cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PCNA and EGFR together identify disease specific survival probability in advanced oropharynx cancer patients treated on an organ sparing protocol

A18 Background: We recently determined that overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) together with human papillomavirus (HPV) negative status in pretreatment biopsies is an indicator of poor survival in advanced oropharyngeal cancer patients. HPV16 presence and copy number in the biopsy is associated with good response to induction chemotherapy, good response to concurrent chemotherapy and radiation, and with good overall and disease specific survival (DSS). HPV copy number is also associated with elevated proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. We postulated that high PCNA expression might be a marker of chemotherapy response and or outcome. Methods: Pretreatment biopsies from advanced oropharyngeal cancer patients enrolled in a clinical trial at the University of Michigan were analyzed for the expression of PCNA, tumor HPV status and EGFR expression. The impact of the combined expression of these biomarkers on survival of the patients was assessed. Results: Patients with HPV positive tumors had significantly higher tumor expression of PCNA (p=0.033). Similarly, PCNA and HPV were inversely associated with current, past and never smoking status (HPV p=0.04; PCNA p=0.04) and both were directly associated with wild type p53 status (HPV p=0.01; PCNA p=0.04). In contrast to HPV, PCNA as a single marker was not associated with either response to induction chemotherapy (p=0.6) or response to chemo/RT (p=0.6). Furthermore, expression of EGFR and PCNA were strongly correlated (p=0.03). However, when the interaction of EGFR and PCNA expression was examined, patients with tumors expressing high EGFR/low PCNA had the worst DSS whereas patients with low EGFR/high PCNA had the best DSS. Patients with high EGFR and high PCNA had intermediate DSS suggesting that high PCNA has a moderating effect on EGFR. Patients with low EGFR and low PCNA had high probability of increased DSS although three patients in this group died of late distant metastasis. Conclusions: High EGFR expression in pretreatment biopsies is associated with poor outcome in advanced oropharynx cancer. However, the adverse effect of EGFR on survival is partially modified by the presence of high HPV. Similarly, high expression of PCNA is associated with the presence of HPV, and like HPV, PCNA expression also appears to have a modifying effect on outcome in tumors with high EGFR expression. The mechanisms that determine response to therapy and survival in oropharynx cancer remain complex, but investigation of pretreatment biomarker expression and their interactions is beginning to define outcome cohorts that will help to identify those patients in need of additional therapy.
Joint inversion of seismic traveltimes and gravity data using petrophysical constraints with application to lithology differentiation

Multiple geophysical data collected over the same area but based on fundamentally different physics usually contain complementary information about the subsurface. Joint inversion combines the complementary information by integrating all the geophysical data into a single inversion scheme. Thus, models resulting from joint inversion are more likely to represent the subsurface better than models derived from a single type of data. In this study, we consider joint inversion of seismic travel times and gravity data, and present a new joint inversion algorithm that uses petrophysical information as constraints. Using a synthetic example, we show that this new method can effectively build the available petrophysical information into inversion and improve the definition of both structure and physical properties. We also show that this method can deal with the situation where only partial petrophysical information about the subsurface is available. An important component of our method is applying fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm to the recovered physical property distribution to generate a lithology map that is consistent with both the observed geophysical data and the a priori petrophysical information.
A Topological Approach to Geometry

The purpose of this paper is to summarize a method by which at least certain topological spaces can be characterized up to homeomorphism class. The method employs the notion of a geometry defined on a set by means of distinguished subsets called k-flats which are generalizations of k-dimensional subspaces. The set theoretic axioms defining a geometry are intended to embody the essence of anything that mathematicians have ever called a geometry. If the set on which a geometry has been defined is also a topological space, then the topology and geometry may be axiomatically related in such a manner that the topology can be completely characterized. We shall concern ourselves in this paper primarily with characterizing Rm as a topological space using the properties generalized from the Euclidean geometry on Rm. In Rm, the usual Euclidean geometry, the standard metric, and the algebraic structure of Rn as a vector space are tightly bound together. In our initial abstraction we do away with coordinatization, metrics, and the algebraic structure of geometries derived from linear manifolds. A geometry is defined as follows: Let X be a set. An element of X is called a point. We define G = { F-1, FO, ... , Fn } to be a geometry on X if the following axioms are satisfied: 1) Fi consists of subsets of X, I <i ?n. An element of Fi is called an i-flat, or merely a flat. 2) The only 1-flat is the empty set, i.e. F-1'{ 0}. 3) Fi consists of proper subsets of X, -1 i <n. 4) Every set of i+1 points not all contained in some k-flat, k<i, is contained in a unique i-flat, -1 i <s?n. 5) The intersection of any two flats is again a flat. 6) If k <i, then no i-flat is contained in any k-flat. n is called the length of G and we write 1(G) = n. i is called the dimension of Fi, as well as the dimension of any flat f in Ft; we write dim f=i. By G* we denote { J1, * * *, Fn, F'n+l }, where F'n+l = { X }. X is then considered to be an n+1-flat. The axioms defining a geometry are independent. The most trivial example of a geometry on a set X is where the i-flats of X are subsets of X of cardinality i+1. Clearly the usual Euclidean geometry on Rm is a geometry in our sense of length m -1. The great circle geometry on the 2-sphere S2 is also a geometry on the set of points of S2. If we let F-1 = { 0 }, FO { { x, y } I x is antipodal to y }, and Fl = { C| C is a great circle }, then G = { PF, FO, Fl } is a geometry of length 1. The length of any geometry is assumed to be finite throughout this paper, although this is not required for many results. Suppose now, and for the remainder of this paper, that X is a topological space on which a geometry of length m -1 _ 0 has been defined. We need a concept which will act as a link between geometry and topology, and for this purpose we use a generalized notion of convexity.
A Numerical Study of Ammonia-Water Absorption Into a Constrained Microscale Film

A one-dimensional, steady state, semi-empirical model of an ammonia-water microscale bubble absorber is presented. The geometry consists of a microchannel through which a solution of ammonia-water flows. Ammonia vapor is injected through one of the walls of the channel. A counter flowing coolant solution removes the heat generated due to absorption from the opposite wall. The 1-D, steady state species and energy transport equations are solved to yield, along the length of the channel, concentration and temperature profiles of the solution stream and the temperature profile of the coolant fluid stream. Values for the overall heat transfer coefficient from experimental results are used in this model. A parametric study of fluid and geometrical parameters based on the model is presented. The varied fluidic parameters include the mass flow rates of the weak solution, coolant, and vapor, the inlet coolant temperature, and the weak solution concentration. Two variations of the vapor distribution that resulted from a geometrical variation of the porous plate are considered: (a) variation in length of the non-porous section, and (b) variation in the number of intermittent sections in which there was no injection of vapor. Trends of the parametric study were consistent with those of experiments. A salient result of the parametric study indicates that incomplete absorption occurs with an increase in weak solution flow rate due to the decrease in residence time within the microchannel for absorption. At a specific fixed flow condition, a single porous section followed by a non-porous section provides the optimal vapor distribution for absorption within the channel. The length of this non-porous section for optimal absorption within the channel is also determined using the model.© 2008 ASME
Social Influence Network Theory: A Sociological Examination of Group Dynamics by N. E. Friedkin & E. C. Johnsen

How do people come to hold particular attitudes? This simple question is often at the heart of sociological inquiry, touching studies of religion, gender, race, status, and public policy, among oth...
Correction: Regioselectivity in the Au-catalyzed hydration and hydroalkoxylation of alkynes.

Correction for ‘Regioselectivity in the Au-catalyzed hydration and hydroalkoxylation of alkynes’ by Justin A. Goodwin et al., Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 8730–8741.
The prevention and treatment of sternum separation following open heart surgery

A method to prevent and treat sternum separation following open-heart surgery is presented. The procedure consists of passing parasternal continuous sutures placed alternatingly in front and behind the costal cartilages and then including them in the usual parasternal sutures.
Fertilization Failure and Embryonic Mortality in Parous and Nonparous Beef Cattle

One hundred and two nonparous females, 18 to 24 mo old, and 55 parous or multiparous beef females, 3 to 12 yr old, were mated naturally (d 0) and slaughtered on d 2 to 5, 6 to 8 or 14 to 16 of gestation. Each reproductive tract was flushed with phosphate-buffered saline, and the flushings were searched for an oocyte or embryo. Parous females had a higher (P less than .05) fertilization rate than nonparous females. In nonparous females, reproductive failure was attributed equally to fertilization failure and embryonic mortality, which had occurred or was occurring by d 8 of gestation. In parous females, reproductive failure was attributed entirely to embryonic death. About 67% of this embryonic mortality had occurred or was occurring by d 8 of gestation; the other 33% occurred between d 8 and 16 of gestation. These findings show that in both nonparous and parous beef females, a large portion of the reproductive failure occurs by d 8 of gestation and would not have any noticeable influence on length of the estrous cycle.
Recent approaches to induction of cytotoxic lymphocytes against leukemia

We have shown that therapy of AML patients in second remission with continuous infusion of IL-2 resulted in generation of cytotoxic lymphocytes in peripheral blood and bone marrow. However, these lymphocytes mediated cytotoxicity only against tumor cell lines, and not against AML blasts. Additional in vitro activation with higher dose of IL-2 was necessary for induction of AML blast oncolysis. This indicates that the concomitant treatment with continuous and periodic bolus IL-2 infusion may be necessary, to achieve higher levels of IL-2 and subsequently, more potent lymphocyte activation
Harmonic Forcing of a Two-Segment Elastic Rod

This work is on the motions of non-homogeneous elastic rods. In a previous work the natural frequencies and associated mode shapes were determined for a two-segment rod, in which the geometric and material properties were constant in each segment. Here the steady state response due to harmonic forcing is investigated using two strategies. The first employs the exact displacement equations. For harmonic forcing in time, the response is periodic and general solutions to the resulting differential equations can, in principle, be found for each segment. The constants involved are found from boundary and interface conditions and then response, as a function of forcing frequency, can be obtained. The procedure is cumbersome and problematic if the forces vary spatially, due to difficulties in finding “particular integrals”. An alternative method is developed in which geometric and material discontinuities are modeled by continuously varying functions (here logistic functions). This leads to a single differential equation with variable coefficients, which is solved numerically using MAPLE®’s PDE solver. For free-fixed boundary conditions and spatially constant force good agreement is found between the two methods, lending confidence to the continuous varying approach, which is then used to obtain response for spatially varying forces.
[Estimation of excess numbers of viral diarrheal cases among children aged <5 years in Beijing with adjusted Serfling regression model].

Objective To estimate the excess numbers of viral diarrheal cases among children aged <5 years in Beijing from 1 January 2011 to 23 May 2015. Methods The excess numbers of diarrheal cases among the children aged <5 years were estimated by using weekly outpatient visit data from two children's hospital in Beijing and adjusted Serfling regression model. Results The incidence peaks of viral diarrhea were during 8th-10th week and 40th-42nd week in 2011, 40th-46th week in 2012, 43rd-49th week in 2013 and 45th week in 2014 to 11th week in 2015 respectively. The excess numbers of viral diarrheal cases among children aged <5 years in the two children's hospital were 911(95%CI: 261-1 561), 1 998(95%CI: 1 250-2 746), 1 645 (95%CI: 891-2 397), 2 806(95%CI: 1 938-3 674) and 1 822(95%CI: 614-3 031) respectively, accounting for 40.38%(95%CI: 11.57%-69.19%), 44.21% (95% CI: 27.66%-60.77%), 45.08% (95% CI: 24.42%-65.69%), 60.87% (95% CI: 42.04%-79.70%) and 66.62% (95% CI: 22.45%-110.82%) of total outpatient visits due to diarrhea during 2011-2015, respectively. Totally, the excess number of viral diarrheal cases among children aged <5 years in Beijing was estimated to be 18 731(95%CI: 10 106-27 354) from 2011 to 23 May 2015. Conclusions Winter is the season of viral diarrhea for children aged <5 years. The adjusted Serfling regression model analysis suggested that close attention should be paid to the etiologic variation of viruses causing acute gastroenteritis, especially the etiologic variation of norovirus. Key words: Viral diarrheal; Adjusted Serfling regression model; Excess case number
Effects of Global Warming and Ocean Acidification on Carbonate Budgets of Eastern Pacific Coral Reefs

Eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) coral reefs provide a real-world example of reef growth, development, structure, and function under the high-pCO2, low aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) conditions expected for the entire tropical surface ocean with a doubling to tripling of atmospheric CO2. This provides a unique opportunity to examine various aspects of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) budgets in low-Ωarag conditions in the present day. Unlike anywhere else in the world, the ETP displays a continuum of thermal stress and CO2 inputs up to levels at which reef building is terminated and reef structures are lost. The response of coral reef CaCO3 budgets to El Nino warming across the ETP shows that reefs can be completely lost after experiencing a 2–3 °C thermal anomaly sustained in excess of two months during the warmest time of the year at Ωarag values expected for the rest of the tropics when atmospheric CO2 doubles. ETP coral reefs have persisted and shown resilience to this level of thermal stress or acidification when acting alone, but the combination of the two corresponded with the complete elimination of reef framework structures in the southern Galapagos Islands over the decade after the 1982–83 El Nino warming event. Reef carbonate degradation is exacerbated also by diverse agents of bioerosion such as sea urchins, boring bivalves, and excavating sponges, with experimental evidence demonstrating that the latter may even increase their activities during ocean warming and pH decline. This chapter reviews the CaCO3 budget of ETP coral reefs and discusses how a high-CO2 world may impact the major biotic and abiotic factors responsible for the cycling of carbonate materials. Coral reefs of the ETP serve as a model for conditions that will occur in other regions within a few decades.
A Smartphone Application Suite for Assessing Mobility

Modern smartphones integrate a growing number of inertial and environmental sensors that can enable the development of new mobile health applications. In this paper we introduce a suite of smartphone applications for assessing mobility in elderly population. The suite currently includes applications that automate and quantify the following standardized medical tests for assessing mobility: Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG), 30 Seconds Chair Stand Test (30SCS), and a 4-stage Balance Test (4SBT). For each smartphone application we describe its functionality and a list of parameters extracted by processing signals from smartphone's inertial sensors. The paper shows the results from studies conducted on geriatric patients for TUG tests and from studies conducted in the laboratory on healthy subjects for 30SCS and 4SBT tests.
Statistical Shape Analysis for Brain Structures

Statistical shape analysis is a fundamental topic in biomedical image computing, and plays important roles in numerous applications in brain imaging. This chapter describes typical shape analysis methods for modeling and analyzing 3D surface data in brain imaging studies. These studies examine various structures of interest in the brain, and aim to identify morphometric differences associated with a particular condition to aid diagnosis and treatment. We first present classic computational methods for modeling and registering 3D surfaces, and then discuss advanced methods that take into consideration subfield information on the surface. After that, we describe techniques for shape analysis of registered surface models, including traditional general linear models as well as a newly proposed statistical learning model for performing surface-based morphometry. Finally, we provide a real world neuroimaging application to demonstrate the effectiveness of these techniques.
The TExT Procedure: A Strategy for Developing the Expository Writing of English Language Learners

In the late 1970s as a novice biology teacher, I was surprised by my studentsâ€™ reactions to doing written work in my classroom. After assigning them a writing assignment, students would begin to grumble and groan. They argued that they could not write because they did not have pencils. One vocal student spoke up and said, â€œThis ainâ€™t English class. We donâ€™t need to do no writinâ€™ and we donâ€™t need no pencils!â€ These students clearly did not want to write. Their comments clearly indicated their misperceptions about writing. Their written work revealed their struggles with writing.
Improved cyclic redox reactivity of lanthanum modified iron-based oxygen carriers in carbon monoxide chemical looping combustion

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) technology converts fuel into heat or electricity with complete CO2 capture and does not require air separation units. CLC is realized through redox reactions of gas or solid fuels with oxygen carriers at high temperatures. The oxygen carriers are required to have high reactivity and recyclability with low cost. In this work, we use a low concentration of the lanthanum dopant to dramatically change the reactivity of oxygen carriers in CLC with CO fuel. Lanthanum is a rare earth element and is chosen because of its high catalytic activity. It is found that the conversion rates of lanthanum-doped oxygen carriers are universally higher than those of undoped iron oxide oxygen carriers from 550 °C to 780 °C. The reactivity increases significantly in doped oxygen carriers at these temperatures favourable for CLC and decreases in these carriers at temperatures above approximately 800 °C due to enhanced sintering. Density functional theory (DFT) is used to calculate the surface configuration and energy barriers in CLC reactions and shows dramatically reduced energy barriers in lanthanum-doped iron oxide reactions with CO and oxygen carrier regeneration. This methodology provides substantial reactivity improvements of CLC with oxygen carriers that are relatively simple to fabricate, and it will have an impact on chemical looping particle design and modification.
E-Android: A New Energy Profiling Tool for Smartphones

As the limited battery lifetime remains a major factor restricting the applicability of a smartphone, significant research efforts have been devoted to understand the energy consumption in smartphones. Existing energy modeling methods can account energy drain in a fine-grained manner and provide well designed human-battery interfaces for users to characterize energy usage of every app in smartphones. However, in this paper, we demonstrate that there are still pitfalls in current Android energy modeling approaches, leaving collateral energy consumption unaccounted. The existence of collateral energy consumption becomes a serious energy bug. In particular, those energy bugs could be exploited to launch a new class of energy attacks, which deplete battery life and sidestep the supervision of current energy accounting. To unveil collateral energy bugs, we propose E-Android to accurately profile energy consumption of a smartphone in a comprehensive manner. E-Android monitors collateral energy related events and maintains energy consumption maps for relevant apps. We evaluate the effectiveness of E-Android under six different collateral energy attacks and two normal scenarios, and compare the results with those of Android. While Android fails to disclose collateral energy bugs, E-Android can accurately profile energy consumption and reveal the existence of energy bugs with minor overhead.
Lewis Acid Assisted C–CN Cleavage of Benzonitrile Using [(dippe)NiH]2

Reactions of [(dippe)NiH] 2 with benzonitrile and varying concentrations of Lewis acids (primarily BPh 3 and BF 3 ) have shown a dramatic variation of reaction rate compared to the same reaction without Lewis acids. When less than one equivalent of Lewis acid is used, the reaction rate is as much as 100 times greater than without Lewis acid. Boron exchange was observed with less than one equivalent of Lewis acid allowing the formation of a Ni(0)–η 2 -aryl complex (observed by low-temperature NMR and calculations) to which the Lewis acid is postulated to re-coordinate as the rate-limiting step allowing the formation of a stable Ni(II) product. When one equivalent or greater of Lewis acid is used, the reaction shows dramatic inhibition even compared to the reaction without Lewis acid. Lewis acid dissociation can be considered as the rate-limiting step under these conditions. The overall work detailed herein has shown the importance of Lewis acids in the activation of benzonitriles due to the strengthening of the C–N bond allowing for increased stabilization of the products.
Improved Hearing Protector Attenuation Through the Use of a Lubricant

ABSTRACTA study of 40 novice hearing protection users was conducted to determine if the use of a lubricant with hearing protective plugs would enhance their attenuation. Three types of hearing protection devices (i.e., earplugs) were evaluated: roll-down PVC foam, mushroom-style polyurethane foam, and elastomeric flanged. For each earplug type, the right and left ear (dry and lubricated, respectively) personal attenuation rating was determined using a commercially available microphone in real-ear apparatus.Earplug efficacy was observed to increase in the presence of a lubricant for all 3 plug types, with average mean elevations by earplug type ranging from 1.5–5.1 dB. Two of three earplug types saw statistically significant improvements when used with lubrication, demonstrating heightened mean personal attenuation ratings of 2.8 dB and 5.1 dB.The issues of handedness and gender differences (vis a vis ear canal size) are explored, and the importance of proper fitting is discussed in detail. Several specifi...
Strategic Deception and Counterdeception, a Cognitive Process Approach

Research in experimental psychology is applied to an analysis of problems of strategic military deception and counterdeception. In conducting deception, the deceiver has a clear advantage; empirical evidence confirms assumptions drawn from cognitive psychology that deception seldom fails when it exploits a target's preconceptions. The target's tendency to assimilate discrepant information to existing mental sets generally negates the risks to deception posed by security leaks and uncontrolled channels of information. Cognitive biases in the assessment of probabilities, evaluation of evidence, and attribution of causality are described and related to questions of deception and counterdeception. Approaches to enhancing an organization's ability to detect deception are examined. Improved intelligence collection and heightened alertness to deception are often insufficient. Cognitive aids to facilitate analysis are recommended, as is the formation of a counterdeception staff as a focal point for deception analysis.
Numerical simulations to quantify the diurnal contrast in local climate trend induced by desert urbanization

The effect of urbanization on local climate is quantified by numerical simulations for five desert cities that represent a wide range of urban size, climate zone, and composition of land cover. Land-use land cover maps generated from Landsat data for 1985 and 2010, chosen as the start and end of a period of rapid urbanization, are used to constrain the surface boundary conditions for the numerical model. In this manner, this study focuses on the particular aspect of the effect of land-use changes on local climate. Within this scope, the results reveal a pattern of the climatic effect of desert urbanization with nighttime warming and weaker, but significant daytime cooling. This effect is confined to the urban area and is not sensitive to the size of the city or the detailed land cover types in the surrounding areas. The pattern is identified in both winter and summer. Exceptions to this pattern are found in a small number of cases when the noisiness of local circulation, specifically monsoon and land–sea breeze, overwhelms the climatic signal induced by land-use changes. The inter-cities’ differences in the temperature response to land-use change are also discussed.
Integrating Informed Nondissent Into Informed Consent Standards.

Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published an updated version of the AAP's policy statement on informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice (Committee o...
Single-Molecule Fluorescence Reveals Commonalities and Distinctions among Natural and in Vitro-Selected RNA Tertiary Motifs in a Multistep Folding Pathway.

Decades of study of the RNA folding problem have revealed that diverse and complex structured RNAs are built from a common set of recurring structural motifs, leading to the perspective that a generalizable model of RNA folding may be developed from understanding of the folding properties of individual structural motifs. We used single-molecule fluorescence to dissect the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of a set of variants of a common tertiary structural motif, the tetraloop/tetraloop-receptor (TL/TLR). Our results revealed a multistep TL/TLR folding pathway in which preorganization of the ubiquitous AA-platform submotif precedes the formation of the docking transition state and tertiary A-minor hydrogen bond interactions form after the docking transition state. Differences in ion dependences between TL/TLR variants indicated the occurrence of sequence-dependent conformational rearrangements prior to and after the formation of the docking transition state. Nevertheless, varying the junction connecti...
Impact, efficiency, inequality, and injustice of urban air pollution: variability by emission location

Reducing exposure to air pollution is an important goal for many local and national governments. Disparities in air pollution exposure by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class are well documented; reducing these disparities is another important policy target. Meeting both goals requires tools to evaluate how emission reduction options affect average exposures and exposure disparities. Here, we consider the role of emission location in implementing control strategies, and investigate the effect of two practical, space-based approaches—low-emission zones and truck rerouting—on diesel particle levels in Southern California. We employ Eulerian grid modeling to explore the impact that emission location has on four outcomes important to policymakers: total pollution exposure, exposure efficiency (i.e. exposure impact per unit emission), exposure inequality (i.e. deviations from exposure being equally distributed across the population; unequal exposure among individuals), and exposure injustice (i.e. associations between exposure and demographic attributes such as race or ethnicity; unequal exposure among groups). Our results highlight potential trade-offs (e.g. an increase in equality but reduction in justice for interventions in some locations) as well as opportunities for 'win-win' solutions (locations for which emission reductions would reduce all four target outcomes). We find that a simple, straightforward approach—reducing emissions in neighborhoods with a high proportion of minority residents—may or may not yield the strongest benefits to environmental justice; the reason is that the straightforward approach fails to account for meteorology and where pollution travels after being emitted. In short, we demonstrate an approach that can be used to identify areas in which emissions reductions would have high efficiency and would also result in disproportionately large reductions to average exposure, exposure inequality, and exposure injustice. The approach presented here could be used to design and prioritize local or national emission reduction efforts.
Development of a hybrid computational/experimental framework for evaluation of damage mechanisms of a linked semiconstrained total elbow system

Background Long-term durability of total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) is a concern, and bearing wear or excessive deformations may necessitate early revision. The current study used experimental wear testing and computational finite element modeling to develop a hybrid computational and experimental framework for the evaluation of TEA damage mechanisms. Methods Three Coonrad-Morrey (Zimmer-Biomet Inc., Warsaw, IN, USA) TEA implants were used for experimental wear testing for 200,000 cycles. Gravimetric measurements were performed before and after the tests to assess the weight change caused by wear. A finite element model of the implant was also developed to analyze ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) damage. Results High localized contact pressures caused visible creep and plastic flow, deforming bushings and creating unintended UHMWPE-on-UHMWPE contact surfaces where considerably high wear rates were observed. Average experimentally measured vs. model-predicted wear was 9.5 ± 1.0 vs. 14.1 mg for the of the medial bushing, 8.5 ± 1.0 vs. 13.9 mg for the lateral humeral bushing, and 34.1 ± 0.7 vs. 36.9 mg for the ulnar bushings, respectively. Model predicted contact stresses on the surfaces of bushings were substantially higher than the yield limit of conventional UHMWPE (87 MPa for the humeral bushings and 83 MPa for the ulnar bushing). Conclusions Our study discovered that unintended wear at UHMWPE-UHMWPE contact surfaces, “fed” by excessive plastic flow may, in fact, be of more concern than wear that occurs at the intended metal-UHMWPE contact interfaces. Furthermore, formation of high localized contact stresses much above the yield limit of UHMWPE is another likely contributor to bushing failure for this implant.
SRC: a fully automatic geographic feature recognition system

Historical maps store abundant and valuable information about the evolution of natural features and human activities, such as changes in hydrography, the development of the railroad networks, and the expansion of human settlements. Such knowledge represents a unique resource that can be extremely useful for researchers in the social and natural sciences to better understand how human and environment have evolved over time. Fortunately, a large amount of historical maps have been scanned in high resolution by many organizations. For example, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has scanned and released more than 200,000 historical maps in the TIFF format.
The Alternative Pathway

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the alternative pathway. The activation of complement via the alternative pathway provides a natural system of defense against infectious agents, because it is capable of neutralizing a wide variety of potential pathogens in the absence of specific antibodies. The alternative pathway, thus, differs from the classical pathway in that it provides an immediately available line of defense that does not require prior immunization. It resembles the classical pathway in that both systems result in the activation of the membrane attack or terminal pathway of complement. The six plasma proteins involved in the alternative pathway recognize a wide variety of potential pathogens within minutes after such organisms come in contact with plasma. Organisms sensitive to attack by the alternative pathway include bacteria, fungi, a number of viruses, virus-infected cells, certain tumor cell lines, parasites such as trypanosomes, and erythrocytes from patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. The activation process of the alternative pathway differs from that of the classical pathway in several ways. Instead of attacking targets that have been specifically identified by antibody, the alternative pathway uses a shotgun approach. The amplification reaction of the alternative pathway involves three proteins: C3, factor B, and factor D.
Research on Security and Stability Characteristics and Control Strategies of Power Grid with VSC-HVDC

Abstract VSC-HVDC is developed quickly in new energy power transmission field. The characteristics of VSC-HVDC is different from LCC-HVDC, so the traditional control strategies in LCC-HVDC maybe not completely suitable for the power system with VSC-HVDC. In order to guarantee the stable operation of the power grid with VSC-HVDC under serious faults, control strategies should be studied. Combined with the operating characteristics of VSC-HVDC, some response difference between VSC-HVDC and LCC-HVDC is analyzed. And then, the general principles for making the security and stability control strategies of the power grid with VSC-HVDC is proposed. At last, the rationality and effectiveness of the control strategy is validated in an IEEE30 system. The simulation results show that the proposed grid security and stability control strategy is effective for the fault recovery of the power grid with VSC-HVDC.
Learning Robust Feature Representations in Deep Networks for Image Classification

Deep learning has emerged as the method of choice for many computer vision applications. Training deep networks involves the utilization of a loss function, such as cross entropy. In this paper, we propose a novel auxiliary loss function, the Silhouette Loss, for training deep networks with the objective of obtaining feature representations that are both tightly clustered and highly separable. We are motivated by the need for well-clustered features that can generalize effectively for the classification of diverse test samples. We also introduce an adaptive scaling scheme for the regularization parameter of the auxiliary loss, which improves robustness and eliminates the selection of another hyperparameter. By training a small network with our auxiliary loss we achieve classification performance that is comparable to that of larger networks, yet our network is more efficient and utilizes much fewer parameters.
Energy Gain and Loss Mechanisms in Plasmas and Reactors

The three major sources of radiation loss from a plasma are described: bremsstrahlung (free-free), line (bound-bound), and recombination (free-bound) radiation are shown and the impact of these radiative mechanisms are discussed from the standpoint of impurities in low-Z fusion plasmas. A fourth potential radiation loss term in magnetically confined plasmas, synchrotron radiation, is also discussed. The optical thickness of the plasma is discussed to contrast the methods used to calculate radiation loss in a magnetically confined plasma vis-a-vis an inertially confined plasma are shown, with the coronal model for the former and the Saha equation and more complex models for the latter. The radiation in transient situations is discussed, including the non-LTE effects found in inertially confined plasma. The basic Lawson criterion is introduced in order to form an overall energy balance for the plasma. The equivalent rho-R condition for inertial confinement is introduced. Energy balance for reactors with other features including blanket multiplication and direct conversion is also addressed.
Hereditary breast-ovarian cancer knowledge and interest in genetic testing among African American women.

e12510 Background: African American (AA) women are diagnosed with breast cancer (BCA) at a young age, have the poorest BCA and ovarian cancer (OC) outcomes. They have a higher prevalence of triple-...
Enzyme morphinan N -demethylase for more sustainable opiate processing

Naturally occurring opiates, such as morphine and thebaine, are produced in poppy species. Thebaine is converted into painkillers and opiate addiction treatments, the latter requiring a chemical reaction called N-demethylation. Current opiate N-demethylation utilizes noxious reagents, resulting in copious amounts of harmful waste. One way to make opiate production more sustainable is to use enzymes rather than chemicals. Microorganisms provide a rich source of enzymes useful for metabolizing unique compounds in their environment. Therefore, an opium-processing waste stream was probed to identify an organism capable of catalysing opiate N-demethylation. A sludge sample was grown on minimal medium containing thebaine as the sole carbon source, to identify a biocatalyst. This led to the discovery of Thebainfresser, a Methylobacterium that metabolizes opiates by removing the N-methyl group. N-demethylation was induced following growth in minimal medium, a characteristic which led to discovery of the underlying gene MND (morphinan N-demethylase). The enzyme MND was found to be robust and versatile, N-demethylating structurally diverse substrates at varying temperatures and pH levels. In addition, MND tolerated selected organic solvents and maintained activity when immobilized. These properties make it an attractive candidate for further development for pharmaceutical manufacture. Thebaine, a naturally occurring opiate, is used to produce drugs that treat opiate addiction, but it must be processed using toxic reactants that produce harmful waste. In this study, the authors probed an opium-processing waste stream and identified a versatile enzyme that can be used instead.
A Missing Link: Thinking | making | presenting

Let whoever may have attained to so much as to have the power of drawing know that he holds a great treasure ... MichelangeloThe tradition of architectural drawings and making as a means of design thinking in a constant feedback loop results in discoveries that facilitate creative thinking in an iterative process. In the digital age, notion of drawing and making by hand as a cognitive process of thinking is fading. This trend is increasingly evident in upper-level architecture students who depend strictly on digital tools for design thinking, missing many critical decisionmaking steps. Concepts of scale, diagramming, composition, materiality are missing − part of the challenge is the computer screen and the lack of tactical autonomy with physical materials − pen, pencil, brush, architectural scale, materiality, construction, assemblage. How can we as educators assert that drawings are not just architectural representations, but a means to architectural inquiry? Why is it critical for our students to use hand drawings, sketching and diagramming when exploring ideas? Can small gestural models provide notions of scale, materiality, and construction? Teaching pedagogy has always engaged new modes of design thinking and communications as a way of design inquiry − a trait essential to architects. Historically, since the Renaissance, drawings have been the catalyst to advance architectural discourse. In the 20th century, different movements such as De Stijl, Constructivism and Bauhaus used a multi-disciplinary approach combining art and technology through the lens of drawing and making that led to a new wave of design pedagogy to push their imaginations into new territories which the digital augmented as technology advanced. We believe that today’s students need to continue to develop both hand and digital skills in tandem to optimize design thinking, making and presentation techniques. In doing so, they can advance architectural pedagogy to new heights as those before did; critically in a material and physical sense: as an embodied spatial experience.
DC, AC, and Transient Electrical Models and Analysis

We considered the physical design and optimization formulation for simultaneous power I/O cell assignment, power bus topology, and power bus sizing synthesis in the proceeding chapter, but we have still only addressed part of the problem. In this chapter, we complete our power distribution synthesis formulation by describing the electrical modeling and electrical evaluation strategy used to meet our electrical objectives and constrain DC, AC, and transient behavior. We highlight AC and transient behavior, the major concerns as yet unaddressed to our knowledge in power synthesis. We will describe a method to consider this critical part of design in mixed-signal integrated circuits and also describe improvements in handling DC behavior.
Mismatched Complementary-on-Receive Filtering of Diverse FM Waveform Subsets

The notion of complementary coding is generally thought to be a waveform design problem. In contrast, here we show that, for arbitrary diverse FM waveforms over the coherent processing interval (CPI), least-squares mismatched filters can be jointly computed to provide complementary sidelobe cancellation on receive when pre-summing of unique waveform subsets is performed after pulse compression (before Doppler processing). The efficacy of this scheme is demonstrated in simulation and with experimental free-space measurements.
Integrated Deep Learning and Statistical Process Control for Online Monitoring of Manufacturing Processes

Advancements in online sensing technologies and wireless networking has reshaped the competitive landscape of manufacturing systems, leading to exponential growth of data. Among various data types, high-dimensional data sources such as images and videos play an important role in process monitoring. Efficient utilization of such sources can help systems reach high accuracy in fault diagnosis. On the other hand, while the researches on statistical process control (SPC) tools are tremendous, the application of SPC tools considering high-dimensional data sets has received less attention due to their complexity. In this paper, we try to address this gap by designing and developing a hybrid model based on deep learning (DL) and SPC models to monitor the manufacturing process in presence of high-dimensional data. In particular, we first apply a Fast Region-based Convolutional Network method referred to Fast R-CNN in order to monitor the image sequences over time. Then, some statistical features are derived and plotted on the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart. The effectiveness of proposed hybrid model is illustrated through a numerical example.
A Crosstalk Noise-aware Signal Integrity Simulation Methodology

Due to the data speed of high-speed (HS) input/output (I/O) interfaces pin counts and routing density increase dramatical, today’s server system design becomes more challenging and complex. PCI Express Gen4 16Gbps and other CPU to CPU link with higher data speed were commonly used in the server product motherboard design. To control PCB routing length and meet target design solution space for signal integrity performance, high-speed I/O signals have no choice but to route in the DDR DIMM pin-field or CPU pin region. This situation usually happened in smaller form factor designs or in the dimension-limited motherboard (like half-width board) that without enough routing space for all high-speed I/O nets to go within routing solution space.3D Field-Solver (like Ansys HFSS) and circuit simulator (like Synopsys Hspice) were common tools being used for the signal integrity risk assessment of crosstalk impact between two high-speed I/O interfaces. The mutual crosstalk coupling waveforms and peak-to-peak voltage values could be obtained after the simulation. But there is no guidance or criteria of the peak-to-peak crosstalk voltage value for further risk assessment. Some customers may do the relative coupling peak-to-peak voltage values comparison between their product design and the reference platform design as quick risk assessment. This is not a convincing method for the challengeable project design. It is just a solution point, not a solution space.A crosstalk noise-aware signal integrity simulation methodology being introduced here as more convincing alternative. By adding the crosstalk waveform from aggressor signals directly to the victim net, we’ll able to get the “Eye Height (EH)” and “Eye Width (EW)” degradation from crosstalk. Then, we can compare the degraded “Eye Height” and “Eye Width” with respect to the silicon Eye Mask criteria as risk assessment.Other than directly comparing the degraded Eye Height and Eye Width to silicon Eye Mask criteria, there’s also another Quick Risk Assessment Method being introduced here. The Quick Risk Assessment Method can directly convert the degraded Eye Height and Eye Width values into the relative PCB length reduction in the overall solution space and quantify the crosstalk impact as PCB routing length reduction quickly impact in the PCB routing that limit the PCB designer on routing feasibility in their design and placement.
Wholeheartedness in the Treatment of Shared Trauma: Special Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Karen Horney’s concept of wholeheartedness is embedded in her conceptualization of basic anxiety, and both are fundamental to Horney’s theory of personality development. The clinical relevance of these concepts will be explored within the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. How do we attend to the sequelae of trauma our patients are now (re)experiencing in tandem with our own? In the midst of this shared trauma, how can we think constructively about the anxiety, fear, and uncertainty that both patient and therapist are experiencing? A wholehearted approach offers something essential during these challenging times, as it relates to the therapists’ ongoing attempts to be fully present for our patients, while acknowledging and attending to our own personal variables and inner conflicts.
Do No Harm: Graduate Admissions Letters of Recommendation and Unconscious Bias

Purpose Faculty members commonly write letters of recommendation (LOR) for students. Although letters can be helpful, they may do more harm if they include language that can negatively bias readers...