cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lead in Albacore: guide to lead pollution in Americans.

Lead contamination in canned tuna, exceeding natural concentrations 10,000-fold, went undiscovered for decades because of analytical error. The magnitude of this pollution effect helps explain the difference between the lead concentration in the diets of present-day Americans (0.2 part per million) and inthe diets of prehistoric peoples (estimated to be less than 0.002 part per million). It also explains how skeletal concentrations of lead in typical Americans became elevated 500-fold above the natural concentrations measured in bones of Peruvians who lived in an unpolluted environment 1800 years ago. It has been tacitly assumed that natural biochemical effects of lead in human cells have been studied, but this is not so because reagents, nutrients, and controls used in laboratory and field studies have been unknowingly contaminated with lead far in excess of naturally occurring levels. An unrecognized form of poisoning caused by this escessive exposure to lead may affect most Americans because magnitudes of biochemical dysfunctions are proportional to degrees of exposure.
Collection Development and Diversity on CIC Academic Library Web Sites

CIC library Web sites were examined to determine how diversity related to collections was represented. As diversity in collection development is frequently highlighted by broader diversity initiatives, other diversity pages on these sites were explored as well. In the majority of cases, neither diversity collection development nor diversity was represented under a particular heading or site. Recommendations are made for incorporating diversity collections and diversity information on the Web.
Performance evaluation of routing protocols based on realistic traces from driving simulator

With the rapid growth in wireless mobile communication technology, Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) has emerged as a promising method to effectively solve transportation-related issues. So far, research on VANETs has been focused on simulations as the real-world experiment is expensive. A core problem affecting the fidelity of simulation is the mobility model employed. In this paper, a sophisticated traffic simulator capable of generating realistic vehicle traces is introduced. Combined with network simulator 2 (NS-2), we evaluated the general performance of several routing protocols and studied the impact of intersections on simulation results. We show that static nodes near the intersection tend to become more active in packet delivery with higher transferred throughput.
Centroid-moment tensor solutions for July-September 1997

Abstract Centroid-moment tensor solutions are presented for 209 earthquakes that occurred during the third quarter of 1997. The solutions are obtained using corrections for aspherical earth structure represented by a whole mantle shear velocity model SH8/U4L8 of Dziewonski and Woodward [Acoustic imaging at the planetary scale, in: H. Emert, H.-P. Harjes (Eds.), Acoustical Imaging, vol. 19, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 785–797]. A new model of anelastic attenuation of Durek and Ekstrom [Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 86 (1996) 144] is used to predict the decay of the waveforms.
Streamlining inter-operation memory communication via data dependence prediction

We revisit memory hierarchy design viewing memory as an inter-operation communication agent. This perspective leads to the development of novel methods of performing inter-operation memory communication. We use data dependence prediction to identify and link dependent loads and stores so that they can communicate speculatively without incurring the overhead of address calculation, disambiguation and data cache access. We also use data dependence prediction to convert, DEF-store-load-USE chains within the instruction window into DEF-USE chains prior to address calculation and disambiguation. We use true and output data dependence status prediction to introduce and manage a small storage structure called the transient value cache (TVC). The TVC captures memory values that are short-lived. It also captures recently stored values that are likely to be accessed soon. Accesses that are serviced by the TVC do not have to be serviced by other parts of the memory hierarchy, e.g., the data cache. The first two techniques are aimed at reducing the effective communication latency whereas the last technique is aimed at reducing data cache bandwidth requirements. Experimental analysis of the proposed techniques shows that: the proposed speculative communication methods correctly handle a large fraction of memory dependences; and a large number of the loads and stores do not have to ever reach the data cache when the TVC is in place.
Open and Accessible Presentations

E-learning often is perceived as something that, on the technical level, can be addressed by designing an e-learning system, which often is equipped with a Web-based interface. We argue that this traditional approach of e-learning system design should be reversed in today's Web-oriented environment, in the sense that e-learning applications should be designed as well-behaving Web citizens and expose their services through nothing else but the Web's loose coupling principles. This article presents a system for Web-based presentations which follows this approach in publishing presentation material in a way that is as Web-friendly as possible. We show how such a system can be used as one building block in an e-learning infrastructure, replacing the traditional view of monolithic e-learning systems with an open and loosely coupled ecosystem of cooperating e-learning Web applications.
Agglomeration Effects and Strategic Orientations: Evidence From the U.S. Lodging Industry

This study provides evidence regarding the strategic dynamics of competitive clusters. Firms that agglomerate (co-locate) may benefit from the differentiation of competitors without making similar ...
Controversies in the Assessment of Left Ventricular Mass

With the recognition that left ventricular (LV) mass (LVM) contributed to the prediction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, independent of conventional risk factors, including those that partially determined LVM (body size, blood pressure, and tobacco), interest in better understanding the clinical and epidemiological roles of LVM measurement accelerated.1 Over the last 2 decades, substantial progress has been made in this regard. For example, clinical trials have been designed to demonstrate the independent contribution of pharmacological LVM reduction, beyond blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients, to improvement in cardiovascular outcomes.2 The Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents incorporates LVM measurement in its evaluation algorithm with intensification of antihypertensive management recommended in the presence of LV hypertrophy.3 Despite this success, the role of LVM in clinical practice has not been firmly established. There are a number of controversies surrounding the measurement of LVM. These include the fact that LVM is principally determined by body size so that some component of LVM is adaptive rather than pathological, that LVM can be increased by healthful behaviors (eg, physical training) and cardiovascular risk factors, that there are significant problems in standardizing echocardiographic measurement of LVM by echocardiography across laboratories, that MRI provides more accurate measurement of LVM than echocardiography, and that a firm definition of LV hypertrophy based on the calculation of heart weight has not been established by consensus. Historically, one method for overcoming these several limitations has been indexing LVM to body size. Most commonly this is done by dividing LVM by body surface area or height elevated to some power, usually height2 or height2.7.1,4,5⇓⇓ Driving these analyses has been a concern for accommodating the strong relationship of LVM to lean body mass (and …
Hybrid guided modes in uniaxial dielectric planar waveguides

Rigorous electromagnetic methods are applied to calculate the propagation constants and the fields of the allowed guided modes in uniaxial slab waveguides for an arbitrary orientation of the optic axis. In addition to the familiar TE and TM modes, there are hybrid guided modes. These hybrid guided modes can be divided into three distinct types: homogeneous pure guided modes, inhomogeneous pure guided modes, and leaky guided modes. The conditions for the existence of these pure guided and leaky guided modes are derived. A quantitative method of classifying the hybrid modes in terms of the limiting decoupled TE and TM cases within that mode where the ordinary and extraordinary polarizations propagate independently is introduced. For each mode the propagation constant has a continuous band of allowed values as a function of optic axis orientation. Metal-indiffused positive-birefringent (lithium tantalate) and metal-in-diffused and proton-exchange negative-birefringent (lithium niobate) planar waveguides are treated for illustration. This analysis of hybrid guided modes is important, not only for the design and use of anisotropic waveguides, but also suggests a new class of waveguide devices based on material birefringence. >
A Hybrid DNA Aptamer–Dendrimer Nanomaterial for Targeted Cell Labeling

Antibodies are natural nanomaterials and have been widely used for targeted cell labeling. However, the applications of antibodies are often limited by their large size and instability. The purpose of this study is to develop a new type of multifunctional nanomaterial that is comprised of a nucleic acid aptamer and a dendrimer, both of which are stable. This nanomaterial is approximately 8 nm in size. Moreover, it could not only carry multiple signal molecules, but also bind to target cancer cells with high affinity and specificity. This sub-10 nm multifunctional nanomaterial is expected to be useful in basic biomedical research and clinical medicine.
Dynamic control of robot perception using multi-property inference grids

An approach to dynamic planning and control of the perceptual activities of an autonomous mobile robot equipped with multiple sensor systems is considered. The robot is conceptually seen as an experimenter. The author discusses the explicit characterization of task-specific information requirements, the use of stochastic sensor models to determine the utility of sensory actions and perform sensor selection, and the application of information-theoretic models to measure the extent, accuracy, and complexity of the robot's world model. It is shown how the loci of interest of relevant information and the corresponding loci of observation can be computed, allowing the robot to servo on the information required to solve a given task. The use of these models is outlined in the development of strategies for perception control, and in the integration of perception and locomotion. Some illustrations of the methodology are provided. >
Multivariate Optical Computing for Biological Samples using a Digital Micromirror Device

We have developed a spectrometer incorporating a digital micromirror device as a multivariate optical computer. The computer can report quantitative concentrations of component spectra with an SNR advantage compared to traditional CCD-based systems.
Building connected neighborhood graphs for isometric data embedding

Neighborhood graph construction is usually the first step in algorithms for isometric data embedding and manifold learning that cope with the problem of projecting high dimensional data to a low space. This paper begins by explaining the algorithmic fundamentals of techniques for isometric data embedding and derives a general classification of these techniques. We will see that the nearest neighbor approaches commonly used to construct neighborhood graphs do not guarantee connectedness of the constructed neighborhood graphs and, consequently, may cause an algorithm fail to project data to a single low dimensional coordinate system. In this paper, we review three existing methods to construct k-edge-connected neighborhood graphs and propose a new method to construct k-connected neighborhood graphs. These methods are applicable to a wide range of data including data distributed among clusters. Their features are discussed and compared through experiments.
A 3.5 W HBT MMIC power amplifier module for mobile communications

A 900 MHz-band GaAs/GaAlAs HBT MMIC power amplifier module has been developed for mobile communications by using a novel assembly technique called BHS and an AlN package as the MMIC chip carrier. The power module gave a peak output power of 3.7 W and a power-added efficiency of 54.5% with a +6 V single supply voltage. >
Identification and molecular characterization of a marafivirus in Rubus spp.

An undescribed virus with isometric particles and a diameter of ca. 30 nm was identified in diseased samples of wild and cultivated Rubus species and molecularly characterized. Its genome was 6,463 nt, excluding the 3′-terminal poly(A) tail, and contained a single open reading frame coding for a 2,035-amino-acid-long precursor polypeptide (p223). The amino terminal portion of p223, identified as a replication-associated polyprotein, contained conserved motifs of methyltransferase, endopeptidase/protease, helicase and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The carboxy terminus of the large polypeptide is involved in the formation of two viral coat protein subunits with deduced molecular masses of 23 and 21 kDa. Pairwise comparisons and phylogenetic analyses showed closest relationships of this virus with oat blue dwarf virus and citrus sudden death-associated virus, sharing levels of genome sequence conservation far below the species demarcation level established for tymovirids. Our data indicate that this virus, for which the name blackberry virus S (BlVS) is proposed, is a hitherto undescribed species of the genus Marafivirus, family Tymoviridae. A survey conducted in Mississippi, USA, has shown that BlVS is also present in cultivated Rubus germplasm. This work represents the first report of a marafivirus infecting small fruits.
A methodology for modelling manufacturing costs at conceptual design

This paper describes a method for modelling costs throughout the design phase of a product's life-cycle, from conceptual to detail design. The timely provision of cost data facilitates the quantitative evaluation of designs through a cost function. This approach to design evaluation has the advantages of allowing management to make more accurate bid estimates, encouraging designers to design to cost and reducing the amount of design rework, hence reducing the product's time to market and controlling product cost. The cost modelling strategy adopted incorporates the use of knowledge-based and case-based approaches. Cost estimation is automated by linking design knowledge, required for predicting design features from incomplete design descriptions, to production knowledge. The link between the two knowledge paradigms is achieved through the blackboard framework of problem solving, which incorporates both case-based and rule-based reasoning. The method described is aimed at innovative design activity.
An Integrative Model of Market Evolution

A conceptual model of market evolution is developed by blending together several related notions from the fields of marketing, consumer behavior, retailing, and economics. The model offers answers to questions that have for years plagued proponents of the "wheel of retailing" hypothesis, as well as answers to questions of cause and motive power concerning the process of market evolution. The source of these answers is argued to lie in the work of marketing theorist, Alderson, and in the Mises/Kirzner school of "Austrian" economics.
Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry defines an extensive RBM45 protein–protein interaction network

The pathological accumulation of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) within inclusion bodies is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). RBP aggregation results in both toxic gain and loss of normal function. Determining the protein binding partners and normal functions of disease-associated RBPs is necessary to fully understand molecular mechanisms of RBPs in disease. Herein, we characterized the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of RBM45, a RBP that localizes to inclusions in ALS/FTLD. Using immunoprecipitation coupled to mass spectrometry (IP-MS), we identified 132 proteins that specifically interact with RBM45 within HEK293 cells. Select PPIs were validated by immunoblot and immunocytochemistry, demonstrating that RBM45 associates with a number of other RBPs primarily via RNA-dependent interactions in the nucleus. Analysis of the biological processes and pathways associated with RBM45-interacting proteins indicates enrichment for nuclear RNA processing/splicing via association with hnRNP proteins and cytoplasmic RNA translation via eiF2 and eiF4 pathways. Moreover, several other ALS-linked RBPs, including TDP-43, FUS, Matrin-3, and hnRNP-A1, interact with RBM45, consistent with prior observations of these proteins within intracellular inclusions in ALS/FTLD. Taken together, our results define a PPI network for RBM45, suggest novel functions for this protein, and provide new insights into the contributions of RBM45 to neurodegeneration in ALS/FTLD. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI:RNA Metabolism in Disease.
Spectrum and progression of disease from condyloma to aggressive anogenital squamous cell carcinoma in 3 HIV-positive patients.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent of condyloma acuminata (CA). Although it is often assumed that CA are caused by HPV subtypes distinct from those that lead to squamous cell carcinoma, this is not always the case, particularly in immunocompromised patients. A greater percentage of HIV-positive men are infected with multiple HPV subtypes within their CA than their HIV-negative counterparts, with lower CD4 counts associated with higher levels of oncogenic HPV DNA. In addition, HIV-positive individuals have a higher prevalence and incidence of HPV-associated anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) and anogenital cancers than their HIV-negative counterparts. Furthermore, many instances of malignant transformation of CA have been described. Here we show the spectrum and progression of disease from CA to aggressive anogenital squamous cell carcinoma in 3 HIV-positive patients and stress the diversity of clinical presentations that can exist in this patient population. Immunosuppression from HIV infection, co-infection with multiple HPV subtypes including oncogenic strains, a history of a low CD4 nadir, and the inability to adequately clear the HPV puts patients at a much greater risk of malignant progression of HPV-associated skin lesions, which can be rapid in some cases. Hence, it is critical that dermatologists screen patients and those affected receive close clinical monitoring, disease surveillance, and appropriate prompt treatment.
A New Rice Rat of the Oryzomys palustris Group (Cricetinae, Muridae) from Northwestern Colombia, with Remarks on Distribution

Oryzomys gorgasi , a new species of palustrine rice rat from the cienaga forests of northwestern Colombia, is the first member of the Oryzomys palustris group discovered in South America. It is compared with other members of the group and with the more or less superficially similar and sympatric cricetines, Oryzomys concolor, O. capito, Nectomys alfari , and the extraterritorial Oryzomys subflavus . The zoogeography of the O. palustris group is discussed.
Recent Advances in the Measurement and Analysis of Dynamic Aero-Optic Interactions (Review Paper)

The passage of a planar-wavefront optical beam through a turbulent, index-of-refractionvariant flow field imprints dynamically-changing aberrations on the wavefront; these aberrations have detrimental effects on the performance of optical systems making use of the beam. The study of the aberrations due to propagation through the aberrating flow field (of relatively short propagation length in the near field of the optical system) is referred to as aero-optics. This paper gives a brief historical perspective of the traditional approach to quantifying aero-optic interactions before reviewing recent advances in the field over the last ten years.
Time-Dependent Reliability Using Metamodels With Transformed Random Inputs

We have recently proposed a method for time-dependent reliability based on metamodels with random inputs. In that method, we employed multiple sets of inputs sampled from the input distribution to construct a new metamodel as a mixture of classical metamodels. Because the sampled inputs may cluster around a mode of the input distribution, they may result in a metamodel of reduced quality. We address this issue in this paper by using a transformation to de-cluster the sample inputs and then use our previously developed metamodel with random inputs. We first obtain the output of the computer model for a limited number of transformed input draws which do not cluster in high probability regions of the input space. Then, conditioned on these transformed sampled inputs, we construct a classical Kriging surrogate and obtain the distribution of the new surrogate as the marginal of the joint distribution between the classical surrogate and the transformed sampled inputs. The proposed method is illustrated with a corroding beam example. A more accurate time-dependent reliability estimation is obtained compared with our previously developed metamodel method.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
External modulation of Terahertz quantum cascade lasers using metamaterials.

We use active metamaterials as external modulators for a 2.4 THz quantum cascade laser. We present initial optical modulation results with the goal of designing an electrically-driven modulator.
Multimodality Therapy Improves Survival in Resected Early Stage Gastric Cancer in the United States

National guidelines endorse adjuvant chemotherapy ± radiotherapy (C ± RT) for early-stage gastric cancer (ESGC). Compliance with these guidelines and the specific impact of adjuvant C ± RT on overall survival (OS) in ESGC have not been extensively explored. The National Cancer Data Base was queried for stage IB-II gastric adenocarcinoma patients undergoing gastrectomy (1998–2011). Multivariable modeling identified factors associated with adjuvant C ± RT receipt and compared risk-adjusted OS by treatment type (i.e., adjuvant therapy versus surgery alone). Of 23,461 ESGC patients (1998–2011), 79.4 % and 20.6 % received surgery alone and adjuvant C ± RT (chemoradiotherapy 17.7 %; chemotherapy alone 2.9 %), respectively. Predictors of adjuvant C ± RT receipt included age <67 years, pathologic nodal positivity, and adequate lymph node staging (LNS; ≥15 nodes examined; all p < 0.001). Survival analyses included 15,748 patients (1998–2006); median, 1-, and 5-year survival were 63.5 months, 86.0 %, and 27.0 % respectively. Omission of adjuvant C ± RT conferred an increased hazard of risk-adjusted mortality in the overall cohort, and stage IB and II subgroups (all p ≤ 0.001). The benefit of adjuvant C ± RT was most pronounced in stage II and node-positive patients—regardless of LNS adequacy (all p < 0.001)—and inadequately staged IB patients (p = 0.003). While associated with a trend toward improved OS in node-negative patients overall (p = 0.051), adjuvant C ± RT did not improve OS if surgical LNS was adequate in this subgroup (p = 0.960). Adoption of adjuvant C ± RT in ESGC remains incomplete nationally. Receipt of adjuvant therapy is associated with improved risk-adjusted survival relative to surgery alone; however, in adequately staged patients without lymph node metastasis, this benefit is less certain.
457 NICOTINIC ACID-INDUCED SECRETION OF PROSTAGLANDIN D2 BY A HUMAN MACROPHAGE CELL LINE: AN IN VITRO MODEL OF THE NIACIN FLUSH

Nicotinic acid is an effective therapy in most forms of dyslipidemia and has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease and death, yet its clinical use is limited by a prostaglandin D2 (PGD2)-mediated vasocutaneous flush. Both the cellular source and the exact mechanisms of nicotinic acid-induced activation of phospholipase A2 and subsequent PGD2 secretion are unknown. To better understand and prevent the niacin flush, and to define the molecular mechanisms involved, we have created an in vitro model of nicotinic acid-induced secretion of PGD2 using the human monoblastic leukemia cell line THP-1. THP-1 monocytes were transformed into macrophages upon exposure to the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (16 nM, 24 hours). Transformed macrophages were exposed to nicotinic acid alone (0.1-3mM) or in the presence of positive and negative regulators of the arachidonic acid cascade. PGD2 secretion into the exposure media was measured using a competitive enzyme immunoassay specific for PGD2-methoxime. In the transformed macrophages, nicotinic acid caused a concentration and time-dependent increase in the secretion of PGD2. At 3mM, nicotinic acid increased PGD2 secretion as early as 5 minutes, and at 40 minutes resulted in a 3.2-fold increase compared to control (20.9 ± 5.2 pg/ml versus 6.5 ± 1.9 pg/ml; P ≤ 0.05). Pre-incubation of macrophages with the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor aspirin (100 μM, 3 hours) completely prevented nicotinic acid-induced PGD2 secretion. Nicotinic acid9s effects on PGD2 secretion were not dependent on extracellular calcium, and were additive to PGD2-secreting effects of the calcium ionophore A23187 (6 μM). Pre-incubation of macrophages with pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml, 3 hours) had no effect on nicotinic acid-induced PGD2 secretion. These data suggest that 1. Macrophages are a source of nicotinic acid-induced PGD2 secretion in humans. 2. Nicotinic acid acutely activates phospholipase A2 by a mechanism different that the calcium ionophore A23187. 3. Nicotinic acid-induced PGD2 release is not mediated by the pertussis-sensitive Gi-linked nicotinic acid receptor (HM74A). Further elucidation of the primary signaling event and secondary messenger systems involved in nicotinic acid-induced PGD2 secretion may not only result in alleviation of the niacin flush, but may also shed light on the role of alterations in lipid signaling molecules in mediating the metabolic effects of nicotinic acid.
Effects of compound capsule containing bifidobacterium and lactobacillus acidophilus on immunity function of mice

Aim:To observe the immuneregulating effects of the compound capsule containing bifidobacterium and lactobacillus acidophilus on mice.Methods:A total of 192 mice were randomly divided into four groups,and each group was divided into four groups(low dose group,middle dose group,high dose group and control group).In vivo normal mice,the tests were made including the ratio of spleenthymus/body weight,T lymphocyte proliferation of mouse spleen induced by ConA,the response of delayed hypersenitivity,the amount of hemolytic antibility in serum,antibotyproducing cell assay,phagocytic activity of macrophages and the ability of macrophages for carbon particle clearance and cytotoxicity of NK cells by LDH method.Results:The compound capsule containing bifidobacterium and lactobacillus acidophilus could in-crease the ability of macrophages for carbon clearance(F = 2.872,P = 0.047),the amount of hemolytic antibility in serum(F =3.748,P =0.018) and the activity of NK cells(F =3.866,P = 0.015) in the high dose group.Compared with the control group,significant differences were observed in the middle and high dose groups in the quantity of antibody-producing cells(F = 65.033,P 0.001),the ability of T lymphocyte proliferation of mouse spleen induced by ConA(F = 8.213,P 0.001) and phagocytic activity of macrophages(phagocytic rate:F = 7.500,P 0.001;phagocytic index:F = 9.715,P 0.001).Difference was also observed in the capacity of the response of delayed hypersensitivity induced by SR-BC(F = 11.666,P 0.001) in three dose groups.But significant differences were not observed in the ratio of spleen-thy-mus/body weight(F was 1.302 and 0.762,P 0.05).Conclusion:The compound capsule containing bifidobacterium and lactobacillus acidophilus may have enhancing effects on cell immumity,humoral immumity,the macrophage engulfining function and NK cell cytotoxicity in mice,so it has the function of enhancing immunity.
HIV-transmission-related risk behavior in HIV+ African American men: Exploring biological, psychological, cognitive, and social factors

ABSTRACTThis article seeks to identify factors associated with HIV-transmission-related risk behavior among HIV+ African American men. We examined biological, psychological, cognitive, and social factors and recent HIV-transmission-related risk behavior (i.e., needle sharing, unprotected sex, exchange sex) among a sample of HIV+ African American men. A binary logistic regression showed that individuals under age 50 (OR = 4.2), with clinically-elevated masochism scores (OR = 3.9) on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), current substance abuse/dependence (OR = 2.6), and higher sensation-seeking (OR = 1.3) were more likely to report recent risk behavior. We conclude that reducing substance use, addressing self-defeating attitudes, and improving self-control may be avenues for future prevention and intervention research among HIV+ African American men engaging in HIV-transmission-related risk behavior.
The Increasing Prevalence in Intersex Variation from Toxicological Dysregulation in Fetal Reproductive Tissue Differentiation and Development by Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

An increasing number of children are born with intersex variation (IV; ambiguous genitalia/hermaphrodite, pseudohermaphroditism, etc.). Evidence shows that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment can cause reproductive variation through dysregulation of normal reproductive tissue differentiation, growth, and maturation if the fetus is exposed to EDCs during critical developmental times in utero. Animal studies support fish and reptile embryos exhibited IV and sex reversal when exposed to EDCs. Occupational studies verified higher prevalence of offspring with IV in chemically exposed workers (male and female). Chemicals associated with endocrine-disrupting ability in humans include organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, bisphenol A, phthalates, dioxins, and furans. Intersex individuals may have concurrent physical disorders requiring lifelong medical intervention and experience gender dysphoria. An urgent need exists to determine which chemicals possess the greatest risk for IV and the mechanisms by which these chemicals are capable of interfering with normal physiological development in children.
Externalizing Outcomes of Youth with and without ADHD: Time-Varying Prediction by Parental ADHD and Mediated Effects.

Although parental attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for multiple negative youth outcomes, it is unknown how change in parental ADHD symptoms over time affects change in child ADHD symptoms; moreover, mediators of these predictions are largely unknown. Parents of 230 5-10 year-old children (68 % male) with (n = 120) and without ADHD (n = 110) were followed prospectively for 6-7 years across three separate waves. Parents self-reported their ADHD and depression symptoms and similarly rated offspring ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms; youth self-reported their substance use. Temporally-ordered mediators consisted of parental expressed emotion (EE), derived from the Five Minute Speech Sample, and self-reported positive and negative parenting behavior. Controlling for key demographics and parental depression symptoms, increasing parental ADHD symptoms were a time-varying predictor of worsening youth ADHD and ODD, although it was unrelated to change in CD and alcohol/substance use. Next, although EE facets (i.e., criticism, emotional over-involvement) did not mediate these predictions, negative parenting behavior significantly mediated predictions of youth ADHD (and marginally in predictions of ODD) from parental ADHD symptoms. These quasi-experimental findings suggest that parental ADHD symptoms are a potential unique causal risk factor for offspring ADHD and ODD; also, preventing negative parenting behavior secondary to parental ADHD symptoms is critical to improve trajectories of youth ADHD and ODD. We consider parental ADHD symptoms and family factors underlying emergent externalizing problems utilizing a developmental psychopathology framework, including implications for intervention and prevention.
Effective assignment and assistance to software developers and reviewers

Human reliance and dominance are ubiquitous in sustaining a high-quality large software system. Automatically assigning the right solution providers to the maintenance task at hand is arguably as important as providing the right tool support for it, especially in the far too commonly found state of inadequate or obsolete documentation of large-scale software systems. Two maintenance tasks related to assignment and assistance to software developers and reviewers are addressed, and solutions are proposed. The key insight behind these proposed solutions is the analysis and use of micro-levels of human-to-code and human-to-human interactions (eg., code review). We analyzed code reviews that are managed by Gerrit and found different markers of developer expertise associated with the source code changes and their acceptance, time line, and human roles and feedback involved in the reviews. We formed a developer-expertise model from these markers and showed its application in bug triaging. Specifically, we derived a developer recommendation approach for an incoming change request, named rDevX , from this expertise model. Additionally, we present an approach, namely cHRev, to automatically recommend reviewers who are best suited to participate in a given review, based on their historical contributions as demonstrated in their prior reviews. Furthermore, a comparative study on other previous approaches for developer recommendation and reviewer recommendation was performed. The metrics recall and MRR were used to measure their quantitative effectiveness. Results show that the proposed approaches outperform the subjected competitors with statistical significance.
SP0052 How To Treat/manage fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia (FM) is often associated with profound suffering on the part of patients and can be quite challenging to the clinician to treat/manage. This talk will provide demographic information about FM as well as a brief summary of current research supporting putative peripheral and central nervous system mechanisms underpinning this condition. Multiple approaches have been used to diagnose FM and these methods will be reviewed and clarified for a clinical audience. Multi-modal treatment is considered optimal for the long-term management of FM and a variety of pharmacological as well as non-pharmacological options are available. This talk will review some of the evidence supporting these options and will describe how best to craft a logical treatment plan taking into account the needs of the individual patient. Disclosure of Interest D. Williams Consultant for: Health Focus, Inc.
Spectral engineering of frequency combs using deposited waveguides

Engineering of SiN waveguides for spectral tailoring of frequency combs is presented. Several dispersion designs are shown to give rise to spectra which are suitable for comb-based spectroscopy and difference frequency generation for self-referencing.
Bistable Physical Geometries for Terahertz Plasmonic Structures Using Shape Memory Alloys

Shape memory alloy foils that are appropriately patterned are cycled between two different metal foil geometries resulting in two different terahertz (THz) plasmonic responses. This is accomplished by using patterned foils of a nickel–titanium alloy (Nitinol) that switches between the martensite phase below 31 °C, yielding one physical geometry, and the austenite phase, when the foil is heated above 51 °C, yielding a second physical geometry. In order to enable this reproducible switching, the sample is initially put through a two-way training procedure, through which the two different desired physical geometries are imprinted. Specifically, the metal foils are trained to switch between a sinusoidal corrugation, either 1D or 2D, at close to room temperature and a flat metal sheet above the austenite phase transition temperature. The foils are found to switch reproducibly between geometries over at least 100 thermal cycles. Using THz time-domain spectroscopy, the transmission properties of the foils are measured as a function of incident polarization and foil geometry. The changes in spectrum are explained qualitatively and through numerical simulation.
A national assessment of underground natural gas storage: identifying wells with designs likely vulnerable to a single-point-of-failure

The leak of processed natural gas (PNG) from October 2015 to February 2016 from the Aliso Canyon storage facility, near Los Angeles, California, was the largest single accidental release of greenhouse gases in US history. The Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety and California regulators recently recommended operators phase out single-point-of-failure (SPF) well designs. Here, we develop a national dataset of UGS well activity in the continental US to assess regulatory data availability and uncertainty, and to assess the prevalence of certain well design deficiencies including single-point-of-failure designs. We identified 14 138 active UGS wells associated with 317 active UGS facilities in 29 states using regulatory and company data. State-level wellbore datasets contained numerous reporting inconsistencies that limited data concatenation. We identified 2715 active UGS wells across 160 facilities that, like the failed well at Aliso Canyon, predated the storage facility, and therefore were not originally designed for gas storage. The majority (88%) of these repurposed wells are located in OH, MI, PA, NY, and WV. Repurposed wells have a median age of 74 years, and the 2694 repurposed wells constructed prior to 1979 are particularly likely to exhibit design-related deficiencies. An estimated 210 active repurposed wells were constructed before 1917—before cement zonal isolation methods were utilized. These wells are located in OH, PA, NY, and WV and represent the highest priority related to potential design deficiencies that could lead to containment loss. This national baseline assessment identifies regulatory data uncertainties, highlights a potentially widespread vulnerability of the natural gas supply chain, and can aid in prioritization and oversight for high-risk wells and facilities.
3D heterogeneous integrated monolayer graphene Si-CMOS RF gas sensor platform

We report the first monolithically integrated CMOS-monolayer graphene gas sensor, with a minimal number of essential post-CMOS processing steps, demonstrating a platform technology that enables integration of nascent two-dimensional materials with the low latency, low power and cost advantages of silicon CMOS (Si-CMOS) platform. Heterogeneous integration of Si-CMOS and two-dimensional materials such as monolayer graphene is a step toward enabling future mobile sensor networks for the Internet of Things (IoT) and achieving more-than-Moore (MtM) scaling. The graphene integration presented here addresses considerable barriers to heterogeneous integration with Si-CMOS, namely post-CMOS process parameters such as temperature and material limits, and the low-power requirements of untethered sensors in general. A co-designed driving circuit in mature 0.18 μm Si-CMOS foundry technology provides the foundation for directly integrated graphene chemiresistive junctions in a radio frequency (RF) wireless-enabled circuit platform.
Toward Ethical Natural Language Generation for Human-Robot Interaction

Recent work on natural language generation algorithms for human-robot interaction has not considered the ethical implications of such algorithms. In this work, we argue that simply by asking for clarification, a robot may unintentionally communicate that it would be willing to perform an unethical action, even if it has ethical programming that would prevent it from doing so. In doing so, the robot may not only miscommunicate its own ethical programming, but negatively influence the morality of its human teammates.
Additive Manufacturing of Catalytically Active Living Materials

Living materials, which are composites of living cells residing in a polymeric matrix, are designed to utilize the innate functionalities of the cells to address a broad range of applications such as fermentation and biosensing. Herein, we demonstrate the additive manufacturing of catalytically active living materials (AMCALM) for continuous fermentation. A multi-stimuli-responsive yeast-laden hydrogel ink, based on F127-dimethacrylate, was developed and printed using a direct-write 3D printer. The reversible stimuli-responsive behaviors of the polymer hydrogel inks to temperature and pressure are critical, as they enabled the facile incorporation of yeast cells and subsequent fabrication of 3D lattice constructs. Subsequent photo-cross-linking of the printed polymer hydrogel afforded a robust elastic material. These yeast-laden living materials were metabolically active in the fermentation of glucose into ethanol for 2 weeks in a continuous batch process without significant reduction in efficiency (∼90% ...
Effect of neonatal hyperoxia followed by concentrated ambient ultrafine particle exposure on cumulative learning in C57Bl/6J mice.

Abstract Hyperoxia during treatment for prematurity may enhance susceptibility to other risk factors for adverse brain development, such as air pollution exposure, as both of these risk factors have been linked to a variety of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. This study investigated the combined effects of neonatal hyperoxia followed by inhalation of c oncentrated a mbient ultrafine p article s (CAPS,
The Effect of Sulfur on Three-Way Catalysts

Abstract Both pelleted and monolithic catalysts have been tested in a laboratory reactor under conditions designed to simulate the operation of the catalyst in a vehicle. The warmed-up and light-off performances of both types of catalyst were deteriorated by the sulfur. The monolithic catalyst rapidly recovered all of the lost activity when sulfur was removed from the feed gas, but the pelleted catalyst only recovered a portion of the lost activity. Examination of the effect of sulfur on Pt, Pd, and Rh indicated that both Pt and Rh rapidly recovered all of its lost activity when sulfur was removed from the feed, but Pd did not. Additionally, a pelleted Pt/Rh catalyst which did not contain any Ce also rapidly recovered all lost activity when sulfur was removed from the feed, but a similar catalyst which contained Ce did not. Hence, the slow recovery from sulfur poisoning is related both to the the high Ce surface area seen in pelleted catalysts and to the presence of Pd. The impact of the sulfur decreased when the cycling frequency was increased and the cycling amplitude decreased, indicating that sulfur will have less of an effect on cars with better A/F control. This result was confirmed in tests which used engine exhaust.
Influence of wettability on constitutive relations and its role in upscaling

The lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is applied to simulating multifluid flow in porous media at sub-pore resolution to determine constitutive behaviors. The authors address the importance of the LB technique for identifying process based constitutive relationships, and demonstrate its application through analysis of the influence of wettability on interfacial areas and constitutive relationships. Porous media surface wettability is varied from uniformly strongly wetted by the resident fluid through strongly wetted by the displacing fluid. Spatially variable wettability is also demonstrated. Primary imbibition and drainage displacements are run, and interfacial areas (IFA) as a function of time are determined and compared. Results indicate that wettability is an important factor in displacement behavior and resulting interfacial area. Primary imbibition in a strongly wet material under capillary dominated flows produces film flow, resulting in high IFAs that decrease with increasing saturation and viscous forces. Primary drainage produces initially high IFA that decreases slightly with increasing saturation or pressure drop. Surfaces with spatially variable wetting can have a strong influence on resulting fluid distributions and fluid flow.
Mixture of Deep-Learning Experts for Separation of Bones from Soft Tissue in Chest Radiographs

Lung nodules that overlap with ribs and clavicles in chest radiographs can be difficult to be detected by radiologists as well as by computer-aided detection systems. Removing bony structures would result in better visualization of undetectable lesions. Our purpose in this study was to develop a deep-learning scheme to separate ribs and clavicles from soft tissue in chest radiographs. To achieve this, we developed a mixture of anatomy-specific, orientation-frequency-specific (ASOFS) deep neural network convolution (NNC) experts. Anatomy-specific (AS) architecture was designed to separate bony structures from soft tissue in different lung segments. The orientation-frequency-specific (OFS) was designed to decompose bone and soft-tissue structures into specific orientation-frequency components of different scales using a multi-resolution decomposition technique. For evaluation, we used a database of 118 chest radiographs with pulmonary nodules. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation showed that our ASOFS NNC was superior to a state-of-the-art bone-suppression technique. Particularly, our NNC scheme separated ribs and clavicles from soft tissue, while it was better able to maintain the conspicuity of lung nodules and vessels, comparing to the reference technique. Therefore, our deep-learning scheme can be useful for radiologists as well as CAD systems in detection of lung nodules in chest radiographs.
Strategic Planning: Implications and Applications for Line Managers

Strategic planning is the key to producing a realistic, attractive rate of growth and a respectable return on investment. The author analyzes the steps in the planning process and looks at the environmental and cultural values which influence the strategic planner in his/her work.
Leiomyoma development in Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome: a case report and a narrative review of the literature.

The development of leiomyomas on the grounds of an aplastic/hypoplastic uterus in patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) has been rarely described. We report the first case of development of multiple leiomyomas in a patient with MRKHS complicated with pulmonary valve stenosis, and we present a narrative review of the existing literature. A 44-year-old patient with MRKHS attended our clinic because of pelvic pain, which was attributed to a pelvic mass found on ultrasound. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a multinodular mass, indicating either ovarian pathology or the presence of leiomyomas. Exploratory laparotomy was performed, and multiple solid masses on the grounds of two rudimentary uterine buds were observed. Histological analysis revealed multiple leiomyomas arising from parametrial or paratubal tissue. We searched medical databases for articles relevant to leiomyomas and MRKHS. We present a review of the current literature and summarize the clinical manifestation, diagnosis, management, and histopathological findings of all the cases described. We underline that it is important for gynecologists to be aware of this rare clinical entity, and symptomatic leiomyomas cannot be excluded in patients with MRKHS.