cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Filter Techniques for Optical Beam Jitter Control

The objective of this research is to develop control methods to attenuate laser beam jitter using a fast-steering mirror. Adaptive filter controllers using Filtered-X least mean square and Filtered-X recursive least square algorithms are explored. The disturbances that cause beam jitter include mechanical vibrations on the optical platform (narrowband) and atmospheric turbulence (broadband). Both feedforward filters (with the use of auxiliary reference sensor(s)) and feedback filters (with only output feedback) are investigated. Hybrid adaptive filters, which are a combination of feedback and feedforward, are also examined. For situations when obtaining a coherent feedforward reference signal is not possible, methods for incorporating multiple semi-coherent reference signals into the control law are developed. The controllers are tested on a jitter control testbed to prove their functionality. The testbed is equipped with shakers mounted to the optical platform and a disturbance fast-steering mirror to simulate the effects of atmospheric propagation. Experimental results showed that the feedback adaptive filter controller was superior to the feedforward technique, and the hybrid method achieved the best overall results.
Dynamic storage assignment with product affinity and ABC classification—a case study

This article defines a new dynamic storage assignment problem (DSAP) and develops an integrated mechanism for optimization purpose, based on the ABC classification and mutual affinity of products. A product affinity-based heuristic (PABH)—a technique based on data mining—is developed for calculation of pairwise relationships between products. It is shown that the analytical and multi-parametric DSAP is a quadratic assignment problem (QAP) and thus non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hard. A greedy genetic algorithm (GA) is therefore developed for handling the computational complexity of the DSAP. Performance comparisons between the new approach and the traditional ABC classification method are conducted. The experimental results show that a preferred storage assignment approach is to simultaneously maximize the sum of affinity values and the product of zone indicators and order frequencies based on traditional ABC classification. The experiments on a distribution center of a family care product manufacturer indicate 7.14 to 104.48 % improvement in the average order picking time.
Evaluation of AASHTO Default Values for Pullout Friction Factor, F*, for Steel Grid Mat Reinforcement:

This paper presents an evaluation of default AASHTO values for pullout friction factor, F*, for steel grid reinforcement versus measured pullout behavior determined from a laboratory program of 397 pullout tests on welded steel grid mats of various geometries. Within the context of internal stability analyses associated with mechanically stabilized earth wall design, the laboratory test program for this study established pullout friction factors for grid mats relative to several independent variables including backfill type, overburden pressure, reinforcement length, bar size, and grid geometry that included both transverse and longitudinal bar spacing. Appropriate statistical analyses were used to interpret the pullout test data relative to published AASHTO design guidance for inextensible reinforcements. As expected, the results show that pullout capacities for steel grid mats in properly compacted sandy and gravelly backfill are conservative compared with the default pullout friction factors provided b...
Models of Sectoral Reallocation

This paper demonstrates several strengths and shortcomings of models of sectoral reallocation. Although such models demonstrate that sectoral reallocation can be an important amplification and propagation mechanism for exogenous shocks, they are essentially unable to explain any effects of sectoral reallocation on aggregate productivity or related quantities (such as the real wage or observations of aggregate increasing returns to scale), unless a wedge is introduced into the model that drives the marginal products of inputs in different sectors apart in steady state. In particular, costs of adjustment and lags to adjustment are not sufficient. This paper offers a solution to the problem in the form of variable sectoral capital utilization, the marginal product of which can differ across sectors in steady state. Reallocations of production between sectors in this setting are then shown to have first-order effects on aggregate productivity and real wages, and can explain the procyclicality of these variables without reliance on large, exogenous, and persistent shocks to technology.
Venous thrombolysis in the post-urokinase era

Catheter-directed thrombolysis is emerging as an alternative to standard anticoagulation for management of extensive symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the upper and lower extremities. Urokinase, a first-generation plasminogen activator, has been the thrombolytic agent of choice for the past 2 decades. However, in early 1999, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended sales of urokinase in the United States. The unavailability of urokinase has forced practitioners to search for suitable alternative agents for catheter-directed therapy. Unfortunately, few US interventionalists have any practical experience in using alternative plasminogen activators for managing noncoronary thromboses. The purpose of this article is to review emerging newer antithrombotic agents including alternative agents to urokinase, propose a protocol for catheter-directed therapy for deep vein thrombosis, and highlight the role of stents in the endovascular management of venous disease.
A lemma in homological algebra

In the development of homological algebra, one has to prove at some point that, in defining the derived functors of ⊗ and of Hom, it makes no difference whether we resolve both variables or only one of them. Taking ⊗ ( = ⊗R) as a typical example, what has to be proved is(A) If the complex F is projective, or even flat, as a right R-module, and if f: P → A is a projective resolution of the left R-module A, thenis an isomorphism.
Origins of Number Sense Large-Number Discrimination in Human Infants

Four experiments investigated infants' sensitivity to large, approximate numerosities in auditory sequences. Prior studies pro- vided evidence that 6-month-old infants discriminate large numerosi- ties that differ by a ratio of 2.0, but not 1.5, when presented with arrays of visual forms in which many continuous variables are con- trolled. The present studies used a head-turn preference procedure to test for infants' numerosity discrimination with auditory sequences designed to control for element duration, sequence duration, interele- ment interval, and amount of acoustic energy. Six-month-old infants discriminated 16 from 8 sounds but failed to discriminate 12 from 8 sounds, providing evidence that the same 2.0 ratio limits numerosity discrimination in auditory-temporal sequences and visual-spatial ar- rays. Nine-month-old infants, in contrast, successfully discriminated 12 from 8 sounds, but not 10 from 8 sounds, providing evidence that numerosity discrimination increases in precision over development, prior to the emergence of language or symbolic counting.
Branching ratios and transition probabilities in rhodium I.

Branching ratios and absolute transition probabilities for 115 lines in rhodium i are reported. The branching ratios generally agree with branching ratios deduced from the Corliss–Bozman monograph. Although there are some revisions of branching ratios used in recent work on the solar abundance of Rh, the scatter in solar-abundance values determined from different lines is not reduced by the revised branching ratios.
Thresholding of statistical maps in functional neuroimaging using the false discovery rate.

Findingobjective and effective thresholds for voxelwise statistics derived from neuroimaging data has been a long-standing problem. With at least one test performed for every voxel in an image, some correction of the thresholds is needed to control the error rates, but standard procedures for multiple hypothesis testing (e.g., Bonferroni) tend to not be sensitive enough to be useful in this context. This paper introduces to the neuroscience literature statistical procedures for controlling the false discovery rate (FDR). Recent theoretical work in statistics suggests that FDR-controlling procedures will be effective for the analysis of neuroimaging data. These procedures operate simultaneously on all voxelwise test statistics to determine which tests should be considered statistically significant. The innovation of the procedures is that they control the expected proportion of the rejected hypotheses that are falsely rejected. We demonstrate this approach using both simulations and functional magnetic resonance imaging data from two simple experiments.
Integrated anaerobic‐aerobic process for the biodegradation of chlorinated aromatic compounds

An integrated anaerobic-aerobic process for the complete mineralization of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (used in this work as the model toxic halogenated aromatic compound to degrade) was successfully tested and operated. The sludge obtained from the anaerobic digester of a commercial treatment plant was used to obtain an anaerobic consortium capable of partially dechlorinating 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP). The clarified and sterilized effluent from the same anaerobic digester was used as the medium for the anaerobic consortium. During the anaerobic process 2,4,6-TCP was first dechlorinated to 2,4-dichlorophenol and then to 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). Stoichiometric amounts of 4-CP were recovered. Similar results were obtained when the anaerobic microorganisms were immobilized on Manville R-635 silica beads. After immobilization, the consortium was able to dechlorinate 150 μM of 2,4,6-TCP in four days. PseudomonasGlathei and an indigenous culture obtained from same sludge used to produce the anaerobic enrichment culture were shown to be able to degrade the 4-CP produced from the anaerobic dechlorination of 2,4,6-TCP. However, for the aerobic 4-CP mineralization to occur the medium had to be buffered with phosphate, since high pH would inhibit the aerobic bacterial activity. It is expected that the proposed approach will be used to treat recalcitrant halogenated compounds that are not amenable to conventional biological treatment.
Risk management for fisheries.

Risk management methods provide means to address increasing complexity for successful fisheries management by systematically identifying and coping with risk. The objective of this study is to summarize risk management practices in use in fisheries and to present strategies that are not currently used but may be applicable. Available tools originate from a variety of disciplines and are as diverse as the risks they address, including algorithms to aid in making decisions with multiple stakeholders, reserves to buffer against economic or biological surprises, and insurance instruments to help fishermen cope with economic variability. Techniques are organized in a two-stage framework. In the first stage, risks are identified and analysed. Strategies presented in this category focus on decision analysis, including multicriteria decision-making tools, and the related concept of risk assessment. Then in the treatment stage, identified risks can be transferred, avoided, or retained using tools such as the Precautionary Approach, portfolio management, financial contracts to manage price risk and horizontal integration. Published fishery applications are reviewed, and some empirical examples of risks and risk management using US fisheries data are presented.
Banks, Risk and FAS 105 Disclosures

This study examines whether Financial Accounting Standard No. 105 (FAS105) footnote disclosures of off-balance-sheet financial instruments and derivatives provide risk-relevant information in addition to that provided by the balance sheet alone. A theoretical model relates market and industry risk measures to FAS105 disclosures. Empirical tests of the model reveal that these disclosures do provide risk-relevant numbers although the results are not uniformly strong. The balance sheet financial instruments explain 42 percent of the variation in market risk and 45 percent of the variation in industry-level risk among 499 U.S. commercial bank holding companies. FAS105 disclosures of off-balance-sheet instruments and derivative positions, explain an additional 5 to 7 percent of the variation. Stronger evidence is presented that shows that certain controversial classes of derivatives are not associated with increased levels of market and industry risk. This latter evidence stands in contrast to the current notion that derivative contracts, especially interest rate and currency swaps, increase overall bank riskiness. Results also corrovorate the FASB categorization of classes of financial instruments along two important risk dimensions: credit risk and market risk.
DCT processor architecture based on computation sharing

In this paper, we present a new discrete cosine transform (DCT) processor architecture using computation sharing multiplication (CSHM). We introduce a computation sharing multiplier based DCT architecture to achieve image quality and hardware complexity trade-off and analyze the performance. Comparison of the performance, area and power consumption with a DA (distributed arithmetic) based DCT architecture is performed. The result shows that the proposed architecture improves power consumption by 14% and area by 41% with acceptable image quality degradation.
Catecholaminergic modulation of respiratory rhythm in an in vitro turtle brain stem preparation

An in vitro brain stem preparation from adult turtles was used to determine effects of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) on the pattern of respiratory motor output recorded from hypoglossal ner...
The regulation of fiber growth and synaptogenesis in the developing hippocampus.

Publisher Summary This chapter attempts to elucidate certain mechanisms by which the precise organization of fiber and synaptic systems is achieved. Specifically, three questions concerning sequential though overlapping events in development are discussed: (1) what regulates the size of the dendritic field that is captured by an ingrowing afferent, (2) what factors determine the speed with which an input innervates its targets, and (3) why the growth process ultimately stops. To approach these questions, the chapter follows the story of a group of fibers after they enter one brain structure under normal circumstances as well as under conditions in which neighboring inputs or particular cellular targets have been removed. The discussion in the chapter concentrates to a small part of the brain of one species and to a limited portion of its ontogenetic history. The chapter also reviews the literature of axon-target tissue interactions, to evaluate several of the more recent theories of how brain circuits are formed.
Do dopamine partial agonists have partial efficacy as antipsychotics

CNS Spectr 13:4 April 2008 279 NEW TREND IN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY Dopamine (D)2 partial agonists (DPAs) activate D2 receptors in a manner that is less than the full agonist dopamine yet more than full antagonists (eg, most known antipsychotics). Various DPAs span the spectrum between full agonist at one end and antagonists at the other, with the antipsychotic aripiprazole close to the antagonist end of this spectrum, and with the antiparkinsonian/restless legs syndrome agents pramipaxole and ropinirole close to the full agonist end of this spectrum (Figure). Numerous DPAs have been tested as antipsychotics, but most have proven to have limited efficacy as antipsychotics or even to be psychotomimetic. Recent experience with a number of DPAs now suggests that although these agents may have less efficacy as antipsychotics than D2 antagonists, their novel pharmacologic actions may have important clinical utility in mood disorders and as augmenting agents to reduce the side effects of D2 antagonists (Table).
A Flight Trajectory Model for a PC-based Airspace Analysis Tool

This paper documents a method for rapid generation of aircraft flight trajectories. Rapid generation of flight trajectories is important for simulation models of air traffic that involve large numbers of aircraft, especially if complex interdependencies exist between flights and short simulation run times are required. Among the many aircraft trajectory models that have been developed, one generally observes a tradeoff between modeling detail provided by the model and its computational speed. Models that provide detailed trajectories typically require simulation run times on the order of one second per trajectory. Faster models often trade modeling detail for greater simulation speed. The model presented here was developed for applications that require simulation speeds on the order of one thousand trajectories per second and modeling detail to simulate typical flight operations in airspace close to major airports known as Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) airspace. The computational speed of the model results from a discrete event simulation approach. It generates continuous speed and altitude profiles based on a small set of 31 trajectory parameters that are defined for each aircraft type based on aircraft performance data. The model provides detailed flight trajectories by synchronizing the discrete events that define model trajectories with significant events of typical flight operations and methodically adjusting the size of variable simulation time steps. The time steps, chosen in accordance with common piloting procedures and flight events, are categorized in ten flight phases. This paper introduces the concept of flight phases to group flight events and their associated trajectory parameters and presents a discrete-event flight trajectory model that is based on aircraft performance and centered on piloting procedures.
Distraction Osteogenesis of Multiple Ribs for the Treatment of Acquired Thoracic Dystrophy

Acquired thoracic dystrophy is a complication associated with early open repair of pectus excavatum resulting from extensive cartilage resection. The condition can cause serious functional and physiologic impairments, including cardiac compression and restrictive pulmonary function. We describe a 17-year-old boy with acquired thoracic dystrophy after Ravitch repair of pectus excavatum during infancy, whom we treated with distraction osteogenesis. The patient had a marked deformity of the chest wall and general hypoplasia of the central portion of the ribcage, with resultant symptomatic dyspnea on exertion and reduced pulmonary function. After osteotomies and distraction osteogenesis of bilateral ribs 4-8 using customized distraction devices, he had improved thoracic contour, resolution of dyspnea, and decreased restrictive pulmonary symptoms. This case suggests that distraction osteogenesis, already used extensively in craniomaxillofacial and orthopedic surgery, may be a novel method for management of this condition.
The Global Market

By most accounts, the twentieth century has been one of the most revo-lutionary periods in world history, not just politically but economically and socially as well. In one key respect, however, the end of the century resembles its beginning. The entire world appears to us, as it did a century ago, to be integrated in a single market in which states are said to have no choice but compete intensely with one another for increasingly mobile capi-tal.
DIFFUSION BONDING OF SUPERPLASTICLC4 AIALLOY

Diffusion bonding of superplastic LC4 AI alloy, with prior surface treatment of organic solution protecting coating Sfter electropolishing and stainless steel wool brushing, was performed by Gleeble test machine under conditions ranged 490—530℃, 1.0 —3.0 MPa, 30—180 min and vacuum of 1.0×10~-3 Pa. The joints were examined to have similar strength and microstructure to the base metal. Discussion was made on the effect of superplastic treatment on bonding. The micromechanism for diffusion bonding of superplastic metal was suggested as the migration of original bond interfaces caused by atomic diffusion and grain growth. Experimental results for the alloy as quench-aged state were presented to compare with the superplastic one.
SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS OF 8-OXOGUANINE DNA GLYCOSYLASE-1 (OGG1)

The DNA base excision repair (BER) pathway, which utilizes DNA glycosylases to initiate repair of specific DNA lesions, is the major pathway for the repair of DNA damage induced by oxidation, alkylation, and deamination. Early results from clinical trials suggest that inhibiting certain enzymes in the BER pathway can be a useful anticancer strategy when combined with certain DNA-damaging agents or tumor-specific genetic deficiencies. Despite this general validation of BER enzymes as drug targets, there are many enzymes that function in the BER pathway that have few, if any, specific inhibitors. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests inhibition of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1) could be useful as a monotherapy or in combination therapy to treat certain types of cancer. To identify inhibitors of OGG1, a fluorescence-based screen was developed to analyze OGG1 activity in a high-throughput manner. From a primary screen of ∼50 000 molecules, 13 inhibitors were identified, 12 of which were hyd...
Analyzing Student Inquiry Data Using Process Discovery and Sequence Classification.

This paper reports on results of applying process discovery mining and sequence classification mining techniques to a data set of semi-structured learning activities. The main research objective is to advance educational data mining to model and support self-regulated learning in heterogeneous environments of learning content, activities, and social networks. As an example of our current research efforts, we applied temporal data mining analysis techniques to a PSLC DataShop data set [17, 18, 19, 20]. First, we show that process mining techniques allow for discovery of learning processes from student behaviours. Second, sequential pattern mining is used to classify students according to skill. Our results show that considering sequences of activities as opposed to single events improved classification by up to 230%.
The occipital place area represents first-person perspective motion information through scenes

Neuroimaging studies have identified multiple scene-selective regions in human cortex, but the precise role each region plays in scene processing is not yet clear. It was recently hypothesized that two regions, the occipital place area (OPA) and the retrosplenial complex (RSC), play a direct role in navigation, while a third region, the parahippocampal place area (PPA), does not. Some evidence suggests a further division of labor even among regions involved in navigation: While RSC is thought to support navigation through the broader environment, OPA may be involved in navigation through the immediately visible environment, although this role for OPA has never been tested. Here we predict that OPA represents first-person perspective motion information through scenes, a critical cue for such "visually-guided navigation", consistent with the hypothesized role for OPA. Response magnitudes were measured in OPA (as well as RSC and PPA) to i) video clips of first-person perspective motion through scenes ("Dynamic Scenes"), and ii) static images taken from these same movies, rearranged such that first-person perspective motion could not be inferred ("Static Scenes"). As predicted, OPA responded significantly more to the Dynamic than Static Scenes, relative to both RSC and PPA. The selective response in OPA to Dynamic Scenes was not due to domain-general motion sensitivity or to low-level information inherited from early visual regions. Taken together, these findings suggest the novel hypothesis that OPA may support visually-guided navigation, insofar as first-person perspective motion information is useful for such navigation, while RSC and PPA support other aspects of navigation and scene recognition.
After the Storm: Four Innovations Changing Investment Management

After a long period of generally excellent financial performance, the investment management industry is now challenged by volatile markets, decreasing revenue and substantial client retention issues. As a result of the 2007–2009 credit crisis, many firms faced revenue declines, product performance issues and the need to adjust their strategies to changing conditions.
The impact of law enforcement officer perceptions of organizational justice on their attitudes regarding body-worn cameras

AbstractCivil unrest following recent questionable officer involved shootings and other use of force incidents has prompted public demands for police officers to be equipped with body-worn video cameras (BWCs). As a result of these demands, agencies across the US are rapidly acquiring the devices. While BWCs are widely assumed to be effective tools to document police/citizen encounters, increase law enforcement transparency, and improve both officer and citizen behavior, relatively little research has been conducted in regard to their actual impact. While some preliminary studies have examined officer attitudes concerning the devices, specific factors that potentially affect officer attitudes concerning BWCs and ultimately their level of ‘buy-in’ have not been examined. The concept of organizational justice is likely one such factor. Through the administration of a survey to a sample of 201 law enforcement officers from four Midwestern and Southern region agencies and those in attendance at regional conti...
Rational Design of Dipolar Chromophore as an Efficient Dopant-Free Hole-Transporting Material for Perovskite Solar Cells

In this paper, an electron donor–acceptor (D-A) substituted dipolar chromophore (BTPA-TCNE) is developed to serve as an efficient dopant-free hole-transporting material (HTM) for perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). BTPA-TCNE is synthesized via a simple reaction between a triphenylamine-based Michler’s base and tetracyanoethylene. This chromophore possesses a zwitterionic resonance structure in the ground state, as evidenced by X-ray crystallography and transient absorption spectroscopies. Moreover, BTPA-TCNE shows an antiparallel molecular packing (i.e., centrosymmetric dimers) in its crystalline state, which cancels out its overall molecular dipole moment to facilitate charge transport. As a result, BTPA-TCNE can be employed as an effective dopant-free HTM to realize an efficient (PCE ≈ 17.0%) PVSC in the conventional n-i-p configuration, outperforming the control device with doped spiro-OMeTAD HTM.
Purification of natural gas using thermally rearranged polybenzoxazole and polyimide membranes – a review: part 1

This feature article – published in two parts – focuses on the evolution of polyimide as a gas separation membrane, its subsequent transformation into polybenzoxazole and various studies done to optimise the separation ability of polybenzoxazole. The first instalment, which appears here, provides theory and background, including details of the solution-diffusion model and a description of fractional free volume. It also discusses the limitations of membrane separation and the permeability/selectivity trade-off, and covers physical ageing, plasticisation, polyimide synthesis, design of polyimide, thermal annealing and cross-linking.
Health Care Advertising and Marketing: The Lady, or the Tiger?

Ethical strictures against advertising are deeply rooted in the history and traditions of the professions. In its June 1977 decision upholding the right of attorneys to advertise, the United States Supreme Court at once acknowledged these historical roots and dismissed them as anachronistic: It appears that the ban on advertising originated as a rule of etiquette and not as a rule of ethics ... But habit and tradition are not in themselves an adequate answer to a constitutional challenge. In this day, we do not belittle the person who earns his living by the strength of his arm or the force of his mind. Since the belief that lawyers are somehow “above” trade has become an anachronism, the historical foundation for the advertising restraint has crumbled.1
0.2 [micro sign]m gate length, non-alloyed P+-AlInAs/N-AlInAs/GaInAs JHEMTs with ft = 62 GHz

Recently, the authors demonstrated improved breakdown characteristics in 1 /spl mu/m gate length P/sup +/-AlInAs/N-AlInAs/GaInAs JHEMTs utilising a junction to modulate the 2-DEG and regrowth of the ohmic contact regions by MOCVD. The authors present high frequency operation (f/sub t/ and f/sub max/ of 62 and 105 GHz, respectively) of 0.2 /spl mu/m devices with high current (500 mA/mm) and transconductance (300 mS/mm) giving improved breakdown characteristics (twoand three-terminal gate breakdown voltages of 19 and 16 V, respectively).
Genetic and hormonal control of hepatic steatosis in female and male mice

The etiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is complex and influenced by factors such as obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and sex. We now report a study on sex difference in hepatic steatosis in the context of genetic variation using a population of inbred strains of mice. While male mice generally exhibited higher concentration of hepatic TG levels on a high-fat high-sucrose diet, sex differences showed extensive interaction with genetic variation. Differences in percentage body fat were the best predictor of hepatic steatosis among the strains and explained about 30% of the variation in both sexes. The difference in percent gonadal fat and HDL explained 9.6% and 6.7% of the difference in hepatic TGs between the sexes, respectively. Genome-wide association mapping of hepatic TG revealed some striking differences in genetic control of hepatic steatosis between females and males. Gonadectomy increased the hepatic TG to body fat percentage ratio among male, but not female, mice. Our data suggest that the difference between the sexes in hepatic TG can be partly explained by differences in body fat distribution, plasma HDL, and genetic regulation. Future studies are required to understand the molecular interactions between sex, genetics, and the environment.
Understanding the NG2 Glial Scar after Spinal Cord Injury.

NG2 cells, also known as oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, are located throughout the central nervous system and serve as a pool of progenitors to differentiate into oligodendrocytes. In response to spinal cord injury, NG2 cells increase their proliferation and differentiation into remyelinating oligodendrocytes. While astrocytes are typically associated with being the major cell type in the glial scar, many NG2 cells also accumulate within the glial scar but their function remains poorly understood. Similar to astrocytes, these cells hypertrophy, upregulate expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, inhibit axon regeneration, contribute to the glial-fibrotic scar border, and some even differentiate into astrocytes. Whether NG2 cells also have a role in other astrocyte functions, such as preventing the spread of infiltrating leukocytes and expression of inflammatory cytokines, is not yet known. Thus, NG2 cells are not only important for remyelination after spinal cord injury, but are also a major component of the glial scar with functions that overlap with astrocytes in this region. In this review, we describe the signaling pathways important for the proliferation and differentiation of NG2 cells, as well as the role of NG2 cells in scar formation and tissue repair.
Hepatitis C Virus: A Review of Treatment Guidelines, Cost-effectiveness, and Access to Therapy

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a significant medical concern in the United States and around the world. It is still one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease, and, for more than 20 years, there has been little progress in the treatment of HCV infection. The advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) initiated the era of high efficacy and well-tolerated medications with high cure rates. The efficacy of these medications has prompted many professional societies around the world to update their treatment guidelines to include DAAs as first-line treatment. Guidelines by the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease/Infectious Disease Society of America, World Health Organization, Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of Liver and the European Association for the Study of Liver have all incorporated DAAs into their treatment guidelines. Despite the promising data supporting these medications, however, their cost represents a limiting factor to their use, even though studies have shown DAAs to be cost-effective. In addition to the expense of these medications and limited resources, there are many barriers preventing patients from receiving this potentially life-saving treatment. In order to overcome these barriers, these issues need to be recognized and addressed.
Alcohol consumption milestones: comparing first- versus last-reported age of onset

ABSTRACTMultiple assessments of age of onset of alcohol use milestones may produce inconsistent reports, yielding potentially different results, depending on the report utilized. Using data from a prospective study of 1,023 middle school students, we modeled risk of onset of four drinking milestones as a function of multiple correlates of alcohol use and compared models using first- versus last-reported age for each milestone. While forward telescoping was evident, no significant differences were obtained for any models examined. Substantive conclusions about associations of correlates of early drinking are not greatly impacted by misreporting age of first use.
Application of Faber Polynomials to the Approximate Solution of the Riemann Problem

The Faber polynomials are used to obtain approximate solutions of the Riemann problem on a Lyapunov curve. Moreover, an estimate for the error of the approximated solution is presented and proved.
Parenting contributors to early emerging problem behaviour in children of mothers in methadone maintenance treatment

This study explored whether variations in parenting provided by mothers with substance-abuse disorders are related to behaviour problems in their young children and whether specific parenting practices are associated with specific types of behaviour problems. Mother-reported and observational assessments were used to examine contributions of parenting behaviour and home environment to internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems in 150 preschool children of mothers receiving methadone-maintenance treatment for heroin addiction. In multivariate analyses, mother-reported child externalizing behaviour was related to greater maternal harshness and to mother history of illicit drug use during pregnancy but not other features of substance use and treatment history. Observer-coded child internalizing behaviour was related to less maternal sensitivity and less provision of learning activities in the home. Additionally, mother report of her own psychopathology symptoms was related to mother-reported, but not observer-coded, child internalizing and externalizing problems. Findings suggest that women in substance abuse treatment should receive parenting interventions and that interventions should focus on increasing maternal sensitivity, reducing harshness, and providing children with cognitively stimulating environments. Findings also suggest that the need for attention to ongoing mental health problems of women in substance abuse treatment—both for their own well-being and the well-being of their children. Highlights This study explored whether variations in parenting provided by mothers with substance-abuse disorders are related to behavior problems in their young children. Maternal harshness was related to child externalizing behavior, low sensitivity, and low provision of learning opportunities to child internalizing problems. Findings suggest that women in substance abuse treatment should be provided access to parenting interventions.
Chemical Neuroanatomy of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a dementing illness, primarily of older adult life, that is characterized by the presence in the brain of neuritic (senile) plaques (NP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). The NFT, which can be visualized by silver staining or by the fluorescent thioflavin-S stain, is an accumulation of fibrillary material that originates within neuronal cell bodies. As the neurofibrillary material accumulates (see Fig. 1), it gradually displaces normal intracellular organelles until the neuron dies, leaving behind an insoluble tangle (Alzheimer, 1907; Adams and Lee, 1982; Saper et al., 1985). On electron microscopy, the NFT consists of paired helical filaments (Terry and Katzman, 1983). The NP, by contrast, consists of a spherical accumulation of densely matted degenerating neurites, primarily axons. The NP often has an amyloid core, which may be associated with a small blood vessel (Wisniewski and Terry, 1973; Hardy et al., 1987). On electron microscopy, the degenerating axons in the NP are also found to contain paired helical filaments (Price, 1986). Thus, NFT and NP represent, respectively, the cell bodies and terminal axons of neurons that have been involved by the degenerative process in AD.
Tool support for assurance case development

Argument-based assurance cases, often represented and organized using graphical argument structures, are increasingly being used in practice to provide assurance to stakeholders, e.g., regulatory authorities, that a system is acceptable for its intended use with respect to dependability and safety concerns. In general, comprehensive system-wide assurance arguments aggregate a substantial amount of diverse information, such as the results of safety analysis, requirements analysis, design, verification and other engineering activities. Although a variety of assurance case tools exist, many desirable operations on argument structures such as hierarchical and modular abstraction, argument pattern instantiation, and inclusion/extraction of richly structured information have limited to no automation support. To close this automation gap, over the past four years we have been developing a toolset for assurance case automation, AdvoCATE, at the NASA Ames Research Center. This paper describes how AdvoCATE is being engineered atop formal foundations for assurance case argument structures, to provide unique capabilities for: (a) automated creation and assembly of assurance arguments, (b) integration of formal methods into wider assurance arguments, (c) automated pattern instantiation, (d) hierarchical abstraction, (e) queries and views, and (f) verification of arguments. We (and our colleagues) have used AdvoCATE in real projects for safety assurance, in the context of unmanned aircraft systems.
Repetitive Spark Gap Switches

for high peak power pulsed power applications spark gaps are the normal choice for switches. They are triggerable with nanosecond jitter, have a large operating range, and give good time compression per switched stage. In addition they are rugged, light-weight, inexpensive, and relatively easy to use. On the negative side, they suffer from recovery problems at high repetition rates and have some instability (prefiring) problems even in single shot applications. Despite the fact that spark gaps have been used for over a century and many of these properties have been known for years, it has only been in the past few decades that the need for high peak power repetitive pulsed power systems has forced serious efforts to engineer systems compatible with these apparent short comings.
Equine sperm-bound antisperm antibodies are associated with poor semen quality.

Antisperm antibodies (ASAs) have been associated with infertility in stallions. The objectives of this study were to investigate the frequency of ASA-positive semen samples in satisfactory and non-satisfactory breeder stallions, the association between ASA binding and semen quality, and factors that may affect the diagnosis. Breeding soundness examinations were performed in 21 stallions and the percentage of IgG- and IgA-bound spermatozoa was evaluated using flow cytometry. Median IgG and IgA binding did not differ between the first and second ejaculates. The percentage of IgA-bound spermatozoa was higher in non-satisfactory (n = 10) than satisfactory breeder stallions (n = 11). However, IgG binding or frequency of IgG-positive ejaculates did not differ with stallion classification. The IgG-positive stallions had significantly lower total sperm motility, concentration and total numbers than IgG-negative stallions in the first ejaculate, and lower sperm concentration in the second ejaculate. The IgA-positive stallions had lower total sperm motility, normal spermatozoa and total numbers than IgA-negative stallions in the first ejaculate, and lower total sperm motility, normal spermatozoa and total numbers in the second ejaculate. While IgG binding did not differ with season, IgA binding was higher in the non-breeding season (n = 6 stallions) than the breeding season (n = 15 stallions) in the first ejaculate. Stallion age did not differ with ASA classification. In conclusion, IgG binding was highly prevalent in both groups of stallions, while IgA binding was higher and more prevalent in non-satisfactory breeders. Both isotypes were associated with poor semen quality. Season and sexual rest had an effect on IgA but not IgG binding.
Circulating hyaluronan levels in the rodent: effects of age and diet

Circulating hyaluronan (HA) levels were investigated as a function of age and diet in Fischer 344 male rats. A biphasic pattern of age-related changes was observed in rats fed ad libitum a diet in which the protein source was soya/fish meal. HA levels in 3- to 6- and 22- to 29-mo-old rats were not statistically different. However, HA levels in 12- to 20-mo-old rats were 10-29% of the levels in younger or aged adults. HA levels were also measured in rats fed ad libitum a semisynthetic diet in which the protein source was hydrolyzed casein. Whereas the two colonies exhibited similar biphasic age-related changes, HA levels differed 4- to 20-fold at every age examined. Caloric restriction affected HA levels in 19-mo-old casein-fed rats; HA levels were 2.3 times higher than age-matched controls and were not statistically different from young or aged animals. Serum and plasma HA levels were identical in the same individuals at all ages tested. These data suggest that HA turnover and metabolism in the rat are affected by age, dietary composition, and caloric intake.
Implementing a CAD Framework

There have not been many success stories to date in the design and implementation of CAD databases, let alone CAD Frameworks, although hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent trying to achieve this goal. We believe that there are important reasons why this is so and that the reasons have very little to do with what the designers are trying to build and are almost entirely concerned with the approach they take to the design and implementation of the system.
Trends and Outcomes of Proton Radiation Therapy Use for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Abstract Purpose: To examine national care patterns in proton radiation therapy (PBT) use for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the effect of facility type on survival. Patients and Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, we identified 506 patients with a diagnosis of NSCLC from 2004-2014 who underwent PBT. Patients were categorized as having received treatment at an academic/research facility (ARF) or a form of community cancer program (CCP). Descriptive analysis was performed, and overall survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazard models. Results: Treatments at ARFs and CCPs were equally distributed with 253 patients at each facility type. A positive trend in PBT use over time was observed with 2.8% of cases being treated in 2008 compared to 21.5% in 2014 (P = .001). Definitive doses (≥60 Gy) were more commonly given at ARFs than CCPs (72% versus 45%, respectively; P < .001). Five-year overall survival was 31% at ARFs and 18% at CCPs (P < .001). On multivariate a...
New Evidence for the Diversity of Mechanisms and Protonated Schiff Bases Formed in the Non-Enzymatic Covalent Protein Modification (NECPM) of HbA by the Hydrate and Aldehydic Forms of Acetaldehyde and Glyceraldehyde

Acetaldehyde is a physiological species existing in blood. Glyceraldehyde is a commonly-used surrogate for glucose in studies of nonenzymatic glycation. Both species exist in dynamic equilibrium between two forms, an aldehyde and a hydrate. Nonenzymatic covalent protein modification (NECPM) is a process whereby a protein is covalently modified by a non-glucose species. The purpose here was to elucidate the NECPM mechanism(s) for acetaldehyde and glyceraldehyde with human hemoglobin (HbA). For the first time, both aldehydic and hydrate forms of acetaldehyde and glyceraldehyde were considered. Computations and model reactions followed by 1H NMR were employed. Results demonstrated that the aldehyde and hydrate forms of acetaldehyde bind and covalently-modify Val1 of HbA via different chemical mechanisms, yet generated an identical protonated Schiff base (PSB). The aldehyde and hydrate of glyceraldehyde also covalently-modified Val1 via mechanisms distinct from one another, yet generated an identical PSB. It is noteworthy that the PSB from acetaldehyde and glyceraldehyde were different structures. The PSB from acetaldehyde is proposed to proceed to covalent adducts that have been implicated in alcohol toxicity. Conversely, the PSB generated from glyceraldehyde can form an Amadori which has been implicated in diabetic complications. Thus, the PSB structure generated from acetaldehyde versus glyceraldehyde may be central to pathophysiological outcomes because it determines the structure of the stable covalent adduct formed.
Get Home, Stay Home: 90-Day Readmission Rate after Complete Sternal-Sparing HeartMate3 Implantation

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate discharge patterns, days spent out of hospital and 90-day readmission rates after utilizing the complete sternal-sparing technique for HeartMate3 implantation. Methods Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data was performed on 36 consecutive patients implanted with left ventricular assist devices between February and July 2018 at a single institution. Patients were excluded if they were enrolled in a study requiring full sternotomy (1 patient), were a pump exchange (5 patients), or were implanted with the HeartWare device (2 patients). Results A total of 28 patients were included in the study, all of which underwent complete sternal-sparing HeartMate 3 implantation. Two patients died during the initial hospitalization. Average age was 56.0±11.7 years, 77% were male and 50% were INTERMACS Profile 1. Intensive care unit and hospital length of stay were 4.5 days (IQR=2-7 days) and 15 days (IQR=12-31days), respectively. Seventeen patients (65%) were discharged home, and nine patients (35%) were discharged to acute rehab. After hospital discharge, patients spent 97% of their time out of the hospital. Three patients (12%) were readmitted to the hospital, one of whom was readmitted twice. Reasons for readmissions included gastrointestinal bleed, bacteremia, anemia and syncope. Ninety-day survival was 26/28 (93%). Conclusion In our single center experience, two thirds of patients were discharged home after HeartMate 3 implantation using less invasive surgical techniques. Along with short hospital stays, we observed a low 90-day readmission rate. Multicenter studies are required to further validate the benefits of less invasive HeartMate 3 implantation.