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Arizona State University, USA

BACKGROUND: Key to curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-scale screening strategies. An ideal screen is one that would not rely on transporting, distributing, and collecting physical specimens. Given the olfactory impairment associated with COVID-19, we developed a perceptual measure of olfaction that relies on smelling household odorants and rating them online.METHODS: Each participant was instructed to select 5 household items, and rate their perceived odor pleasantness and intensity using an online visual analogue scale. We used this data to assign an olfactory perceptual fingerprint, a value that reflects the perceived difference between odorants. We tested the performance of this real-time tool in a total of 13,484 participants (462 COVID-19 positive) from 134 countries who provided 178,820 perceptual ratings of 60 different household odorants.RESULTS: We observe that olfactory ratings are indicative of COVID-19 status in a country, significantly correlating with national infection rates over time. More importantly, we observe indicative power at the individual level (79% sensitivity and 87% specificity). Critically, this olfactory screen remains effective in participants with COVID-19 but without symptoms, and in participants with symptoms but without COVID-19.CONCLUSIONS: The current odorant-based olfactory screen adds a component to online symptom-checkers, to potentially provide an added first line of defense that can help fight disease progression at the population level. The data derived from this tool may allow better understanding of the link between COVID-19 and olfaction.

The statefulness property of network protocol implementations poses a unique challenge for testing and verification techniques, including Fuzzing. Stateful fuzzers tackle this challenge by leveraging state models to partition the state space and assist the test generation process. Since not all states are equally important and fuzzing campaigns have time limits, fuzzers need effective state selection algorithms to prioritize progressive states over others. Several state selection algorithms have been proposed but they were implemented and evaluated separately on different platforms, making it hard to achieve conclusive findings. In this work, we evaluate an extensive set of state selection algorithms on the same fuzzing platform that is AFLNet, a state-of-the-art fuzzer for network servers. The algorithm set includes existing ones supported by AFLNet and our novel and principled algorithm called AFLNetLegion. The experimental results on the ProFuzzBench benchmark show that (i) the existing state selection algorithms of AFLNet achieve very similar code coverage, (ii) AFLNetLegion clearly outperforms these algorithms in selected case studies, but (iii) the overall improvement appears insignificant. These are unexpected yet interesting findings. We identify problems and share insights that could open opportunities for future research in this topic.

Salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) are a heterogeneous group of tumors. The prognosis varies strongly according to its type, and even the distinction between benign and malign tumor is challenging. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCy) is one subgroup of SGCs that is prone to late metastasis. This makes accurate tumor subtyping an important task. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging is a label-free technique capable of providing spatially resolved information about the abundance of biomolecules according to their mass-to-charge ratio. We analyzed tissue micro arrays (TMAs) of 25 patients (including six different SGC subtypes and a healthy control group of six patients) with high mass resolution MALDI imaging using a 12-Tesla magnetic resonance mass spectrometer. The high mass resolution allowed us to accurately detect single masses, with strong contributions to each class prediction. To address the added complexity created by the high mass resolution and multiple classes, we propose a deep-learning model. We showed that our deep-learning model provides a per-class classification accuracy of greater than 80% with little preprocessing. Based on this classification, we employed methods of explainable artificial intelligence (AI) to gain further insights into the spectrometric features of AdCys.

Legion is a grey-box coverage-based concolic tool that aims to balance the complementary nature of fuzzing and symbolic execution to achieve the best of both worlds. It proposes a variation of Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) that formulates program exploration as sequential decision-making under uncertainty guided by the best-first search strategy. It relies on approximate path-preserving fuzzing, a novel instance of constrained random testing, which quickly generates many diverse inputs that likely target program parts of interest. In Test-Comp 2020 [1], the prototype performed within 90% of the best score in 9 of 22 categories.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have implemented various strategies to reduce and slow the spread of the disease in the general population. For countries that have implemented restrictions on its population in a step-wise manner, monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence is of importance to guide decision on when to impose new, or when to abolish old, restrictions. We are here determining whether measures of odor intensity in a large sample can serve as one such measure. Online measures of how intense common household odors are perceived and symptoms of COVID-19 were collected from 2440 Swedes. Average odor intensity ratings were then compared to predicted COVID-19 population prevalence over time in the Swedish population and were found to closely track each other (r=-0.83). Moreover, we found that there was a large difference in rated intensity between individuals with and without COVID-19 symptoms and number of symptoms was related to odor intensity ratings. Finally, we found that individuals progressing from reporting no symptoms to subsequently reporting COVID-19 symptoms demonstrated a large drop in olfactory performance. These data suggest that measures of odor intensity, if obtained in a large and representative sample, can be used as an indicator of COVID-19 disease in the general population. Importantly, this simple measure could easily be implemented in countries without widespread access to COVID-19 testing or implemented as a fast early response before wide-spread testing can be facilitated.

For laboratories within the scheme of the voluntary surveillance system for technical insulation materials in Europe (VDI/Keymark), a proficiency test is the basis for obtaining a “registered laboratory.” The VDI/Keymark is a cooperation between the VDI, The Association of German Engineers, and the Keymark Group dealing with European voluntary product certification systems, within the scope of thermal insulation materials. Registered laboratories are allowed to conduct measurements to verify the declared thermal conductivity curve of technical insulation materials under the umbrella of the quality mark “VDI/Keymark”. The initial characterization work on a round robin material for the determination of thermal conductivity at higher temperatures led to the selection of an expanded glass granulate. With all the results of the round robin tests produced by five European laboratories, the expanded glass granulate has become a very important material for establishing a reliable European level of thermal conductivity at higher temperatures with a moderate uncertainty. The German expert group “AKThermophysik” of the Association of Thermal Analysis (GEFTA, Gesellschaft für Thermische Analyse e.V.) further initiated a round robin test for thermal conductivity in 2012. With this additional use of the expanded glass granulate, more experience with transient methods and thermal conductivity values in the extended temperature range could be obtained. A comparison with the reference curve of the VDI/Keymark indicates very good compliance for most cases. Since August 2012, comparative tests with the expanded glass granulate as a round robin material are very important. Furthermore, the European CE marking became mandatory for industrial insulation products and temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, declared by the manufacturer, was introduced as a limit value. The challenge to determine the thermal conductivity at higher temperatures for a material using different methods and

The growth, structure, and magnetism of Fe films on the W(111) surface were investigated using low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and diffraction (LEED), spin polarized LEEM (SPLEEM), and work function measurements. In contrast to an earlier report that Fe grows with fcc structure following initial pseudomorpic layer growth, we observe no evidence of the formation of fcc Fe over the entire thickness range studied, up to 18 monolayers (ML). Observations are instead consistent with the formation of a well-ordered, laterally (tensile) strained bcc Fe layer that gradually relaxes vertically and develops increasing disorder with increasing thickness. Ferromagnetic order appears at 6 ML, but surprisingly vanishes at 8 ML, and reappears just as suddenly at 9 ML during Fe deposition at room temperature. Ferromagnetism between 6 and 8 ML also vanishes at only 5 deg above room temperature. The magnetization direction of a monodomain structure remains constant before and after the ferromagnetic thickness gap at 8–9 ML until the formation of a multidomain structure at about 12 ML. Variations of exchange asymmetry in spin-polarized elastic electron scattering are also observed with increasing film thickness, particularly above 12 ML, that indicate changes in the spin-polarized electron band structure above the vacuum level. The evolution of magnetism and exchange asymmetry with increasing thickness and the appearance of the ferromagnetic gap are attributed to structural and morphological changes in the strained Fe layer, which eventually lead to a relaxed although highly disordered bcc Fe layer.

Series from publisher's list, "#2559."--Handwritten on cover, Summary report; April 1989, Supported by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs through their gift to the Center for International Studies

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Earthworms are used in an increasing number of microcosm experiments that investigate their behaviour and biology or that consider earthworms an environmental factor that influences soil properties and biological interactions. However, there exists no standardized protocol for performing comparable studies. After giving a short overview of the different experimental approaches using earthworms as model organisms, the present paper provides recommendations for the planning and execution of earthworm experiments that help in achieving comparable results. The recommendations, summarized in a workflow diagram, pertain to the acquisition, treatment and description of earthworms for experimentation, the description and preparation of test soils and the criteria that should be met for valid experimental results.

The spatial distribution of eruptive vents around volcanoes can be complex and evolve as a volcano grows. Observations of vent distribution at contrasting volcanoes, from scoria cones to large shields, show that peripheral eruptive vents concentrate close to the volcano base. We use analogue experiments to explore the control of volcano load on magma ascent and on vent location. Results show that the local loading stress field favors eruption of rising magma away from the volcano summit if a central conduit is not established or is blocked. Two sets of scaled experiments are developed with contrasting rheological properties to analyze similarities and differences in simulated magma rise below a volcano: (1) Golden syrup (magma analogue) is injected into a sand-plaster mixed layer (crust analogue) under a cone; (2) water or air (magma analogues) is injected into gelatin under a sand cone. Rising dykes approaching the cone stress field are stopped by the load compressive stress. With continued intrusion, dyke overpressure builds up; dykes extend laterally until their tips are able to rise vertically again and to erupt in the flank or at the base of the volcano. Lateral offset of the extrusion point relative to the edifice summit depends on substratum thickness, volcano slope, and dyke overpressure. The 3D geometry of Golden syrup intrusions varies with experimental parameters from cylindrical conduits to dyke and sill complexes. Experimental results are compared with illustrative field cases and with previously published numerical models. This comparison enables applications and limitations of the analogue models to be highlighted and allows us to propose a conceptual model for the evolution of vent distribution with volcano growth.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1989., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 229-230)., by Anastasios Haralampos Aslidis., Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1995., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-183)., by Qin Chu., Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1990., Title as it appears in the M.I.T. Graduate List, Feb. 1990: Simulation modeling of container landbridge transportation system across the Isthmus of Tehauntepec, Mexico., Includes bibliographical references (leaf 137)., by William H. Moore., M.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1992., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-157)., by Franklin de Oliveira Gonçalves., Ph.D.

Thesis. 1978. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil Engineering., MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING., Bibliography: leaves 89-90., M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1979., MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING., Includes bibliographical references., by Rigoberto Omar Romero., M.S.

Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Engineering., MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE., Includes bibliographical references., M.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1995., Includes bibliographical references (p. 230-240)., by Ronald W.Y. Chu., Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1993., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-121)., by David T. Beecham., M.S.

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The growth morphology, structure, and magnetism of ultrathin Co films on the W(111) surface are studied with conventional and spin polarized low energy electron microscopy and diffraction and first principles total energy calculations. Pseudo-layer-by-layer growth of thick pseudomorphic (ps) Co films is observed at 380 K, while Stranski-Krastanov growth and transformation to a (6×6) closed-packed structure are observed at higher temperatures. On the basis of the calculations, only one ps Co monolayer is expected to be thermodynamically stable against three-dimensional island formation. Calculations also indicate that the magnetic moment on Co atoms at the interface is reduced due to strong hybridization with the substrate, but remains non-zero even for the single ps monolayer. Metastable ps Co/W(111) is found experimentally to be ferromagnetically ordered at 380 K when film thickness exceeds 7.6 ps ML. Although only in-plane magnetization is observed, substrate atomic steps have a strong influence on the magnetization easy axis and magnetic domain structure, which suggests that the in-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy is weak.

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video/mp4, Arizona State University, USA, other

Within the psychological service of the Bundeswehr about 250.000 selection and placement procedures were conducted per year (draftees, volunteers). In a technical concept of quality control in personnel psychology the minimum standards were defined for the introduction, the utilization, and the control of instruments and procedures. One aspect of this technical concept is to optimize the system and to adapt it to future conditions by implementing adaptive tests, based on the item response theory (IRT), into the testing procedure. This aim has been pursued since many years under the cooperation of Prof. Dr. Lutz F. Hornke, University of Aachen (Germany), Department of Psychology. Five subtests out of a test battery of psychological aptitude measurements were chosen for further adaptive testing, but only the first three will be of interest here: - abstract logical reasoning (matrix type items) - verbal reasoning (analogies) - numerical reasoning (arithmetic items) - verbal memory and serial learning (in progress)