cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimal acknowledgment frequency over asymmetric space-internet links

The acknowledgement (ACK) strategy of transmission control protocol (TCP) has been modified to delay the ACKs for a configurable period of time that is related to the round-trip time (RTT) to improve its performance in asymmetric links such as space communications. A general relationship between the asymmetric channel ratio and the optimal ACK frequency to achieve maximum throughput is not available. This paper studies the optimal ACK frequency with respect to the channel RTT to achieve the maximum throughput over various asymmetric, geo-stationary earth orbit (GEO)-satellite links using a test-bed. It is found that when the asymmetric channel ratio is as high as about 100/1, the optimal ACK frequency must be increased with an increase in asymmetric ratio to complement the impact of the reduction of ACK channel rate. As a rule of thumb, every two-fold increase in asymmetric ratio requires the optimal ACK frequency to be increased by one ACK per RTT. A regression model was built to reflect the relationship between the optimal ACK frequency and the asymmetric channel ratio and has been validated
Fluoxetine for the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders: open-label, long-term extension to a controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of fluoxetine for the long-term treatment of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and/or social phobia. Method: Children and adolescents (7–17 years old) with anxiety disorders were studied in open treatment for 1 year after they completed a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) comparing fluoxetine and placebo. The follow-up phase assessments included clinician, parent, and child ratings with measures of global severity, global improvement, and anxiety symptoms. Results: Subjects taking fluoxetine (n = 42) were compared with those taking no medication (n = 10) during follow-up on anxiety changes from the end of the RCT through the follow-up period. Statistical models included RCT assignment and follow-up psychological treatment. Excluded subjects took other medications (n = 4) or did not complete follow-up (n = 18). Compared with subjects taking no medication, subjects taking fluoxetine showed significantly superior follow-up outcomes on most measures, including clinician, parent, and child ratings. Conclusions: The results suggest that fluoxetine is clinically effective for the maintenance treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. A major limitation, however, was the lack of RCT methodology in the follow-up phase. RCTs are needed to determine the long-term risks and benefits of fluoxetine for this
Inequalities for quasi-symmetric designs

Abstract A 2-design is said to be quasi-symmetric if there are two block intersection sizes. We obtain inequalities satisfied by the parameters of a quasi-symmetric design using linear programming techniques. The same methods apply to codes with covering radius 2 with the property that the number of codewords at distance 2 from a given vector ν depends on the distance of ν from the code.
Platelet Extracellular Regulated Protein Kinase 5 Is a Redox Switch and Triggers Maladaptive Platelet Responses and Myocardial Infarct Expansion

Background—Platelets have a pathophysiologic role in the ischemic microvascular environment of acute coronary syndromes. In comparison with platelet activation in normal healthy conditions, less attention is given to mechanisms of platelet activation in diseased states. Platelet function and mechanisms of activation in ischemic and reactive oxygen species–rich environments may not be the same as in normal healthy conditions. Extracellular regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase family member activated in hypoxic, reactive oxygen species–rich environments and in response to receptor-signaling mechanisms. Prior studies suggest a protective effect of ERK5 in endothelial and myocardial cells after ischemia. We present evidence that platelets express ERK5 and that platelet ERK5 has an adverse effect on platelet activation via selective receptor-dependent and receptor-independent reactive oxygen species–mediated mechanisms in ischemic myocardium. Methods and Results—Using isolate...
The mechanical scaling of coasting in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Many fish species span two or three orders of magnitude in length during the growth from larvae to adults, and this change may have dramatic consequences for locomotor performance. We measured how the performance of coasting changes over the life history of zebrafish (Danio rerio) and examined the scaling of mechanics underlying this change. Adult zebrafish coast disproportionately further and faster and maintain their speed for a longer duration than do larvae and juveniles. Measurements of drag on tethered dead fish suggest that adult fish operate in an inertial regime by coasting at relatively high Reynolds numbers (Re>1000), and in vivo drag measurements showed adults to operate with a drag coefficient (Cinert� 0.024) that was consistent with previously published estimates. However, drag scaled differently at lower Re values than those assumed in previous studies. We found a viscous regime at Re<300, which corresponds to the routine coasting of larvae and juveniles. Despite these changes in hydrodynamics over growth, a mathematical model of coasting mechanics suggests that the disproportionately longer coasting of adults is caused primarily by their large body mass and high speed at the beginning of coasting. We therefore propose that changes in coasting performance with growth are dictated primarily by the scaling of momentum rather than resulting from hydrodynamic changes. These results provide an opportunity for new interpretations of function in the growth and evolution of fish. Summary
Entry level achievement characteristics of youth and adults reading below fifth grade equivalent: a preliminary profile and analysis.

This study explored entry level achievement characteristics of 132 youth and adults who read below fifth grade equivalent who volunteered to participate in an adult tutorial project. Specifically, reading, self-esteem, listening comprehension, and verbal language levels were measured and analyzed to substantiate observed characteristics of adult illiterates and to examine a developmental reading model of adult beginning readers. Analysis demonstrated that subjects had low levels of listening comprehension and verbal language as well as reading. Contrary to reports from informal observations, self-esteem was not substantially below average or significantly related to reading, listening comprehension, or verbal language. However, verbal language was significantly related to both listening comprehension and reading. Listening comprehension and verbal language achievement appeared to be higher than reading achievement. Further research is needed to explore the extent to which low intellectual ability or speci...
Dietary Indoles Suppress Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity by Inducing a Switch from Proinflammatory Th17 Cells to Anti-Inflammatory Regulatory T Cells through Regulation of MicroRNA

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) has been shown to have profound influence on T cell differentiation, and use of distinct AhR ligands has shown that whereas some ligands induce regulatory T cells (Tregs), others induce Th17 cells. In the present study, we tested the ability of dietary AhR ligands (indole-3-carbinol [I3C] and 3,3'-diindolylmethane [DIM]) and an endogenous AhR ligand, 6-formylindolo(3,2-b)carbazole (FICZ), on the differentiation and functions of Tregs and Th17 cells. Treatment of C57BL/6 mice with indoles (I3C or DIM) attenuated delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to methylated BSA and generation of Th17 cells while promoting Tregs. In contrast, FICZ exacerbated the DTH response and promoted Th17 cells. Indoles decreased the induction of IL-17 but promoted IL-10 and Foxp3 expression. Also, indoles caused reciprocal induction of Tregs and Th17 cells only in wild-type (AhR(+/+)) but not in AhR knockout (AhR(-/-)) mice. Upon analysis of microRNA (miR) profile in draining lymph nodes of mice with DTH, treatment with I3C and DIM decreased the expression of several miRs (miR-31, miR-219, and miR-490) that targeted Foxp3, whereas it increased the expression of miR-495 and miR-1192 that were specific to IL-17. Interestingly, treatment with FICZ had precisely the opposite effects on these miRs. Transfection studies using mature miR mimics of miR-490 and miR-1192 that target Foxp3 and IL-17, respectively, or scrambled miR (mock) or inhibitors confirmed that these miRs specifically targeted Foxp3 and IL-17 genes. Our studies demonstrate, to our knowledge for the first time, that the ability of AhR ligands to regulate the differentiation of Tregs versus Th17 cells may depend on miR signature profile.
Opening Doors to Student Success: A Synthesis of Findings from an Evaluation at Six Community Colleges

In today’s economy, having a postsecondary credential means better jobs and wages. Community colleges, with their open access policies and low tuition, are an important pathway into postsecondary education for nearly half of all U.S. undergraduates. Yet only one-third of all students who enter these institutions with the intent to earn a degree or certificate actually meet this goal within six years. The reasons for this are many, including that community college students are typically underprepared for college-level work, face competing priorities outside of school, and lack adequate financial resources. Recent cuts to higher education spending along with insufficient financial aid and advising at colleges only add to the problem. Ultimately, these factors contribute to unacceptably low persistence and completion rates.
Development of Field Emission Flat Panel Displays at Motorola

Over the past few years, Motorola, as well as several other companies around the world, have been developing a new type of flat panel display, called the field emission display (FED). The FED combines many of the advantages of its cousin, the cathode ray tube (CRT), including high brightness and contrast, wide angle viewability, and speed in a flat package that is only a few millimeters thick. A 14 cm diagonal FED prototype built at Motorola Flat Panel Display Division is shown below, in Figure 1.
Investigation of Nucleation and Intermixing at Hetero-Interface in III-Nitride-4H-SiC Structures

III-Nitride/SiC heterostructure devices are a promising approach for improving the performance of SiC devices such as bipolar transistors and avalanche photodiodes. However, the performance of these devices should critically depend on the properties of the hetero-interface that will likely lie within an active region of the device and impact carrier transport. Importantly, intermixing at the hetero-interface can effect doping profiles in these structures as constituent atoms of each semiconductor act as a dopant in the other. In this paper we explore the impact of in situ substrate preparation and migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE) on the nucleation and impurity concentration of thin AlN films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on 4H-SiC. The surface morphology of the samples were examined by atomic force microscopy and the composition of the films were studies by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and depth profiling x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The MEE approach promotes the nucleation of AlN growth on SiC in a 2D mode while suppressing the migration of Al into SiC. Active N that leaks around the closed shutter during in-situ preparation prevents the nucleation of AlN in a 2D growth mode at lower substrate temperatures that is attributed to GaN island formation at the hetero-interface.
Complete heart block in pregnancy: case report, analysis, and review of anesthetic management

Maternal complete heart block can pose significant challenges for the anesthesiologist in the antepartum, peripartum, and postpartum periods. Some patients may present for the first time in the puerperium with dizziness, weakness, syncope, or congestive heart failure as a result of the additional hemodynamic burden that accompanies pregnancy. Although there is an increase in permanent pacemaker placement in young symptomatic patients before pregnancy, prophylactic placement of pacemakers in asymptomatic parturients is not always indicated. The need for temporary or permanent pacemakers in asymptomatic women should be assessed on a case-by-case basis; many of these patients may be safely managed during labor and delivery without pacing. The parturient with complete heart block must be followed vigilantly during pregnancy and post delivery, as the need for pacemaker insertion can also arise in the postpartum period. We present a case of third-degree heart block in a 26-year-old parturient.
Alternative filler materials and new implant designs: what's available and what's on the horizon?

As the technology of breast implant design changes, a range of alternative filler materials and new implant devices are in development or under clinical study. This article is a comprehensive review of filler materials and implant designs that are currently available in the United States or internationally, currently in clinical studies approved by the FDA, or in other stages of technical development.
Comparison of enteral ethanol and benzodiazepines for alcohol withdrawal in neurocritical care patients

We designed a study to evaluate the use of benzodiazepines and ethanol in patients being assessed for alcohol withdrawal and compare outcomes between the two agents. This is a retrospective chart review of patients admitted to neurocritical care or neurosurgical services who were at risk for ethanol withdrawal between June 2011 and September 2015. Patients were divided into two groups based on the first medication administered for alcohol withdrawal management, either benzodiazepine (n=50) or enteral ethanol (n=50). The primary endpoint was the maximum change in Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol scale (CIWA) score within the first 24hours. Secondary endpoints included maximum and minimum CIWA score in 5days, length of stay, and change in Glasgow Coma Scale. Study groups differed by mortality risk, level of coma at admission, and other clinical characteristics, with the ethanol group appearing less severely ill. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the maximum change in CIWA score at 24hours (-0.97, 95%CI: -3.21 to 1.27, p=0.39). Hospital and intensive care unit length of stay was 6.5 days and 1 day shorter for the ethanol group (p=0.03 and p=0.02, respectively). In summary, enteral ethanol was preferentially used in patients who are more likely to be capable of tolerating oral intake. We found that the change from baseline in CIWA score or other physiologic variables was not substantially different between the two agents. The overall utility of benzodiazepines and enteral ethanol remains unclear for this population and further study is needed to determine superiority.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Applications for Persons with ASD and Complex Communication Needs

This chapter provides an introduction to the concepts of intentional and non-intentional communicative acts as they relate to the emergence of a learner’s attempts to influence others. In addition, critical terminologies related to these concepts are defined. Second, this chapter describes the variables involved in the implementation of augmentative communication systems that can greatly expand contexts for independent social interaction. Specifically, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is defined and specific types of AAC (i.e., aided and unaided) are described. Third, topics related to the selection of communicative mode(s), functions, and symbols to teach during the early stages of intervention are discussed. Fourth, the authors address whether implementing an augmentative communication system is likely to have a negative or positive effect on the probability of acquiring other communicative behavior, specifically vocal mode communication. Additionally, the authors discuss potential collateral gains that have been reported in learners who were taught to use augmentative communication systems. Fifth, the authors address instructional formats that are available to communication interventionists along with the need to consider overall intervention intensity and specific intervention parameters of dosage when selecting a format. Last, authors examine generalization of AAC responding and discuss strategies to enhance it.
Teaching and Learning with Cyberspace Media

Cyberspace media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Blackboard are being increasingly embraced by institutions of all sizes and types to promote their products and services to their customers and to serve their customers once the customers buy into the products or services. Academic institutions have implemented Blackboard to make teaching by instructors and learning by students more efficient and effective. In spite of the fact that most students regularly use popular cyberspace media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube etc., their use for teaching and learning remains limited. This paper explores the opportunities available to use these media over and beyond Blackboard. An existing conceptual model has been improved to understand the interaction among Technology (an IT tool), Students, Professors, and Course contents. Furthermore, 3-M (Megaphone, Magnet, and Monitor) framework has been utilized to articulate how some teaching and learning goals can be effectively achieved with cyberspace media.
Corpus Linguistic Analysis of Scope and Certainty in FY and Expert Writing

Genre studies today emphasize variation as well as repeating features. John Swales writes that “exemplars or instances of genres vary in their prototypicality” (1990, p. 49). Carolyn Miller describes that genres are recognizable through recurring fusions of form with substance (1984, pp. 159–161). Amy Devitt underscores both ideas when she writes: “where there are both standards and variations, there is meaning” (2004, p. 150). But even variety depends upon typified features: “Were there just variation and no standardization, meaning would also be impossible … Genre and language standards in fact accentuate the places of variation and choice by delimiting that variation and choice” (2004, p. 150). It is this standardization in genres, specifically in repeating features that characterize first-year (FY) and expert academic writing, that motivates the analysis in this chapter.
Aisthēsis, Reason and Appetite in the Timaeus

There are two types of aisthēsis in the Timaeus , which involve distinct physiological processes and different kinds of soul, appetite and reason respectively. This distinction explains Timaeus’ ambivalent attitude towards aisthēsis : on the one hand, it is one of the main causes of the disruption of the orbits of the immortal soul upon embodiment; on the other hand, it plays a central role in restoring the immortal soul to its original, god-like condition.
Timed Online Tests: Do Students Perform Better With More Time?

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on timed tests and specifically on whether increased time enhances test performance. Three courses during the Winter 2015 term (quizzes n = 573) and three courses over the Spring 2015 term (quizzes n = 600) comprised this sample. Students were given the same tests, but the experimental group (Spring 2015) was given 50% more time than the control group. The results indicate that more time on tests did not enhance student performance in terms of higher scores.Much attention has been given to student assessment of learning in the online classroom. One such method of measurement is online tests, quizzes, and exams. The focus of this research is to determine whether test scores would improve if students were allowed more time on tests.
Teaching without explication: pedagogical lessons from Rancière's The Ignorant Schoolmaster in The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Emperor's Club

How can one teach what one does not know? Most film depictions of teaching follow a satisfying (and it would seem endlessly entertaining) Aristotelian dramatic structure. But what if the teacher does not know what she is summoned to teach? And what if there were a theory of pedagogy that celebrated a teacher's ignorance rather than her authority (power, position, privilege, pre-established role) or expertise (knowledge, experience, judgment)? How or why, in Jacques Ranciere’s parlance, an ‘ignorant schoolmaster’ may have a talent for teaching – that is, an efficacy and influence on student learning that trumps antecedent knowledge – becomes a locus of inquiry in these pages. Several of Wes Anderson’s films can be said to include an ignorant schoolmaster, or ‘New Master’. Arguably, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) features the highest achievement of expression of the ignorant schoolmaster in Anderson’s work: M. Gustave teaches without knowing, teaches inadvertently as he learns what needs to be taught. By way of contrast – that is, as a way of illuminating M. Gustave’s representative qualities as an ignorant schoolmaster – I will also consider the character of the professional, authoritative, and knowledgeable preparatory school teacher, or 'Old Master', William Hundert in The Emperor's Club (2002).
Future Directions in Research on the Epigenetics of Aging

Epigenetics of aging is a new research direction that brings exciting and in-depth revelations in the near future. As reviewed in chapters throughout this book, aging is likely to be influenced by many complex interacting epigenetic factors. These include DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, and noncoding RNAs. With the help of new technologies, particularly the knowledge derived from the genome-wide epigenomic studies, the upcoming years will be an exciting time to make breakthroughs in research on epigenetics of aging. Here we focus on several new directions in epigenetic research overall and their potential influence on aging research and the potential of anti-aging intervention using personalized, epigenetic-targeted pharmacologic agents.
Photoreceptor discs form through peripherin-dependent suppression of ciliary ectosome release

The primary cilium is a highly conserved organelle housing specialized molecules responsible for receiving and processing extracellular signals. A recently discovered property shared across many cilia is the ability to release small vesicles called ectosomes, which are used for exchanging protein and genetic material among cells. In this study, we report a novel role for ciliary ectosomes in building the elaborate photoreceptor outer segment filled with hundreds of tightly packed “disc” membranes. We demonstrate that the photoreceptor cilium has an innate ability to release massive amounts of ectosomes. However, this process is suppressed by the disc-specific protein peripherin, which enables retained ectosomes to be morphed into discs. This new function of peripherin is performed independently from its well-established role in maintaining the high curvature of disc edges, and each function is fulfilled by a separate part of peripherin’s molecule. Our findings explain how the outer segment structure evolved from the primary cilium to provide photoreceptor cells with vast membrane surfaces for efficient light capture.
Screening Mammography for Women in Their 40s: The Potential Impact of the American Cancer Society and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to review screening mammograms obtained in one practice with the primary endpoint of determining the rate of detection of breast cancer and associated prognostic features in women 40–44 and 45–49 years old. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The retrospective cohort study included women in their 40s with breast cancer detected at screening from June 2014 through May 2016. The focus was on cancer detection rate, pathologic findings, and risk factors. RESULTS. A total of 32,762 screens were performed, and 808 biopsies were recommended. These biopsies yielded 224 breast cancers (cancer detection rate, 6.84 per 1000 screens). Women 40–49 years old had 18.8% of cancers detected; 50–59 years, 21.8%; 60–69 years, 32.6%; and 70–79 years, 21.4%. Among the 40- to 49-year-old women, women 40–44 years old underwent 5481 (16.7%) screens, had 132 biopsies recommended, and had 20 breast cancers detected (cancer detection rate, 3.6/1000). Women 45–49 years old underwent 5319 (16.2%) screens, ...
A Programmer's Command to Build Formatted Statistical Tables:

The frmttable command is a tool for experienced users and program- mers to create formatted tables from statistics and write them to Word or LATEX files. My objective is to provide as much control over the layout and formatting of the statistical tables as possible in both file formats while keeping the syntax simple. Users can create rectangular tables with any configuration of data and text; specify numeric formats, font sizes, and font types at the table cell level; specify row spacing; and place lines in or around the table. A complex table can be built by merging or appending new statistics to an existing table, and multi- ple tables can be included in the same document, making it possible to create a fully formatted statistical appendix from a single do-file. In this article, I provide examples of the ways in which programmers call frmttable to create formatted tables of statistics. Copyright 2012 by StataCorp LP.
The Dopamine D4 Receptor

When it was initially discovered in 1991 by a team of researchers led by Dr. Hubert Van Tol (33), the dopamine D4 receptor was assigned an important place in the fabric of man’s molecular design. Science magazine printed a two-page commentary speculating that the newly identified member of the dopamine receptor family might “hold the key to schizophrenia”. This was a particular compliment since the original D4 receptor paper had been published in Nature, their arch rival in the competition for high-profile science stories. This intense early interest was triggered by the fact that the newly discovered D4 receptor had a high binding affinity for the uniquely effective antipsychotic drug clozapine used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Since it is generally assumed that high affinity marks the molecular site at which a drug works, this suggested that the D4 receptor might be responsible for clozapine’s benefit in schizophrenia. By extension it also followed that the D4 receptor might play a special role in normal human cognition, which is impaired in schizophrenia.
A CMOS Monolithic Image-Reject Filter

A CMOS inductorless image-reject filter based on active RLC circuitry is discussed and designed with the emphasis on low-noise, low-power, and gigahertz-range circuits. Two Q-enhancement techniques are utilized to circumvent the low Q characteristics inherent in the simple feedback circuit. The frequency tuning is almost independent of Q tuning, facilitating the design of the automatic tuning circuitry. The stability and the tuning scheme of the filter are also discussed. Simulations using 0.6 μm CMOS technology demonstrate the feasibility of the tunable image-reject filter for GSM wireless applications. Simulation results show 4.75 dB voltage gain, 9.5 dB noise figure, and −20 dBm IIP3 at a passband centered at 947 MHz. The image signal suppression is 60 dB at 1089 MHz and the power consumption is 27 mW.
The feasibility of an automatic prompting system in assisting people with traumatic brain injury in cooking tasks

Purpose: Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often experience difficulties in performing kitchen-related sequencing tasks due to cognitive deficits. The primary aim of this study is to examine the feasibility of a context-aware automatic prompting system in assisting individuals with TBI in multi-step cooking tasks.Method: Sixteen individuals with TBI participated in the study. A randomized cross-over design was used to compare the automatic prompting method with a conventional user-controlled method through a tablet device. Participant performance under each prompting method was assessed using the Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills in terms of independence, safety, and adequacy. Subjective workload and qualitative feedback were also collected.Results: The automatic method, when compared with the user-controlled method, significantly decreased the amount of external assistance required by participants, received higher ratings in user perceived ease-of-use, and was considered less stressful for participants. However, the user-controlled method showed strengths in offering participants more flexibility in terms of controlling on the timing of prompts.Conclusions: The results provided insight into the potential benefits and user perceptions of a context-aware prompting system. The information could contribute to the future development of advanced prompting technology for people with cognitive impairments in completing sequential tasks.Implications for RehabilitationFor people with traumatic brain injury, the context-aware prompting method showed advantages in improving user performance, receiving better ratings on ease-of-use, and decreasing stress levels, compared to the user-controlled prompting method in completing multi-step cooking tasks.Future prompting systems for people with cognitive impairments may allow users to control the pace of prompting and use sensing information as back-up assistance in critical situations. In this way, the system may help users monitor their actions and offer confirmations, especially at steps with safety concerns, thus enhancing the sense of security and reducing the stress from self-monitoring.
Investigating Separation of Territories and Activity Roles in Children's Collaboration around Tabletops

Prior work has shown that children exhibit negative collaborative behaviors, such as blocking others' access to objects, when collaborating on interactive tabletop computers. We implemented previous design recommendations, namely separate physical territories and activity roles, which had been recommended to decrease these negative collaborative behaviors. We developed a multi-touch "I-Spy" picture searching application with separate territory partitions and activity roles. We conducted a deep qualitative analysis of how six pairs of children, ages 6 to 10, interacted with the application. Our analysis revealed that the collaboration styles differed for each pair, both in regards to the interaction with the task and with each other. Several pairs exhibited negative physical and verbal collaborative behaviors, such as nudging each other out of the way. Based on our analysis, we suggest that it is important for a collaborative task to offer equal opportunities for interaction, but it may not be necessary to strive for complete equity of collaboration. We examine the applicability of prior design guidelines and suggest open questions for future research to inform the design of tabletop applications to support collaboration for children.
Optimal switching for partial differential equations I

Abstract Optimal switching for an abstract Cauchy problem is considered. A type of approximating problems with value functions {uμ, μ ⩾ μ0} is studied. We prove that each uμ is the unique viscosity solution of corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi system, that uμ converges to the value function u of the original problem as μ goes to ∞, and that, via u, an optimal control for the switching problem is determined.
Stepping inside the classification cube: an intimate interaction with an AI system

The Classification Cube art installation invites participants to become familiar with a machine-learning classification system. Inside a private space within the gallery, participants' bodies are subjected to a classification process that detects their faces and estimates their age, gender, emotion and actions. Participants are also able to see how their own classification compares with how the installation classifies a series of animated figures. Rapidly changing results encourage participants to actively perform their behavior to the system and alter the way it "sees" them. The entanglement with the system raises awareness regarding the effectiveness of machine interpretation.
Risk Evaluation and the Probability-Threshold Position

In a recent article in American Scientist, a scientist and public policy expert quipped: “Chicken Little is alive and well in America”.1 Never in history have health and environment-related hazards been so low, he said, while “so much effort is put into removing the last few percent of pollution or the last little bit of risk”.2 His thesis, like that of many others, was that our criteria for defining ‘acceptable risk’ often are too stringent.
Cigarette Smoking Reduction and Health Risks: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION Studies have shown the health benefits of cigarette smoking cessation. However, the literature remains unclear about the relationship between smoking reduction and health risks. This comprehensive review and meta-analysis updates previous reviews with the newest estimates. AIMS AND METHODS We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the association between smoking reduction and some health risks in observational studies. We defined the following smoking categories: heavy smokers smoked ≥15-20 cigarettes per day (CPD), moderate smokers smoked 10-19 CPD, and light smokers smoked <10 CPD. The relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using random-effect models. RESULTS We identified 19 studies including four case-control and 15 cohort studies. Compared with continuing heavy smokers, we found decreased lung cancer risk for those who reduced CPD by more than 50% (RR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.91), from heavy to moderate (RR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.85), and from heavy to light (RR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.72). We also found lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) for those who reduced from heavy to light smoking (RR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.89) but not those who reduced by more than 50% and reduced smoking from heavy to moderate. We did not find any significant difference in all-cause mortality, all-cancer risks, and smoking-/tobacco-related cancer risk among those who reduced. CONCLUSIONS Substantial smoking reduction may decrease lung cancer risk but results on CVD (coronary heart disease and stroke combined) risk were mixed. The relationships between smoking reduction and other endpoints examined were not significant. IMPLICATIONS This meta-analysis helps clarify our understanding of various smoking reduction levels on some health risks. While smoking reduction may decrease risks of lung cancer, the relationships between smoking reduction and other endpoints, including all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, remain unclear. Although smoking reduction may decrease lung cancer risks, the magnitude of lung cancer risk remain high. Among smokers, complete cessation remains the most effective approach for cancer and CVD prevention.
Clinical characteristics of health care workers infected with COVID-19 at the Single-Center Hospital in Turkey

Objectives: COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease characterized by different symptoms and varying severity from person to person. This study aims to identify the clinical characteristics of healthcare workers (HCWs) who have been infected with coronavirus and investigate which factors affect the disease’s severity. Materials and methods: In the presented study, 79 healthcare workers (HCWs) were recruited who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and working in a training and research hospital. Their data was examined in two groups as uncomplicated (without a computed tomography sign of pneumonia and respiratory rate 93% at room air) and pneumonia group in terms of the severity of the disease. The statistical analysis was performed by SPSS v.22.0 with a statistical significance of 0.05. Results: A total of 79 HCWs with a mean age of 33.37 ± 8.44 years were enrolled in the study. They consisted of 47 female and 32 male participants. There were 50 patients in uncomplicated and 29 patients in the pneumonia group. A total of 14 HCWs have been hospitalized with an average stay of 5.43 ± 1,5 days. The number of hospitalization between the groups was higher in the pneumonia group (n: 11) than in the uncomplicated group (n: 3) (38% vs. 6%; p 0.05). Sore throat and cough were the most common onset symptoms of the disease (34.2% and 31.6%, respectively). There was no difference between the groups in terms of biochemical parameters. (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Healthcare workers are in the risk group for COVID-19 disease. HCWs working in high-risk units are more vulnerable.
Valuing Nature in Environmental Law: Lessons for Animal Law and the Valuation of Animals

This chapter analyses what animal law can learn from environmental law when valuing animals for purposes of setting appropriate compensatory damages for their harm. Part I of this chapter will discuss environmental law and its approach to valuation of nature. It will present the anthropocentric and biocentric approaches to valuing nature, methods of measurement to assess nature’s value, and the legislative approach to natural resource damages under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Part II will examine the animal law debate over valuing companion animals and the courts’ reticence to allow damages for loss of companionship value, often limiting recovery for the injury or loss of a com¬panion animal to the animal’s economic market value. Part III will explain how the environmental law approach to valuing natural resource damages may inform the animal law debate over valuing companion animals and briefly explore how this debate over proper damages for loss of an animal may extend to all animals and include consideration of their intrinsic value.
Efficiency of currently used anthelmintics in bovine practice

In selecting an anthelmintic the veterinarian must concern himself with the several attributes within which the most desirable chemical can be defined. These attributes are the therapeutic index, ease of administration, presence or absence of residues, efficiency, and cost. It is quite obvious that no particular anthelmintic is superior in all characteristics, since if one were it would soon be the only marketable product. The primary purpose of this paper is to examine one of these characteristics, namely efficiency, in relation to the currently available anthelmintics for cattle.
Encountering the Dilemma of Change in the Architectural and Urban History of Shanghai

How does one begin to decipher an urban landscape if it is constantly changing? Four thousand years ago the land on which Shanghai is located was submerged beneath the sea. Today it is one of the most rapidly globalizing cities in the world. In looking for ways to approach the architectural and urban history of Shanghai, it may be useful to focus on the moments of change, acculturation, tension, and dilemma. It is such encounters or intersections that redefine and establish anew the very reality and imagination of the city’s timescape. In general, a city can be viewed through its overall layout, planning, policies, changing environmental conditions, and interactions between different social and cultural groups. In Encountering the Dilemma of Change in the Architectural and Urban History of Shanghai, Cary Y. Liu argues that the goal should not be to establish an immutable chronology of facts and events but to better comprehend the complex tensions and issues defining each encounter.
Optimization, estimation, and control for kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of thin film deposition

The deposition of a thin film is a dynamic process that is complex and subject to unknown disturbances. When the dynamics and final material properties are dominated by atomic scale phenomena, it is difficult to apply existing optimization and control tools to improve process repeatability and to optimize the resulting material properties. Currently, feedback loops are used to control sensed quantities, and optimization has been applied to macroscopic reactor conditions like fluid flow. Ultimately, one would like to directly control the material properties that determine the performance of an integrated circuit or MEMS device, even when the property of interest is not directly measured. In this paper an integrated control strategy is applied to an atomic scale kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of thin film deposition. A model reduction approach developed previously for Monte Carlo simulations is used in the design of the control strategy. An input temperature profile that minimizes interface roughness is computed with a gradient optimization, and estimators are designed to infer surface roughness from a measurement of the density of steps. A proportional-integral feedback controller is then sufficient to control surface roughness in the presence of input noise, input offset, and uncertainty in the initial surface configuration.
Purification and characterization of a novel form of 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from Clostridium scindens.

Abstract We have purified a steroid-inducible 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from Clostridium scindens to apparent homogeneity. The final enzyme preparation was purified 252-fold, with a recovery of 14%. Denaturing and nondenaturing polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis showed that the native enzyme (Mr, 162,000) was a tetramer composed of subunits with a molecular weight of 40,000. The isoelectric point was approximately pH 6.1. The purified enzyme was highly specific for adrenocorticosteroid substrates possessing 17 alpha, 21-dihydroxy groups. The purified enzyme had high specific activity for the reduction of cortisone (Vmax, 280 nmol/min per mg of protein; Km, 22 microM) but was less reactive with cortisol (Vmax, 120 nmol/min per mg of protein; Km, 32 microM) at pH 6.3. The apparent Km for NADH was 8.1 microM with cortisone (50 microM) as the cosubstrate. Substrate inhibition was observed with concentrations of NADH greater than 0.1 mM. The purified enzyme also catalyzed the oxidation of 20 alpha-dihydrocortisol (Vmax, 200 nmol/min per mg of protein; Km, 41 microM) at pH 7.9. The apparent Km for NAD+ was 526 microM. The initial reaction velocities with NADPH were less than 50% of those with NADH. The amino-terminal sequence was determined to be Ala-Val-Lys-Val-Ala-Ile-Asn-Gly-Phe-Gly-Arg. These results indicate that this enzyme is a novel form of 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.
Dynamics of leukocyte-platelet adhesion in whole blood

The dynamics of leukocyte-platelet adhesion and platelet-platelet interaction in whole blood are not well understood. Using different platelet agonists, we have studied the whole blood kinetics of these heterotypic and homotypic interactions, the relative abilities of different leukocyte subsets to participate in platelet adhesion, and the ligands responsible for adhesion. When platelet aggregation was inhibited by the Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS) peptide, thrombin stimulation of whole blood resulted in platelet expression of granule membrane protein 140 (GMP-140) and, simultaneously, a marked increase in the percentage of monocytes and neutrophils (PMN) binding platelets, as well as an increase in the number of platelets bound per monocyte and PMN. Lymphocytes were unaffected. Monocytes bound more platelets and at an initially faster rate than PMN. This increase in monocyte and PMN adhesion to platelets was completely inhibited by the blocking monoclonal antibody (MoAb), G1, to GMP-140. When the combination of epinephrine and adenosine diphosphate (epi/ADP) was used as a less potent agonist in the presence of RGDS, GMP-140 expression per platelet was less, and while monocyte-platelet conjugates formed, PMN-platelet conjugates did not. With epi/ADP in the absence of RGDS, there was an immediate, marked decrease in the percentage of all leukocytes with bound platelets, simultaneous with an increase in the percentage of unbound platelet aggregates. As these platelet aggregates dissociated, the percentage of monocytes and PMN with adherent platelets increased, with monocytes again binding at a faster initial rate than PMN. This recovery of monocyte and PMN adhesion to platelets was also inhibited by the G1 MoAb. We conclude that: (1) monocytes and PMN bind activated platelets in whole blood through GMP-140; (2) monocytes have a competitive advantage over PMN in binding activated platelets, particularly when less potent platelet agonists are used; and (3) platelet aggregate formation initially competes unactivated platelets off leukocytes; subsequent aggregate dissociation allows the now activated platelets to readhere to monocytes and PMN through GMP-140. These studies further elucidate the dynamic interaction of blood cells and possible links between coagulative and inflammatory processes.
An Exact Brownian Dynamics Method for Cell Simulation

As we obtain better abilities to observe cellular biochemistry at the single cell / molecular levels, such as through fluorescent correlation spectroscopy and single particle tracking, evidences are accumulating that the cells may be taking advantage of intracellular spatial features to realize and optimize their functions. Computer simulation is a useful means to bridge the gap between the microscopic, physico-chemical picture of how macro-molecules diffuse and react, and the scales of time and space where biochemistry and physiology take place.
Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Variation Associated with Dementia and Cognitive Function in the Elderly

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a prominent hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage may be a major cause of abnormal reactive oxidative species production in AD or increased neuronal susceptibility to oxidative injury during aging. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of mtDNA sequence variation on clinically significant cognitive impairment and dementia risk in the population-based Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study. We first investigated the role of common mtDNA haplogroups and individual variants on dementia risk and 8-year change on the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) among 1,631 participants of European genetic ancestry. Participants were free of dementia at baseline and incidence was determined in 273 cases from hospital and medication records over 10-12 follow-up years. Participants from haplogroup T had a statistically significant increased risk of developing dementia (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.82, p = 0.0008) and haplogroup J participants experienced a statistically significant 8-year decline in 3MS (β = -0.14, 95% CI = -0.27, -0.03, p = 0.0006), both compared with common haplogroup H. The m.15244A>G, p.G166G, CytB variant was associated with a significant decline in DSST score (β = -0.58, 95% CI -0.89, -0.28, p = 0.00019) and the m.14178T>C, p.I166V, ND6 variant was associated with a significant decline in 3MS score (β = -0.87, 95% CI -1.31, -3.86, p = 0.00012). Finally, we sequenced the complete ~16.5 kb mtDNA from 135 Health ABC participants and identified several highly conserved and potentially functional nonsynonymous variants unique to 22 dementia cases and aggregate sequence variation across the hypervariable 2-3 regions that influences 3MS and DSST scores.
Using RuleML to specify cross-domain information flow control policies

We use RuleML to write declassification policies that secure information exchanges between different security levels of disparate access control models. Such flows enable sharing task-critical information that would otherwise not be shared without human intervention. Using RuleML as a security policy specification language allows us to preserve the safety property of information flow across multiple security levels. We also provide a motivating example of our approach to dealing with this property, taken from the Maritime Domain Awareness domain.