cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SQERT-T: alleviating kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC)-stiffness in transient KMC simulations.

Lattice based kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) is often used for simulating the dynamics of systems at a supramolecular scale, based on molecular scale transitions. A common challenge in KMC simulations is rapid 'back-and-forth' reactions, which dominate the events executed during simulations and inhibit the ability for simulations to reach longer time scales. Such processes are fast frivolous processes (FFPs) and are one manifestation of a phenomenon referred to as KMC-stiffness. Here, an algorithm for staggered quasi-equilibrium rank-based throttling geared towards transient kinetics (SQERT-T) is presented. Within the SQERT-T methodology, a pace-restrictor reaction and an FFP floor are utilized along with throttling of the process transition rate constants to accelerate the KMC simulations while still retaining sufficient time resolution for sampling of the data. KMC simulations were performed for CO oxidation over RuO2(1 1 0) and over RuO2(1 1 1), and the results were compared to experimental data obtained using RuO2 powders. The experiments and simulations were for transient conditions: the system was subjected to a temperature program which included temperatures in the range of 363 to 453 K. The timescales that were achieved during the KMC simulations in this study would not have been accessible without KMC acceleration, and were enabled by the use of SQERT-T.
Lack of emotional gaze preferences using eye-tracking in remitted bipolar I disorder

Bipolar disorder is associated with heightened and persistent positive emotion (Gruber in Curr Dir Psychol Sci 20:217–221, 2011; Johnson in Clin Psychol Rev 25:241–262, 2005). Yet little is known about information processing biases that may influence these patterns of emotion responding. The current study adopted eye-tracking methodology as a continuous measure of sustained overt attention to monitor gaze preferences during passive viewing of positive, negative, and neutral standardized photo stimuli among remitted bipolar adults and healthy controls. Percentage fixation durations were recorded for predetermined areas of interest across the entire image presentation, and exploratory analyses were conducted to examine early versus late temporal phases of image processing. Results suggest that the bipolar and healthy control groups did not differ in patterns of attention bias. Findings provide insight into apparently intact attention processing despite disrupted emotional responding in bipolar disorder.
The Israel Lobby and US Policy in the Middle East: The Iraq War, The Egyptian Arab Spring, and Iran’s Nuclear Program

The influence of the so-called 'Israel Lobby', a diverse coalition of American organizations that aim to affect pro-Israel policy, has been hotly-debated for several decades, and descriptions of the lobby's importance to US foreign policy range from 'irrelevant' to 'axiomatic'. In an effort to understand the current debate, this project examines the relationship between the Israel Lobby and US foreign policy in three cases: the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, the legacy of the Arab Spring in postMubarak Egypt, and US-Israeli efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Throughout the paper, I draw on primary and secondary historical resources and international relations theory in order to explore the US-Israel relationship through changing domestic and international circumstances and to better understand the implications of this relationship for the prospects of a more peaceful dynamic in the Middle East. I conclude that, while still a significant factor in American foreign policy, the influence of the Israel Lobby is transforming and, in some cases, stagnating as the United States moves toward a narrower, more pragmatic and therefore less ideological strategy in the Middle East.
Long-Term Outcomes of a Cardiovascular and Diabetes Risk-Reduction Program Initiated by a Self-Insured Employer.

Background Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in America and poses a significant challenge for self-insured employers attempting to improve employee health and well-being while controlling healthcare costs. Disease state management programs can be an effective means of achieving these outcomes, but the durability and long-term effects of such programs have limited evaluation. Objective To assess the 5-year health, economic, and quality-of-life patient outcomes of an employer-sponsored disease state management program. Methods This was a longitudinal, 5-year, quasi-experimental, pre-/postenrollment study. Self-insured health plan members with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, or a combination of these conditions met with a pharmacist regularly (monthly for the first year, then varied by participant) to implement lifestyle medicine programs, optimize medication therapy, and facilitate the coordination of care. Biometric markers, lifestyle behaviors, quality of life, and work productivity were assessed on an annual basis. Results The significant biometric improvements (mean) seen after 5 years of program participation compared with pre-enrollment included decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (96.71 mg/dL vs 84.83 mg/dL, respectively), increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (39.32 mg/dL vs 46.12 mg/dL), and decreased systolic blood pressure (132.04 mm Hg vs 123.63 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (85.75 mm Hg vs 75.83 mm Hg). The average exercise time increased (50 minutes weekly vs 156.04 minutes weekly), as did fruit and vegetable consumption (3.98 servings daily vs 5.27 servings daily). The program participants reported improved general health and a reduced number of unhealthy days. The combined healthcare and productivity return on investment for the program at 5 years was $9.64 for every $1 invested. Conclusions Significant changes in employees' health, well-being, and health-related costs are possible through sustained participation in an employer-sponsored disease state management program.
Resources Management and Performance Analysis in Datacenter Networks

Datacenters are core computational engines in cloud computing. They are de facto platforms to run computationally intensive applications and execute big data workload. They are expected to provide reliable and cost-effective cloud services. The exponential growth in cloud applications, the demand for more computational and communicative resources, and the need for energy and cost-efficient resource management have motivated researchers to introduce an array of resources management techniques to efficiently manage datacenters' resources. To address these challenges and facilitate future advancements in datacenters, it is important to synthesize, classify and assess the proposed resources management techniques for datacenter clusters. This article investigates how different architectural designs could affect the operational effectiveness of a datacenter. It presents key contributions and a taxonomy of resource management techniques that would guide future design and developmental efforts. It will help researchers and developers to design the most appropriate resource management framework for their datacenters and optimize certain design goals under different workloads.
DIFFUSE IDIOPATHIC SKELETAL HYPEROSTOSIS: AN INCIDENTAL FINDING ON CBCT RADIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT

Background Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a form of degenerative arthritis that affects individuals age greater than 60 years, with males affected more compared with females. Because it is usually painless and latent, with some incidences of intermittent pain and stiffness in the spine area, this condition is often diagnosed incidentally during radiographic examination for a nonrelated reason.1 Spinal DISH is characterized by calcification and bony growth along the anterior longitudinal ligament. The most frequently used criteria of Resnick and Niwayama for diagnosing DISH are 3 radiographic characteristics: flowing ossification along the anterolateral aspect of at least 4 contiguous vertebral bodies, preservation of intervertebral disk height in the involved segment, and absence of apophyseal joint bony ankyloses and sacroiliac joint erosion.2 These criteria, however, are considered limited in that they do not allow early stage classifications, lack standardized descriptions/measurements, and describe spinal manifestations only, and because of the mutual exclusivity of DISH and ankylosing spondylitis.3 DISH is characterized by the calcification and ossification of soft tissues, mainly ligaments, tendons, and joint capsule (enthesial) insertions. Many patients with DISH are asymptomatic and do not show any alterations in the condition of their spine, as indicated by history or physical examination findings. Objective The aim of this study was to discuss the incidental discovery of DISH upon cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) radiographic assessment that may help prevent fractures of the spine and narrowing of the airway. Materials and Methods Two cases—a 72-year-old male and an 80-year-old female—from our university-based oral and maxillofacial radiology practice are presented, both with incidental findings. The 72-year-old patient showed ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament at the C2-C3 level, causing severe narrowing of the oropharyngeal airway. The 80-year-old patient exhibited large osseous outgrowths from the anterior aspect of the vertebral bodies/anterior arch of C1, appearing to connect the vertebrae with each other superiorly and inferiorly. At C4-C5, there was ossification posterior to the vertebral bodies; and at C2-C5, the apophyseal joints were sclerotic with loss of joint space and osteophyte formation. The anterior displacement of the posterior wall of the oropharynx caused by the osseous structures in cervical spine had significantly decreased the anteroposterior dimension of the airway in case #2. The main differential diagnoses in DISH consist of spondylosis deformans, ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis.4 Conclusions Spinal diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis is a common bone-forming disorder in the middle-aged and older population. Its recognition is important because this condition can render the spine susceptible to fractures even with minor trauma, such as ground-level fall, resulting in delayed diagnosis and neurologic deterioration.
Moral humility: In life and at work

Abstract If behavioral ethics research from the past two decades has taught us nothing else, it has made it abundantly clear that humans are morally fallible. Indeed, there are everyday examples—in the workplace and beyond—of people who unwittingly violate their personal moral values, finding numerous ways to rationalize and justify otherwise morally objectionable behavior. In this article, we argue that acknowledging one’s own moral fallibility and developing moral humility can be an influential step in helping bridge the gap between a person’s values and behaviors. Specifically, we define and make the case for moral humility as a fundamental virtue that can help people better avoid unethical behavior and enable virtuous behavior. Specifically, we explore the potential effects of having low (insufficient), high (optimal), and extremely high (excessive) levels of moral humility on multiple outcomes at the individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels. Our hope is to encourage future research on this important but underexamined construct.
Characterization of Aqueous 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Ionic Liquids for Calculation of Ion Dissociation.

We employ precise measuring techniques to determine the densities, viscosities, and ionic conductivities of three aqueous 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium [emim]+ ionic liquid (IL) systems with minimal experimental uncertainty. We simultaneously present a novel method for estimating ion dissociation relying only on these three measurements and the estimated Stokes radii of the ions based on the Stokes–Einstein and Nernst–Einstein equations. Ion dissociation values are estimated across a range of IL concentrations, emphasizing dilute IL regions, using ionic radii calculated from widely used UNIQUAC and UNIFAC values. With these approximations and assuming the presence of only ion pairs, the ion dissociation of all three ILs reaches a minimum value at a water mole fraction of about 0.98. Upon further dilution with water, the ion dissociation increases as the system approaches infinite dilution of the IL. We postulate that the apparent minimum in the ion dissociation is caused by the Stokes radii of the cation an...
Computer Vision to Enhance Behavioral Research on Insects

New or improved technologies can enable entomologists to address previously intractable questions, especially in the area of insect behavior. In this review, we describe the basic elements of applied computer vision for entomologists: image capture, data extraction, and analysis. We describe some of the currently available options in imaging hardware and cameras, lighting, software, as well as some basic data collection scenarios, and give detailed examples from our own experience. We suggest that the study of insect behavior is increasingly based on quantification of behavioral phenomena, that use of computer vision techniques for quantification will increase, and that the application of these tools and approaches will bring new insight and answers to questions in entomology. We hope this review can serve as a starting point for those interested in delving deeper into how computer vision can be applied to their research.
A theoretical study of the overall transmission error in planetary gear sets

In this study, a theoretical investigation on the overall loaded motion transmission error of planetary gear sets is presented. Planetary gear set load distribution model is employed to predict the...
Job-Class-Level Fixed Priority Scheduling of Weakly-Hard Real-Time Systems

Many cyber-physical applications including sensing and control operations can tolerate a certain degree of timing violations as long as the number of the violations are predictably bounded. The notion of weakly-hard real-time systems has been studied to capture this effect, but existing work reveals limitations for practical use due the restrictions imposed on timing model and the high complexity of analysis. In this paper, we propose a new job-class-level fixed-priority preemptive scheduler and its schedulability analysis framework for sporadic tasks with weakly-hard real-time constraints. Our proposed scheduler employs the meet-oriented classification of jobs of a task in order to reduce the worst-case temporal interference imposed on other tasks. Under this approach, each job is associated with a "job-class" that is determined by the number of deadlines previously met (with a bounded number of consecutively-missed deadlines). This approach also allows decomposing the complex weakly-hard schedulability problem into two sub-problems that are easier to solve: (1) analyzing the response time of a job with each job-class, which can be done by an extension of the existing task-level analysis, and (2) finding possible job-class patterns, which can be modeled as a simple reachability tree. Experimental results indicate that our scheduler outperforms prior work in terms of task schedulability and analysis time complexity. We have also implemented a prototype of a job-class-level scheduler in the Linux kernel running on Raspberry Pi with acceptably-small runtime overhead.
Leiomyoma of the sigmoid mesocolon associated to hemorrhagic infarct and high count of mast cells

Leiomyoma is a soft-tissue benign tumor and its occurrence in the mesocolon is extremely rare. We present a particular case of a leiomyoma of the sigmoid mesocolon of a 58-year-old man, associated to a hemorrhagic infarction treated surgically and without recurrences after 1 year of follow-up. The macroscopic, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical features are presented and discussed. The high mast cell count associated with a low rate of cell proliferation is a sign of the benign biological behavior in this entity and may be helpful hallmarks for the differential diagnosis with other gastroenterological neoplasia.
On the Significance of Social Relationships in the Development of Children’s Earliest Symbolic Play: An Ecological Perspective

Human beings inhabit a manmade world of symbolic thought, language, science, religion, money, art, and play. Cassirer (1951) defined man as an “animal symbolicum”; Kaplan (1961) saw symbolic activity as a characteristic feature of human existence; and von Bertalanffy (1968) viewed the evolution of symbolism as basic to anthropogenesis. The participant in symbolic interaction suspends, alters, or distorts current reality to take part in that which is depicted, heard, or read. On this argument, important features of human cognition and culture are linked to symbolism. Notably, one primary way children first enter the world of symbolism is through their pretense play. This chapter is concerned with the earliest emergence, manifestations, and developmental course of symbolic play in childhood and, more centrally, with how young children’s symbolic play is fostered through their social relationships.
Evaluating Design Space Subsetting for Multi-Objective Optimization in Configurable Systems

Design space subsetting has been used to select configurations that are suitable for a target design objective. However, given the growing number of design constraints and objectives (energy, performance, EDP, temperature, user expectations, etc.) selecting the best subset for a single objective may no longer satisfy current design requirements. Additionally, the increasing design space sizes in emerging systems, and the variety of configurations that can satisfy multiple objectives, makes design space subsetting very challenging. In this paper, using a configurable cache as a case study, we evaluate the impact of design space subsetting for multi-objective optimization of performance, energy, and temperature. Using a design space of 243 configurations, yielding up to 1.4 X 1073 subsets, we evaluate the quality of the subsets obtained for one design constraint against the complete design space and against the remaining design objectives (e.g., best energy subsets for performance and thermal optimization). Our results reveal that prior subsetting methods are insufficient to meet current design trends due to the correlation between design objectives. Our results also suggest that large subsets of 10 or more configurations are required to maintain multi-objective optimization results that are within 3% of the optimal.
Implementation of a clinical guideline to decrease laboratory tests in newborns evaluated for early onset sepsis.

Background Creation of a clinical guideline to reduce the number of complete blood counts (CBCs) obtained on healthy term infants for early onset sepsis (EOS) evaluation secondary to maternal chorioamnionitis. Methods A clinical guideline was introduced at four neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to reduce laboratory tests during EOS evaluation. Measures include frequency and timing of CBCs, culture negative sepsis, length of stay, and readmission rate. Results Mean number of CBCs per patient significantly decreased (2.31±0.62 versus 1.52±0.65) without increasing trends for patients with culture negative sepsis, length of stay, or re-admission. Conclusion The clinical guideline demonstrated a significant reduction in the number of CBCs obtained in well-appearing infants admitted to the NICU secondary to maternal chorioamnionitis.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Analysis of the Prevalence, Length, and Passage of the Anterior Loop of the Mandibular Canal

When placing implants in the anterior mandible, it is important to avoid damaging the mandibular nerve and its terminal extensions. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, length, and passage of the anterior loop of the mandibular canal, as well as the quantity of alveolar bone that is coronal to the canal, to help with implant placement in the anterior mandible. Cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) scans of 124 patients with 248 hemi-sections were evaluated. Anterior loop prevalence was determined using reconstructed panoramic and cross-sectional views; length was measured as the distance between the most mesial aspect of the mental foramen to the most mesial aspect of the anterior loop on cross-sectional views. The bucco-lingual position of the anterior loop inside the mandible and the apico-coronal dimensions of the alveolar bone above it were measured on cross-sectional views to determine the passage of the anterior loop and the bone available coronally, respectively. The effects of sex, age, side, and dentate status on the prevalence and length of the anterior loop were analyzed statistically. Prevalence of the anterior loop at the patient and hemi-section levels was 25% and 24%, respectively, and its median length was 1.63 mm (range, 0.52-3.92 mm). The anterior loop was apical to the mental foramen and mostly located within the buccal or middle one-third of the alveolar ridge, with an average height of coronal alveolar bone of 17.12 mm. Sex, age, side, and dentate status did not affect anterior loop prevalence and length. In conclusion, because of great variation, a case-by-case CBCT evaluation of the anterior loop is necessary before placing implants in the anterior mandible.
Controllable Synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks and Their Hierarchical Assemblies

Summary Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely employed in gas storage and separation, drug delivery, and catalysis. The design and construction of MOFs and their hierarchical assemblies play a key role in enhancing properties including guest diffusion kinetics, catalytic activity, and selectivity. This Review summarizes the most recent advances in the controlled synthesis of MOFs with tunable sizes and morphologies, discusses the programmed assembly of novel MOFs with hierarchical structures, and highlights the vital roles of composition, morphology, and the hierarchically porous structure in applications, including delivery and catalysis. A short review of programmable assembly of MOF superstructures and composites with hierarchically arranged functionalities is provided. Taken together, this Review is expected to supply synthetic guidance for developing MOFs and their hierarchical assemblies, which shall in turn guide the state-of-the-art design of sophisticated materials with unprecedented tunability for various applications.
SPECT imaging of lung ischemia-reperfusion injury using [99mTc]cFLFLF for molecular targeting of formyl peptide receptor 1

Primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation, a consequence of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. IRI involves acute inflammation and innate imm...
Endogenous Monitoring in a Partnership Game

I consider a repeated game in which, due to imperfect monitoring, no collusion can be sustained. I add a self-interested monitor who commits to obtain private signals of firms' actions and sends a public message. The monitor makes an offer specifying the precision of the signals obtained and the amount to be paid in return. First, with a low monitoring cost, collusive equilibria exist. Second, collusive equilibria are monitor-preferred. Third, in monitor-preferred equilibria, firms' payoffs are decreasing in the discount factor. My model helps explain cartel agreements between self-interested parties and firms in legal industries in the United States and Europe.
Bilateral focal choroidal excavations in a patient with Stargardt disease and ocular toxoplasmosis.

Introduction:Focal choroidal excavation (FCE) is a concavity of the choroid detected on optical coherence tomography (OCT). It is usually idiopathic and the affected eyes are otherwise healthy with...
Optimal Management of Patients with Advanced NSCLC Harboring High PD-L1 Expression and Driver Mutations

Patients with stage IV or recurrent/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors harbor high PD-L1 expression and driver mutations with approved targeted treatments (EGFR, ALK, BRAFV600E, ROS1) should receive initial therapy with targeted therapy based on impressive clinical activity. PD-(L)1 inhibitors have demonstrated minimal activity in many driver mutation subsets including EGFR and ALK and appears to have more benefit in smoking-associated oncogenic drivers (KRAS, BRAF). For KRAS-driven tumors, co-mutations such as STK11/LKB1 are negative predictive markers of immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy. Therefore, driver mutations need to be evaluated before pursuing immunotherapy independent of PD-L1 expression level. Caution should be used with TKIs following or concurrent with immunotherapy owing to potentially increased toxicity. New immunotherapy combinations are needed especially for oncogene-driven tumors associated with never or light smoking history.
Neuromodulation, Specialized Proresolving Mediators, and Resolution of Pain

The current crises in opioid abuse and chronic pain call for the development of nonopioid and nonpharmacological therapeutics for pain relief. Neuromodulation-based approaches, such as spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion simulation, and nerve stimulation including vagus nerve stimulation, have shown efficacy in achieving pain control in preclinical and clinical studies. However, the mechanisms by which neuromodulation alleviates pain are not fully understood. Accumulating evidence suggests that neuromodulation regulates inflammation and neuroinflammation-a localized inflammation in peripheral nerves, dorsal root ganglia/trigeminal ganglia, and spinal cord/brain-through neuro-immune interactions. Specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs) such as resolvins, protectins, maresins, and lipoxins are lipid molecules produced during the resolution phase of inflammation and exhibit multiple beneficial effects in resolving inflammation in various animal models. Recent studies suggest that SPMs inhibit inflammatory pain, postoperative pain, neuropathic pain, and cancer pain in rodent models via immune, glial, and neuronal modulations. It is noteworthy that sham surgery is sufficient to elevate resolvin levels and may serve as a model of resolution. Interestingly, it has been shown that the vagus nerve produces SPMs and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) induces SPM production in vitro. In this review, we discuss how neuromodulation such as VNS controls pain via immunomodulation and neuro-immune interactions and highlight possible involvement of SPMs. In particular, we demonstrate that VNS via auricular electroacupuncture effectively attenuates chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain. Furthermore, auricular stimulation is able to increase resolvin levels in mice. Thus, we propose that neuromodulation may control pain and inflammation/neuroinflammatioin via SPMs. Finally, we discuss key questions that remain unanswered in our understanding of how neuromodulation-based therapies provide short-term and long-term pain relief.
3D printing fabrication and test of a centrifugal cartridge with an integrated gravity valve for solid phase extractions

Abstract This paper reports a truly three-dimensional centrifugal cartridge system with a novel gravity valve, multiple capillary and Coriolis switching valves. The unique design of the novel gravity valve helps to simplify the design of the fluidic system. The entire fluidic system was 3D printed, and tested for Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) enhancement applications. Other than the servo-motor used to drive the rotational movement of the system, there was no moving parts in the fluidic platform. The sequential control of these valves was simply achieved by manipulating the rotating direction and speed of the centrifugal cartridge. Anthracene, which was one of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), was used as the target analyte and tested with our design. C18 was used as the stationary sorbent and fluorescence method was adopted to detect anthracene. The concentrations of the anthracene/water testing samples were 1 μg/L (1 ppb), 5 μg/L (5 ppb), and 10 μg/L (10 ppb), respectively. The volumes of testing sample and eluent (nonane) were 10 mL and 1 mL respectively. Experiments showed that the average fluorescence intensity enhancement ratio for samples with different analyte concentrations were 11.81, 9.48, and 7.36, respectively. This centrifugal SPE system was easy to operate and could be potentially used as a portable on-site pollutant enrichment and detection device.
Engaging Communities in Challenging Times: Lessons Learned from the Master Gardener Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The ProblemThe centrality of community engagement to the success of higher education is incontestable. When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic emerged in early 2020, organizations and institutions...
Legal Probabilism—A Qualified Rejection: A Response to Hedden and Colyvan

The best explanation of juridical proof has evolved from probabilism to explanationism. In a recent article, Brian Hedden and Mark Colyvan criticize the evolution from probability to explanation based on a sparse review of some of the pertinent literature, joining a cottage industry of experts from cognate disciplines attempting to rescue probability theory from the corroding effects of legal scholarship. Their major point is to “fault” this transformation “for assuming an outdated and inexhaustive catalogue of ‘interpretations’ of probability. . . which . . . ignores the possibility of integrating the explanatory and other epistemological considerations . . . into a probabilistic framework.” This claim is false. The legal literature has vetted the two decades old literature that Hedden and Colyvan refer to as a new development in epistemology, which in any event has no value in resolving the problems the legal literature on juridical proof addresses. A proper understanding of both the dated literature that Hedden and Colyvan refer to, and what actually are “new developments” in epistemology support the progression from probabilism to explanationism as the best explanation of juridical proof. In addition, H&C make a fundamental error about what the conceptual problem is. Together these errors vitiate their criticisms of explanationism as the best explanation of juridical proof at present. Correcting these mistakes and misapprehensions may assist those in other fields in their understanding of what the actual issues are.
Fundamental tests of a dielectric photonic bandgap waveguide in the microwave region

Summary form only given. We constructed hollow-core photonic bandgap waveguides surrounding a central hollow core with a two-dimensional photonic bandgap structure. This structure is fabricated by stacking together a array of hollow cylinders in a hexagonal closed packed lattice structure, but omitting the central cylinder and its six nearest neighbors. The central hole of the fiber thus consists of seven missing central cylinders of this 2D lattice, and this hole can be considered to be a defect in the otherwise perfectly periodic structure. Light can be guided down this hole in a symmetric fundamental mode. Our goal is completely characterize the nature of this mode and the band gap structure.
How to write an image challenge multiple choice question.

In each issue of Heart , we publish an image challenge which consists of a brief clinical vignette, an image and an accompanying multiple choice question (MCQ), followed by a short discussion. The goal of the image challenge is to make an educational point, so authors must reflect on what they wish to teach. The clarity of the educational point is often what distinguishes a strong image challenge which is accepted for publication from those that are not. Even though the importance of a clearly defined teaching and testing point is self-evident, it is natural that the the inspiration to write an image challenge occurs when an author encounters a remarkable image in clinical practice and wishes to share it. High-quality and engaging images are critical, but the best image challenge submissions are not show-and-tell, in which the image is primary and the MCQ and teaching point are perfunctory. Rather, the image should be used to augment a well-crafted MCQ. MCQs, often maligned, can be effective educational tools; they require active learning, or what cognitive psychologists call ‘retrieval practice’, in which the reader deliberately recalls information which has been previously learnt.1 Retrieval practice improves long-term retention of information and allows clinicians to later recall that information in ‘real life’ and apply that information to a variety of …
The past, present, and future of enzyme-based therapies.

Abstract Enzyme-based therapeutics (EBTs) have the potential to tap into an almost unmeasurable amount of enzyme biodiversity and treat myriad conditions. Although EBTs were some of the first biologics used clinically, the rate of development of newer EBTs has lagged behind that of other biologics. Here, we review the history of EBTs, and discuss the state of each class of EBT, their potential clinical advantages, and the unique challenges to their development. Additionally, we discuss key remaining technical barriers that, if addressed, could increase the diversity and rate of the development of EBTs.
Rotational Correlation Time of Concanavalin A after Interaction with a Fluorescent Probe

Abstract The interactions of the jack bean lectin concanavalin A (Con A) with the fluorescent probe 2-p-toluidinylnaphthalene-6-sulfonate (TNS) have been studied using equilibrium binding methods and nanosecond relaxation techniques. At pH 7.4 in phosphate-buffered saline, where the protein exists predominantly as a tetramer with a molecular weight of 102,000, there is one major TNS binding site per tetramer, and the interaction with TNS has a dissociation constant of 5 x 10-5 m. The fluorescence quantum yield of bound TNS was 0.5, compared with a quantum yield of less than 0.001 in buffer alone. Measurements of nanosecond fluorescence depolarization yielded a rotational correlation time for the TNS-Con A complex of 57 ns. Under identical conditions, succinyl-Con A, which is a dimer having a molecular weight of 51,000, also had one TNS binding site per molecule, with a dissociation constant of 2 x 10-5 m. The rotational correlation time of succinyl-Con A was one-half that of the tetramer, in agreement with the difference in their molecular weights. The binding of TNS was not affected by the presence of sugars that bind to Con A, indicating that TNS and saccharides bind at independent sites. Moreover, the rotational correlation time of the molecule was not significantly changed in the presence of specifically bound sugar, suggesting that no gross changes in the conformation or state of aggregation of the molecule occur upon binding of sugar.
Estimating Quadratic Stability Domains by Nonsmooth Optimization

In this paper, we present a nonsmooth algorithm for computing quadratic (i.e., ellipsoidal) estimates of the domain of attraction for exponentially stable nonlinear systems. Our algorithm generates a sequence of ellipsoidal estimates, each of which has the maximum volume for the current shape and orientation. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated using a simple example.
Rapid detection of bacteria in cerebrospinal fluid by immunofluorescence staining on membrane filters.

Abstract A filter-fluorescent-antibody (FFA) staining procedure was developed for detection of bacteria in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The sensitivity of this procedure was determined and compared with that of the slide Gram stain of centrifuged samples, latex agglutination, and a previously developed filter Gram stain. Serial 10-fold dilutions of filter-sterilized CSF seeded with logarithmic-phase organisms were examined by each method and cultured to determine colony-forming bacteria. The bacteria included Haemophilus influenzae type b; Neisseria meningitidis group B, C, and W135; Streptococcus pneumoniae types 6A and 23F; and group B Streptococcus species. FFA was found to be equal in sensitivity to the filter Gram stain (P greater than 0.30). Both filter-staining procedures had greater sensitivity than the slide Gram stain of centrifuged sediment (P less than 0.02) and latex agglutination (P less than 0.0001). Addition of human leukocytes at a concentration of 5 to 10 cells per oil immersion field did not decrease sensitivity of the FFA procedure, although background fluorescence increased. FFA is a rapid and dependable procedure for detection of low numbers of bacteria in CSF. Evaluation of FFA with clinical specimens is needed.
The Right to Effective Assistance of Appellate Counsel

This article closely examines the Supreme Court's decision in Strickland v. Washington, as it applies to effective assistance of trial counsel. Part III analyzes the constitutional origin and current status of the right to effective assistance of counsel on appeal. Part IV discusses the functional differences between trial and appellate counsel, the differences in the two forums, and the different effect that a finding of ineffectiveness of counsel at trial or on appeal has on finality. Part V formulates a standard to govern ineffectiveness of appellate counsel claims that incorporates Strickland's "reasonable competence" standard, but applies that standard differently with respect to appellate counsel. It also rejects Strickland's prejudice requirement.
Fusion of visual, thermal, and range as a solution to illumination and pose restrictions in face recognition

This paper summarizes the various components of face recognition research conducted at the IRIS Lab. First, fusion of visual and thermal infrared (IR) images for robust face recognition is discussed. Two techniques are implemented: data fusion and decision fusion. With the knowledge that eyeglasses block the emission of thermal energy, an algorithm is designed to detect and replace eyeglasses with an eye template in thermal images. A commercial face recognition software (FaceIt/spl reg/) is used in the evaluation of the various fusion algorithms. Comparison results show that fusion-based face recognition outperforms individual visual or thermal face recognizers under illumination variations and facial expressions. Efforts in the 3D arena are also described. Results of high resolution stereo-based 3D reconstruction of faces are shown and analyzed, in a first approach, then in a second approach, a warping technique is applied to overlay color and thermal textures on 3D mannequin head models, obtained using a laser range scanner.
A review of "Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophy" by Michael Zuckert and Catherine Zuckert

Forty-two years after the death of Leo Strauss, the barrage of misguided, partisan, sometimes even paranoid books and articles assailing him for everything from inciting the Iraq war to promoting f...
Far-field quantum statistics of light generated by a collection of two-level atoms

We study quantum statistics of optical fields in the far zone of a light source consisting of a number of uncorrelated atoms. The quantum statistics of such a system can be universal under certain conditions.
Wavelet based modulation for frequency hopped spread spectrum communications

Wavelet properties such as orthogonality over scale and translation make them well suited as modulation waveforms in a communication system. In this paper, we analyze the performance of a wavelet based FH-CDMA system operating in a multipath Rayleigh fading channel. In a frequency selective channel, unequal pulse widths of the dyadic wavelet functions introduce ISI with the short duration pulses being affected more than the long duration pulses. To combat the ISI, we employ a single multi-band equalizer before the wavelet transform and multiple single-band equalizers after the wavelet transform. It is shown that identical performance in terms of probability of bit error is obtained with both approaches; however, the computational complexity of single-band equalizers is smaller.
A note on the temperature tolerance of Legionella.

Dennis, P.J., Green, D. & Jones, B.P.C. 1984. A note on the temperature tolerance of Legionella. Journal of Applied Bacteriology56, 349–350. A strain of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 isolated from the environment had a decimal reduction time in water at 50dC (D50) of 111 min, a D54 of 27 min and a D58 of 6 min. There was little loss of viability at 46dC. Other environmental organisms, a Pseudomonas sp., a Micrococcus sp. and a coliform survived less well at these temperatures. A species of Sarcina had a survival time greater than the L. pneumophila at all the temperatures tested. Other strains of legionellas were tested at 50dC and decimal reduction times calculated. These ranged from 80 min for another strain of L. pneumophia serogroup 1 to 216 min for L. bozemannii. Legionella micdadei did not survive well at 50dC.
Neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy of transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium with cisplatin, methotrexate and vinblastine

Cisplatin-based multiple-drug chemotherapy is currently considered to be the most effective treatment for advanced and metastatic urothelial cancers. The combination of cisplatin, methotrexate and vinblastine (CMV) has been used at our institution for neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy. A complete response rate of 50% has been achieved in 28 evaluable patients with metastatic or locally advanced transitional cell carcinoma treated according to a neoadjuvant protocol. Our impression, based on early data, is that adjuvant CMV can effect at least a delay in disease progression, and possibly a prolonged disease-free survival.
Purification and characterization of the extracellular β-glucosidase produced by Candida wickerhamii

Candida wickerhamii NRRL Y-2563 produced a cell-bound β-glucosidase when grown in complex media containing 50 g of cellobiose per liter. The majority of the enzyme was located on the cell surface and was released into the supernatant upon treatment of intact cells with Zymolyase 60,000. Only about 10% of the total activity was associated with the cytoplasm. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity, as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme had an apparent native molecular mass of about 198,000 Da and appeared to be composed of two subunits with approximate molecular masses of 94,000 Da. The β-glucosidase contained approximately 30.5% (ww) carbohydrate. Mannose was the only detected neutral carbohydrate associated with the purified enzyme. The enzyme demonstrated optimal activity at a pH of 4.0 to 5.0. The Km of the purified β-glucosidase was 6.74 × 10−2m for cellobiose and 4.17 × 10−3m for p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside. Glucose did not appear to inhibit the enzyme.
Multiple comparisons of matched proportions

It is well known (see, e.g., Scheffe (1959)) that if confidence intervals are desired for several treatment comparisons of interest, especially after a preliminary test of significance, then the appropriate technique is to consider simultaneous confidence intervals with a certain joint confidence coefficient. Goodman (1964) derived such simultaneous confidence intervals for contrasts among several multinomial populations, each with the same number, say J, of classes. The special case involving simultaneous confidence intervals for contrasts among several binomial populations on the basis of independent samples follows simply by taking J=2. This paper now deals with the problem of construction of simultaneous confidence intervals among probabilities of ‘success’ on the basis of matched samples.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)-Strings: An Alternative Method for Assessing Genetic Associations

Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identify disease-associations for single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) from scattered genomic-locations. However, SNPs frequently reside on several different SNP-haplotypes, only some of which may be disease-associated. This circumstance lowers the observed odds-ratio for disease-association. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we develop a method to identify the two SNP-haplotypes, which combine to produce each person’s SNP-genotype over specified chromosomal segments. Two multiple sclerosis (MS)-associated genetic regions were modeled; DRB1 (a Class II molecule of the major histocompatibility complex) and MMEL1 (an endopeptidase that degrades both neuropeptides and β-amyloid). For each locus, we considered sets of eleven adjacent SNPs, surrounding the putative disease-associated gene and spanning ∼200 kb of DNA. The SNP-information was converted into an ordered-set of eleven-numbers (subject-vectors) based on whether a person had zero, one, or two copies of particular SNP-variant at each sequential SNP-location. SNP-strings were defined as those ordered-combinations of eleven-numbers (0 or 1), representing a haplotype, two of which combined to form the observed subject-vector. Subject-vectors were resolved using probabilistic methods. In both regions, only a small number of SNP-strings were present. We compared our method to the SHAPEIT-2 phasing-algorithm. When the SNP-information spanning 200 kb was used, SHAPEIT-2 was inaccurate. When the SHAPEIT-2 window was increased to 2,000 kb, the concordance between the two methods, in both of these eleven-SNP regions, was over 99%, suggesting that, in these regions, both methods were quite accurate. Nevertheless, correspondence was not uniformly high over the entire DNA-span but, rather, was characterized by alternating peaks and valleys of concordance. Moreover, in the valleys of poor-correspondence, SHAPEIT-2 was also inconsistent with itself, suggesting that the SNP-string method is more accurate across the entire region. Conclusions/Significance Accurate haplotype identification will enhance the detection of genetic-associations. The SNP-string method provides a simple means to accomplish this and can be extended to cover larger genomic regions, thereby improving a GWAS’s power, even for those published previously.
Amperometric detection of simple alcohols in aqueous solutions by application of a triple-pulse potential waveform at platinum electrodes

Abstract Application of a triple-pulse waveform is described for the anodic detection of methanol, ethanol, and ethylene glycol. The execution of the waveform incorporates the cleaning and reactivation of the platinum electrode, by alternate anodic and cathodic polarization, with measurement of the faradaic signal for the analyte at the reduced electrode surface. Some results for formic acid are also presented. The waveform is completed within approximately 2 s and the faradaic signal exhibits no decay with time as would be the case for amperometric detection at a constant applied potential. Calibration curves made by plotting —1/I vs. 1/C are linear. This is consistent with a reaction mechanism in which the analyte is adsorbed prior to anodic detection. The technique is applicable for detection in chromatographic and flow-injection systems.
Core self-evaluations interact with cognitive ability to predict academic achievement

Extant research suggests that core self-evaluations (CSE) is associated with various work-related criteria, but such research often focuses on main effects when predicting subjective outcomes. Drawing upon psychological theories involving self-concept and motivation, we investigated both the main and interactive effects of CSE and cognitive ability when predicting an objective outcome. Specifically, results indicated that high CSE strengthened the positive relation between cognitive ability and academic achievement. Study contributions and limitations are discussed.