cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Cis-Regulatory Motifs in Cassette Exons by Incorporating Exon Skipping Rates

Identification of cis-regulatory motifs has long been a hotspot in the study of alternative splicing. We propose a two-step approach: we first identify k-mer seed motifs by testing for enrichment and significant differences in exon skipping rate, then a local stochastic search is applied to refine the seed motifs. Our approach is especially suitable to discover short and degenerate motifs. We applied our method to a dataset of CNS-specific cassette exons in mouse and discovered 15 motifs. Two of these motifs are highly similar to validated motifs, Nova and hnRNP A1 binding sites. Four motifs show positional bias relative to the splice sites. Our study provides a dictionary of sequence motifs involved in the regulation of alternative splicing in CNS tissues, and a novel tool to detect such motifs.
Extraordinary enhancement of second harmonic generation in a periodically patterned distributed Bragg reflector

Extraordinary enhancement of second harmonic generation is engineered in a three-dimensional air-bridge photonic crystal slab with a multiple-layer dielectric structure by the spectral element method. By exploiting the symmetry of the multiple-layer system, the large matrix equation arising in the spectral element method can be solved by using the block Thomas algorithm to significantly improve the efficiency of the solver. A 63-layer structure with a total thickness less than 8 μm is designed to achieve large enhancement of the second harmonic generation effect by almost 10 orders of magnitude, with an output second harmonic field power rate of more than 0.1% under a typical laser incident field of 0.5 MV/m. In addition, the sensitivity of the transmittance to the thickness of each layer is investigated. The sensitivity result shows that at the resonant frequency with large second harmonic generation, the sensitivity to the thickness is large, so the thickness precision is important to obtain large enhancement for the second harmonic generation. The application of this system to highly monochromatic light sources is discussed.
Liver Stiffness Decreases Rapidly in Response to Successful Hepatitis C Treatment and Then Plateaus.

Background and Aim To investigate the impact of a sustained virological response (SVR) to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment on liver stiffness (LS). Methods LS, measured by transient elastography (FibroScan), demographic and laboratory data of patients treated with interferon (IFN)-containing or IFN-free regimens who had an SVR24 (undetectable HCV viral load 24 weeks after the end of treatment) were analyzed using two-tailed paired t-tests, Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon Signed-rank tests and linear regression. Two time intervals were investigated: pre-treatment to SVR24 and SVR24 to the end of follow-up. LS scores ≥ 12.5 kPa indicated LS-defined cirrhosis. A p-value below 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The median age of the patients (n = 100) was 60 years [IQR (interquartile range) 54–64); 72% were male; 60% were Caucasian; and 42% had cirrhosis pre-treatment according to the FibroScan measurement. The median LS score dropped from 10.40 kPa (IQR: 7.25–18.60) pre-treatment to 7.60 kPa (IQR: 5.60–12.38) at SVR24, p <0.01. Among the 42 patients with LS-defined cirrhosis pre-treatment, 25 (60%) of patients still had LS scores ≥ 12.5 kPa at SVR24, indicating the persistence of cirrhosis. The median change in LS was similar in patients receiving IFN-containing and IFN-free regimens: -1.95 kPa (IQR: -5.75 –-0.38) versus -2.40 kPa (IQR: -7.70 –-0.23), p = 0.74. Among 56 patients with a post-SVR24 LS measurement, the LS score changed by an additional -0.90 kPa (IQR: -2.98–0.5) during a median follow-up time of 1.17 (IQR: 0.88–1.63) years, which was not a statistically significant decrease (p = 0.99). Conclusions LS decreased from pre-treatment to SVR24, but did not decrease significantly during additional follow-up. Earlier treatment may be needed to reduce the burden of liver disease.
Synergistic photomagnetic effects in coordination polymer heterostructure particles of Hofmann-like Fe(4-phenylpyridine)2[Ni(CN)4]·0.5H2O and K0.4Ni[Cr(CN)6]0.8·nH2O

New nanometer scale heterostructure particles of the two-dimensional Hofmann-like Fe(II) spin-crossover network, Fe(phpy)2[Ni(CN)4]·0.5H2O {phpy = 4-phenylpyridine}, and the Prussian blue analogue K0.4Ni1.0[Cr(CN)6]0.8·nH2O (NiCr-PBA) have been developed, exhibiting synergistic photomagnetic effects, whereby the LIESST (light-induced electron spin-state trapping) effect in the Hofmann-like material induces a magnetization change in the NiCr-PBA. A variety of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques demonstrate the heterogeneous growth of the NiCr-PBA on the Hofmann seed particles and show the Hofmann compound retains its thermal and photoinduced spin transition properties in the heterostructure. The photoinduced magnetization change in the NiCr-PBA network arises from coupling of the two lattices despite dissimilar structure types. Isothermal magnetization minor hysteresis loop studies at 5 K show light absorption leads to changes in the local anisotropy of NiCr-PBA magnetic domains, providing direct evidence for a general magnetomechanical mechanism of light-switchable magnetism in coordination polymer heterostructures combining a photoactive material with a magnet.
Residents’ perceptions and attitudes toward waste treatment facility sites and their possible conversion: A literature review

Abstract The siting a landfill or waste treatment facility and the redevelopment of a brownfield or former landfill site are generally treated as independent issues in the research literature. Nonetheless, the two are important elements of community development and urban revitalization efforts. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated review of the current literature on attitudes toward waste treatment sites and their potential conversion for recreation use. We begin by examining research on residents’ perceptions of and attitudes toward proposed and existing waste treatment facility sites, including the perceived impacts and determinants of attitudes toward these sites. Next we summarize work that has explored the subsequent conversion of former landfills or brownfield sites, with a particular emphasis on repurposing these sites for green space and recreation use. We conclude by summarizing key issues and implications for future research and policy development.
Multitasking intelligent surveillance and first response system

Safeguarding the United States' border is crucial. There could be threats at the borders from illegal immigration, gun trafficking, drug trafficking and terrorists' attacks. Current monitoring and surveillance systems are difficult and expensive to monitor in real time. In this paper, we developed an intelligent and cost effective technology platform for an intelligent monitoring system that integrates various emerging advanced technologies. The technologies used for our intelligent monitoring system are: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), an intelligent and self-managing Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), image mining and remote sensing, and data mining. The UAV is equipped with remote sensing technologies that will be applied to monitor for any illegal activities among the borders. The Intelligent WSN is developed where a data fusion is integrated to combine the real-time output from various sensors. Finally a data mining engine is developed to consolidate multi data from various sources.
Inhibition of light modulation of chloroplast enzyme activity by sulfite

The capacity of a particulate pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaf chloroplast system for light-modulation of enzyme activity is diminished by brief exposure to sodium sulfite and, when intact seedlings are exposed to atmosphric SO2, the same system is inactivated. The destructive effect of this pollutant on green plants may therefore be due to disruption of the mechanism for control of carbon dioxide fixation.
EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OF NAPHTHALENES UPTAKE IN THE TEMPERATURE CLAM, RANGIACUNEATA AND THE BOREAL CLAM, PROTOTHACASTAMINEA

Abstract The temperate clam, Rangia cuneata , and the boreal clam, Protothaca staminea , were exposed. to a 25% WSF (water soluble fraction) of Southern Louisiana crude oil for three days under varying temperature and salinity regimes. The R . cuneata were exposed under temperature and salinity combinations of 15, 20, 25 and 30°C and 0, 10, 20 and 30 °/oo. Temperature-salinity combinations of 5, 10 and 15°C and 25, 30 and 35 °o were used in P_. staminea exposures. Clams were allowed to depurate for three days under these same temperature-salinity combinations. In three uptake experiments, two using I*, cuneata and one using P_. staminea, the greatest naphthalenes concentrations were measured in those clams exposed at the lowest temperatures. Statistical analysis confirmed that naphthalenes uptake in the different temperature-salinity groups in each experiment was significantly different. Temperature was shown to have the greatest effect on this difference. Salinity had a slight effect in only one of the R . cuneata uptake experiments. Tissue naphthalenes concentrations in P . staminea were less than those measured in R . cuneata after the same exposure period. Temperature and salinity had no effect on the release of naphthalenes in either R . cuneata or P . staminea .
Evaluation of 405-nm monochromatic light for inactivation of Tulane virus on blueberry surfaces.

AIM: The study aim was to evaluate the potential of 405‐nm light as a virus intervention for blueberries. METHODS AND RESULTS: Tulane virus (TV)‐inoculated blueberries were treated with 4·2 mW cm⁻² of 405‐nm light for 5–30 min. To mitigate thermal heating due to the intense light, a dry ice‐chilled, nitrogen‐based cooling system was utilized. Blueberries were rotated to ensure exposure of all surfaces to 405‐nm light. Five‐, 15‐ and 30‐min treatments resulted in little or no inactivation of TV on blueberries (average log reductions of −0·18; −0·02; and +0·06 respectively). Since 405‐nm light's inactivation mechanism may involve singlet oxygen, two singlet oxygen enhancers, riboflavin and rose bengal, were used to coat the blueberries prior to 405‐nm light treatment. When 0·1% riboflavin or rose bengal was added, resulting in an average PFU reduction of −0·51 and −1·01 logs respectively. However, it was noted that the addition of riboflavin and rose bengal in the absence of 405‐nm light treatment produced some inactivation. Average untreated log reductions for riboflavin and rose bengal were −0·13 and −0·66 respectively. Also, 60–30‐s 405‐nm light pulses with 2‐min ambient cooling periods without the dry ice nitrogen cooling system did not inactivate TV, suggesting that oxygen limitation by the nitrogen CO₂ mixture was not the cause of limited inactivation. CONCLUSIONS: Overall results indicate that 405‐nm light has some potential to inactivate viruses if singlet oxygen enhancers are present. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The potential of visible monochromatic violet/blue light (405 nm) as a nonthermal intervention for viruses on foods, such as berries that are prone to norovirus contamination, had not been previously evaluated. Use of food‐grade singlet oxygen enhancer compounds in combination with visible spectra light may offer a means to inactivate foodborne viruses.
Analytical evaluation of the charge carrier density of organic materials with a Gaussian density of states revisited

An analytical solution for the calculation of the charge carrier density of organic materials with a Gaussian distribution for the density of states is presented and builds upon the ideas presented by Mehmetoglu (J Comput Electron 13:960–964, 2014) and Paasch et al. (J Appl Phys 107:104501-1–104501-4, 2010). The integral of interest is called the Gauss–Fermi integral and can be viewed as a particular type of integral in a family of the more general Fermi–Dirac-type integrals. The form of the Gauss–Fermi integral will be defined as $$\begin{aligned} G\left( \alpha ,\beta ,\xi \right) =\mathop {\displaystyle \int }\limits _{-\infty }^{\infty }\frac{ e^{-\alpha \left( x-\beta \right) ^{2}}}{1+e^{x-\xi }}\hbox {d}x\text {,} \end{aligned}$$ where $$G\left( \alpha ,\beta ,\xi \right) $$ is a dimensionless function. This article illustrates a technique developed by Selvaggi et al. [3] to derive a mathematical formula for a complete range of parameters $$\alpha $$ , $$\beta $$ , and $$\xi $$ valid $$\forall $$ $$\alpha $$ $$ \varepsilon $$ $$ {\mathbb {R}} \ge 0$$ , $$\forall $$ $$\beta $$ $$\varepsilon $$ $$ {\mathbb {R}} $$ , and $$\forall $$ $$\xi $$ $$\varepsilon $$ $$ {\mathbb {R}} $$ .
Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

Self-efficacy is related to student achievement and the use of effective learning strategies.
Established, emerging and elusive molecular targets in the treatment of lung cancer

Although histological subtype still underlies tumour classification and treatment, the recognition that lung cancer is, largely, a genetic disease has prompted a push to reconfigure cancer taxonomies according to molecular criteria. In this review, we discuss established (e.g. EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and programmed cell death 1/programmed death-ligand 1), emerging (e.g. MET, RET, and NTRK) and elusive (e.g. TP53, KRAS, and MYC) molecular targets in the treatment of lung cancer. We synthesize a large and rapidly growing body of literature regarding the discovery and therapeutic inhibition of these targets in lung cancer. Copyright © 2018 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dedifferentiation and Metaplasia in Vertebrate and Invertebrate Regeneration

“Is it necessary in a theory of differentiation to assume that the differentiated state is irreversible?” In our present era, the answer to this question seemingly is “no”. Studies of genetic control mechanisms in bacteria make it reasonable to believe that most of the nuclear DNA is in the form of operons and regulatory genes which can be directly or indirectly influenced by the intracellular and extracellular environment. Stable patterns of gene activity responding to reversible feedback controls could be established without deletion of any part of the genetic apparatus (Jacob and Monod 1961). Thus, we have theoretical reasons for a negative answer to the qestion. Moreover, experimental evidence has accumulated in recent years suggesting that somatic plant cells (Braun, this volume) and animal nuclei (Gurdon 1964) can in some cases revert to embryonic morphology and regain total developmental capacity even though they were fully differentiated.
Unusual Intersection: Elucidating the Role of Erdheim Chester Disease in Stroke (P4.366)

Objective: Discuss the clinical challenge of diagnosing a rare disease in the setting of a stroke and implications on treatment management. Background: Erdheim Chester disease (ECD) is a systemic inflammatory process consisting of non-langerhans histiocytosis with broad organ effects including the central nervous system. There are limited reports on the role of ECD in the setting of stroke. Results: A 46 year old right handed gentleman with a medical history significant for controlled hypertension, bilateral orbital tumors and former smoker presented with three transient ischemic attacks in a month consisting of aphasia and left foot clumsiness. On initial evaluation, a subacute right frontal anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery watershed infarct was identified in the setting of a severe right cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. His examination was notable only for mild small fiber facial neuropathy V1-V3 and minimal left CN VII palsy of an upper motor neuron distribution. His treatment management was complicated by an incidental soft tissue confluence around his aortic arch representing either hemorrhage or dissection and raising possibility for alternate etiologies of his carotid stenosis beyond atherosclerosis. Further clinical history revealed medical events in the past decade including chronic low grade fevers, pericarditis and orbital tumors that were xanthogranulomas on biopsy. Erdheim Chester disease (ECD) was considered as an unifying etiology with confirmatory diagnostic bone scan demonstrating asymptomatic symmetrical sclerotic lone bone involvement. He underwent a carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and the sampled histopathology did not identify significant arterial histiocytic inflammation that would support direct ECD involvement in his stroke. Conclusion: A unifying diagnosis of ECD was identified for this gentleman presenting with a stroke in the setting of critical ICA stenosis. Pathology from his CEA suggests that while ECD involves multisystem inflammation, it did not appear to play a direct role in his stroke. Disclosure: Dr. Sheikhi has nothing to disclose.
Surgical Versus Endoscopic Management for Esophageal Perforations

Esophageal perforations remains a challenging clinical problem and is associated with a high mortality rate. Since the introduction of conservative and endoscopic therapies treatment has been increasingly diversified. In this chapter the currently available surgical and endoscopic treatment strategies are introduced and discussed against the background of the most recent literature. The published experiences of esophageal perforations are limited and typically reported from single centers. Timely initial assessment and diagnosis as well as providing a tailored approach for each patient are critically importance to achieve best outcomes. Best evidence currently suggests that this is best provided in high-volume centers where a multidisciplinary team with expertise in esophageal surgery, interventional radiology and endoscopy is available.
Morphing Structure for Changing Hydrodynamic Characteristics of a Soft Underwater Walking Robot

Existing platforms for underwater exploration and inspection are often limited to traversing open water and must expend large amounts of energy to maintain a position in flow for long periods of time. Many benthic animals overcome these limitations using legged locomotion and have different hydrodynamic profiles dictated by different body morphologies. This work presents an underwater legged robot with soft legs and a soft inflatable morphing body that can change shape to influence its hydrodynamic characteristics. Flow over the morphing body separates behind the trailing edge of the inflated shape, so whether the protrusion is at the front, center, or back of the robot influences the amount of drag and lift. When the legged robot (2.87 N underwater weight) needs to remain stationary in flow, an asymmetrically inflated body resists sliding by reducing lift on the body by 40% (from 0.52 N to 0.31 N) at the highest flow rate tested while only increasing drag by 5.5% (from 1.75 N to 1.85 N). When the legged robot needs to walk with flow, a large inflated body is pushed along by the flow, causing the robot to walk 16% faster than it would with an uninflated body. The body shape significantly affects the ability of the robot to walk against flow as it is able to walk against 0.09 m/s flow with the uninflated body, but is pushed backwards with a large inflated body. We demonstrate that the robot can detect changes in flow velocity with a commercial flow sensor and respond by morphing into a hydrodynamically preferable shape.
Irrigation Water Requirements of Lawns

Irrigation water requirements for lawn grasses can be estimated by an empirical formula when adequate climatological data are available. The modified Blaney-Criddle formula can be used for this purpose. This procedure is explained and recommendations are made for the use of the results in accordance with the lawn condition desired. Most lawns can be subjected to drought conditions for short periods; if this is done, the irrigation water requirements can be materially reduced. An analysis of the available research data indicates that when the soil is near wilting point, light frequent irrigations at a rate of approximately one-half the normal consumptive use will maintain an appearance rated from fair to good. On certain types of turf, such a practice is allowable if not prolonged too long and if the turf is given good growing conditions at other times. Under these conditions it is believed that common lawn grasses seldom require irrigation to maintain appearance when the monthly net irrigation requirement is less than one-half the consumptive use computed for maintaining a full supply of moisture.
Application of polydopamine‐coated nylon capillary‐channeled polymer fibers as a stationary phase for mass spectrometric phosphopeptide analysis

Capillary-channeled polymer (C-CP) fibers are demonstrated as a selective stationary phase for phosphopeptide analysis via LC-MS. Taking advantage of the oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine under alkaline conditions, a simple system involving a dilute aqueous solution of 0.2% w/v dopamine hydrochloride in 0.15% w/v TRIS buffer, pH 8.5 was utilized to coat polydopamine onto nylon 6 C-CP fibers. Confirmation of the polydopamine coating on the fibers (nylon-PDA) was made through attenuated total reflection-FTIR (ATR-FTIR) analysis. Imaging using SEM was also performed to examine the morphology and topography of the nylon-PDA. Subsequent loading of Fe3+ to the nylon-PDA matrix was confirmed by SEM/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). The Fe3+ -bound nylon-PDA fibers packed in a microbore column format were tested in the off-line preconcentration of phosphopeptides from a 1:100 mixture of β-casein/BSA digests for MALDI-TOF analysis. The packed column was also installed onto an HPLC system as a platform for the online sample clean-up and enrichment of phosphopeptides from a 1:1000 mixture of β-casein/BSA protein digests that were determined by subsequent ESI-MS analysis.
Insurance patterns and instability from 2006 to 2016.

There is a rich literature on insurance coverage and its impacts on health care. Many recent studies have examined the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and found that it had positive effects on health insurance coverage and health care usage. Most of the literature, however, has focused on insurance coverage at a single point in time, while research on insurance instability is underrepresented, even though it could significantly impact health outcomes. The aim of this study is to examine changes and implications of insurance instability among nonelderly adults from 2006 to 2016, covering the Great Recession and post-ACA periods. Using 2006-to-2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, we identify seven insurance patterns and analyze them by race/ethnicity, age, geography, income, and medical conditions. We then use multivariable linear models to analyze the relationship between insurance instability and health care status, access, and utilization. Logistic, Poisson and nonlinear models test the robustness of our results. The post-ACA period 2015–2016 saw the lowest ever-uninsured rate (25.68% or 67.91 million). The largest decrease in insurance instability was among adults aged 19–25, low-income families, Hispanics, the western population, and the healthy population. Like the always-uninsured, those with other insurance gaps experienced a lack of access to care and decreased preventive care and other services. Despite the post-ACA instability reduction, over 25% of the U.S. population continued to have insurance gaps over a two-year period. Disparities continued to exist between income groups, race/ethnicities, and regions. Repealing ACA could exacerbate insurance instability and disparities between different groups, which in turn could lead to adverse health outcomes.
Long-Term Outcomes of Pancreas-Sparing Duodenectomy for Duodenal Polyposis in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis Syndrome.

Pancreas-sparing duodenectomy (PSD) offers definitive therapy for duodenal polyposis associated with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). We reviewed the long-term complications of PSD and evaluated the incidence of high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and cancer in the remaining upper gastrointestinal tract. Forty-seven FAP patients with duodenal polyposis undergoing PSD from 1992 to 2019 were reviewed. Long-term was defined as > 30 days from PSD. All patients were treated with an open technique, and 43 (91.5%) had Spigelman stage III or IV duodenal polyposis. Median follow-up was 107 months (IQR, 26–147). There was no 90-day mortality. Seven patients died at a median of 10.5 years (IQR, 5.4–13.3) after PSD, with one attributed to gastric cancer. Pancreatitis occurred in 10 patients (21.3%), and two required surgical intervention. Seven patients (14.9%) developed an incisional hernia, and all underwent definitive repair. Forty-one patients (87.2%) had postoperative surveillance endoscopy over a median follow-up of 111 months (IQR, 42–138). Three patients (6.4%) developed adenocarcinoma (two gastric, one jejunal), and four (8.5%) had adenomas with HGD (two gastric, two jejunal) with a median of 15 years (IQR, 9–16) from PSD. One patient with gastric adenocarcinoma and all patients with HGD or adenocarcinoma of the jejunum required surgical intervention. PSD can be performed with a low but definable risk of long-term morbidity. Risk of gastric and jejunal carcinoma rarely occurs and was diagnosed decades after PSD. This demonstrates the need for lifelong endoscopic surveillance and educates us on the risk of carcinoma in the remaining gastrointestinal tract.
Longitudinal Variation in Presence and Severity of Cardiac Valve Regurgitation in Healthy Children

Background The goal of this study was to document the frequency and longitudinal variation in the presence and severity of echocardiographically documented valvular regurgitation (VR) in healthy children free of evidence of heart disease. We hypothesized that significant variation is common, and our specific aim was to determine change in prevalence and severity of VR in children free of heart disease. Methods The presence of VR was documented on each of the four valves, and the severity of regurgitation was assessed as the body surface area (BSA)-adjusted width of the vena contracta on each of two sequential echocardiograms in healthy children free of clinical and echocardiographic evidence of heart disease. Results We included 200 children ages 10.0 ± 4.5 years, BSA = 1.2 ± 0.43 m2, at the first exam and 12.8 ± 4.9 years, BSA = 1.42 ± 0.44 m2, at the second exam. Frequency of VR was similar on the two exams (tricuspid = 61.5% vs 57.0%, pulmonary = 55.5 vs 57.5%, mitral = 14.5% vs 16.0%, aortic = 3.0 vs 3.5%). The frequency of new appearance was similar to the frequency of resolution of VR for all four valves. For instances where the severity of VR was classified as trace versus mild, the frequency of change from mild to trace between the two exams was similar to the frequency of change from trace to mild. Conclusions In healthy children with no evidence of heart disease, there is substantial temporal variation in the presence and severity of tricuspid and pulmonary VR. The prevalence of mitral and aortic VR is lower in healthy children, but temporal variation is also noted for these valves. The finding of new-onset echocardiographic trace or mild VR cannot be assumed to represent incident valve pathology.
Geospatial environments for hurricane risk assessment : Applications to situational awareness and resilience planning in New Jersey

Mitigation of losses due to coastal hazards has become an increasingly urgent and challenging problem in light of rising seas and the continued escalation of coastal population density. Unfortunately, stakeholders responsible for assuring the safety of these coastal communities are not equipped with the engineering research community’s latest tools for high-fidelity risk assessment and geospatial decision support. In the event of a hurricane or nor’easter, such capabilities are exceptionally vital to project storm impacts on critical infrastructure and other municipal assets and to inform preemptive actions that can save lives and mitigate property damage. In response, a web-based visualization environment was developed using the GeoNode content management system, informed by the needs of municipal stakeholders. Within this secure platform, registered users with roles in planning, emergency management and first response can simulate the impact of hurricanes and nor’easters using the platform’s storm Hazard Projection (SHP) Tool. The SHP Tool integrates fast-to-compute windfield models with surrogate models of high-fidelity storm surge and waves to rapidly simulate user-defined storm scenarios, considering the effects of tides, sea level rise, dune breaches and track uncertainty. In the case of a landfalling hurricane, SHP tool outputs are automatically loaded into the user’s dashboard to visualize the projected wind, storm surge and wave run-up based on the latest track information published by the National Hurricane Center. Under either use case, outputs of the SHP Tool are visualized within a robust collaborative geospatial environment supporting the seamless exploration of centralized libraries of geographic information system (GIS) data from federal, state, county and local authorities, with tools to add user-supplied annotations such as notes or other geospatial mark-ups. This paper will overview the development and deployment of this platform in the State of New Jersey, detailing the cyberinfrastructure design and underlying computational models, as well as the user stories that inspired the platform’s functionalities and interfaces. The study concludes with reflections from the process of piloting this project with stakeholders at the state and municipal level to support more risk-responsive and data-informed decision making.
Avenues for Further Research

In this chapter, we present an overview of the recent statistical methods for diagnostic meta-analysis and suggest a few directions for future research. We discuss two important issues regarding (a) the robustness of model misspecifications and (b) the identifiability of models and the assumption of conditional independence in the absence of a gold standard. With increasing availability of biomedical data, the individual patient-level data meta-analyses offer new insights into evidence synthesis compared to traditional aggregated data-based meta-analyses. In particular, the approaches to combine individual patient-level data with aggregated data can inform personalized medical decision based on patient-level characteristics and help to identify clinically relevant subgroups. However, such integration methods for diagnostic prediction research are limited, and hence there is a growing need for developing of novel statistical methods that can address potential issues including model validation, missing predictors, and between-studies heterogeneity while combining both types of data. Despite the perceived advantages of individual patient-level data, using individual patient-level data alone may still encounter a number of challenges, such as partial verification bias and the absence of a gold standard. We discuss these challenges by two examples.
Intergenerational upward mobility and racial differences in mortality among young adults: Evidence from county-level analyses.

Abstract Inspired by the influential “deaths of despair” narrative, which emphasizes the role of worsening economic opportunity in driving the increasing mortality for non-Hispanic Whites in the recent decades, a rising number of studies have provided suggestive evidence that upward mobility levels across counties may partly explain variations in mortality rates. A gap in the literature is the lack of life-course studies examining the relationship between early-life upward mobility and later-life mortality across counties. Another gap is the lack of studies on how the relationship between upward mobility and mortality across counties varies across diverse sociodemographic populations. This study examines differences across race and sex in the relationship between early-life intergenerational upward mobility and early adulthood mortality at the county level. We use administrative data on upward mobility and vital statistics data on mortality across 3030 counties for those born between 1978 and 1983. We control for a variety of county-level socioeconomic variables in a model with fixed effects for state and year. Subgroup analyses by educational attainment and urban status were also performed for each race-sex combination. Results show strong negative relationships between early-life upward mobility and early adulthood mortality across racial-sex combinations, with a particularly greater magnitude for non-Hispanic Black males. In addition, individuals without a college degree and living in urban counties are particularly affected by early life upward mobility. The findings of this study highlight the vulnerability of less-educated, young urban Black males, due to the intersecting effects of the urban context, education, race, and sex.
Searching for A Stronger Generational Understanding than Just Age: A Multi-Country Analysis of Millennials’ Personal Values and Moral Reasoning

Age group typically identifies millennials – those born between 1982 and 2004. Yet our research challenges the designation based on age group by considering this population in the context of an ind...
Diagnosis and Treatment of OTC Deficiency

We have dealt with a number of issues in the diagnosis and treatment of OTC deficiency in previous chapters. Chapter 5 reviews the use of RFLPs(226,228,233) and DNA(225,227,232-234,240) analyses in diagnosis and introduces the use of allopurinol in testing for the carrier state(241). Chapter 7 discusses carrier detection with protein(393), alanine and allopurinol loading tests and some aspects of treatment of hyperammonemia by hemodialysis(376), diet(394), carnitine(480,543), alternative pathways of nitrogen excretion(492) and by liver transplantation(414,4333,437,438,443). The role of imaging methods is noted for computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) scans(403,422,425,435). Measurement of orotic acidJorotidine in urine is discussed(523,524) and also methods for assay of OTC in tissue samples(525,526,539,540). In this chapter we expand on all aspects of diagnosis and treatment.
Bella's case : Parsi identity and the law in colonial Rangoon, Bombay and London, 1887-1925

This dissertation explores the ways in which the ethnic identity of South Asia's Parsis was forged through litigation in the British colonial courts. The Parsis were Zoroastrians who fled to India after the seventh-century conquest of Persia by Arab Muslims. Under British rule, they became an elite of intermediary traders and professionals. Around 1900, a series of lawsuits erupted on the admission of ethnic outsiders into the Parsi community through intermarriage, conversion, and adoption. This dissertation is a study of the most extensive of these cases, the Privy Council appeal of Saklat v Bella (1914-25). The case erupted when an Indian orphan named Bella was adopted by Parsis in Rangoon, initiated into the Zoroastrian religion, and taken into the Rangoon fire temple, a space arguably desecrated by the presence of ethnic outsiders. Through an examination of case papers and judges' notebooks from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (London) and the Bombay High Court (Mumbai), the dissertation explores competing visions of Parsi identity that were promoted by reformist and orthodox Parsis as litigants, witnesses, lawyers, judges, and journalists. Bella's case highlights two sorts of displacement. First, a patrilineal definition of Parsi identity was overtaken in this period by a more exclusive, eugenics-based racial model. As anxieties over communal extinction peaked with the advent of the census, orthodox Parsis clung to the notion of Persian racial purity, excluding Indian, Burmese, and European outsiders with renewed tenacity. Second, the colonial legal system's reconfiguration of Parsi religious institutions as trusts unravelled the authority of Zoroastrian priests as arbiters of religious doctrine. On a larger scale, Saklat v Bella illustrates how a "centripetal jurisprudence" contributed to the creation of a unitary "legal India" and an empire of common law. It is also a story about legal pluralism and the rise of a non-European legal profession in the colonial context. Parsis rose to prominence as lawyers and judges in this period, and used their legal influence to carve out a space for Zoroastrian legal identity.
Experimental study on approximation algorithms for guarding sets of line segments

Consider any real structure that can be modeled by a set of straight line segments. This can be a network of streets in a city, tunnels in a mine, corridors in a building, pipes in a factory, etc. We want to approximate a minimal number of locations where to place "guards" (either men or machines), in a way that any point of the network can be "seen" by at least one guard. A guard can see all points on segments it is on (and nothing more). As the problem is known to be NP-hard, we consider three greedy-type algorithms for finding approximate solutions. We show that for each of these, theoretically the ratio of the approximate to the optimal solution can increase without bound with the increase of the number of segments. Nevertheless, our extensive experiments show that on randomly generated instances, the approximate solutions are always very close to the optimal ones and often are, in fact, optimal.
Lasallian Assessment: Charism and the University

Now is a key moment in the history of American Lasallian universities. This document, Prologue and Paradigm, attempts to seize this moment by offering a view of the Catholic, Lasallian university in terms that are comprehensive, specific, and flexible. Lasallian universities face considerable challenges and none greater than how to successfully compete with other universities, many of which possess much greater resources, while not only retaining but enhancing their Lasallian identities. Indeed, we believe that enhancing our Lasallian identities will make us more competitive because students and parents will find attractive an approach to education based on Lasallian values. Lasallian assessment is a response to these developments and a paradigm for integrating Lasallian values with those of the liberal arts and the university. Its goal is to create a truly integrated Lasallian university.
THE IMPACT OF APARTHEID AND INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA'S IMPORT DEMAND FUNCTION: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

In this paper we ascertain South Africa’s aggregate import demand function over the period 1950 to 2008 utilizing the bounds testing approach to cointegration, and the unrestricted error-correction model. Our study empirically investigates the impact of apartheid (1950-1994), in particular the period of international sanctions (1981-1994) against the apartheid government, on South Africa’s imports. Further, we utilize the autoregressive distributed lag model to estimate short-run and long-run import elasticities. Our results reveal that imports depend positively on the levels of domestic economic activity and foreign exchange reserves but negatively on relative prices. In addition, apartheid has had a significant short-run negative impact on import demand, but is insignificant in the long-run. Furthermore, international sanctions affected import demand positively in the short-run, but negatively in the long-run We argue that appropriate public policy is necessary to reduce the economy’s reliance on imports of capital and intermediate goods, especially oil, while simultaneously diversifying its exports base. Strengthening trade relations with other developing countries will give it an exchange rate advantage, improve its balance of payments, create macroeconomic stability, growth, and with that, alleviate unemployment and poverty in South Africa. JEL: F14, F31
miR-23a supports survival of activated CD4+ T cells by maintaining reactive oxygen species equilibrium (IRM5P.638)

To identify key miRNAs that regulate CD4+ T cell responses, we profiled miRNA expression in CD4+ T cells at different phases post-antigen stimulation. As miR-23a is a miRNA that correlated strongly with effector CD4+ T cell expansion, we generated a T-cell specific miR-23a knockout mouse line (23T-KO). We found that miR-23a in T cells is essential for effective anti-bacteria protection, as the loss of effector T cells during the early phase of antigen activation rendered 23aT-KO mice susceptible to high-dose listeria infection. As early as a few hours post-activation in vitro, naive 23T-KO CD4+ T cells exhibit an accelerated death, which is not rescued by caspase inhibition. Further analysis reveal that miR-23a deficiency in CD4+ T cells severely impairs their mitochondrial structural and functional integrity; Consequently, TCR activation of 23T-KO CD4+ T cells induce the rapid loss of mitochondrial potential and accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Forced expression of the antioxidant enzyme GPX1 protects activated naive 23T-KO T cells from accelerated cell death. Mechanistically, we determine that miR-23a loss results in the accumulation of its direct target, PPIF, a structural component of the mitochondria permeability transition pore complex. Taken together, our results indicate that PPIF-controlled ROS equilibrium is essential for the survival of effector CD4+ T cells, and that miR-23a is indispensable for maintaining ROS homeostasis during early antigen activation.
New results on discrete-event counting under reliable and unreliable observation information

We present an approach for addressing the issues of detecting repeated fault events in the framework of model-based monitoring of discrete-event systems (DES) under reliable and unreliable observation information. The analysis task is to determine whether a certain observation configuration is capable of reporting the occurrence of fault events while satisfying the performance requirements. If the reliability of observation information is assured, the assessment is accomplished by evaluating diagnosability notions of interest. To evaluate the notions of diagnosability regarding repeated fault counting, polynomial-time verification algorithms are developed. In order to deal with unreliable observation information, the concept of detection confidence is introduced, which measures the quality of fault counting. An algorithm computing detection confidence is conjectured. For online fault counting, we develop a new online fault counting algorithm assuming observation reliability. The developed algorithm has lower time and space complexities than an online diagnosis algorithm reported in literature for counting the occurrence of repeated faults. This online algorithm is naturally extended to handle the unreliable observation information.
Inclusive gluon production in high energy onium-onium scattering

We calculate the inclusive single-gluon production cross section in high energy onium-onium scattering including pomeron loop effects. The resulting inclusive cross section is given by the ${k}_{T}$-factorization formula with one of the unintegrated gluon distribution functions depending on the total onium-onium scattering cross section, which includes all pomeron loops and has to be found independently. We discuss the limits of applicability of our result and argue that they are given by the limits of applicability of the pomeron loop resummation approach. Since the obtained ${k}_{T}$-factorization formula is infrared divergent we conclude that, in order to consistently calculate the (infrared-finite) gluon production cross section in onium-onium scattering, one has to include corrections going beyond the pomeron loop approximation.
Argininemia treated from birth

pregnancy and a normal spontaneous delivery. Apgar scores were 9 and 10 at 1 and 5 minutes. Birth weight was 3.8 kg and physical examination was completely normal. At three hours of age the plasm a arginine level was .4.0 mg/dl (normal average 1.3) and arginase activity was not detectable in the erythrocytes. Repeated /tssays of erythrocyte arginase activity all revealed less than 5% of normal activity. Red blood cell arginine level determined just before the initiation of therapy was 4.22 mg/dl (normal 0.4). The infant was given glucose water until the essential amino acid mixture was started at 18 hours of age; a milk formula was never offered. The mixture was fed in an amount to provid? the equivalent of 2 gm of protein per kg of body weight. It was supplemented with Mead Johnson product 80056* to furnish a total caloric intake of 125 calories/kg. This was the only feeding for the first four months of life. After this, fruits, low protein vegetables and rice cereal were introduced. The diet was later supplemented with various protein-free products such as special bread, cookies, pasta, etc. The natural protein intake has never exceeded 5 grams/day, which provides an estimated 250 to 300 rag/day of arginine.
Three combat ID systems for the dismounted soldier

Three different Combat ID systems for the Dismounted Soldier are described and areas of commonality and differences are noted. CIDDS (Combat ID for Dismounted Soldiers) is a complete Stand-Alone system for non-Land Warrior equipped soldier's. To the weapon, it adds a laser interrogator that produces a Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) like pulse coded waveform and a RF receiver. To the soldiers helmet, it adds four laser detectors and an RF transmitter that uses frequency diversity and TDMA to respond. Land Warrior Combat ID, being developed on the Force XXI Land Warrior program, adds a similar laser interrogator to the weapon but uses existing laser detectors on the helmet. Detection of a laser interrogation automatically causes a RF reply via the Land Warrior Soldier Radio (LWSR) that operates in the 1.8 GHz frequency range using a TDMA format. Helicopter to Dismounted Soldier ID (HDSID) uses the SIngle Channel Ground Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) SIP+ radios, operating in the 30 to 88 MHz band, for both interrogation and reply. The SINCGARS SIP+ ground receivers interrupt normal voice or data transmission/reception every second for a very short interval and switch to receive on the 'Interrogation' net. Up to three helicopters can make interrogations during any one-second interval. CIDDS and Land Warrior CID are presently in development, while HDSID is a recently completed study.
Pseudomorphic AlInP/InP heterojunction bipolar transistors

Novel InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) using an AlInP pseudomorphic emitter, together with an InP base and collector, have been fabricated. By using InP as both base and collector, the advantage of high electron velocity and high breakdown field of InP collectors are obtained without the problem associated with the energy barrier between the more standard InGaAs/InP base and collector heterojunction. Epitaxial layers were grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE). The 200 AA pseudomorphic emitter had an aluminium fraction of 15%, sufficiently suppressing hole injection from the base. The DC gain for 40*40 mu m/sup 2/ devices reached 18. The breakdown voltage BV/sub CEO/ of 10 V is an improvement over devices with InGaAs base and collector layers.
Phosphorylation of human tristetraprolin in response to its interaction with the Cbl interacting protein CIN85.

Background Tristetraprolin (TTP) is the prototype member of a family of CCCH tandem zinc finger proteins and is considered to be an anti-inflammatory protein in mammals. TTP plays a critical role in the decay of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) mRNA, among others, by binding AU-rich RNA elements in the 3′-untranslated regions of this transcript and promoting its deadenylation and degradation.
Trends and variations in the use of spine surgery.

Examining trends and geographic variations in clinical care offers insights into changes in clinical decision making. We summarized data on spine surgical rates, trends, and variations in the United States to highlight areas of professional uncertainty and questions for future research. The United S