is investigated with various masses and metallicities. Our new decay rate leads to an overall decrease in the ${}^{134}$Ba/${}^{136}$Ba ratio, and well explains the measured ratio in meteorities without introducing the $i$ process. We also derive the elapsed time from the last AGB nucleosynthetic event that polluted the early Solar System to be $>$28 Myr based on the ${}^{135}$Cs/${}^{133}$Cs ratio, which is consistent with the elapsed times derived from ${}^{107}$Pd and ${}^{182}$Hf. The $s$-process abundance sum of ${}^{135}$Ba and ${}^{135}$Cs is found to increase, resulting in a smaller $r$-process contribution of ${}^{135}$Ba in the Solar System., Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2021

Kuo Li,1,* Pengfei Zhuang,1,2,* Bailong Tao,3 Dan Li,1,2 Xuejiao Xing,1 Xifan Mei1 1Department of Orthopedics, School of Pharmaceutical Science, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Basic Science, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xifan Mei Tel +86 13504064506Email meixifan@jzmu.edu.cnPurpose: Ultra-small gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), as emerging fluorescent nanomaterials with excellent biocompatibility, have been widely investigated for in vivo biomedical applications. However, their effects in guiding osteogenic differentiation have not been investigated, which are important for osteoporosis therapy and bone regeneration. Herein, for the first time, lysozyme-protected AuNCs (Lys-AuNCs) are used to stimulate osteogenic differentiation, which have the potential for the treatment of bone disease.Methods: Proliferation of MC3T3E-1 is important for osteogenic differentiation. First, the proliferation rate of MC3T3E-1 was studied by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) assays. Signaling pathways of PI3K/Akt play central roles in controlling proliferation throughout the body. The expression of PI3K/Akt was investigated in the presence of lysozyme, and lysozyme-protected AuNCs (Lys-AuNCs) by Western blot (WB) and intracellular cell imaging to evacuate the osteogenic differentiation mechanisms. Moreover, the formation of osteoclasts (OC) plays a negative role in the differentiation of osteoblasts. Nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) signaling pathways are used to understand the negative influence of the osteogenic differentiation b

The Australian grains industry is fundamental to the overall agricultural sector, comprising one of Australia’s largest category of food exports. Over recent decades, the grains industry has faced challenges. Its total factor productivity growth has slowed due to factors such as climate change, extreme weather events, declining research, development and extension, and slower adoption of new technologies. This has been coupled with greater competition in Australia’s main grain export markets. In order to increase productivity and maintain international competitiveness, greater and better-targeted investments in research, development and extension and market intelligence are required. Equilibrium Displacement Models (EDMs) are useful for estimating the net benefits of agricultural RD&E and the distribution of these benefits along the value chain, enabling an evaluation of different research investments. This thesis develops three EDMs, one for each main agroecological region in Australia—the Western, Southern and Northern regions. Combined together, these models provide a stylised representation of the Australian grains industry and can be applied to assist investment decisions by RD&E funders and other parties seeking to boost the profitability of various parts of Australia’s grains industry. Eight hypothetical RD&E investment scenarios are modelled for each region, depicted by one per cent exogenous parallel shifts in the relevant market supply and demand curves associated with each region. Under each investment scenario for each region, both the change in total economic surplus as well as the welfare changes in each of the different industry sectors are estimated. It is found that, overall, the size of the total economic benefits is determined largely by the size of the market in which the RD&E investment takes place, with a high gross revenue market generating higher overall returns. Additionally, the size of the innovating market also impacts the distribution of

Kuo Li,1,* Pengfei Zhuang,1,2,* Bailong Tao,3 Dan Li,1,2 Xuejiao Xing,1 Xifan Mei1 1Department of Orthopedics, School of Pharmaceutical Science, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Basic Science, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xifan Mei Tel +86 13504064506Email meixifan@jzmu.edu.cnPurpose: Ultra-small gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), as emerging fluorescent nanomaterials with excellent biocompatibility, have been widely investigated for in vivo biomedical applications. However, their effects in guiding osteogenic differentiation have not been investigated, which are important for osteoporosis therapy and bone regeneration. Herein, for the first time, lysozyme-protected AuNCs (Lys-AuNCs) are used to stimulate osteogenic differentiation, which have the potential for the treatment of bone disease.Methods: Proliferation of MC3T3E-1 is important for osteogenic differentiation. First, the proliferation rate of MC3T3E-1 was studied by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) assays. Signaling pathways of PI3K/Akt play central roles in controlling proliferation throughout the body. The expression of PI3K/Akt was investigated in the presence of lysozyme, and lysozyme-protected AuNCs (Lys-AuNCs) by Western blot (WB) and intracellular cell imaging to evacuate the osteogenic differentiation mechanisms. Moreover, the formation of osteoclasts (OC) plays a negative role in the differentiation of osteoblasts. Nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) signaling pathways are used to understand the negative influence of the osteogenic differentiation b

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) accelerometers using transverse forces are very sensitive. When a transverse force is applied to a lightly stretched string fixed by its two ends, a much stronger axial force along the string will be induced. So, the transverse force is amplified and converted into the axial force. At a given pre-strain of the string, the maximum amplification and requirements to obtain it have not been clearly demonstrated. Here, we theoretically prove and experimentally verify that the maximum amplification occurs when the strain induced by the transverse force approximately equals the pre-strain. This revelation improves the understanding of FBG accelerometers using transverse forces.

Two novel layered silicates, PKU-13 and PKU-13a, were hydrothermally synthesized by using trimethyl-propylammonium hydroxide as the structure directing agent (SDA). Their structures were solved by using powder X-ray diffraction data in combination with electron diffraction technique and NMR spectroscopy. These two silicates are built from the same r52 layer in different stacking modes: the adjacent r52 layers in PKU-13a have a 0.5b + 0.68c shift compared with those in PKU-13. The difference is due to the SDA cations located between the layers. The SDA cations exist as a monolayer in the structure of PKU-13, and link the adjacent layers by Coulomb actions in combination with strong hydrogen bonds. In PKU-13a, the SDA cations present in the bi-layer expend the distance between layers and destroy the inter-layer hydrogen bonds. PKU-13a can transform to PKU-13 after treatment with acetic acid solution. The co-existence of intra-layer hydrogen bonds in PKU-13 interfere in its condensation to an ordered crystalline microporous framework. Both PKU-13 and PKU-13a exhibit good catalytic activities as base catalysts in the Knoevenagel condensation reaction.

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) accelerometers using transverse forces with an inertial object placed at the middle of the FBG have a high sensitivity but low resonant frequency. The resonant frequency 26 Hz and sensitivity at 6 Hz 1.29 nm/g were reported based on a 50mm-long FBG accelerometer. We demonstrate that the first FBG accelerometer based on a transversely rotating stick, which can, at the same or even larger size, keep the high sensitivity and significantly increase the low resonant frequency. In our experiments, a 77.5mm-long FBG accelerometer has achieved a similar sensitivity but 65% higher resonant frequency. This novel structure not only significantly widens the potential applications of FBG accelerometers by increasing their resonant frequencies but also provides a new route to design other accelerometers, e.g. micro accelerometers.

This thesis has systemically investigated the possibility of improving one type of optical fiber sensors by using a novel mechanism. Many parameters of the sensor have been improved, and one outcome of this innovation is that civil structures, such as bridges and high-rise buildings, may be operated more safely and used longer.

The thermal decomposition process of kaolinite–potassium acetate intercalation complex has been studied using simultaneous thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (TG-FTIR-MS). The results showed that the thermal decomposition of the complex took place in four temperature ranges, namely 50–100, 260–320, 320–550, and 650–780 °C. The maximal mass losses rate for the thermal decomposition of the kaolinite–potassium acetate intercalation complex was observed at 81, 296, 378, 411, 486, and 733 °C, which was attributed to (a) loss of the adsorbed water, (b) thermal decomposition of surface-adsorbed potassium acetate (KAc), (c) the loss of the water coordinated to potassium acetate in the intercalated kaolinite, (d) the thermal decomposition of intercalated KAc in the interlayer of kaolinite and the removal of inner surface hydroxyls, (e) the loss of the inner hydroxyls, and (f) the thermal decomposition of carbonate derived from the decomposition of KAc. The thermal decomposition of intercalated potassium acetate started in the range 320–550 °C accompanied by the release of water, acetone, carbon dioxide, and acetic acid. The identification of pyrolysis fragment ions provided insight into the thermal decomposition mechanism. The results showed that the main decomposition fragment ions of the kaolinite–KAc intercalation complex were water, acetone, carbon dioxide, and acetic acid. TG-FTIR-MS was demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the investigation of kaolinite intercalation complexes. It delivers a detailed insight into the thermal decomposition processes of the kaolinite intercalation complexes characterized by mass loss and the evolved gases.

We demonstrate the first biaxial fiber Bragg grating (FBG) accelerometer using axial and transverse forces. An inertial object is fixed at the middle of two FBGs inscribed in one fiber. The difference between the resonant wavelengths of the two FBGs can distinguish the acceleration in the axial direction, while being insensitive in the transverse direction. The average of the resonant wavelengths of the two FBGs can distinguish the acceleration in the transverse direction, while being insensitive in the axial direction. In the experiments, when the transverse direction was vertical, the crest-to-trough sensitivity at 5 Hz and resonant frequency of the average were 0.545 nm/g and 34.42 Hz, respectively. When the axial direction was vertical, those of the difference were 0.0454 nm/g and 900 Hz, respectively. For each FBG, the crest-to-trough sensitivity at 5 Hz and resonant frequency in the transverse/vertical direction were 24 and 1/26 times those in the axial/vertical direction, respectively.

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) accelerometer using transverse forces is more sensitive than one using axial forces with the same mass of the inertial object, because a barely stretched FBG fixed at its two ends is much more sensitive to transverse forces than axial ones. The spring-mass theory, with the assumption that the axial force changes little during the vibration, cannot accurately predict its sensitivity and resonant frequency in the gravitational direction because the assumption does not hold due to the fact that the FBG is barely prestretched. It was modified but still required experimental verification due to the limitations in the original experiments, such as the (1) friction between the inertial object and shell; (2) errors involved in estimating the time-domain records; (3) limited data; and (4) large interval ∼5 Hz between the tested frequencies in the frequency-response experiments. The experiments presented here have verified the modified theory by overcoming those limitations. On the frequency responses, it is observed that the optimal condition for simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and resonant frequency is at the infinitesimal prestretch. On the sensitivity at the same frequency, the experimental sensitivities of the FBG accelerometer with a 5.71 gram inertial object at 6 Hz (1.29, 1.19, 0.88, 0.64, and 0.31 nm/g at the 0.03, 0.69, 1.41, 1.93, and 3.16 nm prestretches, respectively) agree with the static sensitivities predicted (1.25, 1.14, 0.83, 0.61, and 0.29 nm/g, correspondingly). On the resonant frequency, (1) its assumption that the resonant frequencies in the forced and free vibrations are similar is experimentally verified; (2) its dependence on the distance between the FBG’s fixed ends is examined, showing it to be independent; (3) the predictions of the spring-mass theory and modified theory are compared with the experimental results, showing that the modified theory predicts more accurately. The modified theory can be used more c

Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a treatable, heritable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified 157 variants associated with lipid levels but are not well suited to assess the impact of rare and low-frequency variants. To determine whether rare or low-frequency coding variants are associated with LDL-C, we exome sequenced 2,005 individuals, including 554 individuals selected for extreme LDL-C (>98(th) or <2(nd) percentile). Follow-up analyses included sequencing of 1,302 additional individuals and genotype-based analysis of 52,221 individuals. We observed significant evidence of association between LDL-C and the burden of rare or low-frequency variants in PNPLA5, encoding a phospholipase-domain-containing protein, and both known and previously unidentified variants in PCSK9, LDLR and APOB, three known lipid-related genes. The effect sizes for the burden of rare variants for each associated gene were substantially higher than those observed for individual SNPs identified from GWASs. We replicated the PNPLA5 signal in an independent large-scale sequencing study of 2,084 individuals. In conclusion, this large whole-exome-sequencing study for LDL-C identified a gene not known to be implicated in LDL-C and provides unique insight into the design and analysis of similar experiments.

Polycrystalline and monocrystalline alpha-BiFeO3 crystals have been synthesized by solid state reaction and flux growth method, respectively. X-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction techniques are used to study the crystallographic and magnetic structure of alpha-BiFeO3. The present data show that alpha-BiFeO3 crystallizes in space group PI with a = 0.563 17(1) nm, b = 0.563 84(1) nm, c = 0.563 70(1) nm, alpha = 59.33(1)degrees, beta = 59.35(1)degrees, gamma = 59.38(1)degrees, and the magnetic structure of alpha-BiFeO3 can be described by space group PI with magnetic modulation vector in reciprocal space q = 0.0045a* - 0.0045b*, which is the magnetic structure model proposed by I. Sosnowska(1) applied to the new PI crystal symmetry of alpha-BiFeO3, AuthorCount:13

The first fiber Bragg grating (FBG) accelerometer using direct transverse forces is demonstrated by fixing the FBG by its two ends and placing a transversely moving inertial object at its middle. It is very sensitive because a lightly stretched FBG is more sensitive to transverse forces than axial forces. Its resonant frequency and static sensitivity are analyzed by the classic spring-mass theory, assuming the axial force changes little. The experiments show that the theory can be modified for cases where the assumption does not hold. The resonant frequency can be modified by a linear relationship experimentally achieved, and the static sensitivity by an alternative method proposed. The principles of the over-range protection and low cross axial sensitivity are achieved by limiting the movement of the FBG and were validated experimentally. The sensitivities 1.333 and 0.634 nm/g were experimentally achieved by 5.29 and 2.83 gram inertial objects at 10 Hz from 0.1 to 0.4 g (g = 9.8 m/s 2), respectively, and their resonant frequencies were around 25 Hz. Their theoretical static sensitivities and resonant frequencies found by the modifications are 1.188 nm/g and 26.81 Hz for the 5.29 gram one and 0.784 nm/g and 29.04 Hz for the 2.83 gram one, respectively.

The only effective method of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) strain modulation has been by changing the distance between its two fixed ends. We demonstrate an alternative being more sensitive to force based on the nonlinear amplification relationship between a transverse force applied to a stretched string and its induced axial force. It may improve the sensitivity and size of an FBG force sensor, reduce the number of FBGs needed for multi-axial force monitoring, and control the resonant frequency of an FBG accelerometer.

A series of metal-organic frameworks representing a non-interpenetrated framework analogue of MOF-14 have been synthesized by using two different linkers, 4,4',4 ''-benzene-1,3,5-triyl-benzoic acid (H3BTB) and 4,4'-bipyridine (Bpy). Interestingly, the transition metal ions in the paddle-wheel metal clusters could be exchanged by other transition metal ions via a direct single-crystal to single-crystal transformation. This post-synthesis route can be used for synthesis of isomorphous metal-organic frameworks that cannot be obtained by direct synthesis.

Two open-framework germanates, SUT-1 and SUT-2, have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions using ethylenecliamine (en, H(2)NCH(2)CH(2)NH(2)) as templates and Ni(NO(3))(2)center dot 6H(2)O as the transition-metal source. Their frameworks are built with Gel() clusters and [Ni(en)(2)](2+) complexes. In both structures, Gel clusters form square nets in the a-c plane, while the [Ni(en)2]2+ complexes bridge the square nets via Ni-O-Ge bonds to form 3D networks. They present the first examples to incorporate Ni(2+) complexes into the germanate frameworks. In SUT-2, additional linkages by Ge(2)O(7) clusters between the square nets generate a new type of topology., 7

As a novel sensitive element and due to its advantages of immunity to electrical interference, distributed measurement, etc., fiber Bragg grating (FBG) has been researched widely. To realize the substitution of high accurate electronic temperature sensors, high sensitive FBG temperature sensors can be made by taking advantage of its characters of being sensitive to both temperature and strain. Although there are reports about high sensitive FBG temperature sensors, however, few about their stability have been done. We manufactured a high sensitive FBG temperature sensor, and put it together with an average FBG temperature sensor and an electronic crystal temperature sensor into a stainless steel container filled by water to observe the room temperature change. By comparing their results in two weeks, we have found out that: although the high sensitive FBG temperature sensor is in much better agreement with the electronic crystal sensor than the average FBG sensor is, it has occurred some small drifts. Because the drifts appeared in the process of further pulling the FBG, it might be a result of the slip of the FBG fixing points. This contributes some good experiences to the application of FBG in high accuracy temperature measurement.

At cryogenic temperature, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensor with controllable sensitivity and variable measurement range is demonstrated by using bimetal configuration. In experiments, sensitivities of -51.2, -86.4, and -520 pm/K are achieved by varying the lengths of the metals. Measurement ranges of 293-290.5, 283-280.5, and 259-256.5 K are achieved by shortening the distance of the gap among the metals.

As a novel sensing element, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is sensitive to both temperature and strain. Basing on this character, high sensitivity FBG temperature sensor can be made. However, as a result of the strain limit of the fiber, the temperature range it can endure is quite narrow. This drawback limits its application and complicates its storage and transport. We design and manufacture a FBG temperature sensor with tunable sensitivity. By tuning its sensitivity, its temperature range is changed, which enlarges its application field, solves the problem of storage and transport, and brighten the future of FBG in temperature measurement. In experiment, by changing the fixing position of the bimetal we tuned the sensitivity of the high sensitivity FBG sensor to different values (-47 pm/℃，-97.7 pm/℃，-153.3 pm/℃).

Basing on the character that Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) is sensitive to both temperature and strain, by using Al and Fe-Ni alloy’s bimetal structure, we successfully design and manufacture a high accuracy FBG temperature sensor for earthquake premonition. Furthermore, we analyze the accuracy of the FBG sensors with enhanced sensitivity for the first time, and get its accuracy is up to ±0.05℃ with highest resolution ever in all FBG temperature sensors (0.0014℃/pm). This work experimentally proves the feasibility of using FBG in the earthquake premonition monitoring, and builds the foundation for the application of optic technology in earthquake premonition monitoring.

Computer-assisted image analysis is useful for quantifying the histologic and molecular changes of sun-induced squamous cell carcinoma progression. We used the CAS 200 image analysis system to measure nuclear morphometric parameters, p53 expression, and proliferation markers in actinic keratosis (AK), sun-exposed, and normal skin in 51 patients. Nuclear morphometry revealed significant increases in nuclear absorbance, irregularity of nuclear shape, and nuclear size in AK compared with normal and sun-damaged skin. These parameters showed significantly greater variability in AK nuclei. Argyrophyllic nucleolar organizer area and number were also significantly greater in AK compared with sun-damaged skin and normal skin. Ki67 and p53 expressions were both increased in sun-damaged skin relative to normal and greater still in AK. These data are evidence that sun damage induces proliferation and p53 abnormalities before the appearance of nuclear abnormalities and their associated DNA instability. Following these changes during a skin cancer chemopreventative trial can then help assess the efficacy of the agent and help determine where in the progression of neoplastic changes it exerts its biological effects.

Computer-assisted image analysis is useful for quantifying the histologic and molecular changes of sun-induced squamous cell carcinoma progression. We used the CAS 200 image analysis system to measure nuclear morphometric parameters, p53 expression, and proliferation markers in actinic keratosis (AK), sun-exposed, and normal skin in 51 patients. Nuclear morphometry revealed significant increases in nuclear absorbance, irregularity of nuclear shape, and nuclear size in AK compared with normal and sun-damaged skin. These parameters showed significantly greater variability in AK nuclei. Argyrophyllic nucleolar organizer area and number were also significantly greater in AK compared with sun-damaged skin and normal skin. Ki67 and p53 expressions were both increased in sun-damaged skin relative to normal and greater still in AK. These data are evidence that sun damage induces proliferation and p53 abnormalities before the appearance of nuclear abnormalities and their associated DNA instability. Following these changes during a skin cancer chemopreventative trial can then help assess the efficacy of the agent and help determine where in the progression of neoplastic changes it exerts its biological effects.

The BRCA2 tumor suppressor gene has been suggested to be important for DNA repair and maintaining genome integrity. Most evidences supporting this hypothesis, however, were obtained from studying mouse embryonic cells. The importance of BRCA2 in maintaining genome integrity in human cells is not very clear. We have completed all tasks of this study. We have generated derivatives of Capan-1 cells, which expressed only mutant BRCA2, that express wild-type BRCA2. Characterization of Capan-1 derivatives showed that expression of wild-type BRCA2 did not have a detectable effect of the sensitivity to gamma-irradiation or DNA damaging drugs of Capan-1 cells. Characterization of MCF12A derivatives showed that reduction of BRCA2 diminished the formation of gamma-irradiation induced RAD51 nuclear foci and increased the sensitivity to gamma-irradiation of MCF12A cells. Unexpectedly, we also found that expression of wild-type BRCA2 suppressed the growth of Capan-1 cells in vitro and in vivo. On the other hand, reduction of BRCA2 appears to inhibit the growth of MCF7 cells.

The BRCA2 tumor suppressor gene has been suggested to play an important role in DNA repair and maintaining genome integrity. This suggestion, however, is mainly based on results obtained from studying mouse embryonic cells. The importance of BRCA2 in maintaining genome integrity of human somatic cells is not very clear. We have completed the Task 1, generation of Capan-1 derivatives that conditionally express wild type BRCA2. We have also carried out the first part of the Task 3, characterization of Capan-1 derivatives to genotoxic agents. Our results showed that there was no detectable difference in the sensitivity to radiation and DNA damaging chemicals between Capan-1 cells that express the wild-type BRCA2 and those do not. We have performed Task 2, generation of MCF7 and MCF-12A derivatives that do not express BRCA2. We have attempted the antisense cDNA approach but did not obtain any clone that expressed reduced level of BRCA2. In order to disrupt the BRCA2 gene, we have constructed a somatic gene-targeting plasmid.

The BRCA2 tumor suppressor gene has been suggested to play an important role in DNA repair and maintaining genome integrity. Most evidences supporting this hypothesis, however, were obtained from studying mouse embryonic stem cells or embryonic fibroblast. The importance of BRCA2 in maintaining genome integrity in human cells is not very clear. We have completed the Task 1, generation of Capan- 1 derivatives that conditionally express wild type BRCA2. Capan-1 is the only human cell lines known to not express wild type BRCA2. We have obtained two Capan-1 derivatives that express exogenous wild type BRCA2 under the regulation of tetracycline. We have also obtained several Capan- 1 derivatives that express exogenous mutant BRCA2, either constitutively or regulated by tetracycline. We have also carried out the first part of the Task 3, characterization of Capan-i derivatives to genotoxic agents. We examined the sensitivity of wild type BRCA2- expressing Capan-1 derivatives to ionizing radiation and DNA damaging chemicals. Our preliminary results showed that there was no detectable difference in the sensitivity to these treatments between when these cells expressed or did not express the wild type BRCA2.

Photorefractive mode coupling between resonators provides a simple model for self-pumped phase conjugators where instabilities may occur due to energy transfer between different oscillation modes inside the crystal. In this paper, we consider the dynamical behaviors of mode coupling between two unidirectional ring resonators. The first resonator is driven by an external laser beam via photorefractive two-wave mixing. The internal oscillating beam is then employed to drive the second ring resonator via the same mechanism. The dynamics of the coupled system is described by a set of spatial-temporal equations with appropriate boundary conditions. To investigate the instability behaviors, we use the mean-field approximation to simplify the transient analysis. We first solve for the steady states of the system. When the gain of the two cavities are below certain threshold, there is no self-oscillation in the system. If the gain for the primary cavity is increased above its threshold while the gain for the secondary cavity remains low, self-oscillation will occur in the primary cavity only. If the gain in the secondary cavity is gradually increased, self-oscillation will occur in the secondary cavity., This article is from 'Organization of the Optical Society of America Photonic Science Topical Meeting Series. Volume 14. Photorefractive Materials, Effects, and Devices Held in Beverly, Massachusetts on 29-31 July 1991,' AD-A253 001, p432-435.

Chicago Symphony Chamber Players: Charles Pikler, violin, Bradley Opland, bass, Larry Combs, clarinet, Li-Kuo Chang, viola, Donald Peck, flute, Bruce Grainger, bassoon, Loren Brown, cello, Michael Henoch, oboe, Dale Clevenger, horn.; Includes lengthy program notes about the Sue Derexa Smith Memorial Concert Series.; Includes lengthy biographical notes about the Chicago Symphony Chamber Players (individually).; Includes general information about the BSU School of Music., This archival material has been provided for educational purposes. Ball State University Libraries recognizes that some historic items may include offensive content. Our statement regarding objectionable content is available at: https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/about

Chicago Symphony Chamber Players: Charles Pikler, violin, Bradley Opland, bass, Larry Combs, clarinet, Li-Kuo Chang, viola, Donald Peck, flute, Bruce Grainger, bassoon, Loren Brown, cello, Michael Henoch, oboe, Dale Clevenger, horn.; Includes lengthy program notes about the Sue Derexa Smith Memorial Concert Series.; Includes lengthy biographical notes about the Chicago Symphony Chamber Players (individually).; Includes general information about the BSU School of Music., This archival material has been provided for educational purposes. Ball State University Libraries recognizes that some historic items may include offensive content. Our statement regarding objectionable content is available at: https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/about

In order to illustrate the thermodynamic characteristics of arsenic during alkaline pressure oxidation leaching process of lead anode slime (NaNO3 as oxidant; NaOH as alkaline reagent), the phi (fugacity coefficient)-pH diagrams of As-Na-H2O, N-H2O, As-N-Na-H2O systems at ionic mass concentration of 0.1 mol/kg and temperatures of 298, 373, 423 and 473 K were established according to thermodynamic calculations. The results show that different forms of arsenic are associated with different pH values; As exists in the forms of H3AsO4, H2AsO4(-), HAsO4(2-), and As2O3 at a lower pH, while it mainly exists in the form of AsO4(3-) at a pH more than 11.14. High alkali concentration and high temperatures are advantageous to the arsenic leaching. The alkaline pressure oxidation leaching experiments shows that the tendency of arsenic leaching rate confirms the thermodynamic analysis results obtained from the phi-pH diagrams of As-N-NaH2O system, and that the highest leaching rate of arsenic reaches 95.85% at 453 K., In order to illustrate the thermodynamic characteristics of arsenic during alkaline pressure oxidation leaching process of lead anode slime (NaNO3 as oxidant; NaOH as alkaline reagent), the phi (fugacity coefficient)-pH diagrams of As-Na-H2O, N-H2O, As-N-Na-H2O systems at ionic mass concentration of 0.1 mol/kg and temperatures of 298, 373, 423 and 473 K were established according to thermodynamic calculations. The results show that different forms of arsenic are associated with different pH values; As exists in the forms of H3AsO4, H2AsO4(-), HAsO4(2-), and As2O3 at a lower pH, while it mainly exists in the form of AsO4(3-) at a pH more than 11.14. High alkali concentration and high temperatures are advantageous to the arsenic leaching. The alkaline pressure oxidation leaching experiments shows that the tendency of arsenic leaching rate confirms the thermodynamic analysis results obtained from the phi-pH diagrams of As-N-NaH2O system, and that the highest leaching rate of arsenic reaches 95.85% at 453 K.

Past research has found that employees who view themselves as overqualified for their jobs tend to hold negative job attitudes and be unwilling to go beyond the call of duty. In challenging situations such as during the COVID-19 crisis, when having “all hands-on deck” may be important to an organization's survival, mitigating the negative tendencies of these employees becomes important. Adopting a sensemaking perspective on crisis management, we examine whether supervisors' self-sacrificial leadership can mitigate these negative tendencies. First, we propose that employee perceived overqualification is associated with lower levels of felt obligation to the organization and thereby lower levels of extra-role behaviors (i.e., helping and proactivity). We next propose that supervisors' self-sacrificial leadership during the COVID-19 crisis can evoke, especially when COVID-19 more strongly impacts the organization, a sense of collectivism toward the organization, which mitigates the negative association of perceived overqualification with felt obligation and thus extra-role behaviors. We tested our theorizing in samples from the UK (n = 121, pilot study) and US (n = 382, main study) in studies with a multi-wave, time-lagged design. Findings from both studies provide support for our theorizing. We discuss implications for research and practice concerning perceived overqualification during a crisis.