cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strategies for Informative Displays of Blood Vessels Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) generates a series of cross-sections, or slices, of the human body. The advantage of tomographic images over planar images such as those of standard x-rays is that overlap is avoided. The disadvantage is that the planar view is unfamiliar to most people, and to make use of the information in the images it is often necessary to study many slices and to visualize mentally features in three dimensions.
Defect Engineering: A Path toward Exceeding Perfection

Moving to nanoscale is a path to get perfect materials with superior properties. Yet defects, such as stacking faults (SFs), are still forming during the synthesis of nanomaterials and, according to common notion, degrade the properties. Here, we demonstrate the possibility of engineering defects to, surprisingly, achieve mechanical properties beyond those of the corresponding perfect structures. We show that introducing SFs with high density increases the Young’s Modulus and the critical stress under compressive loading of the nanowires above those of a perfect structure. The physics can be explained by the increase in intrinsic strain due to the presence of SFs and overlapping of the corresponding strain fields. We have used the molecular dynamics technique and considered ZnO as our model material due to its technological importance for a wide range of electromechanical applications. The results are consistent with recent experiments and propose a novel approach for the fabrication of stronger materials.
Cambrian origin of the CYP27C1-mediated vitamin A 1 -to-A 2 switch, a key mechanism of vertebrate sensory plasticity

The spectral composition of ambient light varies across both space and time. Many species of jawed vertebrates adapt to this variation by tuning the sensitivity of their photoreceptors via the expression of CYP27C1, an enzyme that converts vitamin A 1 into vitamin A 2 , thereby shifting the ratio of vitamin A 1 -based rhodopsin to red-shifted vitamin A 2 -based porphyropsin in the eye. Here, we show that the sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ), a jawless vertebrate that diverged from jawed vertebrates during the Cambrian period (approx. 500 Ma), dynamically shifts its photoreceptor spectral sensitivity via vitamin A 1 -to-A 2 chromophore exchange as it transitions between photically divergent aquatic habitats. We further show that this shift correlates with high-level expression of the lamprey orthologue of CYP27C1, specifically in the retinal pigment epithelium as in jawed vertebrates. Our results suggest that the CYP27C1-mediated vitamin A 1 -to-A 2 switch is an evolutionarily ancient mechanism of sensory plasticity that appeared not long after the origin of vertebrates.
Safety in Numbers? An Analysis of Market Concentration and Safety in the Commercial Railroad Industry

In this paper, we examine the relationship between market concentration and safety incidents in the freight railroad industry in the United States. We measure safety incidents as the number of accidents and market concentration as the Herfindahl Hirschman Index. We test the model in the context of the commercial railroad industry, using a comprehensive data set spanning 40 years. We systematically control for correlated unobservables, and the results consistently indicate that a 1% increase in market concentration yields an approximately .4% decrease in the number of accidents. These results are robust to different measures of concentration, various time aggregations, and numerous model specifications. Furthermore, using bootstrapping techniques, we show that the relationship between safety and market concentration is mediated by the level of investment in capital expenditures, the total number of employee hours, and the amount of freight switching between railroad companies. An important implication of this study is that mergers may provide substantial value by reducing the number of accidents. These findings are relevant for firms, regulators, and consumers across all industries that suffer from safety incidents.
How to Train Your Opioid Consumer: Branding Painkillers in the Opioid Epidemic

This article develops an analysis of the U.S. opioid epidemic that examines the ways in which opioid drugs have been branded and sold to a growing base of consumers. The article expands on existing literature related to branding, which argues that branding functions as a mechanism of governance—a means of “conducting the conduct” of potential consumers. Equally important, the author suggests, are the ways in which branding has been mobilized by opioid manufacturers as a tool for responding to the ongoing crisis of overdoses and deaths. Thus, examining the branding of opioids enables us to better understand why these drugs continue to be prescribed and consumed, despite public awareness of the dangers associated with their use.
Slavery, Capitalism, and the Dialectic of Empire

This chapter argues, with the aid of historians such as Walter Johnson and Sven Beckert, that slavery was inextricably linked to the development of capitalism and the global economy. This intrinsic connection between slavery and capitalism has not been sufficiently explored in Hegel scholarship. Yet it is a connection that needs to be considered if we are to make sense of Hegel’s views on slavery and Africa within the overall context of his characterization of capitalism, and if we are to understand the overarching issue of how Western metaphysics may have been shaped internally by its ethnocentric and racial orientations.
Constrained VCG Auction for Spatial Spectrum Reuse with Flexible Channel Evaluations

Spatial spectrum reuse significantly enhances spectrum utilization but requires delicate design to avoid co-channel interference. Instead of focusing solely on spectrum efficiency, we consider maximizing social welfare via on-demand channel allocation in this paper. We design a spectrum reuse mechanism for non-symmetric networks, in which the optimal channel allocation that maximizes social welfare is the result of an appropriate bidding method of secondary users (SUs) in the constrained Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) auction. To simplify the constrained VCG auction, we group the SUs into interference-free maximal independent groups (MIGs) using a modified Bron-Kerbosch algorithm. We introduce the VCG auction for MIGs, in which truthful bidding is the optimal strategy for the MIGs. We build a decision process such that the MIGs as representatives of the SUs can update their channel evaluations in each step and submit truthful bids. Furthermore, we approximate and simplify the optimal channel allocation with a greedy algorithm and Dijkstra's algorithm. In our simulation, we compare the proposed methods and demonstrate that our on- demand channel allocation increases social welfare.
Organ-specific mechanisms linking innate and adaptive antifungal immunity.

Abstract Fungal infections remain a significant global health problem in humans. Fungi infect millions of people worldwide and cause from acute superficial infections to life-threatening systemic disease to chronic illnesses. Trying to decipher the complex innate and adaptive immune mechanisms that protect humans from pathogenic fungi is therefore a key research goal that may lead to immune-based therapeutic strategies and improved patient outcomes. In this review, we summarize how the cells and molecules of the innate immune system activate the adaptive immune system to elicit long-term immunity to fungi. We present current knowledge and exciting new advances in the context of organ-specific immunity, outlining the tissue-specific tropisms for the major pathogenic fungi of humans, the antifungal functions of tissue-resident myeloid cells, and the adaptive immune responses required to protect specific organs from fungal challenge.
Long-term risk of second malignancies in women after breast conservation therapy for ductal carcinoma in situ or early-stage breast cancer

Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or early-stage breast cancer have an excellent prognosis, but their risk of developing second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) is not well established. We analyzed SMNs in a large cohort with long follow-up after breast conservation therapy. The study population comprised 755 women with DCIS (n = 135) or stage I-II breast carcinoma (n = 620). Subjects were aged 25-89 (median 55) years when they underwent breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy to the entire breast (60-68Gray) between 1992 and 2001. Additional treatment included hormonal therapy and/or chemotherapy based on clinical characteristics. SMNs were grouped by site. The rate of SMNs over time was determined using the Kaplan–Meier method. To compare the probability of developing SMNs overall and for specific organs or sites, probability estimates were obtained for a 55-year-old female from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER). Median follow-up from radiotherapy was 13.8 years. The 15-year age-adjusted probability of developing any SMN was 12.0%, close to the SEER rate of 12.1% for a non-breast malignancy. Systemic therapy and higher-dose radiotherapy (> 63 Gray) were not associated with significantly increased risks of SMNs. Compared to SEER, significantly increased risk was noted for gynecologic cancers and melanoma. Most SMNs were unrelated to treatment, and the 15-year incidence was similar to that of cancer in the SEER control group—findings that should be reassuring to patients. Further risk reduction is expected from prophylactic gynecologic surgery. Continued investigations into genetic links with melanoma are warranted.
Calcium Channel Activation and Neural Output During Hypoxic Chemotransduction in the Carotid Body

Calcium ions play a key role in neural transmission at synapses. When the nerve impulse reaches the pre-synaptic nerve terminal, voltage dependent calcium channels open followed by an influx of calcium ions. This triggers the release of a pre-synaptic neurotransmitter and subsequent binding to its post-synaptic receptor1. Substantial experimental evidence suggests that the neurotransmitters in the carotid body are released from type-I cells during hypoxic chemotransduction3,4. Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesize that calcium channels in type-I cells of the carotid body must be activated to achieve hypoxic chemotransduction. This hypothesis was tested by administering calcium channel blockers and an agonist to the cat carotid body through an in situ perfusion system.
Testing for human impacts in the mismatch of living and dead ostracode assemblages at nested spatial scales in subtropical lakes from the Bahamian archipelago

Naturally time-averaged accumulations of skeletal remains—death assemblages—provide reliable, albeit temporally coarse, information on the species composition and structure of communities in diverse settings, and their mismatch with local living communities usually signals recent human-driven ecological change. Here, we present the first test of live–dead mismatch as an indicator of human stress using ostracodes. On three islands along a gradient of human population density in the Bahamas, we compared the similarity of living and death assemblages in 10 lakes with relatively low levels of human stress to live–dead similarity in 11 physically comparable lakes subject to industrial, agricultural, or other human activities currently or in the past. We find that live–dead agreement in pristine lakes is consistently excellent, boding well for using death assemblages in modern-day and paleolimnological biodiversity assessments. In most comparison of physically similar paired lakes, sample-level live–dead mismatch in both taxonomic composition and species' rank abundance is on average significantly greater in the stressed lakes; live–dead agreement is not lower in all samples from stressed lakes, but is more variable. When samples are pooled for lake-level and island-level comparisons, stressed lakes still yield lower live–dead agreement, but the significance of the difference with pristine lakes decreases—species that occur dead-only (or alive-only) in one sample are likely to occur alive (or dead) in other samples. Interisland differences in live–dead agreement are congruent with, but not significantly correlated with, differences in human population density. This situation arises from heterogeneity in the timing and magnitudes of stresses and in the extent of poststress recovery. Live–dead mismatch in ostracode assemblages thus may be a reliable indicator of human impact at the sample level with the potential to be a widely applicable tool for identifying impacted habitats and, perhaps, monitoring the progress of their recovery.
Physiological Reactivity and Neural Correlates of Trait Narcissism

Despite a predominant empirical focus on cognitive-emotional distinctions and problematic behaviors associated with narcissism, investigators are turning their attention toward understanding the physiological and neural mechanisms that underlie these characteristics. A majority of the research examining narcissistic physiological and neural activity focuses on grandiose narcissism measured with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), however, a growing number of studies are examining neurophysiological differences that distinguish dimensions of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Research to date illustrates that grandiose narcissism involves cardiovascular reactivity in response to aversive stimuli and achievement-related stressors that parallel reactivity associated with similar personality traits (e.g., competitiveness, dominance), exhibiting greater risk for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, grandiose narcissism is associated with acute and chronically elevated levels of cortisol as well as heightened testosterone reactivity and aggression. By contrast, vulnerable narcissism and exploitativeness/entitlement are generally associated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity to interpersonal rejection. Research examining structural and functional brain differences suggests a potential link between narcissism and behaviors including impaired empathy and reactive aggression. Grandiose narcissism is associated with structural abnormalities in the fronto-striatal pathway whereas vulnerable narcissism is linked to reduced cortical volume and thickness in frontal brain regions. Functional neuroimaging studies report grandiose narcissism is associated with increased brain activation in response to social exclusion and abnormal resting-state brain activation between large-scale functional networks. Although research examining physiological and neural activity associated with grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is still limited, results from these studies provide compelling evidence that may aid in understanding and reducing narcissistic reactivity to everyday challenges.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

Importance Approximately 80% of US adults and adolescents are insufficiently active. Physical activity fosters normal growth and development and can make people feel, function, and sleep better and reduce risk of many chronic diseases. Objective To summarize key guidelines in thePhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (PAG). Process and Evidence Synthesis The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee conducted a systematic review of the science supporting physical activity and health. The committee addressed 38 questions and 104 subquestions and graded the evidence based on consistency and quality of the research. Evidence graded as strong or moderate was the basis of the key guidelines. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) based the PAG on the2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report. Recommendations The PAG provides information and guidance on the types and amounts of physical activity to improve a variety of health outcomes for multiple population groups. Preschool-aged children (3 through 5 years) should be physically active throughout the day to enhance growth and development. Children and adolescents aged 6 through 17 years should do 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Adults should do at least 150 minutes to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. They should also do muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week. Older adults should do multicomponent physical activity that includes balance training as well as aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Pregnant and postpartum women should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. Adults with chronic conditions or disabilities, who are able, should follow the key guidelines for adults and do both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Recommendations emphasize that moving more and sitting less will benefit nearly everyone. Individuals performing the least physical activity benefit most by even modest increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Additional benefits occur with more physical activity. Both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity are beneficial. Conclusions and Relevance ThePhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, provides information and guidance on the types and amounts of physical activity that provide substantial health benefits. Health professionals and policy makers should facilitate awareness of the guidelines and promote the health benefits of physical activity and support efforts to implement programs, practices, and policies to facilitate increased physical activity and to improve the health of the US population.
Design and synthesis of fluorescent activity probes for protein phosphatases

Abstract Protein phosphatases act in concert with protein kinases to regulate and maintain the phosphoproteome. However, the catalog of chemical tools to directly monitor the enzymatic activity of phosphatases has lagged behind their kinase counterparts. In this chapter, we provide protocols for repurposing the phosphorylation-sensitive sulfonamido-oxine fluorophore known as Sox to afford direct activity probes for phosphatases. With validated activity probes in-hand, inhibitor screens can be conducted with recombinant enzyme and the role of phosphatases in cell signaling can be investigated in unfractionated cell lysates.
A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MULTIVARIATE APPROXIMATION

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a bibliography of multivariate approximation. Multivariate interpolation and approximation have always been an important part of general Approximation Theory, however, in the past ten years or so, there has been a significant increased interest in multivariate problems. A very substantial number of both theoretical and practical results have been obtained on a variety of topics, ranging from the classical tensor-product methods to the newfangled multivariate splines. In addition to their applicability to such classical problems as data fitting and numerical solution of operator equations, modern multivariate methods have become important in several new applied areas, such as computer-aided design, robotics, and computer-aided tomography.
The politics of perspective: subjects, exhibits, and spectacle in Taksim Square, Istanbul

ABSTRACTIstanbul’s Taksim Square has long been a place from which people have envisioned the city and the nation. As such, it has a long history of architectural interventions. This essay describes...
Consumption of N2O and other N-cycle intermediates by Gemmatimonas aurantiaca strain T-27.

Bacteria affiliated with the phylum Gemmatimonadetes are found in high abundance in many terrestrial and aquatic environments, yet little is known about their metabolic capabilities. Difficulty in their cultivation has prompted interest in identifying better growth conditions for metabolic studies, especially related to their ability to reduce N2O, a potent greenhouse gas. T-27 Gemmatimonas aurantiaca is one of few cultivated strains of Gemmatimonadetes available for physiological studies. Our objective was to test this organism’s ability to use nitrite, nitrate, and N2O, and mineral forms of assimilable NH4 + at concentrations not typically used in tests for compound utilization. Cultures incubated under anaerobic conditions with nitrate, nitrite or N2O failed to grow or show depletion of these substrates. Nitrate and nitrite (1 mM) were not used even when cells were grown aerobically with the O2 allowed to deplete first. N2O reduction only commenced in the presence of O2 and continued to be depleted when refed to the culture under anaerobic, microaerobic and aerobic atmospheres. Carbon mineralization was coupled to the electron-accepting processes, with higher reducing equivalents needed for N2O utilization under aerobic atmospheres. N2O was reduced to N2 in the presence of 20% O2, however the rate of this reaction is reduced in the presence of high O2 concentration. This study demonstrated that G. aurantiaca T-27 possesses unique characteristics for assimilative and dissimilative N processes with new implications for cultivation strategies to better assess the metabolic abilities of Gemmatimonadetes.
An impedance matching algorithm for common-mode interference removal in vagus nerve recordings.

Abstract Background The peripheral nervous system is involved in a multitude of physiological functions. Recording neural signals provides information that can be used by diagnostic bioelectronic medicine devices, closed-loop neuromodulation therapies and other neuroprosthetic applications. The ability to accurately record these signals is challenging, due to the presence of various biological and instrument-related interference sources. New method We developed a common-mode interference rejection algorithm based on an impedance matching approach for bipolar cuff electrodes. Two unipolar channels were recorded from the two electrode contacts of a bipolar cuff. The impedance mismatch was estimated and used to correct one of the two channels. Results When applied to electrocardiographic (ECG) artifacts collected from three mice using CorTec electrodes, the algorithm reduced the interference to noise ratio (INR) over simple subtraction by 12 dB on average. The algorithm also reduced the INR of stimulation artifacts in recordings from three rats collected using flexible electrodes by an additional 2.4 dB. In the same experiments evoked electromyographic (EMG) interference was suppressed by 1.3 dB. Comparison with existing methods Simple subtraction is the common approach for reducing common-mode interference in bipolar recordings, however impedance mismatches that exist or emerge compromise its efficiency. Conclusions The algorithm significantly reduced the common-mode interference from ECG artifacts, stimulation artifacts, and evoked EMG interference, while retaining neural signals, in two animal models and two recording setups. This approach can be used in a variety of different neurophysiological setups to remove common-mode interference from a variety of sources.
Association between quality-of-care indicators for HIV infection and healthcare resource utilization and costs.

Objectives:Multiple care quality indicators for HIV infection exist but few studies examine their impact on health outcomes. This study assessed which HIV care quality indicators were associated with healthcare resource utilization and costs.Design:Retrospective analysis of Texas Medicaid claims dat
Odd-paired is a late-acting pioneer factor coordinating with Zelda to broadly regulate gene expression in early embryos

Pioneer factors such as Zelda help initiate zygotic transcription in Drosophila early embryos, but whether other factors support this dynamic process is unclear. Odd-paired (Opa), a zinc-finger transcription factor expressed at cellularization, controls transition of genes from pair-rule to segmental patterns along the anterior-posterior axis. Finding that Opa also regulates late expression through enhancer sog_Distal, along the dorso-ventral axis, we hypothesized that Opa acts as a general timing factor. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP-seq) confirmed Opa in vivo binding to sog_Distal but also identified widespread binding throughout the genome, comparable to Zelda. Furthermore, chromatin assays (ATAC-seq) demonstrate that Opa, like Zelda, influences chromatin accessibility genome-wide, suggesting both are pioneer factors with common as well as distinct targets. Lastly, embryos lacking opa exhibit widespread, late patterning defects spanning both axes. Collectively, these data suggest Opa, a general timing factor and likely a late-acting pioneer factor, heralds in a secondary wave of zygotic gene expression.
Neoadjuvant radiation therapy for esophageal cancer: is a higher dose better?

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) is currently a standard of care for locally advanced esophageal cancer (1). The data supporting the efficacy of neoadjuvant CRT over surgery alone is supported by multiple randomized trials, the largest of which was the CROSS trial, which showed that for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer, treatment with 41.4 Gy in 23 fractions with concurrent Carboplatin/Taxol results in improved overall survival (OS) when compared to treatment with surgery alone (2). The CALGB 9781 trial randomized patients to neoadjuvant treatment with 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions with concurrent cisplatin and fluouracil or surgery alone, and demonstrated superior OS in the group of patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment, but this trial closed early due to poor accrual (3). Other randomized trials have used neoadjuvant radiation therapy (RT) doses between 35–50 Gy along with chemotherapy with varying results (4-6). Therefore, the optimal neoadjuvant RT dose is a matter of debate, and the current NCCN Guidelines recommend a radiation dose of 41.4–50.4 Gy.
Investigating L2 writing through tutor-tutee interactions and revisions: A case study of a multilingual writer in EAP tutorials

Abstract This case study draws on the framework of Vygotskian sociocultural theory to investigate tutor-tutee interactions carried out in a series of tutoring sessions and the tutee’s subsequent revisions to her writing drafts over the course of a semester. In total, eight tutoring sessions were analyzed, along with 12 pieces of writing constructed by the writer for five writing tasks. The results showed that the writing tasks, rather than the writing stages, influenced both the problem areas addressed by the tutor and the directiveness of his feedback. Overall, the tutor focused more on the rhetorical aspects of the texts than on the sentence-level issues, and he adopted a largely directive approach to tutoring. However, the tutee incorporated more sentence-level than text-level suggestions into her subsequent drafts. In the meantime, contextual, interpersonal, and institutional forces all shaped her text revision decisions. Over time, the tutee’s writing showed changes on rhetorical aspects directly connected to her tutor’s mediation, but she continued to work on some basic text-level issues. The study suggests the importance of providing tutorial support that is sensitive to writers’ emerging abilities as well as their needs and responsiveness as revealed during the course of tutor-tutee interactions.
In silico identification and assessment of insecticide target sites in the genome of the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida

The small hive beetle, Aethina tumida, is a rapidly emerging global pest of honey bee colonies. Small hive beetle infestation can be extremely destructive, which may cause honey bees to abscond and render colony infrastructure unusable. Due to the impacts small hive beetles have on honey bees, a wide variety of physical, cultural, and chemical control measures have been implemented to manage small hive beetle infestations. The use of insecticides to control small hive beetle populations is an emerging management tactic. Currently, very little genomic information exists on insecticide target sites in the small hive beetle. Therefore, the objective of this study is to utilize focused in silico comparative genomics approaches to identify and assess the potential insecticide sensitivity of the major insecticide target sites in the small hive beetle genome. No previously described resistance mutations were identified in any orthologs of insecticide target sites. Alternative exon use and A-to-I RNA editing were absent in AtumSC1. The ryanodine receptor in small hive beetle (Atum_Ryr) was highly conserved and no previously described resistance mutations were identified. A total of 12 nAChR subunits were identified with similar alternative exon use in other insects. Alternative exon use and critical structural features of the GABA-gated chloride channel subunits (Atum_RDL, Atum_GRD, and Atum_LCCH3) were conserved. Five splice variants were found for the glutamate-gated chloride channel subunit. Exon 3c of Atum_GluCl may be a beetle-specific alternative exon. The co-occurrence of exons 9a and 9b in the pH-sensitive chloride channel (Atum_pHCl) is a unique combination that introduces sites of post-translational modification. The repertoire and alternative exon use for histamine-gated chloride channels (Atum-HisCl), octopamine (Atum_OctR) and tyramine receptors (Atum_TAR) were conserved. The recently published small hive beetle genome likely serves as a reference for insecticide-susceptible versions of insecticide target sites. These comparative in silico studies are the first step in discovering targets that can be exploited for small hive beetle-specific control as well as tracking changes in the frequency of resistance alleles as part of a resistance monitoring program. Comparative toxicity alongside honey bees is required to verify these in silico predictions.
Management of Acute Aortic Syndromes

Acute aortic syndromes (AAS) are a spectrum of conditions characterized by disruption in the integrity of the aorta and therefore are associated with potentially catastrophic complications. Because they are infrequent relative to acute myocardial infarction or pulmonary embolism and because they may present with a spectrum of symptoms and physical signs that may be dynamic in nature, their early diagnosis remains a clinical challenge. Morbidity and mortality occur early making rapid recognition critical for appropriate triage and management. Traditionally, AAS involving the ascending aorta (Stanford Type A) are managed with urgent surgery while those isolated to the descending aorta (Stanford Type B) are managed medically unless complications are present; however, evolutions in risk stratification and endovascular techniques have raised the potential for early intervention in a broader spectrum of patients in order to reduce the risk of long-term adverse remodeling. The acuity, complexity, and early hazard in patients with AAS may best be evaluated and treated by multidisciplinary teams with consideration of patient characteristics, anatomic features, and comorbidity both for early decision making and long-term longitudinal care.
High performance high power textured piezoceramics

Crystallographic grain-oriented ceramics (also referred to as textured ceramics) are known to exhibit a high soft piezoelectric response. However, the role of texturing in hard piezoelectric materials is not well understood and it has been difficult to obtain a balance of hard and soft properties in the same material. Here, we investigate the hard and soft piezoelectric behavior of [001]PC-textured 0.05Pb(Mn1/3Sb2/3)O3-0.95[0.4Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.25PbZrO3-0.35PbTiO3] (PMnS-PMN-PZT) ceramics to illustrate the influence of texturing degree. The results demonstrate that textured PMnS-PMN-PZT ceramics exhibit a 170% higher longitudinal mode piezoelectric coefficient (d33) with only 16% reduction in the mechanical quality factor (Qm). Random PMnS-PMN-PZT ceramics were found to exhibit a d33 of 259 pC/N and a Qm of 982, while textured ceramics sintered at the same temperature demonstrated a d33 of 445 and a Qm of 824. Electric field dependent x-ray diffraction is utilized to confirm the existence of internal bias generated from defect dipoles, providing the signature for hard behavior. Temperature dependent measurement of d33 and Qm for textured PMnS-PMN-PZT ceramics indicated high stability up to 120 °C.
Demographic and maturity patterns of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in an overwintering hotspot

Overwinter environmental conditions are a major driver of larval survival, recruitment, and reproductive pre-conditioning in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). Few winter studies exist from which to infer impacts of changing environmental conditions on the biology of krill. Here demographic and maturity patterns of krill during five winters are examined at an overwintering hotspot in the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Two different recruitment pulses were present over the 5 years of the study. A large recruitment event was evident in winter 2012, followed by cohort growth tracked through winter 2014. A recruitment event also occurred in 2015, despite lower abundance of larvae in 2013 and 2014. The recruitment pulse in 2015 was correlated with the intrusion of high salinity water, characteristic of the Weddell Sea, during a positive El Nino–Southern Oscillation phase, suggesting recruitment was driven by advection of recruits into the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Despite the inter-annual environmental variability, most female krill were in resting reproductive stages in all years. The lack of variability in female reproductive status during winter may impose a developmental constraint to earlier spawning than previously considered; the time necessary to advance from resting stages to reproductive maturity may limit the ability of krill to adapt to trends in the timing and magnitude of the spring bloom. The observed patterns of recruitment and variation in maturity stages highlight the complexity of krill population dynamics and should be considered when projecting population responses of Antarctic krill to climate-driven changes in the Southern Ocean.
Infer user preferences from aggregate measurements: A novel message passing algorithm for privacy attack

Abstract Social media platforms, such as Facebook and TikTok, have triggered debates on privacy. The recent transformation of social media into an increasingly centralized service, exemplified by TikTok, only exacerbates the matter. While aggregation has been deemed an effective way to combat privacy infringement, a high degree of centralization can make aggregation ineffective. We present a randomized article-push algorithm and a message-passing reconstruction algorithm that enable social media platforms to infer user preferences from only the publicly available aggregate data of article-reads, without storing any individual users’ actions. Its O ( n ) complexity allows the reconstruction algorithm to scale to a large population, as is typical of social media platforms. Moreover, the feasibility of the privacy attack depends on the algorithm using as few articles as possible. We determine the minimum number of articles needed for high probability inference. Given the proportion of users, 0 ϵ 1 , who prefer a given topic, we design a push algorithm and a reconstruction algorithm that achieve an article-to-user ratio β = ϵ ( 1 − ϵ ) , at which phase transition occurs. The analysis of the algorithm departs from the classic density evolution due to the lack of monotonicity in the per-iteration error probability, which makes it surprising that phase transition takes place. By formulating the inference problem as a compressed sensing problem, we show that our phase transition threshold ϵ ( 1 − ϵ ) is extremely close to that of compressed sensing, even when the latter algorithm is of a worst-case O ( n 3 ) complexity and uses a dense Gaussian measurement matrix.
Viscoelastic flow-induced oscillations of a cantilevered beam in the crossflow of a wormlike micelle solution

Abstract We investigate the interactions between a cantilevered flexible beam and cross-flow of a viscoelastic fluid. Unlike Newtonian fluids, viscoelastic fluids exhibit elastic flow instabilities even in the absence of inertia. These elastic flow instabilities drive the oscillations of flexible structures placed in their flow path. In this work, the fluid–structure interactions between the flow of viscoelastic wormlike micelle solution and a flexible cantilevered beam is studied as a function of the Weissenberg number and the beam’s tip angle. At low Weissenberg numbers, the flow remained stable and the beam deflected in the direction of flow. As the Weissenberg number was increased, a separated vortex appeared upstream of the cantilever near its tip. At a critical Weissenberg number of W i = 11 , the flow became unstable. For beams with small tip angles of 0° and 25°, no oscillations were observed. However, for beams with larger tip angles of 45° and 65°, oscillatory motions coupled to the flow instability were observed, where the amplitude of the beam oscillations increased with increasing tip angle. Particle image velocimetry measurements showed that the elastic flow instability was characterized by the periodic formation of strong fluid jet that originated upstream of the beam in a region of strong extensional flow where it likely resulted from the local breakdown of the wormlike micelle solution. This jet was accompanied by a pair of counter-rotating vortices on its sides as it entrained fluid around the tip of the beam. The frequency of oscillations of the beams with large tip angles increased monotonically with Weissenberg number, while their amplitudes of oscillations initially increased with Weissenberg number before decaying to zero for W i > 20 , despite the fact that the flow remained unstable. Our results showed that oscillations were only possible when the tip of the cantilevered beam made a positive angle with respect to the primary incoming flow direction.
Journal of Dual Diagnosis: Highlights from the 2020 Issues

The year 2020 will be remembered for, among other events, the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic has brought with it death and isolation, as well as unemployment and other economic consequences. Re...
Mining Spatial Data

Spatial data arises commonly in geographical data mining applications. Numerous applications related to meteorological data, earth science, image analysis, and vehicle data are spatial in nature. In many cases, spatial data is integrated with temporal components.
Action Research in a Juvenile Detention School: New Processes, Paradigms, and Possibilities

The purpose of this study was to explore the roles, perspectives, and actions of teachers and students for first-time-detained juvenile delinquents by examining a reading intervention for a student. Using an action research methodology, the reading intervention was explored within the broader context of the history and operations of the juvenile detention center in the United States of America. There is a description of education in a short-term, small juvenile detention center, which has not been clearly defined in previous research. Test scores, observations, and review of a student’s assignments were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the reading intervention. The situation was further broken down by roles assumed for each participant. The conclusion was action research improved a student’s results and aided in examining educational practices. Four recommendations were offered to improve practices: iterative processes, heuristic challenge, positionality, and pragmatic rationality. A truncated methodology gives practitioners a plan to implement action research.
Spatiospectral Characterization of Pulse-beams with 10 nm Resolution via Broadband Ptychography

We demonstrate spatiospectral characterization of pulse-beams with 10 nm spectral resolution via Broadband Ptychography. Pulse illumination produced by a modelocked Ti:sapphire laser with linear spatial chirp is reconstructed with 10 nm spectral resolution.
Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Techniques to Develop Culturally Sensitive Measures

The purpose of this chapter is to propose and illustrate a strategy designed to develop valid, reliable, and culturally sensitive measures of risk perceptions, social support, and coping strategies as applied to HIV/AIDS behavior and mental health issues for special populations. The specific concern concentrates on the identification and measurement of salient social dimensions for those who face a high risk of HIV/AIDS infection. The measurement effort will address:
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Semiconductor Surfaces and Interfaces

This paper describes recent experimental results on the geometric and electronic structure of semiconductor surfaces and interfaces obtained with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. Effects due to the structure of the tip are also discussed.
Comments On Silverman's Evaluation Of The Kern River Program

am skeptical about Silverman's (2008) approach of taking point estimates of a seeding effect (in this case, from the Kern River program) at face value, as in the interpretation of his Fig.1, and viewing a variation in those estimates with increasing length of record as an indication of a time trend in the seeding effect. A point estimate is just that: An estimate. There is a 10% chance that the "true value" of the effect does not even lay within the 90% confidence interval. I question whether small variations of the point estimate, within a confidence interval that does not substantially narrow with increasing sample size (no plot of the variation of the confidence intervals appears in Silverman 2008, but see Fig. 3 of Silverman 2007 for an example), indicate anything other than simple statistical variations of the point estimate.
The interpretation of three-dimensional structure from image curves

Genera/ constraints on the interpretation of image curves are described and implemented We illustrate the use of these constraints to interpret three dimensional structure from an image up to the volumetric level These constraints do not use any knowledge regarding the specific objects in the image, but rely on general assumptions regarding illumination, occlusion, object geometry, and the imaging process They are based on coincidence assumptions that various coincidental lcatures or alignments in an image are unlikely to arise without reason. The strength of these coincidence assumptions depends on the accuracy of the low-level description of an image. Since any one feature can be the result of pure coincidence or errors in the detection process, it is necessary to use a reasoning system which can use these hypotheses to derive consistent global interpretations, while maintaining the ability to remove the implications of hypotheses which are disproved in the face of further evidence We demonstrate the successful interpretation of some hand derived image curves up to the volumetric level, including the construction of a three- space model.
Metric learning for phylogenetic invariants

We introduce new methods for phylogenetic tree quartet construction by using machine learning to optimize the power of phylogenetic invariants. Phylogenetic invariants are polynomials in the joint probabilities which vanish under a model of evolution on a phylogenetic tree. We give algorithms for selecting a good set of invariants and for learning a metric on this set of invariants which optimally distinguishes the different models. Our learning algorithms involve linear and semidefinite programming on data simulated over a wide range of parameters. We provide extensive tests of the learned metrics on simulated data from phylogenetic trees with four leaves under the Jukes-Cantor and Kimura 3-parameter models of DNA evolution. Our method greatly improves on other uses of invariants and is competitive with or better than neighbor-joining. In particular, we obtain metrics trained on trees with short internal branches which perform much better than neighbor joining on this region of parameter space.
Glatiramer Acetate Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis: An Immunological Perspective

Glatiramer acetate (GA) has been used as an immunomodulatory agent for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States since 1996. It is currently one of two first-line agents for use in the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. GA was the first agent to be used in the treatment of MS that was developed using the animal model of MS called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In this commentary, we examine the development of GA as a treatment for MS and discuss its mechanism of action as suggested by recent studies using modern immunologic methods.
Combining Active Learning and Dynamic Dimensionality Reduction

To date, many active learning techniques have been developed for acquiring labels when training data is limited. However, an important aspect of the problem has often been neglected or just mentioned in passing: the curse of dimensionality. Yet, the curse of dimensionality poses even greater challenges in the case of limited data, which is precisely the setup for active learning. Reducing the dimensions is not a trivial task, however, as the correct number of dimensions depends on a number of factors including the training data size, the number of classes, the discriminative power of the features, and the underlying classification model. Moreover, active learning is typically applied in an iterative manner where the number of labels is smaller in the earlier iterations compared to the later ones. We propose an adaptive dimensionality reduction technique that determines the appropriate number of dimensions for each active learning iteration, utilizing the labeled and unlabeled data effectively to learn more accurate models. Extensive experiments comparing various approaches and parameter settings show that the proposed method improves performance drastically on three real-world text classification tasks.
Memory and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM): Effects of childhood onset and severe hypoglycemia

Previous studies of the neuropsychological consequences of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) have had mixed and often contradictory results, possibly due to the heterogeneity of the samples and neuropsychological measures, and a lack of specific hypotheses. In order to address this problem, we focused on the effect of severe hypoglycemia on memory functioning in a relatively homogeneous sample of childhood-onset IDDM patients. Given the deleterious effects of hypoglycemia on medial temporal lobe structures (e.g., hippocampus) and the relationship between medial temporal damage and declarative memory functioning, we hypothesized that those patients who had experienced severe hypoglycemia would demonstrate impaired declarative memory and spared nondeclarative memory functioning. Results of the study were generally consistent with this hypothesis, although some impact of hypoglycemia was observed on perceptual priming ability. (JINS, 1997, 3, 509–520.)