cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impacts of bioethanol on gasoline prices in the Philippines: an econometric analysis

The rising prices of crude oil in the world market and the continuing global trend to mainstream renewable energy use have prompted the Philippines to consider alternative fuels. Since 2006 when a new law was implemented requiring a 10 % blend to unleaded gasoline, the use of ethanol has increased significantly. Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), cassava (Manihot esculenta ) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) have been the major feedstock in ethanol production. This analysis focused on the impacts of E10 (10 % ethanol content) on the retail price of gasoline and how this might affect gasoline prices. Recognizing the direct dependence of the price of E10 on gasoline prices, the analysis focused on analyzing the price of ethanol. The hypothesis is that since ethanol is what makes E10 cheaper than gas given the lower cost of its production i.e., domestically grown raw materials, then cheaper ethanol should depress the price of E10 and therefore gas, ceteris paribus. The price of E10 is endogenous since it is a function of the price of gasoline, being a major input to its production, 90 % in fact. Using fixed-effects, 2007–2009 provincial panel data, from second stage least squares econometric estimation, the impact of ethanol use on retail regular gasoline prices is quantified. The partial effect analysis indicates that a 1-peso (rate: 1USD - PhP 41.96) increase in the price of feedstock prices as inputs to the production of E10 increases the price of gasoline by 37 centavos per liter. The analysis shows the positive relationship between the prices of E10 and gasoline.
Monitoring and Visualization of Building Construction Embodied Carbon Footprint Using DnAR-N-Dimensional Augmented Reality Models

This paper presents a new carbon footprint monitoring tool that enables contractors and managers to reliably and effectively benchmark, monitor, and visualize expected and released embodied carbon footprint of a construction project. The proposed method is based on generating D n AR - n dimensional augmented reality - models in which the expected and released embodied carbon footprint of a project are jointly represented in a common 3D environment. To accurately estimate the expected carbon footprint associated with different alternatives for material procurement and delivery to the jobsite, first the material information is queried from the underlying building information model. Next, using an embodied carbon footprint inventory associated with different materials and the distance of the suppliers to the jobsite, the expected carbon footprint is calculated for each construction schedule activity. In the meantime, the information from the contractor submittals is used to measure the released carbon footprint for the same activity. Finally, the expected and released carbon footprint associated with both material procurement and their delivery is compared in a new form similar to Earned Value Analysis and their deviations are visualized in the D n AR environment. The resulting visualization provides practitioners with an opportunity during coordination and submittal processes to not only insure timely delivery of materials, but also minimize the cradle-to-site carbon footprint of their projects. We present preliminary results from initial experiments of our proposed embodied carbon footprint monitoring system on a case study related to construction of a concrete substructure. The perceived benefits and applicability of the proposed method is further discussed in detail.
Why are Children Still Being Infected with HIV? Impact of an Integrated Public Health and Clinical Practice Intervention on Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2007-2012.

Background: During a 9 months period, September 2005 through June 2006, Nevada documented six cases of pediatric HIV acquired through mother to child transmission. Subsequently, a community based approach to the care of women and children living with or exposed to HIV was implemented. Subjects and Methods: A detailed review of mother infant pairs where HIV transmission occurred was performed to identify missed opportunities for prevention of mother to child HIV transmission. An intervention program was developed and implemented using the six step process. Data were collected prospectively over a 6 years period (2007–2012) and were evaluated for six core outcomes measures: (1) adequacy of prenatal care (2) HIV diagnoses of expectant mothers prior to delivery (3) appropriate use of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy before delivery (4) appropriate use of cesarean section for delivery (5) adequacy of zidovudine prophylaxis to newborn (6) HIV transmission rate. Results: Twenty six infants were born to HIV infected mothers from July 2005 to June 2006 with 6 documented infections. One hundred and five infants were born to HIV infected mothers from January 2007 to December 2012. Postimplementation, adequacy of prenatal care increased from 58% (15/26) to 85% (89/105); appropriate use of ARV therapy before delivery increased from 73% (19/26) to 86% (90/105); cesarean section as the method for delivery increased from 62% (16/26) to 74% (78/105); adequacy of zidovudine prophylaxis to newborn increased from 54% (14/26) to 87% (91/105). HIV transmission rate dropped from 23% (6/26) to 0%. Conclusion: Integrating public health and clinical services in the care of HIV infected pregnant women and exposed infants leads to better coordination of care and improved quality of care.
Stem cells: potential and challenges for kidney repair

Renal damage resulting from acute and chronic kidney injury poses an important problem to public health. Currently, patients with end-stage renal disease rely solely on kidney transplantation or dialysis for survival. Emerging therapies aiming to prevent and reverse kidney damage are thus in urgent need. Although the kidney was initially thought to lack the capacity for self-repair, several studies have indicated that this might not be the case; progenitor and stem cells appear to play important roles in kidney repair under various pathological conditions. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the role of progenitor/stem cells on kidney repair as well as discuss their potential as a therapeutic approach for kidney diseases.
Reconstructing ECG precordial leads from a reduced lead set using independent component analysis

In this paper, precordial lead reconstruction from a reduced set of leads is considered. We propose the use of independent component analysis to train patient-specific transforms from a reduced lead set to the six precordial leads of the standard 12-lead electrocardiogram. The proposed approach is applied to a publicly available database comprising 549 ECG recordings of patients with varying cardiovascular conditions. The fidelity of reconstruction is measured using percent correlation between the actual and reconstructed signals following a 30 seconds time lapse. The mean correlation is over 95% with a standard deviation under 12.7% for all reconstructed leads. The results demonstrate the potential of the suggested approach to provide a reliable solution to precordial leads reconstruction.
Emotion-attention interactions in fear conditioning: Moderation by executive load, neuroticism, and awareness

Despite increasing evidence suggesting interactive effects of emotion and attention on perceptual processing, it still remains unclear how their interplay influences affective learning, such as fear conditioning. In the present study, a conditioning procedure using threat-related conditioned stimuli (CSs) was implemented while executive load and attentional focus were manipulated. The modulation effects of neuroticism and contingency awareness were also examined. Results showed that fear conditioning depended on the available executive resources even with threat-related CSs. In addition, although individuals with high neuroticism showed an enhanced conditioning effect overall, this facilitation effect still depended on the availability of executive resources. Finally, the impact of attentional focus was most evident among individuals with high neuroticism who were aware of the contingency. Overall, the present study demonstrates interactive effects of emotion and attention in fear conditioning, while illuminating mechanisms of individual differences and clarifying the controversial role of contingency awareness in fear conditioning.
Stabilization of stochastic nonlinear systems driven by noise of unknown covariance

This paper poses and solves a new problem of stochastic (nonlinear) disturbance attenuation where the task is to make the system solution bounded by a monotone function of the supremum of the covariance of the noise. This is a natural stochastic counterpart of the problem of input-to-state stabilization in the sense of Sontag (1989). Our development starts with a set of new global stochastic Lyapunov theorems. For an exemplary class of stochastic strict-feedback systems with vanishing nonlinearities, where the equilibrium is preserved in the presence of noise, we develop an adaptive stabilization scheme (based on tuning functions) that requires no a priori knowledge of a bound on the covariance. Next, we introduce a control Lyapunov function formula for stochastic disturbance attenuation. Finally, we address optimality and solve a differential game problem with the control and the noise covariance as opposing players; for strict-feedback systems the resulting Isaacs equation has a closed-form solution.
On the complexity of space bounded interactive proofs

Two results on interactive proof systems with two-way probabilistic finite-state verifiers are proved. The first is a lower bound on the power of such proof systems if they are not required to halt with high probability on rejected inputs: it is shown that they can accept any recursively enumerable language. The second is an upper bound on the power of interactive proof systems that halt with high probability on all inputs. The proof method for the lower bound also shows that the emptiness problem for one-way probabilistic finite-state machines is undecidable. In the proof of the upper bound some results of independent interest on the rate of convergence of time-varying Markov chains to their halting states are obtained. >
Exponential Arrivals, Erlang Service (M/E2/1)

This chapter explores a one-server system with infinite capacity, exponential inter-arrival times and Erlang 2-stage service times. Could be a jogging shoe manufacturer that uses a mold (called a last) to produce a shoe of a certain size and width. The arrival time between demands for the mold is exponential, and the time to use the mold on the shoe is Erlang. For an infinite capacity system, the performance measures are generated. For a finite capacity system, matrix methods are introduced and the chapter shows how to compute the probability of n units in the system, and also the performance measures. The chapter also shows how to extend the matrix method to compute the probabilities for an infinite capacity system. Examples are presented.
Grain Boundary Oxidation in PTCR Barium Titanate Thermistors

The phenomenon of grain boundary oxidation in PTCR BaTiO[sub 3] thermistors is discussed. In particular, the energy spectra of the surface states were calculated for different samples, and these were related to the nominal composition, the impurity content of the base BaTiO[sub 3] powder used, and the prevalent atmospheric conditions during cooling and/or annealing. It is proposed that the interaction of manganese with oxygen creates deep-lying traps, and, in general, some proof is offered that the majority of the surface states are due to different oxidizing chemisorbed gases. It is believed that the ability of a particular sample to adsorb such gases in adequate amounts, and thus exhibit an appreciable PTCR effect, is related to the presence of acceptor-type dopants preferentially segregated onto the grain surfaces. Notably, the role of 3d transition metal cations in this process is discussed in some detail.
Simulation-Based Gradient-Descent Optimization of Modular Multilevel Converter Controller Parameters

One of the main technical challenges associated with the modular multilevel converter (MMC) for any application is the optimal control of its states. Optimal control of the MMC requires determination of the following: 1) an accurate MMC model, 2) the MMC states to be controlled and their corresponding reference trajectories, and 3) an appropriate controller type/form and its parameters. The aforementioned tasks lead to the formulation of a multistate control optimization problem, which is tackled in this paper. This paper enhances the accuracy of the existing MMC state-space model by including the following: 1) a piecewise affine insulated-gate bipolar transistor/diode model and 2) the impact of dead time. This paper also proposes a simulation-based gradient-descent optimization algorithm (cosimulation) to optimize the controller gains, given the controller type/form and the reference state trajectory. The theoretical proofs of the gradients required in the optimization algorithm are also provided. The aforementioned optimization algorithm is applied to a variable-frequency MMC-based drive system. Experimental results on a scaled-down prototype and simulation results on a real-world application are provided to validate the accuracy of the proposed MMC model and to show the effectiveness of the proposed optimization algorithm.
Spectral Analysis and Semigroup Generation for a Flexible Beam System

An flexible beam system with three turning axles composed of two-link arm and three-joint is studied in this paper. An evolution equation corresponding to the beam system formulated by partial differential equations with initial and boundary conditions is established in an appropriate Hilbert space. The spectral analysis and semigroup generation of the operator of the beam system are discussed. Finally, a result of exponential stability of the beam system is proposed and proved in terms of semigroup properties of the system operator.
Suppression of sham feeding by intraintestinal nutrients is not correlated with plasma cholecystokinin elevation

To test the possibility that blood-borne cholecystokinin (CCK) participates in suppression of sham feeding by intestinal nutrients in rats, we examined the ability of oleate, maltose, L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), and casein to suppress sham ingestion of 15% sucrose solution. Plasma CCK concentrations were measured in parallel experiments in which the same intestinal nutrients were infused in rats that were not feeding. Intraintestinal oleate suppressed sham feeding and elevated plasma CCK concentrations. Casein infusion produced plasma CCK concentrations similar to those produced by oleate but did not suppress sham feeding. Both maltose and L-Phe suppressed sham feeding but failed to significantly elevate plasma CCK. Previously we demonstrated that CCK receptor antagonists attenuate suppression of sham feeding by intestinal infusion of either oleate or maltose, suggesting that endogenous CCK participates in suppression of sham feeding by some intestinal nutrients. The results of the study reported here suggest that plasma CCK levels after nutrient infusion are not correlated with suppression of sham feeding. Therefore, the mechanism of CCK's participation in nutrient-induced suppression of sham feeding may not depend on stimulus-induced elevation of plasma CCK.
On the Flows of Fluids Defined through Implicit Constitutive Relations between the Stress and the Symmetric Part of the Velocity Gradient

Though implicit constitutive relations have been in place for a long time, wherein the stress, the strain (or the symmetric part of the velocity gradient), and their time derivatives have been used to describe the response of viscoelastic and inelastic bodies, it is only recently purely algebraic relationships between the stress and the displacement gradient (or the velocity gradient) have been introduced to describe the response of non-linear fluids and solids. Such models can describe phenomena that the classical theory, wherein the stress is expressed explicitly in terms of kinematical variables, is incapable of describing, and they also present a sensible way to approach important practical problems, such as the flows of colloids and suspensions and the turbulent flows of fluids, and that of the fracture of solids. In this paper we review this new class of algebraic implicit constitutive relations that can be used to describe the response of fluids.
Sorting In the Fragmented Metropolis

This article updates a topic that was quite contentious some years ago: the social stratification-government inequality (SSGI) thesis developed by Hill (1974) and Neiman (1976) and later challenged by public choice defenders of fragmented urban governmental arrangements (E. Ostrom 1983). Both the SSGl thesis and the Tiebout model have been modified theoretically since 1983, and significant new research bearing on both has been completed. But these developments have yet to be fully incorporated into our common understanding of the broader SSGl thesis and our evaluation of public choice responses to it. Considered together, they suggest that the SSGl thesis may be even more relevant today to understanding the redistributive consequences of fragmented governmental structures within metropolitan areas than when the original SSGl debate took place.
CLONING OF FRAGMENTS OF THE SEA URCHIN HISTONE GENE CLUSTER WITH SV40 DNA AS A VECTOR

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the cloning of fragments of the sea urchin histone gene cluster with SV40 DNA as a vector. DNA from the sea urchin histone gene cluster was digested with restriction enzymes. Selected fragments were linked at one end to portions of the SV40 genome through ligation of cohesive termini. Hybrid molecules formed consisted of the large Taq I-Pst I fragment of SV40 linked to a Pst I-Eco R1 fragment containing the start of the Hi histone gene, and the large Bam H1-Hae II fragment of SV40 linked to a Hae II-Eco R1 fragment containing the entire H2B histone gene. Permissive African green monkey kidney cells were coinfected with this DNA and with DNA from temperature sensitive mutants of SV40, tsA58 for insertions of sea urchin DNA into the late region of SV40, and tsBC11 for insertions into the early regions of SV40. Individual plaques appearing at the nonpermissive temperature were expanded and screened for the presence of virus containing DNA from the sea urchin histone gene cluster, using a filter hybridization assay developed for this purpose. Circularization of the hybrid linear DNA molecules occurred in vivo during the transfection procedure as evidenced by various restriction endonuclease analyses.
Expression of Apoptosis Repressor with Caspase Recruitment Domain (ARC), An Antiapoptotic Protein, Is Strongly Prognostic in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

Abstract 400 The identification of relevant targets to induce apoptosis and sensitize to chemotherapy is a focus in AML research. Reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) is a validated and robust proteomic system which can quantitatively determine protein expression and facilitate the selection of molecular-targeted therapies. ARC, located on chromosome 16q21-q23, is an antiapoptotic protein. It inhibits both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways by suppressing the activity of caspase-2 and -8 and by blocking Bax activation. ARC also negatively regulates p53 by inhibiting its tetramerization and triggering its cytoplasmic localization and degradation of ARC depends on the p53-induced ubiquitin E3 ligase, MDM2. ARC has only recently been demonstrated to be expressed in various cancer cells and to confer both chemo- and radio-resistance. To determine its expression and assess its importance in AML, we profiled ARC expression in 511 newly diagnosed patients with AML using RPPA. Similar levels of ARC expression were found in 140 paired blood and bone marrow samples and no significant difference was detected between diagnosis and relapse in 49 paired samples from the same patients. ARC levels were inversely correlated with the protein levels of Bad (p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
577. Empower Multiplex CRISPR-Mediated Gene Manipulation with Self-Cleaving Ribozymes and tRNA

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9) has been recently introduced as an efficient tool to edit the genome. Moreover, it can be targeted to specific gene loci by using single guide RNA (sgRNAs) for genetic manipulation and potential therapy. However, its targeting capability is often restricted by (gRNA) and generation of large deletions in genome by CRISPR requires expression of two distinct guide RNAs simultaneously. Here we report an innovative modification to increase the CRISPR/cas9 editing efficiency in the form of Ribozyme-flanked guide RNA/CRISPR system, which expresses two gRNA in equal molar amount. Our results show that this approach can be used to generate large DNA deletion with transfection of only one plasmid in human and mouse cells. Furthermore, we also used this system to target multiple transcriptional activators to a single promoter and the results showed that RNA level of targeting gene was statistically significantly up-regulated via Ribozyme gRNA/hCas9. Taken together our data, we prove that this strategy can be used in gene editing study broadly to enhance the targeting and the editing efficiency of CRISPR system.
Endothelial function and CNS measures in primary HIV infection pre-and post early ART (P2.314)

OBJECTIVE: Examine plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), a biomarker of endothelial dysfunction in participants recruited during primary HIV infection. BACKGROUND: HIV infection, vascular perturbation, and CNS dysfunction may associate through common pathways of inflammation observed even in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-controlled HIV infection. DESIGN/METHODS: 25 ART-naive PHI individuals were assessed at baseline and at an interval 6-12 months after initiating ART. Assessments included clinical blood measures, an 11 test neuropsychological battery, and CSF total white blood cell count and albumin ratio. ADMA levels in PHI subjects were compared with published values in HIV-uninfected controls (HIV-, n=50) and chronically infected subjects (median 13 years duration infection) with viral suppression on ART (n=148) measured in the same laboratory. Nonparametric statistics were employed for analysis. RESULTS: PHI subjects were assessed at baseline at median 139 (IQR 54, 182) DPI and subsequently at median 281 (202, 372.5) days after ART initiated 256 (133, 744) DPI. At baseline, PHI participants had higher median ADMA 0.70 (0.62, 0.82) µM than historical HIV- (0.44 μM, 0.38, 0.46) and chronically HIV-infected subjects on ART (0.46 μM, 0.41, 0.52, p < 0.0001 for each comparison). ADMA levels in PHI did not change from baseline to post-ART (p=0.87), and remained elevated compared with HIV- and chronic, on-ART comparisons (p<0.0001 for each). In PHI, ADMA did not associate with total Z or NPZ4 pre- or post-ART, nor correlate over time with respect to change in each measure. Of laboratory measures, pre-ART ADMA associated with blood CD8+ T cell count (p=0.05), as previously reported in chronic infection. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to prior findings in cross sectional studies of suppressed chronic HIV subjects, ADMA levels in our subjects did not change after more than 9 months on ART initiated during early infection, suggesting ongoing endothelial dysfunction. Disclosure: Dr. Urday has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zayyad has nothing to disclose. Dr. Peterson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chow has nothing to disclose. Dr. Robertson has received personal compensation for activities with Abbott Laboratories, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline as a consultant. Dr. Price has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hsue has nothing to disclose. Dr. Spudich has nothing to disclose.
Non-Intrusive Evaluation of Trauma Patients

Abstract An automated, non-invasive computer assisted system for following trends in the electroencephalogram (EEG), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), transcranial impedance (TCI), transthoracic impedance (TTI), and conventional variables has been developed for use in the trauma patient with head injury. The clinical evaluation is based on a percentage of normal. All physiologic data is stored in the computer system for graphical display on a video monitor. Preliminary findings show a correlation between EEG activity, SSEP, and severity of neurologic dysfunction. TCI is reduced in most patients with head trauma. TTI changes are observed secondary to fluid accumulation in the lungs.
El consejo pastoral como práctica de sabiduría

Este ensayo desarrolla la tesis principal que inspira mi trabajo practico y teorico en torno al consejo pastoral: se trata de una forma especial de ministerio cristiano centrado en la sabiduria espiritual mas bien que en la salud mental como su metafora basica. La preocupacion principal es como acompanar a personas a que vivan mejor, mas sabiamente; esto es lo que quiero decir con la meta general de ayudarles a despertar, ejercitar, y desarrollar su inteligencia moral y espiritual en medio de los desafios y luchas que les presenta la vida cotidiana.
Optimal extent of surgical and pathologic lymph node evaluation for resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Abstract Background Lymph node (LN) status is an important predictor of overall survival for resected IHCC, yet guidelines for the extent of LN dissection are not evidence-based. We evaluated whether the number of LNs resected at the time of surgery is associated with overall survival for IHCC. Methods Patients undergoing curative-intent (R0 or R1) resection for IHCC between 2004 and 2012 were identified within the US National Cancer Database. LN thresholds were evaluated using maximal chi-square testing and five-year overall survival was modeled using Kaplan–Meier and Cox regressions. Results 57% (n = 1,132) of 2,000 patients had one or more LNs resected and pathologically examined. In the 631 patients undergoing R0 resection with pN0 disease, maximal chi-square testing identified ≥3 LNs as the threshold most closely associated with overall survival. Only 39% of resections reached this threshold. On multivariable survival analysis, no threshold of LNs was associated with overall survival, including ≥3 LNs (p = 0.186) and the current American Joint Committee on Cancer recommendation of ≥6 LNs (p = 0.318). Conclusion In determining the extent of lymphadenectomy at the time of curative-intent resection for IHCC, surgeons should carefully consider the prognostic yield in the absence of overall survival benefit.
Activating the Past: Performing Disability Rights in the Classroom

The article discusses the development and performance of the documentary play On the Road to the ADA: a Reenactment, September 27, 1988, within the context of an introductory disability studies cou...
Quantized Dialog – A general approach for conversational systems

Abstractr We propose Quantized Dialog, a novel approach for the development of conversational systems. The methodology relies on the semantic quantization and clustering of the dialog utterances in order to reduce the dialog interaction space, making prediction of the next utterance more tractable. The effectiveness of this method is showcased using the goal-oriented dataset of the sixth Dialog System Technology Challenge (DSTC6). We compare the performance of Quantized Dialog based on an n-gram language model for next-utterance prediction against other models that employ popular deep-learning architectures, such as multi-layer neural network classifiers, memory networks, long short-term memory recurrent neural networks and convolutional neural networks. The experimental results demonstrate the promising potential of the new quantized approach in goal-oriented dialog prediction.
A fully symbolic bisimulation algorithm

We apply the saturation heuristic to the bisimulation problem for deterministic discrete-event models, obtaining the fastest to date symbolic bisimulation algorithm, able to deal with large quotient spaces. We compare performance of our algorithm with that of Wimmer et al., on a collection of models. As the number of equivalence classes increases, our algorithm tends to have improved time and space consumption compared with the algorithm of Wimmer et al., while, for some models with fixed numbers of state variables, our algorithm merely produced a moderate extension of the number of classes that could be processed before succumbing to state-space explosion. We conclude that it may be possible to solve the bisimulation problem for systems having only visible deterministic transitions (e.g., Petri nets where each transition has a distinct label) even if the quotient space is large (e.g., 109 classes), as long as there is strong event locality.
Plaque Disruption and Coronary Thrombosis: New Insight into Pathogenesis and Prevention

Clinical and pathologic studies have confirmed that disruption or superficial erosion of atherosclerotic plaque is the major cause of coronary thrombosis, which is the primary mechanism responsible for acute coronary syndromes of unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death. Serial angiographic studies have shown that nearly 60-70% of acute coronary syndromes evolve from mildly to moderately obstructive atherosclerotic plaques. The risk of plaque disruption appears to be a function of both plaque vulnerability (intrinsic factors) and extrinsic triggers, and is determined largely by the size of the lipid-rich atheromatous core, the thickness of the fibrous cap covering the core, and the presence of ongoing inflammation within and underneath the cap. Hemodynamic or mechanical stresses may precipitate plaque disruption, particularly in places where the fibrous cap is weakest, such as the shoulders. The degree of thrombosis following plaque disruption depends on the thrombogenicity of the disrupted plaque, the disturbed local rheology, and the systemic thrombotic-thrombolytic milieu. Surges in sympathetic activity (such as those provoked by sudden vigorous exercise, emotional stress, or cold weather) may also trigger plaque disruption. These observations have led to the concept of plaque stabilization as a new strategy for the prevention of acute coronary syndromes. Plaque stabilization can be achieved through pharmacologic and lifestyle-modifying interventions that alter plaque composition and/or inflammatory activity within the plaque and thus reduce its vulnerability to disruption.
Engineered nanomaterials and symbiotic dinitrogen fixation in legumes

Abstract Whether through agrochemical use, waste disposal, or air deposition, engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) enter agricultural soils: affecting plants, soil microorganisms, and plant-microbe symbioses. Among plant-microbe symbioses, leguminous root nodules are important because they biologically fix atmospheric dinitrogen (nitrogen). Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) decreases the need for synthetic nitrogenous fertilizer. However, ENMs may perturb SNF plant-microbe symbioses. This review focuses on the “wicked” situation whereby some ENMs offer new advances—including in energy efficiency and precision agriculture—yet, when they interfere with SNF, other ENMs could exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions and eutrophication. Where—in the plant-microbe-soil system—is SNF vulnerable to ENMs? Multiple pathways could manifest simultaneously. Mechanisms should be understood, so that future ENM applications are compatible with leguminous SNF.
Addressing Family Planning Access Barriers Using an Integrated Population Health Environment Approach in Rural Uganda.

Recent studies recommend FP initiatives in rural sub-Saharan Africa operate in more context-specific ways to reduce inequities. In 2011 such a project, HoPE-LVB, was implemented by Pathfinder International and local partners among Ugandan Lake Victoria fishing communities using a Population, Health and Environment approach. Among other objectives, the project aimed to increase support for FP and women‘s involvement in decision-making by linking FP benefits to community needs including income generation from nature-based livelihoods. Improved FP access was measured by the project using qualitative methods and the project‘s indicator database in terms of five barriers: service quality, community knowledge, physical access, finances, and social acceptability. Through coordinated interventions representing multiple sectors, the project helped communities move more towards a ―tipping point‖ whereby FP use has now become more an acceptable and accepted social norm. Central to this has been improving service quality and physical access as well as facilitating women‘s involvement in income-generation, thereby increasing their agency and contribution to decision-making including pregnancy timing. Keywords : FP access barriers; PHE integrated approach; rural Uganda
Supplementing the ‘College Experience’ with Program-Based Learning Communities

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to examine the benefits of a learning community created for first-year students enrolled in a criminal justice degree program at an urban community college i...
Searching for the First Amendment: An Inquisitive Free Speech Approach to Search Engine Rankings

Search engines allow Internet users to sort through the thicket of information on the Internet by returning a list of websites pertinent to a user’s search. Several legal questions arise from web searching: How should we classify search engine results? What protective status should the law give to these results? Are search results the free speech opinion of the search providers that programmed the searching algorithms? Or are search results simply machine output so far removed from human expression that they are not speech at all?This Comment provides a dynamic approach for applying the First Amendment to search engine result ranking, characterized by a fact-intensive analysis of the search results in question. Particularly, this Comment argues that search results that are sorted relatively neutrally should be granted full First Amendment free speech protection. However, search results shown to purposefully advance an internal commercial interest of the search provider should be classified as commercial speech and, therefore, subject to less First Amendment protection.
Exploring natural gems and minerals by multiphoton microscopy

The beauty of gems and minerals have been examined and appreciated by optical tools for centuries. Current methods for examining the interior structure of gems and minerals typically requires a sample to be cut and polished prior to imaging. In this presentation, we introduce a new tool for imaging gems and minerals in three dimensions, the multiphoton microscope. We have demonstrated that the multiphoton microscope can capture fascinating information from natural gems and minerals with sub-micron resolution at depths up to the millimeter scale. This new application of multiphoton microscopy may open the doors to non-destructive characterization leading to new information on the formation, structure, and appearance of these stones that have fascinated the eye for centuries.
Alzheimer's Disease GWAS Risk Factor BIN1 Regulates Presynaptic Neurotransmitter Release and Memory Consolidation

BIN1, a member of the BAR adaptor protein family, is a significant late-onset Alzheimer’s disease risk factor. Here, we investigated BIN1 function in the brain using conditional knockout (cKO) models. The loss of neuronal Bin1 expression resulted in select impairment of spatial learning and memory. Examination of hippocampal CA1 excitatory synapses revealed a deficit in presynaptic release probability and slower depletion of neurotransmitter during repetitive stimulation, suggesting altered vesicle dynamics in Bin1 cKO mice. Super-resolution and immunoelectron microscopy localized BIN1 to presynaptic sites in excitatory synapses. Bin1 cKO significantly reduced synapse density and altered presynaptic active zone protein cluster formation. Finally, 3D-electron microscopy reconstruction analysis uncovered a significant increase of docked and reserve pool of synaptic vesicles at hippocampal synapses in Bin1 cKO mice. Our results demonstrate a non-redundant role for BIN1 in presynaptic regulation, thus providing novel insights into BIN1's fundamental function in synaptic physiology relevant to Alzheimer’s disease.
Measuring Goal-Concordant Care in Palliative Care Research

>Goal-concordant care is a priority outcome for palliative care research, yet the field lacks consensus on optimal methods for measurement. We sought to 1) categorize methods used to measure goal-concordant care, and 2) discuss strengths and limitations of each method using empirical examples from palliative care research. We categorized measurement methods for goal-concordant care. We identified empirical examples of each method to illustrate the strengths, limitations, and applicability of each method to relevant study designs. We defined four methods used to measure goal-concordant care: 1) Patient- or Caregiver-Reported, 2) Caregiver-Reported After Death, 3) Concordance in Longitudinal Data, and 4) Population-Level Indicators. Patient or caregiver-reported goal-concordant care draws on strengths of patient-reported outcomes, and can be captured for multiple aspects of treatment; these methods are subject to recall bias or family-proxy bias. Concordance in longitudinal data is optimal when a treatment preference can be specifically and temporally linked to actual treatment; the method is limited to common life-sustaining treatment choices and validity may be affected by temporal variation between preference and treatment. Population-level indicators allow pragmatic research to include large populations; its primary limitation is the assumption that preferences held by a majority of persons should correspond to patterns of actual treatment in similar populations. Methods used to measure goal-concordant care have distinct strengths and limitations, and methods should be selected based on research question and study design. Existing methods could be improved, yet a future gold standard is unlikely to suit all research designs.
Toward Quantifying Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure Systems

Modern society is increasingly dependent on the stability of a complex system of interdependent infrastructure sectors. Vulnerability in critical infrastructures (CIs) is defined as a measure of system susceptibility to threat scenarios. Quantifying vulnerability in CIs has not been adequately addressed in the literature. This paper presents ongoing research on how the authors model CIs as network-based models and propose a set of metrics to quantify vulnerability in CI systems. The size and complexity of the CIs make this a challenging task. These metrics could be used for planning and efficient decision-making during extreme events.
Probabilistic Top-k Dominating Queries in Distributed Uncertain Databases (Technical Report).

In many real-world applications such as business planning and sensor data monitoring, one important, yet challenging, the task is to rank objects(e.g., products, documents, or spatial objects) based on their ranking scores and efficiently return those objects with the highest scores. In practice, due to the unreliability of data sources, many real-world objects often contain noises and are thus imprecise and uncertain. In this paper, we study the problem of probabilistic top-k dominating(PTD) query on such large-scale uncertain data in a distributed environment, which retrieves k uncertain objects from distributed uncertain databases(on multiple distributed servers), having the largest ranking scores with high confidences. In order to efficiently tackle the distributed PTD problem, we propose a MapReduce framework for processing distributed PTD queries over distributed uncertain databases. In this MapReduce framework, we design effective pruning strategies to filter out false alarms in the distributed setting, propose cost-model-based index distribution mechanisms over servers, and develop efficient distributed PTD query processing algorithms. Extensive experiments have demonstrated the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed distributed PTD approach on both real and synthetic data sets through various experimental settings.
Characteristics of Heart Failure Patients With or Without Hypotension When Transitioning From Nitroprusside to Sacubitril-Valsartan.

BACKGROUND Sacubitril-valsartan is an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor indicated for the treatment of patients with symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Little is known about outcomes of HFrEF patients transitioned from sodium nitroprusside (SNP) to sacubitril-valsartan during an admission for acute decompensated heart failure. We sought to describe characteristics of patients initiated on sacubitril-valsartan while receiving SNP and, in particular, those patients who did and did not experience hypotension requiring interruption or discontinuation of sacubitril-valsartan. METHODS We performed a retrospective case series of adult patients (>18 years) with HFrEF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%) admitted to the University of Michigan cardiac intensive care unit between July 2018 to September 2020 who received sacubitril-valsartan while on SNP. RESULTS A total of 15 patients with acute decompensated heart failure were initiated on sacubitril-valsartan while on SNP. The mean age was 57 ± 15.9 years. Seven (46.7%) patients experienced hypotension. The patients in the cohort who experienced hypotension were numerically older (60 ± 17 vs. 55 ± 15.5), and the majority were white (86%). Patients with hypotension had a numerically lower left ventricular ejection fraction (13 ± 4.2 vs. 18 ± 8.2) and higher serum creatinine (1.4 ± 0.54 vs. 0.88 ± 0.25). Seven (100%) patients received a diuretic on the day of sacubitril-valsartan initiation in those who experienced hypotension compared with 2 (25%) in those who did not experience hypotension. CONCLUSIONS In almost half of patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit with acutely decompensated HFrEF, significant hypotension was seen when initiating sacubitril-valsartan while on SNP. Future studies should evaluate appropriate patients for this transition and delineate appropriate titration parameters.
Abstract 2601: Using chaperonin containing TCP1 as a marker to track clinically relevant circulating tumor cells

Current methods for assessing circulating tumor cells (CTC) in blood focus on capture and enumeration with epithelial markers that provide little information about the aggressive and invasive potential of CTC. As a result, valuable knowledge that improves monitoring of cancer recurrence and metastasis is lacking. To provide actionable information on CTC, we developed a CTC identification method based on detection of the second subunit of Chaperonin Containing TCP1 (CCT2). CCT is a macromolecular protein folding complex composed of eight subunits (CCT1-8) that drives expression of many tumorigenic factors. Bioinformatic analysis in multiple cancers, such as breast cancer, revealed increased gene expression in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue for CCT1-8 (p Citation Format: Amanda Cox, Ana Martini, Eunkyung Lee, Rebecca Moroose, Amr Khaled, Annette R. Khaled. Using chaperonin containing TCP1 as a marker to track clinically relevant circulating tumor cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2601.
The Unfinished Revolution: Social Movement Theory and the Gay and Lesbian Movement

The Unfinished Revolution compares the post-Second World War histories of the American and British gay and lesbian movements with an eye toward understanding how distinct political institutional environments affect the development, strategies, goals, and outcomes of a social movement. Stephen M. Engel utilizes an electic mix of source materials ranging from the theories of Mancur Olson and Michel Foucault to Supreme Court rulings and film and television dialogue. The two case study chapters function as brief historical sketches to elucidate further the conclusions on theory and whilst being politically-oriented, they also examine gay influence and expansion into mainstream popular culture. The book also includes an appendix that surveys and assesses the analytical potential of five critical understandings of social movements: the classical approach, rational choice, resource mobilization, new social movement theories, and political opportunity structures. It will be of value to academics and students of sociology, political science, and history.
Threshold Stress Measurements in Shock-Deformed Copper

Shock recovery experiments provide a useful technique to investigate the response of materials to extreme conditions of strain rate, imposed hydrostatic pressure, and temperature. Significant findings of some previous investigations have been reviewed by Leslie1, Murr2, and Mikkola and Wright3. It has been well documented in FCC metals that shock wave deformation leads to higher hardness values2, dislocation densities2,4, stored energies5 and resistivities6 and decreased cell sizes2 than quasi-static deformation to the same “equivalent” strain. One difference noted between microstructures formed by shock-deformation and those formed by quasi-static deformation is the increased contribution of deformation twinning in the former1,3. Another microstructural difference is the observed increase in the levels of vacancy generation in shock-deformation; evidence for this has been reviewed by Graham7.
Introduction to Power Systems Before Smart Grid

A deep analogy exists between power systems and communications. Fundamental relationships of this analogy are explored through the physics of the power grid and communication systems. The historical development of the power system provides the context for the smart grid and, along with the analogy between power systems and communication, provides a solid context for understanding the evolution of power grid communication. The dynamics of power equipment interconnected via communication are reviewed. Drivers for the smart grid concept are reviewed along with the case study of a blackout. Complexity theory and information theory are introduced as key components of smart grid communication, and a new power system information theory is proposed. A key component of power system information theory is the fundamental relationship between energy and information.
Using Technology to Support STEM Reading

Tasks in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are unusually varied because they target phenomena occurring in diverse domains and call upon a wide range of abilities to perform them. The fact that STEM tasks cover such a broad spectrum of abilities makes these fields uncharacteristically inclusive: Individuals with disabilities may perform well in STEM even if they face impairments in other academic domains. Despite this fact, people with executive function disorders face numerous challenges carrying out functions critically important for STEM, which often preclude the unique contributions that they could potentially make to these fields. For people with dyslexia, reading is an obvious challenge. In a typical college-level chemistry course, for example, students are assigned texts containing close to 1,000 pages, calling for the mastery of more than 300 specialized terms. Reading STEM content can be especially challenging because the text cannot be glossed over, but instead must be rea...