cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discrete Element Modeling of Micro-scratch Tests: Investigation of Mechanisms of CO 2 Alteration in Reservoir Rocks

The injection of CO2 into geological formations leads to geochemical re-equilibrium between the pore fluid and rock minerals. Mineral–brine–CO2 reactions can induce alteration of mechanical properties and affect the structural integrity of the storage formation. The location of alterable mineral phases within the rock skeleton is important to assess the potential effects of mineral dissolution on bulk geomechanical properties. Hence, although often disregarded, the understanding of particle-scale mechanisms responsible for alterations is necessary to predict the extent of geomechanical alteration as a function of dissolved mineral amounts. This study investigates the CO2-related rock chemo-mechanical alteration through numerical modeling and matching of naturally altered rocks probed with micro-scratch tests. We use a model that couples the discrete element method (DEM) and the bonded particle model (BPM) to perform simulations of micro-scratch tests on synthetic rocks that mimic Entrada sandstone. Experimental results serve to calibrate numerical scratch tests with DEM–BPM parameters. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the cement size and bond shear strength are the most sensitive microscopic parameters that govern the CO2-induced alteration in Entrada sandstone. Reductions in cement size lead to decrease in scratch toughness and an increase in ductility in the rock samples. This work demonstrates how small variations of microscopic bond properties in cemented sandstone can lead to significant changes in macroscopic large-strain mechanical properties.
A Single-center, Quasi-experimental Study to Evaluate the Impact of a Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction System Combined with Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention on Time to Targeted Therapy in Patients with Suspected Central Nervous System Infection

Background Empiric treatment for central nervous system (CNS) infections consists of coverage with multiple antimicrobial agents that may be continued until a pathogen can be identified. Identification may take significant time to result, leading to extended durations of multiple antimicrobial agents, delays in targeted therapy and subsequent adverse effects, such as nephrotoxicity and Clostridium difficile infection. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system that can identify 14 pathogens responsible for community-acquired CNS infections in 1 hour was recently FDA-approved for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of this PCR paired with antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) team intervention on the time to targeted therapy.
Surface-Mediated DNA Hybridization: Effects of DNA Conformation, Surface Chemistry, and Electrostatics

Single-molecule Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) was used to study the dynamic association of mobile donor-labeled ssDNA oligonucleotides (“target”) with covalently immobilized complementary acceptor-labeled ssDNA oligonucleotides (“probe”). While probe-target association events were resolved for all experiments, such FRET events were far more likely to occur in systems with complementarity and on hydrophobic, as compared to hydrophilic, surfaces. The distribution of donor–acceptor association-time intervals did not exhibit simple first-order kinetics, and when decomposed into a superposition of first-order processes, only a small fraction of events corresponded to a long-lived state that was presumed to represent true DNA hybridization, while the majority of association events were transient, representing nonspecific associations or partial hybridization. The structure of the DNA target and probe affected both the stability of the hybridized state, as well as the likelihood that an association be...
The 24-Core POWER9 Processor With Adaptive Clocking, 25-Gb/s Accelerator Links, and 16-Gb/s PCIe Gen4

The POWER9TM family of chips is fabricated in 14-nm silicon-on-insulator finFET technology using 17 levels of copper interconnect. The 695-mm2 24-core microprocessor features a new core based on an execution slice microarchitecture. The chip contains 8 billion transistors and has 120 MB of eDRAM L3 cache. The processor features an adaptive clock strategy to reduce timing margin needed during power supply droop events by embedding analog voltage-droop monitors that direct a digital phase-locked loop to immediately reduce clock frequency in response to a droop event. The scale-out chip IO subsystem supports up to 300-GB/s accelerator bandwidth using new 25-Gb/s links, 48 lanes of PCIeGen4 totaling 192 GB/s, eight ports of 2667 MT/s DDR4, and 256 GB/s of symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) interconnect. The scale-up chip adds additional SMP bandwidth and replaces the DDR4 memory interface with eight ports of differential memory interfaces with 230 GB/s of bandwidth resulting in 12.9 Tb/s of total off-chip bandwidth.
Pseudospectral and Galerkin Methods

Wave equations have been successfully discretized using all of the standard families of algorithms: finite difference, finite element, and spectral. Nevertheless, this volume will review only Chebyshev and Fourier spectral methods.
Language as a Model of Biocomplexity

It is generally agreed that human language is one of the most complex systems ever invented by, or evolved in, the human society. It is also agreed that living systems are complex. Since human (or natural) language is one of the best characterized complex systems that is known to us, the question naturally arises as to whether or not human language can be used to model the complexity of living systems in general. During the past several years, the present author has used human language as a model to characterize and analyze DNA [Ji 1999a] and the living cell [Ji 1997a], leading to useful insights and testable predictions. The results obtained thus far suggest that the answer to the above question may be in the positive.
Modelling Collisional Cross Sections

Abstract This chapter describes the most commonly used methods for computing collisional cross sections of ions in ion mobility and ion mobility-mass spectrometry studies: the Projection Approximation, Projected Superposition and Local Collision Probability Approximations, Exact and Diffuse Hard-Spheres Scattering models, and the Trajectory Method. After an introduction that briefly overviews the kinematics and theory behind the methods, commonalities and differences between their most widely used implementations are explored. Advantages and disadvantages, as well as typical accuracy, relative computational speed, and limitations, of each of these methods are discussed. Finally, a view towards future advances in computing collisional cross sections is laid out.
The atlastin membrane anchor forms an intramembrane hairpin that does not span the phospholipid bilayer.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is composed of flattened sheets and interconnected tubules that extend throughout the cytosol and makes physical contact with all other cytoplasmic organelles. This cytoplasmic distribution requires continuous remodeling. These discrete ER morphologies require specialized proteins that drive and maintain membrane curvature. The GTPase atlastin is required for homotypic fusion of ER tubules. All atlastin homologs possess a conserved domain architecture consisting of a GTPase domain, a three-helix bundle middle domain, a hydrophobic membrane anchor, and a C-terminal cytosolic tail. Here, we examined several Drosophila-human atlastin chimeras to identify functional domains of human atlastin-1 in vitro. Although all chimeras could hydrolyze GTP, only chimeras containing the human C-terminal tail, hydrophobic segments, or both could fuse membranes in vitro. We also determined that co-reconstitution of atlastin with reticulon does not influence GTPase activity or membrane fusion. Finally, we found that both human and Drosophila atlastin hydrophobic membrane anchors do not span the membrane, but rather form two intramembrane hairpin loops. The topology of these hairpins remains static during membrane fusion and does not appear to play an active role in lipid mixing.
Vascular burden and APOE ε4 are associated with white matter microstructural decline in cognitively normal older adults.

Abstract White matter microstructure can be measured with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). While increasing age is a predictor of white matter (WM) microstructure changes, roles of other possible modifiers, such as cardiovascular risk factors, APOE e4 allele status and biological sex have not been clarified. We investigated 665 cognitively normal participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (age 50–95, 56.7% female) with a total of 1384 DTI scans. WM microstructure was assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). A vascular burden score was defined as the sum of five risk factors (hypertension, obesity, elevated cholesterol, diabetes and smoking status). Linear mixed effects models assessed the association of baseline vascular burden on baseline and on rates of change of FA and MD over a mean follow-up of 3.6 years, while controlling for age, race, and scanner type. We also compared DTI trajectories in APOE e4 carriers vs. non-carriers and men vs. women. At baseline, higher vascular burden was associated with lower FA and higher MD in many WM structures including association, commissural, and projection fibers. Higher baseline vascular burden was also associated with greater longitudinal decline in FA in the hippocampal part of the cingulum and the fornix (crus)/stria terminalis and splenium of the corpus callosum, and with greater increases in MD in the splenium of the corpus callosum. APOE e4 carriers did not differ from non-carriers in baseline DTI metrics but had greater decline in FA in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum. Men had higher FA and lower MD in multiple WM regions at baseline but showed greater increase in MD in the genu of the corpus callosum. Women showed greater decreases over time in FA in the gyrus part of the cingulum, compared to men. Our findings show that modifiable vascular risk factors (1) have a negative impact on white matter microstructure and (2) are associated with faster microstructural deterioration of temporal WM regions and the splenium of the corpus callosum in cognitively normal adults. Reducing vascular burden in aging could modify the rate of WM deterioration and could decrease age-related cognitive decline and impairment.
Genome-wide association study in two populations to determine genetic variants associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection and relationship to schizophrenia risk

Abstract T. gondii (TOXO) infects over one billion people worldwide, yet the literature lacks a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) focused on genetic variants controlling the persistence of TOXO infection. To identify putative T. gondii susceptibility genes, we performed a GWAS using IgG seropositivity as the outcome variable in a discovery sample (n = 790) from an Ashkenazi dataset, and a second sample of predominately African Americans (The Grady Trauma Project, n = 285). We also performed a meta-analyses of the 2 cohorts. None of the SNPs in these analyses was statistically significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. In the Ashkenazi population, the gene region of CHIA (chitinase) showed the most nominally significant association with TOXO. Prior studies have shown that the production of chitinase by macrophages in the brain responding to TOXO infection is crucial for controlling the burden of T. gondii cysts. We found a surprising number of genes involved in neurodevelopment and psychiatric disorders among our top hits even though our outcome variable was TOXO infection. In the meta-analysis combining the Ashkenazi and Grady Trauma Project samples, there was enrichment for genes implicated in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (p Using Ingenuity Systems molecular network analysis, we identified molecular nodes suggesting that while different genetic variants associated with TOXO in the two population samples, the molecular pathways for TOXO susceptibility nevertheless converged on common pathways. Molecular nodes in these common pathways included NOTCH1, CD44, and RXRA. Prior studies show that CD44 participates in TOXO-induced immunopathology and that RXRA is instrumental in regulating T-helper immune responses. These data provide new insights into the pathophysiology of this common neurotropic parasite.
Mass-independent Dunham analysis of the [13.8] Ω = 3/2 − X 2Π3/2 transition of platinum monochloride, PtCl, observed by intracavity laser spectroscopy: Periodic trends in the M+X− bonding model (M = Ni, Pt; X = F, Cl)

Abstract The first electronic transition of platinum chloride, PtCl, observed at high resolution has been recorded in absorption using Intracavity Laser Spectroscopy (ILS). The PtCl molecules were produced in a current-regulated RF discharge formed when 0.30–0.60 A was applied to a Pt-lined Cu hollow cathode in a ∼1 Torr Ar/He sputter gas mixture, with a trace amount of CCl4 as the chloride source. The hollow cathode was located within the resonator cavity of either a tunable DCM dye laser operated over the 14,500–16,500 cm−1 range or a Ti:Sapphire laser operated over the 12,890–12,990 cm−1 and 13,255–13,365 cm1 ranges. Effective absorption path lengths ranging from 0.6 to 2.0 km were utilized with the ILS method. Eight band systems were identified and rotationally analyzed as the (0,2), (0,1), (3,0), (4,0), (5,0), (6,0), (6,1), and (7,1) vibrational bands of the [13.8] Ω = 3/2 − X 2Π3/2 transition of PtCl. The vibrational assignment was confirmed through isotopologue shift analysis. The ILS data and millimeter- and submillimeter-wave data reported by Okabayashi et al. (2012) were fit to a mass-independent Dunham-type Hamiltonian using PGOPHER. Pt-isotope dependent deviations in the Dunham model were observed in Y″01(Be″), Y′01(Be′), and Y′00(Te′) and treated using field-shift parameters, and these parameters are compared to the reported field-shift effects for other 5d transition metal diatomics. The excited state molecular constants determined in this study are consistent with those of the (4) 3/2 state in the computational study by Zou and Suo (2016). The electronic transitions of NiF, NiCl, and PtF analogous to the [13.8] Ω = 3/2 – X 2Π3/2 transition of PtCl have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. The vibrational force constants and relative bond lengths for the MX (M = Ni, Pt; X = F, Cl) molecules suggest that Ni and Pt form similar MX bonds, with NiX bonds being slightly stronger, but a large effect is observed for halogen substitution, with MF force constants being more than twice as large as the corresponding MCl values.
On Similarity of Object-Aware Workflows

Business processes (workflows) are typically the compositions of services (activities and tasks) and play a key role in every enterprise. Finding similar processes in process repositories helps enterprises to reduce their cost and increase their performance. The similarity of different business processes has been measured based on activity labels and structural factors. However, inaccurate and incomplete labels and the existence of multiple labels for similar activities affect the accuracy of the existing methods. Furthermore, with recent advances in business process management and developing innovative paradigms like artifact-centric and decision-aware process modeling, data has become an inseparable part of the process modeling. While data objects and the way they are accessed are recently used to measure the similarity of activities, this approach does not address activities with different granularities. In this paper, we present an approach to measure the similarity of business processes based on the similarity of the life cycles of their objects. The experiments show the effectiveness of the approach to improve the accuracy of the processes similarity task.
Autoantibodies in lung transplantation

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) comprises both bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and restrictive allograft syndrome as subtypes. After lung transplantation, CLAD remains a major limitation for long-term survival, and lung transplant recipients therefore have poorer outcomes compared with recipients of other solid organ transplants. Although the number of lung transplants continues to increase globally, the field demands detailed understanding of immunoregulatory mechanisms and more effective individualized therapies to combat CLAD. Emerging evidence suggests that CLAD is multifactorial and involves a complex, delicate interplay of multiple factors, including perioperative donor characteristics, inflammation induced immediately following transplant, post-transplant infection and interplay between allo- and autoimmunity directed to donor antigens. Recently, identification of stress-induced exosome release from the transplanted organ has emerged as an underlying mechanism in the development of chronic rejection and promises to prompt novel strategies for future therapeutic interventions. In this review, we will discuss recent studies and ongoing research into the mechanisms for the development of CLAD, with emphasis on immune responses to lung-associated self-antigens-that is, autoimmunity.
Broadening the View: Technical Writers and Digital Technologies in India

This article reports on the technological priorities of technical writing practitioners in India. Findings suggest that swift technological change prompts professionals in India to be fluent in a growing list of technology-based tasks, challenging them to find and afford training opportunities. Based on the specific technological skills reported, Indian practitioners are more likely to learn and use programming languages and architecture design tools, rather than websites, presentations, wikis, social media, or even word processing programs. Practitioners also reported anticipating an increased need to learn interactive and automated technologies. Such findings suggest that technical web technologies will continue to be important to technical communication practice in India and that training opportunities are needed. Further, because automated and interactive technologies (AI) were seen as an integral part of future technical communication practice, more research is needed about AI’s role in technical communication and the changes AI might bring to the field.
Portfolio and prosper

PhD students produce more than publications; they create a wealth of resources as a means to their research. Matt Crump, Associate Professor at the City University of New York, argues that PhDs should share these resources as portfolios that demonstrate their skills and to benefit the scientific community.
Benefit-cost analysis of Promoting First Relationships®: Implications of victim benefits assumptions for return on investment

Abstract Background Child abuse and neglect (CAN) cost United States society $136 billion to $428 billion annually. Preventive interventions that reduce CAN may improve people’s lives and generate economic benefits to society, but their magnitude is likely to vary greatly with assumptions about victim costs avoided through intervention. Objective We examined the implications of different assumptions about avoided victim costs in a benefit-cost analysis of Promoting First Relationships® (PFR), a 10-session attachment and strengths-based home visiting intervention. Participants and setting Participants were 247 child protection-involved but intact families in Washington State randomized to receive PFR (n = 124) or resource and referral (n = 123). Methods We monetized intervention effects on out-of-home placements and implicit effects on CAN and calculated net present values under three scenarios: (1) benefits from avoided system costs, (2) additional benefits from avoided tangible victim costs, and (3) additional benefits from avoided tangible and intangible quality-of-life victim costs. For scenarios 2 and 3, we varied the CAN effect size and estimated the effect size at which PFR was reliably cost beneficial. Results PFR’s societal net benefit ranged from $1 (scenario 1) to $5514 - $25,562 (scenario 2) and $7004 - $32,072 (scenario 3) (2014 USD). In scenarios 2 and 3, PFR was reliably cost beneficial at a CAN effect size of approximately -0.25. Conclusions PFR is cost beneficial assuming tangible victim costs are avoided by PFR. Research into the long-term health and economic consequences of reducing CAN in at-risk populations would contribute to comprehensive, accurate benefits models.
Commissioning Status of the Linac for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams will be completed in late 2021. We report here on the current efforts to commission the first stages of the 200-MeV/u superconducting, continuous wave heavy-ion linac. The statuses of the cryogenic plant and its distribution system, the accelerator cryomodule commissioning and operations, the ion source and front end transport development, the radio-frequency quadrupole commissioning, and thenbeam dynamics development to support high-power operation are reviewed. Plans for commissioning the remainder of the linac systems are presented.
SUSTAINED DOPAMINERGIC PLATEAUS AND NORADRENERGIC DEPRESSIONS MEDIATE DISSOCIABLE ASPECTS OF EXPLOITATIVE STATES

ABSTRACT We are constantly faced with the trade-off between exploiting actions with known outcomes and exploring alternative actions whose outcomes may be better. This balance has been hypothesized to rely on dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc)1 and noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC)2–3. We developed a behavioral paradigm to capture exploitative and exploratory states, and imaged calcium dynamics in genetically-identified dopaminergic SNc neurons and noradrenergic LC neurons during state transitions. During exploitative states, characterized by motivated repetition of the same action choice, we found dichotomous changes in baseline activity in SNc and LC, with SNc showing higher and LC showing lower sustained activity. These sustained neural states emerged from the accumulation of lengthened positive responses and hysteretic dynamics in SNc networks, and lengthened negative responses in LC. Sustained activity could not be explained by classical reinforcement learning parameters, and in SNc but not LC, emerged in subpopulations coding for response vigor. Manipulating the sustained activity of SNc and LC revealed that dopaminergic activity primarily mediates engagement and motivation, whereas noradrenergic activity modulates action selection. These data uncover the emergence of sustained neural states in dopaminergic and noradrenergic networks that mediate dissociable aspects of exploitative bouts.
A Simple and Efficient Pipeline for Construction, Merging, Expansion, and Simulation of Large-Scale, Single-Cell Mechanistic Models

ABSTRACT The current era of big biomedical data accumulation and availability brings data integration opportunities for leveraging its totality to make new discoveries and/or clinically predictive models. Black-box statistical and machine learning methods are powerful for such integration, but often cannot provide mechanistic reasoning, particularly on the single-cell level. While single-cell mechanistic models clearly enable such reasoning, they are predominantly “small-scale”, and struggle with the scalability and reusability required for meaningful data integration. Here, we present an open-source pipeline for scalable, single-cell mechanistic modeling from simple, annotated input files that can serve as a foundation for mechanistic data integration. As a test case, we convert one of the largest existing single-cell mechanistic models to this format, demonstrating robustness and reproducibility of the approach. We show that the model cell line context can be changed with simple replacement of input file parameter values. We next use this new model to test alternative mechanistic hypotheses for the experimental observations that interferon-gamma (IFNG) inhibits epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced cell proliferation. Model- based analysis suggested, and experiments support that these observations are better explained by IFNG-induced SOCS1 expression sequestering activated EGF receptors, thereby downregulating AKT activity, as opposed to direct IFNG-induced upregulation of p21 expression. Overall, this new pipeline enables large-scale, single-cell, and mechanistically-transparent modeling as a data integration modality complementary to machine learning.
Survival outcomes associated with corticosteroid use before chemoimmunotherapy in patients with advanced lung cancer

Abstract Background How corticosteroid use affects treatment response to chemotherapy and immune-checkpoint inhibitors (CICPIs) remains unknown. We assessed how systemic corticosteroid exposure before CICPI modifies the effect of CICPI on outcomes among patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) or extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records to examine patients with mNSCLC or ES-SCLC who received chemotherapy (CT) between 1st April 2015 and 31st January 2018 or CICPI between 1st February 2018 and 31st August 2019. We excluded those with an actionable driver mutation. Baseline corticosteroid use was defined as systemic corticosteroids within 28 days before the initiation of CT or CICPI, not including premedications. Coprimary outcomes included overall survival (OS), real-world progression (rwP), and real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS) in CICPI-treated corticosteroid users versus non-users. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPW) to adjust for potential confounding. Results The cohort of 316 patients (median [interquartile range] age, 67 [61–73] years; 156 [49%] male) included 228 CT-treated and 88 CICPI-treated patients. After applying IPW, characteristics were well-balanced between the CT and CICPI groups, and steroid users and non-users. Using CT-treated steroid non-users as a common comparator, CICPI-treated steroid users were as likely as CICPI-treated steroid non-users to die (users IPW hazard ratio [HR] = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.35–1.28 versus non-users IPW-HR = 0.88, 95% C = I0.55–1.42; p = 0.49), have rwP (IPW-HR = 0.35, 95% C = I0.12–0.99 versus IPW-HR = 0.41, 95% C = I0.24–0.70; p = 0.77), or experience rwPFS (IPW-HR = 0.56, 95% C = I0.29–1.09 versus IPW-HR = 0.69, 95% CI0.46–1.03; p = 0.59). Conclusion Corticosteroid use before CICPIs was not associated with worse outcomes, suggesting that corticosteroids should be used with CICPIs when indicated.
Artificial Neural Network based Fault Detection System for 11 kV Transmission Line

In this paper, a fault identification system based on the artificial neural network is proposed. An 11 KV transmission line model is developed in MATLAB simulink model. The faults under considerations are line to ground, line to line, double line to ground, triple line and triple line to ground. These faults are created with the help of fault creation block. The duration as well as magnitude of faults are changed for producing the datasets for training the neural network. The scaled conjugate gradient descent backpropagation algorithm is used as a learning algorithm. The inputs to the neural network are the current dataset under normal as well as fault conditions. The target matrix is prepared by considering the time duration of fault in a considered current signal. The pattern recognition tool in MATLAB is used as a training platform for neural network. A trained model is generated after training. This model is used in transmission line model for testing the fault conditions with the different magnitude and duration than training fault conditions. In this way the monitoring of faults is done in online mode. The obtained results of fault testings are presented in the paper
Hedge Fund Performance Persistence: A New Approach

Recent literature has found some evidence of performance persistence in hedge funds. This study investigated whether this persistence varies with fund characteristics, such as size and age. Previous research has found that funds face capacity constraints, that investment flows chase past performance, and that as funds age, they become more passively managed, which reduces the likelihood of performance persistence as funds grow older and larger. Consistent with this model, this study found that performance persistence is strongest among small, young funds. A portfolio of these funds with prior good performance outperformed a portfolio of large, mature funds with prior poor performance by 9.6 percent per year.
The incidence of pericardial effusion requiring intervention in infants with a history of umbilical catheter placement: the US national database.

OBJECTIVES To assess the association of umbilical catheters (UC) placement with pericardial effusion (PCE) in newborn infants. STUDY DESIGN We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample dataset. We compared prevalence of PCE in infants with UC versus those without in three subpopulations: infants with birth weight (BW) > 2500 g or GA > 34 weeks, preterm infants with BW < 1500 g, and term infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) using regression analysis methods while controlling for clinical and demographic variables. RESULT First analysis included a weighted sample of 22,751,313 infants with no hydrops fetalis. Of them, 1869 neonates (0.01%) had PCE. Pericardial effusion was found in 0.17% of infants with only UAC, 0.21% of infants with only UVC and 0.29% of infants with both catheters with an adjusted odds ratios (aOR) (1.5, CI:1.2-1.9), (2.3, CI:1.7-2.9), and (2.9, CI:2.4-3.6), p < 0.001, respectively. Similar findings were found in infants <1500 g and in those with CHD. CONCLUSION Umbilical Catheter placement is associated with increased risk for pericardial effusion.
Diagnostic Tests for Lead Poisoning

The report of Whitaker, Austin, and Nelson, "Edathamil Calcium Disodium (Versenate) Diagnostic Test for Lead Poisoning" (Pediatrics 29:384, 1962), comments upon the use of this agent and its mechanism of action in a manner which may lead to misapprehension concerning the potentialities of this agent. The authors state that this test is based upon the principle that "edathamil chelates lead in body stores, as well as circulating lead...." In view of our present knowledge concerning these sites of action of edathamil calcium disodium, it would appear that this is an overstatement of the efficacy of this agent in producing mobilization and subsquent excretion of the body burden of lead.
Ideology, Deliberation and Persuasion within Small Groups: A Randomized Field Experiment on Fiscal Policy

This paper evaluates the dynamics of small group persuasion within a large scale randomized deliberative experiment, in particular whether persuasion in this context is driven by the ideological composition of small groups, to which participants were randomly assigned. In these discussions focusing on U.S. fiscal policy, ideological persuasion occurs but does not tend to be polarizing, a result that is inconsistent with the "law'' of group polarization identified in small group research. In addition, the results demonstrate the presence of persuasion that is net of ideological considerations, a residual form of preference change that we label "deliberative persuasion.'' The direction and magnitude of deliberative persuasion are each associated with participants' perceptions of the informativeness of the discussion, but not with the civility or the enjoyableness of the discussion. In addition, informativeness is most closely associated with deliberative persuasion for liberals who come to agree with conservative policies, for conservatives who come to agree with liberal policies, and equally associated for both liberals and conservatives on items that are orthogonal to ideology. The results show that small group dynamics depend heavily on the context in which discussion occurs; that much of the small group experimental work pays little to no attention to this context; and that deliberative institutions are likely to ameliorate many of the pathologies that are often attributed to small group discussion.
Toward a characterization of uncertainty measure for the dempster-shafer theory

This is a working paper summarizing results of an ongoing research project whose aim is to uniquely characterize the uncertainty measure for the Dempster-Shafer Theory. A set of intuitive axiomatic requirements is presented, some of their implications are shown, and the proof is given of the minimality of recently proposed measure AU among all measures satisfying the proposed requirements.
Keynote lecture 2: quantum cryptography and chaos functions: the ultimate for network security

As the sophistication of intruders' increases, so does the incidents of information integrity breaches and network attacks. In response, very complex cryptographic processes have started being employed, such as chaos theory and quantum theory, in an effort to create the "holy grail" of cryptographic systems and network security. Quantum theory defines the non-classical qubit, which is the superposition of quantum states having no classical analog. In addition, it is based on the "no cloning" or "no copying" theorem and on Heisenberg's uncertainty. Both, the qubit and the no-cloning theorem, along with the quanto-mechanical properties of photons, have been applied to a new breed of cryptography and secure optical communication networks known as quantum cryptography and quantum networks, respectively. Chaos is based on the particular behavior of certain non-linear functions, which for a minute change of parameters produce a very large and unstable output, known as the "chaotic regime". However, this chaos is reproducible, which also makes it attractive to secure communications. In this talk we explain quantum cryptographic protocols as well as chaos and chaotic processes with simple examples. We then describe how chaos functions are used in quantum cryptography in order to increase efficiency and speed of the quantum key establishment.
Structure and reactivity of organic radical cations

Photoinduced electron transfer has attracted much attention because of its central role in the chemistry of life and as a method for generating radical ion pairs in solution. Radical cations so generated can be characterized by many spectroscopic techniques, and their reactions can be studied conveniently. Photoinduced electron transfer is compared with alternative methods of radical ion generation; the application of these methods is discussed in conjunction with suitable techniques of observation.
Auditable, Anonymous Electronic Cash

Most anonymous, electronic cash systems are signature-based. A side effect of this is that in these systems the bank has the technical ability to issue unreported, valid money. It has been noticed in the past that this may lead to a disaster if the secret key of the bank is compromised. Furthermore, the above feature prevents any effective monitoring of the system.
Design principles for human-computer interfaces

If the field of Human Factors in Computer Systems is to be a success it must develop design principles that are useful, principles that apply across a wide range of technologies. In the first part of this paper I discuss some the properties that useful principles should have. While I am at it, I warn of the dangers of the tar pits and the sirens of technology. We cannot avoid these dangers entirely, for were we to do so, we would fail to cope with the real problems and hazards of the field.The second part of the paper is intended to illustrate the first part through the example of tradeoff analysis. Any single design technique is apt to have its virtues along one dimension compensated by deficiencies along another. Tradeoff analysis provides a quantitative method of assessing tradeoff relations for two attributes xi and xj by first determining the User Satisfaction function for each, U(x), then showing how U(xi) trades off against U(xj). In general, the User Satisfaction for a system is given by the weighted sum of the User Satisfaction values for the attributes. The analysis is used to examine two different tradeoffs of information versus time and editor workspace versus menu size. Tradeoffs involving command languages versus menu-based systems, choices of names, and handheld computers versus workstations are examined briefly.
Models of Invisibility Rendering Domestic and Other Gendered Violence Visible to Students Through Clinical Law Teaching

The proliferation of university courses about domestic violence includes clinical courses in law schools in which students represent victims in their legal cases. This essay advocates for a broader approach to teaching about the problem. Using examples from their clinic cases, the authors show how teachers can overcome pedagogical challenges and render domestic and other forms of gendered violence, including state and community violence, more visible to students by intentionally raising and placing it within larger frameworks of structural inequality. In this way, students learn to identify and address gendered violence even when it is not the presenting problem.
Reexamination of the thermolytic rearrangement of 4-halophenyl azides to 2-aminophenols and other products

The halogenation of derivatives of 2-aminophenol with N-chloro- and N-bromosuccinimides at ambient temperatures in acetic acid was studied. With the necessary compounds available, a reexamination of the thermolytic rearrangement of 2-halophenyl azides to 2-aminophenols and other products was undertaken. It is certain that the rearrangement of 4-halophenyl azides to 2-aminophenols occurs but the products identified in this study differ significantly from those reported previously by Suschitzky et al. (1963, 1966).
The gender gap in federal and private support for entrepreneurship

The role of gender in entrepreneurship has been thoroughly investigated. However, less is known about gender differences in access to private investment when attempting to develop a new technology. In this paper, we use data collected by the National Research Council of the National Academies to estimate differences between the probability that a female-owned firm and a male-owned firm, both conducting research funded by the Small Business Innovation Research program, will receive private investment funding to help to commercialize the funded technology. We find that female-owned firms are disadvantaged in their access to private investment, especially in the West and Northeast regions of the USA.
Increased activity of the complement system in the liver of patients with alcoholic hepatitis

Inflammation has been suggested as a mechanism underlying the development of alcoholic hepatitis (AH). The activation of the complement system plays an important role in inflammation. Although it h...
One-loop Single Real Emission Contributions to Inclusive Higgs Production at NNNLO

I discuss the contributions of the one-loop single-real-emission amplitudes, $gg\to H g$, $qg\to H q$, etc. to inclusive Higgs boson production through next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling.
Constraints on the accretion of the gabbroic lower oceanic crust from plagioclase lattice preferred orientation in the Samail ophiolite

Abstract Oceanic crust represents more than 60% of the earth's surface and despite a large body of knowledge regarding the formation and chemistry of the extrusive upper oceanic crust, there still remains significant debate over how the intrusive gabbroic lower oceanic crust is accreted at the ridge axis. The two proposed end-member models, the Gabbro Glacier and the Sheeted Sills, predict radically different strain accumulation in the lower crust during accretion. In order to determine which of these two hypotheses is most applicable to a well-studied lower crustal section, we present data on plagioclase lattice preferred orientations (LPO) in the Wadi Khafifah section of the Samail ophiolite. We observe no systematic change in the strength of the plagioclase LPO with height above the crust-mantle transition, no dominant orientation of the plagioclase a-axis lineation, and no systematic change in the obliquity of the plagioclase LPO with respect to the modal layering and macroscopic foliation evident in outcrop. These observations are most consistent with the Sheeted Sills hypothesis, in which gabbros are crystallized in situ and fabrics are dominated by compaction and localized extension rather than by systematically increasing shear strain with increasing depth in a Gabbro Glacier. Our data support the hypothesis of MacLeod and Yaouancq (2000) that the rotation of the outcrop-scale layering from sub-horizontal in the layered gabbros to sub-vertical near the sheeted dikes is due to rapid vertical melt migration through upper gabbros close to the axial magma chamber. Additionally, our results support the hypothesis that the majority of extensional strain in fast spreading ridges is accommodated in partially molten regions at the ridge axis, whereas in slow and ultra-slow ridges large shear strains are accommodated by plastic deformation.
A Brief Peer Support Intervention for Veterans with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Effectiveness

Objective The aim of this study was to pilot test a peer support intervention, involving peer delivery of pain self-management strategies, for veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Design Pretest/posttest with 4-month intervention period. Methods Ten peer coaches were each assigned 2 patients (N = 20 patients). All had chronic musculoskeletal pain. Guided by a study manual, peer coach–patient pairs were instructed to talk biweekly for 4 months. Pain was the primary outcome and was assessed with the PEG, a three-item version of the Brief Pain Inventory, and the PROMIS Pain Interference Questionnaire. Several secondary outcomes were also assessed. To assess change in outcomes, a linear mixed model with a random effect for peer coaches was applied. Results Nine peer coaches and 17 patients completed the study. All were male veterans. Patients' pain improved at 4 months compared with baseline but did not reach statistical significance (PEG: P = 0.33, ICC [intra-class correlation] = 0.28, Cohen's d = −0.25; PROMIS: P = 0.17, d = −0.35). Of secondary outcomes, self-efficacy (P = 0.16, ICC = 0.56, d = 0.60) and pain centrality (P = 0.06, ICC = 0.32, d = −0.62) showed greatest improvement, with moderate effect sizes. Conclusions This study suggests that peers can effectively deliver pain self-management strategies to other veterans with pain. Although this was a pilot study with a relatively short intervention period, patients improved on several outcomes.
Tocopherol and tocotrienol homologs in parenteral lipid emulsions.

Parenteral lipid emulsions, which are made of oils from plant and fish sources, contain different types of tocopherols and tocotrienols (vitamin E homologs). The amount and types of vitamin E homologs in various lipid emulsions vary considerably and are not completely known. The objective of this analysis was to develop a quantitative method to determine levels of all vitamin E homologs in various lipid emulsions. An HPLC system was used to measure vitamin E homologs using a Pinnacle DB Silica normal phase column and an isocratic, n-hexane:1,4 dioxane (98:2) mobile phase. An optimized protocol was used to report vitamin E homolog concentrations in soybean oil-based (Intralipid®, Ivelip®, Lipofundin® N, Liposyn® III, and Liposyn® II), medium- and long-chain fatty acid-based (Lipofundin®, MCT and Structolipid®), olive oil-based (ClinOleic®), and fish oil-based (Omegaven®) and mixture of these oils-based (SMOFlipid®, Lipidem®) commercial parenteral lipid emulsions. Total content of all vitamin E homologs varied greatly between different emulsions, ranging from 57.9 to 383.9 µg/mL. Tocopherols (α, β, γ, δ) were the predominant vitamin E homologs for all emulsions, with tocotrienol content < 0.3%. In all of the soybean emulsions, except for Lipofundin® N, the predominant vitamin E homolog was γ-tocopherol, which ranged from 57–156 µg/mL. ClinOleic® predominantly contained α-tocopherol (32 µg/mL), whereas α-tocopherol content in Omegaven® was higher than most of the other lipid emulsions (230 µg/mL). Practical applications The information on the types and quantity of vitamin E homologs in various lipid emulsions will be extremely useful to physicians and healthcare personnel in selecting appropriate lipid emulsions that are exclusively used in patients with inadequate gastrointestinal function, including hospitalized and critically ill patients. Some emulsions may require vitamin E supplementation in order to meet minimal human requirements.
Industry Choices and Social Interactions of Entrepreneurs: Identification by Residential Addresses

This paper shows that industry choices of entrepreneurs are determined by their social networks. The separation of residential and business addresses helps us establish the causality, because we can safely argue that residential addresses determine social networks but do not directly affect industry choices. In a large cross-section of London neighborhoods (average area: one squared-mile), we show that new generation of entrepreneurs are more likely to enter industries overrepresented by their residential neighbors. We further show that industry composition of a neighborhood is more persistent when social interactions are more intensive and of higher quality, as proxied by higher ethnic homogeneity, more sociable housing structures, or higher entrepreneurial population density. The effect is also stronger in industries that require more informational interactions, as proxied by greater geographic agglomeration of entrepreneurs. The median home- business distances in our sample is nearly six kilometers, thus the persistence of a neighborhood’s industry specialization is unlikely to be driven by unobservable common product market conditions. We also control for industry specialization at borough level (each borough contains around 20 neighborhoods), to further remove the effects of unobservable factors. Finally, we also use various sub-groups of entrepreneurs to test for a series of alternative hypotheses, and we do not find support for them. We do not find failure rates to be significantly different for entrepreneurs who follow their neighbors’ popular choices. Overall, the results suggest that entry of new entrepreneurs tend to reinforce agglomeration, while exits do not reverse it. These evidences (weakly) lend support to the existence of agglomeration economies.
Querying web images by topic and example specification methods

Ever since the advent of Internet, there has been an immense growth in the amount of image data that is available on the World Wide Web. With such a magnitude of image availability, an efficient and effective image retrieval system is required to make use of this information. This research presents an image matching and indexing technique that improvises on existing integrated image retrieval methods. The proposed system integrates query by topic and query by example specification methods. The topic-based image retrieval uses the structured format of HTML documents to retrieve relevant pages and potential match images. The query by example specification performs content-based image match for the retrieval of smaller and relatively closer results of the example image. The main goal is to develop a functional image search and indexing system without using a database and to demonstrate that better retrieval results can be achieved with this proposed hybrid search technique.