cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Temperature, Oxygen Level, Ionic Strength, and pH on the Reaction of Benzene with Hydroxyl Radicals at the Air-Water Interface in Comparison to the Bulk Aqueous Phase.

Atmospheric aerosols (e.g., fog droplets) are complex, multiphase mediums. Depending on location, time of day, and/or air mass source, there can be considerable variability within these droplets, relating to temperature, pH, and ionic strength. Due to the droplets’ inherently small size, the reactions that occur within these droplets are determined by bulk aqueous phase and air–water interfacial conditions. In this study, the reaction of benzene and hydroxyl radicals is examined kinetically in a thin-film flow-tube reactor. By varying the aqueous volume (e.g., film thickness) along the length of the reactor, both bulk and interfacial reaction rates are measured from a single system. Temperature, pH, and ionic strength are varied to model conditions typical of fog events. Oxygen-poor conditions are measured to study oxygen’s overall effect on the reaction pathway. Initial rate activation energies and the bulk aqueous phase and interfacial contributions to the overall rate constant are also obtained.
Gene Therapy in the Retinal Degeneration Slow Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Human blinding disorders are often initiated by hereditary mutations that insult rod and/or cone photoreceptors and cause subsequent cellular death. Generally, the disease phenotype can be predicted from the specific mutation as many photoreceptor genes are specific to rods or cones; however certain genes, such as Retinal Degeneration Slow (RDS), are expressed in both cell types and cause different forms of retinal disease affecting rods, cones, or both photoreceptors. RDS is a transmembrane glycoprotein critical for photoreceptor outer segment disc morphogenesis, structural maintenance, and renewal. Studies using animal models with Rds mutations provide valuable insight into Rds gene function and regulation; and a better understanding of the physiology, pathology, and underlying degenerative mechanisms of inherited retinal disease. Furthermore, these models are an excellent tool in the process of developing therapeutic interventions for the treatment of inherited retinal degenerations. In this paper, we review these topics with particular focus on the use of rds models in gene therapy.
IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING CONSUMPTION DYNAMICS IN MARKET RECOVERY PERIODS

Periods of reduced supplies due to exogenous shocks and subsequent high price levels have occurred for many agricultural commodities in the past decade. Consumers' adjustments to these events depend on the magnitude of the shocks and characteristics of the commodity. Understanding consumers' responses to these events requires recognition of rigidities that result in delays in consumer responses to prices.Recognition of rigidities in consumption relationships by using dynamic stock and flow adjustment models was popularized by Houthakker and Taylor [2]. The models recognize the role of inventories and habits resulting from previous purchase patterns in determining current consumption decisions.
Judgmental extrapolation and the salience of change

People may often forecast using cognitive procedures that resemble formal time-series extrapolation models. A model of judgmental extrapolation based on exponential smoothing is proposed in which the setting of the trend parameter is hypothesized to depend upon the relative salience of the successive changes. The salience hypothesis was first tested with exponential series by the use of a framing manipulation. As predicted, focusing the subjects' attention on the changes led to more accurate forecasts. In two investment simulation studies, the salience hypothesis was further examined by varying the statistical properties of the price changes. As predicted, subjects were more likely to sell as prices fell and to buy as prices rose (1) as the sample size of similar changes increased; (2) when the variance of the changes was low; and (3) when the absolute value of the mean change was high. Conditions that may influence judgmental forecasting processes are discussed.
Regulating Critical Period Plasticity: Insight from the Visual System to Fear Circuitry for Therapeutic Interventions

Early temporary windows of heightened brain plasticity called critical periods developmentally sculpt neural circuits and contribute to adult behavior. Regulatory mechanisms of visual cortex development –the preeminent model of experience-dependent critical period plasticity- actively limit adult plasticity and have proved fruitful therapeutic targets to reopen plasticity and rewire faulty visual system connections later in life. Interestingly, these molecular mechanisms have been implicated in the regulation of plasticity in other functions beyond vision. Applying mechanistic understandings of critical period plasticity in the visual cortex to fear circuitry may provide a conceptual framework for developing novel therapeutic tools to mitigate aberrant fear responses in post traumatic stress disorder. In this review, we turn to the model of experience-dependent visual plasticity to provide novel insights for the mechanisms regulating plasticity in the fear system. Fear circuitry, particularly fear memory erasure, also undergoes age-related changes in experience-dependent plasticity. We consider the contributions of molecular brakes that halt visual critical period plasticity to circuitry underlying fear memory erasure. A major molecular brake in the visual cortex, perineuronal net formation, recently has been identified in the development of fear systems that are resilient to fear memory erasure. The roles of other molecular brakes, myelin-related Nogo receptor signaling and Lynx family proteins– endogenous inhibitors for nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, are explored in the context of fear memory plasticity. Such fear plasticity regulators, including epigenetic effects, provide promising targets for therapeutic interventions.
Social class differences produce social group preferences.

Some social groups are higher in socioeconomic status than others and the former tend to be favored over the latter. The present research investigated whether observing group differences in wealth alone can directly cause children to prefer wealthier groups. In Experiment 1, 4–5-year-old children developed a preference for a wealthy novel group over a less wealthy group. In Experiment 2, children did not develop preferences when groups differed by another kind of positive/negative attribute (i.e. living in brightly colored houses vs. drab houses), suggesting that wealth is a particularly meaningful group distinction. Lastly, in Experiment 3, the effect of favoring novel wealthy groups was moderated by group membership: Children assigned to a wealthy group showed ingroup favoritism, but those assigned to a less wealthy group did not. These experiments shed light on why children tend to be biased in favor of social groups that are higher in socioeconomic status.
Antarctic sea ice control on ocean circulation in present and glacial climates.

In the modern climate, the ocean below 2 km is mainly filled by waters sinking into the abyss around Antarctica and in the North Atlantic. Paleoproxies indicate that waters of North Atlantic origin were instead absent below 2 km at the Last Glacial Maximum, resulting in an expansion of the volume occupied by Antarctic origin waters. In this study we show that this rearrangement of deep water masses is dynamically linked to the expansion of summer sea ice around Antarctica. A simple theory further suggests that these deep waters only came to the surface under sea ice, which insulated them from atmospheric forcing, and were weakly mixed with overlying waters, thus being able to store carbon for long times. This unappreciated link between the expansion of sea ice and the appearance of a voluminous and insulated water mass may help quantify the ocean’s role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide on glacial–interglacial timescales. Previous studies pointed to many independent changes in ocean physics to account for the observed swings in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Here it is shown that many of these changes are dynamically linked and therefore must co-occur.
A utility-theoretic approach to privacy and personalization

Online services such as web search, news portals, and e-commerce applications face the challenge of providing high-quality experiences to a large, heterogeneous user base. Recent efforts have highlighted the potential to improve performance by personalizing services based on special knowledge about users. For example, a user's location, demographics, and search and browsing history may be useful in enhancing the results offered in response to web search queries. However, reasonable concerns about privacy by both users, providers, and government agencies acting on behalf of citizens, may limit access to such information. We introduce and explore an economics of privacy in personalization, where people can opt to share personal information in return for enhancements in the quality of an online service. We focus on the example of web search and formulate realistic objective functions for search efficacy and privacy. We demonstrate how we can identify a near-optimal solution to the utility-privacy tradeoff. We evaluate the methodology on data drawn from a log of the search activity of volunteer participants. We separately assess users' preferences about privacy and utility via a large-scale survey, aimed at eliciting preferences about peoples' willingness to trade the sharing of personal data in returns for gains in search efficiency. We show that a significant level of personalization can be achieved using only a small amount of information about users.
1989 Division 17 Presidential Address Science, Practice, and Politics

Events in the history of psychology in the United States are recounted with a focus on the domains of science, practice, and politics. After Jacklin, "Feminist Research and Psychology' (1987), three models of psychological science, (a) individual, (b) normal/abnormal, and (c) individual differences, are used to explicate the relative independence and divergent developmental courses of the three domains. Specifically, it is argued that adherence to a single paradigm within each domain has limited the integration of science, practice, and politics and has weakened psychology. It is suggested that the scientist-professional values of counseling psychologists can strengthen psychology s diversity and promote a needed integration of the discipline, the profession, and psychology's endeavors in behalf of the common good.
Using Mixed Methods to Evaluate the Pediatric Lead Assessment Network Education Training Program (PLANET)

The Pediatric Lead Assessment Network Education Training Program (PLANET) is a peer-to-peer in-person 1-hr lead poisoning prevention educational program for health professionals. This evaluation was designed to determine the impact of the PLANET program. Evaluation methods included analyzing data from PLANET sign-in sheets, evaluation forms, pre/postknowledge tests, claims data, and focus groups (FGs) and interviews (IVs) with PLANET attendees and nonattendees. Claims data were used to compare blood lead testing rates for physicians attending and those not attending a PLANET program. Over 2,000 health professionals attended the 192 PLANET presentations delivered between June 2001 and December 2006; most were registered nurses or physicians. Written evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. Posttests indicated increased provider knowledge about childhood lead poisoning prevention, and assessment of blood lead testing rates showed higher testing rates for PLANET attendees. FG and IV participants suggesting ...
Why the NCS and the UCR Crime Index Appear Discrepant as Indicators of Trends in Crime

The correct but imprecise belief that the NCS and the UCR measure trends in crime has helped foster the impressions of discrepancies between the two series. Given that both systems measure “Crime,” the expectation is that the two series should track each other over time. In fact, the NCS and UCR attend by design to two different, although overlapping, sets of crime events. Naive comparisons of trends in the two series often have failed to identify the components of the crime problem common to both and therefore involved comparisons of the incomparable. Consequently, impressions of discrepancy have been created where no consequential inconsistency existed.
Differentiation of bread made with whole grain and refined wheat (T. aestivum) flour using LC/MS-based chromatographic fingerprinting and chemometric approaches

Abstract A fuzzy chromatography mass spectrometric (FCMS) fingerprinting method combined with chemometric analysis was established to differentiate between breads made from whole wheat (WW) flour and refined wheat (RW) flour. The chemical compositions of the bread samples were profiled using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution accurate-mass multistage mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRAM-MSn) with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) in positive ionisation mode. Principal component analysis (PCA) and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) of the FCMS fingerprints revealed the components responsible for the chemical differences between WW and RW flour/bread samples. Alk(en)ylresorcinols (ARs) were demonstrated to be the most important markers for differentiation between WW and RW flour/breads. Diglycerides (DGs), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) also contributed significantly to the classification. Bread crumb and crust showed no difference in chemical profiles in this study. SIMCA, using WW modelling, could be a potent and robust tool for authentication of WW breads.
Identification of structural interventions for HIV/AIDS prevention: the concept mapping exercise.

Structural interventions have been defined as those prevention interventions that include physical, social, cultural, organizational, community, economic, legal, and policy factors. In an effort to examine the feasibility, evaluability, and sustainability of structural interventions for HIV prevention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented a project that involved asking experts in HIV prevention and other areas of public health—including injury and violence prevention, tobacco control, drug abuse, and nutrition—to provide input on the identification of structural interventions based on the aforementioned definition. The process resulted in a list of 123 interventions that met the definition. The experts were asked to group these interventions into categories based on similarity of ideas. They were also asked to rate these interventions in terms of impact they would have, if implemented, on reducing HIV transmission. The findings highlight the need for conducting further research on structural interventions, including feasibility of implementation and effectiveness of reducing HIV transmission risks.
Pragmatic Prospection: How and Why People Think about the Future:

In the present, the past is more knowable than the future—but people think far more about the future than the past. Both facts derive from the principle that the future can be changed whereas the p...
SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS) ASSOCIATED WITH GLIOMA SURVIVAL

BACKGROUND: In 2012, using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of UCSF Adult Glioma Study patients and replication in patients from the Mayo Clinic, TCGA and GliomaSE, we showed that a SNP in SSBP2 on chromosome 5 was associated with survival of glioblastoma (GBM) patients who received standard of care (SOC). Since then we have examined 41 SNPs that were potentially associated with survival after glioma diagnosis based on our preliminary results or published results of others. METHODS: The data set consisted of 401 patients with grade 2 or grade 3 astrocytic, oligodendroglial, or mixed oligoastrocytic tumors and 339 GBM patients not included in the previous GWAS. RESULTS: The SSBP2 minor allele was again associated with poorer survival among GBM patients who received SOC, but interestingly with improved survival among Grade 2 and Grade 3 patients. SNPs in another region of chromosome 5 were associated with GBM survival irrespective of whether or not the patients had SOC. Several other SNPs were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with survival of GBM or lower grade glioma. The results are currently being replicated in a similar sized group of patients from the Mayo Clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Inherited germline variation may influence glioma survival. SECONDARY CATEGORY: n/a.
Calculation of Vocal Efficiency by Computer Simulation

計算機により音声生成のシミュレーションを行い, その過程で得られる体積速度および音響出力のデータから音声能率、 (効率) を計算した.声帯振動は石坂の二質量モデルより求め, 声道の共鳴は4セクションの集中定数等価回路を使い計算した.一方, 従来より種々ある音声能率のインデックスと, 上記の真の音声能率との比較検討を行った.その結果, 体積速度のAC/DC比とSPL-20*log10 (DC/10) の2つが音声能率と最も良く相関することが示唆された.
THE RESEARCH OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF OREFIELD AFTER EXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE SOES:YANGJIAZHANGZI OREFIELD AS AN EXAMPLE

Many resource firms in China are facing the problem of exhaustion. The close and bankrupting of Exhaustible Source SOEs is easy to cause society instability and economy depression of Orefields. So the sustainable development of orefields is very important to the national economy development and the settle of “four mine” problem. In the case of Yangjiazhangzi Orefield,the problem of sustainable development of orefields is discussed in this paper.
Die chemischen Sinne

In Kapitel 8 werden die chemischen Sinne – der Geruchs- und Geschmackssinn – behandelt. Sie eignen sich gut, um die generellen Prinzipien und Probleme bei der Codierung sensorischer Information zu verdeutlichen. Auserdem zeigen ihre Reizweiterleitungsmechanismen viele Parallelen zu anderen Systemen. Geruchs- und Geschmackssinn haben dieselbe Aufgabe: die Wahrnehmung chemischer Verbindungen aus der Umgebung. Tatsachlich kann das Nervensystem nur durch Zusammenwirken beider Sinne Aromen wahrnehmen. Geschmacks- und Geruchssinn verfugen uber ungewohnlich starke und direkte Verbindungen mit den Systemen, die unsere innersten Grundbedurfnisse wie Durst, Hunger, Emotionen, den Geschlechtstrieb sowie bestimmte Formen des Gedachtnisses steuern. Die Systeme fur Geruchs- und Geschmackssinn sind jedoch voneinander getrennt, und sie unterscheiden sich bezuglich der Strukturen und Mechanismen ihrer Chemorezeptoren, der Gesamtorganisation ihrer zentralen Verknupfungen und ihren Wirkungen auf das Verhalten.
Device Physics Modeling of Surfaces and Interfaces from an Induced Gap State Perspective

An overview of a device physics formulation of induced gap state (IGS) modeling is presented. IGS modeling attempts to explain the electronic properties of metal (M), semiconductor (S), or insulato...
POLITICS AND THE CASE OF POETRY: ARENDT ON BRECHT

Hannah Arendt's essay on Bertolt Brecht has often been understood as an indictment of Brecht's postwar accommodation with the Stalinist regime in East Germany, in line with Arendt's supposed commitment to a firm separation between poetry and politics. Offering the first full reconstruction of the transnational history of Arendt's writing on Brecht, this article shows instead that Arendt's essay was a defense of Brecht against the polemics it is often taken to exemplify. Joining poetry to politics by holding both at a distance from philosophy, Arendt assigned poetry the vocation of disruptive faithfulness to factual reality, which allowed her to praise Brecht on political grounds and to leverage forbearance for his political “sins.” Indeed, by narrating Brecht's “sins” and “punishment” against the grain of Cold War discourse about the poet, Arendt's essay emulated aspects of the poetic practice she admired in Brecht's writing.
HIV-1 Infection Primes Macrophages through STAT Signaling to Promote Enhanced Inflammation and Viral Replication

Abstract Macrophages play important roles in HIV-1 pathogenesis as targets for viral replication and mediators of chronic inflammation. Similar to IFNγ-priming, HIV-1 primes macrophages, resulting in hyperresponsiveness to subsequent toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation and increased inflammatory cytokine production. However, the specific molecular mechanism of HIV-1 priming and whether cells must be productively infected or if uninfected bystander cells also are primed by HIV-1 remains unclear. To explore these questions, human macrophages were primed by IFNγ or infected with HIV-1 before activation by TLR ligands. Transcriptome profiling by microarray revealed a gene expression profile for IFNγ-primed cells that was further modulated by the addition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). HIV-1 infection elicited a gene expression profile that correlated strongly with the profile induced by IFNγ (r = .679, p = .003). Similar to IFNγ, HIV-1 enhanced TLR ligand-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) protein expression ...
An intercomparison of approaches for improving predictability in operational seasonal streamflow forecasting

For much of the last century, forecasting centers around the world have offered seasonal streamflow predictions to support water management. Recent work suggests that the two major avenues to advance seasonal predictability are improvements in the estimation of initial hydrologic conditions (IHCs) and the incorporation of climate information. This study investigates the marginal benefits of a variety of methods using IHC and/or climate information, focusing on seasonal water supply forecasts (WSFs) in five case study watersheds located in the U.S. Pacific Northwest region. We specify two benchmark methods that mimic standard operational approaches – statistical regression against IHCs, and model-based ensemble streamflow prediction (ESP) – and then systematically inter-compare WSFs across a range of lead times. Additional methods include: (i) statistical techniques using climate information either from standard indices or from climate reanalysis variables; and (ii) several hybrid/hierarchical approaches harnessing both land surface and climate predictability. In basins where atmospheric teleconnection signals are strong, and when watershed predictability is low, climate information alone provides considerable improvements. For those basins showing weak teleconnections, custom predictors from reanalysis fields were more effective in forecast skill than standard climate indices. ESP predictions tended to have high correlation skill but greater bias compared to other methods, and climate predictors failed to substantially improve these deficiencies within a trace weighting framework. Lower complexity techniques were competitive with more complex methods, and the hierarchical expert regression approach introduced here (HESP) provided a robust alternative for skillful and reliable water supply forecasts at all initialization times. Three key findings from this effort are: (1) objective approaches supporting methodologically consistent hindcasts open the door to a broad range of beneficial forecasting strategies; (2) the use of climate predictors can add to the seasonal forecast skill available from IHCs; and (3) sample size limitations must be handled rigorously to avoid over-trained forecast solutions. Overall, the results suggest that despite a rich, long heritage of operational use, there remain a number of compelling opportunities to improve the skill and value of seasonal streamflow predictions.
Reduced Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines after Eight Weeks of Low-Dose Naltrexone for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex, multi-symptom condition that predominantly affects women. The majority of those affected are unlikely to gain significant symptomatic control from the few treatments that are approved for FM. In this 10-week, single-blind, crossover trial we tested the immune effects of eight weeks of oral administration of low-dose naltrexone (LDN). We enrolled eight women with an average age of 46 years, symptom severity of 62 out of 100, and symptom duration of 14 years. We found that LDN was associated with reduced plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-1Ra, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-12p70, IL-15, IL-17A, IL-27, interferon (IFN)-α, transforming growth factor (TGF)-α, TGF-β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). We also found a 15% reduction of FM-associated pain and an 18% reduction in overall symptoms. The findings of this pilot trial suggest that LDN treatment in fibromyalgia is associated with a reduction of several key pro-inflammatory cytokines and symptoms. The potential role of LDN as an atypical anti-inflammatory medication should be explored further.
African American Portrayals: Television and the Politics of Representation

This study reports on a content and textual analysis of television programs aired during prime time on the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and CW) and a channel geared towards the Black audience (Black Entertainment Television-BET) in 2012. The analyses sought to find whether there were more empowering images of African Americans in programs on the broadcast networks compared to BET programs and whether these images and messages may be influential to the African American child. The findings reveal that there is still an under representation of African Americans on the broadcast networks compared to their numbers in the U.S. population. Along with BET programs being more likely to portray stereotypical images of African Americans than the broadcast network programs (e.g. drug use normalizing, Black women as overly sexual, hustlas-ganstas..etc) . Nonetheless, characters on BET were also more likely to be portrayed from an African American cultural context than those on the broadcast networks. Findings demonstrate that although BET represents a place for people of color, specifically African Americans, it is also a source of problematic representations of gender.
Viewpoint: Nanoscale chemistry and crystallography are both the obstacle and pathway to advanced radiation-tolerant materials☆

Abstract New candidate materials for GenIV or fusion nuclear energy systems, e.g., nanostructured ferritic alloys, are distinguished from older-generation nuclear materials by much smaller feature sizes and complex local nanochemistry and crystallography. Established and perspective nuclear materials, e.g. reactor pressure vessel steels or plasma-facing tungsten, also form small nanoscale structures under in-reactor service. Here, we discuss recent advances in materials characterization – high-efficiency X-ray mapping combined with datamining; transmission Kikuchi diffraction; and atom probe tomography – that make it possible to quantitatively characterize these nanoscale structures in unprecedented detail, which enables advances in understanding and modelling of radiation service and degradation.
Introduction to Institutions, Institutional Change, and the Stories

Progressive institutional change places human, environmental, financial, and productive sustainability at the center of economic processes. To provide a theoretical context, this introductory chapter addresses three questions: (1) What do institutional economists mean by institutions and why do they matter in understanding economic life? (2) How do institutional economists explain the evolutionary process of social change? and (3) What are the criteria for describing an institutional change as progressive instead of regressive? There are multiple avenues for forging institutional change: policies, laws, cultural norms, social movements, and social practices. As the book’s eight stories demonstrate, groups are transforming government statistical practice, financial institutions, corporations and their treatment of workers and students, the supply chain for tomatoes, the global market for coffee beans, and civil marriage.
Abstract 235: Prevalence of Lipoprotein(a) Measurements and Extent of Lipoprotein(a) Elevations in 2,266 Patients with Aortic Stenosis: Results from an Academic Echocardiography Laboratory Practice Setting

Background: The LPA gene causes elevated lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels and causally mediates calcific aortic valve stenosis (AS). Elevated Lp(a) and its associated oxidized phospholipids (OxPL-apoB) predict the progression of pre-existing AS and need for aortic valve replacement and are targets of therapy. Methods: We determined the prevalence and the extent of Lp(a) elevation in patients with AS diagnosed by echocardiography performed at the University of California San Diego between 2010-2015. Severity of AS was classified as critical, severe, moderate, mild, or trace. Lp(a) levels were organized as Lp(a) 100 mg/dL. Results: 2,266 patients with AS were found, with 130 critical, 333 severe, 477 moderate, 1318 mild, and 8 cases of trace AS. Mean age was 75.0 and range 18-106 years. 51% of patients were male. Prevalence of any Lp(a) measurement was 159/2,266 patients (7.02%). The number (%) of patients with an Lp(a) level was: 1) critical (n=4, 3.1%), 2) severe (n=28, 8.4%), 3) moderate (n=56, 11.7%), 4) mild (n=71, 5.4%), and 5) trace (n=0). The extent of Lp(a) elevation within each AS category is in Table 1: 55/159 (34%), 35/159 (22%) and 19/159 (12%) of patients had Lp(a) >30 mg/dL, >50 mg/dL and >100 mg/dL, respectively. Conclusion: Lp(a) was measured in only 7.0% of patients with AS in an academic setting. Given the ongoing development of therapies to lower Lp(a) in patients with AS, educational efforts are needed to raise awareness of Lp(a) as a causal risk factor for AS.
Ballistic performance of front-facing fluoropolymer-coated armor composites

Abstract We report an increase in penetration resistance of front-facing fluorinated polymer coatings applied to hardened steel substrates. The study included monolithic and laminate configurations and examined their ability to improve the ballistic penetration resistance of selected substrates. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings substantially improved the V-50 performance and outperformed similar polymer-coated armor composites for thicker coating layers. The thickness and hardness of steel substrates, polymer layer thickness, and cumulative number of laminates collectively influenced the mass efficiency. Since PTFE is a crystalline material that, unlike previously tested polyurea and other elastomers, does not undergo an impact-induced phase transition, its high performance suggests that this material resists flow during impact and, subsequently, reduces the strain imparted to the substrate. The fluoropolymer offers a lightweight and simple solution to enhance ballistic armor systems.
Allocating Vaccines and Antiviral Medications During an Influenza Pandemic

Influenza pandemics have been a regular occurrence throughout human history. 1 One difference between contemporary pandemics and those of the past is that today we have the capacity to develop life-saving pharmaceutical interventions in the form of vaccines and antiviral medications. Unfortunately, while these interventions should provide significant benefits to many people, the supply is likely to fall considerably short of the demand. An effective vaccine is unlikely to be available until approximately six months after the onset of a pandemic, 2 and even after a vaccine is developed, there are unlikely to be sufficient supplies to vaccinate more than a small fraction of the world’s population. As for antiviral medications, although the United States is close to reaching its goal of stockpiling eighty-one million treatment courses, the Institute of Medicine estimates that
Looking for Race: Pigmented Pasts and Colonial Mentality in “Non Racial” Africa

Is Africa a non-racial continent inhabited by racially undifferentiated black people who are unfamiliar with the power and meaning of whiteness? This chapter answers this question by surveying the quotidian, conceptual, spatial, and symbolic manifestations of racism, racialised privilege, and racial discourse in postcolonial Africa. This discrete but discernible architecture of racial tropes is a counterpoint to the popular myth of contemporary Africa as a place without a racial consciousness. Colonial racial signs have persisted in the African postcolonial public space, shaping elite aspirational cultures and marking social distinctions that are disguised with the language of class and culture. The chapter not only contends that race and racism are present across Africa but also that Africans have been passive and active purveyors and enablers of these racial practices.
On the energy harvesting and heat transfer ability of a ferro-nanofluid oscillating heat pipe

Abstract A unique thermal-to-mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion process is demonstrated via thermally-excited, pulsating ferro-nanofluid within a solenoid-equipped oscillating heat pipe (i.e., ferrofluid-OHP or FF-OHP). The FF-OHP was charged with an aqueous cobalt ferrite ferro-nanofluid, comprised of custom-synthesized CoFe2O4 nanoparticles surface-modified with citric acid for increased suspensibility. Annular bias magnets were placed directly above and below the FF-OHP solenoid to temporarily magnetize the internal, oscillating ferrofluid. During FF-OHP operation, a measured peak-to-peak voltage of ∼2 mV was measured across the solenoid due to electromagnetic induction. When filled with ferro-nanofluid, the OHP heat transfer was enhanced (relative to pure water) by ∼58% with bias magnets and ∼71% without bias magnets. A maximum effective thermal conductivity of 12.9 kW/m·K was achieved in the FF-OHP at ∼470 W of heat input. With the bias magnets installed (i.e., harvesting configuration), the FF-OHP effective thermal conductivity was ∼11% lower than when the bias magnets were not present, and this is attributed to an increase in ferrofluid viscosity due to particle magnetization in the bias field. The FF-OHP/solenoid harvesting process is a novel means for accomplishing thermal-to-electrical energy conversion while maintaining high heat transfer capabilities and extreme temperature functionality.
Stance and swing phase knee flexion recover at different rates following total knee arthroplasty: An inertial measurement unit study.

Abstract Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the most common joint replacement in the United States. Range of motion (ROM) monitoring includes idealized clinic measures (e.g. goniometry during passive ROM) that may not accurately represent knee function. Accordingly, a novel, portable, inertial measurement unit (IMU) based ROM measurement method was developed, validated, and implemented. Knee flexion was computed via relative motion between two IMUs and validated via optical motion capture (p > 0.05). Prospective analyses of 10 healthy individuals (5M, 50 ± 19 years) and 20 patients undergoing TKA (3 lost to follow up, 10M, 65 ± 6 years) were completed. Controls wore IMUs for 1-week. Patients wore IMUs for 1-week pre-TKA, 6-weeks immediately post-TKA, and 1-week at 1-year post-TKA. Flexion was computed continuously each day (8–12 h). Metrics included daily maximum flexion and flexion during stance/swing phases of gait. Maximum flexion was equal between cohorts at all time points. Contrastingly, patient stance and swing flexion were reduced pre-TKA, yet improved post-TKA. Specifically, patient stance and swing flexion were reduced below control/pre-TKA values during post-TKA week 1. Stance flexion exceeded pre-TKA and equaled control levels after week 2. However, swing flexion only exceeded pre-TKA and equaled control levels at 1-year post-TKA. This novel method improves upon the accuracy/portability of current methods (e.g. goniometry). Interestingly, surgery did not impact maximum ROM, yet improved the ability to flex during gait allowing more efficient and safe ambulation. This is the first study continuously monitoring long-term flexion before/after TKA. The results offer richer information than clinical measures about expected TKA rehabilitation.
Bevacizumab 5mg/kg can be safely infused over 10 minutes

4135 Background: Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets VEGF. Due to concerns for potential infusion- related hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs), initial phase I trials used an ...
Diversifying the Next Generation of Project Managers: Skills Project Managers Must Have in the Digital Age.

In the digital age, many jobs are susceptible to reduction or elimination. This study examines how project managers can improve their skill set to avoid elimination and lead successful projects to help build a sustainable future. This study addresses three research questions using open data to assess project management essential skills, trending job titles, and skills for a sustainable future. The results of the study indicate project managers should retain their traditional project management skills and develop their digital technical, quantitative, and marketing skills. Digital, agile, data, quantitative, cybersecurity, cloud, and technical project managers are a few of the new job title trends. Finally, in the digital age, it is vital for project managers to stay abreast of societal needs, trends, and technological advances that can promote a sustainable future.
Survival and Decannulation after Infant Tracheostomy

Background: Mortality and airway morbidity immediately following tracheostomy, (trach),) are well documented in the literature. There are few reports about morbidity beyond the airway or longer-term course after tracheostomy. Objective: To compare timing of trach, decannulation rates, and time to decannulation based on the initial indication for trach. Methods: We performed a large retrospective study of children undergoing tracheostomy before 1 year of age at a single quaternary center …
Complications of Cryptosporidium infection after pediatric liver transplantation: Diarrhea, rejection, and biliary disease.

Background Cryptosporidium enteritis can be devastating in the immunocompromised host. In pediatric liver transplant recipients, infection may be complicated by prolonged carriage of the parasite, rejection, and biliary tree damage and fibrosis. Herein, we report on six patients and their long-term outcomes following cryptosporidiosis. Methods We reviewed all cases of cryptosporidiosis in a pediatric liver transplant population over a 17-year period at a single center. Six patients with infection were identified, and their outcomes were analyzed. Results Infection was associated with significant diarrhea and dehydration in all cases, and led to hospitalization in one-half of patients. Four of the six patients developed biopsy-proven rejection following infection, with three of those patients developing rejection that was recalcitrant to intravenous steroid treatment. Additionally, three patients developed biliary tree abnormalities with similarity to sclerosing cholangitis. In one patient, those biliary changes led to repeated need for biliary drain placement and advancing fibrotic liver allograft changes. Conclusions Cryptosporidiosis in pediatric liver transplant recipients may lead to significant complications, including recalcitrant episodes of rejection and detrimental biliary tree changes. We advocate for increased awareness of this cause of diarrheal disease and the allograft injuries that may accompany infection.
Adverse childhood experiences and its association with emotional and behavioral problems in U.S. children of Latino immigrants

Abstract Background Research has long shown that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are correlated with major risk factors for several of the leading causes of death in adults. However, only recently have studies begun to measure the impact of ACEs during childhood and on underserved populations. Objective This study assessed the prevalence of 8 ACEs, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, among rural U.S. Latino children of immigrant parents. We examined the association of those adversities with several factors including emotional and behavioral difficulties, health problems and healthcare utilization. Participants and setting A total of 100 Latino subjects (ages 8–17) were recruited from a community health center in Southwest Florida. Methods Parents and children were asked to complete the Child Trust Events Survey to measure child ACEs; Parents were asked to complete the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to measure child emotional and behavioral problems. Results Child ACEs ranged from 1.38 (parent-report) to 1.56 (child self-report) with emotional abuse, incarceration, and loss/separation from a caregiver being the most common. ACEs were correlated with emotional symptoms (p = .038 for child-report; p = .043 for parent-report), hyperactivity/inattention problems (p = .011 for parent-report), and with total behavioral difficulties (p = .021 for parent-report). There was a negative correlation between ACES and child chronic health diagnosis (p = .038 for parent-report; p = .010 for child-report) and total health problems (p = .021). There was no significant relationship between ACEs and healthcare utilization. Conclusions ACEs appear to be more prevalent among rural Latino youth in immigrant families and may be associated with emotional and behavioral problems during childhood.
Continuous improvement process (CIP)-based privacy-preserving framework for smart connected toys

Advances within the toy industry and interconnectedness have resulted in the rapid and pervasive development of smart connected toys (SCTs), built with the capacity to collect terabytes of personal identifiable information, device context data, and play data. Any compromise of data stored, process, or transit can introduce privacy concerns, financial fraud concerns, and safety concerns, such as location identification, which can put child physical safety at risk. This work provides an overview of the SCT privacy problem and the landscape based on previous work to address privacy and safety concerns. We further investigate technical and legislative-related privacy issues in SCT and present a confirmatory study on developers’ privacy views based on the privacy calculus theory. Finally, we present an abstract continuous improvement process-based privacy preservation framework using Plan-Do-Check-Act, which can be adopted and used during the SCT design to minimize privacy breaches and serve as a foundation for the deployment of continuous privacy control improvement in a complex SCT development context.
Stent Graft Oversizing is Associated with an Increased Risk of Long-Term Left Ventricular Wall Thickening in Young Patients Following Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair.

Background Left ventricular (LV) wall thickening occurs in patients following thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). Clinical consequences of cardiovascular (CV) remodeling may be more significant younger patients with longer anticipated life spans. Risk factors for CV remodeling following TEVAR are unknown but may be related to graft size. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of a multicenter healthcare system including patients aged ≤60 who underwent TEVAR between 2011 and 2019 with at least 1 year follow-up computed tomography angiography imaging available. Standard perioperative variables, native aortic diameter, and stent graft specifications were collected. Graft oversizing was calculated by dividing proximal graft diameter by proximal aortic diameter on preoperative imaging. Posterior LV wall thickness was measured at baseline and interval increases were normalized to time-to-follow-up. Primary outcome was annual rate of posterior LV wall thickening. Results One hundred one patients met inclusion criteria with a mean (SD) follow-up time of 1270 (693) days. Overall mean (SD) rate of LV wall thickness change was 0.534 (0.750) mm per year. Mean (SD) absolute LV wall thickness at most recent follow-up was 10.97 (2.85) mm for men, 9.69 (2.03) mm for women. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that higher rates of LV wall thickening were associated with narrower graft diameters (P = 0.0311). Greater absolute LV wall thickness at follow-up was associated with narrower grafts (P= 0.0155) and greater graft oversizing (P= 0.0376). Logistic regression demonstrated individuals who met criteria for LV hypertrophy were more likely to have narrower stent-grafts (P= 0.00798) and greater graft oversizing (P= 0.0315). Conclusions LV wall thickening occurred to a greater degree in individuals with narrower stent-grafts and higher rates of graft oversizing. This has significant implications for long-term cardiovascular health in younger patients may undergo TEVAR for atypical indications. Particular attention should be paid to long-term effects of stent-graft oversizing when selecting grafts in such populations.
Higher-loop Euler-Heisenberg transseries structure

We show that the one-loop Euler-Heisenberg QED effective Lagrangian in a constant background field acquires a very different nonperturbative trans-series structure at two-loop and higher-loop order in the fine structure constant. Beyond one-loop, virtual particles interact, causing fluctuations about the instantons, whereby the simple poles of the one-loop Borel transform become branch points. We illustrate this in detail at two-loop order using Ritus's seminal result for the renormalized two-loop effective Lagrangian as an exact double-integral representation, and propose a possible new approach to computations at higher loop order. Our methods yield remarkably accurate extrapolations from weak-field to strong-field, and from magnetic to electric background field, at both one-loop and two-loop order, based on surprisingly little perturbative input.
Novel Traveling Wave Amplifier Design with Interdigital Grating and 2DEG Substrate for High Gain at 300GHz

We propose a novel traveling wave device operating at sub-THz frequencies. The device structure employs metastuctures for wave slow down to increase gain by 10dB or more. The excitation of the device channel is done using a CPW line with an inserted interdigitated grating. The underlying 2DEG silicon substrate supports an electron beam injected from the drain after source biasing in HEMTs. The proposed device is simulated starting with a 3-D full wave prediction of the field structure to be supported by the interdigital grating within the CPW. This field structure is then used in a 2-D particle-in-cell (PIC) code to predict the device gain. Results from these simulations show more than 10 dB gain at 300 GHz.
Chapter IV Borrelia

Publisher Summary The genus Borrelia consists of various species, which cannot be differentiated from one another on the grounds of morphological characteristics. Most of them are difficult to grow in culture media. Borrelia species and types do not show enzymatic characteristics in artificial media that would permit their classification. The serological reactions of the individual strains are variable, particularly when the organisms are exposed to antibodies in the infected person or animal. Qualitatively different antibodies may develop during subsequent attacks of relapsing fever. Borreliae isolated from the second and later febrile episodes usually acquire antigenic properties that are different from those found in the organisms that were separated from the blood during previous attacks. Antibodies circulating in the blood of man or animal after an initial attack react with borreliae from the first episode but only incompletely or not at all with organisms isolated during subsequent febrile periods. However, serum drawn after the last attack usually reacts with borreliae collected from all previous febrile episodes. Borrelia strains can be divided into four groups. One of them is related to human relapsing fever while the second group causes disease in animals. The third group of borreliae consists of one single organism, which has numerous serologically different strains. The fourth group encompasses borreliae found in the oral cavity, most of which were classified as borreliae because of their morphological appearance.