cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Baseline survey and analysis of malaria prevalence in Chongqing City

Objective To ascertain the actual status of malaria infection,control work,and control capability in Chongqing and to provide baseline data for the prevention and treatment of malaria.Methods The actual status of malaria infection,control work,and control capability was investigated retrospectively and by field surveys.Results There were 60 reported cases of malaria in Chongqing from January 2009 to June 2010.Malaria cases were distributed throughout 18 counties and included 7 cases of Plasmodium falciparum malaria,18 of Plasmodium vivax malaria,and 35 of an unknown type.Of all of the cases,53.33% were detected by laboratory testing,36.67% had a definitive diagnosis,70.00% involved patients given the standard treatment,10.00% involved treatment of the focus of infection,and 85.00% involved a case study.There were no significant differences in the serum antibodies of students(0.26%) and local residents(0.11%)(P0.05).Students(59.76%) had greater awareness of malaria than did local residents(49.29%)(χ2=66.77,P0.01).Malaria was detected in the blood of 0.16% of patients with a fever.The proportion of disease control personnel trained in malaria diagnosis and treatment over the last 5 years was 45.16% in county CDCs,8.93% in county general hospitals,and 23.16% in township hospitals.The proportion of lab workers trained in microscopy to detect malaria was 29.17% in county CDCs,71.88% in county general hospitals,22.22% in township hospitals.The level of awareness of malaria diagnosis and treatment among doctors in county general hospitals was 11.65% and that among doctors in township hospitals was 12.48%.Conclusion Malaria prevalence was relatively low in Chongqing,but malaria control work and control capability should be enhanced.
Composition of Honey. VII. Proteins

SUMMARYCrude protein preparations from a number of types of floral honey, and from stores of sugar-fed confined bees, have been examined by gel filtration, starch-gel electrophoresis and ion-exchange chromatography.Between 4 and 7 protein components are indicated by gel electrophoresis, with differences among floral types implying the presence of plant protein components. Four components, apparently from the bees, are common to all samples.For four honey samples, 35%-60% of the total nitrogen content passed through the dialysis membrane; hence, the protein content cannot be determined from the nitrogen content of whole honey.
Overview of the TAC2013 Knowledge Base Population Evaluation: English Slot Filling and Temporal Slot Filling.

We overview two tracks of the TAC2013 Knowledge Base Population (KBP) evaluation: English slot filling (SF) and temporal slot filling (TSF). The goal of these two KBP tracks is to promote research in the extraction of relations between named entities from free text (SF), and identify the temporal intervals when these relations were valid (TSF). The main changes this year include the requirement for a stricter textual justification of the extracted relations for SF, and a simplification of the TSF task, where the relation to be temporally grounded is given as input. These two tracks attracted 43 registered teams, out of which 20 teams submitted a run in at least one of the tracks.
Energy, ecology, and cotton rat evolution

Body mass is estimated for extinct species of Sigmodon. These data are then used in appropriate equations derived among Recent mammals to estimate a suite of physiological and ecological variables which are followed through almost 4 ma of cotton rat history. A statistical trend towards large size is documented. Despite large swings in population size and other parameters, hypothetical values of popu- lation metabolism remain virtually constant, suggesting negligible population energetic benefit to size change in either direction. Studies of extant cotton rats and unrelated taxa sharing the same adaptive zone suggest that there is now, and has been in the past, negligible thermoregulatory advantage to modification of cotton rat body mass. Large size appears to be associated in Sigmodon with heightened aggression to the point that two species, particularly if of dichotomous size, cannot coexist in the same microhabitat. At least with regard to cotton rats, this conclusion represents a challenge to the comfortable hypotheses of coevolution and character displacement. The overall trend toward large size during Pleistocene time is considered then as the interplay of selection acting to favor large size in areas of sympatry and stochastic processes originating cotton rat populations of different body size. Because morphology and ecological strategies are stable within the cotton rat adaptive zone for millions of years, it is suggested that mammalian speciation events that result in exploitation of a new adaptive zone are uncommon and occasionally cross higher taxonomic categories. These events are defined as first-order speciation events, in contrast to second- order events that occur in clades within the same adaptive zone.
Primary Care Behavioral Interventions to Reduce Illicit Drug and Nonmedical Pharmaceutical Use in Children

J.P. is a 16-year-old white female nonsmoker who presents for a sports clearance physical. She is in good overall health, excels academically, and plays water polo at school. During the patient history, she mentions that she and three friends were suspended from school for drinking cough syrup after a water polo tournament.
MR spectroscopy in the evaluation of epilepsy.

SUMMARY Utilizing NAA, NAA/Cr, NAA/Cho, and NAA/ (Cr + Cho) ratios as parameters, the majority of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy may be correctly lateralized with 1H MR spectroscopy. Cr, Cho, and Cr/Cho ratios yield variable and unreliable results. Additional markers that may be elevated in these patients include lactate and amino acid neurotransmitters. Phosphorus MR spectroscopy, although cumbersome to perform, may yield additional information, including alterations in PME, POE, Pi, ATP, and pH levels. MR spectroscopy may be a helpful, reliable, noninvasive test with which to lateralize the seizure focus in patients with partial complex seizures. MR spectroscopy is complementary to other studies, especially MR imaging, and both may be performed in a single integrated examination and result in improved surgical management and outcome.
Crime and Violence

Crime and violence are facts of life for many Americans; in 1990 alone, 19 million crimes were committed, and nearly a third of them involved violence.102 The most common form of violent crime is assault, the attack of one person on another. Aggravated assault, which involves a weapon or causes serious but nonfatal injury, accounted for roughly 30% of all violent crimes, while simple assault accounted for another 50% of violent crimes. By comparison, forcible rape and murder are rare; rape accounts for about 2% of violent crimes, while violent crime results in the death of the victim in 0.4% of cases. Yet, in 1990, 23,000 people were murdered; the fact that these deaths represent less than 1% of the violent crimes in the United States shows the magnitude of the problem. The rate of violent crime in the United States far exceeds that of any other industrialized nation. Among 16 such nations surveyed in 1988, the United States had the highest rate of murder, the highest rate of assault, and the highest rate of sexual assault.
Mayer waves reduce the accuracy of estimated hemodynamic response functions in functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Analysis of cerebral hemodynamics reveals a wide spectrum of oscillations ranging from 0.0095 to 2 Hz. While most of these oscillations can be filtered out during analysis of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals when estimating stimulus evoked hemodynamic responses, oscillations around 0.1 Hz are an exception. This is due to the fact that they share a common spectral range with typical stimulus evoked hemodynamic responses from the brain. Here we investigate the effect of hemodynamic oscillations around 0.1 Hz on the estimation of hemodynamic response functions from fNIRS data. Our results show that for an expected response of ~1 µM in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (HbO), Mayer wave oscillations with an amplitude > ~1 µM at 0.1 Hz reduce the accuracy of the estimated response as quantified by a 3 fold increase in the mean squared error and decrease in correlation (R2 below 0.78) when compared to the true HRF. These results indicate that the amplitude of oscillations at 0.1 Hz can serve as an objective metric of the expected HRF estimation accuracy. In addition, we investigated the effect of short separation regression on the recovered HRF, and found that this improves the recovered HRF when large amplitude 0.1 Hz oscillations are present in fNIRS data. We suspect that the development of other filtering strategies may provide even further improvement.
Einstein and the Search for Unification

MY topic is at the heart of Einstein’s scientific life, the search for a unified theory of nature. This was Einstein’s main pursuit for more than half of his scientific career. Most contemporaries viewed his attempts as a waste of time, a total failure or, at best, premature. But today we look with some admiration at his foresight. Having understood by the middle 1970’s, to a large extent, all the four forces of nature in the remarkable successful standard model, attention has returned to Einstein’s dream of unifying all the forces with gravity. The goal of unification has been at the forefront of fundamental physics for the last three decades. In this article I shall, fully aware of the ease of hindsight, discuss Einstein’s goals, his attempts to unify general relativity and electromagnetism, and to include matter. I shall discuss his mistakes, ask why he went wrong, and wonder what might have happened if he had followed a slightly different route. As I am not a professional historian I can get away with murder. I shall then discuss, very briefly, where we stand today in realizing Einstein’s goals. For many physicists, certainly me, Einstein is both a hero and a model. He stated the goals of fundamental physics, that small part of physics that probes the frontiers of physics in a search for the underlying laws and principles of nature. Einstein was a superb epigramist, who could capture in a single sentence many deep thoughts. Here is his definition of the goal of the physicist:
Smart lighting solutions: Energy saving designs for an animal protection shelter

Lighting systems consume lots of energy so efficient solutions are strongly desired. This study proposes two smart lighting solutions using state-of-the-art technologies, namely LED and sensor-based control. The solutions reduce the lighting energy usage significantly. A case study with a large animal protection shelter shows that the energy usage decreases to 43% (with Solution 1) and 36.4% (with Solution 2) compared to the existing system. The annual saving is up to $3972, or 63.6%. For 15 years, the total saving is $59580. Evaluation shows that the new design with three types of sensors is advantaged in enabling the controller to regulate the lighting system effectively, leading to high saving of energy.
Evaluation of Thin Agar Layer Method for Recovery of Acid-Injured Foodborne Pathogens

The thin agar layer (TAL) method of Kang and Fung was used to enumerate acid-injured foodborne pathogens. This method involves overlaying 14 ml of nonselective medium (tryptic soy agar [TSA]) onto a prepoured and solidified pathogen-specific, selective medium in a petri dish. After surface plating, injured cells resuscitated and grew on TSA during the first few hours of incubation; then, the selective agents from the selective medium diffused to the top layer, interacted with the recovered microorganisms, and started to produce typical reactions. Foodborne pathogens were exposed to 2% acetic acid for 1, 2, or 4 min, and the recovery rate with the TAL method was compared with the rate of TSA and pathogen-specific, selective media. No significant difference occurred between TSA and TAL (P > 0.05) for enumeration of acid-injured Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica, and both recovered significantly higher numbers than the selective medium for each respective pathogen (P 0.05) occurred among TSA. TAL, and selective media. However, fewer cells were recovered in the selective media. The TAL method is a one-step, convenient procedure for recovery of acid-injured cells. La methode de Kang et Fung couche mince de gelose a ete utilisee pour isoler et denombrer des bacteries pathogenes (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium) qui ont ete lesees par un traitement acide (acide acetique a 2% pendant 1, 2 ou 4 minutes). Un milieu selectif est etale en boite de Petri, puis recouvert par un milieu non selectif. Les bacteries lesees poussent sur le milieu non selectif, puis les substances actives diffusent depuis la couche inferieure vers la couche non selective et reagissent typiquement avec les microorganismes. Cette methode a ete comparee avec les methodes selectives ou non existant dans le commerce.
Familial Occurrence and Heritability of Stroke

Clustering of clinical strokes among related family members is an indication of the aggregate genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors shared by these family members, all of which could increase susceptibility to stroke. A family history of stroke or of other atherosclerotic events, such as a myocardial infarction, is a moderate risk factor for stroke, as observed in twin, cohort, and case-control studies [1]. With the exception of some rare Mendelian disorders, most stroke occurring in a clinic or population sample has a complex inheritance pattern, but the relative importance of genetic factors can be estimated by studying the familial occurrence of stroke. Patterns of familial aggregation can also direct which subgroups to investigate further as more likely to share common underlying genetic variation; thus we could define subgroups by age, gender, ethnicity, presence of vascular risk factors, or stroke subtype [2, 3]. Focused investigations within these subgroups using modern genotyping techniques (phenotyping ‘splitting’) can increase the yield in identifying gene variants associated with stroke [4, 5]. As a predisposing risk factor, family history can be used clinically for risk prediction and to encourage primary disease prevention [6].
Comparison of Near-Infrared Imaging Camera Systems for Intracranial Tumor Detection.

Distinguishing neoplasm from normal brain parenchyma intraoperatively is critical for the neurosurgeon. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has been shown to improve gross total resection and progression-free survival but has limited availability in the USA. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence has advantages over visible light fluorescence with greater tissue penetration and reduced background fluorescence. In order to prepare for the increasing number of NIR fluorophores that may be used in molecular imaging trials, we chose to compare a state-of-the-art, neurosurgical microscope (System 1) to one of the commercially available NIR visualization platforms (System 2). Serial dilutions of indocyanine green (ICG) were imaged with both systems in the same environment. Each system’s sensitivity and dynamic range for NIR fluorescence were documented and analyzed. In addition, brain tumors from six patients were imaged with both systems and analyzed. In vitro, System 2 demonstrated greater ICG sensitivity and detection range (System 1 1.5–251 μg/l versus System 2 0.99–503 μg/l). Similarly, in vivo, System 2 demonstrated signal-to-background ratio (SBR) of 2.6 ± 0.63 before dura opening, 5.0 ± 1.7 after dura opening, and 6.1 ± 1.9 after tumor exposure. In contrast, System 1 could not easily detect ICG fluorescence prior to dura opening with SBR of 1.2 ± 0.15. After the dura was reflected, SBR increased to 1.4 ± 0.19 and upon exposure of the tumor SBR increased to 1.8 ± 0.26. Dedicated NIR imaging platforms can outperform conventional microscopes in intraoperative NIR detection. Future microscopes with improved NIR detection capabilities could enhance the use of NIR fluorescence to detect neoplasm and improve patient outcome.
Immune Dysfunction in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Avenues for New Immunotherapy-Based Strategies

The present review focuses on key aspects of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) evasion of immune surveillance and how these can be leveraged to devise effective immunotherapy strategies. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the field of cancer immunotherapy. In particular, the remarkable clinical results of anti-programmed death (PD)-1/PD-ligand (L)1 antibodies are revolutionizing the treatment approach to multiple solid and hematologic tumors. In patients with B or T cell NHL, immune checkpoint inhibition has produced mixed results, in part owing to the high complexity of the tumor immune microenvironment. Rationally designed combinations of PD-1/PD-L1 blockers with other antibody- or cell-based immunotherapies, or small molecules are being tested in clinical trials. A clearer understanding of the relationship between host immune dysfunction and cancer development and growth, often referred to as cancer “immuno-editing,” has enabled the discovery and successful clinical application of several immunotherapeutic agents, such as the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI).
Specialization and production cost efficiency: evidence from ambulatory surgery centers.

In the U.S. health care sector, the economic logic of specialization as an organizing principle has come under active debate in recent years. An understudied case is that of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), which recently have become the dominant provider of specific surgical procedures. While the majority of ASCs focus on a single specialty, a growing number are diversifying to offer a wide range of surgical services. We take a multiple output cost function approach to an empirical investigation that compares production economies in single specialty ASCs with those in multispecialty ASCs. We applied generalized estimating equation techniques to a sample of Pennsylvania ASCs for the period 2004–2014, including 73 ASCs that specialized in gastrointestinal procedures and 60 ASCs that performed gastrointestinal as well as other specialty procedures. Results indicated that both types of ASC had small room for expansion. In simulation analysis, production of GI services in specialized ASCs had a cost advantage over joint production of GI with other specialty procedures. Our results provide support for the focused factory model of production in the ASC sector.
A 62-Year-Old Woman With Refractory Wheezing.

Case Presentation A 62-year-old Hispanic woman, a resident of Puerto Rico, presented with symptoms of chronic cough and shortness of breath for the past 2 years that were slowly and progressively getting worse. She received a diagnosis of asthma on the basis of her history of symptomatic "wheezing" and had been on treatment with inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids with minimal symptomatic improvement. The peculiarity of her symptoms was that her dyspnea was worse when she was reclining in bed and she would often hear a "whistling" noise in her throat during those times. Additionally, she reported difficulty swallowing and would often drink water to aid in swallowing food. There was no prior history of endotracheal intubations or surgeries. She denied any history of joint pain, skin rashes, eye pain, hair loss, mouth ulcers, photosensitivity, diarrhea, blood-mixed stool, or blood in the urine.
Seismicity Precursors for Active Monitoring of Earthquakes

Abstract The M6.0 2004 Parkfield and M7.0 1989 Loma Prieta strike-slip earthquakes—on the San Andreas Fault (SAF)—were preceded by seismicity peaks occurring several months prior to the main events. Earthquakes directly within the SAF zone were intentionally excluded from data because they manifest stress-release processes rather than stress accumulation. The observed increase in seismicity is interpreted as a signature of the increasing stress level in the surrounding crust, whereas the peaks and the subsequent decrease in seismicity are attributed to damage-induced softening processes. Furthermore, in both cases there was a distinctive zone of low seismic activity that surrounded the epicentral region in the pre-event period. The increase of seismicity in the crust surrounding a potential future event, and the development of a low-seismicity epicentral zone, can be regarded as promising precursory information that could help signal the arrival of large earthquakes. The Gutenberg-Richter relationship (GRR) should allow extrapolation of seismicity changes down to seismic noise level magnitudes. This hypothesis is verified by comparison of seismic noise at 80 Hz with the Parkfield M4 1993-1994 series, where noise peaks ∼5 months before the series to about twice the background level. The found mid-term precursors can potentially trigger an active monitoring that could enable accurate forecasting of catastrophic earthquakes.
Cosmochemistry: The most volatile elements and compounds: organic matter, noble gases, and ices

Overview The most volatile constituents of meteorites, small bodies, and planets are highly depleted in rocky bodies compared to the solar composition. In this chapter we first consider the sometimes bewilderingly complex molecules composed of carbon and hydrogen, often with other elements like oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur (organic compounds). Following an introduction to terminology and structures, we focus on the organic matter in chondritic meteorites – the only extraterrestrial organic materials currently available for detailed analysis. This material appears to be a mixture of compounds inherited from the interstellar medium and synthesized within solar system bodies. Next, we look at noble gases, which do not condense as solids and thus are strongly depleted in meteorites and planets, relative to solar system abundances. The concentrations and isotopic compositions of noble gases in meteorites and planetary atmospheres provide unique perspectives on processes occurring in the early solar system and during planetary differentiation. Finally, we briefly consider ices, surprisingly abundant phases that dominate the outer solar system. Ices trapped noble gases and provided sites for the formation of simple organic compounds in space. Volatility In several previous chapters, we have discussed element volatility. Here we focus on some of the most volatile constituents in meteorites – organic compounds, noble gases, and ices. Each of these actually constitutes a voluminous subject of its own in cosmochemistry, and we can only provide overviews of these interesting components.
Learning Disabilities: Implications for Policy Regarding Research and Practice: A Report by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities:

This is an official document of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD), of which Council for Learning Disabilities is a long-standing, active member. With this position paper...
Comparable Nutrient Uptake across Diel Cycles by Three Distinct Phototrophic Communities

The capacity of microalgae to advance the limit of technology of nutrient recovery and accumulate storage carbon make them promising candidates for wastewater treatment. However, the extent to which these capabilities are influenced by microbial community composition remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, 3 mixed phototrophic communities sourced from distinct latitudes within the continental United States (28° N, Tampa, FL; 36° N, Durham, NC; and 40° N, Urbana, IL) were operated in sequencing batch reactors (8 day solids residence time, SRT) subjected to identical diel light cycles with media addition at the start of the nighttime period. Despite persistent differences in community structure as determined via 18S rRNA (V4 and V8–V9 hypervariable regions) and 16S rRNA (V1–V3) gene amplicon sequencing, reactors achieved similar and stable nutrient recovery after 2 months (8 SRTs) of operation. Intrinsic carbohydrate and lipid storage capacity and maximum specific carbon storage rates diff...
Ultrastructure Morphological Characterization of Different Passages of Rat Dental Follicle Stem Cells at In vitro Culture.

Introduction: Stem cells play important roles in tissue renewal and repair. Tissue-derived stem cells have been demonstrated for their applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Expansion of primary stem cells isolated from tissues to a large quantity through in vitro culture is needed for application of the stem cells. However, it is known that tissue stem cells commonly reduce or lose their stemness properties during in vitro culture. In this study, we assessed ultrastructural changes of rat dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) during in vitro culture. It is our attempt to explain the loss of stemness properties in cultured tissue-stem cells at the ultrastructural level. Method: DFSCs was isolated from first molars of Sprague Dawley rat pups and cultured in medium consisting of alpha-MEM plus 20% FBS. Cells were passaged at 1 to 3 ratio at 90% confluence, and collected at passages 3, 6, 7 and 9 for assessment of ultrastructure morphology by transmission electron microscopy. Results: Of the four passages (3, 6, 7, and 9) examined, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) was abundant in Passage 3 but less so in Passages 6, 7, and 9. The dilated RER contained lipid in Passages 3, 7, and 9. The mono- and polyribosomes in Passages 3 and 6 were located between the mitochondria and the RER. Mono- and polyribosomes were abundant in Passage 7, although mainly monoribosomes were present in Passage 9. Membrane-bound glycogen granules were in vacuoles bulging off the cells in Passage 3. Some glycogen granules were grouped in the periphery of a stem cell in Passage 9. Nuclei shapes were irregular and mainly euchromatic in Passages 6, 7, and 9. The mitochondria were dark and scarce in Passage 9; irregular, small, and dark in Passage 7; and small and rounded in Passage 6, and they were spread in the cytoplasm away from the nucleus in Passage 3. Cell contacts were seen in Passages 6, 7, and 9. The ultrastructure morphology of the examined DFScs was not very different from the morphology criteria of the undifferentiated cells. Large vacuoles in Passage 3 were mainly at the periphery of the cell, with the small vacuoles in the cell center. Small vacuoles were scattered in the cell center of Passage 6 and the larger ones were observed at the cell's periphery. Conclusions: We observed the following ultrastructural changes: decreases of fine cell cytoplasmic processes, dilated cytoplasmic vacuoles, cytoplasmic pinocytotic vesicles, and nuclear heterochromatin with increasing cell passage number. Conversely, mean ratios of lipid globules, nuclear euchromatin, irregular nuclear shape, and cell contact between cells were increased with passage number. The observations may suggest an increase in committed cells among the population after long-term culture of DFSCs.
Resting-State Quantitative Electroencephalography Demonstrates Differential Connectivity in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract Background: Biomarkers for psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents are urgently needed. This cross-sectional pilot study investigated quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG), a ...
Examining changes in respiratory exchange ratio within an 8-week weight loss intervention

Background Maintaining weight loss is difficult, partly as a result of accompanying reductions in fat oxidation. The present study examined fat oxidation [reflected by respiratory exchange ratio (RER)] within an 8-week, self-led weight loss intervention. Changes in RER, body fat (BF%) and estimated energy expenditure (EE) were examined. Methods Twenty-two adults [13 females, nine males; mean (SD) age 34.6 (16.5) years; body mass index 32.0 (4.3) kg m-2 ] received a self-directed workbook; twelve were also randomised to receive a self-monitoring wrist-worn device. At weeks 0 and 8, RER (indirect calorimetry), BF% (BodPod) and estimated EE [7-day physical activity recall (PAR-EE) were collected. Participants were pooled and paired t-tests were used to examine changes over time. Correlations explored associations among variables. Participants were then dichotomised into weight loss group (WL) or weight stable/gainers group (WSG) and eating behaviours [Intuitive Eating Scale (IES-2)] were examined by 2 × 2 repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance. Results There were no significant changes in RER, body fat percentage and PAR-EE. A significant negative association was found between week 8 PAR-EE and week 8 RER, as well as between BF% change and RER change. There was a significant time by WL versus WSG group effect of IES-2 scores, with the WL group self-reporting significantly increased scores in Eating for Physical Reasons rather than Emotional Reasons (EPR) subscale. Conclusions Increased physical activity after an 8-week weight loss intervention was associated with a higher fasting fat oxidation. Participants who increased EPR scores were more successful in weight loss than those without a change in this subscale.
Magic high-order harmonics from a quasi-one-dimensional hexagonal solid

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) from atoms is a coherent light source that opens up attosecond physics, but it is the application of HHG to solids that has brought much excitement in the last decade. Here we report a special kind of harmonics in a quasi-one-dimensional and hexagonal barium titanium sulfide: Under circularly polarized laser excitation, harmonics are generated only at first, fifth, seventh, and eleventh orders. These magic harmonics appear only with circularly polarized light, not with linearly polarized light. Neither cubic nor tetragonal cells have magic harmonics even with circularly polarized light. Through a careful group-theory analysis, we find that two subgroups of symmetry operations unique to the hexagonal symmetry cancel out third and ninth harmonics. This feature presents a rare opportunity to develop HHG into a crystal-structure characterization tool for phase transitions between hexagonal and nonhexagonal structures.
Deep-learning-based porosity monitoring of laser welding process

Abstract A porosity monitoring scheme for laser welding process was developed based on a deep learning approach. The in-process weld-pool data were sensed with a coaxial high-speed camera and labelled with the porosity attributes measured from welded specimens. A convolutional neural network (CNN) model with compact architecture was designed to learn weld-pool patterns to predict porosity. In laser welding experiments of 6061 Aluminum alloy, the CNN-based monitoring model achieved a classification accuracy of 96.1% for porosity occurrence detection, though the prediction of micro (less than 100 µm) and deep subsurface pores still remains challenging.
Multivariate Kernel Smoothing and Its Applications

Multivariate Kernel Smoothing and Its Applications, by J.E. Chacon and T. Duong, provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction of multivariate density estimation. The book is well-written an...
Clinical outcome evaluation of intraosseous vancomycin in total knee arthroplasty.

Abstract Background Vancomycin is a commonly used prophylactic antibiotic for total joint replacement surgery to protect against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Studies have suggested intraosseous (IO) infusions provide superior local tissue antibiotic concentration compared with intravenous (IV) access in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We reviewed patients receiving IO vancomycin before TKA, comparing complication rates to a matched group receiving IV prophylactic vancomycin. Methods Retrospective review of TKA patients administered IO vancomycin (500 mg vancomycin in 200 mL normal saline), September 1, 2018 to March 1, 2019, was compared with TKAs performed with prophylactic IV vancomycin, January 1, 2018 to August 31, 2018. Before incision, an IO needle was inserted into the tibial tubercle region, delivering 100 mL of the mixed vancomycin solution. The needle was then removed and inserted into the distal femur, delivering 100 mL of the solution. Evaluation included preoperative and postoperative creatinine values, tourniquet time, and knee-related 30-day and 90-day complications. Data for primary and revision TKA surgery cases were analyzed independently. Results There were 100 primary and 29 revision TKA cases in the control (IV) arm and 100 primary and 19 revision TKA cases in the intervention (IO) arm, comprising a study group of 248 cases. There were fifteen 30-day complications and eighteen 90-day complications overall. No significant differences in the complication rate or creatinine values were identified between IO and IV groups. Conclusions IO vancomycin has an adequate safety profile in primary and revision TKA, eliminating the logistical challenge of timely prophylactic antibiotic administration.
The Natures of Monsters and Heroes

Around the late eighth or early seventh century B.C., a poet, known to later ages as Homer, composed two epic poems that tell the tales of the Trojan War, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Iliad tells the story of the rage of Achilles, the great Greek warrior, while The Odyssey tells the story of the coming home of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, from the Trojan War. A study of both epics reveals that constructs portraying various values, such as the characteristics of heroes, have remained the same from the times of ancient Greece to the present day. However, modern interpretations of ancient Greek epics also portray new/ altered constructs of values in their creation of heroes, such as equality. The topics of fate, mortality, and religion in the epics are reviewed and debated. The character of Achilles, as to whether or not he is a true hero, is also subject to debate. Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey argue that heroes possess the qualities of pride, selflessness, glory, and bravery; both text and film adaptations of these original works exhibit the same characteristic of heroes, while the monsters of these ancient Greek epics represent the adverse, innate qualities that we flawed humans possess.
Abstract PO-032: Targeting the KRAS dimerization interface enhances T-cell mediated anti-tumor response in vivo

RAS is the most frequently mutated human oncogene and about 20% of all human cancers harbor mutations in one of three RAS oncogenes (K, N and H-RAS) with pancreatic cancers harboring RAS mutations in >90% of tumors. Therapeutically targeting RAS has been highly challenging and other than allele specific KRAS (G12C) inhibitors, no direct RAS inhibitor has been approved for clinical trial. However, KRAS (G12C) mutations are less abundant in some cancers like pancreatic cancer, thus there remains an unmet need for inhibitors that target the more common RAS mutants. This demand devising novel strategies to identify new approaches to inhibit RAS. Previously, we developed the H/KRAS-specific monobody called NS1 that allosterically inhibit RAS-mediated signaling by targeting the α4-α5 dimerization interface. When used as a genetically encoded intracellular reagent, NS1 inhibited the growth of H/KRAS-mutant human tumor lines both in vitro and in xenograft tumor models. However, these tumor models lack a functional immune system. Here, we evaluated the potency of targeting KRAS dimerization interface with NS1 in an immune-competent murine model of pancreatic cancer. Although human and murine KRAS differ by a single amino acid [Asp (D) to Glu (E)] at position 132 in the NS1 binding region of the allosteric lobe, NS1 bound similarly to human and murine KRAS both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, NS1 expression inhibited ERK-MAPK activation, proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of engineered KPC cells derived from pancreatic tumor in the KPC genetic mouse model. Finally, when these engineered KPC cells were injected orthotopically in immune-competent C57/B6 mice, we observed a dramatic decrease in tumor growth kinetics and tumor burden in NS1 expressing cohorts. Similarly, NS1 expression resulted in decreased ERK-MAPK activation and increased apoptosis. NS1 expressing tumors were characterized by increased infiltration of helper CD4+ T cells and macrophage. Thus, inhibition of mutant KRAS by NS1 results in an enhanced anti-tumor immune response in a syngeneic model for pancreatic cancer. These results establish that targeting α4-α5 dimerization interface of RAS can be a viable therapeutic option for targeting KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Imran Khan, Julia Lefler, Catherine Marelia, Mariyam Zuberi, Eric Denbaum, Akiko Koide, Cynthia Timmers, Michael Ostrowski, Shohei Koide, John O’Bryan. Targeting the KRAS dimerization interface enhances T-cell mediated anti-tumor response in vivo [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2020 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-032.
Advances in Thomson scattering diagnostics of plasmas used for chemical analysis

Abstract The use of plasmas for chemical analysis is prevalent and new sorts are continually being explored for potential applications in this field. However, the underlying mechanisms of characteristic processes that occur in plasmas are not completely understood. Free electrons drive chemical reactions, are essential to many plasma inherent processes, and are responsible for sustaining the discharge while governing the kinetic energy transfer between other species. Thomson scattering (TS) is a powerful plasma diagnostic technique for elucidating the fundamental electron parameters of number density, kinetic temperature, and energy distribution function. TS advantages include providing the direct, radially and temporally resolved probing of free electrons, with little-to-no perturbation of the plasma, with no prior assumptions of local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, and simultaneous electron density/temperature measurements. The aim of this review is to provide a brief explanation of the TS theory and the experimental requirements, as well as highlight selected novel instrumentation advances and insights about chemical analysis plasmas discovered in the most recent TS publications, not previously covered in other reviews.
Bias and the Business of Show: Employment Discrimination in the 'Entertainment' Industry

The primary service of show business is entertainment. Comment in the public interest — when there is any — is secondary at best. The entertainment industry is a business organized for profit that can be an important medium for the communication of ideas, but it is not such incarnate. The marketplace drives project greenlighting, but presumed client preference by industry gatekeepers does not legally justify subsequent discriminatory employment practices. For the courts to permit otherwise is to nullify equal opportunity for thousands of workers who deserve the protection of our judiciary, real people who need and want to work in the profession of their choosing.
Deep Compressive Offloading: Speeding Up Edge Offloading for AI Services

Future mobile and embedded systems will be smarter and more user-friendly. They will perceive the physical environment, understand human context, and interact with end-users in a human-like fashion. Daily objects will be capable of leveraging sensor data to perform complex estimation and recognition tasks, such as recognizing visual inputs, understanding voice commands, tracking objects, and interpreting human actions. This raises important research questions on how to endow low-end embedded and mobile devices with the appearance of intelligence despite their resource limitations.
Anonymous (C. B.) Ca. 1660

The first, hand-illuminated, color circle appeared in public in 1708 in a Dutch edition of a popular French small book on miniature painting, Traite de la mignature, first published in 1673 simultaneously in Paris and Rouen.
Teacher Educators' Dispositions: Footnoting the present with stories from our pasts

University educators are charged with preparing pre- and in-service teachers for today's school populations; however, university faculty may assume the role of fostering and evaluating their students' dispositions toward diversity without having first examined their dispositions toward their own students. In this critical autoethnographic self-study, seven teacher educators in one university department, from multiple disciplines, reversed common notions of studying the dispositions of our students and turned the focus onto our own struggles with our dispositions as teachers of teachers. Findings illustrate the powerful positions and judgmental stances we held as we navigated our teaching as well as a need for teacher educators to devote time to deliberate critical self-study of their own dispositions.
Osmotic regulation of PhoE porin synthesis in Escherichia coli.

In Escherichia coli, adaptation to hyperosmotic conditions alters the expression of the outer membrane porins OmpF and OmpC. The amount of PhoE porin, which is normally induced by phosphate deprivation, was greatly reduced in cells adapted to high-osmolarity conditions. Osmoregulation of PhoE operated independently of the activity of the PhoR phosphate sensor and did not involve cross-talk from the homologous osmosensor EnvZ. PhoE synthesis was partially restored by additional copies of the positive regulator phoB+ and by the osmoprotectant glycine betaine. Images
Acetohydroxy acid synthetase with a pH optimum of 7.5 from Neurospora crassa mitochondria: characterization and partial purification.

Abstract An acetohydroxy acid synthetase (AAS) has been found associated with the mitochondrial fraction of wild-type Neurospora crassa. It has a pH optimum of 7.5 and is presumed to be homologous to the pH 8.0 AAS that synthesizes the valine and isoleucine precursors in bacteria and yeast. The enzyme was characterized and purified 30- to 60-fold. The AAS activity of intact mitochondria requires thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), Mn2+ or Mg2+, and flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD), and is sensitive to end product inhibition by l-valine. This inhibition is pH-dependent and noncompetitive with respect to pyruvate. Activity is slightly repressed during exponential growth in the presence of valine, isoleucine, and leucine. Extraction of the AAS from the mitochondria has a profound influence on the following properties: pH optimum, sensitivity to l-valine, response to FAD, binding of TPP, apparent Km, and stability at 0 to 4 C. The catalytic properties of the partially purified enzyme are described. Two forms of the partially purified AAS can be isolated from preparative Sephadex G-200 chromatographic columns. Both forms are electrophoretically and antigenically similar but one form has an estimated molecular weight of 110,000 to 120,000 whereas the predominant form is a much larger and more buoyant molecule.
An information theoretic approach for tracker performance evaluation

Automated tracking of vehicles and people is essential for the effective utilization of imagery in wide area surveillance applications. In order to determine the best tracking algorithm and parameters for a given application, a comprehensive evaluation procedure is required. However, despite half a century of research in multi-target tracking, there is no consensus on how to score the overall performance of these trackers. Existing evaluation approaches assess tracker performance through measures of correspondence between ground truth tracks and system tracks using metrics such as track detection rate, track completeness, track fragmentation rate, and track ID change rate. However, each of these only provides a partial measure of performance and no good method exists to combine them into a holistic metric. Towards this end, this paper presents a pair of information theoretic metrics with similar behavior to the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves of signal detection theory. Overall performance is evaluated with the percentage of truth information that a tracker captured and the total amount of false information that it reported. Information content is quantified through conditional entropy and mutual information computations using numerical estimates of the probability of association between the truth and the system tracks. This paper demonstrates how these information quality metrics provide a comprehensive evaluation of overall tracker performance and how they can be used to perform tracker comparisons and parameter tuning on wide-area surveillance imagery and other applications.1
Software integrity checking expressions (ICEs) for robust tamper detection

We introduce software integrity checking expressions (Soft-ICEs), which are program predicates that can be used in software tamper detection. We present two candidates, probabilistic verification conditions (PVCs) and Fourier-learning approximations (FLAs), which can be computed for certain classes of programs,. We show that these predicates hold for any valid execution of the program, and fail with some probability for any invalid execution (e.g., when the output value of one of the variables is tampered). PVCs work with straight-line integer programs that have operations { *,+,- }. We also sketch how we can extend this class to include branches and loops. FLAs can work over programs with arbitrary operations, but have some limitations in terms of efficiency, code size, and ability to handle various classes of functions. We describe a few applications of this technique, such as program integrity checking, program or client identification, and tamper detection. As a generalization of oblivious hashing (OH), our approach resolves several troublesome issues that complicate practical application of OH towards tamper-resistance.
Reexamining the Relationship between Climate Sensitivity and the Southern Hemisphere Radiation Budget in CMIP Models

AbstractRecent efforts to narrow the spread in equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) across global climate models have focused on identifying observationally based constraints, which are rooted in empirical correlations between ECS and biases in the models’ present-day climate. This study reexamines one such constraint identified from CMIP3 models: the linkage between ECS and net top-of-the-atmosphere radiation biases in the Southern Hemisphere (SH).As previously documented, the intermodel spread in the ECS of CMIP3 models is linked to present-day cloud and net radiation biases over the midlatitude Southern Ocean, where higher cloud fraction in the present-day climate is associated with larger values of ECS. However, in this study, no physical explanation is found to support this relationship. Furthermore, it is shown here that this relationship disappears in CMIP5 models and is unique to a subset of CMIP models characterized by unrealistically bright present-day clouds in the SH subtropics. In view of th...