Text Messaging and Distracted Driving: Using Voice Dictation to Make Roads Safer

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98081/1/Shah_lhc489_W2013_muir.pd

Interference assisted laser induced forward transfer for line patterning

Biomedical and microelectronic devices such as microinjectors and interconnects require line patterns to be fabricated on their surface. The process to pattern such surfaces should consider the requirements such as chemical inertness and biocompatibility. Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) is a simple direct write technique which offers the ability to pattern a substrate by localized deposition of material. In LIFT, a laser beam is focused through donor substrate (DS) coated with thin film to deposit on the acceptor substrate (AS) to be patterned. In this research project, a new laser based micropatterning method combining LIFT and laser interferometry for depositing periodic line patterns on a substrate has been proposed. Considering biocompatibility, glass has been selected as the acceptor substrate where a laser beam was focused on a gold film to get deposited on it. Theoretical modeling has been done to predict the laser and optical parameters on the dimensions of the gold line patterns. Also the effect of refractive index and thickness of the DS on the patterned dimensions has been analyzed. Experiments were done to deposit patterns of widths ranging from 4 to 10 o m with the pitch between 8 and 20 o m . Experiments were also done by varying the feed rate and dwell time of scanning to achieve continuity in deposition and up to 700 o m length i.e. three times the focused spot size have been deposited. With the proposed method, pattern dimensions on the substrate can be easily modified by making simple changes to the optical setu

Hold the Line: A Guide to Defending Democracy

This guide is designed to help people from all walks of life—political newcomers as well as experienced activists—take action to ensure that we have a successful election in November 2020. A successful election is one that is: ● Free , in which all eligible voters are able to vote without hindrance, interference, or intimidation. ● Fair , in which all votes are counted transparently, non-partisan rules and laws are followed, and any disputes are resolved without bias towards any particular candidate. ● Respected , by which the loser of the election accepts the results, concedes, and engages in a good faith transition process to the election’s winner. ● Safe , in which risks of COVID-19 transmission and political violence are minimized. The United States has hundreds of years of experience in election administration, so you would think we would have a robust process and institutions to ensure our elections are successful. However, we face a long list of real and potential challenges in the upcoming November election that demand a heightened level of civic awareness and engagement. Some of these challenges come from the COVID-19 crisis, which is leading to a significant shortage of poll workers. Fewer poll workers means fewer polling places will be open. This shortage alone is an issue that would impact any election, but in 2020 our problems are exacerbated by other political and infrastructural challenges. These include cuts to the U.S. Postal Service that may delay delivery of mail-in ballots; malfunctioning voting equipment; deliberate voter suppression and misinformation; possible voter intimidation at the polls; possible violence among political supporters; and the President improperly using the powers of the executive branch and communicating that he may refuse to accept defeat. You may have read about some of these problems already, or experienced or witnessed them firsthand at some point. They can seem overwhelming, and sometimes popular media focuses more on chaotic scenarios for the election than on possible solutions. Fortunately, there’s a lot that each of us can do to help. Everyone has a role they can play to ensure that voting is accessible and safe ; that people turn out to vote ; that the rules are applied fairly ; and that the results are respected . We conceive of these efforts in two stages: Stage 1: From now until Election day (Nov. 3, 2020) Stage 2: From Election day to Inauguration day (Jan. 20, 2021) This guide focuses primarily on Stage 2, covering the period of time starting from Election day and continuing through to Inauguration day. It attempts to answer the question of how to prepare and what to do in case attempts are made to subvert the election results. At the same time, we recognize that Stage 1 is critically important as well, and deeply related to Stage 2, so we begin by dedicating some attention to Stage 1, before diving more deeply into Stage 2. We’ve divided the guide into the following four parts: Part I focuses on critical actions people can take from now until Election day (Nov. 3, 2020) to ensure a successful election. Part II gives background on potential scenarios that could play out between Election day to Inauguration day (Jan. 20, 2021) . Part III provides a four-step process to start an election protection group in your community , and to begin planning actions to protect democracy in case they are needed. Part IV offers an in-depth analysis and model of change drawn from the field of nonviolent civil resistance, which informs our thinking about how to respond if there are attempts to subvert the election results. We draw lessons about how ordinary people have advanced democracy and won against authoritarian-style rulers in other parts of the world , and apply these lessons to the current situation in the United States. This guide is designed to be read in whatever order makes most sense to you. We recommend Part I as a good place for everyone to start, because the election protection efforts outlined in Parts II, III, and IV will be significantly more powerful if we use time now to ensure the November election is as successful as possible. Then, if you want more background information about possible scenarios that could play out on Election day and beyond, read Part II . If you are already familiar with potential post-election scenarios and want to jump straight into organizing a neighborhood election protection group, you can start with Part III . If you want a deeper sense of a model of change for how other societies have won rights, freedom, and justice against unaccountable rulers, and how those lessons could apply to the United States, read Part

On Utilization of Contributory Storage in Desktop Grids

The availability of desktop grids and shared computing platforms has popularized the use of contributory resources, such as desktops, as computing substrates for a variety of applications. However, addressing the exponentially growing storage demands of applications, especially in a contributory environment, remains a challenging research problem. In this report, we propose a transparent distributed storage system that harnesses the storage contributed by grid participants arranged in a peer-to-peer network to yield a scalable, robust, and self-organizing system. The novelty of our work lies in (i) design simplicity to facilitate actual use; (ii) support for easy integration with grid platforms; (iii) ingenious use of striping and error coding techniques to support very large data files; and (iv) the use of multicast techniques for data replication. Experimental results through simulations and an actual implementation show that our system can provide reliable and efficient storage with large file support for desktop grid applications

Dynamic Rank/Select Dictionaries with Applications to XML Indexing

We consider a central problem in text indexing: Given a text T over an alphabet C, construct a conlpressed data structure answering the queries char(i), rank,(i); and select,(i) for a synlbol s E C. Wlany data structures consider these queries for static text T [GGVOS; FI\/IOl, SGOG, GMROG]. We consider the dynainic version of the problem, where we are allowed to insert and delete symbols at arbitrary positions of T. This problenl is a key challenge in compressed text illdexing and has direct applicatioil to dynaillic XI\/IL iildexing structures that answer subpath queries [FLMM05]. We build on the results of [RRROZ, GMROG] and give the best known query bounds for the dynanlic version of this problem, supporting arbitrary insertions and deletions of sylllbols in T. Specifically, with an amortized update time of O((l/e)ne), we suggest how to support rank,(i), select,(i): and char(i) queries in O((~/E) loglogn) time, for ally e < 1. The best previous query tinles for this problem were O(logn1og ICI): given by [MNOG]. Our bounds are conlpetitive with state-of-the-art static structures [GhlROG]. Sonle applicable lower bounds for the partial sunls probleln [PD06] show that our update/query tradeoff is also nearly optimal. In addition, our space bound is conlpetitive with the corresponding static structures. For the special case of bitvectors (i.e., 1x1 = 2); we also show the best tradeoffs for query/update time, inlproving upoil the results of [MNOG, HSSO3; RRR021. Finally, our focus on fast query/slower update is well-suited for a query-intensive XhlIL indexing ellvironment. Using the XBW transform [FLhllM05], we also present a dynamic data structure that succinctly maintains an ordered labeled tree T and supports a powerful set of queries on T

Analysis of histopathological patterns of lung and pleural biopsy in correlation with immunohistochemistry

Introduction: Lungs are the most exposed organs to different risk factors  like pollution, smoke, infections, tuberculosis and allergens. Lungs are covered by parietal and visceral layers of pleura within which pleural fluid is present. Aim of the study was to evaluate various histopathological patterns of lung and pleural biopsy in correlation with age, sex and immunohistochemistry examination findings.Material and methods: This is a retrospective study of three year three months done at Pathology Department, S.S.G. Hospital and Medical College, Baroda from October  2016 to  December  2019. In present study, total 169 cases were received for histopathological examination, out of which 151 cases were of lung biopsy and 18 cases were of pleural biopsy. Immunohistochemical examination was done as and when required.Results:Lung biopsy of  151 cases  were examined. Out of which,  88 cases (58.3%) were neoplastic, 54(35.8%) cases were non-neoplastic and  9 cases(5.9%) were inconclusive. The commonest malignancy was  squamous cell carcinoma. Commonest non-neoplastic lesion was interstitial inflammation (6.6%).  Malignancy was seen more  common than inflammatory conditions  in patients presented withlung masses in our institute. While out of 18 cases of pleural biopsy,  6 cases(33.3%) were neoplastic and 12 cases (66.7%) were non-neoplastic. Adenocarcinoma was the most common neoplastic lesion while tuberculosis was the most common non-neoplastic pleural lesion.Conclusion:Histopathological examination plays an important role in making a correct and accurate diagnosis of various lesions of lung and pleura. Although histopathological examination is gold standard, immunohistochemistry can enhance the accuracy of such diagnosis. &nbsp