cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endocrine Changes During Onset of Puberty in Male Spring Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

In male salmonids, the age of maturation varies from 1 to 6 years and is influenced by growth during critical periods of the life cycle. The endocrine mechanisms controlling spermatogenesis and how growth affects this process are poorly understood. Recent research has indicated that gonadotropins, 11-ketotestosterone, and insulin-like growth factor I play roles in spermatogenesis in fish. To expand our understanding of the roles of these endocrine factors in onset of puberty, male spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were sampled at monthly intervals 14 mo prior to spermiation. This sampling regime encompassed two hypothesized critical periods when growth influences the initiation and completion of puberty for this species. Approximately 80% of the males matured during the experimental period, at age 2 in September 1999. An initial decline in the ratio of primary A to transitional spermatogonia was observed from July to December 1998, and during this period plasma levels of 11-ketotestosterone and pituitary levels of FSH increased. From January 1999 onward, males with low plasma 11-ketotestosterone levels ( 1 ng/ml) had testes with progressively more advanced germ cell stages along with elevated pituitary and plasma FSH. Plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor I increased during maturation. These data provide the first physiological evidence for activation of the pituitary-testis axis during the fall critical period when maturation is initiated for the following year.
Proposal for a novel methodology to screen and score cost versus survival for anticancer drugs in metastatic disease: could cost weigh in evaluation?

Methodology with limits on cost per day of survival was proposed to evaluate anticancer drugs used in first-line therapy for metastatic disease. Cost versus survival varied with the number of cycles.
Genes and patent policy: rethinking intellectual property rights

Concerns about human gene patents go beyond moral disquiet about creating a commodity from a part of the human body and also beyond legal questions about whether genes are unpatentable products of nature. New concerns are being raised about harm to public health and to research. In response to these concerns, various policy options, such as litigation, legislation, patent pools and compulsory licensing, are being explored to ensure that gene patents do not impede the practice of medicine and scientific progress.
Effect of a dual-lumen peripheral catheter on the delivery of known incompatible medications.

OBJECTIVE:To determine the degree to which a dual-lumen peripheral catheter prevented precipitation of solutions known to be incompatible due to pH during simultaneous infusion in an in vitro model.METHODS:An in vitro model was devised to simulate peripheral venous blood flow from an antecubital source to systemic circulation. Ondansetron was simultaneously infused with fluorouracil, aminophylline, sodium bicarbonate, and ampicillin sodium in concentrations reflective of clinical conditions into the Twin Cath 20/22 (the dual-lumen catheter used in this experiment). Study solutions were primed with the prepared drug solution and administered for 15 minutes. Phase I used Normosol-R as the diluent to gather preliminary data; phase II used human plasma. All samples were obtained immediately before the start of the infusion and at 5, 10, and 15 minutes during the infusion, and 5 minutes after the infusion. Samples were visually inspected at each time point for precipitation and analyzed in duplicate by the app...
Negotiating who presents the problem: Next speaker selection in pediatric encounters

Using audio- and videotapes of acute pediatric encounters, this study (a) identifies pediatricians’ practices of next speaker selection when soliciting the problem presentation, (b) identifies factors that bear on next speaker selection, and (c) examines the consequences of physicians’ selection practices for who ultimately presents the problem. Although doctors most frequently select children as problem presenters, parents are the most likely to actually present the child’s problem. However, parents nonetheless orient to their children’s rights to answer questions that select them as next speaker. Thus, the actual problem presenter emerges as the result of a process of interactional negotiation rather than dominance or control. This study also suggests communication resources that may increase the child’s participation in presenting the problem. When sick children visit their pediatricians, their participation in the interaction is important both in terms of the child’s socialization into the role of autonomous patient and in terms of understanding the child’s actual illness experience. However, children do not always communicate readily or lucidly with their doctors, and doctors must make real-time decisions about their interactions with child patients, including whether or not to ask them questions about their illness, what kinds of questions to ask, and whether to pursue particular topics with them. This paper examines one particular context of such decision making—the activity of establishing the reason for the child’s visit—and explores some of the ways doctors can and do attempt to engage children in the interaction. Two features of the pediatric encounter create interactional complications. First, the child may not be a fully competent interactant. In deciding whether to ask
Heterogeneity of apolipoprotein E epitope expression on human lipoproteins: importance for apolipoprotein E function

The conformations of apolipoproteins on the surfaces of lipoprotein particles affect their physiologic functions. The conformations of apoE on plasma lipoproteins were examined using a panel of eight anti-apoE monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The antibodies, which reacted with the major isoforms of apoE (E2, E3, and E4), defined at least five epitopes on apoE. Proteolytic fragments and synthetic peptides of apoE were used in binding assays to assign antibody epitopes; the epitopes were all localized to the middle third of the apoE molecule. The expression of apoE epitopes on isolated apoE and on lipoproteins was probed in competitive microtiter plate immunoassays using the anti-apoE MAbs, 125I-labeled apoE as tracer, and isolated apoE, intermediate density (IDL), very low density (VLDL1-3), and high density (HDL2 and HDL3) lipoproteins as competitors. The antibodies determined the patterns of competition exhibited by the lipoprotein preparations. Antibodies of the IgM class (WU E-1, WU E-2, WU E-3) defined two sets of conformation-dependent epitopes that were assigned towards the middle and the carboxyl terminal of the middle third of apoE. Competition curves using these antibodies, apoE, and lipoproteins showed a large variability in ED50 values. MAbs WU E-4, WU E-7, and WU E-10 defined epitopes near the receptor recognition site on apoE. Competition curves demonstrated small ranges of ED50 values. MAbs WU E-11 and WU E-12, which defined epitopes toward the amino-terminal region of apoE, exhibited competition curves for apoE and lipoproteins that had consistent, but wider ranges of ED50 values. There was no strict relationship between lipoprotein flotation rates and epitope expression for any of the MAbs. Immunoaffinity chromatography of VLDL subfractions on four different MAb columns indicated that the differences in the competitive abilities of VLDL subfractions were partly due to heterogeneity of apoE epitope expression within any population of particles. VLDL particles specifically retained on two different anti-apoE MAb columns were better competitors than unretained fractions for 125I-labeled LDL binding to the apoB, E-receptor of cultured human fibroblasts, suggesting that increased accessibility of apoE on the surface of VLDL is associated with increased receptor recognition. These data suggest that individual epitopes of apoE can be modulated; epitope expressions are not determined solely by the sizes and/or densities of lipoprotein particles; and differences in apoE conformation have significant metabolic consequences.
Thermodynamic Interactions in Blends of Polydienes

Abstract Thermodynamic interactions and phase behavior in binary blends of model mixed microstructure polybutadienes with model 1,4-polyisoprene were studied using small angle neutron scattering and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The microstructure of the polybutadiene ranged from 8% 1,2 (92% 1,4) to 90% 1,2 (10% 1,4) units, while the polyisoprene contained 93% 1,4 and 7% 3,4 units. The blends of protonated polybutadienes (HPB) with deuterated 1,4 polyisoprene (DPI) exhibited lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior when the polybutadiene contained 38 mol % or more of 1,2 units. Below this 1,2 content of the polybutadiene, all HPB/DPI blends were found to be phase separated at all temperatures above 25 °C. The DSC measurements revealed that other than a blend containing 8% 1,2-polybutadiene and (protonated) 1,4 polyisoprene, all other blends were single phase at room temperature. These results are understood in the context of previous work performed by Han and coworkers on deuterated ...
Completing the Task: A Personal Response to Biblical Theology of Missions

There are many arguments surrounding the aspect of biblical themes. To some scholars the Bible only has one theme while to others it has many themes. Among those advocating the presence of many themes, such themes may either be contingent upon one central theme or independent themes that have the same level of importance. This paper will look into the arguments surrounding the existence of a central theme in the Bible.
Recent progress in the synthesis of metal–organic frameworks

AbstractMetal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted considerable attention for various applications due to their tunable structure, porosity and functionality. In general, MOFs have been synthesized from isolated metal ions and organic linkers under hydrothermal or solvothermal conditions via one-spot reactions. The emerging precursor approach and kinetically tuned dimensional augmentation strategy add more diversity to this field. In addition, to speed up the crystallization process and create uniform crystals with reduced size, many alternative synthesis routes have been explored. Recent advances in microwave-assisted synthesis and electrochemical synthesis are presented in this review. In recent years, post-synthetic approaches have been shown to be powerful tools to synthesize MOFs with modified functionality, which cannot be attained via de novo synthesis. In this review, some current accomplishments of post-synthetic modification (PSM) based on covalent transformations and coordinative interactio...
An Improved Method for Determination of Fumigant Degradation Half-Life in Soil

Using the current approach, measurement of fumigant degradation half-lives under realistic soil conditions is problematic due to the large headspace that is necessary above the soil during incubation. This results in a poor degree of contact between the fumigant and the soil’s degrading surfaces, which differs markedly from field conditions. We report a simple, novel approach for determining fumigant degradation half-lives in which the fumigant is in complete contact with the soil during incubation (no headspace) and which uses gastight, nonsorbing equipment commonly found in pesticide research laboratories. The approach was tested on a sandy loam soil. At both 23 and 50°C, the novel approach yielded much lower degradation half-lives for cis- and trans-1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) isomers and chloropicrin (CP) than the traditional approach. Percentage reductions ranged from 22 to 64% and were greater at the higher temperature. The results suggest that literature-reported half-lives of soil fumigants, and consequently their modeled soil–air emission rates, may be overestimated. The novel approach could potentially be applied to determining the degradation kinetics of other classes of volatile chemicals in soil.
Diffusion-limited encounter rate in a three-dimensional lattice of connected compartments studied by Brownian-dynamics simulations

We considered the rate at which a diffusing particle encounters a target in a three-dimensional lattice of compartments with semipermeable walls. This work expands a previous theory [Li et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 028303 (2014)] for the encounter rate in the dilute limit of targets to the general case of any density of targets. We also used Brownian dynamics simulations to evaluate the approximations in the analytical theory. We find that the largest errors in the analytical theory are on the order of 10%. This work therefore demonstrates an analytical theory capable of describing the encounter rates in compartmentalized environments for any level of confinement and any target density.
Ophiostoma subannulatum, a new fungal species pathogenic to grand fir roots.

(1987). Ophiostoma Subannulatum, A New Fungal Species Pathogenic to Grand Fir Roots. Mycologia: Vol. 79, No. 1, pp. 144-147.
Development of a More Efficient Defrost Control System for Residential Heat Pumps

The purpose of this research project was to design a more efficient defrost control system for residential heat pumps. Defrost systems are used to melt the accumulated ice on evaporator coils of outdoor units. The purpose of the new control system is to prevent the initiation of defrost cycle when there is no substantial ice accumulation on the outdoor unit. Two of the envisioned ice accumulation sensing methods were (a). Increase in pressure loss across the evaporator coil and (b). Resistance change across two electrodes when ice bridges the electrodes. A differential pressure sensor was used to sense an increase in pressure loss across outdoor coil for this research project. Results indicate that, although maximum time interval of 90 minutes was used, about 55% of defrost cycles initiated were not necessary since there was no ice to melt. An ASYST based data acquisition system was used to monitor, measure and store key parameters. It is expected that with the new control system one can improve efficiency by about 3%. A similar project has been undertaken on a heat pump recently installed on our HVAC experimental unit as an undergraduate research project. Installation of temperature and humidity controlled enclosure, and thermocouples have been completed. Some preliminary results were reported. If any, other results will be reported at the meeting.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
HIGH-DIMENSIONAL PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION WITH TRANSACTION COSTS

This paper studies Merton’s portfolio optimization problem with proportional transaction costs in a discrete-time finite horizon. Facing short-sale and borrowing constraints, investors have access to a risk-free asset and multiple risky assets whose returns follow a multivariate geometric Brownian motion. Lower and upper bounds for optimal solutions up to the problem with 20 risky assets and 40 investment periods are computed. Three lower bounds are proposed: the value function optimization (VF), the hyper-sphere and the hyper-cube policy parameterizations (HS and HC). VF attacks the conundrums in traditional value function iteration for high-dimensional dynamic programs with continuous decision and state spaces. HS and HC respectively approximate the geometry of the trading policy in the high-dimensional state space by two surfaces. To evaluate lower bounds, two new upper bounds are provided via a duality method based on a new auxiliary problem (OMG and OMG2). Compared with existing methods across various suites of parameters, new methods lucidly show superiority. The three lower bound methods always achieve higher utilities, HS and HC cut run times by a factor of 100, and OMG and OMG2 mostly provide tighter upper bounds. In addition, how the no-trading region characterizing the optimal policy deforms when short-sale and borrowing constraints bind is investigated.
A theoretical study of the H 2 SO 4 +H 2 O → HSO 4 − +H 3 O + reaction at the surface of aqueous aerosols

The surface region of sulfate aerosols (supercooled aqueous concentrated sulfuric acid solutions) is the likely site of a number of important heterogeneous reactions in various locations in the atmosphere, but the surface region ionic composition is not known. As a first step in exploring this issue, the first acid ionization reaction for sulfuric acid, H2SO4 + H2O → HSO4− + H3O+, is studied via electronic structure calculations at the Hartree–Fock level on an H2SO4 molecule embedded in the surface region of a cluster containing 33 water molecules. An initial H2SO4 configuration is selected which could produce H3O+ readily available for heterogeneous reactions, but which involves reduced solvation and is consistent with no dangling OH bonds for H2SO4. It is found that at 0 K and with zero-point energy included, the proton transfer is endothermic by 3.4 kcal/mol. This result is discussed in the context of reactions on sulfate aerosol surfaces and, further, more complex calculations.
Squaring Off, 1912–1940

World War I Their pan-Islamic sentiments and affinity with the Young Turks made Istanbul a logical place of refuge for many Young Tunisian exiles, but they regarded the Ottoman capital as merely a temporary haven. They were anxious to return to Tunisia at the earliest opportunity in order to continue their drive to reform the protectorate. Those who still resided in Istanbul at the outbreak of World War I contributed to the Ottoman and German war effort, often by writing anti-French propaganda. They hoped that the victory of the Central Powers would strip France of its North African holdings, enabling Tunisia to reclaim its earlier political identity as an autonomous region of the Ottoman Empire. Another group of Tunisians, led by Muhammad Bash Hamba, ʿAli’s brother, spent the war in Switzerland, where they published the political journal La Revue du Maghreb from 1916 to 1918. Bash Hamba warned that by crushing the Young Tunisian movement in 1912, France had destroyed any prospect of a fruitful association between Muslims and Europeans. Without such collaboration, future stability would hinge on the promulgation of a constitution explicitly defining the powers of the protectorate and the rights of Tunisian citizens. As the likelihood of an Allied victory increased, La Revue du Maghreb , basing itself on the concept of self-determination included in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, called for a postwar referendum to determine the political future of Tunisia. At the same time, the paper also encouraged the Young Tunisians to make use of the impending peace conference as a forum for presenting their grievances.
Examining the Effects of Jyoti Meditation on Stress and the Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence.

The authors examined whether Jyoti meditation (JM), a spiritually based meditation (Singh, 2012), influenced student counselors' (N = 60) level of stress and emotional intelligence (EI). Results from a randomized controlled trial and growth curve analysis provided a multilevel model in which JM reduced stress and EI moderated the effect.
Quantitative extensions of the Condorcet Jury Theorem with strategic agents

The Condorcet Jury Theorem justifies the wisdom of crowds and lays the foundations of the ideology of the democratic regime. However, the Jury Theorem and most of its extensions focus on two alternatives and none of them quantitatively evaluate the effect of agents' strategic behavior on the mechanism's truth-revealing power. We initiate a research agenda of quantitatively extending the Jury Theorem with strategic agents by characterizing the price of anarchy (PoA) and the price of stability (PoS) of the common interest Bayesian voting games for three classes of mechanisms: plurality, MAPs, and the mechanisms that satisfy anonymity, neutrality, and strategy-proofness (w.r.t. a set of natural probability models). We show that while plurality and MAPs have better best-case truth-revealing power (lower PoS), the third class of mechanisms are more robust against agents' strategic behavior (lower PoA).
Novel arithmetic architecture for high performance implementation of SHA-3 finalist keccak on FPGA platforms

We propose high speed architecture for Keccak using Look-Up Table (LUT) resources on FPGAs, to minimize area of Keccak data path and to reduce critical path lengths. This approach allows us to design Keccak data path with minimum resources and higher clock frequencies. We show our results in the form of chip area consumption, throughput and throughput per area. At this time, the design presented in this work is the highest in terms of throughput for any of SHA-3 candidates, achieving a figure of 13.67Gbps for Keccak-256 on Virtex 6. This can enable line rate operation for hashing on 10Gbps network interfaces.
Curriculum Considerations for Late-arrival High School Immigrant Students: Developing a

For late arrival immigrant students, notions of citizenship have been significantly influenced by the dynamic relationships and tensions related to race, language, and citizenship status. In a more critical enactment of a curriculum, we describe a reconceptualization of World Geography Studies for late arrival immigrant students via unique views of citizenship, historical analysis, and ethnic/ cultural examinations that can yield a more engaging and inclusive approach. In this qualitative case study we find that a more critically conscious approach to World Geography Studies presents a more multicultural approach to democratic citizenship education.
Performance of the ATLAS Detector in Run-2

The second LHC run has started in June 2015 with a p-p center-of-mass collision energy of 13 TeV and ATLAS has taken 3.2 fb-1 of data at the new energy in 2015. In this talk the improvements made to the ATLAS experiment during the two-year shutdown 2013/2014 will be discussed. Furthermore, reconstruction algorithms of tracks, e/γ, muons, taus, jets and flavour tagging have been improved for Run-2. Reconstruction efficiency, isolation performance, transverse momentum resolution and momentum scales are measured in various regions of the detector and in momentum intervals enlarged with respect to those measured in the Run-1. The performance of the upgraded detector and the new reconstruction algorithms measured using these data taken in 2015 will be discussed.
The Ethics of Identity and World Christianity

In describing the nature of Christian ethics in America before some recent interventions, Stanley Hauerwas notes that the subject of Christian ethics in America was and is America rather than the Church. He finds this disturbing because it seems to marginalize distinctively Christian moral formation. This critique raises the question of the nature of Christian identity. What should Christian identity in America, Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, etc. be? This question becomes especially urgent with the rise of world Christianity which takes for granted the idea that Christians who live in different contexts perform the Christian faith differently because of said context. This paper argues that while the variety that exists in world Christianity is made necessary by the context in which world Christianity developed, when taken to extremes, it may, among other things, lead to ecclesial apartheid.
Pros and Cons of Using Data Analytics for Predicting Academic Performance in Computer Science Courses: (Abstract Only)

In the last decade, data analytics has been successfully applied in the field of education to predict student performance. There exists an obvious opportunity for this educational data to make a positive impact on computer science instruction. Machine learning models can use historical data containing behavioral and education-related attributes, such as previous course work, grades and time spent in class discussions, to make predictions about academic performance for prospective students. Even with proven predictive success, many questions related to the application of performance prediction remain unanswered, particularly in the context of larger debates about risk identification, grouping, and bias. This BoF will provide a platform for exploring the following questions: (a) How should computer science instructors use prediction data? Could results be used to group students by predicted academic performance levels? Could predictions help in the identification of students with low performance predictions for additional mentoring? (b) Should predictions be shared with students/instructors? (c) If so, how could instructor bias resulting from these predictions be minimized to ensure fair evaluation of students' actual performance? (d) Do computer science instructors attending this BoF currently implement any predictive tools or risk grouping? Would they consider doing either? (e) How much importance would instructors place on the results of performance predictions? To what degree would the accuracy of a model affect adoption?
Ultrasound Proximity Networking on Smart Mobile Devices for IoT Applications

Sharing small pieces of information, such as URLs, Internet of Things (IoT) commands, or encryption keys is an extremely common use case in IoT applications. These are examples of transient, spontaneous proximity networking, in which both the sender and receiver are physically co-located. In this paper, we aim to provide a mechanism for proximity networking based on very high-frequency sound waves emitted and captured by the speaker and microphone found on commodity smartphones. Our approach has several benefits over existing solutions including easy deployment, lower cost for manufacturers, and intuitive security guarantees based on the physical characteristics of ultrasound signals. We implement a software-based modem called “Hush,” which we provide in an open source library for use in Android applications. It is practically inaudible and fast, achieving an effective transmission rate of 4900 bits per second at an ideal distance of 5–20 cm.
Neuronal calcium signaling and Alzheimer's disease.

Calcium plays a major role in normal functioning of the cells. Deregulation of calcium-mediated signaling has been implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. Studies in neurons and mice expressing Alzheimer’s disease-associated transgenes have shown that the expression of familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) mutants of presenilin (PS) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) alter calcium homeostasis and cause synaptic dysfunction and dendritic spine loss in neurons. Mechanistic studies have shown that FAD mutants of presenilin can affect the intracellular calcium levels by affecting the ER calcium stores. A function for presenilins as ER calcium leak channels has been established and studies show that presenilins affect ER calcium load through an effect on IP3 receptors, ryanodine receptors, or SERCA pumps. Even in the absence of an active gamma-secretase complex, presenilins seem to affect calcium homeostasis suggesting that these two functions of presenilins are independent of each other. Studies using FAD mutants of APP have shown that unlike presenilins, FAD-APP do not affect calcium homeostasis in the absence of Aβ. Both Aβ and presenilins seem to affect calcium homeostasis at very early stages of disease development affecting the synaptic transmission and function prior to neuritic plaque development. Altered calcium signaling differentially regulates genes such as calcineurin, calmodulin kinase II, MAP kinase etc and induces protein modifications and neurite degeneration. Since functional synapses and synaptic transmission are fundamental processes in memory formation, alterations in these processes can lead to neuronal dysfunction and memory deficit as seen in Alzheimer’s disease. This chapter gives an overview of calcium signaling in different systems, specifically neurons, the functioning of pre- and post-synaptic signaling, and how their deregulation influences pathology development in Alzheimer’s disease.
Implant-Related Biological Reactions

This chapter discusses the important points related to successful implantology. Some of these points include: bone healing, hemocompatibility, cell adhesion, adsorption, spreading, proliferation, and cell growth. The dental implants, usually made from titanium materials, are biocompatible metal anchors surgically positioned in the jawbone underneath the gums to support an artificial crown where the natural teeth are missing. There are three main types of dental implants: the root form implants, the plate form implants, and the subperiosteal implants. The four major factors influencing the success rates of placed implants include: correct indication and favorable anatomic conditions (bone and mucosa), good operative technique, patient cooperation (oral hygiene), and adequate superstructure. For both dental and orthopedic implant surgeries, bone healing is the major step immediately after implant placements. There are principle steps of peri-implant bone healing. The first healing phase, osteoconduction, relies on the recruitment and migration of the osteogenic cells to the implant surface, through the residue of the peri-implant blood clot.
The Northern Adriatic Sea as a Prototype of Convection and Water Mass Formation on the Continental Shelf

Abstract The Northern Adriatic Sea can be taken as a prototype example of convection and water mass formation near an ocean boundary, i.e. on the continental shelf. The observational evidence indicates that three ingredients are necessary for the process. First, the Northern Adriatic wide shelf acts as a reservoir for the dense water formed in wintertime. Second, the dominant winter meteorological conditions provide a surface buoyancy flux strong enough to mix the water column to the shelf bottom. Third, the existence of a steady cyclonic circulation provides the mechanism for the dense water to cross isobath contours and replenish the depths of the mid-Adriatic pit, where it remains stored in the bottom layer until renewal during a successive winter. Modeling simulations under realistic metrological conditions for the Northern Adriatic agree quite well with the observational evidence and show the crucial role played by topography for the spreading of the dense water tongue. Even though not recent, the modeling results here summarized are the only ones existing for the convection, water mass formation and winter circulation of the Northern Adriatic sea.
Developing Theory and Methods to Understand and Improve Collaboration in Open Source Software Development on GitHub

As a result of fundamental changes in organizational needs and practices, social coding, a facet of modern collaboration, has become a prevalent phenomenon in software development. While the adopti...
20 GHz Continuous Electrical Tuning of a High-Power Terahertz Distributed-Feedback Laser

Large electrical tuning of 20 GHz is demonstrated for a 3.3 THz distributed-feedback quantum-cascade laser at 56 K. A new scheme with phase-locked plasmonic microcavities realizes order-of-magnitude greater output-power and significantly improved far-field beam compared to previous results. © 2019 The Author(s)
Strabismus surgical time-out: an illustrated whiteboard modification

Background Errors in strabismus surgery—including wrong eye, wrong muscle, and wrong procedure—can occur when there is confusion about the surgical plan among members of the surgical team, including surgeons, anesthesia staff, nurses, and technicians. The purpose of this study was to assess whether implementation of a strabismus-specific whiteboard combined with oral statement of the surgical plan using nonophthalmological terminology could improve communication among the team before commencement of surgery. Methods A strabismus-specific whiteboard with labeled diagram of the eyes and extraocular muscles was designed. Patient identifiers, diagnosis, deviation, and procedure name were included. This whiteboard was completed preoperatively and referenced during time-out. The surgeons and operating room staff were trained in its use, and surveys were completed before and 6 months after implementation of the whiteboard time-out. Results The pre-implementation survey was completed by 19 operating room staff members, of whom 15 completed the post-implementation survey. The strabismus specific whiteboard increased staff member understanding of procedure laterality (74% to 93%), muscle(s) to be operated (37% to 93%), and specific procedure(s) planned (37% to 87%). Surgeon surveys also showed increased confidence in staff member understanding of each parameter with whiteboard use. Conclusions A standardized time-out combined with an illustrated strabismus surgery whiteboard improves communication between team members and has the potential to reduce surgical errors.
Mitochondrial DNA Variation and Selfish Propagation Following Experimental Bottlenecking in Two Distantly Related Caenorhabditis briggsae Isolates

Understanding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evolution and inheritance has broad implications for animal speciation and human disease models. However, few natural models exist that can simultaneously represent mtDNA transmission bias, mutation, and copy number variation. Certain isolates of the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae harbor large, naturally-occurring mtDNA deletions of several hundred basepairs affecting the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nduo-5) gene that can be functionally detrimental. These deletion variants can behave as selfish DNA elements under genetic drift conditions, but whether all of these large deletion variants are transmitted in the same preferential manner remains unclear. In addition, the degree to which transgenerational mtDNA evolution profiles are shared between isolates that differ in their propensity to accumulate the nduo-5 deletion is also unclear. We address these knowledge gaps by experimentally bottlenecking two isolates of C. briggsae with different nduo-5 deletion frequencies for up to 50 generations and performing total DNA sequencing to identify mtDNA variation. We observed multiple mutation profile differences and similarities between C. briggsae isolates, a potentially species-specific pattern of copy number dysregulation, and some evidence for genetic hitchhiking in the deletion-bearing isolate. Our results further support C. briggsae as a practical model for characterizing naturally-occurring mtgenome variation and contribute to the understanding of how mtgenome variation persists in animal populations and how it presents in mitochondrial disease states.
Hearing Impairment and Mental Health Among Married Couples.

Objectives Disablement is a significant health problem and chronic stressor for older adults and is associated with negative mental health outcomes. Although some research has explored how disability extends beyond individuals to influence the mental health of their support networks, less population-based research has assessed the consequences of hearing impairment, a growing public health concern that affects 72.4% of people aged 65 and older. Moreover, although much research has examined the negative individual impact of hearing impairment, less population-based research has assessed its consequences on spouses. To fill this gap, the current study builds on gender, marriage, and stress proliferation research to examine (a) the association between own hearing impairment and spouses' depressive symptoms, and (b) whether this association varies by the gender of the spouse. Method Fixed-effects regression models were conducted using data from 5,485 couples (10,970 individuals) from 10 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016). Results Wives' fair or poor hearing is significantly associated with an increase in husbands' depressive symptoms, net of controls. However, husbands' fair or poor hearing is not associated with an increase in wives' depressive symptoms. Discussion These findings suggest that hearing impairment can proliferate from one spouse to the other, but that this proliferation depends on gender. Health care providers need to be aware of the implications for husbands when treating women with hearing impairment.
Uptake and toxicity of clothianidin to monarch butterflies from milkweed consumption

Recent concern for the adverse effects from neonicotinoid insecticides has centered on risk for insect pollinators in general and bees specifically. However, natural resource managers are also concerned about the risk of neonicotinoids to conservation efforts for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and need additional data to help estimate risk for wild monarch butterflies exposed to those insecticides. In the present study, monarch butterfly larvae were exposed in the laboratory to clothianidin via contaminated milkweed plants from hatch until pupation, and the effects upon larval survival, larval growth, pupation success, and adult size were measured. Soils dosed with a granular insecticide product led to mean clothianidin concentrations of 10.8-2,193 ng/g in milkweed leaves and 5.8-58.0 ng/g in larvae. Treatment of soils also led to clothianidin concentrations of 2.6-5.1 ng/g in adult butterflies indicating potential for transfer of systemic insecticides from the soil through plants and larvae to adult butterflies. Estimated LC50s for total mortality (combined mortality of larvae and pupae) and EC50 for larval growth were variable but higher than the majority of concentrations reported in the literature for clothianidin contamination of leaves.
A survey of pairwise epistasis supports an outside-in hierarchy of clade-specifying and function-defining residues in PSD95 PDZ3

Deep mutational scanning enables data-driven models of protein structure and function. Here, we adapted Saturated Programmable Insertion Engineering as an economical and programmable deep mutational scanning technique. We validate this approach with an existing single mutant dataset in the PSD95 PDZ3 domain, and further characterize most pairwise double mutants to study how a mutation9s phenotype depends on mutations at other sites, a phenomenon called epistasis. We observe wide-spread proximal negative epistasis, which we attribute to mutations affecting thermodynamic stability, and strong long-range positive epistasis, which is enriched in an evolutionarily conserved and function-defining network of 9sector9 and clade-specifying residues. Conditional neutrality of mutations in clade-specifying residues compensates for deleterious mutations in sector positions. This suggests an outside-in hierarchy of interactions through which positive epistasis between clade-specifying residues and the PDZ sector facilitated the evolutionary expansion and specialization of PDZ domains.
Unsupervised Learning for County-Level Typological Classification for COVID-19 Research

Abstract The analysis of county-level COVID-19 pandemic data faces computational and analytic challenges, particularly when considering the heterogeneity of data sources with variation in geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic factors between counties. This study presents a method to join relevant data from different sources to investigate underlying typological effects and disparities across typologies. Both consistencies within and variations between urban and non-urban counties are demonstrated. When different county types were stratified by age group distribution, this method identifies significant community mobility differences occurring before, during, and after the shutdown. Counties with a larger proportion of young adults (age 20-24) have higher baseline mobility and had the least mobility reduction during the lockdown.
Standardized Patient Simulation Using SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment) as a Tool for Interprofessional Learning

Introduction Substance misuse is a critical social and health care issue, and learning how to effectively screen for misuse and perform a brief intervention is useful for all health care profession...
Incorporation of Women's Health Maintenance Screening in the USD Coyote Clinic.

INTRODUCTION The Coyote Clinic is a student-run clinic that provides free services to Sioux Falls residents without insurance. It has not historically provided routine women's health screenings. The project addressed this lack of preventative care. We aimed to increase the percentage of female patients that are up to date on Papanicolaou (Pap) smears, mammograms, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines through the implementation of screening questions. METHODS A screening questionnaire was created and asked to female patients between the ages of 18-65 about the dates and results of their last Pap smear, mammogram, and the administration of any HPV vaccine. RESULTS 27 patients answered the questions. Fifty-two percent were Caucasian, 26 percent Hispanic, 15 percent African American, and 7 percent Middle Eastern. Two patients were eligible for HPV vaccination: one had not received the vaccination and the other was unknown. All 27 women were eligible for Pap smears. Seventy-six percent had normal results, 19 percent were unsure of their results, and 5 percent had abnormal results. Eight patients were eligible for mammograms: five were up to date, two were tested in the last three years, and one had an unknown test date. CONCLUSIONS The majority of eligible female patients were up to date on Pap smears and mammograms. The health maintenance questionnaire was a valuable resource for patient care, patient health literacy, and medical student education.
COVID-19 Mental Health AI and Robot Assistant

COVID-19 is putting our mental health at risk since it has been proven stressful for plenty of people. Fear and anxiety about a new disease or death of a percentage of a population can be overwhelming for adults and the young generation. Moreover, self-quarantine or isolation can be stressful for individuals as well. Therapists are not available around the clock to follow up with their patients' mental health issues. This project proposes Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) and AI chatbots that can assist people with COVID-19 anxiety. SARs and chatbots have been proven useful for treating the anxiety problem, we will explore how SARs and chatbots can be more efficient to assist COVID-19 anxiety patients. In this project, we have designed Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) and AI chatbots to help people in coping with their mental stress or anxiety. SARs and AI chatbots can provide specific therapy and counseling assistance, such as Cognitive Behavioral, and Immersion Therapy Assistance to specific groups of people, including nursing home adults or the young generation who may be at risk or suffering from COVID-19 anxiety. (age group 18-25).
Emerging methods for the characterization of ischemic heart disease: ultrafast Doppler angiography, micro-CT, photon-counting CT, novel MRI and PET techniques, and artificial intelligence.

After an ischemic event, disruptive changes in the healthy myocardium may gradually develop and may ultimately turn into fibrotic scar. While these structural changes have been described by conventional imaging modalities mostly on a macroscopic scale—i.e., late gadolinium enhancement at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—in recent years, novel imaging methods have shown the potential to unveil an even more detailed picture of the postischemic myocardial phenomena. These new methods may bring advances in the understanding of ischemic heart disease with potential major changes in the current clinical practice. In this review article, we provide an overview of the emerging methods for the non-invasive characterization of ischemic heart disease, including coronary ultrafast Doppler angiography, photon-counting computed tomography (CT), micro-CT (for preclinical studies), low-field and ultrahigh-field MRI, and 11C-methionine positron emission tomography. In addition, we discuss new opportunities brought by artificial intelligence, while addressing promising future scenarios and the challenges for the application of artificial intelligence in the field of cardiac imaging.
“Walking Blindly Into It”: Library Administrators and Renovations

This study seeks to understand the experiences of library administrators who have led a major library renovation project. Most often this person is an Associate Dean working on the Dean’s behalf. S...
Shortages of Integrated Circuits

The shortage of integrated circuits first became visible in early 2021s. It first affected the assembly of new cars, and then, it began to appear in gaming platforms, displays, and large-screen televisions. Other gadgets could be affected soon. The most visible economic facts appear to be simple. In the short run, many uses fight for the same last bits of fixed supply. The long run is equally simple: The shortage will end when suppliers build new capacity and/or demand falls.
Social capital and dietary patterns in three ethnic minority groups native to Yunnan Province, Southwest China.

Background Few studies have focused on the influencing factors of dietary practices among ethnic minority groups in China, particularly from a social capital perspective. Methods Between May and September 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among adults (n = 1,813) from three ethnic minority communities (A Chang, De Ang and Jing Po) in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Dietary intakes during the past 12 months were measured with a 100-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and two forms of social capital (bonding and bridging) were measured using the validated Personal Social Capital Scale 16 (PSCS-16). Principal component factor analysis was used to derive dietary patterns from 20 food groups. Multivariate linear regressions were used to examine the associations between social capital and dietary patterns. Results Two distinct dietary patterns were identified: the traditional and the modern. The traditional pattern was characterized by high consumptions of tubers, poultry, rice, fruits, vegetables and low consumptions of oil and salt, whereas the modern pattern was highly correlated with egg, nut, beverage, snack and oil consumptions. After adjusted for potential confounders, the modern pattern was positively associated with bonding capital (β = 0.066; 95%CI: 0.058, 0.075) and negatively associated with bridging capital (β = -0.017; 95%CI: -0.024, -0.010). Conclusion In conclusion, an unhealthy dietary pattern was identified among the ethnic minority groups in Southwest China. The influences of people's social connections on dietary behaviors should be considered in designing and implementing nutrition intervention programs for the population.