cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Prolonged post-ablation fever may predict one-year tumor recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma after radiofrequency ablation
Creators: name: Ho, Ping-Hung
name: Teng, Wei
name: Lin, Chen-Chun
name: Jeng, Wen-Juei
name: Chen, Wei-Ting
name: Lin, Chun-Yen
name: Lin, Shi-Ming
name: Sheen, I-Shyan
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer
subject: Science Policy
subject: Hematology
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: 60506 Virology

description: The impact of prolonged post-ablation fever (PAF) defined as persistent fever > 24 h after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had not been described before. This study aims to investigate the impact of prolonged PAF on early tumor recurrence in HCC patients after RFA. From 2013 to 2015, a total of 135 patients with HCC meeting Milan criteria and all the tumors having confirmed complete ablation after RFA were enrolled. Study endpoint was any HCC recurrence within 1 year after ablation. Cox regression analysis was applied for multivariate analysis to determine the independent predictors of 1-year tumor recurrence. Post-ablation fever occurred in 42 (31.1%) patients after RFA, while prolonged PAF was found in 22 (16.3%) patients. Fifty-eight (42.8%) patients occurred any tumor recurrence within 1 year after complete ablation. Patients with prolonged PAF had a significantly higher rate of HCC recurrence within 1 year (72.7% vs. 37.1%, p = 0.002) and had a significantly shorter time-to-recurrence interval (19.6 vs. 40.5 months, Log rank test, p = 0.002) than those who had no prolonged PAF. Multivariate analysis by Cox regression showed the previous HCC recurrence history (aHR: 1.792, p = 0.0284), baseline AFP > 20 ng/ml (aHR: 1.868, p = 0.0211) and prolonged PAF (aHR: 2.092, p = 0.0138) were associated with early recurrence. Prolonged PAF may associate with early HCC recurrence after complete ablation by RFA. Patients with prolonged PAF need to be more clinical attentions.
Solar-like oscillations from the depths of the red-giant star KIC 4351319 observed with Kepler
Creators: name: Di Mauro, M. P.
name: Cardini, D.
name: Catanzaro, G.
name: Ventura, R.
name: Barban, C.
name: Bedding, T. R.
name: Christensen-Dalsgaard, J.
name: De Ridder, J.
name: Hekker, S.
name: Huber, D.
name: Kallinger, T.
name: Miglio, A.
name: Montalban, J.
name: Mosser, B.
name: Stello, D.
name: Uytterhoeven, K.
name: Kinemuchi, K.
name: Kjeldsen, H.
name: Mullally, F.
name: Still, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present the results of the asteroseismic analysis of the red-giant star KIC 4351319 (TYC 3124-914-1), observed for 30 days in short-cadence mode with the Kepler satellite. The analysis has allowed us to determine the large and small frequency separations, and the frequency of maximum oscillation power. The high signal-to-noise ratio of the observations allowed us to identify 25 independent pulsation modes whose frequencies range approximately from 300 to 500 muHz. The observed oscillation frequencies together with the accurate determination of the atmospheric parameters (effective temperature, gravity and metallicity), provided by additional ground-based spectroscopic observations, enabled us to theoretically interpret the observed oscillation spectrum. KIC 4351319 appears to oscillate with a well defined solar-type p-modes pattern due to radial acoustic modes and non-radial nearly pure p modes. In addition, several non-radial mixed modes have been identified. Theoretical models well reproduce the observed oscillation frequencies and indicate that this star, located at the base of the ascending red-giant branch, is in the hydrogen-shell burning phase, with a mass of about 1.3 solar masses, a radius of about 3.4 solar radii and an age of about 5.6 Gyr. The main parameters of this star have been determined with an unprecedent level of precision for a red-giant star, with uncertainties of 2% for mass, 7% for age, 1% for radius, and 4% for luminosity.
description: To be published on MNRAS. The definitive version will be available at www.blackwell-synergy.com
Systemic antitumor effect by regional hyperthermia combined with low-dose chemotherapy and immunologic correlates in an adolescent patient with rhabdomyosarcoma – a case report
Creators: name: Issels, Rolf D.
name: Lindner, Lars H.
name: von Bergwelt-Baildon, Michael
name: Lang, Peter
name: Rischpler, Christoph
name: Diem, Heinz
name: Mosetter, Barbara
name: Eckl, Judith
name: Schendel, Dolores J.
name: Salat, Christoph
name: Stötzer, Oliver
name: Burdach, Stefan
name: von Luettichau-Teichert, Irene
name: Handgretinger, Rupert
name: Neumann, Jens
name: Kirchner, Thomas
name: Steiger, Katja
name: Boxberg, Melanie
name: Mansmann, Ulrich
name: Multhoff, Gabriele
name: Noessner, Elfriede
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Physiology
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Cancer
subject: Hematology
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: 60506 Virology
subject: Computational Biology

description: An abscopal effect is a clinical observation whereby a local treatment is associated with regression of metastatic cancer at a site distant from the primary location of treatment. Here, we describe the clinical systemic effect induced by regional hyperthermia combined with low-dose chemotherapy and provide immunologic correlates. A 15-year-old patient had been diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS). All previous treatment options failed in the patient including haploidentical stem cell transplantation and donor lymphocyte infusion. The patient presented with local and metastatic disease, and upon admission, underwent regional hyperthermia combined with low-dose chemotherapy. Immediately following therapy severe skin reactions were observed. Skin biopsies revealed an intraepithelial lymphocytic infiltration dominated by CD3+/CD8+ T cells with a regular network of dendritic cells. Clinical images compared before and during sequential treatment cycles showed complete metabolic response of the local tumor for more than 10 months of therapy. In addition, metastases completely regressed although they were not direct targets of regional hyperthermia. The systemic effect was associated with enhanced frequency of NK cells and T cells expressing the lectin-like natural-killer group 2 D activating receptor (NKG2D), an increase of the CD56bright subset of NK cells, as well as an increase of effector/memory and effector CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in the blood while the percentage of CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells declined. Regional hyperthermia combined with low-dose chemotherapy had the potential to create a systemic effect which was associated with activation of NK cells and T cells.
The ABCD rule of dermatoscopy. High prospective value in the diagnosis of doubtful melanocytic skin lesions
Creators: name: Nachbar, Franz
name: Stolz, Wilhelm
name: Merkle, Tanja
name: Cognetta, Armand B.
name: Vogt, Thomas
name: Landthaler, Michael
name: Bilek, Peter
name: Braun-Falco, Otto
name: Plewig, Gerd
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1994
Subjects: subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Dermatology/methods
subject: False Negative Reactions
subject: False Positive Reactions
subject: Humans
subject: Melanoma/pathology
subject: Nevus, Pigmented/pathology
subject: Predictive Value of Tests
subject: Prospective Studies
subject: Reproducibility of Results
subject: Retrospective Studies
subject: Sensitivity and Specificity
subject: Skin Neoplasms/pathology

description: BACKGROUND: The difficulties in accurately assessing pigmented skin lesions are ever present in practice. The recently described ABCD rule of dermatoscopy (skin surface microscopy at x10 magnification), based on the criteria asymmetry (A), border (B), color (C), and differential structure (D), improved diagnostic accuracy when applied retrospectively to clinical slides. OBJECTIVE: A study was designed to evaluate the prospective value of the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy in melanocytic lesions. METHODS: In 172 melanocytic pigmented skin lesions, the criteria of the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy were analyzed with a semiquantitative scoring system before excision. RESULTS: According to the retrospectively determined threshold, tumors with a score higher than 5.45 (64/69 melanomas [92.8%]) were classified as malignant, whereas lesions with a lower score were considered as benign (93/103 melanocytic nevi [90.3%]). Negative predictive value for melanoma (True-Negative divided by [True-Negative+False-Negative]) was 95.8%, whereas positive predictive value (True-Positive divided by [True-Positive+False-Positive]) was 85.3%. Diagnostic accuracy for melanoma (True-Positive divided by [True-Positive+False-Positive+False-Negative]) was 80.0%, compared with 64.4% by the naked eye. Melanoma showed a mean final dermatoscopy score of 6.79 (SD, +/- 0.92), significantly differing from melanocytic nevi (mean score, 4.27 +/- 0.99; p < 0.01, U test). CONCLUSION: The ABCD rule can be easily learned and rapidly calculated, and has proven to be reliable. It should be routinely applied to all equivocal pigmented skin lesions to reach a more objective and reproducible diagnosis and to obtain this assessment preoperatively.
Compact object detection in self-lensing binary systems with a main-sequence star
Creators: name: Rahvar, S.
name: Mehrabi, A.
name: Dominik, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Detecting compact objects by means of their gravitational lensing effect on an observed companion in a binary system has already been suggested almost four decades ago. However, these predictions were made even before the first observations of gravitational lensing, whereas nowadays gravitational microlensing surveys towards the Galactic bulge yield almost 1000 events per year where one star magnifies the light of a more distant one. With a specific view on those experiments, we therefore carry out simulations to assess the prospects for detection of the transient periodic magnification of the companion star, which lasts typically only a few hours binaries involving a main-sequence star. We find that detectability is given by the achievability of dense monitoring with the required photometric accuracy. In sharp contrast to earlier expectations by other authors, we find that main-sequence stars are not substantially less favourable targets to observe this effect than white dwarfs. The requirement of an almost edge-on orbit leads to a probability of the order of $3 \times 10^{-4}$ for spotting the signature of an existing compact object in a binary system with this technique. Assuming an abundance of such systems about 0.4 per cent, a high-cadence monitoring every 15~min with 5 per cent photometric accuracy would deliver a signal rate per target star of $γ\sim 4 \times 10^{-7}~\mbox{yr}^{-1}$ at a recurrence period of about 6 months. With microlensing surveys having demonstrated the capability to monitor about $2 \times 10^{8}$ stars, one is therefore provided with the chance to detect roughly semi-annually recurring self-lensing signals from several compact compacts in a binary system. If the photometric accuracy was pushed down to 0.3 per cent, 10 times as many signals would become detectable.
description: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted in MNRAS
Social inequality and diabetes mellitus – developments over time among the adult population in Germany
Creators: name: Heidemann, Christin
name: Du, Yong
name: Baumert, Jens
name: Paprott, Rebecca
name: Lampert, Thomas
name: Scheidt-Nave, Christa
Publisher: name: Robert Koch-Institut
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: DIABETES MELLITUS
subject: EDUCATION
subject: PREVALENCE
subject: DIABETES RISK
subject: DIABETES CARE
subject: 610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: The connection between social disadvantage and the presence of known diabetes and specific risk factors is well documented. This article summarises the results from the Robert Koch Institute examination surveys that were conducted between 1997 and 1999 as well as 2008 and 2011 to address social inequality – operationalised by level of education – with regard to prevalences of known and unknown diabetes, risk of diabetes and care of diabetes as well as their development over time. Both survey periods showed that the low education group has higher prevalences of known and unkown diabetes as well as a higher risk of developing diabetes within the next five years compared to the medium and high education group. Over time, prevalence tended to increase for known diabetes and to decrease for unknown diabetes for all education groups. For the 5-year diabetes risk, only the high education group showed a clear decrease over time. The chosen indicators of diabetes care indicated no clear differences between education groups and an improvement of diabetes care over time. For some indicators of care (foot examination, statins), improvements were only seen in the low education group. In conclusion, social inequalities in the prevalence of known and unknown diabetes as well as in diabetes risk remain in Germany; for the indicators of care, however, no clear education gradient is evident. Over time, inequality regarding the prevalence of diabetes has not increased further. However, with regard to diabetes risk, inequality has become slightly more evident. For individual care indicators, improvements are limited to specific education groups.
Novel approach to description of quantum magnets with large singe-ion easy-plane anisotropy
Creators: name: Sizanov, Alexey V
name: Syromyatnikov, Arseny V
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We introduce a new representation of an integer spin $S$ via bosonic operators which is useful in describing the paramagnetic phase and transitions to magnetically ordered phases in magnetic systems with large single-ion easy-plane anisotropy $D$. Considering the exchange interaction between spins as a perturbation and using the diagram technique we derive the elementary excitation spectrum and the ground state energy in the third order of the perturbation theory. In the special case of S=1 we obtain these expressions also using simpler spin representations some of which were introduced before. Comparison with results of previous numerical studies of 2D systems with S=1 demonstrates that our approach works better than other analytical methods applied before for such systems. We apply our results for the elementary excitation spectrum analysis obtained experimentally in $\rm NiCl_2$-$\rm 4SC(NH_2)_2$ (DTN). It is demonstrated that a set of model parameters (exchange constants and $D$) which has been used for DTN so far describes badly the experimentally obtained spectrum. A new set of parameters is proposed using which we fit the spectrum and values of two critical fields of DTN.
description: 15 pages, 8 figures
An incoherent HIFU transducer for treatment of the medial branch nerve: Numerical study and in vivo validation
Creators: name: Chen, J.
name: LeBlang, S.
name: Hananel, A.
name: Aginsky, R.
name: Perez, J.
name: Gofeld, M.
name: Shir, Y.
name: Aubry, J. F.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Space Science
subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Medicine
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Science Policy

description: Chronic back pain due to facet related degenerative changes affects 4-6 million patients a year in the United States. Patients refractory to conservative therapy may warrant targeted injections of steroids into the joint or percutaneous medial branch nerve denervation with radiofrequency ablation. We numerically tested a novel noninvasive high intensity focused ultrasound transducer to optimize nerve ablation near a bone-soft tissue interface. A transducer with 4 elements operating in an incoherent mode was modeled numerically and tested pre-clinically under fluoroscopic guidance. After 6 lumbar medial branch nerve ablations were performed in 2 pigs, they were followed clinically for 1 week and then sacrificed for pathological evaluation. Simulations show that the acoustic spot size in water at 6 dB was 14mm axial x 1.6mm lateral and 52mm axial x 1.6mm lateral for coherent and incoherent modes, respectively. We measured the size of N = 6 lesions induced in vivo in a pig model and compared them to the size of the simulated thermal dose. The best match between the simulated and measured lesion size was found with a maximum absorption coefficient in the cortical bone adjusted to 30 dB/cm/MHz. This absorption was used to simulate clinical scenarios in humans to generate lesions with no potential side effects at 1000 and 1500 J. The elongated spot obtained with the incoherent mode facilitates the targeting during fluoroscopic-guided medial branch nerve ablation.
Magnetic and neutron spectroscopic properties of the tetrameric nickel compound $[Mo_{12}O_{28}(μ_2-OH)_9(μ_3-OH)_3{Ni(H_2O)_3}_4] $\cdot$ 13H_2O$
Creators: name: Furrer, A.
name: Krämer, K. W.
name: Strässle, Th.
name: Biner, D.
name: Hauser, J.
name: Güdel, H. -U.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present results of inelastic neutron scattering experiments performed for the compound Magnetic and neutron spectroscopic properties of the tetrameric nickel compound $[Mo_{12}O_{28}(μ_2-OH)_9(μ_3-OH)_3{Ni(H_2O)_3}_4] $\cdot$ 13H_2O$, which is a molecular magnet with antiferromagnetically coupled Ni2+ ions forming nearly ideal tetrahedra in a diamagnetic molybdate matrix. The neutron spectroscopic data are analyzed together with high-field magnetization data (taken from the literature) which exhibit four steps at non-equidistant field intervals. The experimental data can be excellently described by antiferromagnetic Heisenberg-type exchange interactions as well as an axial single-ion anisotropy within a distorted tetrahedron of Ni2+ ions characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Our analysis contrasts to recently proposed models which are based on the existence of extremely large biquadratic (and three-ion) exchange interactions and/or on a strong field dependence of the Heisenberg coupling parameters.
description: 39 pages, 2 tables, 12 figures
Transport anomaly at the ordering transition for adatoms on graphene
Creators: name: Kopylov, Sergey
name: Cheianov, Vadim
name: Altshuler, Boris L.
name: Fal'ko, Vladimir I.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We analyze a manifestation of the partial ordering transition of adatoms on graphene in resistivity measurements. We find that Kekule mosaic ordering of adatoms increases sheet resistance of graphene, due to a gap opening in its spectrum, and that critical fluctuations of the order parameter lead to a non-monotonic temperature dependence of resistivity, with a cusp-like minimum at T=T_c.
description: 4 pages, 1 figure
An international comparison of noncommunicable disease reporting: the case of diabetes mellitus
Creators: name: Reitzle, Lukas
name: Schmidt, Christian
name: Scheidt-Nave, Christa
name: Ziese, Thomas
Publisher: name: Robert Koch-Institut
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: HEALTH REPORTING
subject: DISSEMINATION
subject: DIABETES MELLITUS
subject: NCD SURVEILLANCE
subject: 610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Against the background of the growing burden associated with diabetes mellitus, the German Federal Ministry of Health commissioned the Robert Koch Institute to develop a national diabetes surveillance. The periodic publication of up-todate data needed by diverse target audiences (dissemination) to develop subsequent public health measures is a crucial aspect of disease surveillance. The study produced an overview of diabetes surveillance in various countries with the intention of developing a dissemination strategy. This involved a two-stage process beginning with an online survey of public health experts from 46 countries. Structured Internet research was then carried out for countries that did not provide a response (19 out of 46). The majority of countries (38 out of 46; 83%) include diabetes in their health reporting; three quarters (29 out of 38; 77%) of these countries rely on an indicator-based reporting system. The study found that the most common formats used to publish information about diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases were topic-specific reports (24 out of 36; 67%) and national health reports (23 out of 36; 64%), followed by online formats such as websites or databases (20 out of 36; 57%). Moreover, health reporting primarily targets politicians (19 out of 20; 95%) as well as the media and the press (16 out of 20; 80%). The study found that both printed and online publications form part of a comprehensive dissemination strategy, however address different audiences.
Seasonality of Poor Pregnancy Outcomes
Creators: name: Miranda, Marie Lynn
name: Anthopolos, R.
name: Edwards, S.E.
Publisher: name: University of Notre Dame
Year: 2023

description: background Seasonal variation in poor pregnancy outcomes has not received the same level of research attention and rigor as has thewell-established seasonal variation in births. methods In this analysis of data from the 2001-2005 North Carolina Detailed Birth Record, we use season of conception as a proxy forenvironmental or other risk factors. We model the continuous pregnancy outcome of birth weight percentile for gestational age by use of linear regression. We use logistic regression to model the binary pregnancy outcomes of low birth weight (<2500 g), preterm birth (<37weeks), and small for gestational age (<10th percentile of birth weight for gestational age). results We found significant seasonal patterns in poor pregnancy outcomes. Our results suggest that, in North Carolina, seasonal pat-terns are most pronounced among non-Hispanic white women living in urban areas. limitations The present study is limited by the restricted set of maternal and pregnancy variables available in this data set. Richer data,potentially including psychosocial and activity measures of the women, would allow us to more ably discern what is driving the seasonal patterns we observed. The pronounced increased risk associated with a spring season of conception provides an important clue for deter-mining the true causative factors. conclusions Poor pregnancy outcomes in North Carolina follow a clear seasonal pattern based on timing of conception, with patterns most pronounced among non-Hispanic white women living in urban areas. These seasonal patterns are suggestive of causative environmental factors and certainly warrant additional research.
Improving Gradient Computation for Differentiable Physics Simulation with Contacts
Creators: name: Zhong, Yaofeng Desmond
name: Han, Jiequn
name: Dey, Biswadip
name: Brikis, Georgia Olympia
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (cs.LG)
subject: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
subject: Robotics (cs.RO)
subject: Systems and Control (eess.SY)
subject: Optimization and Control (math.OC)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: Differentiable simulation enables gradients to be back-propagated through physics simulations. In this way, one can learn the dynamics and properties of a physics system by gradient-based optimization or embed the whole differentiable simulation as a layer in a deep learning model for downstream tasks, such as planning and control. However, differentiable simulation at its current stage is not perfect and might provide wrong gradients that deteriorate its performance in learning tasks. In this paper, we study differentiable rigid-body simulation with contacts. We find that existing differentiable simulation methods provide inaccurate gradients when the contact normal direction is not fixed - a general situation when the contacts are between two moving objects. We propose to improve gradient computation by continuous collision detection and leverage the time-of-impact (TOI) to calculate the post-collision velocities. We demonstrate our proposed method, referred to as TOI-Velocity, on two optimal control problems. We show that with TOI-Velocity, we are able to learn an optimal control sequence that matches the analytical solution, while without TOI-Velocity, existing differentiable simulation methods fail to do so.
description: 5th Annual Conference on Learning for Dynamics and Control
Interplay between the electrical transport properties of GeMn thin films and Ge substrates
Creators: name: Sircar, N.
name: Ahlers, S.
name: Majer, C.
name: Abstreiter, G.
name: Bougeard, D.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present evidence that electrical transport studies of epitaxial p-type GeMn thin films fabricated on high resistivity Ge substrates are severely influenced by parallel conduction through the substrate, related to the large intrinsic conductivity of Ge due to its small bandgap. Anomalous Hall measurements and large magneto resistance effects are completely understood by taking a dominating substrate contribution as well as the measurement geometry into account. It is shown that substrate conduction persists also for well conducting, degenerate, p-type thin films, giving rise to an effective two-layer conduction scheme. Using n-type Ge substrates, parallel conduction through the substrate can be reduced for the p-type epi-layers, as a consequence of the emerging pn-interface junction. GeMn thin films fabricated on these substrates exhibit a negligible magneto resistance effect. Our study underlines the importance of a thorough characterization and understanding of possible substrate contributions for electrical transport studies of GeMn thin films.
description: 9 pages, 9 figures
A mechanism based approach for screening metagenomic libraries for unusual glycosidases
Creators: name: Nasseri, Seyed Amirhossein
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2018

description: Unsaturated glucuronidases are among the enzymes that a number of pathogens employ to break down glycosaminoglycans, the main structural polysaccharides of our bodies. In order to find out more about these relatively less studied enzymes and the bacteria that produce them and their relative abundance in the microbial populations of our environment, we set out to screen metagenomic libraries made from environmental samples such as the human gut microbiome for unsaturated glucuronidase activity. In functional metagenomics, proteins from various uncultured organisms are reproduced in labs, by means of transferring the DNA extracted from environmental samples into host bacterial cell lines. This method offers an exciting novel method of enzyme discovery as these expressed proteins can be readily screened for novel enzymatic activity. However, screening for some of these enzymes is not straightforward, as background activity from the host cells and/or other similar unwanted enzymes from metagenomics genes, can mask the desired activity. Unsaturated glucuronidases are one of these masked enzymatic activities. In this study, a novel strategy has been developed for screening metagenomic libraries for unsaturated glucuronidases. This was achieved based on the differences in the mechanisms of unsaturated glucuronidases and β-glucuronidases, the main source of background activity. These differences make β-glucuronidases inefficient in hydrolyzing thioglycoside substrates, while unsaturated glucuronidases cleave them rapidly. Two fluorogenic thioglycoside substrates with two self-immolative thiol linkers were designed and synthesized. A small metagenomic library was then successfully screened with these new substrates and the usefulness of the selective substrates were established. We believe that the same strategy is going to be useful when screening metagenomic libraries for some of the other examples of masked activities.
Microstrip superconducting quantum interference device amplifiers with submicron Josephson junctions: enhanced gain at gigahertz frequencies
Creators: name: DeFeo, M. P.
name: Bhupathi, P.
name: Yu, K.
name: Heitmann, T. W.
name: Song, C.
name: McDermott, R.
name: Plourde, B. L. T.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present measurements of an amplifier based on a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) with submicron Al-AlOx-Al Josephson junctions. The small junction size reduces their self-capacitance and allows for the use of relatively large resistive shunts while maintaining nonhysteretic operation. This leads to an enhancement of the SQUID transfer function compared to SQUIDs with micron-scale junctions. The device layout is modified from that of a conventional SQUID to allow for coupling signals into the amplifier with a substantial mutual inductance for a relatively short microstrip coil. Measurements at 310 mK exhibit gain of 32 dB at 1.55 GHz.
description: Version with high resolution figures at: http://physics.syr.edu/~bplourde/bltp-publications.htm
On the statistical complexity of streamflow
Creators: name: Dey, Pankaj
name: Mujumdar, Pradeep
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Space Science
subject: Medicine
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 19999 Mathematical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: In this study, catchments are considered as complex systems, and information-theoretic measures are used to capture temporal streamflow characteristics. Emergence and self-organization are used to quantify information production and order in streamflow time series, respectively. The measure complexity is used to quantify the balance between emergence and self-organization in streamflow variability. The complexity measure is found to be effective in distinguishing streamflow variability for high and low snow-dominated catchments. The state of persistence – reflecting the memory of streamflow time series, is shown to be related to the complexity of streamflow. Moreover, it is observed that conventional causal detection methods are constrained by the state of persistence, and more robust methods are needed in hydrological applications considering persistence.
Molecular dynamics simulations of D2O ice photodesorption
Creators: name: Arasa, C.
name: Andersson, S.
name: Cuppen, H. M.
name: van Dishoeck, E. F.
name: Kroes, G. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
subject: Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Molecular dynamics calculations have been performed to study the ultraviolet photodissociation of D2O in an amorphous D2O ice surface at 10-90 K, in order to investigate the influence of isotope effects on the photodesorption processes. As for H2O, the main processes after UV photodissociation are trapping and desorption. There are three desorption processes: D atom, OD radical, and D2O molecule photodesorption. D2O desorption takes places either by direct desorption of a recombined D2O molecule, or when an energetic D atom produced by photodissociation kicks a surrounding D2O molecule out of the surface by transferring part of its momentum. Desorption probabilities are compared quantitatively with those for H2O obtained from previous MD simulations of UV photodissociation of amorphous water ice. The main conclusions are the same, but the average D atom photodesorption probability is smaller than that of the H atom (by about a factor of 0.9) because D has lower kinetic energy than H, whereas the average OD radical photodesorption probability is larger than that of OH (by about a factor of 2.5-2.9 depending on Tice) because OD has higher translational energy than OH for every Tice studied. The average D2O photodesorption probability is larger than that of H2O (by about a factor of 1.4-2.3 depending on Tice), and this is entirely due to a larger contribution of the D2O kick-out mechanism. This is an isotope effect: the kick-out mechanism is more efficient for D2O ice, because the D atom formed after D2O photodissociation has a larger momentum than photogenerated H atoms from H2O, and D transfers momentum more easily to D2O than H to H2O. The total yield has been compared with experiments and the total yield from previous simulations. We find better agreement when we compare experimental yields with calculated yields for D2O ice than when we compare with calculated yields for H2O ice.
description: 31 pages, 8 figures
Investigating risk, reliability and return period under the influence of large scale modes, and regional hydrological variability in hydrologic extremes
Creators: name: Das, Jew
name: Umamahesh, N. V.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: 19999 Mathematical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: Inorganic Chemistry
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences

description: Due to the present climate change scenario, it is necessary to interpret return period, risk, and reliability of hydrological extremes under non-stationary conditions. The present study aims to understand the crucial design parameters by introducing physically based covariates in the location parameter of the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The analysis is carried out over 30 streamflow gauging stations located across the Godavari River basin, India. To compare the return period, risk and reliability between the stationary and non-stationary conditions, the Expected Waiting Time (EWT) approach is used. The analysis reveals that half of the gauging stations are impacted by large-scale modes/oscillations and regional hydrological variability, primarily by the Indian Summer Monsoon Index (ISMI) and precipitation. The EWT interpretation estimates that the non-stationary return period, risk, and reliability are significantly different from under the stationary condition. Hence, a non-stationary approach can be useful to water managers and policymakers in order to devise sustainable and resilient water resource infrastructure under a climate change scenario.
Herschel images of NGC 6720: H2 formation on dust grains
Creators: name: van Hoof, P. A. M.
name: Van de Steene, G. C.
name: Barlow, M. J.
name: Exter, K. M.
name: Sibthorpe, B.
name: Ueta, T.
name: Peris, V.
name: Groenewegen, M. A. T.
name: Blommaert, J. A. D. L.
name: Cohen, M.
name: De Meester, W.
name: Ferland, G. J.
name: Gear, W. K.
name: Gomez, H. L.
name: Hargrave, P. C.
name: Huygen, E.
name: Ivison, R. J.
name: Jean, C.
name: Leeks, S. J.
name: Lim, T. L.
name: Olofsson, G.
name: Polehampton, E. T.
name: Regibo, S.
name: Royer, P.
name: Swinyard, B. M.
name: Vandenbussche, B.
name: Van Winckel, H.
name: Waelkens, C.
name: Walker, H. J.
name: Wesson, R.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Herschel PACS and SPIRE images have been obtained of NGC 6720 (the Ring Nebula). This is an evolved planetary nebula with a central star that is currently on the cooling track, due to which the outer parts of the nebula are recombining. From the PACS and SPIRE images we conclude that there is a striking resemblance between the dust distribution and the H2 emission, which appears to be observational evidence that H2 forms on grain surfaces. We have developed a photoionization model of the nebula with the Cloudy code which we used to determine the physical conditions of the dust and investigate possible formation scenarios for the H2. We conclude that the most plausible scenario is that the H2 resides in high density knots which were formed after the recombination of the gas started when the central star entered the cooling track. Hydrodynamical instabilities due to the unusually low temperature of the recombining gas are proposed as a mechanism for forming the knots. H2 formation in the knots is expected to be substantial after the central star underwent a strong drop in luminosity about one to two thousand years ago, and may still be ongoing at this moment, depending on the density of the knots and the properties of the grains in the knots.
description: Herschel first results letter; 7 pages, 6 figures
Active Reinforcement Learning for Personalized Stress Monitoring in Everyday Settings
Creators: name: Tazarv, Ali
name: Labbaf, Sina
name: Rahmani, Amir
name: Dutt, Nikil
name: Levorato, Marco
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (cs.LG)
subject: Signal Processing (eess.SP)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

description: Most existing sensor-based monitoring frameworks presume that a large available labeled dataset is processed to train accurate detection models. However, in settings where personalization is necessary at deployment time to fine-tune the model, a person-specific dataset needs to be collected online by interacting with the users. Optimizing the collection of labels in such phase is instrumental to impose a tolerable burden on the users while maximizing personal improvement. In this paper, we consider a fine-grain stress detection problem based on wearable sensors targeting everyday settings, and propose a novel context-aware active learning strategy capable of jointly maximizing the meaningfulness of the signal samples we request the user to label and the response rate. We develop a multilayered sensor-edge-cloud platform to periodically capture physiological signals and process them in real-time, as well as to collect labels and retrain the detection model. We collect a large dataset and show that the context-aware active learning technique we propose achieves a desirable detection performance using 88\% and 32\% fewer queries from users compared to a randomized strategy and a traditional active learning strategy, respectively.
description: Accepted paper at CHASE '23
Charged polymers in the attractive regime: a first order transition from Brownian scaling to four points localization
Creators: name: Hu, Yueyun
name: Khoshnevisan, Davar
name: Wouts, Marc
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Probability (math.PR)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: 60K35 (Primary), 60K37 (Secondary)

description: We study a quenched charged-polymer model, introduced by Garel and Orland in 1988, that reproduces the folding/unfolding transition of biopolymers. We prove that, below the critical inverse temperature, the polymer is delocalized in the sense that: (1) The rescaled trajectory of the polymer converges to the Brownian path; and (2) The partition function remains bounded. At the critical inverse temperature, we show that the maximum time spent at points jumps discontinuously from 0 to a positive fraction of the number of monomers, in the limit as the number of monomers tends to infinity. Finally, when the critical inverse temperature is large, we prove that the polymer collapses in the sense that a large fraction of its monomers live on four adjacent positions, and its diameter grows only logarithmically with the number of the monomers. Our methods also provide some insight into the annealed phase transition and at the transition due to a pulling force; both phase transitions are shown to be discontinuous.
description: 50 pages [slightly updated version]
How large is the periablational zone after radiofrequency and microwave ablation? Computer-based comparative study of two currently used clinical devices
Creators: name: Trujillo, Macarena
name: Prakash, Punit
name: Faridi, Pegah
name: Radosevic, Aleksandar
name: Curto, Sergio
name: Burdio, Fernando
name: Berjano, Enrique
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Physiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: 80699 Information Systems not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Hematology
subject: Plant Biology

description: To compare the size of the coagulation (CZ) and periablational (PZ) zones created with two commercially available devices in clinical use for radiofrequency (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA), respectively. Computer models were used to simulate RFA with a 3-cm Cool-tip applicator and MWA with an Amica-Gen applicator. The Arrhenius model was used to compute the damage index (Ω). CZ was considered when Ω > 4.6 (>99% of damaged cells). Regions with 0.6<Ω Ten-min RFA (51 W) created smaller periablational zones than 10-min MWA (11.3 cm3 vs. 17.2−22.9 cm3, for 60−100 W MWA, respectively). Prolonging duration from 5 to 10 min increased the PZ in MWA more than in RFA (2.7 cm3 for RFA vs. 8.3−11.9 cm3 for 60−100 W MWA, respectively). PZ/CZ for RFA were relatively high (65−69%), regardless of ablation time, while those for MWA were highly dependent on the duration (increase of up to 25% between 5 and 10 min) and on the applied power (smaller values as power was raised, 102% for 60 W vs. 81% for 100 W, both for 10 min). The lowest PZ/CZ across all settings was 56%, obtained with 100 W-5 min MWA. Although RFA creates smaller periablational zones than MWA, 100 W-5 min MWA provides the lowest PZ/CZ.
Ultralow-frequency spontaneous oscillations of the current in polycrystalline silicon
Creators: name: Dorosinets, V. A.
name: Poklonski, N. A.
name: Samuilov, V. A.
name: Stel'makh, V. F.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report results of experimental study of ultralow-frequency spontaneous oscillations of the current in polycrystalline silicon films subjected to strong electric fields at room temperature.
description: 2 pages, 2 figures
Forestry Institutions
Creators: name: Miranda, Marie Lynn
name: Regan, Micheal
name: Corrales, Olga Marta
name: Ascher, William
Publisher: name: University of Notre Dame
Year: 2023

description: The loss of large expanses of forests, especially in the tropics, poses a serious threat to human welfare and the global environment. The increasing rate of deforestation has now become a serious concern of the world community. People everywhere want natural forests in both tropical and temperate regions to be protected. And nations must manage forest resources more efficiently to benefit present and future generations. Because of the serious local, national, and global consequences of destructive deforestation, the World Bank undertook a comprehensive study in mid-1989 to review its existing forestry policies and projects, to assess the forestry situation in a global context, and to define a new forest policy to guide its future operations in the sector. The study, based on an interdisciplinary approach, used expertise associated with forestry activities and development from within and outside the Bank. Academic institutions, bilateral and multilateral agencies, nongovernment organizations, and researchers-all were invited to discuss policy, institutional, and technical issues and possible solutions for sustainable use of forest resources. These groups outside the Bank developed numerous working papers that provided valuable input for developing the Bank's approach to forestry. The Bank has recently issued its new forest policy, reiterating its commitment to helping developing countries to move toward conservation and sustainable development of forest resources. Another important product of the Bank's initiative is this book, which represents diverse views of many authors from social, physical, and biological sciences. The book provides different perspectives on the world forestry situation and options for development.
Lattice dynamics and ferroelectric properties of the nitride perovskite ${\mathrm{LaWN}}_{3}$
Creators: name: Fang, Yue-Wen
name: Fisher, Craig A. J.
name: Kuwabara, Akihide
name: Shen, Xin-Wei
name: Ogawa, Takafumi
name: Moriwake, Hiroki
name: Huang, Rong
name: Duan, Chun-Gang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Using first-principles calculations we examine the crystal structures and phase transitions of nitride perovskite LaWN$_3$. Lattice dynamics calculations indicate that the ground-state structure belongs to space group $R3c$. Two competitive phase transition pathways are identified which are characterized by symmetry-adapted distortion modes. The results suggest that $R3c$ LaWN$_3$ should be an excellent ferroelectric semiconductor: its large spontaneous polarization of around 61 $μ$C/cm$^2$ is comparable to that of PbTiO$_3$, and its band gap is about 1.72 eV. Ferroelectricity is found to result from the \emph{B}-site instability driven by hybridization between W-5$d$ and N-2$p$ orbitals. These properties make LaWN$_3$ an attractive candidate material for use in ferroelectric memory devices and photovoltaic cells.
description: 13 pages, 8 figures in main text and 5 figures in supplementary